Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: A Romance Novel Podcast

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.

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