Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: A Romance Novel Podcast

My guest this week is podcast community favorite Alisha Rai! We start off catching up on our history of podcasting together, our life changes, and the challenges of making children wear coats.Then it’s enemies to lovers time! Her new book, Enemies to Lovers is out now, and we both brought the good trowels. We dig into the trope to examine how it works, what the essential elements are, and what can easily go wrong. Along the way we touch on:How much we miss buddy road trip comediesThe weight of being an elder daughterAnd her perspective on the threat of AI to authorsVideo is available on our YouTube channel!Special thanks to the sponsor for this episode: Sotto Voce Scents! Listeners get 15% off with code SMART15! Sotto Voce Scents creates candles inspired by romance novels, like their bestsellers, "Scoundrelwood" and "Rosemary Me." Look for "Only One Bed" and the "Grumpy/Sunshine" duo coming this spring!Music: purple-planet.com

You’ve been hearing me talk about this book for awhile, and I am so excited to share with you my conversation with Fortesa Latifi, author of Like, Follow, Subscribe: The Cost of a Childhood Online. Her research into family vloggers and influencers is superb and I’m still thinking about some of the revelations in this book.We discuss the origins of influencing and family vlogging, the benefits and the harms that arise from becoming popular, and the emotional, financial, social, and personal costs of that relative fame.CW/TW: this podcast episode contains discussions of child abuse, exploitation, sexual harassment, and pedophilia. Listener discretion is advised.

We are back in the time machine, heading to July 2000 to check out the Ads & Features from Romantic Times Magazine!We’re going to talk about Geocities websites, author research, and Hands.Lots of Hands.This one is a little spicy, y’all! At about 45 minutes in there’s an extended discussion of anal in romance fiction (as you do) and at about 50 minutes in, we discuss death, mortuary science, and make some allusions to decomposition.That’s right. Dead bodies and anal sex. This episode is a banger. Don't miss the visual aids! Or, watch the show on YouTube!

Riss M. Neilson joins me today to talk about her new romance, The Bridge Back to You. This is a second chance love story between two exes who unexpectedly inherit shares of the same restaurant – the restaurant that he runs, and that she kind of ran away from.There is so much to discuss in this book: we talk about characters with chronic illnesses like endometriosis, or mental illnesses like OCD. We talk about the astrology of her characters and what insights she can gain from their charts, and then, she gives us a list of restaurants to try if we’re ever in Providence, Rhode Island. And Riss even expands my theory about which foods are the universal expression of human love....Support for this episode comes from Savage Bonds by EV Mitchell, a gritty, paranormal slow-burn body-positive romance with lots of spice, some knotting, and shared psychic sexytimes. Savage Bonds is available now in Kindle Unlimited, or in print from the author's website or your local library!

We're back in the time machine, heading to July 2000 - for real this time - to check out the reviews in this issue of Romantic Times magazine!We’ve got anthologies, Carpathians, and several books where we’re pretty sure the happy ending is to throw the entire man away. We also debate who is possessed by demons because it’s a valid question for several of the books we talk about. A mild warning that when we discuss Mystery & Thriller there is a truly gross plot. It’s a doozy. And you can watch this one on YouTube if you like!

Thank you for joining me for a “from the vault” episode! This is episode 147, originally aired June 26, 2015, so almost 11 years ago.Drs. Jen Lois and Joanna Gregson did a multi-year study on the community of romance authors and I have never stopped thinking about it. In this conversation, we’re talking about that study, what they learned about romance as a community, especially about gender dynamics.You can find their published work based on this study in the following articles – these link to the abstract because I don’t have a membership to this academic database.Aspirational Emotion Work: Calling, Emotional Capital, and Becoming a “Real” WriterSneers and Leers: Romance Writers and Gendered Sexual Stigma

Amanda and I are traveling back to June 1997 to discuss:Touring inside author’s homes and whether we think it’s kinda intrusive and uncomfortableNeverending reader hate for “the F word”The fans used to blow back cover models’ hairAnd speaking of, what’s on the Cover Model Pageant contestant’s heads?And more!We DO have a video episode for this one with images – you can find it on your YouTube channel. And you can find the visual aids for this one below.We have so many links! Are you ready!Mental Floss: The origin of “Live, Laugh, Love”Janelle James and Connor Storrie on the red carpet (Reddit link with video)Links from Steve Ammidown about Genesis Press:1980-2000 Black Publishers – Black Romance Publishers: Representation vs. Exploitation by Sophie Kebret (Unsuitable/Duke University)Authors Cite Problems with Genesis Press by Calvin Reid | Sep 15, 2006, Publishers Weekly (Archive link)One Perfect Rose hardcover – eBayThe Instagram account of Aureltattoo, who dances in front of a fanVisual Aids are at SBTB!

Kate Quinn’s new book, The Astral Library, is out this week and I was so excited to not only get an advanced copy but an opportunity to interview Kate Quinn.We talk about the inspiration for this very magical book, and about books that are sanctuaries. We also talk about library advocacy, book banning, and the deadly threat of bureaucracy.My favorite thing that Kate says: “When you love a book, it also loves you.”You can find Kate Quinn at her website, KateQuinnAuthor.com. She’s on Instagram @KateQuinn5975.We also mentioned:Patricia C. Wrede’s Fantasy Worldbuilding ChecklistSylvie’s Book Dresses on Instagram @sylviefaconcreatricefranceThe Tumblr post about hope that became a poem and a parody of Dr. Seuss.Music: purple-planet.com

Amanda and I are back, deep diving into romance and pop culture history with issue 1997 of Romantic Times Magazine. The cover reads Love, Lust, Laugh, and we’ve got some vintage books to talk about. Then we talk about what books we’re most looking forward to right now, and what we’re currently reading.In two weeks we will be back with the ads & features, and you know a magazine from the 90s has the most excellent collection of cover art.And if you like video episodes, this episode is available in video format for everyone on Sunday at our You Tube channel.…Major Trigger Warning in this episode: At 20:24 we have a brief conversation about an author featured in the magazine who was the victim of a family annihilation. Immediately following, the book I discuss contains mentions of child loss, infertility, and infidelity. Skip ahead 2 and a half minutes.We also mentioned:Amanda’s TBR Takedown board game: “Gamify Your TBR”Greenland sharks! Solved HaBO: “She Served as Head of Her Father’s Army”Romance History with Steve Ammidown: “Lest We Forget” (trigger warning: family annihilation)If you or someone you know is in danger from domestic or intimate partner violence, The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1.800.799.7233, or you can text START to 88788.Music: purple-planet.com