This is a weird one, y’all. We’re taking a trip back to the early 80s where fiction for teens and pre-teens came with some awful, upsetting messaging, but also some fantastic clothing choices, some excellent descriptions of weird children’s birthday parties, a cute boy and a very good dog. It's Princess Amy by Melinda Pollowitz! I figured I’d probably have to issue some warnings at some point, re-reading vintage YA, so here we are. TW/CW: assault, jerkward rich bros, disordered eating, and...

Hey, y'all! A special treat bonus episode for your American holiday week needs. Yup, there will be a regularly-scheduled episode on Friday, but here's an extra treat!  I was a guest on Talking Simulator discussing...romance in video games. Isn't it weird when a topic puts itself in front of you so many times? Here's the description from host Jordan Webber. Enjoy!  ... Sarah Wendell is the co-founder of Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, a website for readers of romance fiction, and host of their...

AC Arthur’s new book The After Party is out, and she joins me to talk about all things friendship, cocktails, murder, revenge, and more. Because it was inspired by the movie 9 to 5, we deep dive into revenge on bad bosses and movie nostalgia, too. ... Music: purple-planet.com

It's time for another Vintage YA Recap, this week with Laurie's Song by Suzanne Rand. Prepare yourself for some exhausting friendships, boring boyfriends, social stress, and some ~*absolutely outstanding*~ outfits and POETRY. Oh, yes. Poetry. This is a good one. ... Music: purple-planet.com

As I have been teasing in recent episodes, this is part two of our crossover episode with The Big Gay Fiction Podcast! Amanda and I connected with Jeff and Will and answered listener questions from our Patreon communities. The Big Gay Fiction Podcast released part one Thursday 4 November so you get all four of us being ridiculous together for two episodes back to back. We’re talking about the first m/m romances we ever read, and we have book recs, food discussions, and some thoughtful...

It's time for part two of the Sweet Dreams Romance Recap Project, featuring The Popularity Plan by Rosemary Vernon.  Unlike P.S. I Love You, I hadn't read this one before, so it's an adventure for all of us. We've got some hefty social anxiety, friends with Plans (and wall calendars as seen on the cover) and some very classic dating tropes. Grab your tea and your comfy hoodie and come hang out with me! ... Music: Purple-Planet.com Show Notes! https://bit.ly/481PopularityPlanSD2

Leslie Hachtel and Nikki Brock put together Love In The Mix: A Cookbook for Romance Readers to benefit ProLiteracy, and she joins me to talk about it. Leslie tells me all about the cookbook, how it came to be, and some of her favorite recipes. We discuss family favorites and family history through food, and then, as a bonus, I’ve added info about two favorite recipes for you to try.  Over 70 romance authors contributed recipes and stories, and you can find the cookbook in print and digital...

It's time! It's time! This is the first of the Sweet Dreams Romance Recap Project, wherein I am recapping the first twenty Sweet Dreams YA romances, starting with Sweet Dreams #1,  P.S. I Love You by Barbara Conklin. This book is a lot. It's angsty and tragic, but there are some moments I remember so very clearly, and I probably read this more than 30 years ago. This was definitely one of my gateway books. What about you?  Show Notes: https://bit.ly/479PSILoveYouSD1 Music: Purple-planet.com

Amanda and I take a deep dive into interactive fiction with Rebecca Slitt from Choice of Games and Heart’s Choice. We get into the details of how interactive fiction works, and what the process of writing it is like - and we have some recommendations, never fear! ... Music: purple-planet.com Shownotes: https://bit.ly/478RebeccaSlitt

My guest this week is author Ryka Aoki, whose new book Light from Uncommon Stars is out this week! We cover transgender identity, found family, space opera & The Brady Bunch, the liminal state of The Olive Garden, Chonky books, and what, and where, is the best donut?  I really want to hear your donut recs: [email protected]!  ... Music: purple-planet.com Show Notes:

In our last collection of Patreon listener questions, we had two about the process of reviewing: what we look for, and what questions we’re trying to answer when we write a review. Shana joins Amanda and me to talk about the process of reviewing romance, how reviewing helps us identify what we most like to read, and how reading and review works for each of us as writers, and for me doing editorial oversight. Thank you to Patreon members Tara C and Leslee for the very kind and thoughtful...

YA Author, reviewer, and editor Dahlia Adler joins me to talk about all the Badass Anthologies she’s editing, about her upcoming book, Home Field Advantage, and her latest, Cool for the Summer. And, inspired by a recent Instagram pic of her Bantam Love Stories collection, we also talk about vintage YA romances. Stay tuned for the outro where I have a special announcement of a new podcast project inspired by this conversation! TW/CW: discussion of fatphobia in Sweet Valley. Music:...

Amanda and I are answering one last round of questions! We cover day trips and all the places where it’s imperative that we eat fries, we’ve got book recs for fluffy contemporary romances, and we talk about table top games we love. Thanks to Tara, Christina, and Malaraa for the questions! ... Music: purple-planet.com Show notes: https://bit.ly/474DayTripsnFries

Amanda and I are arranging marriages between books and candy (we missed this part of Ellen’s question last week!) and we talk about what romances we’d want to see adapted into limited series, who we’d cast in our dream productions, and what we’ve learned over the years of working with the website. Thanks to Ellen, Kate K, Leslee, and Sue for today’s questions! ... Music: purple-planet.com Show notes: https://bit.ly/473BooksSnacks

Amanda and I are back talking about recommendations, snacks, candy, and more! Sue asks about the behind-the-scenes part of running the website as a business, Ellen is looking for some recs to ease the wait for the next Tessa Dare novel, and recs for fantasy that avoid the problem of Too Much Plot/Not Enough Kissing. Thanks to Sue and Ellen for today’s questions - and we’ll come back to the recs for candy and books in the next episode, Ellen! ... Music: purple-planet.com ... Show notes:...

Laura Nash of The Short Game joins me to talk about romance in short games - games you can play in 8-12 hours. We cover dating simulators and interactive fiction, and we rank the Dream Daddies. Laura shares some upcoming and very-brand-new games she’s hecking excited about, too! From Hatoful Boyfriend to Boyfriend Dungeon to genderfluid boarding school sims, we've got lots to talk about! ... Music: purple-planet.com

My guest this week is Becky Chambers, author of the Wayfarers series and the new novella, A Psalm for the Wild Built. We talk about the book itself, and themes of caregiving and comfort, and the process of writing a book with the goal of sending a hug out into the world. Thank you to Malaraa and Molly from our Patreon community for the questions! ... Music: purple-planet.com Show notes: https://bit.ly/470BeckyChambers More on A Psalm for the Wild Built: https://bit.ly/APftWB

I’m joined by Morgan and Isabeau from the Whoa!Mance podcast! They are celebrating three years of podcasting, and their latest exploration of romance has been to look at category romances. I thought it would be fun to take a deep dive into a brand new contemporary romance, so we all read Awakened by the CEO’s Kiss by Therese Baharrie. This episode is a low-spoiler discussion of the book, and of all the interesting and subversive things that it does. We cover kiss tension, books that give you...

Amanda and I are chatting about our favorite romance-laden RPGs, and our favorite characters to romance in Stardew Valley, Dragons Ages (all of ‘em), Witcher 3, and more. We compare romance options, discuss favorite pairings, and yup, we really like Dragon Age. Moral of this episode: Don’t Bring Your T**s to a Gunfight. This is the TikTok we chortle about: https://bit.ly/TkTkDrAg Show Notes: https://bit.ly/468VideoGames ... Music: purple-planet.com

Tara joins me to talk about how reading lesbian romances helped them realize their sexuality after having grown up in a very conservative religious environment. Side trips include Robin Hood in many varieties, Don’t Stop Believing, and movies to watch while kinda stoned. Romances help people understand a lot of aspects of themselves, and I love hearing about how reading has helped Tara live more authentically. TW/CW: we talk about growing up queer in a conservative church environment, the...

It’s part three of what I called “AMA with AMAnda and Sarah.” We’re chatting about our favorite recipes, cooking blogs, and cookbooks, favorite french fries, seasonal re-reading, contemporary cozy mysteries with romantic elements, trends, and adventure romance recs. Plus, how to snowboard while holding an onion. Thanks to Bransler, Cheri, Norette, Manda, and Laura B. for the questions! SHOW NOTES? Yes, show notes!...

We’re back! With more of your questions! We’re going to talk about tv shows we recommend, book recs of course, mayonnaise of course, summer treats, and middle school favorites. Thanks to Laura B, Karelia, Christina B, and Phoebe for the questions! ... Music: purple-planet.com

Arielle Zibrak is the author of Guilty Pleasures, a new book in the Avidly Reads series from New York University Press. She’s also a former editor of romance fiction, and a professor of 19th century popular fiction. Her new book - which is terrific - examines the concept of the “guilty pleasures” and seeks to unpack and answer the question, “What is it about ribald romance novels, luxurious interior design, and frothy wedding dresses that often make women feel their desires come with a shadow...

Today, we’re going to talk about food safety law, and the history of women who probably poisoned their husbands. Allegedly. Mikki Kendall, on Twitter as @Karnythia and the author of Hood Feminism, is an eager historian into the mysteries of what women got away with, and so we cover poison clusters, dying of fever, and the poisons hanging out in your back yard. This conversation was inspired by two Twitter threads, and I’ll link to both. As Mikki said in an email after we recorded, “we have...

I asked the Patreon community what they’d like to ask Amanda and I, and howdy damn, I got some really thoughtful and fun questions! In this conversation, we’re talking about astrology, apps, allergies, and all the book recs. If you like hanging out while we chat, this episode is for you. Thanks to everyone in the Patreon community for their questions! ... Music: purple-planet.com ... Show notes, links and book recs: https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?post_type=podcast&p=100162