Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: A Romance Novel Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Courtney Milan is here to talk about her newest book, The Earl Who Isn’t, and about climbing Mt. Fuji! Along the way we talk about training, the shifting style of historical romances, and audiobooks.And we have questions from you!

A few moments to be aware of before you listen: we talk a little about her dog Pele, who passed away earlier this year.

We also mention briefly the topics of antifat bias in medicine, weight gain, chafing, trauma, workplace abuse, cancer, and sexual harassment.

Thank you to Tara, Emily for the questions!

Music: purple-planet.com

You can find Courtney Milan at her website, CourtneyMilan.com, and you can sign up for her weekly tea newsletter as well! 

Support for this episode comes from The Starling Inn, the new novel by Claire Therese! Find The Starling Inn by Claire Therese inside Kindle Unlimited now!

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The ads and features of the September 2015 issue of Romantic Times are a nine-layer cake of wonderment and weird.

Don't miss the visual aids! WE GOT FONTS. And dogs!

Side trips include:

• Janet Dailey and who is writing her books (we don’t know)
• lawyer romances
• changes in cover design
• a twist cliffhanger in a quiz with no answer key!

Plus, this issue of the magazine and also Amanda both have terrific memories of RT 2015 in Dallas.

We have So many links!

• Meet Louisa, the cover model dog! (Instagram)
• Reformed Rakes’ episodes on Janet Dailey Part 1 and Part 2
• JanetDailey.com – all present tense
• Topaz Literary: “Janet Dailey and the Curious Case of the Missing Author”
• The Contemporary Romance Color of the Year (SBTB)
• Joyfully Jay
• “This is the Last RT: Kathryn Falk Announces End of Romantic Times” (SBTB)

Thanks to our sponsor for this week’s episode: Lume!  New customers get 15% off ALL Lume products with our exclusive code and link. Use code SARAH15 at LumeDeodorant.com 

Music: Purple-planet.com

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Christine M. Larson is the author of the new book Love in the Time of Self-Publishing: How Romance Writers Changed the Rules of Writing and Success, published by Princeton University Press. This book is NIFTY - it’s about us! I was interviewed for it, and we are going to talk about ALL The Things, from identity-driven ethics of care to RWA to the need for “a collective unified body for creative people.”

Come for the vintage Romancelandia gossip, stay for the labor activism!

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I didn’t know this, but author Freya Marske has been so eager to be a guest on my show, and today, it’s happening! Her latest book, A Restless Truth, is out this week, and if you like queer magical historical mysteries with murder, this series is for you. We talk about magic having a physical cost, and how she highlights the classism and sexism of a magical system controlled and maintained mostly by men. We also talk about her favorite magical systems in fiction, magical spells, and we end with Many, Many recommendations. 

Grab a cauldron and join us! 

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Amanda and I are back for cover mayhem! We’ve got crimes against Tom Hardy, questionable titles, and lots of visual silliness. There’s background barking of support from Zeb, inquiries as to the union terms of the shifter cover wolves, and questions about the futility of truly ever knowing who it was that let the dogs out.

Thanks to David T. Cole for helping me figure out how to add images. You should be able to see the covers on your screen when we talk about them.

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Music: purple-planet.com

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One weekend, Alisha Rai got married. Then, two weeks later, her new book came out. So let’s talk about all the things!We cover her wedding, the parties, and how part of her wedding was at a celebrity’s mansion (but we had no idea until the end). And of course, we talk about her newest book, Partners in Crime. We discuss portraying mental health struggles and coping mechanisms, as well as sequel bait, and writing a great caper romance.

Come party, reminisce, and celebrate with us!

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Music: Purple-Planet.com

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This is a weird one - enjoy!

Amanda and I have brought zany questions to answer, and we’re going to cover insults, ghosts, pets, and more.

But we want to hear YOUR answers, too!

Especially the one involving Grimace.

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Music: purple-planet.com

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Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty is the first in the Midsolar Murders series, and is out this week!Amanda and I both really liked Station Eternity, so we were very excited to ask a bunch of questions!

We talk about the absence of grief in the aftermath of murder in some mystery series, how aliens in Lafferty’s world perceive humans (spoiler: wet) and how a sentient ship is both creepy and comforting.

Worry not, this is a spoiler-free conversation, and I hope it makes you curious about this book, too.

So. Would you want to be kidnapped or escorted off the planet by aliens?

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Music: purple-planet.com

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Kyla Zhao is my guest this week ahead of the release of her debut novel, The Fraud Squad, coming out in January!

Kyla’s book was inspired by her time working for high society magazines like Tatler and Vogue in Singapore. We talk about cultural differences, Trader Joe’s, and how her book was her antidote to doom scrolling in 2020.

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Music: purple-planet.com

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Reading romance can lead to many things, including…dyeing wool!

Today my guest is Nakia of Wild Star Fibers, who created the Romancelandia collection of yarn. Knitters and readers unite! We’re going to talk about what books inspired the Romancelandia collection, and how she translated tropes to color combinations.

I will have links to her shop in the show notes and she will be putting some of the extras up for sale very soon.

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Music: purple-planet.com

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