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

Kati D has been eager to interview Lauren Dane for the podcast for a long, long time, and finally we found a time for everyone to connect. Yay! We discuss how Lauren got her start as an author, books that address frightening situations like domestic violence and stalking, and stories that focus on fierce and independent heroines who are part of realistic and vivid groups of women friends. We also talk about alpha witches and alpha wolves, and what books she’s reading lately.

Sarah interviews romance reader and information science student HeatherS, a longtime reader, bookseller, and student. She’s working on a degree with a goal for becoming a librarian, and we talk about her education goals, what she’s reading, and what she wishes for in the romance genre, including more Muslim romance, and more romance featuring characters who don’t wish to have children. We also talk about religion, as Heather converted as an adult to Islam, and how that’s affected her worldview.

Amanda, Carrie, Elyse, and RedHeadedGirl sit down with Sarah at RT in Las Vegas to talk about the conference, the fun of taking a book-focused vacation, the oddly high-priced Kindle, Amanda’s frustrations with Snapchat, pop up signings, and heading to Flavor town. Our language is a little salty, so grab your headphones.

Sarah interviews author Lisa Marie Perry about her latest book in a romantic suspense/sports romance series for Kimani. They discuss several of her books, the inclusiveness of her characters, the challenges and victories in balancing multiple sets of expectations, and her newest series, which may involve nipple tarts and buttercream. Finally, the question you’ve been asking all your life will be answered: Should you eat an entire chocolate penis in one sitting?

It’s been just about a month since the grand opening of the romance-focused bookstore, The Ripped Bodice, in Culver City, California. Sarah, who backed the Kickstarter for the bookstore, interviews Leah and Bea Koch about their first weeks, what they’ve learned, and what they’ve got planned for future events. And, of course, we talk about what we’re reading — spoiler alert: we want more stories about witches in romance. Note: it can be difficult to tell their voices apart, so our transcript might not be 100% accurate, so if there are errors, I apologize.

The bitches assemble again, this time to answer an email from Teresa, who is nervous about attending RomanticTimes for the first time. We understand! We’ve done podcasts about RT before, but answering Teresa’s letter gave RedHeadedGirl, Elyse, Carrie, and Amanda the chance to reflect on their first RT last year, and what they’re doing differently this year. We give advice about what to do, what parties and events we think are unmissable, where to find some great books, and what to do when you are almost out of pens. But because our conversations meander, we start with discussions of romance cross stitching, and we also talk about Facebook, family, and asking important questions like, have you ever pulled a boner?

Amanda and Sarah interview Emily Nagoski, who is the New York Times Bestselling Author of Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life, and is currently the Director of Wellness Education at Smith College. She’s a sex educator and also a new romance author whose first book will be out in June. In the interview, they discuss wellness education for undergraduates, sex education, arousal nonconcordance, what romance gets right - and wrong - about sex, and about the power and rebellion inherent in representing women’s sexuality the way it is.

Sarah interviews bestselling author Candis Terry, who writes contemporary comedy romance, and has one of those really cool I’ve Done All The Things bios. We talk about her new series, which is set in a vineyard, and her writing path toward publication, which was a long, winding, bumpy road navigated by determination and stubbornness. We also discuss costume designs for 80s hair bands, alpha male roosters, what her husband thinks of her books, and her very excellent advice for aspiring writers.

A quiz! Sarah concocts a really awful, mean quiz on topics tangentially related to romance, and makes RedHeadedGirl, Elyse, Carrie and Amanda take it. There’s a trick question that costs Sarah all credibility.

All the bitches assemble! Sarah, Amanda, Cassie, RedHeadedGirl, and Elyse discuss what they’re reading, from the delicious historicals to the depressing and maudlin anthologies. We also cover felonious street sign theft, the sad absence of gargoyle hardness jokes, variations in the level of gird attached to one’s loins, what not to do if you stumble into a polar bear’s liver, and the ways mourning and funerary rites have changed over the past few hundred years - it’s a wandering conversation, for sure.

RedheadedGirl and Sarah discuss historical costumes, and historical clothing - and how they’re not the same thing. They cover the costumes from Reign, The Tudors, Rome, and Outlander, as well as Jessica McClintock prom gowns from the 80s, clothing in the Regency and other eras, and what it’s like when you see a costume and you think, I bet I can make that. We also have a very candid discussion about contemporary uses for panniers, women’s undergarments, the truth about togas, and undercarriage comfort solutions. Note: we talk about lots of pictures in this podcast, so if you're out and about, you can check the podcast entry at smartbitchestrashybooks.com/podcast to see panniers like you have never seen panniers before.

In this episode, Sarah catches up with Sassy Outwater, whose brain is cancer free but is busy doing a bunch of annoying other things. They discuss her seizures, the resurgence of traditional Scottish music (thanks, Outlander!), and the importance of romance and valuing sexuality through disability and illness.

On a recent Friday Reads post, Bree Bridges noticed that someone was reading Level Up by Cathy Yardley. It was me, and she asked to talk to me when I was done because she was dying to discuss it. I know that feel! So I figured, let’s record a podcast of the two of us squeeing about how much we liked this book. We talk about the book, the heroine, the heroine’s friends, the power of good world building in contemporary romance, and then we squee a lot. We also talk a bit about Bree’s background in programming and working in tech, and the sexism and misogyny one encounters within that industry. Note: this discussion is a little spoiler-y, so if you want to read the book with no background or insider info, listen to this one after you read it. But go read it. It’s terrific. Trust us. We’ve got 50+ minutes of squee to back us up.

Sarah and Carrie interview bestselling author Jim C. Hines about his upcoming book Revisionary, which is the end of his Libriomancer trilogy (which Carrie is VERY sad about). We also talk about fantasy, librarians, magic, ordering books for yourself from your school Scholastic book fair catalog, smoldering Tribble spiders, and fighting antagonists that are bigger than a god’s mom.

Sarah chats with bestselling author Susanna Kearsley, who is working on her next book, which involves all the genres she works in, which is… well, almost all of them. Topics include genetic memory, online ghost hunting, indigenous history, research, and her new book. Important note: at abut 24:30 in, Susanna talks about a historical court case focusing on a rape, so I want to give you a warning about that section. 24:30 -26:00 If this warning doesn’t help you or doesn’t work, and there’s a way I could do this better, please email me and let me know. I want you to feel safe.