Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: A Romance Novel Podcast

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518. Celebrating Big Happy News with Sonali Dev Jul 08, 2022

Show notes

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, and what she’s working on now. Plus, because Sonali is the greatest, she brought jokes. Multiple bad jokes at the end for everyone to enjoy!

Special thanks to Jen Jacobs for editing this episode, and to Garlic Knitter for the transcript. Thanks to Jes Brock for setting up this interview.

Special note about the intro/outro: Yup, I have COVID. My voice sounds exceptionally weird. I'm doing okay, and thank you for understanding.

Music: purple-planet.com

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517. Rebuilding Your Life Over Dinner for One, with Sutanya Dacres Jul 01, 2022

Show notes

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 while telling stories about her life, the food she’s making, and challenging the more easily discovered narratives about Americans in Paris. In this episode, we are going to talk about being a Black American in Paris, roasted red pepper salad, and whether or not there are chicken fingers in French supermarkets.

Thank you to Justine Sha and Laura Gianino for helping schedule this interview!

Would you like the recipe for the red pepper salad? Merci beaucoup to Sutanya for giving permission to share it!

Algerian Felfla Salad (Bell Pepper Salad)

Sutanya Dacres

Ingredients

4 bell peppers (any color or color combination)

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to gas mark 8/ 450 ° F/ 230 ° C

2. Put peppers on a baking sheet lined with aluminum and bake for 30-45 minutes, until the peppers are soft. Black spots on the skin are normal.

3. Remove and allow to cool. Once cooled peel off the skin, remove stem and seeds and cut peppers into strips.

4. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat, add garlic, tomatoes and peppers.

5. Cook until tomatoes are soft and all of the vegetables are well incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.

6. This salad can be enjoyed by itself, on toast or over rice.

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516. This is What Matters, with Dr. Perpetua Neo Jun 24, 2022

Show notes

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 of questions and prompts to help people with post-traumatic growth in identifying on an individual level, well, what matters to you.

We also discuss:

Sleeping like a lion
Embracing free unscheduled time
Cognitive Photoshop
Identifying the life one wants and starting to build it now
When was the last time your heart really sang?

If you’re someone who keeps a journal, this episode will give you a lot to think about.I love books that encourage people to identify their individual desires and goals and enable them to practice the life they want to lead.

Thank You to Maria Orlandi from Adams Media.

…

Music: purple-planet.com

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515. Celebrity Romance and Juicy Narratives with Elissa Sussman Jun 17, 2022

Show notes

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 very familiar dynamics, characters, and tropes.

If you love celebrity profiles, the narratives that construct fame, and behind the scenes details, you’ll like this book, and you’ll probably really like this conversation. Please join us!

Thank you to Melissa Folds and Courtney Mocklow at Penguin RandomHouse for setting up this interview!

So - what’s your favorite celebrity profile? Do you follow celebrity gossip narratives? What sites are your faves? Email me - I would love to know. I personally love the DeuxMoi subreddit (not the instagram feed itself). Tell me yours?

...

Music: purple-planet.com

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514. Officiating the HEA with Denise Williams Jun 10, 2022

Show notes

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 meaningful for the people who are present. So many happy wedding stories, this episode will make you smile.Thank you to Daché J. Rogers and Erin Galloway for setting up this interview! Have you officiated a wedding? Been at a memorable wedding event? Tell me everything?...Music: purple-planet.com

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513. Fat Representation and Recommendations with Shana McDavis-Conway Jun 03, 2022

Show notes

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 Shana shares the romances that made her a romance reader - and the books that rock her world.

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512. Secret Clubs and Exclusive Spaces with Laura Hankin May 27, 2022

Show notes

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 trip into public vs private or hidden narratives, and why people want to belong.Do you know of a secret club or exclusive society? Do you belong to one? Tell me all about it? I’m very nosy.

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511. Cover Snark Live: Long Thumbs and Shifter Mayhem with Amanda May 20, 2022

Show notes

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 "PODCASTS" https://bit.ly/511CoverSnarkIf you liked this episode, let me know! In the comments, via email - it’s fun to try different things and I would love to know if you laughed along with us today.…Music: purple-planet.com

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510. Book Lovers with Emily Henry May 13, 2022

Show notes

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 to publicist Heather Mill who set the interview up....Music: purple-planet.com

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509. Catching Up and Looking Ahead at Book Recs with Amanda May 06, 2022

Show notes

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 episodes, let me know!CW/TW: discussion of needles in the first 10 minutes.Also: my dogs barked a lot. Sorry about that!What about you? What books are you looking forward to? We’d absolutely love to know!...Music: purple-planet.com

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