Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: A Romance Novel Podcast

We’re back in the time machine to check out the ads and features from the February 2012 issue of Romantic Times.We’re talking about Anastasia, Madame Toussauds, and how close some cover models get to showing some hog.THEN! Then, we have about a half hour of live cover snark. I’m wondering if this video will be taken down by the Y’Tube, because these covers are…unclothed.What was the thing you were obsessed with when you were younger? Was it mythology, Anastasia, or something else?Do you love historical pettiness? What’s your favorite example?Don’t forget you can find this episode on YouTube – for now!And, you can feed the YouTube werewolves if you Lycan Subscribe to our channel!

My guest this week is Dylan Allen, and Lucy Wilson-Tagoe, who are conveniently the same person. Dylan Allen is a bestselling author of contemporary romance, while Lucy Wilson-Tagoe’s newest book To Catch a Sinner, is out now.It’s a mystery and a romance set in DC that focuses on art repatriation and the cultural minefield therein. So we’re going to talk about art, writing, the DC of her imagined world in the book, and about the romances that shaped her writing. We also talk about her choosing a new pen name and why that was so meaningful for her.You can find the links and books we mentions in the show notes at SBTB.You can find this episode on YouTube if you’d like to watch our conversation.You can find Lucy Wilson-Tagoe at her website, LucyWilsonTagoe.com, and on Instagram.You can find Dylan Allen at her website, DylanAllenBooks.com.We also mentioned:Dylan Allen’s interview with Jillian Stein of Blue Box Press (YouTube)The National Museum of African American History and Culture music: purple-planet.com

This month we’re going back to September 2012 to take a look at the new books in Romantic Times magazine.We’re talking about a very male hero, letting teens be teens, and hooray, there are dozens of terrible men to add to the pile. We also talk about our favorite Garth Brooks songs, and our go-to karaoke songs. (What’s yours?)At about 25 minute in we talk about something rather morbid – books bound in human skin, of which there are very few for obvious reasons.You can find us on YouTube if you’d like to watch this episode!And you can find all the books we mentioned at SBTB! Music: purple-planet.com

Jess Rothschild is a podcaster and journalist, one of the founding writers at Autostraddle, and her latest project is a documentary podcast called Finding Fire Island, about the history of Fire Island, Cherry Grove, and the Pines. Her prior work includes The Cult of Soul Cycle, and I love BOTH of these productions. Jess has been writing online longer than I have, and we talk about internet history, the process of making a podcast documentary, and what it’s like to have all your neighbors tell their most juicy, gossipy stories to you. For work. Finding Fire Island is a unique historical record, and I hope you’ll listen or watch. Please be advised that you can’t talk about gay history in the US without talking about the AIDS epidemic and the loss of so many people, so this episode is a little poignant at times. You can find Jess Rothschild on Instagram @JessXNYC.Links ahoy!Finding Fire IslandThe Cult of Body and SoulHulu – Black Twitter: A People’s HistoryHot Takes and Deep Dives – Jess’s podcastCaitlin Whyte – Jess’s Sound DesignerThemAutostraddleDads & Daddies

We are back in the early 90s, when the mullets were epic and the covers were sumptuous. Come on back to July 1992 with us as we explore the ads & features of the 100th issue of Romantic Times Magazine!This issue contains some FASCINATING retrospective looks at romance, cover art, and more, and I think it is one of the primary sources cited for some of the more common stories I’ve heard about romance.Were you a Borders, B. Dalton, or Waldenbooks reader, or another bookshop entirely?Don’t forget – you can watch this episode on YouTube with the visuals on screen, or look for the visual aids at SBTB!We also mentioned:The sandals from Keen I mentioned in the outro.Lucynka’s posts on SBTB about pulp romanceMarysville Public Library: Nora Roberts Go Fish (Facebook video)Lake Villa District Library: Nora Roberts Challenge (Tiktok video)

Dylan MarcAurele is the writer and composer behind The Heated Rivalry Unauthorized Musical Parody, and I am extremely excited to share this interview with you!We’re going to talk about writing musical theatre, his writing process, and how long it took him to write this musical (you won’t believe it).He also talks about the actors and how the show came to be – it’s delightful. Musical theater and romance have a lot of similarities I hadn’t considered, and I learned so much from this conversation – I hope you love it, too.I also have some questions from author Kirsty Greenwood, who I saw the musical with, as she is also a massive musical theater fan. Thank you, Kirsty!You can find Dylan MarcAurele at his website, DylanMarcAurele.com. We also mentioned:Pop Off MichelangeloLewis Loves ClarkThe Real Housewives of New York Parody MusicalPlaybill: Heated Rivalry Parody Musical to Release Cast AlbumAnd of course, you can find tickets to The Heated Rivalry Unauthorized Parody Musical at their website....Special thanks to the sponsor for this week's episode: A Hard Habit to Break by Siera London.