It’s July 2016, and we’re back in the time machine to check out the ads & features from this issue of Romantic Times Magazine! We spot an SBTB friend in the letters to the editor, and we talk about romances translated into English, the appeal of the wounded hero, and we spot an ad that’s very clearly some Tay-fic, as I’m calling it. We also discuss an article about Kickstarter in romance – and this is 2016. Look how far we’ve come – and how much RT had its finger on the pulse of new trends. ...
Aug 22, 2025•47 min•Ep. 681
Molly Horan is a YA author, playwright, and professor who is writing a dissertation on aromantic and asexual characters in YA literature. Molly also teaches classes about YA literature, so we have a LOT to talk about. Examining relationships between people within the context of aro/ace characters requires a re-examination of how we portray human bonds in media, and how they work in real life. There are many book recs, so don’t forget to check the shownotes to embiggen your TBR. Find all the book...
Aug 15, 2025•49 min•Ep. 680
We’re back! Amanda picked this month’s issue and so we are journeying back to July 2016! We tackle vague reviews that tell us no things. I try to coin a new portmanteau! We come up with the most unhinged romance bingo squares ever – tell us if we should use them! We have some plot summaries that are a RIDE, folks. Hop into our newly refurbished time machine – we needed a bigger drinks fridge – and let’s look at the July 2016 new releases! … Inspired by other Patreon folks, including Chris DeRosa...
Aug 08, 2025•1 hr 31 min
Recently, I posted a collection of cozy, mostly British mysteries that all mimic the Richard Osman Thursday Murder Club covers in just about every way.Then, Kayleigh Donaldson said she had many thoughts about them. One of the worst things you can do is be one of my favorite people to listen to and then tell me you have thoughts about something I posted on SBTB. I WANT TO HEAR THE THOUGHTS. Good thing I have a podcast, right? So here we are. We’re going to talk about the Osman Aesthetic in cozy m...
Aug 01, 2025•54 min•Ep. 678
Jo Piazza’s new book, Everyone is Lying to You , is a trad wife influencer murder mystery out this month. I loved this book. Jo has been covering trad wives and influencers for a long, long time – she has a podcast called “Under the Influence,” and has been writing about celebrity culture for most of her career.We are talking about trad wives, celebrity influencers, and how celebrity has changed with social media. We also talk about how and why trad wife influencers are so, well, influential, an...
Jul 25, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 677
When I record with Nalini Singh, since she’s in New Zealand and I’m on the east coast of the US, it’s weird hours for both of us – so thank you to Nalini for speaking to me bright and early in the morning. We talk about Atonement Sky , about writing and worldbuilding, and saying goodbye to characters. I also mix up my animal pluralities but I fix it, don’t worry. NOT thanks to Wilbur, my cat, who was vocally put out with my choices, and ends up with Nalini representing him in feline court. Music...
Jul 18, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 676
Danielle Allen is the author of 55 books, including the new release Plus Size Player, part of the Curve series alongside Curvy Girl Summer , and Big Girl Blitz . And the player, as you’ll find out, is the heroine. The trilogy focuses on three best friends, and so we talk about friendship, loyalty, and about centering fat Black women as romance heroines. Danielle has also written contemporaries inspired by Poe stories, so of course we talk about interpreting Poe as well. You can find Danielle All...
Jul 11, 2025•53 min•Ep. 675
You may know Gaby Leon as HappyGabyCooking on TikTok and Instagram . She’s also the author of a new cookbook! The Enchanted Feast is a gorgeous book filled with recipes inspired by Gaby’s favorite Rrrrrromantasy titles. There are cocktails, snacks, entrees, and terrific cookies and desserts. This episode, and this cookbook, might make you hungry. If you’re thinking you might need to check out this cookbook, yes, yes you do. And if you’ve got a potluck coming up, this book has you covered. Inspir...
Jul 04, 2025•49 min•Ep. 674
This is a delightfully unhinged issue. We’ve got a plethora of old-skool covers, weird language about China and Taiwan, Poconos hot tubs, and Elizabeth Lowell is thrown under the bus – twice? Are you one of the most privileged readers in the world? I crave satisfaction in this matter! Don't miss the links and visual aids for this episode - they're at SBTB.com. A few housekeeping notes: In July, I won’t be doing any RT Rewind episodes. This is partly because I have a BUNCH of interviews I am very...
Jun 27, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 673
Every now and again, I get to do a crossover episode with the Heaving Bosoms podcast . We pick a truly bonkers sexy book, and recap it across two shows. In this case – it’s three shows.Hi Heaving Bosoms listeners! I’m so happy you’re here! This time, Melody asked if I had any suggestions for a title. YES I DID. A Soul to Keep: Duskwalker Brides: Book One by Opal Reyne was taking up a LOT of room in my brain and I needed to discuss it with someone. Thank goodness Melody emailed me. So, first, THI...
Jun 20, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 672
Amanda and I are traveling back to May 1995 – yes, thirty years ago. I know, me too. We’ve got weird reviews, outstanding side character names, a debut of a much-loved historical romance author, and a few side trips into pet names and fanfic ships in traditional publishing. We’re talking about the past and the present at the same time, which is one of my favorite things to do when discussing romance fiction! We also mentioned: Reba McEntire’s Fancy video Kelly Clarkson performing Fancy at the Ke...
Jun 13, 2025•50 min•Ep. 671
One of Chelsea Devantez’s listeners connected her to my show after my interview with Joanna Shupe .Meanwhile I’d been working up the nerve to ask her onto my show, and then the universe intervened through this lovely person. Thank you! I recapped Danielle Steel’s dog memoir on her show, and now, she’s in the guest chair on mine. We talk about her memoir, I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This (But I’m Going to Anyway) , which was published last summer. Along the way we discuss embracing vulnerability, ...
Jun 06, 2025•58 min•Ep. 670
At the suggestion of some listeners, I split the Ads & Features into two parts, in part because it was very long, and also because there are 5 Fridays in May. Woot! You can find Part I here (or in your favorite podcast app). Part II of the Ads & Features from February 2015 features HelenKay Dimon just dropping all sorts of information left and right. We talk about: How many romantic suspense covers look the same Ways to approach reviews when you’re an author What happens when romantic su...
May 30, 2025•54 min•Ep. 669
Inspired by a recent episode of The Sam Sanders Show, Amanda and I are sharing our own hot takes and possibly controversial opinions about romance. We’re talking: Third act bleak moments! Transcending the genre! Rom coms! Cozy things! Conferences and gatherings! Accessories for Readers! TW/CW: We take a brief side trip into parental estrangement and emotional abuse. ... Our midroll ad was for The Historical Romance Sampler podcast – check them out! We also mentioned: The Sam Sanders Show (podcas...
May 23, 2025•47 min•Ep. 668
We are back in the time machine with HelenKay Dimon and Darby Kane, who are thankfully one person so we have extra room in the cabin for snacks. And we are headed back to February 2015 to take a look at the ads and features in RT magazine. We talk about writing, RWA history (HelenKay is past president, immediately before the fuckery) and what specifically was lost when RWA’s position in the community was destroyed. This is a Part 1 of 2, and the second half will arrive on May 30 – again, it was ...
May 16, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 667
We were supposed to record an episode, but we started talking about romantic suspense instead. We talk about what inspired me to start the RT Rewind series, and start talking about the cover…and then we talked about changes in the mystery and romance genres, writing styles and techniques, the amalgamation of mysteries, coziness, and the vestiges of chick lit - and a whole bunch of other things before we get started on the magazine. So…an extra episode it is! I love talking with people who are fl...
May 09, 2025•53 min•Ep. 666
We are traveling back to February 2015 to take a look at the new releases in RT magazine, and my guest is the cover author, HelenKay Dimon, who also writes thrillers as Darby Kane. This was VERY fun because HelenKay is an author, so she has a different perspective on the magazine, the convention, the reviews, and the way different genres have changed. We cover how HelenKay discovered romance, and how her career has evolved over the years – and of course we talk about all the books. This is a lon...
May 02, 2025•1 hr 57 min•Ep. 665
Alexandra Vasti is the author of Earl Crush , Ne’er Duke Well, and the Halifax sisters series , and she joins me to talk about activism in history and about haunted houses, historical lesbians, and historical erotica. A Housekeeping Note: I recorded this several months ago, and due to a bunch of file corruption and restoring backups, this episode fell out of my workflow. My apologies to Alexandra, and to you, for that mishap. You can find Alexandra Vashti at her website, AlexandraVashti.com , an...
Apr 25, 2025•54 min•Ep. 664
The ads and features from the July 2000 issue of Romantic Times are a treasure trove of wtfery! It’s PEAK stepback era. Readers have been introduced to Half.com for selling their old books, and they are very excited about it – to say nothing of People.com and EW.com. We get a peek into the Romantic Times and Lady Barrow BookLover Tours – the prices made me very envious. We also spend some time talking about Monica Jackson, who died in 2012, and is part of the reason why we started addressing the...
Apr 18, 2025•53 min•Ep. 663
What happens when a bestselling and award winning author of historical inspirational romances decides, after a break of a few years, to write spicy contemporary? If you’re Deeanne Gist, you start over from scratch as Dakota Lacoy. Amanda and I were just asking recently what had happened to Deeanne Gist, who wrote some SBTB favorites like Tiffany Girl and Fair Play. Well, as Dakota Lacoy, she’s been busy setting up a series of hot contemporary romantic comedies set in Honky Tonk, Texas, a small t...
Apr 11, 2025•50 min•Ep. 662
We’re heading back in time to July 2000 to check out new releases in Romantic Times Magazine! Highlights include: Amanda’s memories of reading Daughter of the Forest, one of her all-time favorite books A surprising number of 2- and 1-star reviews A heroine obsessed with pirates! Question: Did you read ebooks before the Kindle was released? What device did you use, if any? Visit the covers and the cool eReader at the episode's SBTB page! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information...
Apr 04, 2025•50 min•Ep. 661
Olivia Waite is my guest this week to talk about Murder by Memory, her new cozy space mystery. We talk about characters, inspiration, tactile memories, and what sport is not on the ship. Then: cozy sci fi mystery recs, especially queer ones. Music: purple-planet.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 28, 2025•43 min•Ep. 660
Remember digital first novellas? Websites for an entire fictional town? When Indie publishing was talked about with the same language as MLMs? We’re going back to peruse at the May 2015 Romantic Times Magazine Ads and Features. It was a time! We also mentioned: Susanna Kearsley’s book page with all the covers The muscular dudes fabric The Cover Model bag The Jezebel article on writing Bigfoot erotica Don't miss the visual aids. You'll need your cogs AND your corsets! To advertise on this podcast...
Mar 21, 2025•50 min•Ep. 659
Today brings a vulnerable and honest conversation about the prevalence of penetrative sex in romance, and what happens if a writer decides to create a character with pelvic floor pain, for whom that kind of sex isn’t possible? Let’s find out! Jane Buehler’s new book, The Fire Apprentice , is out this week, and we’re going to talk about the book, and the series. But we’re also talking about the asexual spectrum, body changes from menopause, reactive desire, and kegels! Content Advisory: We are ta...
Mar 14, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 658
Amanda and I have loaded the time travel machine with snacks and bubbly beverages. We’re headed back to May 2015. Some major books were released this month along with some we’re very happy to revisit. We’ve got answers to the following questions: Are there Amish Inspirational romances that have too much sex in them? How many garage freezers would a crime family need? How many stars did A Court of Thorns and Roses get? Don’t miss the erotica section – we’ve got some bangers, no pun intended. Ther...
Mar 07, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 657
Once Upon a Time, Princess Mabel van Oranje, founder Vow for Girls , an organization dedicated to ending child marriage, met Stacey Abrams , author and the former minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives. They hatched a plan to unite the romance community with Vow for Girls, which led to Every Girl Deserves Happily Ever After. Today, Princess Mabel and Stacey Abrams are here to tell us all about it. Please be aware we are talking about child marriage in the US and around the world...
Feb 28, 2025•48 min•Ep. 656
It’s time for the ads and features of the October 2000 Romantic Times magazine, where they’re both talking about new releases AND celebrating their 200th issue. What did we learn? We learned about waxing, magazines, and galleys, but not about skin care, gun parts, or boats. We’ve got Extreme Troy, everyone. Grab a drink and come hang out with us. And don’t miss the visual aids! WE HAVE LINKS. The Angelfire site devoted to Cherif Fortin (warning, loads very slowly, it’s not your internet connecti...
Feb 21, 2025•56 min•Ep. 655
Kimberly Lemming’s new book, I Got Abducted By Aliens and Now I’m Trapped in A Rom-Com is out this week. What’s inside? A fantasy world with underfunded researchers and mishandled animal restoration caused by fiscal irresponsibility, academic malfeasance and nepotism. And talking lions and fire breathing aliens powered by garlic bread. Music: purple-planet.com You can find Kimberly Lemming at her website, KimberlyLemming.com , and on TikTok , Instagram , and Bluesky @KimberlyLemming. Hosted on A...
Feb 14, 2025•45 min•Ep. 654
RT is celebrating their 200th issue, and we’re celebrating, too! We’ve got the OG Monster Schtupping book, a guy whose arm appears to end in a ham, and some incredible covers. You know I’m going to tell you not to miss the visual aids, but I mean it. There’s a series where the focus of every cover illustration is someone's backside? It's wild. You can find all the visual aids here. We also mentioned: Tazo Glazed Lemon Loaf Tea Constant Comment Decaf (Bigelow) Orange and Spice Tea (Bigelow) Maril...
Feb 07, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 653
My guest today is Candy Tan, who 20 years ago co-founded Smart Bitches Trashy Books with me. Yay!! We’re looking back at the founding of SBTB, about her reactions to Bridgerton, and her perennial favorite romances. We talk about different ways that romance has changed since 2005. Then I show Candy the casting photos for the Black Dagger Brotherhood adaptation. You can find Candy @BeautifulDuckweed on Bluesky , on AO3 , and on Tumblr . We also mentioned: MrsGiggles.com Layla F Saad The Reddit thr...
Jan 31, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 652
