Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: A Romance Novel Podcast

Latest Episodes:

558. The Myths of BookTok, with Chels Ebooks Apr 14, 2023

Show notes

Chels, who is on TikTok as Chels_Ebooks, has been doing a series debunking the myths of BookTok, and let me tell you, when people say everything old is new again? Myths about the sales power of readers on social media are recycled with every new platform.

We’re going to debunk some myths about romance and TikTok, and cover what Chels really loves about TikTok, too.

And we have some very special discussions of classic romances and even more classic cover art.

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557. Behind the Scenes with Karelia Stetz-Waters Apr 07, 2023

Show notes

Amanda and I make a startling discovery at the start of this episode! Author Karelia Stetz-Waters collects clitoris images and research and we have so many questions. After we take a side trip into the French Olympic mascot design, and cliteracy, a term coined by Sophia Wallace.Then we talk about Karelia’s latest book, Behind the Scenes, which was one of Amanda’s favorite books.

Music: purple-planet.com

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

556. Excellent Romance & Recs with Olivia Waite Mar 31, 2023

Show notes

Olivia Waite joins me to talk about her New York Times romance column, and her best-of coverage for 2022. We talk about her favorite books of 2022, about writing grief, writing her column, and what’s next.

We take a side trip into discussing the emotionally intense books that are popular now, and the properties that had an emotional wallop on us when we were younger.

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Music: purple-planet.com

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

555. Fashion and the State of Blogging with The Fug Girls Mar 24, 2023

Show notes

Jessica Morgan and Heather Cocks, also known as The Fug Girls, have been blogging since 2004, and, like me, have seen a lot of changes in the business world online. We talk about how it seems like there’s yet another media contraction happening, and how that affects us, and about their new Substack, Drinks with Broads.

But of course, we also talk about fashion, stylists, and current trends, too. If you’re still looking at pictures from the Oscars, this episode will be a treat.

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Music: purple-planet.com

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

554. All Things Bramble and Romance with Monique Patterson Mar 17, 2023

Show notes

In February, Tor announced their new romance imprint, Bramble, and we had some questions about it!

Fortunately, VP and Executive Editor Monique Patterson sat down with me on her first day in her new position at Bramble to tell us all the things.

We also discuss how romance has changed and evolved over her career as an editor, and about being a nerd about many things including sword collecting and baking.

My favorite part of this conversation: How James Baldwin and Zora Neale Hurston influenced Monique’s acquisitions as a romance editor.

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Music: purple-planet.com

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553. Improv Improving Your Writing with Kelly Farmer Mar 10, 2023

Show notes

Kelly Farmer is the author of the Out on the Ice series of hockey romances, including her latest, Calling the Shots, and a former improvisational actor. We talk about cover artist magic, her series, and identify a few reason why hockey is such a popular setting for romances.

Then we talk about how improvisational theatre exercises and techniques influence and improve writing. So if you’re stuck in your writing, maybe this will help.

I also finally learn to say Megan Rapino’s name correctly. WIN!

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This is one of the episodes I didn’t run due to the HarperCollins Union strike. Kelly Farmer and I recorded this episode in October 2022 in anticipation of her book Calling the Shots.

I want to thank Kelly for her understanding and for her support of the strike. I’m very happy to share this episode with you now.

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Music: purple-planet.com

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

552. Contemporary Romance, RomComs, and Grief with Melonie Johnson Mar 03, 2023

Show notes

Not all contemporary romances are romcoms, but many are, and Melonie Johnson joins me this week to talk about both, and about her new romcom, Too Wrong to Be Right.

She too wrote a character who works in the funeral industry, so we talk a bit about that, too! The talk about different burial options and discussion of the funeral industry starts at 14 minutes in.

We also touch on burnout in the publishing industry, and grieving the professional relationships that are lost.

Music: purple-planet.com

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

551. Season of Love, with Helena Greer and Sam Brody Feb 24, 2023

Show notes

I connected with author Helena Greer, who wrote Season of Love, which you might have heard me talk about, because I liked it a LOT. And I also connected with Sam Brody, the acquiring editor at Hachette who worked on the book with Helena! So we talk about behind the scenes details of writing and editing, and how this book came to be.

There are a few audio skips or what I think of as sound bubbles, and my apologies for that.

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Music: purple-planet.com

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550. Heaving Bosoms Crossover, Part II: The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie Feb 17, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to Part II of our Heaving Bosoms Crossover! Some of our most popular episodes in our archive are our crossovers with Heaving Bosoms, and we have a new one for you!

If you tuned in to the Heaving Bosoms episode this week for Part I, you’ll know that we are discussing and recapping The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley. Originally published in 2009, this book inspired So Much Discussion when it was first published.

You can find part one of our conversation at Heaving Bosoms: https://bit.ly/HBXoverPart1

And let’s get started with Part II!

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Music: purple-planet.com

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Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with @lumedeodorant and get over 40% off your starter pack with promo code SARAH at lumedeodorant.com/SARAH! #lumepod

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

549. Spare by Prince Harry, with Melissa Blue Feb 10, 2023

Show notes

Melissa Blue tweeted that she wanted to talk about Spare.So did I! So, we did!

We talk about the book itself, but we also look at the book from our perspective as romance readers and writers, and also as a larger narrative about dismantling propaganda. As Melissa points out, narratives constructed around Meghan and Harry echo narratives we’ve seen about other people, especially women, in public life who are subjected to propaganda to undermine them.

I talk a lot about how dismissing romance ignores a lot of what romance says and does, and what it represents about people, about sexuality, and about relationships. I think the same is true about celebrity narratives: the public narrative, or the approved narrative, is also very distant from the messy, complicated reality, and this particular set of stories gives us a lot to think about and discuss.

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Music: purple-planet.com

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

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