Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: A Romance Novel Podcast

I’ve been talking about this book for weeks, and now I get to talk to the author: Deanna Raybourn joins me to talk about her new thriller,  Killers of a Certain Age . We talk about the power of being underestimated, and the painfulness of being expected to disappear as you age. Battles against misogyny! Destroying the patriarchy! Aging is awesome! Join us for a very casual discussion of hypot...

This week, we are catching up on what we’re looking forward to, and in particular, what BOOKS we’re looking forward to this fall! Amanda shares trends she’s noticing amid the books that are being heavily promoted for this fall, too. We cover Witches Revenge Powerful scheming women Queer horror Heists Retellings of classic stories Adventure comedies What’s on your list this fall? Plus, I have the a...

Romance will never stop bestowing glorious acts of graphic design upon us, so join us for some Cover Snark live! Amanda and I went foraging in the wilds of romance covers and surprised one another with images to discuss. Check out the covers for yourself! Savor the glorious mayhem! So many questions. Which M is the Preg in the MMMPreg? Where IS the Third M?! What is the job market like for alien v...

Author and award-winning audiobook narrator Julia Whelan visits with me to talk about her new book, Thank You For Listening . Along the way we discuss: Recent press coverage of her book Self Aware Book Fiction Competence p0rn Myths about audiobook narration And why Romance Is Amazing Plus, we have book recommendations! (We always do that.) What about you? Do you listen to audiobooks? Do you have f...

In the words of a spam comment, we have some nice and valuable content! Amanda and I are catching up. What are we talking about? Shoes we are trying to break in, video games we are playing, and all the books we’ve been reading this summer! Amanda’s into sci-fi mysteries, and I’ve read a whole bunch of different genres. Grab a beverage and come visit with us! What about you? What books have rocked...

Agatha Andrews is the host of the She Wore Black podcast which focuses on gothic and horror, and a former librarian. I was a guest on her show, and now she comes over to visit with me! Horror and romance need to hang out. So we did! We talk about readers advisory, all the ways to connect books to readers, and then we take a deep dive into the books that rocked her world as a reader. Do you have an...

Let’s talk historical heist romances! Erica Ridley joins me to talk about her newest book, Nobody’s Princess , the latest in her Winchester series, which she describes as putting “Umbrella Academy, Oceans 11, and Batman in a blender and pouring out romantic comedy,” or, “Heists that Bang.” You can find Erica Ridley at her website https://ericaridley.com/ She’s on all the socials and medias, and as...

Julie Garwood’s latest book, Grace Under Fire, is out now, and I got to chat with her about her writing career, her process, and writing historicals and romantic suspense. Grab a snack and a beverage and come visit with one of the authors I admire most. (No, my inner 13 year old was not chill. Not even a little.) You can find Julie Garwood at her website, JulieGarwood.com. … Music: Purple-planet.c...

Danielle Jackson’s new book, The Accidental Pinup , is out now, and I bet you’ve seen the cover in many, many places. It’s terrific. Danielle and I chat about her book, what happened when she saw the cover, and about every professional role she’s had within publishing. She’s been a publicist - she was my publicist for one of my books! She’s also a bookseller, and now she’s an author. So her perspe...

Sonali Dev has some very big news! Her upcoming book, The Vibrant Years , is one of the debut titles of Mindy Kaling’s new imprint, Mindy’s Book Studio. So we talk and squee and talk some more about Kaling’s work, about The Vibrant Years, and what Mindy’s Book Studio means for her new book. Has she texted Mindy yet? I will ask! We also talk about her recent interview in Town & Country magazine...

Sutanya Dacres is a podcaster whose new memoir, Dinner for One: How Cooking in Paris Saved Me , just came out. Her memoir is the story behind her podcast: she met and married a French man, moved to Paris…and then her marriage didn’t work out. It’s also the story of her staying in Paris, rebuilding her life, and learning to embrace her new home. Her podcast features Sutanya cooking dinner for one w...

Dr. Perpetua Neo is a psychologist and author of the new book,  This is What Matters: A Step-by-Step Workbook for Identifying Your Values, Priorities, and Path Forward after a Crisis . I’ve been reading and working through the journaling prompts, and wanted to interview her to talk about the origins of this workbook, and her practice working with people. This is What Matters  is a series...

Elissa Sussman joins me to talk about her book, Funny You Should Ask , and all about:  Writing a horny heroine’s POV Dual timelines Celebrity profiles Life as a celebrity and managing a fandom Things that do, and do not twitch Elissa is an extremely fluent fan of the romance genre, and we talk a lot about romance conventions we love and loathe, and what it means to subvert and undermine some...

Denise Williams is a contemporary romance author with several books coming out this year including a series of audio-first novellas set in an airport, beginning with The Love Connection. She is also releasing her third novel, Do You Take This Man. Denise is also a wedding officiant! So we are going to talk about the process of uniting people in matrimony, what she loves most, and making the event...

Shana McDavis-Conway is a social change consultant, activist, and a reviewer at this here website! She recently published an article, “Self-conscious, unapologetic, and straight: fat protagonists in romantic fiction” in the journal Fat Studies, and she’s written about fat rep in romance for SBTB a few times, too. We talk about the evolution of fat characters in romance, what’s changing, and then S...

Laura Hankin is the author of Happy And You Know It, A Special Place for Women, and the upcoming book The Daydreams. The paperback of A Special Place for Women is out on May 24th, and as I learned is being adapted for film, too! We talk about the book-to-film adaptation process, and then we take a deep dive into secret societies, exclusive clubs, and how they work (or don’t). We also take a side t...

Lisa from Shrewsbury sent us an email and two contenders for Cover Snark - so we did Cover Snark live! Check the show notes for a link to the covers, and tell us what you notice first! Happy belated birthday Lisa! Thank you for the wild thumbs and the shifter bonanza! Are you ready for the covers Lisa sent us? I hope so! Click this link here or head to the website, http://sb-tb.com and click "PODC...

This week, my guest is Emily Henry, whose new romance Book Lovers is out this past week! We talk about slow burns, book tour, puppies, the inspiration for the lead character, Nora, and the Icy City Ex Girlfriend Trope. Thank you to Ann_Knee, Clairatrix, and the enthusiastic members of the Culture Study Discord’s romance channel who were very excited about this interview alongside me. And thank you...

This week, Amanda and I catch up on a whole bunch of things, including college visits, airboats, and dating! We also have listener email, including recommendation requests and compliments galore! I know some of y’all love the episodes where Amanda and I hang out and talk books and everything, so if you like this one, let me know? Email, comment, tweet at me, whatever - if you’re into these episode...

Jess Michaels is celebrating the release of her 100th book, 100 Nights with the Duke! That’s a lot of books, and a long career of close to 20 years! We talk about how she’s celebrating this milestone, and we take a look back at how her experience of the romance industry has evolved over two decades. Along the way we cover:* Commemorative tattoos* The biggest changes she’s experienced in her career...

Authors Lucy Eden and Katee Robert join me to talk about their very successful Kickstarter campaigns! Lucy’s is currently running and is fully funded: https://bit.ly/EdenKSLoveNotesKatee is in the midst of fulfillment of her Kickstarter, which was fully funded in about five minutes. We talk about why they went with Kickstarter, the essential elements of a successful campaign, and what they’ve lear...

This is part two of the special crossover event with Bonkers Romance as we recap of A Lady of Rooksgrave Manor by Kathryn Moon. Part one with me, Melody and Jenny is over at Bonkers Romance, so hello and welcome Bonkers Romance listeners! I’m so happy to have you here today! Be Ye Warned - this episode is extremely nsfw and is a recap of the second half of the book, so spoilers indeed. Also, yes,...

Jesse Q. Sutanto joins me today to talk about the release of Four Aunties and a Wedding, and we talk about all the wedding drama we’ve experienced from behind the scenes and as guests. We talk about weddings with thousands of guests, runaway brides, cultural clashes and the weight of wedding expectations. I would love to know: Do you have a wedding drama story? Did you witness some serious nuptial...

My guest today is author Farah Heron, whose latest book, Kamila Knows Best, is an updated spin on the Jane Austen classic Emma! Along the way we talk about:Updating a unique, challenging characterAddressing the age gap between the charactersThe importance of hot wet sarisCurly hair care techniquesLipstick recommendationsWhat are your favorite Emma retellings? And what are your go-to lip color reco...

My guest today is Jane Buehler, author of The Forest Bride and The Village Maid. I have several favorite parts of this conversation, including our discussion of cozy fantasy, addressing and undoing misconceptions about sex in romance, and sourdough starters and bread making. So fantasy, writing, sex, and bread. Several excellent topics! What about you? What have you learned or unlearned from sex i...