Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: Reviews, Interviews, and Discussion About All the Romance Novels You Love to Read

In part II of Sarah's interview with Renee Raudman, they talk about how Renee handles reviews, and how she manages varying feedback on her performances. We discuss male narrators of romance fiction, and the intimacy and connection readers sometimes feel with the voices and people who perform beloved stories.

While at RWA, Sarah met with Renee Raudman, audiobook narrator, and asked her some of the questions that folks asked after her first interview with the podcast. We talk about how the audiobook world and the author world used to be separate, but are now becoming closer as authors self publish their audiobooks and pursue the unique or signature performances of a particular narrator. We discuss new audiences for audiobooks, including young readers, and what she's working on presently.

We're back with more of our and your recommendations for young readers, plus a few beta hero recs from Jane. Then, to celebrate our 100th episode, a surprise at the end.

The first of what could be three episodes filled with your recommendations of books for young readers.

Jane and Sarah answer listener mail about beta heroes and friends to lovers plot lines. Prepare ye for book recommendations!

Jane and I received an email from L, who works for the FBI, and had a lot to say about accuracy in portrayals of the FBI in romance and romantic suspense. So of course we both asked her to do an interview with us. I hope you find this interview as fascinating as we did!

Sarah interviews authors Zoe Archer and Nico Rosso this week. They discuss pen names, the Ether Chronicles, strong female characters, adventure romance, and the existence of demon rock stars. We also talk about Zoe Archer's upcoming new series under a new name.

Sarah interviews Kate Noble and Kate Rorick, who are conveniently the same person, about her upcoming historical romance, The Game and the Governess, and her upcoming novel, The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet, which is connected to The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. We talk about the adaptable fluidity of Pride & Prejudice and other classics, and about her current work writing for an upcoming television series that sounds really, really cool. Plus, we ask the question that confounds us all: is July 22nd in July, or in August? Only publishing knows!

At RT, Sarah sat down with Farrah Rochon about her contemporary romance writing, her experience both self publishing and publishing through traditional presses, and about her conversations with writers and readers about diversity in romance. Farrah talks about her experiments with cover images for her books, and we discuss how we connect diverse readers with the diverse romances they want to read. We don't reach any conclusions that shatter the earth, but we talk about the varying signals that covers send in romance, and how audiences react to them.

The second half of our interview with Kit Rocha, Moira Rogers, Donna & Bree (and all of the above), wherein we talk about what books they've read recently, plus we cover Nicholas Cage and other very silly things. Then Sarah answers listener mail about character descriptions, characters with secrets, romances set in San Francisco, and category romance for a reader who hasn't discovered any that she really likes.

Sarah sits down, at the request of Ms Bookjunkie, the writing duo behind Kit Rocha and Moira Rogers, better known as Bree and Donna.

Prior to RT, Jane and Sarah sat down to talk about a thoughtful and thought-provoking letter from a reader named Sue, who asked about our thought process when writing reviews, and whether we feel self-conscious around authors sometimes (short answer: of course, yes). Jane also attempts to recommend a book to Sarah - which often does not go well, since they have opposite taste in books.

Sarah sits down by listener request with Jaci Burton at Romantic Times 2014 to talk about publishing, changes in the industry over her career, and what she's working on now. We also talk about books she's enjoyed reading, and about why riding motorcycles is awesome.

Sarah interviews Denise Kiernan, author of the book The Girls of Atomic City:The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II. This is a nonfiction narrative about the young women from rural towns in the south during WWII who began working at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, a secret town where uranium was being enriched for the atom bomb. Most of the people who worked there - many of whom were women just out of high school - had no idea what it was they were doing, but they were determined to do their part to help the war effort.

Jane asks Maya Banks about her response to reader disappointment with After the Storm. Jane talks about author responses to reader reactions, and then Sarah responds to listener email.