Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: A Romance Novel Podcast

It’s time machine time! We’re going back to June 2007 to look at the Ads & Features in Romantic Times magazine. This one’s got some gawdawful letters to the editor and some equally heinous responses, and we are prepped for battle.

First, we talk about cereal. As you do.

And I have a Content Warning! At about 20 minutes into our conversation, we start talking about this awful letter to the editor. Please be advised there is some rank homophobia on display here.

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By listener request! My guest today is author and professor Jodi McAlister. You might remember Jodi from her appearance in episode 626 when we talked about her Marry Me Juliet trilogy, set within a fictional version of The Bachelor.

Now she’s in the middle of a new trilogy she’s calling Love Notes, and we’re going to discuss the latest book, A Study in Sparkling. We’re going to discuss learning a TON about wine, and about writing romance set within the terrifying world of academia. Then I come to find out she’s done recent pub...

We’re going back to 2007 to take a look at the new releases in Romantic Times Magazine, and we’re so glad you’re joining us! We’ve got kooky books, taxidermy, chick lit, and a new entry into the character name hall of fame. Strap in, it’s getting weird.

At about 38 minutes in, Amanda’s track started having some kind of digital echo. I did as much as I could to adjust it, and I'm so sorry for the quality.

Music: purple-planet.com

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Adib Khorram’s new book, Isn’t He Romantic, is out this week, so of course I wanted to ask many questions about it.

This is the third in a trilogy about three queer Iranian American friends, and our conversation touches on some of the themes of the book, such as aging and ageism in the gay community, reclaiming fun games from your youth, and about trends in m/m romance currently.

You can find Adib Khorram on his website, AdibKhorram.com!

We also mentioned:

We’re back in the time machine to check out the ads and features from the February 2012 issue of Romantic Times.

We’re talking about Anastasia, Madame Toussauds, and how close some cover models get to showing some hog.

THEN! Then, we have about a half hour of live cover snark. I’m wondering if this video will be taken down by the Y’Tube, because these covers are…unclothed.

What was the thing you were obsessed with when you were younger? Was it mythology, Anastasia, or something else?

Do you l...

My guest this week is Dylan Allen, and Lucy Wilson-Tagoe, who are conveniently the same person. Dylan Allen is a bestselling author of contemporary romance, while Lucy Wilson-Tagoe’s newest book To Catch a Sinner, is out now.

It’s a mystery and a romance set in DC that focuses on art repatriation and the cultural minefield therein. So we’re going to talk about art, writing, the DC of her imagined world in the book, and about the romances that shaped her writing. We also talk about her choosing a new pen name and why that w...

This month we’re going back to September 2012 to take a look at the new books in Romantic Times magazine.

We’re talking about a very male hero, letting teens be teens, and hooray, there are dozens of terrible men to add to the pile. We also talk about our favorite Garth Brooks songs, and our go-to karaoke songs. (What’s yours?)

At about 25 minute in we talk about something rather morbid – books bound in human skin, of which there are very few for obvious reasons.

You can find us on YouTu...

Jess Rothschild is a podcaster and journalist, one of the founding writers at Autostraddle, and her latest project is a documentary podcast called Finding Fire Island, about the history of Fire Island, Cherry Grove, and the Pines. Her prior work includes The Cult of Soul Cycle, and I love BOTH of these productions. Jess has been writing online longer than I have, and we talk about internet history, the process of making a podcast documentary, and what it’s like to have all your neighbors tell their most juicy, gossipy stories to you. For work. 

Finding Fir...

We are back in the early 90s, when the mullets were epic and the covers were sumptuous. Come on back to July 1992 with us as we explore the ads & features of the 100th issue of Romantic Times Magazine!

This issue contains some FASCINATING retrospective looks at romance, cover art, and more, and I think it is one of the primary sources cited for some of the more common stories I’ve heard about romance.

Were you a Borders, B. Dalton, or Waldenbooks reader, or another bookshop entirely?

Don’t forget – you ca...

Dylan MarcAurele is the writer and composer behind The Heated Rivalry Unauthorized Musical Parody, and I am extremely excited to share this interview with you!

We’re going to talk about writing musical theatre, his writing process, and how long it took him to write this musical (you won’t believe it).

He also talks about the actors and how the show came to be – it’s delightful. Musical theater and romance have a lot of similarities I hadn’t considered, and I learned so much from this conversation – I hope you love it, too.

It’s RT Rewind time again! This month, we’re going back to July 1992 to check out the new releases reviewed in…the 100th issue of Romantic Times magazine! Yup, the cover is memorable, and so are the book covers.

We discuss:

Do you li...

The re-release of The Luckiest Lady in London has arrived, and Sherry Thomas joins me to talk about the writing of that book more than 13 years ago, how romance and historicals have changed, and how this book is a reflection and subversion of another very, very famous historical romance.

Plus, she gives us recommendations of her favorite historical romance authors and some of their books.

Note: we had some connectivity issues, so sometimes the edit sounds a little abrupt. If you’re watching the video, the video does freeze while the audio continues. My...

Hey, where are you going? Get in the time machine – we want to bring you back to March 2009 to check out the ads & features from Romantic Times Magazine.

We’ve got:

TW: In the middle you’ll hear from Editing Sarah – which is when I interject additional info into the episode while I’m editing it – for about a minute...

Jo Piazza is my guest this week to discuss her new book, The Parisian Heist. This book is a dual timeline story weaving together a 1990s heist at the Orsay museum with the story of Jo van Gogh, Vincent van Gogh’s sister in law, who is the reason we know who Vincent is today.

Along the way we talk about

You can find Jo Piazza – and her book tour! – at her website JoPiazza.com. Her podcast is Und...

We’re back in the time machine heading to March 2009 to check out the new books reviewed in Romantic Times Magazine.

We’ve got:

We’ve got some new books in the magazine that are still bangers today across many genres, alongside some books that we’re going to leave in 2009, right after we talk about them in this episode. We got big yikes, folks! Big yikes!

You can find this episode on YouTube at Smart Podcast Tr...

A few months ago, Kayleigh Donaldson joined me to discuss Oscar predictions and other pop culture stories, and we decided to connect quarterly to discuss popular culture.

We discuss the misogyny attached to Timothy Chalamet hate, a deep dive into the public post history of Club Chalamet as indicative of larger issues in fandom behavior, Madonna’s new album, Lizzo’s new album, and the Tartan Army.

The through-line of our conversation is really fandoms, specifically changing fan and audience behavior for better or for worse, what it means, why it’s happening, and ma...

My guest this week is Kirsty Greenwood, whose new book Romantic Hero is out now everywhere, all over the world.

Kirsty writes what she calls “speculative romantic comedy,” and I really loved her first book, Love of my Afterlife.

We discuss SHOCKING topics like deleting the first book she tried to write, the character journeys in Romantic Hero, dealing with writer’s block, and punching people in the face.

Want to watch this episode? Find us on YouTube!

New! I’m posting clips from Romantic Times Rewind on TikTo...

The time machine is all charged up, and we’re headed back to May 1996 to take a look at the ads & features from Romantic Times magazine. It’s the late 90s, so you know that means Incredible Cover Art.

We also discover just how much creepy stuff Amanda owns currently, debates about babies in romance, cheap conference hotel rooms, woman flamingos, and incredible women heroines.

I don’t know if you’re a video watcher, but the video for this episode has ALL the visuals on screen. 

But if you’re NOT a vi...

My guest today is bestselling author Ashley Poston, whose new book, The Someday Garden, is out this week.

The Someday Garden was inspired by The Secret Garden, so we’re going to talk about inspiration, gardening, fandoms, changing genres and having your readers grow up with you as a writer.

TW/CW – discussion of grief, and of suicide at almost exactly 1 hour into our conversation.

You can find Ashley Poston on her website, AshPoston.com, on IG as @HeyAshPoston, and on Threads @HeyAshPoston.

We also mentioned:

<...

We love the 90s, and that’s where we’re headed this month, gazing at the impossible mullets from Romantic Times magazine.

We’re talking about the newest books from May 1996, including the second book in what is now a 15-book much-loved series, and some truly memorable character names.

We’ll investigate, “What’s wrong with this man?” We’ll have “lashings of good fun.” Plus we learn a SHOCKING TRUTH about Amanda’s reading history.

Want to watch on YouTube?

We also mentioned:

Martha Wells is back, and we are taking a deep spoilery dive into Platform Decay.I want to be clear here: if you haven’t read Platform Decay, we are about to spoil the dickens out of it. Yes, Charles Dickens is in Platform Decay, you heard it here first. We’re going to discuss infrastructure fury, trains in Japan, Honor Princess Detective, and more – and when I say we are spoiling, we are spoiling.

In other words, if you haven’t read Platform Decay, and you don’t want to know much about the story, skip this...

We’re back in the time machine, heading to December 2012 to look at the ads and features from Romantic Times magazine. 

This episode features a high amount of extreme zany. We’ve got so many treats for you this week, including the Steeple Hill Drinking Game, the reverse Colonel Sanders, Jude Deveraux’s thoughts on modern romance heroes of the time, shifters and more. 

Watch the episode and see the ads we're talking about on YouTube, or find the visual aids at SBTB.com!

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We’re sampling Tropetails cocktail mixes, discussing what we’re reading and playing, and what books we’re looking forward to in the coming months.

We were not paid to promote them, but we did receive free samples and they are delicious.

We also mentioned:

...

This episode is brought to you by Ophelia — an original audio drama, inspired by Hamlet, where Ophelia finally...

We’re back in the time machine, heading back to December 2012 to see what new books were reviewed in Romantic Times magazine.

We’ve got “multicultural” books, beefy paragraphs, big thorns, Schroedinger’s baby, and “charming vulgar nonsense.” Plus, we ask a very important question: if you were suddenly the heroine of an Inspirational romance, how would you know?

TW/CW for the erotica section at the end. It was a time, y’all.

If you want to watch this episode with images of the covers and Amanda and I cracking up a lo...

Nalini Singh is back to talk about Archangel’s Eternity, which I have been calling “Archangel’s Finale.”

We’ve got questions from readers and listeners, and some behind the scenes details about how Nalini organizes the massive worlds she’s built in her series.

Plus she teases some major surprises for the next Psy-Changeling book, and what she’s working on right now.

You can find the video of this episode on our YouTube channel if you’d like to watch us!

You can find Nalini Singh at her websit...

Programming note: this week's episode is dropping on 30 April 2026. Smart Bitches Trashy Books, LLC, is withdrawing our labor on May 1, 2026, alongside other companies, school districts, and activists as part of the May Day Nationwide Day of Collective Action. For more information, visit MayDayStrong.org.

...

Ilana Masad and Stevie K. Seibert Desjarlais are the editors of a new and excellent anthology called Here for All The Reasons: Why We Watch the Bachelor.

The essays inside are incredible, and provide deep and incisive critique of The Bachelor franchise from people who love, or...

Thanks for Geoffroy in the podcast Patreon (merci, Geoffrey!) my guest this week is Claire Trottier, owner of Joie de Livres, a romance and speculative fiction bookshop in Montreal, Canada. Hi Neighbors!

We’re going to talk about:

Then we trade book recs and you get the scoop on the big event happening at Joie de Livres th...

When you subscribed to this podcast, I bet you thought, “When is Sarah going to interview an expert on theoretical physics ?” Today is your day!

My guest is Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein author of the book The Edge of Space-Time: Particles, Poetry, and the Cosmic Dream Boogie.

And if you’re thinking, I was really bad at physics – don’t worry, so was I. I found this book to be both incredibly engaging and just the right amount of challenging. Dr. Prescod-Weinstein is going to explain space-time, and how theoretical physics, Black feminist theory, Robert Frost, and...

My guest this week is podcast community favorite Alisha Rai! We start off catching up on our history of podcasting together, our life changes, and the challenges of making children wear coats.

Then it’s enemies to lovers time! Her new book, Enemies to Lovers is out now, and we both brought the good trowels. We dig into the trope to examine how it works, what the essential elements are, and what can easily go wrong. Along the way we touch on:

You’ve been hearing me talk about this book for awhile, and I am so excited to share with you my conversation with Fortesa Latifi, author of Like, Follow, Subscribe: The Cost of a Childhood Online. Her research into family vloggers and influencers is superb and I’m still thinking about some of the revelations in this book.

We discuss the origins of influencing and family vlogging, the benefits and the harms that arise from becoming popular, and the emotional, financial, social, and personal costs of that relative fame.

CW/TW: this podcast episo...

We are back in the time machine, heading to July 2000 to check out the Ads & Features from Romantic Times Magazine!

We’re going to talk about Geocities websites, author research, and Hands.

Lots of Hands.

This one is a little spicy, y’all! At about 45 minutes in there’s an extended discussion of anal in romance fiction (as you do) and at about 50 minutes in, we discuss death, mortuary science, and make some allusions to decomposition.

That’s right. Dead bodies and anal sex. This episode is a banger...

Riss M. Neilson joins me today to talk about her new romance, The Bridge Back to You. This is a second chance love story between two exes who unexpectedly inherit shares of the same restaurant – the restaurant that he runs, and that she kind of ran away from.

There is so much to discuss in this book: we talk about characters with chronic illnesses like endometriosis, or mental illnesses like OCD. We talk about the astrology of her characters and what insights she can gain from their charts, and then, she gives us a list of re...

We're back in the time machine, heading to July 2000 - for real this time - to check out the reviews in this issue of Romantic Times magazine!

We’ve got anthologies, Carpathians, and several books where we’re pretty sure the happy ending is to throw the entire man away. We also debate who is possessed by demons because it’s a valid question for several of the books we talk about. 

A mild warning that when we discuss Mystery & Thriller there is a truly gross plot. It’s a doozy. 

And you...

Thank you for joining me for a “from the vault” episode! This is episode 147, originally aired June 26, 2015, so almost 11 years ago.

Drs. Jen Lois and Joanna Gregson did a multi-year study on the community of romance authors and I have never stopped thinking about it. In this conversation, we’re talking about that study, what they learned about romance as a community, especially about gender dynamics.

You can find their published work based on this study in the following articles – these link to the abstract because I don’t have a membership to this acade...

Amanda and I are traveling back to June 1997 to discuss:

And more!

We DO have a video episode for this one with images – you can find it on your YouTube channel. And you can find the visual aids for this one below.

We have so many links! Are you re...

Kate Quinn’s new book, The Astral Library, is out this week and I was so excited to not only get an advanced copy but an opportunity to interview Kate Quinn.

We talk about the inspiration for this very magical book, and about books that are sanctuaries. We also talk about library advocacy, book banning, and the deadly threat of bureaucracy.

My favorite thing that Kate says: “When you love a book, it also loves you.”

You can find Kate Quinn at her website, KateQuinnAuthor.com. She’s on Instagram @KateQuinn59...

Amanda and I are back, deep diving into romance and pop culture history with issue 1997 of Romantic Times Magazine. The cover reads Love, Lust, Laugh, and we’ve got some vintage books to talk about. Then we talk about what books we’re most looking forward to right now, and what we’re currently reading.

In two weeks we will be back with the ads & features, and you know a magazine from the 90s has the most excellent collection of cover art.

And if you like video episodes, this episode is available in video f...

My guest this week is Julia Quinn and we are talking about, of course, JQ Editions, a new subscription service creating special limited editions of historical romances. I’ve been writing about this since it was announced, and so I got to ask all my questions – and some of yours.

Along the way we talk about the historical romance genre, administrative mayhem, and the practicalities of creating special editions of beloved books. Plus you get to hear my reaction when Julia shares some of the 2027 titles.

Thank you to Verity, Sue, and Alanna for th...

Kayleigh Donaldson is back! She is the guest on some of the most popular episodes, and I know what that is: she’s brilliant. We recorded this just before the Oscar nominations were announced, so Kayleigh is making (some pretty accurate!) predictions about Oscar nominations, and explaining what makes this year’s group of films so interesting.

Along the way we also talk about vintage Hollywood gossip, character actors who go weird gremlin, and the way actors shape public narrative with their project choices, their fashion, and their cosmetic procedures. And also – Scotland made the World Cup – w...

Candy recapped Heated Rivalry, and is that enough? No, of course not. We had MANY things we wanted to exclaim at each other about, so why not podcast about it?

We’re going to talk about the show, the acting, the adaptation, and the fact that this show could never have been made in the US. Jacob Tierney is a genius, and we have many a rabbit hole of research to explore.

If you’ve been thinking about this show nonstop, come hang out.

You can find Candy Tan @beautifulduckweed on Blu...