Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: A Romance Novel Podcast

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578. Harlem After Midnight with Louise Hare Sep 01, 2023

Show notes

Louise Hare is the author of the Canary Club mystery series, and book two, Harlem After Midnight is out this week! Louise joins me to talk about her main character, Lena Aldridge, and how Lena uses every asset at her disposal to navigate both a transatlantic cruise in book one, and Harlem in the 1930s in book two.We also talk about writing in dual timelines and the fun of writing family drama and murder, and most of all writing a character whose most familiar home is whatever stage she is on.

It is a little tricky to do an interview for the second book of a mystery series, so to give you a bit more context, this is the cover copy for Harlem After Midnight:

Harlem, 1936: Lena Aldridge grew up in a cramped corner of London, hearing stories of the bright lights of Broadway. She always imagined that when she finally went to New York City, she’d be there with her father. But now he’s dead, and she’s newly arrived and alone, chasing a dream that has quickly dried up. When Will Goodman—the handsome musician she met on the crossing from England—offers for her to stay with his friends in Harlem, she agrees. She has nowhere else to go, and this will give her a chance to get to know Will better and see if she can find any trace of the family she might have remaining.

Will’s friends welcome her with open arms, but just as Lena discovers the stories her father once told her were missing giant pieces of information, she also starts to realize the man she’s falling too fast and too hard for has secrets of his own.

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Music: purple-planet.com

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A humble request from me, your podcast host and producer: If you have a moment and your thumbs are not busy, would you be so kind as to leave a review for the show?

I used to have a few and now they are all gone? It is a mystery - but reviews help other folks find the show., so if you enjoy the podcast and you want to help me reach more nifty people, please drop us a review if you're so inclined? Thank you!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

577. Killing Folks with Deanna Raybourn Aug 25, 2023

Show notes

Deanna Raybourn is back, and we’re talking about some of the unusual methods used to kill folks in Killers of a Certain Age –and there are mild plot spoilers for that book, please be aware. We also talk about the images she receives from fans of her series, and the larger context of why there’s a sense of catharsis reading about terrible people meeting terrible ends.

TW/CW: I mention lice when talking about networks of women. And we’re talking about poison, murders, and some serial killers.

Music: purple-planet.com

...

A humble request from me, your podcast host and producer: If you have a moment and your thumbs are not busy, would you be so kind as to leave a review for the show?

I used to have a few and now they are all gone? It is a mystery – but reviews help other folks find the show., so if you enjoy the podcast and you want to help me reach more nifty people, please drop us a review if you’re so inclined? Thank you!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

576. BookTok, Hockey Romance, and People as Products with Kayleigh Donaldson Aug 18, 2023

Show notes

Pop culture critic and former book blogger Kayleigh Donaldson joins me to talk about BookTok, hockey romance, and the Seattle Kraken. We’re locating this conversation in a larger discussion about fandom, fanfiction about real people, and the ways celebrity culture, fan culture, and romance intersect.

I want to mention that we do talk very briefly about Johnny Depp and fandom, and larger issues of misogyny and sexual harrassment.

Music: purple-planet.com

You can find Kayleigh Donaldson on Twitter @Ceillidhann, and on Pajiba.com. Her newsletter, The Gossip Reading Club, is excellent.

We also mentioned the Dundee Stars hockey team in Dundee, Scotland, and I mentioned Klout, which was a way, way old memory of online weirdness.

And here are the articles she mentioned that she wrote:

Paste Magazine: "The Hottest Romances of the Season are All Happening On Ice"
Paste Magazine: "Why is Adam Driver the Hero of Every Romance Novel Now?"
Pajiba.com: "Krack My Back: Booktok, the Seattle Kraken, and Why You Shouldn't Turn Real People into Your Playthings."

Important Coupon News!

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575. Dragon Called: Part II of a Heaving Bosoms Crossover Aug 11, 2023

Show notes

Time for another Heaving Bosoms Crossover!

The first part of this recap of Dragon Called is up this week at Heaving Bosoms, and here for your listening pleasure is part II. I do a quick recap at the start, so no worries.

This book, and episode, are both very NSFW though - heads up for that.

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Important coupon news!

To celebrate 5 years of HEAs, Love’s Sweet Arrow is offering Smart Bitches listeners 20% off purchases in store and online throughout the month of August with code SMARTBITCHES.

In addition, all orders over 100 dollars will receive a free gift with purchase. Enter code SMARTBITCHES at checkout online or mention it in store to receive your discount.

Code applies only to in-stock products. Free gift will be selected by staff when filling your order.

***

New customers GET $5 OFF a Lume Starter Pack with code SARAH30 at lumedeodorant.com/sarah.

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Music: purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

574. Historical Romance with Mimi Matthews Aug 04, 2023

Show notes

Mimi Matthews joins me to talk about self publishing historical romance, and about being one of many lawyers who write romance. We also talk about chronic pain and recovery, disability, and the joys of re-reading. Plus, she shares some of her all time favorite historical romances.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

573. Man Titty Fruit Roll Up: Romance Conference Memories with Amanda Jul 28, 2023

Show notes

In past years, Amanda and I would be at different romance conferences around this time, and it got me thinking. So we connected to talk about what we miss about romance-focused conferences, and what would our ideal book-focused conference look like?

So! Many! Links! To share with you!

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572. Horror Recs for Romance Readers with Agatha Andrews from She Wore Black Jul 21, 2023

Show notes

Agatha Andrews from the She Wore Black podcast joins me to share some summer horror recs perfect for romance readers! We also discuss her activism in Texas, how libraries are sanctuaries, and the origins of purse bingo as a charity fundraiser.

Plus, what happens when Taylor Swift fans and Stoker Con share the same hotel.

COUPON! Get 40% off your first order over $30 at http://lumedeodorant.com/sarah!

Music: purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

571. Geeky Gen-X Romance with Cathy Yardley Jul 14, 2023

Show notes

Cathy Yardley joins me this week to talk about her new book, Role Playing, which is a Gen-X romance featuring “an unapologetically grumpy forty-eight-year-old hermit” who joins an online gaming guild as Bogwitch and meets a healer named Otter. We talk about writing romance for 20 years and counting, and Cathy shares video game recs and book recs, too!

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570. Sex Positivity with Lana Ferguson and Rachel Lynn Solomon Jul 07, 2023

Show notes

In Rachel Lynn Solomon’s newest book Business or Pleasure and in Lana Ferguson’s new book The Nanny, both authors engage directly with sex positivity and honest intimacy through their characters and the plot.

I’ll let the authors describe their books, but we’re talking about sex lessons where the heroine is teaching the hero how to be better at sex after a terrible one night stand, about OnlyFans and autonomous sex work, and most of all, about how romance is encouraging people to own their sexuality and advocate for their pleasure and satisfaction.

I had a BALL recording this, and I hope you enjoy listening to it just as much.

Thank you to Kristin Cipolla, their publicist at PenguinRandomHouse, for the incredible pitch and for setting up this interview.

Coupons! Coupons: Get 20% OFF @honeylove with at honeylove.com/sarah! #honeylovepod

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569. Romance in Libraries with Robin Bradford Jun 30, 2023

Show notes

Librarian Robin Bradford has a new book: The Reader’s Advisory Guide to Romance! We talk about what reader’s advisory is, and how she teaches libraries to welcome readers looking for romance, and introduce romance to readers who aren’t aware it’s something they like.

Robin talks a lot about book covers as marketing devices on Twitter, so of course we talk about the evolution of romance covers, too, plus summer book lists from schools and the media, and different online sources for book discovery. (Yes, I’m still navigating low-grade grief at the loss of Twitter personally and professionally.) Robin also gives library workshops to other librarians (a profession that is eighty-six percent White) about diversifying collections, and we talk a lot about that experience.

Most important - how do you support your library? Robin has suggestions!

Music: purple-planet.com

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