She Wore Black

Grady Hendrix, author of vintage horror novels from the 1970s and 80s, discusses vintage gothic romances and their intersection with horror. Topics include the influence of television shows like Buffy and The X-Files on the perception of horror, the similarities between gothic romances and fairy tales, the relationship between the genre and women's rights, and the shift in the portrayal of sex in post-WWII literature. The speakers also explore the taboo themes of incest in forbidden gothic romance novels and discuss the value of collaborative writing.

Welcome to the She Wore Black Podcast. I’m Agatha Andrews. Today I chat with Kate Khavari about her fun historical mystery series that involves a female botanist in 1920s England, poisonous plants, murders, mayhem, and a bit of romance. You can find Kate’s books in my online bookshop if you want to support both the podcast as well as independent bookstores nationwide. That’s at bookshop.org/shop/sheworeblack. If you want another way to help out my She Wore Black Podcast, you can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads, and leave me a review wherever you get your podcasts. If you want to make a donation or buy me a coffee, I have my Ko-fi donation link on my website at sheworeblackpodcast.com, as well as links to all my socials. Thanks for joining me today.

Today, Sarah Wendell, from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, returns to chat about ROMANTASY, a new term for a long beloved subgenre that merges fantasy and romance. We have several book recommendations and compare old book covers with new trends. I’ll have list of the books discussed in my online bookshop if you want to support both the podcast as well as independent bookstores nationwide. If you want another way to help out my She Wore Black Podcast, you can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads, and leave me a review wherever you get your podcasts. If you want to make a donation or buy me a coffee, I have my Ko-fi donation link on my website at sheworeblackpodcast.com, as well as links to all my socials. I will have links to Sarah’s website and socials as well, and you can listen to Smart Bitches, Trashy Podcast from the same places you’re listening to my show. Thanks for joining me today.

Today I chat with Marielle Thompson about her gothic novel, WHERE IVY DARES TO GROW. We talk about the trope of “gothic madness” and her dissociative disorder at the center of the novel, as well as time travel romance, sex and the character work it’s doing in her story, and she has some book recommendations for us. If you want to support both the podcast as well as independent bookstores nationwide, you can buy WHERE IVY DARES TO GROW and Marielle’s book recs through my online bookshop, at bookshop.org/shop/sheworeblack. If you want another way to help out my She Wore Black Podcast, you can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads, and leave me a review wherever you get your podcasts. If you want to make a donation or buy me a coffee, I have my Ko-fi donation link on my website at sheworeblackpodcast.com, as well as links to all my socials. Thanks for joining me today.

Today I chat with Daniel Kraus, author of the new smash hit of a horror novel, WHALEFALL. We talk about craft, the ocean as haunted house, animals in horror, and “Shape of Water,” another favorite story of his. If you want to support both the podcast as well as independent bookstores nationwide, you can buy WHALEFALL through my online bookshop, at bookshop.org/shop/sheworeblack. If you want another way to help out my She Wore Black Podcast, you can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads, and leave me a review wherever you get your podcasts. If you want to make a donation or buy me a coffee, I have my Ko-fi donation link on my website at sheworeblackpodcast.com, as well as links to all my socials. Thanks for joining me today.

Today I have the live recording from a Latino Horror panel event this summer that featured Richard Santos, the editor of the anthology “A Night of Screams: Latino Horror Stories.” Also on the panel were two contributing writers, Flor Salcedo and Leticia Urieta. You’ll hear audience questions in the second half of the show, so please excuse the noise of the mic passing back and forth. If you want to support both the podcast as well as independent bookstores nationwide, you can buy “A Night of Screams” through my online bookshop, at bookshop.org/shop/sheworeblack. If you want another way to help out my She Wore Black Podcast, you can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads, and leave me a review wherever you get your podcasts. If you want to make a donation or buy me a coffee, I have my Ko-fi donation link on my website at sheworeblackpodcast.com, as well as links to all my socials. Thanks for joining me today.

Today I finally get to share my episode with Isabel Canas that we recorded in February, about her second novel, “Vampires of El Norte.” It’s an atmospheric and sexy story of a curandera, a vaquero, and a few monsters in 19th century Mexico. I’m thrilled both the book and the episode are now out in the world. If you want to support both the podcast as well as independent bookstores nationwide, you can buy books through my online bookshop, at bookshop.org/shop/sheworeblack. I have both THE HACIENDA, and VAMPIRES OF EL NORTE available. If you want another way to help out my She Wore Black Podcast, you can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads, and leave me a review wherever you get your podcasts. If you want to make a donation or buy me a coffee, I have my Ko-fi donation link on my website at sheworeblackpodcast.com, as well as links to all my socials. Thanks for joining me today.

Today I have Monique Patterson, the Vice President and Editorial Director of Bramble Romance, the new romance imprint from Tor Books. We chat about what she is looking to add to her stellar lineup of books, the debut titles in fall and winter, and the exciting goals Monique has for Bramble. If you want to support both the podcast as well as independent bookstores nationwide, you can buy books through my online bookshop, at bookshop.org/shop/sheworeblack. I will have the titles discussed available for pre-orders as they become available. If you want another way to help out my She Wore Black Podcast, you can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads, and leave me a review wherever you get your podcasts. If you want to make a donation or buy me a coffee, I have my Ko-fi donation link on my website at sheworeblackpodcast.com, as well as links to all my socials. Thanks for joining me today.

Today I have romance novelist, Diana Biller, on to discuss our love of the Maiden Lane series by Elizabeth Hoyt. These books are gritty historical romance novels with Batman appeal, and they continue to inspire legions of fans and writers fifteen years after publication. If you want to support both the podcast as well as independent bookstores nationwide, you can buy books through my online bookshop, at bookshop.org/shop/sheworeblack. I have both Diana Biller’s and any available Elizabeth Hoyt books there too. If you want another way to help out my She Wore Black Podcast, you can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads, and leave me a review wherever you get your podcasts. If you want to make a donation or buy me a coffee, I have my Ko-fi donation link on my website at sheworeblackpodcast.com, as well as links to all my socials. Thanks for joining me today.

Today I have Amanda, the frequent co-host on Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, to talk about Cozy Gaming. I first started playing video games when I heard her and Sarah talking about video games on Smart Bitches, so it felt right to have her on now that I’m a few years into this fun and relaxing cozy gaming journey. We had a great time, and I would love to know what cozy games you like to play or start playing after listening to this episode, so keep me posted! If you want to support both the podcast as well as independent bookstores nationwide, you can buy books through my online bookshop, at bookshop.org/shop/sheworeblack.  If you want another way to help out my She Wore Black Podcast, you can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and leave me a review wherever you get your podcasts. If you want to make a donation or buy me a coffee, I have my Ko-fi donation link on my website at sheworeblackpodcast.com, as well as links to all my socials. Thanks for joining me today.