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Queer Kids Deserve Happily-Ever-Afters — Julian Winters on Writing Love That Heals

Join in the conversation! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2400021/fan_mail/new] Welcome back to another episode of the Hella Chisme Podcast! Best-selling YA author Julian Winters on writing joyful queer romances, the mess of creative beginnings & why LGBTQ+ characters deserve stories that aren't defined by trauma. This week on Hella Chisme, we sit down with award-winning and USA Today bestselling author Julian Winters — the voice behind Running With Lions, Right Where I Left You, Prince of the Palisades, and the upcoming Find My Way Down to You. Julian opens up about his journey from Thundercats fan fiction to publishing queer romances that center joy, community, and hope for young readers. We unpack his creative process (spoiler: it starts messy), how rom-coms shaped his worldview before he ever saw himself in books, and why he refuses to write the trauma narrative — choosing instead to show queer kids that they deserve happily-ever-afters without having to earn them first. This one's for writers, readers, and anyone who believes stories can save lives. Topics to include: Julian Winters author interview, queer YA fiction, queer romance books, LGBTQ authors, Black queer authors, diverse queer representation, joyful queer storytelling, queer joy vs queer trauma narrative, writing queer characters, fan fiction to published author, Thundercats fan fiction origin, rewriting endings creative practice, alternate universe fan fiction, marginalized voices in publishing, creative writing process, storyboarding and mood boards, fighting perfectionism as a writer, starting a book messy first draft, rom-coms as inspiration, Prince of the Palisades book, royal romance YA, Black Panther inspiration T'Challa Nakia, Red White and Royal Blue influence, Young Royals Netflix inspiration, The Princess Diaries influence, Tokyo Ever After book, social media scrutiny marginalized individuals, young adult perspective queer youth, healthy intimacy in YA fiction, consent comfort protection in romance, hypersexualization of young characters critique, I Think They Love You book, second chances in love trope, fake dating romance trope, emotional vulnerability in romance, multi-layered queer characters, authenticity in romance novels, Fire Island rom-com, Always Be My Maybe underrated rom-com, rom-com pet peeves wedding objection amnesia trope, rom-com casting Justice Smith Tessa Thompson, Find My Way Down to You book, Orpheus and Eurydice retelling, Greek mythology YA romance, speculative YA fiction, Charon ferryman of souls character, queer book recommendations, YA romance novels 2026, reading preferences ebooks audiobooks physical books, creative process anxiety new releases, journaling shadow work therapy, prosperity mantras Queen of Pentacles, Hella Chisme Podcast, LGBTQ+ podcast 2026, queer podcast crossover, author interview podcast, book podcast, writing community podcast 📚 Find Julian Winters [https://linktr.ee/julianwinters?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=d032d171-f7f6-48ae-acae-dea9182948fd]:  julianwinters.com [http://julianwinters.com]  https://www.instagram.com/wintersjulian [https://www.instagram.com/wintersjulian] 🎙️ Hella Chisme Podcast: 📸 Instagram: @HellaChismePod  🎵 TikTok: @HellaChisme  ▶️ YouTube: Hella Chisme Podcast chismehellapod@gmail.com  https://linktr.ee/hellachismepodcast [https://linktr.ee/hellachismepodcast] Support the show [https://www.youtube.com/@Hellachismepodcast] Follow Hella Chisme for more culture, conversation, and creative storytelling. Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube, and keep up with us on Instagram, Threads, and TikTok at @hellachismepod.  Join the chisme, share the episode, and leave a review or comment to support the show.

The Monolith Myth

Join in the conversation! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2400021/fan_mail/new] Enjoy this clip from episode 104! The discussion centers on the phrase "we are not a monolith" as it's used in online discourse, especially within the Black gay community. Main points: * The contradiction: Despite preaching individuality, there's still pressure to fit a specific mold — those who don't match the expected "blueprint" often get pushed aside. * What the phrase usually means: It's typically invoked to push back against stereotypes — like the assumption that all Black gay men or POC live the same lifestyle (constant clubbing, socializing, etc.). * The critique: One speaker challenges the phrase itself, arguing it should really be "I am not a monolith" rather than "we," since so many people seem to follow the same patterns anyway. They suggest it's become more of an empty buzzword than a reflection of actual diversity. * The nuance: The group lands somewhere in between — people can have layers and aren't defined by one experience, but they also acknowledge that certain habits (partying, hookup culture) genuinely are common within the Black gay diaspora, even if not universal or permanent for everyone. Essentially, it's a self-reflective conversation questioning whether a popular phrase about diversity actually holds up against observed community patterns, or if it's become a defensive catchphrase. 🎙️ Hella Chisme Podcast: 📸 Instagram: @HellaChismePod 🎵 TikTok: @HellaChisme  ▶️ YouTube: Hella Chisme Podcast 📩 Guest inquiries: chismehellapod@gmail.com [chismehellapod@gmail.com] LINK: https://linktr.ee/hellachismepodcast [https://linktr.ee/hellachismepodcast] Find Just Drawz:   Just Drawz Podcast  [https://linktr.ee/JustDrawz?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=106926ff-d4a9-4f99-8b25-416bb70f7d87] https://www.instagram.com/kklothesminded/ [https://www.instagram.com/kklothesminded/] https://www.instagram.com/jefflevelsup/ [https://www.instagram.com/jefflevelsup/] Topics to include: gay community monolith, LGBTQ conformity, gay male identity, queer individuality, gay masculinity femininity, desirability politics gay men, gay dating culture, gay dating apps, gay relationship patterns, ghosting gay community, gay nightlife culture, gay bar culture, LGBTQ surveillance culture, queer creator expectations, Black gay men podcast, gay men race representation, gay community division, gay social dynamics, Lock Pencil Drop game, crossover podcast episode, Hella Drawz, Hella Chisme Podcast, Just Drawz Podcast, KKlothesminded, LGBTQ+ podcast 2026, queer podcast crossover, gay men talking honestly, queer masculinity, gay hypermasculinity, no fats no fems culture, gay chosen family, queer social media culture, LGBTQ community care, gay validation culture, queer nightlife, circuit parties gay culture, gay men friendship, performative queerness, raw vulnerable podcast Support the show [https://www.youtube.com/@Hellachismepodcast] Follow Hella Chisme for more culture, conversation, and creative storytelling. Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube, and keep up with us on Instagram, Threads, and TikTok at @hellachismepod.  Join the chisme, share the episode, and leave a review or comment to support the show.

Hella Drawz - Are We REALLY a Monolith? Gay Culture, Conformity & The Unspoken Rules Nobody Talks About ft. Just Drawz

Join in the conversation! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2400021/fan_mail/new] Welcome to another episode of the Hella Chisme Podcast… but not just any episode, an episode crossover. Three podcasters. One crossover. Zero safe answers. Dana from the Hella Chisme Podcast, Jeff from Just Drawz, and Darius (DMC) from KKlothesminded come together for Hella Drawz, a raw, unfiltered, family reunion energy crossover episode asking the question the gay community has been dancing around: Are we REALLY not a monolith, or do we just say that? We're getting into all of it. The pressure to conform inside queer spaces. Why masculinity is still prized and femininity is merely tolerated. How race and layered identity shape who gets to feel "seen" in the community. The desirability politics that run gay dating culture. Surveillance culture and what we expect from our queer creators. And the nightlife and social infrastructure that keeps us outside but emotionally exhausted. Then we play Lock, Pencil, Drop,  putting dating habits, party culture, social media behavior, and unspoken community rules on the table and deciding what we're keeping, what conditions, and what we're letting go. For good. This is the conversation that happens when people stop performing and start being honest. No perfectly polished takes. Just three queer voices keeping it RVSD, raw, vulnerable, stripped down. Whether you came for the chisme or the Just Drawz… welcome home. 🎙️ Hella Chisme Podcast: 📸 Instagram: @HellaChismePod 🎵 TikTok: @HellaChisme  ▶️ YouTube: Hella Chisme Podcast 📩 Guest inquiries: chismehellapod@gmail.com [chismehellapod@gmail.com] LINK: https://linktr.ee/hellachismepodcast [https://linktr.ee/hellachismepodcast] Find Just Drawz:   Just Drawz Podcast  [https://linktr.ee/JustDrawz?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=106926ff-d4a9-4f99-8b25-416bb70f7d87] https://www.instagram.com/kklothesminded/ [https://www.instagram.com/kklothesminded/] https://www.instagram.com/jefflevelsup/ [https://www.instagram.com/jefflevelsup/] Topics to include: gay community monolith, LGBTQ conformity, gay male identity, queer individuality, gay masculinity femininity, desirability politics gay men, gay dating culture, gay dating apps, gay relationship patterns, ghosting gay community, gay nightlife culture, gay bar culture, LGBTQ surveillance culture, queer creator expectations, Black gay men podcast, gay men race representation, gay community division, gay social dynamics, Lock Pencil Drop game, crossover podcast episode, Hella Drawz, Hella Chisme Podcast, Just Drawz Podcast, KKlothesminded, LGBTQ+ podcast 2026, queer podcast crossover, gay men talking honestly, queer masculinity, gay hypermasculinity, no fats no fems culture, gay chosen family, queer social media culture, LGBTQ community care, gay validation culture, queer nightlife, circuit parties gay culture, gay men friendship, performative queerness, raw vulnerable podcast Support the show [https://www.youtube.com/@Hellachismepodcast] Follow Hella Chisme for more culture, conversation, and creative storytelling. Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube, and keep up with us on Instagram, Threads, and TikTok at @hellachismepod.  Join the chisme, share the episode, and leave a review or comment to support the show.

Queer Pride Parade - Community Care, Trans Advocacy & What Real Allyship Looks Like ft. Ben Greene

Join in the conversation! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2400021/fan_mail/new] Welcome back to another episode of the Hella Chisme Podcast. Happy Pride Month, Cheese Mates. This one is for the community, all of it. This week, host Dana sits down with internationally recognized transgender advocate, educator, and storyteller Ben Greene for a deep, honest, and joy-filled conversation about what it really means to show up for one another, especially right now. We talk about community care beyond the buzzword. We talk about the very real divide happening inside the LGBTQIA+ community between the gay community and the trans community  and why that conversation is long overdue. We talk about advocacy fatigue, what it feels like to be the only person speaking up in a room, and how queer people keep finding ways to heal collectively even when the world keeps making it harder. We play "Who's In Your Chosen Family?"  a love letter to all the roles queer people play for each other. We built the Official Queer Survival Kit for 2026. And we close with a community check-in that asks the questions we need to sit with after the parades are over. Ben Greene is the author of My Child is Trans, Now What? A Joy-Centered Approach to Support, creator of the Substack Good Queer News, a GLAAD Media Award nominee, and a relentless voice for trans youth and their families at the Missouri State Capitol and beyond. Pride is not just visibility. It's protection. It's my responsibility. It's love that refuses to disappear. San Diego Pride is July 17th — let's celebrate all the way there. 📸 Instagram: @HellaChismePod 🎵 TikTok: @HellaChisme  ▶️ YouTube: Hella Chisme Podcast 📚 Find Ben Greene: Good Queer News on Substack [https://www.goodqueernews.com/]| My Child is Trans, Now What? [https://www.amazon.com/Child-Trans-Now-What-Joy-Centered/dp/1538186454] 📩 Guest inquiries: chismehellapod@gmail.com [chismehellapod@gmail.com] LINK: https://linktr.ee/hellachismepodcast [https://linktr.ee/hellachismepodcast] Topics to include: LGBTQ+ Pride Month 2026, Pride Month podcast, transgender advocacy, trans rights 2026, community care queer community, Ben Greene transgender educator, My Child is Trans Now What, Good Queer News Substack, GLAAD Media Award nominee, trans allyship, queer chosen family, LGBTQIA+ division, trans community support, advocacy burnout, queer healing, queer joy as resistance, Stonewall history, Pride Month history, San Diego Pride 2026, LGBTQ+ mental health, queer survival, Black queer community, trans youth advocacy, mutual aid LGBTQ, chosen family podcast, intersectionality LGBTQ, queer community care, trans inclusion, real allyship, queer podcast interview, Pride special episode, Hella Chisme Podcast, Dana podcast host, San Diego podcast Support the show [https://www.youtube.com/@Hellachismepodcast] Follow Hella Chisme for more culture, conversation, and creative storytelling. Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube, and keep up with us on Instagram, Threads, and TikTok at @hellachismepod.  Join the chisme, share the episode, and leave a review or comment to support the show.

Good Queer News

Join in the conversation! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2400021/fan_mail/new] Enjoy this Clip of the lates episode of the Hella Chisme Podcast.  Queer Pride Parade - Community Care, Trans Advocacy & What Real Allyship Looks Like ft. Ben Greene This week, host Dana sits down with internationally recognized transgender advocate, educator, and storyteller Ben Greene for a deep, honest, and joy-filled conversation about what it really means to show up for one another, especially right now. We talk about community care beyond the buzzword. We talk about the very real divide happening inside the LGBTQIA+ community between the gay community and the trans community  and why that conversation is long overdue. We talk about advocacy fatigue, what it feels like to be the only person speaking up in a room, and how queer people keep finding ways to heal collectively even when the world keeps making it harder. We play "Who's In Your Chosen Family?"  a love letter to all the roles queer people play for each other. We built the Official Queer Survival Kit for 2026. And we close with a community check-in that asks the questions we need to sit with after the parades are over. Ben Greene is the author of My Child is Trans, Now What? A Joy-Centered Approach to Support, creator of the Substack Good Queer News, a GLAAD Media Award nominee, and a relentless voice for trans youth and their families at the Missouri State Capitol and beyond. Pride is not just visibility. It's protection. It's my responsibility. It's love that refuses to disappear. San Diego Pride is July 17th — let's celebrate all the way there. 📸 Instagram: @HellaChismePod 🎵 TikTok: @HellaChisme  ▶️ YouTube: Hella Chisme Podcast 📚 Find Ben Greene: Good Queer News on Substack [https://www.goodqueernews.com/]| My Child is Trans, Now What? [https://www.amazon.com/Child-Trans-Now-What-Joy-Centered/dp/1538186454] 📩 Guest inquiries: chismehellapod@gmail.com [chismehellapod@gmail.com] LINK: https://linktr.ee/hellachismepodcast [https://linktr.ee/hellachismepodcast] Topics to include: LGBTQ+ Pride Month 2026, Pride Month podcast, transgender advocacy, trans rights 2026, community care queer community, Ben Greene transgender educator, My Child is Trans Now What, Good Queer News Substack, GLAAD Media Award nominee, trans allyship, queer chosen family, LGBTQIA+ division, trans community support, advocacy burnout, queer healing, queer joy as resistance, Stonewall history, Pride Month history, San Diego Pride 2026, LGBTQ+ mental health, queer survival, Black queer community, trans youth advocacy, mutual aid LGBTQ, chosen family podcast, intersectionality LGBTQ, queer community care, trans inclusion, real allyship, queer podcast interview, Pride special episode, Hella Chisme Podcast, Dana podcast host, San Diego podcast Support the show [https://www.youtube.com/@Hellachismepodcast] Follow Hella Chisme for more culture, conversation, and creative storytelling. Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube, and keep up with us on Instagram, Threads, and TikTok at @hellachismepod.  Join the chisme, share the episode, and leave a review or comment to support the show.