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

Today I chat with Dr. Kecia Ali, Professor of Religion at Boston University, and author of a new book, Human in Death: Morality and Mortality in JD Robb’s Novels. We discuss what inspired her to write a book about the series, which is now 45+ books in, and what she discovered with her multiple and attentive re-reads of key novels. We talk about portrayals of ethics, family, friendship, race, women’s work, and of course violence, and we hear what she’s working on next - and of course what Dr. Ali is reading, too. If you’re at all familiar with the In Death world, this part should not be a surprise: Trigger Warnings for discussion of sexual assault, violence, abuse, and rape in the plots of the In Death books. I also want to give a very special thank you to Dr. Sara Ronis, Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at St. Mary’s University in Texas. She emailed me before this book came out to suggest. Dr. Ali as a guest - and she was totally right. I learned so much from this interview. So thank you to Dr. Ali, and to Dr. Ronis. And! If you’re at all curious about Human in Death, Dr. Ali’s book, her publisher, Baylor Press, has been supremely awesome! First, we have a giveaway of one hardcover copy, so if you’d like to enter, head over to the podcast entry. There will be a Rafflecopter widget for you to drop your email into. This giveaway is open to US and Canada only, must be over 18 and ready to learn all the things, void where prohibited. By submitting  an entry to the contest as set forth herein, each entrant does acknowledge and agree that, in the event such entrant is victorious, such entrant will perform a ceremony reasonably appropriate to such circumstance, including, without limitation, the Miposian Dance of Joy or all the dances from What the Fox Said. We also have a discount code! Use code BSBT at BaylorPress.com, and you ’ll get 20% off the cover price and free shipping. Thank you to Dr. Ali, and to David and Savannah at Baylor Press for hooking us up.

I interview Sherry Thomas, Erin Satie, and Emma Barry, who - along with Meredith Duran and J.A. Rock - are the authors of five different novellas in the anthology, Sight Unseen. Released on June 6, each novella is anonymous, as in, you don’t know which author wrote which story. The authorship will be revealed on September 2017, so if you’re curious and want to guess, you can purchase this anthology at all major retailers. Each was invited to “write something that scared them - a sub-genre they’d never written in before, characters or tropes that were over the top or underused, or a story they were told would not sell.” That freedom and the anonymity of writing without their names created a unique experience for each writer. This is a bit of a tricky interview, because I can’t ask questions about the stories themselves, or about anything that might reveal who wrote what. Our conversation covers branding, marketing, how they each approached the project, and what they learned through the experience. And of course, we talk about what they’re reading.

Sarah chats with romance author Sara Flynn and Golden Globe winning actress Meg Tilly - conveniently the same person! Sara attended RT for the first time, and was the emcee for the awards ceremony. We start by talking about identity, about being yourself, and investing your own energy in things you value. We also talk about her experience at RT, her writing, her process, and how acting may have informed her writing style. We also talk about her new book, Solace Island, and learning to write romance when it’s something you truly, truly love. Trigger warning: 48:25 - 48:35 min Earlier books published under the name Meg Tilly deal with child sexual abuse, and she mentions the plot of one that may be upsetting. So skip ahead if that might upset you, k? I want you to feel safe.

It’s Part Two of our live show, recorded Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Romantic Times BookLovers Convention in Atlanta! We had wine, snacks, and a room full of somewhat tired and entirely awesome podcast fans, and I’m so excited to share the audio with you! With Robin Bradford’s help, I administered a devious quiz to Amanda, Carrie, Elyse, and RedHeadedGirl, and they tolerated it with aplomb. Big Thanks to our Patreon supporters. I could not have done this without you, and you are all wonderful. Thanks again to Beth, Mel, Erin, Elizabeth, and everyone who helped me set up the live show. And thanks to Robin Bradford, Amanda, Carrie, Elyse and RedHeadedGirl - and everyone who came to make the live show recording so much fun.

It’s our live show, recorded Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Romantic Times BookLovers Convention in Atlanta! We had wine, snacks, and a room full of somewhat tired and entirely awesome podcast fans, and I’m so excited to share the audio with you! We start with a conversation with Robin Bradford, known on Twitter as @Tuphlos, and we talk about trends we hear about and trends she witnesses as a librarian. We also discuss types of swag, compose our perfect catnip book, and take recommendation requests. Then I introduce a friend of mine, Janna McGregor, the debut author of The Bad Luck Bride, which came out the Tuesday of RT, May 2. Funny enough, when she came up for a quick Q&A, one of the readers in the audience had already read her book and recommended it to everyone.

Melody and Julia from Romance Podden, a Swedish language podcast about romance— the biggest romance fiction podcast in northern Europe! First, Sarah embarrasses herself with rudimentary Swedish conversation. The interview starts with a discussion of languages, wherein we hear from Julia and then, a few minutes in, we’re joined by Melody from Romance Podden. We discuss romance in Sweden, specifically the romances that have been published in Swedish, and how those books and the reputation of romance in general has been changing. They both touch on how social policy in Sweden affects the performance of romance tropes in Swedish romance vs. American romance. We also talk about how they discovered romance fiction, and (of course) some of their favorite books.

As we have in past years, Amanda, Carrie, Elyse, Redheadedgirl, and Sarah gathered in a hotel room to talk (again, tiredly) about Romantic Times. We discuss the Atlanta RT, what we liked, what we noticed, and what we enjoyed most. We start by talking about meeting so many of you (YAY BEST PART!), and about Arthur, who manages the lines at RT in brilliant ways. We cover our favorite events, including the incredibly fun and positive energy of our Reader Recommendation Party, and some of the panels we attended or in some cases were on. Sarah’s mind is repeatedly occupied with her evolving theory of effective swag, and when we all start snacking we get a little punchy on sugar discussing our wish list of future panels and workshops - big fun! Key moment: discover how many bath bombs is too many. And we have some more episodes from RT coming, too, including the audio of our live recording, which was SO much fun. Massive, effusive thanks to all the Patreon supporters who made it possible.

Sarah chats with New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber about her writing career, and the many ways that career has grown in unique directions. They discuss the ways she’s adapted her writing to accommodate her dyslexia, the start of her writing career, and what her writing experience has taught her and other writers. They also talk about her Blessings Box, her recipes, her readership, how knitting and romance go together so well, and about her newest book, If Not for You, which she calls a “healing book.” As always, we find out what she’s reading — and what she’s currently knitting! This episode is dedicated to the memory of Kodak, Sassy Outwater's retired guide dog, who was a very, very good boy.

Sarah, Amanda, Carrie, Elyse, and RedHeadedGirl, along with several of our pets, gather in sleepy, relaxed fashion to talk about Romantic Times, and give our advice for making your RT experience the best it can be. We start with Sarah giving a podcast recommendation, but then move quickly into giving first-timer advice, suggestions on what to wear and how to plan your agenda, and talk about what we’re doing at RT this year. We also talk about swag, what we’re looking forward to - and about our Reader Recommendation Party, which is a prize-a-palooza. And, as always, we talk a little about what we’re reading.

Sarah chats with author, speaker, and television and radio journalist Faith Salie about Authorized, her Audible program on Sex and Romance in which many of our favorite romance authors are featured, and about the CBS Sunday Morning segment in which Sarah appeared. They talk about Faith’s book, Approval Junkie, which is out in paperback this week. There are new words to learn, discussions of measuring your own success, and behind-the-scenes details about the production of television segments. Plus, they have a rather meta conversation about listening and interviewing. (There’s an entire chapter in Faith’s book on interviewing and listening, and it’s incredibly thought provoking and engaging.) There’s also a fair amount of mutual admiration. And! I'm giving away four copies of Approval Junkie, Faith's book, now out in paperback. Head over to SmartBitchesTrashyBooks.com/podcast and enter to win a copy! Open until 27 April 2017.

Sarah chats with librarian and romance author Jennifer Lohmann about her new job working on NoveList, and how to use it as a resource to find books to read. Many public libraries have access, and some include it in their catalogs, too - it’s a great tool for finding books to read. Then we talk about the romance book club that Jennifer has been running for many years, touching on selecting books that will create conversation, cultivating reader discussion, and managing personalities in a group setting.

Carrie and I chat with author Cathy Pegau, who writes lesbian science fiction romance and historical mysteries, and who also lives in Cordova, Alaska. We talk about living in Alaska (Carrie lived for several years in Bethel, Alaska) and the Alaskan’s love of the Anchorage Costco, asking crucial questions like, “Can you go to Target or Costco for just one thing?” And, “What is the plural of pegasus?” We also cover life in Alaska, weird questions from people who live “outside” (aka the lower 48), life in very rural small towns, strong feelings about what constitutes “good boots,” the romance of running water, and, of course, Cathy’s series - and the truly, truly gorgeous covers.

Sarah chats with author Alyssa Cole about her much-anticipated new book, An Extraordinary Union, an espionage romance set in the Civil War. They discuss the behind the scenes details of the cover development - and the cover is stunning, so it clearly all worked perfectly. They also talk about persevering through painful history, finding inspiration and comfort in how humans have overcome and pushed forward despite terrible obstacles, researching and writing about historical figures that many people don’t know about, and the real individuals who inspired different aspects of her characters. Plus, they have a lively conversation about Alyssa’s living abroad in Martinique, immigration, culture shock, language barriers, and feeling at ease in a community. Sometimes the connection was uneven and there are some crackles in the audio - my apologies. Alyssa lives in the caribbean, so it was a long, long, very long distance recording!

After an impromptu greeting from Mr. Fitzwilliam Waffles, Sarah and Elyse chat with Leah and Bea from The Ripped Bodice about the most recent season of The Bachelor. They’re all fans of the series, and have a lot of perspective on it, on the multiple storylines presented in each season, and on what is going on beneath the surface, behind the scenes, and between all the people who tune in every week. If you’ve never watched it, don’t worry - things are explained, especially to Sarah, who can’t watch cringe-tv so reality programming is right out. They talk about the most recent season, the way the show frames sex, relationships, wealth, and the entire concept of reality, and what The Bachelor and romance fiction have in common. Plus, Elyse gives a quick squee about the new Beauty and the Beast movie.

Tamara Lush is an AP reporter, a longtime journalist, a romance author, and a recent recipient of the Amtrak writer’s residency! She traveled for over two weeks from Orlando to San Francisco by way of New York and Chicago, seeing much of the country while writing and meeting a ton of people. We talk about her work as a reporter, her decision to start writing romance, and about the people, places, and experiences she had as part of her writer’s residency. We talk about how journalism prepared her in part for the challenge of writing contemporary erotic romance, and what she’s working on, plus, as always, we find out what books she’s been reading. A special note! Between March 15 - April 1 2017, Tamara Lush's book Tell Me a Story will be on sale!