Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: A Romance Novel Podcast

We’re going back to September 2015, and I want to ease you into this knowledge, so take a breath, center yourself: that was nine years ago. I don’t get it either but apparently it’s true?JR Ward is on the cover, and there’s all kinds of good stuff inside! Come with us to visit some reviews that are word salad, and some that made me say, a few times, “Way harsh, Tai. Way harsh.”Don't miss the visual aids!Music: purple-planet.comThank you to our sponsor for this week’s episode: HelloFresh!For a limited time, kids eat FREE! Go to HelloFresh.com/sarahkids to unlock this exclusive offer. One free kids’ meal per box for two months while subscription is active. Visit HelloFresh.com/sarahkids!

Chris DeRosa is co-host of the podcast Fixing Famous People, and has been a reality tv producer for 11 years. We talk about his career starting with Food Network then moving into unscripted reality tv like the Real Housewives, how reality tv has changed, and how much of the narrative producers have influence over – and what parts they don’t.We’re also locating RH on the larger timeline of major television programs centering women over 40. I think this episode holds a lot for writers because it’s about making the conflict, and the motivations behind that conflict, public and spoken in dialogue. It’s a new way of looking at show/don’t tell.

Alison aka Fashionably Evil is back with us recapping the ads and features from Romantic Times’ October 1999 issue!There were leers, horny men, and nipples with personalities, and we explore effective friction and learn about The Douche Chills.The visual aids are amazing this week – don’t miss the horny covers!We also mentioned:Daniel Craig’s campaign for LoeweThe updated text of Whitney, My Love covered at AAR Our conversation about Crusie’s books which capture a specific time periodMusic: Purple-planet.com

Continuing my exploration of reality franchises that are favorites of romance readers, Shana joins me to talk about the Real Housewives franchise: her favorite Real Housewives locations and seasons, and what aspects of this reality franchise appeal to romance readers.We cover relationships, conflict, and the blend of fiction and “reality,” and some of the ethical considerations as well, especially with the Real Housewives of Dubai.Are you a Real Housewives watcher? Which ones? Do you think there’s a reason why romance readers are often also Real Housewives watchers?

We have a special guest! Alison, aka Fashionably Evil, won our Romancing the Vote auction to co-host this round of RT Rewind with us! Congratulations!!Alison picked our issue, October 1999, and wow, it’s just as weird as we’d hoped.And, as part of the auction, we offered a midroll ad, which we typically don’t run. Alison chose to use her midroll to promote a website we love and admire, Scarleteen.com.We start with a discussion of Alison’s incredible spreadsheet that she made us (❤️!) and a discussion of historical romance. Along the way: many yikes, many bikes.I want to offer some heads up for racism, human trafficking, mentions of stillbirth, ableism, Islamophobia in the reviews.These will be long episodes this month so journey with us back to 1999.Don't miss the visual aids!

This month on the podcast, I wanted look more closely at the intersection of romance and reality tv, particular the Bachelor franchise and Real Housewives. There is only one place to start with that inquiry: with Dr. Jodi McAlister.Jodi McAlister is a scholar of romance and an expert on all things The Bachelor, and she’s the author of the Australia-set Marry Me, Juliet trilogy, which you may remember was available digitally in the US as a surprise after a lot of folks, including and especially Amanda, started talking about the books in the series. Shana reviewed the series and the third book, and loved all of them. So we are talking all things Bachelor, about writing a similar reality tv show for her series, and why romance readers globally dig this franchise so very, very much.You can find Dr. Jodi McAlister on TikTok, Instagram, and BlueSky, and on her website, JodiMcAlister.com.au.We also mentioned:Jodi in People Magazine! IASPRThe SBTB Land AcknowledgementShana’s review for Not Here to Make Friends and the rest of the trilogy as well. And thanks to our sponsor for this week’s episode, HelloFresh!Go to HelloFresh.com/sarahkids to unlock this exclusive offer: one free kids’ meal per box for two months while subscription is active. That’s FREE kids’ meals just by going to HelloFresh.com/sarahkids

We’re going back to December 1997 to look at the Ads & Features from Romantic Times.We’ve got a cover with many, many fonts, several memorials for Princess Diana, and we find out what happens when you win an award and find out while you’re on the john. There are profiles of readers and romance reading book clubs, AOL chat rooms about romance for writers and readers, and the price of the Essence of Romance.It’s a wonderful time capsule, folks.CW/TW: antifat bias and deathDo not miss the visual aids - the covers alone, my goodness.

Christine M. Larson is the author of the new book Love in the Time of Self-Publishing: How Romance Writers Changed the Rules of Writing and Success, published by Princeton University Press. This book is NIFTY - it’s about us! I was interviewed for it, and we are going to talk about ALL The Things, from identity-driven ethics of care to RWA to the need for “a collective unified body for creative people.”Come for the vintage Romancelandia gossip, stay for the labor activism!

The book reviews in 1997 may be fewer in number but they are ample in wtfery.Prizefighter younger sons getting kicked out of brothels on their wedding night!Nicknames that follow you around the globe in the 1880s!Regency cats!We’ve got truly glorious covers, so do not miss the visual aids. They’re incredible.