We discuss the origins of influencing and family vlogging, the benefits and the harms that arise from becoming popular, and the emotional, financial, social, and personal costs of that relative fame.

CW/TW: this podcast episode contains discussions of child abuse, exploitation, sexual harassment, and pedophilia. Listener discretion is advised.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re going to talk about Geocities websites, author research, and Hands.

Lots of Hands.

This one is a little spicy, y’all! At about 45 minutes in there’s an extended discussion of anal in romance fiction (as you do) and at about 50 minutes in, we discuss death, mortuary science, and make some allusions to decomposition.

That’s right. Dead bodies and anal sex. This episode is a banger.

Don't miss the visual aids!

Or, watch the show on YouTube!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is so much to discuss in this book: we talk about characters with chronic illnesses like endometriosis, or mental illnesses like OCD. We talk about the astrology of her characters and what insights she can gain from their charts, and then, she gives us a list of restaurants to try if we’re ever in Providence, Rhode Island. And Riss even expands my theory about which foods are the universal expression of human love.

...

Support for this episode comes from Savage Bonds by EV Mitchell, a gritty, paranormal slow-burn body-positive romance with lots of spice, some knotting, and shared psychic sexytimes. Savage Bonds is available now in Kindle Unlimited, or in print from the author's website or your local library!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’ve got anthologies, Carpathians, and several books where we’re pretty sure the happy ending is to throw the entire man away. We also debate who is possessed by demons because it’s a valid question for several of the books we talk about. 

A mild warning that when we discuss Mystery & Thriller there is a truly gross plot. It’s a doozy. 

And you can watch this one on YouTube if you like!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Drs. Jen Lois and Joanna Gregson did a multi-year study on the community of romance authors and I have never stopped thinking about it. In this conversation, we’re talking about that study, what they learned about romance as a community, especially about gender dynamics.

You can find their published work based on this study in the following articles – these link to the abstract because I don’t have a membership to this academic database.

• Aspirational Emotion Work: Calling, Emotional Capital, and Becoming a “Real” Writer
• Sneers and Leers: Romance Writers and Gendered Sexual Stigma

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

• Touring inside author’s homes and whether we think it’s kinda intrusive and uncomfortable
• Neverending reader hate for “the F word”
• The fans used to blow back cover models’ hair
• And speaking of, what’s on the Cover Model Pageant contestant’s heads?

And more!

We DO have a video episode for this one with images – you can find it on your YouTube channel. And you can find the visual aids for this one below.

We have so many links! Are you ready!

• Mental Floss: The origin of “Live, Laugh, Love”
• Janelle James and Connor Storrie on the red carpet (Reddit link with video)
• Links from Steve Ammidown about Genesis Press:
• 1980-2000 Black Publishers – Black Romance Publishers: Representation vs. Exploitation by Sophie Kebret (Unsuitable/Duke University)
• Authors Cite Problems with Genesis Press by Calvin Reid | Sep 15, 2006, Publishers Weekly (Archive link)
• One Perfect Rose hardcover – eBay
• The Instagram account of Aureltattoo, who dances in front of a fan

Visual Aids are at SBTB!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about the inspiration for this very magical book, and about books that are sanctuaries. We also talk about library advocacy, book banning, and the deadly threat of bureaucracy.

My favorite thing that Kate says: “When you love a book, it also loves you.”

You can find Kate Quinn at her website, KateQuinnAuthor.com. She’s on Instagram @KateQuinn5975.

We also mentioned:

• Patricia C. Wrede’s Fantasy Worldbuilding Checklist
• Sylvie’s Book Dresses on Instagram @sylviefaconcreatricefrance
• The Tumblr post about hope that became a poem and a parody of Dr. Seuss.

Music: purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In two weeks we will be back with the ads & features, and you know a magazine from the 90s has the most excellent collection of cover art.

And if you like video episodes, this episode is available in video format for everyone on Sunday at our You Tube channel.

…

Major Trigger Warning in this episode: At 20:24 we have a brief conversation about an author featured in the magazine who was the victim of a family annihilation. Immediately following, the book I discuss contains mentions of child loss, infertility, and infidelity. Skip ahead 2 and a half minutes.

We also mentioned:

• Amanda’s TBR Takedown board game: “Gamify Your TBR”
• Greenland sharks! 
• Solved HaBO: “She Served as Head of Her Father’s Army”
• Romance History with Steve Ammidown: “Lest We Forget” (trigger warning: family annihilation)

If you or someone you know is in danger from domestic or intimate partner violence, The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1.800.799.7233, or you can text START to 88788.

Music: purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Along the way we talk about the historical romance genre, administrative mayhem, and the practicalities of creating special editions of beloved books. Plus you get to hear my reaction when Julia shares some of the 2027 titles.

Thank you to Verity, Sue, and Alanna for the questions!

You can find Julia Quinn on her website, JuliaQuinn.com, and on Instagram @JuliaQuinnAuthor, and on Facebook at AuthorJuliaQuinn.

You can find out more about JQ Editions at JQEditions.com.

We also mentioned:

• Germ and Worm - a travel health podcast
• Every Library 
• Jeni's Ice Cream: Bridgerton Collection! 
• Julia Quinn on The Today Show 
• Episode with former romance author and CDC specialist Dr. Jennifer McQuiston
• 122. Ponies, Ebola, and Historical Romance: An Interview with Jennifer McQuiston
• 171. Once More with Ebola and Romance: An Interview Jennifer McQuiston

...

Do you like to listen to your favorite podcasts on YouTube? 

Find our latest episodes at on YouTube @SmartPodcastTrashyBooks - and please subscribe. I had to start the channel over.

Music: purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Along the way we also talk about vintage Hollywood gossip, character actors who go weird gremlin, and the way actors shape public narrative with their project choices, their fashion, and their cosmetic procedures. And also – Scotland made the World Cup – woohoo!

I love talking to people who think about their favorite aspects of popular culture the way I think about romance fiction, and I already know you love when Kayleigh is a guest. Don’t worry, she will be back.

Technical note: we had some connectivity issues and delay during the recording, so I don’t have a full video episode for this one, though I do have clips, so watch for them on social media. You might hear some muddy audio, and I apologize. Please know I did all the things I could.

CW/TW: At about 2 minutes in, we talk about Elizabeth Taylor’s abusive first husband. We also talk about body and beauty standards in Hollywood.

Patreon folks, you have an extended episode inside your Patreon feed with a whole extra hour of discussion about the Beckhams, the industry of celebrity children, and more.

...

You can find Kayleigh Donaldson at her website, KayleighDonaldson.com, on Bluesky, and on Pajiba.com. You can also sign up for her (excellent) newsletter, Gossip Reading Club.

We also mentioned:

• The New Yorker: “Amanda Seyfried’s Epiphanies”
• Reddit: Sydney Sweeney and Scooter Braun in Central Park 
• Reddit: Sydney Sweeney and Christy Martin in Sports Illustrated
• Tom and Lorenzo: Sydney Sweeney’s hair on Jimmy Fallon
• The New York Times: Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom on the “Enduring Invisible Power of Blondeness” (Archive link)
• The Wrap: Kayleigh reviews All’s Fair
• The List: Bradley Cooper’s Face and Resulting Rumors
• The Wall Street Journal: Club Chalamet/Simone Cromer profile
• Wikipedia: The Leveson Inquiry 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re going to talk about the show, the acting, the adaptation, and the fact that this show could never have been made in the US. Jacob Tierney is a genius, and we have many a rabbit hole of research to explore.

If you’ve been thinking about this show nonstop, come hang out.

You can find Candy Tan @beautifulduckweed on Bluesky and on Tumblr.

And you can find the podcast with video on YouTube!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

But many of you asked about Amanda’s recs and wishes, so to wind up our holiday extravaganza, Amanda and I are talking about the books that we loved in 2025, our wishes for everyone in 2026, and of course we talk about a LOT of other things. One of Amanda’s favorites was about a songwriter and so we discussed our music tastes, which, total surprise, are entirely different. We also look back at the most popular content on SBTB in 2025, and what posts and podcasts had the most engagement.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Smart Podcast Trashy Books YouTube Channel! 

We also mentioned:

• YouTube: Electric Callboy – “Elevator Operator”
• Webtoon: Villains are Destined to Die
• Podcast: The Sticky Bun Boys
• IG Reel: “Dating Grok”
• SBTB: Unhinged Bingo! 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amanda Matta is a debut author (her book is coming in 2027!), media commentator, royal analyst, and an art historian. I’ve mentioned Amanda, and her podcast Art of History, which I love. In that show, she focuses on one particular piece of art and explains the history, context, symbolism, and even the details of how it was made. I like it. So I thought, why not have Amanda Matta give the Art of History treatment to some classic romance covers?

We also discuss royal watching, racism, influencing and commentating on popular culture, Henry VIII’s codpiece, art history, and more.

This is our 700th episode – woooo! – and it be both video and audio. The audio will be available on your regular podcast feeds, and you’ll hear us discuss and describe the covers in question. However, on the video, you get to see both of us, and the covers!

Want to watch on YouTube? Here you go!

Speaking of YouTube – did you know the podcast has a YouTube channel? It’s true! Each new episode is automatically uploaded, so if you prefer your podcasts on the ‘Tube, we’ve got you covered. Also, this channel is brand spanking new (I had to recreate it after YouTube deplatformed my last one without explanation. I presume bitches are to blame) so I’d appreciate it if you’d be so kind as to subscribe! If we hit 100 new subscribers, Amanda and I will live broadcast something very fun and silly to thank everyone.

Thank you for being part of the podcast community as we reach 700 episodes! This is a big milestone, and I’m so thankful you’re here.

You can find Amanda Matta at her website, AmandaMatta.com, on TikTok, and on Instagram.

You can find the show notes with all mentioned books and links at SBTB.com, and you can find our podcast on YouTube, or wherever you get your shows!

Want more romance commentary? Come hang out at Smart Bitches Trashy Books (https://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com)

We also mentioned:

• Steve Ammidown’s post about Robert McGinnis, who passed away in 2025
• Windsor Castle: A Royal Year
• The Infamous Three Armed Cover 
• The Art of History Podcast
• Off with Their Headlines Podcast
• Northern Disclosure Podcast
• The Midtown Scholar bookshop
• The Vulgar History Podcast
• Bachelor Lady Butts.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we are talking with Katie, Kate, and Adam – we’ve got book recs, wishes, spreadsheet discussions, dungeons, and some wishes that don’t violate the Hatch Act.

There’s also rather appalling poo adventure immediately after my first interview. Pew pew!

Check out the complete show notes at SBTB.com!

Thanks to your Patreon pledges, we have reached our goal with the F’ICE campaign, and all dynamic ads are now turned off permanently for everyone who listens. Thank you so much!

You can gift a Patreon membership if you’re so inclined! A lovely gift for someone you know who loves the show.

AND! The Smart Bitches Candle Collection is available now for a limited time – until January 5, and boy, howdy, does Wax Cabin Candle Company ship fast. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As always we have book recs, including one from the 1500s, wishes, and terrible jokes.

Please note: during my conversation with Lisa, we discuss true crime and historical murders.

We also mentioned:

• The Bridge (tv show) 
• Simple Happy Zen Podcast
• Playing for Keeps Podcast
• Samantha.Garcix

And…sunrise pictures!

Important Notes I Want to Keep Shouting About!

Thanks to your Patreon pledges, we have reached our goal with the F’ICE campaign, and all dynamic ads are now turned off permanently for everyone who listens. Thank you so much!

You can gift a Patreon membership if you’re so inclined! A lovely gift for someone you know who loves the show.

AND! The Smart Bitches Candle Collection is available now for a limited time, and boy, howdy, does Wax Cabin Candle Company ship fast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We also mentioned:

• The Library Extension – This is an extension for Chrome browsers that will load a list of your preferred libraries with availability for a specific book you’re looking at online. You can add as many libraries as you wish, along with Hoopla, and it’ll search the catalogs for you.
• Our Knitting Gift Guide with some incredible patterns.

Thanks to your Patreon pledges, we have reached our goal with the F’ICE campaign, and all dynamic ads are now turned off permanently for everyone who listens. Thank you so much!

You can gift a Patreon membership if you’re so inclined! A lovely gift for someone you know who loves the show.

AND! The Smart Bitches Candle Collection is available now for a limited time, and boy, howdy, does Wax Cabin Candle Company ship fast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we are talking romance bookstores and road trips, luxurious bidets, webtoons, and, of course, books. And some ranting about women artists in history. We are traveling as far as Taiwan in this episode – and this should be the last of my laryngitis – hooray for all of us!

We also discussed:

• Webtoon: Only Hope
• Podcast: Worlds Beyond Numbers
• The Duchamp Fountain
• Fanfic: “Backhoe” by Zenoida McRora
• Brightside Books and Wine

Updates!

Thanks to your Patreon pledges, we have reached our goal with the F’ICE campaign, and all dynamic ads will be turned off permanently for everyone who listens. Thank you so much!

You can gift a Patreon membership if you're so inclined! A lovely gift for someone you know who loves the show.

AND! The Smart Bitches Candle Collection is LIVE! For a limited time only, you can get a Smart Bitches 20th Anniversary candle, and a Bad Decisions Book Club candle. You can shop small, support the site, and spread light and warmth this year.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A few notes:

First, my voice is not great. Some of these were recorded when I had a dreadful cold, so I apologize in advance.

Second, if you’re a sympathetic crier like I am, please know that when Christine and I are talking, we both get a little choked up while talking about grief and the infuriating unfairness of American healthcare. It’s an emotional conversation and a beautiful one – thank you for sharing so much of yourself, Christine.

Updates? Updates!

Thanks to your Patreon pledges, we have reached our goal with the F’ICE campaign, and all dynamic ads will be turned off permanently for everyone who listens. Thank you so much! You can gift a Patreon membership if you'd like! It's easy and very flexible.

AND! The Smart Bitches Candle Collection is LIVE! I partnered with Wax Cabin Candle Company, an independent small chandlery, to offer two limited edition candles just for the holiday season!

They are on sale now through early January, and you can buy one or both in a gift set! And they are going very fast! 

The Smart Bitches 20th Anniversary candle is an 11 ounce hand poured soy candle with notes of sea salt, book pages, sandalwood and jasmine.

The Bad Decisions Book Club candle, also 11 ounces, is designed to be the perfect pairing for late night reading, with scents of sweet tobacco, book pages, leather, rose, and sandalwood. I had a marvelous time picking out the scents.

So if you’re looking for the perfect gift for yourself or the book lovers in your life, check out the 2025 Smart Bitches Candle collection. You can shop small, support the site, and spread light and warmth this year.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

And in the outro, you’ll hear from ShoesforAll, aka Sarah.

And! Important announcement 1: thanks to your Patreon pledges, we have reached our goal with the F’ICE campaign, and all dynamic ads will be turned off permanently for everyone who listens. Thank you so much!

Important announcement 2: the Smart Bitches Candle Collection is LIVE! I partnered with Wax Cabin Candle Company, an independent small chandlery, to offer two limited edition candles just for the holiday season!

They are on sale now, Friday November 28, through early January, and you can buy one or both in a gift set!

The Smart Bitches 20th Anniversary candle is an 11 ounce hand poured soy candle with notes of sea salt, book pages, sandalwood and jasmine.

The Bad Decisions Book Club candle, also 11 ounces, is designed to be the perfect pairing for late night reading, with scents of sweet tobacco, book pages, leather, rose, and sandalwood. I had a marvelous time picking out the scents.

So if you’re looking for the perfect gift for yourself or the book lovers in your life, check out the 2025 Smart Bitches Candle collection. You can shop small, support the site, and spread light and warmth this year.

We also mentioned:

• The episode where we discussed frozen shoulder and other fun menopause things is Episode 658. Romance and Penetrative Sex: A Conversation With Jane Buehler
• The episode where Earth is Garbage and Space is Horny is Episode 392.
• You can download Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinburg from the author’s website.
• Emily mentioned some birds, and if you’d like to know what they look like, here are pics!
• The pileated woodpecker
• The red bellied woodpecker
• The great crested fly catcher 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every year I connect with listeners around the world, where we talk about books, wishes, and bad jokes. So this time of year, my guests are…all of you!

In this set of wishes, we’ve got classics, new mysteries, and series romances. And we’ve got Sapphic yearning!

I have a record number of people signed up to do holiday wishes conversations with me, and these episodes are so uplifting and delightful, I’m extremely excited.

And! There is still time to sign up! If you’re part of the Podcast Patreon or After Dark, you can still pick a time to connect with me.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After we talk about the matrilineal cultural inheritance of soaps and romance, we have a challenge. Amye brought some of her most memorably unhinged story lines from soaps, and I have brought some of my most memorably unhinged story lines from romance, and we’re going to swap.

Please note that in this section we mention sexual assault, faked deaths, transphobic language and quicksand. During the recommendations, Amye mentions her memoir, which is about weight loss and addiction, so we discuss antifat bias and shame.

This is a long one, so we’re going to keep you company.

Did you have a favorite soap or soaps? Which ones?

You can find Amye Archer at her website, AmyeArcher.com. Her podcasts are:

• Little Miss Recap – Also on Instagram
• Gen X: This is Why
• Murder She Watched

We also mentioned:

• Northern Disclosure
• Pump Up the Volume

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about…

• Her memories of meeting Kathryn Falk
• The earliest Romantic Times Conventions
• Her incredible RT parties
• The work of hosting conferences.

Heather has had one of the most interesting career paths, and this is a guest with whom I could just turn on the mic and say, “Please, tell me everything.”

TW/CW: At 48:40, there is a discussion of groping, and if you’d like to avoid it, please skip ahead one minute.

You can find Heather Graham at her website, TheOriginalHeatherGraham.com, and find all her short stories under “For My Readers.” You can also sign up for her newsletter.

We also mentioned:

• JR Ward meets Wrath
• The full collection of JR Ward meeting the different actors in full hair and makeup – please note she is really overcome and crying at one point
• BoucherCon, the World Mystery Convention

 Music:Purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk a lot about the pernicious ableism in the writing of disabled characters, and about writing your catnip when you desperately want to see your experience in a romance.

Last week was Invisible Disabilities Week, and we timed this episode on purpose. So if you’re dealing with an invisible disability, we see you. You are loved and if no one has told you today, you’re fabulous.

TW/CW: at 16:50, we discuss antifat bias and misogyny in medical care, and if you’d like to skip over that, it’s about 1 minute total.

Music:purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

• How do we feel about the terms “book boyfriend” and “pre-con”?
• How much of the 2016 conference depended on Twitter to announce pop up signings and special limited time events?
• And do you remember how important Twitter was to a conference?
• How many different ways are there to photograph a very muscled shirtless man? I think we’re going to see all of them.

So hop into the time machine, we’ve got the snacks, and we’re off to May 2016.

Patreon folks, you have an extended cut of this episode, available through the app or through your private feed.

We also mentioned Elyse’s review of Imagines, complete with Amanda’s specialty Photoshop.

...

Please consider joining our Patreon campaign to turn off all the dynamic insertion ads. We're more than halfway there!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

But since then Amanda and I have talked about the fact that when we recorded this, we were, in fact, baked out of our gourds.

So it’s a different kind of time travel: We’re going back to June 22, 2018, when Amanda, Elyse, and I were cruising on the special herbs at the Romantic Times BookLovers convention in May – the last RT convention.

You can see how many full circles that is – I think this is why Amanda suggested this episode.

We’re going to talk about Amanda’s weakness for Val Kilmer, the ranking of Hemsworths in order of physical density, how bad of a style icon was Anita Blake really? And can Amanda and Elyse find a villain hero I’d be interested in? Nah.

As I said in the original intro:

This is what happens when Sarah, Amanda, and Elyse get really silly, and stop making sense. And given that this has been A Rough Week, we hope you enjoy our completely bubbly, goofy, discussion.

It’s still been a rough week! So I hope this makes you laugh.

...

We're on our way to turning off the pre- and post-show dynamic ads, and we're halfway! If you join the Patreon, you're helping me turn them all off, and you're supporting the show, while also getting some fabulous benefits. Visit patreon.com/smartbitches for more info.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This issue caused some big questions.

• Coke or Pepsi?
• Backstreet Boys or NSYNC?
• Did you worry about spontaneous combustion?
• Should I read the Midnight, Texas trilogy by Charlaine Harris?
• How many erotic romance titles in this issue contain the word “dirty?”

We have lots to talk about so let’s get started!

We also mentioned:

• Our review of Summer Supernovas by Darcy Woods
• Elyse’s review of Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel
• Amanda’s review of the Sleeping Giants audiobook.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are going to talk about:

• Good angsty yearning
• When a character is their love interest’s bitch eating crackers
• Lesbians in history!
• Erotic Victorian fiction

Side trips include historical publishing houses, how nothing in romance is new, and how a lot of our current erotica, including that book where someone schtupps a door, is connected to books with the same sexual pairings in the Victorian era.

You can find your copy of Ladies in Hating wherever you most like to acquire your books. And if your library doesn’t have it, ask them to order it for you!

And don't miss Alexandra's last appearance on the show in Episode 664. Haunted Abbeys and Hidden History with Alexandra Vasti!

...

Please consider joining our Patreon to help turn off dynamic insertion ads for everyone: patreon.com/smartbitches

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

• A tour of Jude Deveraux’s Grade II Listed Home in Suffolk
• Barbara Cartland perfumes
• How should emoji faces be written? Nose or no nose?
• What is the appeal of “nursing him back to health” plots?
• And RT is going to answer the eternal question that has plagued womankind throughout the ages. It’s a doozy.

We mentioned:

• Anne Rice: A Critical Companion by Jennifer Crusie (eBay) (Thriftbooks)
• Barbara Cartland perfumes (eBay)
• The Perfume Society’s remembrance of John Bailey, former president and personal perfumer to Barbara Cartland (that’s a job!?)
• Jude Deveraux’s former home in Suffolk, Ketton House
• Is this Peter Gallagher? 

Join the Patreon, and help me turn off pre- and post-show ads: Patreon.com/smartbitches

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Then we talk about world building, starting with atmosphere instead of plot, and the intricacies of shadow magic in her duology. Plus, we squee about books we’ve loved, magic powers we wish we had, and Kelly Clarkson.

Truly, if you’re writing romance, this episode contains many pieces of advice and perspective – it’s a banger.

Remember: you can’t hide from your own secrets.

You can find Holly Black at her website, BlackHolly.com, where you can sign up for her newsletter, and on Instagram.

We also mentioned:

• Drowned Towns
• Lost towns of the Quabbin reservoir
• Holly Black in People Magazine
• Holly Black on The Kelly Clarkson Show

---

If you'd like to join the Patreon to help me disable all dynamic insertion ads, you can check out the details at patreon.com/smartbitches. Thank you!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re back in the era of time travel, a scifi imprint named Avonova, and probable worms.

NSFW worms.

As usual, we learn astonishing amounts of unexpected information from this magazine. For example: we’re both obsessed with the 1996 movie Twister and we have many thoughts on tornadoes.

Content warnings: the following episode contains discussions of large worms, racist language in 29 year old reviews, and spiders.

Worm discussion: 5 minutes long at 35:00

Spider discussion: 47 seconds long at 45:00

We also mentioned:

• The Galactic Gourmet has its own Wiki page.
• NSFW! Google Search “the fat inkeeper”
• NSFW! Urechis unicinctus – the worm
• The Monterrey Bay Aquarium: “The fat innkeeper worm: your shelter-in-place inspiration”
• The Mummers Parade Wiki page

Special thanks to the sponsor for this week's episode: The Spite Date by Pippa Grant, available in KU, special print edition, and/or duet narration audiobook.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Please join us as we puzzle through the reasons why historical romance isn’t as popular, and what led to the pivot that so many authors are making. Plus Valerie shares the differences and similarities in writing contemporary and historical romance, and what question she gets the most from historical romance readers.

...

You can find Valerie Bowman at her website, ValerieBowmanBooks.com. 

And you can listen to her in Episode 586. Saying Yes to the Dress with Valerie Bowman.

...

Support for this episode comes from Head Witch In Charge by Avery Flynn, out on September 2, 2025. Several romance bookstores in the UK, Canada, and the US will have signed swag goodie bags for anyone who orders Head Witch in Charge while supplies last. Many offer online ordering, too! See the list and place your order at AveryFlynn.com.

Plus, Bookshop.org is offering a 15% discount to anyone who orders Head Witch in Charge and uses the code LOVEBOOKSELLERS.

...

Thank you to HelloFresh for sponsoring this week’s episode. Visit HelloFresh.com/SARAH10FM to get 10 free meals and a free item for life!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We spot an SBTB friend in the letters to the editor, and we talk about romances translated into English, the appeal of the wounded hero, and we spot an ad that’s very clearly some Tay-fic, as I’m calling it. We also discuss an article about Kickstarter in romance – and this is 2016. Look how far we’ve come – and how much RT had its finger on the pulse of new trends.

The July 2016 issue also has several scrapbook-style pages of the RT Convention in Vegas. We recorded a separate episode about those pages, with some conference memories, analysis, and memorabilia, and that will be the bonus episode for this month, dropping on August 26, 2025, for Patreon subscribers, with pictures galore.

We also discussed:

• Our Rec League for Sad Historical Businessmen
• Kickstarter: The Jane Austen Deluxe Collection
• Kickstarter: After the End – A Dystopian Romance Collection
• Kickstarter: Bonkers Romance
• Episode 604. Dessert Projects with Katee Robert
• Episode 620. Romance and Kickstarter with Oriana Leckert
• Review: Fresh Romance Volume 1
• Review: Fresh Romance Volume 2
• BBC News: “‘Every word has come back to haunt me’: China cracks down on women who write gay erotica”

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Examining relationships between people within the context of aro/ace characters requires a re-examination of how we portray human bonds in media, and how they work in real life. There are many book recs, so don’t forget to check the shownotes to embiggen your TBR.

Find all the books Molly mentions in the show notes at SBTB!

...

Music: purple-planet.com

...

Want a free preview of our bonus content? You're in luck! Inspired by other Patreon folks, including Chris DeRosa at Fixing Famous People, I’ve made some of the Patreon content free so you can sample what we’ve got.

• Do you want to do a crossword puzzle from the May 1995 issue of RT? The crossword puzzle is available for free on Patreon right now!
• Would you like to read an issue of RT Magazine? The December 1997 issue is now available for your perusal.
• Or would you like to try one of our bonus episodes? Join Amanda and me as we look back at our 2024 predictions about romance and publishing.

This collection of special previews is available now to all listeners, and there’s a link in the show notes to dive in. And if you like our free samples, join us in the Patreon community where there’s bonus content and more.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

• We tackle vague reviews that tell us no things.
• I try to coin a new portmanteau!
• We come up with the most unhinged romance bingo squares ever – tell us if we should use them!
• We have some plot summaries that are a RIDE, folks.

Hop into our newly refurbished time machine – we needed a bigger drinks fridge – and let’s look at the July 2016 new releases!

…

Inspired by other Patreon folks, including Chris DeRosa at Fixing Famous People, I’ve made some of the Patreon content free so you can sample what we’ve got.

• Do you want to do a crossword puzzle from the May 1995 issue of RT? The crossword puzzle is available for free on Patreon right now!
• Would you like to read an issue of RT Magazine? The December 1997 issue is now available for your perusal.
• Or would you like to try one of our bonus episodes? Join Amanda and me as we look back at our 2024 predictions about romance and publishing.

This collection of special previews is available now to all listeners, and there’s a link in the show notes to dive in. And if you like our free samples, join us in the Patreon community where there’s bonus content and more.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the worst things you can do is be one of my favorite people to listen to and then tell me you have thoughts about something I posted on SBTB. I WANT TO HEAR THE THOUGHTS. Good thing I have a podcast, right? So here we are.

We’re going to talk about the Osman Aesthetic in cozy mystery, where it comes from, why it works, and what’s happening next.

TW/CW: mentions of a book that contains on-page sexual assault and discussion of That Writer being a TERF, plus the effect of her politics on Scotland. That discussion is at 35:30 and you’ll want to skip forward about 1 minute.

Note for Patreon folks: our bonus episode next week is going to be over an hour of Kayleigh and I talking about pop culture, concepts of masculinity and femininity in celebrity personae, and more.

...

Inspired by other Patreon folks, including Chris DeRosa at Fixing Famous People, I’ve made some of the Patreon content free so you can sample what we’ve got.

• Do you want to do a crossword puzzle from the May 1995 issue of RT? The crossword puzzle is available for free on Patreon right now!
• Would you like to read an issue of RT Magazine? The December 1997 issue is now available for your perusal.
• Or would you like to try one of our bonus episodes? Join Amanda and me as we look back at our 2024 predictions about romance and publishing.

This collection of special previews is available now to all listeners, and there’s a link in the show notes to dive in. And if you like our free samples, join us in the Patreon community where there’s bonus content and more.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Want some fresh burning feminism and critique of predatory influencing? This is your episode.

…

Inspired by other Patreon folks, including Chris DeRosa at Fixing Famous People, I’ve made some of the Patreon content free so you can sample what we’ve got.

• Do you want to do a crossword puzzle from the May 1995 issue of RT? The crossword puzzle is available for free on Patreon right now!
• Would you like to read an issue of RT Magazine? The December 1997 issue is now available for your perusal.
• Or would you like to try one of our bonus episodes? Join Amanda and me as we look back at our 2024 predictions about romance and publishing.

This collection of special previews is available now to all listeners, and there’s a link in the show notes to dive in. And if you like our free samples, join us in the Patreon community where there’s bonus content and more.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NOT thanks to Wilbur, my cat, who was vocally put out with my choices, and ends up with Nalini representing him in feline court.

Music: purple-planet.com

Find links to Nalini's website and newsletter, and the picture of her + Nutella, at SBTB!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The trilogy focuses on three best friends, and so we talk about friendship, loyalty, and about centering fat Black women as romance heroines. Danielle has also written contemporaries inspired by Poe stories, so of course we talk about interpreting Poe as well.

You can find Danielle Allen at her website, AuthorDanielleAllen.com, and on her Patreon, Curvy Girl Confessions. You can also follow her on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and BlueSky.

Her cover artist is Keo Majoy. 

…

A special invitation: free samples of our bonus content!

Inspired by other Patreon folks, including Chris DeRosa at Fixing Famous People, I’ve made some of the Patreon content free so you can sample what we’ve got.

• Do you want to do a crossword puzzle from the May 1995 issue of RT? The crossword puzzle is available for free on Patreon right now!
• Would you like to read an issue of RT Magazine? The December 1997 issue is now available for your perusal.
• Or would you like to try one of our bonus episodes? Join Amanda and me as we look back at our 2024 predictions about romance and publishing.

This collection of special previews is available now to all listeners, and there’s a link in the show notes to dive in. And if you like our free samples, join us in the Patreon community where there’s bonus content and more.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you’re thinking you might need to check out this cookbook, yes, yes you do. And if you’ve got a potluck coming up, this book has you covered.

Inspired by other Patreon folks, including Chris DeRosa at Fixing Famous People, I’ve made some of the Patreon content free so you can sample what we’ve got.

• Do you want to do a crossword puzzle from the May 1995 issue of RT? The crossword puzzle is available for free on Patreon right now!
• Would you like to read an issue of RT Magazine? The December 1997 issue is now available for your perusal.
• Or would you like to try one of our bonus episodes? Join Amanda and me as we look back at our 2024 predictions about romance and publishing.

This collection of special previews is available now to all listeners, and there’s a link in the show notes to dive in. And if you like our free samples, join us in the Patreon community where there’s bonus content and more.

You can find Gaby León at HappyGabyCooking on TikTok and Instagram.

We also mentioned:

• The Meghan Markle on-pot pasta dish 
• Josu salts
• Binging with Babish

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are you one of the most privileged readers in the world? I crave satisfaction in this matter!

Don't miss the links and visual aids for this episode - they're at SBTB.com.

A few housekeeping notes:

In July, I won’t be doing any RT Rewind episodes. This is partly because I have a BUNCH of interviews I am very excited about and want to share with y’all. We’ll be back in August with RT Rewind, so the time travel machine can have its annual service appointment in July.

And! Inspired by other Patreon folks, including Chris DeRosa at Fixing Famous People, I’ve made some of the Patreon content free so you can sample what we’ve got.

• Do you want to do a crossword puzzle from the May 1995 issue of RT? The crossword puzzle is available for free on Patreon right now!
• Would you like to read an issue of RT Magazine? The December 1997 issue is now available for your perusal.
• Or would you like to try one of our bonus episodes? Join Amanda and me as we look back at our 2024 predictions about romance and publishing.

This collection of special previews is available now to all listeners, and there’s a link in the show notes to dive in. And if you like our free samples, join us in the Patreon community where there’s bonus content and more.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This time, Melody asked if I had any suggestions for a title. YES I DID. A Soul to Keep: Duskwalker Brides: Book One by Opal Reyne was taking up a LOT of room in my brain and I needed to discuss it with someone. Thank goodness Melody emailed me.

So, first, THIS IS SO NSFW. Seriously.

Second, if you want the full recap, check out Heaving Bosoms part 1 and 2 this week, and join us for part three here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I know, me too.

We’ve got weird reviews, outstanding side character names, a debut of a much-loved historical romance author, and a few side trips into pet names and fanfic ships in traditional publishing.

We’re talking about the past and the present at the same time, which is one of my favorite things to do when discussing romance fiction!

We also mentioned:

• Reba McEntire’s Fancy video
• Kelly Clarkson performing Fancy at the Kennedy Center Honors
• eBay listing for Something Wonderful complete with lace tablecloth
• Podcast: “Too Scary, Didn’t Watch.”

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I recapped Danielle Steel’s dog memoir on her show, and now, she’s in the guest chair on mine.

We talk about her memoir, I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This (But I’m Going to Anyway), which was published last summer. Along the way we discuss embracing vulnerability, hating small talk, and avoiding it by…writing a memoir! We also examine how the Depp/Heard case affected the final version of that memoir. Chelsea’s book is bookended by her own story of intimate partner violence, and much of it was redacted, as we discuss in this interview.

CW/TW: throughout this episode, we talk about domestic violence, intimate partner violence, infertility, donor conceived children and adults, the infertility industry, drive by shootings, shame, and mental health.

“Not talking is never the answer. Just talk about it.”

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You can find Part I here  (or in your favorite podcast app).

Part II of the Ads & Features from February 2015 features HelenKay Dimon just dropping all sorts of information left and right.

We talk about:

• How many romantic suspense covers look the same
• Ways to approach reviews when you’re an author
• What happens when romantic suspense authors take a gun safety and usage class?(For one thing: they have a lot to say about cover models holding guns.)

I hope you’ve been enjoying this time travel journey!

Find the visual aids for this episode at SBTB.com!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re talking:

• Third act bleak moments!
• Transcending the genre!
• Rom coms!
• Cozy things!
• Conferences and gatherings!
• Accessories for Readers!

TW/CW: We take a brief side trip into parental estrangement and emotional abuse.

...

Our midroll ad was for The Historical Romance Sampler podcast – check them out! 

We also mentioned:

• The Sam Sanders Show (podcast) 
• A Million Lives book conference media coverage (Guardian)
• Dashcon
• Bridgerton Ball Gone Wrong (EW) 
• Willy Wonka Experience (Reddit)
• Bookmark Handle Purses
• I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson
• Love in Deep Space (game) 
• Murderbot – Apple TV+
• Student Rate for Apple Music, with free Apple TV+

Check out the SKIMS Ultimate Bra Collection and more at https://www.skims.com/sarah #skimspartner

To advertise on this podcast please email: ad-sales@libsyn.com

Or go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/smartpodcasttrashybooks

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about writing, RWA history (HelenKay is past president, immediately before the fuckery) and what specifically was lost when RWA’s position in the community was destroyed.

This is a Part 1 of 2, and the second half will arrive on May 30 – again, it was so fun I couldn’t cut anything.

You can find HelenKay Dimon at her website, and you can find Darby Kane at her website, too!

HelenKay is on Instagram sharing book release news, too.

We also mentioned:

• Strike Back (TV)
• Episode 122. Ponies, Ebola, and Historical Romance: An Interview with Jennifer McQuiston
• Episode 171. Once More with Ebola and Romance: An Interview Jennifer McQuiston
• The NY Post, Page Six: Male Models Quarantine Themselves 

To advertise on this podcast please email: ad-sales@libsyn.com

Or go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/smartpodcasttrashybooks

Music: Purple-Planet.com

Visual Aids are in the podcast post on SBTB!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So…an extra episode it is! I love talking with people who are fluent in romance and aware of its history, and as a writer of multiple genres for multiple publishers and a past president of RWA, HelenKay has a lot of insight.

CW/TW: we talk about true crime, women as victims in media, and crime victims and their families.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This was VERY fun because HelenKay is an author, so she has a different perspective on the magazine, the convention, the reviews, and the way different genres have changed. We cover how HelenKay discovered romance, and how her career has evolved over the years – and of course we talk about all the books.

This is a long one because I couldn’t cut anything! I hope you enjoy it – please let me know what you think. And if you like the show, please tell a friend or Reddit or a random stranger about it.

You can find HelenKay Dimon at her website, and you can find Darby Kane at her website, too!

HelenKay is on Instagram sharing book release news, too.

We also mentioned:

• Escape to the Country (BBC tv show)
• Wikipedia: The In Death Deaths (spoilers ahoy!)

And don’t forget! If you join the Patreon, you get the full PDF scan of every issue – and very few of these are available online.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Housekeeping Note: I recorded this several months ago, and due to a bunch of file corruption and restoring backups, this episode fell out of my workflow. My apologies to Alexandra, and to you, for that mishap.

You can find Alexandra Vashti at her website, AlexandraVashti.com, and on TikTok and Instagram as @AlexandraVashti – where she posts erotic history reels!

We also mentioned:

• Fonthill Abbey
• Rictor Norton
• Ann Lister
• The Ladies of Llangollen 
• The British Museum image for “larking,” which is NSFW 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Readers have been introduced to Half.com for selling their old books, and they are very excited about it – to say nothing of People.com and EW.com. We get a peek into the Romantic Times and Lady Barrow BookLover Tours – the prices made me very envious.

We also spend some time talking about Monica Jackson, who died in 2012, and is part of the reason why we started addressing the racism in romance many, many years ago.

Seriously, the visual aids are a feast this week. It's PEAK stepback era.

We’ve got links. SO many links.

• THE ROMANCE SWATCH Y’ALL – it’s on eBay!
• PEOPLE in the 90s podcast: Fabio
• Steve Sandalis naked on a cover, bathing in a volcano
• You can buy a signed copy of this book on eBay
• There’s also the Viking Diaper stepback
• We mentioned the late Monica Jackson, and I read some of her writing at AAR, accessed via the Wayback Machine. You can also read her comments about being a Black romance author at TeachMeTonight.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you’re Deeanne Gist, you start over from scratch as Dakota Lacoy.

Amanda and I were just asking recently what had happened to Deeanne Gist, who wrote some SBTB favorites like Tiffany Girl and Fair Play. Well, as Dakota Lacoy, she’s been busy setting up a series of hot contemporary romantic comedies set in Honky Tonk, Texas, a small town with a sordid history and the greatest pun-filled business names.

So my guest today is both Deeanne Gist and Dakota Lacoy, and we’re going to talk about everything – from writing historical inspirationals to figuring out how to introduce her old readers to her new name.

You can find Dakota Lacoy at her website, where you can buy all her books and sign up for her newsletter.

Dakota is also on Instagram, too.

The illustrator for Dakota Lacoy’s website is Axana Zasorina, who is on Instagram.

Music: Purple-planet.com

To advertise on this podcast please email: ad-sales@libsyn.com

Or go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/smartpodcasttrashybooks

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Highlights include:

• Amanda’s memories of reading Daughter of the Forest, one of her all-time favorite books
• A surprising number of 2- and 1-star reviews
• A heroine obsessed with pirates!

Question: Did you read ebooks before the Kindle was released? What device did you use, if any?

Visit the covers and the cool eReader at the episode's SBTB page!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about characters, inspiration, tactile memories, and what sport is not on the ship. Then: cozy sci fi mystery recs, especially queer ones. 

Music: purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Websites for an entire fictional town?

When Indie publishing was talked about with the same language as MLMs?

We’re going back to peruse at the May 2015 Romantic Times Magazine Ads and Features. It was a time!

We also mentioned:

• Susanna Kearsley’s book page with all the covers 
• The muscular dudes fabric
• The Cover Model bag
• The Jezebel article on writing Bigfoot erotica 

Don't miss the visual aids. You'll need your cogs AND your corsets! 

To advertise on this podcast please email: ad-sales@libsyn.com

Or go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/smartpodcasttrashybooks

Music: purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jane Buehler’s new book, The Fire Apprentice, is out this week, and we’re going to talk about the book, and the series. But we’re also talking about the asexual spectrum, body changes from menopause, reactive desire, and kegels!

Content Advisory: We are talking about pelvic floor, vaginismus, vulvodynia, asexuality and demisexuality, effective performance of kegels, sexual trauma, traumatic effects of bullying, and the paltry state of scientific research into conditions that affect people with vulvas and vaginas.

You can find Jane Buehler at her website!

We also mentioned:

• Our Reg League on books with vaginismus
• A Reddit r/RomanceBooks thread on similar recs 
• Britain by Narrowboat (YouTube)
• Cruising the Cut (YouTube)
• Great Canal Journeys (YouTube)
• Episodes with Jen Gunter:
• 367. The Vagina Bible, Shoes, and Other Essentials: A Conversation with Dr. Jen Gunter
• 459. Facts, Feminism, and Menopause with Dr. Jen Gunter
• JamiGold.com: Romance Beats vs the 12 Stages of Intimacy 
• Pelvic Floor Biofeedback

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’ve got answers to the following questions:

• Are there Amish Inspirational romances that have too much sex in them?
• How many garage freezers would a crime family need?
• How many stars did A Court of Thorns and Roses get?

Don’t miss the erotica section – we’ve got some bangers, no pun intended.

There isn’t a separate visual aid post for this one. All the images and books are in this post.

Music: purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

They hatched a plan to unite the romance community with Vow for Girls, which led to Every Girl Deserves Happily Ever After. Today, Princess Mabel and Stacey Abrams are here to tell us all about it.

Please be aware we are talking about child marriage in the US and around the world, about childbirth, trauma, domestic violence and gender inequality.

We are also talking about inspiration, hope, and determination – if you need a lift right now, you might find it here.

You can find out more about Vow for Girls: Every Girl Deserves Happily Ever After online.

You can find Princess Mabel van Oranje on LinkedIn and on Instagram.

You can find Stacey Abrams at StaceyAbrams.com.

We also discussed:

• The Elders organization founded by Nelson Mandela
• (PDF) Devolution’s Discord: Resolving Operational Dissonance with the UBIT Exemption (1999)
• The Fistula Foundation

Music: Purple-Planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What did we learn?

We learned about waxing, magazines, and galleys, but not about skin care, gun parts, or boats.

We’ve got Extreme Troy, everyone. Grab a drink and come hang out with us.

And don’t miss the visual aids!

WE HAVE LINKS.

• The Angelfire site devoted to Cherif Fortin (warning, loads very slowly, it’s not your internet connection)
• The Loose Cravat: Romantic Times vs Playgirl
• An interview with Cherif Fortin
• BertriceSmall.com and the auction that ended in December 2024
• An eBay listing for the comic “Romance Novel Madness”
• Waxing galleys!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What’s inside? A fantasy world with underfunded researchers and mishandled animal restoration caused by fiscal irresponsibility, academic malfeasance and nepotism.

And talking lions and fire breathing aliens powered by garlic bread.

Music: purple-planet.com

You can find Kimberly Lemming at her website, KimberlyLemming.com, and on TikTok, Instagram, and Bluesky @KimberlyLemming. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’ve got the OG Monster Schtupping book, a guy whose arm appears to end in a ham, and some incredible covers. You know I’m going to tell you not to miss the visual aids, but I mean it.

There’s a series where the focus of every cover illustration is someone's backside? It's wild.

You can find all the visual aids here.

We also mentioned:

• Tazo Glazed Lemon Loaf Tea
• Constant Comment Decaf (Bigelow)
• Orange and Spice Tea (Bigelow)
• Marilyn Hagerty, reviewer extraordinaire (Wikipedia)
• The Rec League: Feminist Fantasy
• My review of Who’s the Daddy by Judy Christenberry

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re looking back at the founding of SBTB, about her reactions to Bridgerton, and her perennial favorite romances. We talk about different ways that romance has changed since 2005. Then I show Candy the casting photos for the Black Dagger Brotherhood adaptation.

You can find Candy @BeautifulDuckweed on Bluesky, on AO3, and on Tumblr.

We also mentioned:

• MrsGiggles.com
• Layla F Saad
• The Reddit thread with all the images of the Black Dagger Brotherhood casting.

Music: purple-planet.com

Check out the Fits Everybody Collection at https://www.skims.com/sarah #skimspartner

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Her romance centers on a Little Free Library, so of course we are talking about that. We also discuss the difficult economies of small coastal towns, and the ways that memories can be attached to a place. Then we talk about sports romance – and why she doesn’t want to write one.

CW/TW: At about 18 minutes in, we talk about online harassment Kristi faces and some of the comments fans make about her. If you want to skip that part, move ahead 2 minutes.

You can find Savannah Carlisle at her website, SavannahCarlisle.com. She’s on Instagram and TikTok @SavvyCarlisle.

You can find Kristi Dosh at her website, KristiDosh.com, and on socials @Sportsbizmiss.

We also mentioned:

• The Montgomery Biscuits
• The Jersey Diners
• The Rocket City Trash Pandas
• The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp

Music: purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joanna was kind enough to walk us through some of the parallels between then and now that give her some despair, and how infuriating it was to have readers scold and chastise her for expressing in her newsletter a perspective that she already thought was pretty clear from, you know, all her books about the Gilded Age.

And, if I can take a moment: this is my 650th episode.

Six. Fifty.

And at the end of the month, on Jan 31, Smart Bitches will celebrate our 20th anniversary.

Thank you. Thank you for valuing my work on the podcast and online, for valuing our perspective on the site when we explore romance and everything surrounding it.

Just…thank you. Thank you so much for being here.

You can find Joanna Shupe on her website, joannashupe.com. Her newsletter is joannashupe.com/newsletter. She’s on Instagram @Joannashupe and on Bluesky.

She also writes dark mafia romance as Mila Finelli.

We also mentioned:

• Schoolhouse Rock: “The Great American Melting Pot”
• Heather Cox Richardson’s Substack
• Joanna Shupe’s original TikTok Video
• The r/RomanceBooks thread about it

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TW/CW: As part of my conversation with Carisa, who teaches history, we discuss some historical police violence and discussion of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, discussions of depictions of assault. This discussion is about 25 minutes in.

We also mentioned:

• Y’allFest – Charleston, SC
• The International Arthurian Society 
• Reactor: “Every King Arthur Retelling Is Fanfic About Who Gets to Be Legendary“
• VE Schwab on Instagram
• An interview with Dora Maisler about the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, from Cornell
• Cornell’s archive of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
• Henry’s Thoughts – he’s a cat and he ‘reads’ books
• PopBitch
• Rivals (TV)
• My Lady Jane (TV)
• The Rest is Entertainment (podcast)
• Addicted to Love (Movie)
• Dad’s Army (TV)

Music: purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’ve got one more episode featuring listeners in various parts of the world. Record number of people signed up this year. Thank you!

We also mentioned:

• A Little to the Left Games
• Powerwash Simulator
• Stardew Valley
• Insider-Gaming.com: “Stardew Valley is Officially the Best Game for Reducing Stress”
• Dark Side of the 90s (Hulu)
• Dark Side of the 00s (Hulu)
• This is Pop, Episode 1 (Netflix)

Music: purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thank you for being part of these episodes!

You can find all the books at SBTB!

We also mentioned:

• Lost in Austen (tv show) 
• Jae’s Sapphic Book Bingo 
• I Heart Sapphfic
• Gimme the Brain!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Side trips include the magic of writing about people who slowly reveal themselves to one another, K dramas, and a tour through some Georgian social history.

But the best part: she takes us through her favorite classic historical romances. I could not have been more delighted and I hope you enjoy it, too.

CW/TW

Discussion of weight stigma and anti-fat bias – it’s about 1 minute long at 29:40

Mention of trauma and death in a fictional work – about 15 seconds at 56:10

You can find Elizabeth Hoyt at her website, ElizabethHoyt.com, and do NOT miss her Pinterest collection! 

Music:puple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’ve got holiday wishes and a bunch of recommendations. Thank you to everyone who signed up in record numbers to do a holiday recording with me. These are very fun!

We also mentioned: Paint Love- Atlanta GA

Music: purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re traveling all over the country this week and we’re talking about fanfic, finding an unending treasure trove of books to read from a new favorite author, and taking time for restorative actions.

There is still time to sign up if you’re a member of the Patreon community! Head over to Patreon and you’ll find the link.

We have SO many VERY important links this week.

• Cat Sebastian’s AO3 Bookmarks
• AO3 user youcouldmakealife
• AO3 user thesesameoldstreets
• The GR listing for Star Shipped, Cat Sebastian’s next book
• “The One Where They’re Stars on HGTV”
• “Nature and Nurture”
• Lit Arts Rhode Island
• Library Extension (Chrome)

Thank you to our sponsor for this week's episode: Lume! Use code SARAH15 for 15% off your first purchase at LumeDeodorant.com.

And don't miss Designs on You by Jaci Burton, out now!

Music: purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is still time to sign up – head over to Patreon and you’ll find the link.

This week, we’re headed to South Africa, Washington DC, Taiwan, and Connecticut to talk to Dani, Katie, Sneezy, and Lisa.

We also mentioned the following:

• Theme to CyberSix
• A Foxy Affair
• Girls Who Don’t DnD (podcast)
• D&D Stamps from USPS! 
• The Disabled Tyrant’s Beloved Pet Fish 
• My interview with author Alison Goodman

Music: purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about her experience with social media strategy for authors and publishers, and with writing about publishing. We also discuss how much book publicity has changed, so stay tuned for extremely good advice for managing social media for book publicity.

Then, naturally, we turn to reality tv and shopping!

We have SO MANY LINKS. Get ready!

You can find Sophie Vershbow at her website, on Instagram – and don’t forget her dog, Simon!

We also discussed:

• SBTB: When do you DNF a Book and Why, inspired by Sophie’s article below
• Sophie in The Atlantic: When Is It Okay to Not Finish a Book?
• Sophie in New York Magazine: Who’s Really Writing Celebrity Novels?
• Sophie in Esquire: The Murky Path To Becoming a New York Times Best Seller
• All of Sophie’s bylines in Esquire
• Sophie in Esquire: Behind the Scenes of Barack Obama’s Reading Lists
• Sophie’s favorite piece that she’s written: The Cousin I Never Knew
• Shopping links!
• Off Fifth
• Nordstrom Rack
• Sezane
• Gap
• Everlane
• Cos
• Marine Layer
• Staud
• Reformation
• Beni – browser extension that searches second hand platforms for items on screen
• Rakuten – cash back for shopping through their platform (Affiliate link gets you $30 bonus when you spend $30)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Come back in time with us – we had a lot of fun chatting about this issue, even though it was a bit of a snooze.

Don't miss the visual aids, especially the weird gun cover.

We also mentioned:

• Vox.Com: There’s something off about this year’s “fall vibes”
• Jezebel.com: Forget Dinosaur erotica, it’s all Bigfoot erotica now

Music: Purple-planet.com

Thank you to EveryPlate for sponsoring this episode! Get 50% off your first box at EveryPlate.com/PODCAST and use code trashybooks599

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucy Jane is also a TikToker and YouTuber with a sizeable following, so we also talk about her best practices for social media as a creator and author.

You can find Lucy Jane Wood online on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.

We also mentioned:

• Saeed Jones on BlueSky: ” The first draft of a piece of creative writing is a radical act. It literally defies capitalism. You’re doing it for the LOVE. You’re risking possibility.The blank page isn’t the canvas. The canvas is the first draft. Get it all down, then get to work. Joyful rigor. LET’S GO!”
• Lucy Jane Wood on Tiktok: “Meg Ryan Core”

Music: purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So many small town contemporaries, so many historicals, so many Four Star reviews with word salad. And some cat poo.

TW/CW: very brief and nonspecific discussion of abusive relationships in the Erotica section.

Please note: I don't have a visual aids post for this episode, but the Ads & Features certainly will!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yay blogs!

I was really nervous about being interviewed, and I hope you enjoy this behind the scenes exploration of the site, the podcast, and the business of being in business.

CW/TW: – I cry later! It’s good but if you’re driving and you’re a sympathy crier like I am, I wanted you to be aware.

We also mentioned:

• “The The ‘Enshittification’ of TikTok. Or how, exactly, platforms die.” by Cory Doctorow (Wired) (Archive.org)
• Odd Girl Out by Ann Bannon (wikipedia)

You can find out more and join Smart Bitches After Dark right here!

And don’t miss out on Tara’s show, Queerly Recommended!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Y’all. We’ve got:

• Vintage gossip!
• Blind items that are very easy to guess!
• Danielle Steel’s two blue Mercedes!
• Fuchsia covers with giant flowers and startled animals!
• Riverboat gambler romance heroes!
• And a truly paltry obituary for an extraordinary author.

It’s 1988. Fuchsia. So much fuchsia.

Blanket content warning for romances written in the late 80s. Be ready for some very offensive tropes.

Do not, and I mean this most sincerely, skip the visual aids. It’s 1988 y’all. The covers are glorious! 

LINKS. So many good links!

• “Double Trouble: One or Two Women?” by Gillian Whitlock about the alleged plagiarism of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s The Blue Castle by Australian author Colleen McCullough.
• Sam Lord’s Castle, Barbados
• Sharon Spiak Art listing for Wary Hearts
• Eye Heart Romance’s review for Mistress of the Seas by Ruth Langan
• Clothes in Books: “Mary Burchell aka Ida Cook” – the patterns from Mab’s Fashions!
• Mary Burchell’s Wikipedia page
• A BluSky thread from John Bull on Mary Burchell
• The Pudding magazine interactive article about romance covers by Jan Diehm and Sandra Chiu

music: purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yes, I did mis-number last week’s episode – sorry about that.

Music: purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

That’s right, we’re going all the way back to 1988, a time when one of us on the show wasn’t born yet. We’ve got absolutely appalling plots, some extremely luscious covers, and more – like Amanda’s engagement!

Congrats Amanda and Brian!

TW/CW: crappy family tales in the first 4 minutes, and overall, a number of references to enslavement, violence, colonialism, predatory behavior and assault in the reviews.

Music: purple-planet.com

Don’t miss the visual aids!

We also mentioned:

• Jonathan Bailey at the Emmys (Town & Country)
• Belle Starr (Wikipedia)
• Water Witching: Fact or Fake? (Farmers Almanac)

And you can see Amanda’s beautiful engagement ring on her Instagram! 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A few moments to be aware of before you listen: we talk a little about her dog Pele, who passed away earlier this year.

We also mention briefly the topics of antifat bias in medicine, weight gain, chafing, trauma, workplace abuse, cancer, and sexual harassment.

Thank you to Tara, Emily for the questions!

Music: purple-planet.com

You can find Courtney Milan at her website, CourtneyMilan.com, and you can sign up for her weekly tea newsletter as well! 

Support for this episode comes from The Starling Inn, the new novel by Claire Therese! Find The Starling Inn by Claire Therese inside Kindle Unlimited now!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Don't miss the visual aids! WE GOT FONTS. And dogs!

Side trips include:

• Janet Dailey and who is writing her books (we don’t know)
• lawyer romances
• changes in cover design
• a twist cliffhanger in a quiz with no answer key!

Plus, this issue of the magazine and also Amanda both have terrific memories of RT 2015 in Dallas.

We have So many links!

• Meet Louisa, the cover model dog! (Instagram)
• Reformed Rakes’ episodes on Janet Dailey Part 1 and Part 2
• JanetDailey.com – all present tense
• Topaz Literary: “Janet Dailey and the Curious Case of the Missing Author”
• The Contemporary Romance Color of the Year (SBTB)
• Joyfully Jay
• “This is the Last RT: Kathryn Falk Announces End of Romantic Times” (SBTB)

Thanks to our sponsor for this week’s episode: Lume!  New customers get 15% off ALL Lume products with our exclusive code and link. Use code SARAH15 at LumeDeodorant.com 

Music: Purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This season they’re looking at friendship, the research behind sustaining friendships, ending relationships, and creating new connections with people – and they joined me to talk all about it.

You can find their show, How to be Fine with Friends where you get your podcasts – like this one!

TW/CW: short discussion of diet culture and diet books just after Kristen introduces herself. When she stops talking, hit your 30 second skip and you should be fine.

What are some of the traits you appreciate most about your closest friends?

...

You can find How to Be Fine with Friends where you get your podcasts, and you can follow the show on Instagram @howtobefinepod.

Jolenta Greenberg can be found on her website JolentaGreenberg.com, and on Instagram @jolenta_g.

Kristen Meinzer can be found on her website, KristenMeinzer.com, on Instagram @K10meinzer, and co-hosting her show The Daily Fail. 

Music: Purple-planet.com

Thanks to our sponsor for this week’s episode: Lume!  New customers get 15% off ALL Lume products with our exclusive code and link. Use code SARAH15 at LumeDeodorant.com 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

JR Ward is on the cover, and there’s all kinds of good stuff inside! Come with us to visit some reviews that are word salad, and some that made me say, a few times, “Way harsh, Tai. Way harsh.”

Don't miss the visual aids!

Music: purple-planet.com

Thank you to our sponsor for this week’s episode: HelloFresh!

For a limited time, kids eat FREE! Go to HelloFresh.com/sarahkids to unlock this exclusive offer. One free kids’ meal per box for two months while subscription is active. Visit HelloFresh.com/sarahkids!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re also locating RH on the larger timeline of major television programs centering women over 40. I think this episode holds a lot for writers because it’s about making the conflict, and the motivations behind that conflict, public and spoken in dialogue. It’s a new way of looking at show/don’t tell.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There were leers, horny men, and nipples with personalities, and we explore effective friction and learn about The Douche Chills.

The visual aids are amazing this week – don’t miss the horny covers!

We also mentioned:

• Daniel Craig’s campaign for Loewe
• The updated text of Whitney, My Love covered at AAR 
• Our conversation about Crusie’s books which capture a specific time period

Music: Purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We cover relationships, conflict, and the blend of fiction and “reality,” and some of the ethical considerations as well, especially with the Real Housewives of Dubai.

Are you a Real Housewives watcher? Which ones? Do you think there’s a reason why romance readers are often also Real Housewives watchers?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alison picked our issue, October 1999, and wow, it’s just as weird as we’d hoped.

And, as part of the auction, we offered a midroll ad, which we typically don’t run. Alison chose to use her midroll to promote a website we love and admire, Scarleteen.com.

We start with a discussion of Alison’s incredible spreadsheet that she made us (❤️!) and a discussion of historical romance. Along the way: many yikes, many bikes.

I want to offer some heads up for racism, human trafficking, mentions of stillbirth, ableism, Islamophobia in the reviews.

These will be long episodes this month so journey with us back to 1999.

Don't miss the visual aids!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jodi McAlister is a scholar of romance and an expert on all things The Bachelor, and she’s the author of the Australia-set Marry Me, Juliet trilogy, which you may remember was available digitally in the US as a surprise after a lot of folks, including and especially Amanda, started talking about the books in the series. Shana reviewed the series and the third book, and loved all of them. 

So we are talking all things Bachelor, about writing a similar reality tv show for her series, and why romance readers globally dig this franchise so very, very much.

You can find Dr. Jodi McAlister on TikTok, Instagram, and BlueSky, and on her website, JodiMcAlister.com.au.

We also mentioned:

• Jodi in People Magazine! 
• IASPR
• The SBTB Land Acknowledgement
• Shana’s review for Not Here to Make Friends and the rest of the trilogy as well. 

And thanks to our sponsor for this week’s episode, HelloFresh!

Go to HelloFresh.com/sarahkids to unlock this exclusive offer: one free kids’ meal per box for two months while subscription is active. That’s FREE kids’ meals just by going to HelloFresh.com/sarahkids

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’ve got a cover with many, many fonts, several memorials for Princess Diana, and we find out what happens when you win an award and find out while you’re on the john. There are profiles of readers and romance reading book clubs, AOL chat rooms about romance for writers and readers, and the price of the Essence of Romance.

It’s a wonderful time capsule, folks.

CW/TW: antifat bias and death

Do not miss the visual aids - the covers alone, my goodness.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Come for the vintage Romancelandia gossip, stay for the labor activism!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Prizefighter younger sons getting kicked out of brothels on their wedding night!

Nicknames that follow you around the globe in the 1880s!

Regency cats!

We’ve got truly glorious covers, so do not miss the visual aids. They’re incredible.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Then I learned she’s a former book blogger so there’s recommendations back and forth, all over the place.

You can find Kirsty Greenwood at her website, KirstyGreenwood.com, and sign up for her newsletter. You can also find her on Instagram and on Facebook at KirstyGreenwoodBooks.

We also mentioned:

• Book, Music, and Lyrics
• The Merry Pin craft shop in DC 
• Romancing the Vote

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This issue left us with many questions, such as:

What the hell is Tart Noir?

Are reviewers elsewhere too mean? (Not us – we weren’t online yet!)

How much lore is there about pesto?

Should you jump into a pile of leaves?

Should you soak crawfish tails in milk?

Why is an author defending polygamy?

What snack is best for reading and why is it not an apple?

We had a lot of fun, even if the feature article was a bit of a let down, so please come join us for assorted silliness, and a Shadow Prince with no neck!

Don’t miss the visual aids – so many screengrabs, so many weird necks!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oriana has worked in publishing for a long time, and applies her entire employment experience to her current job. She’s also the author of a book called Brooklyn Spaces, and it sounds like it was a really cool project.

You can find Oriana Leckert on her website, and on Instagram.

We also mentioned:

• Heartstrings & Hardbacks
• Monopsony
• Episode 507. Romance Kickstarters with Lucy Eden and Katee Robert
• My post on book title SEO madness

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are strange subcategories and overlapping genres, and also color-conscious aliens and amnesia, too. Plus, we talk a bit about one of the best lines Avon ever produced.

Don’t miss the visual aids, because some of the covers are something.

We also mentioned:

• Avon True Romances
• A thread from Ashia Monet on the shift away from story arc to story trope (Twitter)
• Carrie’s review for How to Manage a Marquess, where she talks about soap bubble books

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s a collection of over 2000 pseudonyms, plus a directory of where to contact authors, lists of bookstores that love romance, and recommended reads. And of course, advertisements from authors inviting readers to correspond with them. 

This is early social media for authors and readers, and it’s a fascinating time capsule. 

A PDF scan of the pages we talk about is available for downloads at SBTB.

You can find Steve Ammidown at RomanceHistory.com, and on Instagram @RomanceHistorian. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’ve got samples! We’ve got MUSIC that you’re meant to read with, and Amanda tries to identify the genre/album the music was from.

MASSIVE THANKS to Malaraa for finding this treasure trove!

We’ve! Got! Links!

• Episode 611. Romantic Times Rewind: April 2005 Ads & Features
• The Wayback Machine copy of the Book Soundtracks Website – thanks to Malaraa!
• Pure Moods!
• Music League
• Throwback Trivia Takedown
• Medieval Fantasy Music

Music: Purple-Planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NB: I had a cold when we recorded, so apologies for my very low voice.

You can find Shana here at SBTB, and on Instagram @BlackBabeReads.

We also mentioned:

• Shana’s review of Never Cross a Highlander
• Carrie’s review of Ana María and the Fox
• My interview with Erica Ridley about her Winchesters series

Music: purple-planet.com

Special offer from Lume: New customers get 15% off ALL Lume products with our exclusive code and link. Use code SARAH15 at LumeDeodorant.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have questions – and answers!

Are Eric Braeden and Victor Newman the same guy? 

Is Kathryn Falk writing celebrity gossip and outing people? 

Are there Lorena Bobbit jokes? 

Were Glamour Shots™ very well represented among author headshots? 

We had a great time looking at the reviews, and the ads & features do not disappoint.

Don’t miss the visual aids. Seriously. There’s crooning.

Thank you to Mari the Romance Girl for this issue!

Music: purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You can find Harper St. George at her website, HarperStGeorge.com, and on Instagram @HarperStGeorge.

We also mentioned:

• Clayton, the preserved home of the Frick family in Pittsburgh, PA
• Almina Wombwell Herbert, Countess of Carnarvon
• History Tea Time with Lindsay Holiday – YouTube – Dollar Princesses

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re answering many questions, including:

• Why does five stars mean something is a classic, but one star is acceptable?
• What do CS, RM, VR, and F stand for inside Contemporary and New Reality?
• What grade did Dreaming of You receive?

There’s so much Fabio, a telepathic cat, blaming tornadoes for murder, and a lot of time travel.

But my gosh, golly, gee whiz, do not miss the visuals for this episode!

Music: purple-planet.com

Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with @lumedeodorant and get 15% off with promo code [SARAH15 ] at LumeDeodorant.com! #lumepod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

• Poetry!
• Healing from trauma and abuse
• The subversive revolution of teaching a word a day in a minoritized language
• Using humor to overcome the “cultural hangover of linguistic oppression”
• More poetry!

TW/CW: discussion of intimate partner violence and domestic abuse, depression, stalking.

Music: purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Well, let me share some highlights of what is about to happen to your eardrums.

• The Mr. Romance Cover Model Pageant was a Six-episode reality tv show on the Oxygen network, and we missed it when it ran. It’s not all on YouTube but we have a few links!
• We have the arrival of what I called the “venti sized” paperback
• Romance writers with “dedicated rooms for Star Wars collectibles!”
• We’ve got some disturbing gimp masks on computer generated Poser people.

It’s a glorious time. Come on over.

Did you ever attend Mr Romance at RT? Did you see the Mr Romance Pageant on tv?! And gosh, do you have a Romance SoundTrack CD? Please tell me everything.

Don’t miss the visual aids!

Links! For your browsing pleasure!

• Jafar’s staff on Ebay
• The 2005! cover snark featuring The Big Sword and the Naked Guy
• The 2006 post about the Venti sized paperbacks
• The cover for Running Anonymous – NSFW, NSFL

And visit the visual aids for a clip from Mr Romance on the Oxygen network!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Note: in the middle of the episode, the email Kimberly sent that gave me a peek at the cover for That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Human, which was in the final stages of development, so you’ll hear me lose my cool.

For the book and video games we discuss in this episode, please visit our show notes page!

You can find Kimberly Lemming at KimberlyLemming.com, and on Instagram @KimberlyLemming.

We also mentioned cover artist Mike Pape, and the cover art for the Mead Mishaps series is visible on his website, too!

Thank you for supporting our show, and our advertisers! new customers GET $5 OFF a Lume Starter Pack with code SARAH15 at LumeDeodorant.com. That equates to over 40% off your Starter Pack when you visit LumeDeodorant.com and use code SARAH15.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How much cringe shall we find? Plenty!

Other oddities? Mainstream includes YA and Chick Lit. Contemporary includes New Reality. Regency in Format includes Corinthians! And we’re trying to understand a character who wants to “dim the pain of turning 30.” It’s a ride, as usual.

Side trips include Sea Breeze, Stridex, and St Ives Medicated Apricot Scrub.

TW: for mention of sexual assault, body horror – we do announce it in the audio so you can skip ahead.

You can find all the Romantic Times Rewind episodes, visual aids posts, and more in one convenient place!

Don't miss the visual aids for this episode!

We also mentioned:

• Regency in format, not genre: This r/HRNovlesDiscussion post shows a treasure trove of Regency/format books. 
• Did you use St. Ives Medicated Scrub? I sure as heck did.
• RegRom.com answers the question, ‘What is a Corinthian?’
• Amanda mentioned author Naomi Hirahara in a recent Get Rec’d with Amanda post

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On one level it’s a story that originated in gossip about rich and powerful people in an archaic power structure being weird. But it’s also a story of misinformation, propaganda, and a complicit media system, and we deal with that over here in the US, too.

This was recorded on Wednesday, March 20, and we did a follow up this week following the announcement late Friday, March 22, that Kate Middleton is undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer. So there are two parts to this episode.

A few content warnings: Discussion of self harm, disordered eating, suicidal ideation, and child abuse and exploitation.

Please visit the show page for all the resources used for this episode, including news articles, Instagram live recordings, and Twitter threads.

Music: Purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’ve got cowboy heads growing out of gravel roads, a dude who looks like he’s on fire, and that one guy who is always ripping his shirt off from romance covers. We decide on an in-house definition of “Castle Bangenschloss.”

Oh! And a really angry reader wants self pub authors to stop using the same stock images for different covers. It’s wild, y’all.

Don’t miss the visual aids that go with this episode! 

We’ve got links!

• Fanlore.org: Cassandra Claire
• Dahlia Adler’s LGBTQ Reads Patreon
• Tirgearr Publishing’s T shirts!
• The podcast episode where we were at the Peppermill in Reno, and also on edibles, aka episode 304. “You Have a Type and it Might be Mullets” – Sarah, Amanda, and Elyse are VERY Silly About Books and Villainy
• The Chippendales at the Rio

Thank you to our sponsor, Lume! New customers get $5 off Lume’s Starter Pack with our exclusive code.Use code SARAH30 at LumeDeodorant.com.

Music: Purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I connected with Shirley and Sharon and got a History Lesson in how cover shoots used to work. We’re talking costume, art direction, photography, and painting skills combined to make some very memorable covers, and how much deliberate emotional care went into some of the photo shoots with the cover models.

You can find Shirley Green’s portfolio and stock image collection at ShirleyGreenPhotography.com. You can find Sharon Spiak at SharonSpiakArt.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode you will learn about A Tale of Two Biddies. You’ll discover Baby Bothering and God Bothering. And most importantly, are demons really a natural fit for the Regency era?

All these questions are more will be answered in this episode!

Don’t miss the visual aids for this episode!

Music: Purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We also talk about current issues, like Findaway Voices and Spotify’s changes to the terms of service for authors.

You can find Katee Robert on her website, KateeRobert.com. You can also check out her Patreon.

We also mentioned

• Modern Postcard
• Bonkers Romance
• The Bonkers Romance Kickstarter
• NK Jemisin's Patreon
• Ursula Vernon/T Kingfisher's Patreon
• Changes in the Findaway Voices ToS
• And former PRH CEO Markus Dohle's comments under oath:

“The trial put the inner workings of the company on public display in sometimes unflattering ways. In his testimony, Dohle argued that success in publishing is driven by instinct and random luck, not necessarily a company’s size — an argument that the judge found unconvincing. And he revealed his dissatisfaction with the company’s performance since the 2013 merger.”

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We discuss the evolving cover art for the Immortals After Dark series and style changes in illustrated covers. We also talk about

• Well water adventures
• Author photo? MUST be leaning
• A contest made of author prom photos
• Many predecessors to GoodReads
• A book from 1991, promoted in 2006, made into a movie in 2022.

And a FULL PAGE of Mr. Romance.

When I start talking about Redeeming Love, massive trigger warning and content warning, just a giant pile of YIKES. The book summary begins at 35:20.

Thank you for the reviews, the support, and the positive feedback to this series! If you’re enjoying these episodes, please drop a comment below or on the visual aids post and let me know?

Music: purple-planet.com

Don't miss the visual aids! Really, I mean it!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.