Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: A Romance Novel Podcast

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. Join our Patreon for complete mayhem, shenanigans, and more! 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. Join our Patreon for complete mayhem, shenanigans, and more! 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  Join our Patreon for complete mayhem, shenanigans, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The ads and features from the July 2000 issue of Romantic Times are a treasure trove of wtfery! It’s PEAK stepback era.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: FabioSteve Sandalis naked on a cover, bathing in a volcanoYou can buy a signed copy of this book on eBayThere’s also the Viking Diaper stepbackWe 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. Join our Patreon for complete mayhem, shenanigans, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when a bestselling and award winning author of historical inspirational romances decides, after a break of a few years, to write spicy contemporary?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.comTo advertise on this podcast please email: ad-sales@libsyn.comOr go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/smartpodcasttrashybooks Join our Patreon for complete mayhem, shenanigans, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re heading back in time to July 2000 to check out new releases in Romantic Times Magazine!Highlights include:Amanda’s memories of reading Daughter of the Forest, one of her all-time favorite booksA surprising number of 2- and 1-star reviewsA 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! Join our Patreon for complete mayhem, shenanigans, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Olivia Waite is my guest this week to talk about Murder by Memory, her new cozy space mystery. 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 Join our Patreon for complete mayhem, shenanigans, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Remember digital first novellas?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 fabricThe Cover Model bagThe 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.comOr go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/smartpodcasttrashybooksMusic: purple-planet.com Join our Patreon for complete mayhem, shenanigans, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today brings a vulnerable and honest conversation about the prevalence of penetrative sex in romance, and what happens if a writer decides to create a character with pelvic floor pain, for whom that kind of sex isn’t possible? Let’s find out!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 vaginismusA 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 Gunter459. Facts, Feminism, and Menopause with Dr. Jen GunterJamiGold.com: Romance Beats vs the 12 Stages of Intimacy Pelvic Floor Biofeedback Join our Patreon for complete mayhem, shenanigans, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amanda and I have loaded the time travel machine with snacks and bubbly beverages. We’re headed back to May 2015. Some major books were released this month along with some we’re very happy to revisit.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 Join our Patreon for complete mayhem, shenanigans, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.