Linda Holmes, pop culture critic and author of ‘Back After This’

Episode notes

(Photo: Ballantine Books)

Linda Holmes knows what goes into a good romantic comedy. Linda is an expert on the topic and a huge fan of the genre. 

She’s been a pop culture writer for two decades now. She co-hosts the NPR podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour. She has herself been a guest host on Bullseye, too – maybe you heard her conversations with the Indigo Girls, Elisabeth Moss, or Giancarlo Esposito on this very program. 

In 2019, Linda wrote a novel: Evvie Drake Starts Over – a terrific mix of rom-com and baseball. Then, in 2022: another. Flying Solo, a story about love, loss and a mysterious missing duck decoy. 

LISTEN: Linda Holmes on ‘Evvie Drake Starts Over’ and more

And now: Back After This. Her latest novel tells the story of Cecily, a podcast host who agrees to host a dating podcast where she must go on 20 blind dates. Does she find love along the way? 

Linda joins us on Bullseye to discuss Back After This, and her love of romantic comedies. She  breaks down the clichés that make them great and the tropes that make them stink. Like the protagonist in her new novel, Back After This, Linda is a podcaster. She talks about the work she put in to make sure she got the nitty gritty details of podcasting right.