Continuing my exploration of reality franchises that are favorites of romance readers, Shana joins me to talk about the Real Housewives franchise: her favorite Real Housewives locations and seasons, and what aspects of this reality franchise appeal to romance readers.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? Join our Patreon for complete mayhem, shenanigans, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have a special guest! Alison, aka Fashionably Evil, won our Romancing the Vote auction to co-host this round of RT Rewind with us! Congratulations!!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! Join our Patreon for complete mayhem, shenanigans, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month on the podcast, I wanted look more closely at the intersection of romance and reality tv, particular the Bachelor franchise and Real Housewives. There is only one place to start with that inquiry: with Dr. Jodi McAlister.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! IASPRThe SBTB Land AcknowledgementShana’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 Join our Patreon for complete mayhem, shenanigans, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re going back to December 1997 to look at the Ads & Features from Romantic Times.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 deathDo not miss the visual aids - the covers alone, my goodness. Join our Patreon for complete mayhem, shenanigans, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Christine M. Larson is the author of the new book Love in the Time of Self-Publishing: How Romance Writers Changed the Rules of Writing and Success, published by Princeton University Press. This book is NIFTY - it’s about us! I was interviewed for it, and we are going to talk about ALL The Things, from identity-driven ethics of care to RWA to the need for “a collective unified body for creative people.”Come for the vintage Romancelandia gossip, stay for the labor activism! Join our Patreon for complete mayhem, shenanigans, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The book reviews in 1997 may be fewer in number but they are ample in wtfery.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. Join our Patreon for complete mayhem, shenanigans, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kirsty Greenwood’s book The Love of My Afterlife is out now, and it’s bubbly and charming and funny, with a lot of emotion, so we’re going to talk all about it. We also talk about making friends as an adult, and how there’s just about every genre inside this book. There’s even a heist. This might be why it’s the Good Morning America book club pick this month – congrats Kirsty!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 LyricsThe Merry Pin craft shop in DC Romancing the Vote Join our Patreon for complete mayhem, shenanigans, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re going back in time to look at the ads and features of the September 2002 issue of Romantic Times!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! Join our Patreon for complete mayhem, shenanigans, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oriana Leckert is the Head of Publishing at Kickstarter, and works with the many, many authors who are finding community support on Kickstarter. They’re hosting a celebration all this month, Heartstrings & Hardbacks: Kickstarter and Romance, so we connected to talk about successful romance projects, strategies that work and don’t work on Kickstarter, and the evolution of fandom (a topic I’m always curious about).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 & HardbacksMonopsonyEpisode 507. Romance Kickstarters with Lucy Eden and Katee RobertMy post on book title SEO madness Join our Patreon for complete mayhem, shenanigans, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We asked our Patreon community to vote on this month’s issue, and September 2002 won by a wide margin. So let’s dive into the book reviews, shall we?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 RomancesA 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 Join our Patreon for complete mayhem, shenanigans, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.