Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: A Romance Novel Podcast

This is a delightfully unhinged issue. We’ve got a plethora of old-skool covers, weird language about China and Taiwan, Poconos hot tubs, and Elizabeth Lowell is thrown under the bus – twice?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.

Every now and again, I get to do a crossover episode with the Heaving Bosoms podcast. We pick a truly bonkers sexy book, and recap it across two shows. In this case – it’s three shows.Hi Heaving Bosoms listeners! I’m so happy you’re here!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.

Amanda and I are traveling back to May 1995 – yes, thirty years ago.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 videoKelly Clarkson performing Fancy at the Kennedy Center HonorseBay listing for Something Wonderful complete with lace tableclothPodcast: “Too Scary, Didn’t Watch.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of Chelsea Devantez’s listeners connected her to my show after my interview with Joanna Shupe.Meanwhile I’d been working up the nerve to ask her onto my show, and then the universe intervened through this lovely person. Thank you!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.

At the suggestion of some listeners, I split the Ads & Features into two parts, in part because it was very long, and also because there are 5 Fridays in May. Woot!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 sameWays to approach reviews when you’re an authorWhat 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.

Inspired by a recent episode of The Sam Sanders Show, Amanda and I are sharing our own hot takes and possibly controversial opinions about romance.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)DashconBridgerton Ball Gone Wrong (EW) Willy Wonka Experience (Reddit)Bookmark Handle PursesI Think You Should Leave with Tim RobinsonLove 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 #skimspartnerTo advertise on this podcast please email: ad-sales@libsyn.comOr go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/smartpodcasttrashybooks Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are back in the time machine with HelenKay Dimon and Darby Kane, who are thankfully one person so we have extra room in the cabin for snacks. And we are headed back to February 2015 to take a look at the ads and features in RT magazine.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 McQuistonEpisode 171. Once More with Ebola and Romance: An Interview Jennifer McQuistonThe NY Post, Page Six: Male Models Quarantine Themselves To advertise on this podcast please email: ad-sales@libsyn.comOr go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/smartpodcasttrashybooksMusic: Purple-Planet.comVisual Aids are in the podcast post on SBTB! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We were supposed to record an episode, but we started talking about romantic suspense instead. We talk about what inspired me to start the RT Rewind series, and start talking about the cover…and then we talked about changes in the mystery and romance genres, writing styles and techniques, the amalgamation of mysteries, coziness, and the vestiges of chick lit - and a whole bunch of other things before we get started on the magazine.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.

We are traveling back to February 2015 to take a look at the new releases in RT magazine, and my guest is the cover author, HelenKay Dimon, who also writes thrillers as Darby Kane.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.

Alexandra Vasti is the author of Earl Crush, Ne’er Duke Well, and the Halifax sisters series, and she joins me to talk about activism in history and about haunted houses, historical lesbians, and historical erotica.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 AbbeyRictor NortonAnn ListerThe Ladies of Llangollen The British Museum image for “larking,” which is NSFW  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.