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Molly Horan is a YA author, playwright, and professor who is writing a dissertation on aromantic and asexual characters in YA literature. Molly also teaches classes about YA literature, so we have a LOT to talk about.
Examining relationships between people within the context of aro/ace characters requires a re-examination of how we portray human bonds in media, and how they work in real life. There are many book recs, so don’t forget to check the shownotes to embiggen your TBR.
Find all the books Molly mentions in the show notes at SBTB!
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Music: purple-planet.com
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Want a free preview of our bonus content? You're in luck! Inspired by other Patreon folks, including Chris DeRosa at Fixing Famous People, I’ve made some of the Patreon content free so you can sample what we’ve got.
This collection of special previews is available now to all listeners, and there’s a link in the show notes to dive in. And if you like our free samples, join us in the Patreon community where there’s bonus content and more.
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We’re back! Amanda picked this month’s issue and so we are journeying back to July 2016!
Hop into our newly refurbished time machine – we needed a bigger drinks fridge – and let’s look at the July 2016 new releases!
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Inspired by other Patreon folks, including Chris DeRosa at Fixing Famous People, I’ve made some of the Patreon content free so you can sample what we’ve got.
This collection of special previews is available now to all listeners, and there’s a link in the show notes to dive in. And if you like our free samples, join us in the Patreon community where there’s bonus content and more.
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Recently, I posted a collection of cozy, mostly British mysteries that all mimic the Richard Osman Thursday Murder Club covers in just about every way.Then, Kayleigh Donaldson said she had many thoughts about them.
One of the worst things you can do is be one of my favorite people to listen to and then tell me you have thoughts about something I posted on SBTB. I WANT TO HEAR THE THOUGHTS. Good thing I have a podcast, right? So here we are.
We’re going to talk about the Osman Aesthetic in cozy mystery, where it comes from, why it works, and what’s happening next.
TW/CW: mentions of a book that contains on-page sexual assault and discussion of That Writer being a TERF, plus the effect of her politics on Scotland. That discussion is at 35:30 and you’ll want to skip forward about 1 minute.
Note for Patreon folks: our bonus episode next week is going to be over an hour of Kayleigh and I talking about pop culture, concepts of masculinity and femininity in celebrity personae, and more.
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Inspired by other Patreon folks, including Chris DeRosa at Fixing Famous People, I’ve made some of the Patreon content free so you can sample what we’ve got.
This collection of special previews is available now to all listeners, and there’s a link in the show notes to dive in. And if you like our free samples, join us in the Patreon community where there’s bonus content and more.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jo Piazza’s new book, Everyone is Lying to You, is a trad wife influencer murder mystery out this month. I loved this book. Jo has been covering trad wives and influencers for a long, long time – she has a podcast called “Under the Influence,” and has been writing about celebrity culture for most of her career.We are talking about trad wives, celebrity influencers, and how celebrity has changed with social media. We also talk about how and why trad wife influencers are so, well, influential, and how so many parts of our society have let women down.
Want some fresh burning feminism and critique of predatory influencing? This is your episode.
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Inspired by other Patreon folks, including Chris DeRosa at Fixing Famous People, I’ve made some of the Patreon content free so you can sample what we’ve got.
This collection of special previews is available now to all listeners, and there’s a link in the show notes to dive in. And if you like our free samples, join us in the Patreon community where there’s bonus content and more.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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, who was vocally put out with my choices, and ends up with Nalini representing him in feline court.
Music: purple-planet.com
Find links to Nalini's website and newsletter, and the picture of her + Nutella, at SBTB!
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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 written contemporaries inspired by Poe stories, so of course we talk about interpreting Poe as well.
You can find Danielle Allen at her website, AuthorDanielleAllen.com, and on her Patreon, Curvy Girl Confessions. You can also follow her on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and BlueSky.
Her cover artist is Keo Majoy.
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A special invitation: free samples of our bonus content!
Inspired by other Patreon folks, including Chris DeRosa at Fixing Famous People, I’ve made some of the Patreon content free so you can sample what we’ve got.
This collection of special previews is available now to all listeners, and there’s a link in the show notes to dive in. And if you like our free samples, join us in the Patreon community where there’s bonus content and more.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 you might need to check out this cookbook, yes, yes you do. And if you’ve got a potluck coming up, this book has you covered.
Inspired by other Patreon folks, including Chris DeRosa at Fixing Famous People, I’ve made some of the Patreon content free so you can sample what we’ve got.
This collection of special previews is available now to all listeners, and there’s a link in the show notes to dive in. And if you like our free samples, join us in the Patreon community where there’s bonus content and more.
You can find Gaby León at HappyGabyCooking on TikTok and Instagram.
We also mentioned:
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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 won’t be doing any RT Rewind episodes. This is partly because I have a BUNCH of interviews I am very excited about and want to share with y’all. We’ll be back in August with RT Rewind, so the time travel machine can have its annual service appointment in July.
And! Inspired by other Patreon folks, including Chris DeRosa at Fixing Famous People, I’ve made some of the Patreon content free so you can sample what we’ve got.
This collection of special previews is available now to all listeners, and there’s a link in the show notes to dive in. And if you like our free samples, join us in the Patreon community where there’s bonus content and more.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 Reyne was taking up a LOT of room in my brain and I needed to discuss it with someone. Thank goodness Melody emailed me.
So, first, THIS IS SO NSFW. Seriously.
Second, if you want the full recap, check out Heaving Bosoms part 1 and 2 this week, and join us for part three here.
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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 romance fiction!
We also mentioned:
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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.”
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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:
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:
TW/CW: We take a brief side trip into parental estrangement and emotional abuse.
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Our midroll ad was for The Historical Romance Sampler podcast – check them out!
We also mentioned:
Check out the SKIMS Ultimate Bra Collection and more at https://www.skims.com/sarah #skimspartner
To advertise on this podcast please email: ad-sales@libsyn.com
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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:
To advertise on this podcast please email: ad-sales@libsyn.com
Or go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/smartpodcasttrashybooks
Music: Purple-Planet.com
Visual Aids are in the podcast post on SBTB!
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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.
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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:
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.
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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:
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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.
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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.com
To advertise on this podcast please email: ad-sales@libsyn.com
Or go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/smartpodcasttrashybooks
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We’re heading back in time to July 2000 to check out new releases in Romantic Times Magazine!
Highlights include:
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!
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