Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: A Romance Novel Podcast

When I record with Nalini Singh, since she’s in New Zealand and I’m on the east coast of the US, it’s weird hours for both of us – so thank you to Nalini for speaking to me bright and early in the morning. We talk about  Atonement Sky , about writing and worldbuilding, and saying goodbye to characters. I also mix up my animal pluralities but I fix it, don’t worry. NOT thanks to Wilbur, my cat...

Danielle Allen is the author of 55 books, including the new release  Plus Size Player,  part of the Curve series alongside  Curvy Girl Summer , and  Big Girl Blitz . And the player, as you’ll find out, is the heroine. The trilogy focuses on three best friends, and so we talk about friendship, loyalty, and about centering fat Black women as romance heroines. Danielle has also wr...

You may know Gaby Leon as  HappyGabyCooking on TikTok  and  Instagram . She’s also the author of a new cookbook!  The Enchanted Feast  is a gorgeous book filled with recipes inspired by Gaby’s favorite Rrrrrromantasy titles. There are cocktails, snacks, entrees, and terrific cookies and desserts. This episode, and this cookbook, might make you hungry. If you’re thinking yo...

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...

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 Reyn...

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 roman...

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 Tell...

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 rom...

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...

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 commun...

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 bef...

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...

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,...

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 tal...

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 bee...

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 books A surprising number of 2- and 1-star reviews A 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...

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 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 fabric The Cover Model bag The Jezebel article on writing Bigfoo...

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 ase...

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...

Once Upon a Time, Princess Mabel van Oranje, founder  Vow for Girls , an organization dedicated to ending child marriage, met  Stacey Abrams , author and the former minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives. They hatched a plan to unite the romance community with Vow for Girls, which led to  Every Girl Deserves Happily Ever After.  Today, Princess Mabel and Stacey...

It’s time for the ads and features of the October 2000 Romantic Times magazine, where they’re both talking about new releases AND celebrating their 200th issue. What did we learn? We learned about waxing, magazines, and galleys, but not about skin care, gun parts, or boats. We’ve got Extreme Troy, everyone. Grab a drink and come hang out with us. And don’t miss the visual aids! WE HAVE LINKS. The...

Kimberly Lemming’s new book,  I Got Abducted By Aliens and Now I’m Trapped in A Rom-Com  is out this week. What’s inside? A fantasy world with underfunded researchers and mishandled animal restoration caused by fiscal irresponsibility, academic malfeasance and nepotism. And talking lions and fire breathing aliens powered by garlic bread. Music: purple-planet.com You can find Kimberly Lem...

RT is celebrating their 200th issue, and we’re celebrating, too! We’ve got the OG Monster Schtupping book, a guy whose arm appears to end in a ham, and some incredible covers. You know I’m going to tell you not to miss the visual aids, but I mean it. There’s a series where the focus of every cover illustration is someone's backside? It's wild. You can find all the visual aids here. We also mention...

My guest today is Candy Tan, who 20 years ago co-founded Smart Bitches Trashy Books with me. Yay!! We’re looking back at the founding of SBTB, about her reactions to Bridgerton, and her perennial favorite romances. We talk about different ways that romance has changed since 2005. Then I show Candy the casting photos for the Black Dagger Brotherhood adaptation. You can find Candy @BeautifulDuckweed...