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.
Massive, bountiful thanks to our Patreon supporters, without whom this would not have been possible.
Thanks to Beth, who brought an entire bottle of wine because she is noble and makes wonderful choices.
Thanks to Mel, Erin, Elizabeth, and everyone else who helped me with the technical setup.
Thanks to Robin Bradford, Janna MacGregor, Amanda, Carrie, Elyse and RedHeadedGirl.
Thanks to everyone who came to the show and made it so much fun.
And most of all, thank you for listening, for subscribing, leaving a review, telling a friend, or checking out our Patreon page. You’re the reason I’m still doing this. So thank you.
❤ Read the transcript ❤
↓ Press Play
This podcast player may not work on Chrome and a different browser is suggested. More ways to listen →
Here are the books we discuss in this podcast:
You can find Robin Bradford on Twitter, and you should because she’s hilarious.
If you like the podcast, you can subscribe to our feed, or find us at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows!
❤ Thanks to our sponsors:
❤ More ways to sponsor:
Sponsor us through Patreon! (What is Patreon?)
What did you think of today's episode? Got ideas? Suggestions? You can talk to us on the blog entries for the podcast or talk to us on Facebook if that's where you hang out online. You can email us at [email protected] or you can call and leave us a message at our Google voice number: 201-371-3272. Please don't forget to give us a name and where you're calling from so we can work your message into an upcoming podcast.
Thanks for listening!
This Episode's Music
Our music is provided each week by Sassy Outwater, whom you can find on Twitter @SassyOutwater.
This is from Caravan Palace, and the track is called “Lazy Place.”
You can find their two album set with Caravan Palace and Panic on Amazon and iTunes. And you can learn more about Caravan Palace on Facebook, and on their website.
Podcast Sponsor
This podcast is brought to you by Audible!
There are two features of Audible I want to mention.
First: Audible Matchmaker! If you’ve purchased a lot of ebooks (and I know that you have) this tip may rock your world a little.
You may be able to buy Audible titles at a discount because you own the ebook – and if you go to the Audible Matchmaker page, you’ll see which titles are available to you.
Listening to a book you’ve already read can be a wonderful experience. For me, sometimes the story sounds different, and I notice elements I may not have paid much attention to. This happened to me with the Call of Crows series by Shelly Laurenston.
Plus, listening to someone telling you a story while you cook or stitch or knit or even sit still is terrifically relaxing. I listened to a new nonfiction title, Radical Candor by Kim Scott, while waiting for my sons at their music lesson. Half an hour later I felt like I’d had a nap, when really I’d just listened to an audiobook.
Second feature? Whispersync for Voice. You can switch back and forth between reading and listening to the audiobook across many devices, including Amazon’s Kindle and Echo, without ever losing your place or missing a word. You can read, then switch to the audio, then switch back to the Kindle version, and you won’t lose your place. Seriously. It’s kinda magical.
You can get a free audiobook if you sign up for a 30 day trial at our special URL: Audible.com/smartpodcast! If you use that there URL, thank you thank you!
Thanks, Audible!
Transcript
❤ Click to view the transcript ❤
[music]
Sarah Wendell: Hello, and welcome to episode number 248 of Smart Podcast, Trashy Books. I’m Sarah Wendell from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, and today I have part one of our live show! Yay! Recorded on Friday, May 5th at the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in Atlanta. We had wine, we had snacks, we had a room full of somewhat tired but entirely awesome people – hello if you’re listening – and I am seriously so excited to share this audio with you.
We start with a conversation with Robin Bradford, who is known on Twitter as @Tuphlos, and we talk about the trends we hear about, trends that she witnesses as a librarian, and things that she is ready to not see anymore. We also talk about types of swag, we compose our perfect catnip book, and we take recommendation requests. Then I introduce a friend of mine, Janna MacGregor, the debut author of The Bad Luck Bride, which came out on Tuesday of RT, on May 2nd. 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. This was not planned, and it was totally awesome.
Now, before I get to the rest of the intro, I have some thank-yous. Are you ready? Here come lots of thank-yous:
To the Patreon supporters: Thank you so much. I could not have done this without you guys. Youse guys. Yinz. I could not have done this without yinz. Thank you for your support, for your pledges and your enthusiasm. You are wonderful, and this would not have happened without you.
I want to thank Beth, who brought an entire bottle of wine because she is a noble human being who makes wonderful choices. I also want to thank Mel and Erin and Elizabeth and everyone who helped me set up the physical podcast recording and helped me figure out how to connect to the audio system. I want to thank Robin Bradford, Janna MacGregor, Amanda, Carrie, Elyse, and Redheadedgirl and everyone who came to the show and made it so much fun.
And most of all, thank you! Thank you for listening! Thank you for subscribing and leaving a review and telling a friend and checking out our Patreon page. You are the reason I am still doing this, so thank you so much for that.
Now, I have some compliments. This is so fun! This is my favorite part.
To Katie D.: Someone close to you, whenever they are having a seriously crap day, thinks of you and your smile, and they feel so much better.
To Jane Ann: You once recommended a book to a friend, and every time that they see the title of the book or happen to stumble upon their copy, their day is four hundred percent better. Good job!
And to Sami H.: Every leaf in the known universe is showing off and dancing just for you because you’re so great you make the trees happy.
Now if you’re wondering what this is, have a look at patreon.com/SmartBitches. If you are a supporter of the show and would like to help the show become increasingly awesomer, you can make a monthly pledge for as little as a dollar. Every pledge makes a massive difference to the quality and growth of the show, and I thank you very much for having a look.
I also want to thank Audible. They are our sponsor for this month, and there are two features of Audible that I want to mention: first, Audible Matchmaker, and I will have a link to this in the podcast entry. If you have purchased an eBook copy, chances are you can get the Audible copy at a discount. Listening to a book that you’ve already read can be a terrific experience. For me, sometimes the story sounds different, and I notice elements that I may not have paid much attention to. I noticed this most specifically with the Call of Crows series by Shelly Laurenston; I’ve listened to that and read them twice each. Plus, listening to someone telling you a story while you are relaxing or cooking or stitching or knitting or whatever is incredibly relaxing. I listened to a new nonfiction book called Radical Candor while I was listening to – while I was waiting, rather, for my sons at their music lesson this week, and it was half an hour. I felt like I’d had a nap when I was done. Like, I had just listened to an audiobook, and yet I was so relaxed.
Second feature I want to make sure you know about? Whispersync for Voice. You can switch back and forth between reading and listening to the audiobook across many devices, including the Kindle and the Echo, without losing your place. You can read, then switch to the audio, then switch back to the Kindle version, and it will keep your place. Seriously, it’s kind of magical, and I still don’t quite understand how this happens.
You can get a free audiobook with a thirty-day trial membership if you go to Audible.com/smartpodcast. There is an unmatched selection of audio programs. You get access to exclusive things like Authorized, which is about sex and romance. So it is super easy: go to Audible.com/smartpodcast. That’s Audible.com/smartpodcast.
And now, are you ready? Let’s do a live show! Part one.
[music]
Sarah: Any shit-talking is now recorded.
[Laughter]
Sarah: I’ll probably take it out because, you know, the part where I yammer is not the most fun. Thank you guys so much for coming to the live recording of the podcast!
[Cheering]
Sarah: Okay! So, I’m Sarah Wendell. I am currently the Head Cheerleader of Team No-Chill, and I am so excited that you guys are here! So we have put together a very casual show. We have three segments. We’re going to start with librarian Robin Bradford, who you may know on Twitter as @Tuphlos.
[Cheering]
Robin: Hello.
Sarah: So we’re going to warm up by talking. We’re going to make book recommendations, we’re going to talk about RT, and I’m also going to ask if anyone in the room would like to request a book recommendation from the two of us. We’ll do live, semi-drunk book recs.
[Laughter]
Sarah: How many glasses of wine have you had?
Robin: We’re recording, right?
Sarah: Yeah!
Robin: Just two!
Sarah: That’s the perfect number. Wait, is there, like, a competitive drunk librarian thing?
Robin: There should be!
Sarah: I think, I think I need to submit a proposal to the American Library Association conference, be like Drunk Librarian Challenge?
Robin: Any librarian conference!
Sarah: All right! So are you guys ready to get started?
Audience member: Yeah!
[Cheering]
Sarah: Okay. So, Robin, why are you at RT as a librarian? Like, I know why I’m here. I’m here to wait in line.
[Laughter]
Amanda or Sarah: Sometimes it’s –
Robin: Strangely enough, so am I.
Somebody: Right?
Sarah: Sometimes even for the ladies’ room. Although there’s a ladies’ room in this hotel where if you go in it’s like three turns around, and you come out and you’re like, I, I can’t get out. Have you been in the ladies’ room that traps you?
Audience member: Yes.
Sarah: Right?!
Audience member: … Like the grand ballroom.
Sarah: Right? And you go in, and you’re like, I live here now.
[Laughter]
Sarah: I can’t get out!
Audience member: They are really swanky! Right?
Sarah: Oh, the best is, sometimes if there’s a hotel and there’re not enough ladies’ rooms, they’ll turn the men’s room into a ladies’ room?
Robin: Yes, I love that.
Sarah: And then, like, they cover the urinals with a tablecloth and put flowers in them?
[Laughter]
Robin: I have not seen that part.
Sarah: Oh, yeah, they do that at RWA too. Like, the hotel will be like, let’s decorate this so they don’t know what it’s for. Like, oh, yeah, I love having a wall display of flowers.
Audience member: Right? Like you don’t know what’s there.
Sarah: Right? Totally! So, why, why librarians at RT? What do you get from going to RT?
Robin: So, there’s actually a special librarian/bookseller track, and they bring in authors to talk to us, they, there’re workshops on things like, Damon Suede and I did a workshop yesterday on how to discover things, so discoverability, and game theory, so that was awesome. There’s, we did a workshop by, someone in this room, actually, did a workshop on romance and inspirations.
Sarah: Oh, yeah.
Robin: Someone else in this room did a workshop on finding diverse titles and authors.
Sarah: Really? Who?
Robin: That would be Frannie there in the back.
Sarah: Yay, Fran!
[Laughter, Cheering]
Sarah: Wait, how many librarians are in the room with us?
Carrie: I know! Oh, my gosh!
Sarah: How many librarians are in the room with us? There’s one here, there’s one here – we got a lot of librarians!
Robin: Yay!
[Cheering]
Sarah: You, you guys are – well, you guys are the shit, so.
Robin: But we also, like, there, this morning there was also a panel with some publishers, so we learned about publicity and marketing.
Sarah: Oh!
Audience member: Yay!
Sarah: Do you know, I had a library buy an ad on my website this week?
Audience member: Really!
Sarah: I was so excited! They’re having a conference with a romance, a romance author luncheon, brunch, or tea, and they – I was like, ooh, librarians with a budget for advertising! I’m so excited!
[Laughter]
Robin: See, that’s – and it’s funny that you mention that, because we just had Susan Wiggs out our library last week, and we got about thirty-five, forty people, and I bet if we would have put an ad on the website, on your website, where people are looking for things, we might have gotten some more people, so –
Sarah: Nice!
Robin: – that is actually a very good idea, and I am glad you mentioned that!
Sarah: I’m happy to help you anytime! I was more excited that they had money to spend than that they spent it on me.
Robin: Yes!
Sarah: Like, I was like, you have a budget for advertising! I’m so excited for you right now, oh, my God!
Robin: We want to bring people in –
Sarah: Right?
Robin: – so we’re going to go to where the people are –
Sarah: I love that!
Robin: – so.
Sarah: All right, so, one of the things that I hear a lot of people talking about at RT is what’s next, what’s coming next, what’s it – I was on a trends panel; I don’t know if you were at that trends panel. My favorite thing about a trends panel is that I don’t have any influence over trends –
Robin: Right.
Sarah: – ‘cause I’m reviewing what’s done –
Audience member: Mm-hmm.
Sarah: – so I’m like, why am I here? So what I do is I talk about what I want to read and call it a trend.
[Laughter]
Sarah: So the trend is, everyone gets caught in the snow.
[Laughter]
Sarah: Everybody: paranormal, contemporary, historical, I don’t care. We’re all stuck in the snow now. So what kind of trends –
Robin: The trend is hot mechanics. That’s what I want to read.
Sarah: That’s what you want to read.
[Laughter]
Robin: Hot mechanics –
Sarah: So, hot mechanics caught in the snow.
Robin: And Latino heroes.
Sarah: So Latino mechanics –
Robin: Yes.
Sarah: – caught –
Robin: Please, someone.
Sarah: – in the snow.
Robin: Yes. We –
Sarah: Okay!
Robin: Please, someone write this.
Sarah: We can do that.
Robin: I need that.
Audience member: We just want them to fix our car.
Other audience member: And watch them while they do it.
Another audience member: And other things under the hood.
Robin: And other things under the hood, yes!
[Laughter]
Robin: So now we have a title.
Sarah: Hot mechanic stuck in the snow?
Robin: And Other Things Under the Hood.
Audience member: They need to be handy!
Sarah: Why don’t they ask us for title advice?
Robin: I don’t know!
Sarah: Like, shouldn’t we be doing titles?
Robin: No, they should ask this woman in the audience! She’s perfect!
Sarah: You know all the things, right? You too. All right. So what other trends have you – like, legit trends that you have perhaps heard of?
Robin: Oh, let’s see. And, and the thing is, I buy them after they’re –
Sarah: Right?
Robin: So – well, not after they’re released, but usually well after, especially since New York is so far ahead; like, they’re talking about 2018 now –
Sarah: Oh, yeah.
Robin: So the trends that we see coming are –
Sarah: Right!
Robin: – already here. Like, I guess one of my favorite trends is people keep saying that Amish is dying. Amish is dying, Amish is dying – where? Where is Amish dying? Amish is alive and well and living in Brooklyn, apparently. I don’t what –
[Laughter]
Robin: Living everywhere, living everywhere.
Sarah: So, patrons still want librarian books.
Robin: Patrons still want Christian fiction –
Sarah: I’m sorry, Amish books.
Robin: – Amish books –
Sarah: Unless there’re, wait, are there Amish librarians?
Robin: There aren’t Amish librarians, but librarians are a trend!
Sarah: Amish mechanics! Latino Amish mechanics in the snow!
[Laughter]
Robin: Fixing My Buggy and Other Things Under the Hood! That’s what – [laughs]
Sarah: Somewhere upstairs is an editor who’s like, I feel a disturbance. Something is happening right now.
Robin: I would say that librarians are a trend. There’s, there’s a couple different series –
Sarah: Yes!
Robin: – of romance where the her-, heroines are librarians.
Sarah: So, show of hands: would you guys be interested in books about librarians?
[Agreement, cheering]
Robin: Oh, my God!
Sarah: Like, everyone in the room, so you’re hot.
Robin: Yes! Yes, I am!
Sarah: So are you, ma’am. Thanks, thanks for being hot.
[Laughter]
Audience member: What about a male librarian?
Sarah: What about a male librarian?
Robin: Victoria Dahl.
Audience member: Victoria Dahl.
Sarah: Yep. Hot male librarians, Victoria Dahl.
Robin: Or we call them guybrarians.
Sarah: Wait, you seriously call them guybrarians?
Robin: There’s actually a guy, David Wright, on Twitter, and his Twitter handle is @guybrarian.
Sarah: @guybrarian.
Robin: Yep.
Sarah: So, Amish is still hot, despite what everyone says.
Robin: Yes. Amish –
Sarah: What about billionaires, despite what everyone says?
Robin: Billionaires are still hot.
Sarah: I heard this, I heard the exhausted billionaire sigh.
Audience member: Yeah.
[Agreement]
Amanda: I’m still into it.
Sarah: That’s fine! No shame! But I think it’s, it’s like you have Good Book Noise, like you say a title –
Robin: Yes.
Sarah: – and everybody goes, [gasp!], or you say something that people are tired of, and they’re like, [exasperated sigh].
Robin: The, the thing is –
Sarah: The tired billionaire sigh.
Robin: It’s like you have to do something really different. Like –
Audience member: Yeah.
Robin: – we went through this thing with vampires. Like, everybody was writing vampires, and now it’s like, if your vampire isn’t completely different in a, in a way that we haven’t seen before, you, you can keep that.
Sarah: So what you’re saying is, Amish vampire Latino mechanics in the snow.
[Laughter]
Robin: There is a, there’s a book called Amish Vampires in Space.
Sarah: I know!
[Laughter]
Audience member: We just need to see the cover for that.
Sarah: Yes, ma’am?
Elyse: I think my issue is that there is an inverse relationship between how much of a billionaire the guy is and his, like, emotional age.
Sarah: So, wait, the more money he has, the less mature he is?
Elyse: Right.
Audience member: Generally.
Audience member: Yes.
Elyse: Like, and the less work he does, ironically.
Sarah: Ironic. Oh, how do they have all this time?
Robin: Well, and I’m actually curious if the new occupant of the White House will make billionaires less sexy?
Sarah: Do you know how many press inquiries I got from people who don’t, apparently, have any sense? And there were literally three different ones from three different publications saying, wait, billionaire romance is a thing, and our president is allegedly a billionaire. Did he cause that?
Robin: Nnno.
[Laughter, chatter]
Sarah: That’s like, I don’t even want to –
Robin: He, he caused it to die.
Sarah: Yeah, pretty much. He shriveled that up like a post-Viagra boner.
[Laughter]
Sarah: Like, I was like, I don’t even want to reply to you. I don’t even want you to say my first name, let alone my whole name, in this article. I want to be nowhere near that pile of crap. And you know, usually you’ll get a journalist or somebody who doesn’t know anything, and you want to be like, okay, no, let me correct you – I was just like, no, you can just live there in Ignorant Land.
Robin: Nobody can kill billionaires! Hold my beer. Yeah.
[Laughter, cheering]
Sarah: May that just be so. Please God. Are there any other trends that you’re like, oh, this is cool! Or hell, no. ‘Cause I had John Charles on a panel with me saying that he thought that a new version of Gothics were coming back, that there’re resettings of Rebecca in different time periods?
Robin: I keep hearing about this, but I haven’t seen any actual books. So I keep hearing people saying, I’m writing a Gothic, I’m going to bring Gothic back –
Sarah: Mm-hmm?
Robin: – and I don’t, I don’t know that it actually had gone any- –
Sarah: So you’re saying sexy never left.
Robin: Yeah, exactly.
Sarah: So there’s no reason to bring sexy back.
[Laughter]
Sarah: ‘Cause it never le-, it never –
Robin: There’s always a reason, and it’s going to be May!
[Laughter]
Sarah: I just want you to know, you’re my favorite!
[Laughter]
Audience member: Can I take you home?
[Laughter]
Robin: I have wine.
Audience member: Yay!
Sarah: This is the best kind. So, one of the things that I notice at RT every year is that every year the, the swag is different –
Robin: Yes.
Sarah: – the things that people give away are different, and I, I have buttons, like, I have pins for people to wear, and I have stickers. There’re actually swag and stickers and snacks in the back, because I like to feed you. And if you would like, I also have gigantic Romance or Get the Fuck Out stickers, but these are just for you guys, so if you didn’t get one and you want one, come see me. So, I’m always fascinated by what people do to promote their books and promote –
Robin: Yes.
Sarah: – their publisher, so have you noticed some cool swag this year? Other than mine, of course.
Robin: Yours is the best.
Sarah: Thank you!
Robin: The second best, I think, is the Tattoos and Tinis bag that they had.
Amanda: That’s a quality bag.
Robin: A quality bag, yes. Actually, actually, this year, I haven’t seen – that was also a quality bag. That was from the, from the ‘20s party.
Audience member: Oh, that one? Okay, that’s why I saw it all over last night.
Robin: And there haven’t really been, like, sometimes they have those really flimsy bags, and you’re like, why did you bother with – ?
Sarah: Right, it’s like woven paper?
Robin and others: Yeah!
Sarah: Slightly more hefty than a paper bag?
Robin: And those, I haven’t seen many of those at all this year, so – actually, at the Bollywood party, the –
[Chorus of agreement]
Robin: – Sonali Dev got her bags from India. They are straight from India, and they are gorgeous.
Sarah: See, this is my working theory of swag. You have the swag that you wear at the conference to sort of proclaim who you are: you’ve got buttons and pins, and this is my authors, and, like, Alisha Rai did this brilliantly because she, her buttons say, Happy Ever After for All and –
Robin: Yes.
Sarah: – HEA is, is Resistance or something like that, so it’s a button that you can agree with that’s also about her book, so you have to go find her to get one?
Robin: Yes.
Sarah: That’s present conference swag where you have to, you’re identifying yourself by also identifying with someone else. Post-conference swag is even harder to nail –
Robin: Yes.
Sarah: – because you have to create something that’s useful, that keeps going, that has, like, a purpose. Like, I have a – I talk about this all the time – I have a cat-food-can lid that has Linda Lael Miller on it. I think this thing’s ten years, and it says, From My Pets to Yours with Love from Linda Lael Miller, and I understand that she is perhaps known for writing cowboys? I think about my pets whenever I see that, because I think Linda Lael Miller is helping me save money by keeping the cat food from getting disgusting!
Robin: This is, this is maybe a downfall, but there is a piece of swag that I carry with me everywhere. It is a mini sewing kit, and I can’t think of who gave it to me! That’s the point –
Sarah: I think that was Eloisa James.
Robin: Yes, yes.
Sarah: Was it in the last few years? It was Eloisa James.
Robin: And that piece of traveling swag, like, you’re, you have it with you always.
Sarah: Always, yep. One, I know one author told me she did tiny little tape measures?
[Murmur of agreement]
Sarah: And when you need a tape measure and suddenly there’s one there?
Audience member: Yep.
Sarah: The problem is, stuff like that can get really expensive.
Robin: And Laura Curtis also did something at, where she gave a little thing that slides open and it’s got Band-Aids in it –
Sarah: Yep.
Robin: – for your conference needs, your conference blisters on your, on your feet.
Sarah: Conference feet. And then you go to RT, you’re never going to run out of pens.
Robin: Right.
Sarah: Ever. Ever again. You only got one? You need to go to the goodie room and just, like, grab. So, I –
Robin: I think, like, stickers, you know, they’re nice, but they don’t really last post conference –
Sarah: No.
Robin: – so it’s great while you’re here, but –
Sarah: This is why all of mine are for, like, laptop stickers?
Robin: Right.
Sarah: They’re the kind that don’t, you can’t –
Robin: That you can –
Sarah: – you can’t scratch the picture off ‘cause they’re vinyl.
Robin: I have one on my badge, and it’s already, like, curling. It says Librarians: Also Known as Book Pimps.
[Laughter]
Robin: Which is awesome!
Sarah: Story, story checks out.
Robin: But it’s not going to last past this conference.
Sarah: Story checks out.
[Laughter]
Robin: I try my best.
Sarah: So, I want to, I want to challenge you to live recommendations, but first I want to ask you, what books are you reading that you want to tell people about?
Robin: I have the Alisha Rai ARC Hate to Want –
Sarah: Hate to Want You?
Robin: Hate to Want You. Yes, I just started.
Sarah: How, how are you liking it so far?
Robin: I love it!
Sarah: Love it so far?
Robin: She wrote it, I love it.
Sarah: She wrote it, you love it? Like, it’s –
Audience member: Do you have a favorite?
Sarah: – it’s just an automatic? She’s on your auto-buy and order –
Robin: She is my auto-buy list, yes. And I, I –
Audience member: What’s the hook of it?
Robin: These two people who were together and are no longer together get together once a year –
Audience member: Ohhh!
Robin: – and no one can know.
Other audience member: Ohhh!
Sarah: There’re two rival families and they had a huge falling-out, and –
Audience member: Wasn’t she on the podcast talking about this?
Sarah: Yeah, yeah.
Robin: Yes.
Sarah: So her, her elevator pitch was “Hotline Bling” meets Romeo and Juliet without all the sexist stuff and the suicide.
[Laughter]
Sarah: So take all the shitty sexism and take out the suicide, and you’ve got Romeo and Juliet and “Hotline Bling.”
Robin: The way it was meant to be done.
Sarah: Right!
Robin: Yes.
Sarah: Drake just screwed that up, and so did Shakespeare, both of them. They’re sitting on the naughty step. So what else do you recommend, my friend?
Robin: I just finished, before I got on the plane, An Extraordinary Union.
[Chorus of Good Book Noise]
Sarah: That was like Good Book Moan.
Robin: So you all know, you all know, yes.
Sarah: You’ve also read a couple of other extraordinary books this year. Does that one stack up there among the rest of this year?
Robin: Oh, that’s probably one of my favorites.
Sarah: Nice!
Robin: That’s probably one of my favorites this year.
Sarah: Yeah, me too. No question.
Robin: It was just, yeah. Spies –
Sarah: Spies.
Robin: – Civil War, hot spies – we have to emphasize this –
Sarah: And you know –
Robin: – and a heroine that is amazing, not just for her time period but just among heroines.
Sarah: Right?
Robin: Just among heroines.
Sarah: And the thing about that book that got me was that I kind of know how the Civil War ended, like, I know what happened.
Robin: Right!
[Laughter]
Sarah: I mean, some people, some people aren’t sure they agree? They’ve written their own fanfic ending?
Robin: Right.
[Mixed chatter]
Audience member: All my relatives.
Sarah: They fan-, right, they, they fanfic the Civil War. There’re, like, online communities about it.
Robin: Well, actually lots of people fanfic the –
Sarah: Right, there’s a whole lot of –
Robin: Alternative history! We – what if the South had won? What if the South had won?
Sarah: Let’s not.
Robin: Let’s pretend like it did!
Audience member: My whole family.
Other audience member: – still alive.
Sarah: Right?
[Mixed chatter]
Sarah: The thing is, I kind of know how it ends. Like, I know that, you know, I know how the Civil War ended up. I was so tense reading this book.
Robin: Yes.
Sarah: Like, shit, maybe I got my history wrong and it’s really going to go very badly for these people!
Robin: I kept checking –
Sarah: That’s just the whole war over their heads, you know, no big deal.
Robin: I kept checking the year, and I’m like, well, there’s still plenty of time for shit to go wrong!
Sarah: Right?
[Laughter]
Sarah: Like, oh, my God.
Audience member: So many –
Sarah: This is so not good!
Robin: Right.
Sarah: So despite actually knowing the end – and even in romance, like, you know the, you, if, if she hadn’t pulled it off?
Robin: Right.
Sarah: I would have been like, I understand, because that was really tense! It was very, very tense. Come on in! Welcome! Are you coming from Avon?
Audience member: Yeah.
Sarah: You made it!
[Cheering]
Sarah: Welcome! We were just talking about An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole, ‘cause we’re doing book recommendations, ‘cause we’re, we’re expensive people to know.
[Laughter]
Sarah: What other books do you want to recommend?
Robin: I got an ARC today of the new Sonali Dev –
Everyone: Ooh!
Robin: – so I –
Sarah: Speaking of ripping your heart out slowly using a spoon.
Robin: I haven’t started reading it yet. I mean, I literally just got it, like, three hours ago, but –
Sarah: this is the one with the legs, right?
Robin: Yes, the one with the legs in the, in the pool.
Audience member: That’s always –
Robin: But that’s so funny that you noticed that. Like, people think that the covers just, you know, blur by. No! No!
Sarah: Oh, no. Well, you have a whole Twitter feed where you look at the cover and go, huh.
Robin: I notice the font. Don’t, don’t use twelve fonts on your cover. I will call you out!
Sarah: Oh, you know what that’s called? That’s called font salad.
Robin: It’s, it’s called [omitted].
[Laughter]
Robin: Edit, edit that out, please.
[Laughter]
Sarah: Do you want me to just beep it or take it out? I have a whole suite of sound effects, and I never use them.
Robin: I’ve never been beeped!
Sarah: You’ve never been – I will beep you! I’ll beep you so it makes it sound like you’re cursing, and you’re really saying normal things.
Robin: Please do!
[Laughter]
Robin: That’s even better!
Sarah: Oh, yeah. I have, I’m devious. I can do a lot of things in GarageBand.
Robin: Oh, and I should also mention, Garrett Leigh, like – Vanessa North told me about this book. I, I said, I want a book with a threesome where they all act like adults.
Audience member: Ooh!
Robin: And –
Sarah: Okay, I’m sorry, that is a very tall order.
Robin: I know! So Misfits –
Audience member: – impossible.
Robin: – Misfits –
Sarah: You can’t have –
Robin: – Misfits by Garrett Leigh –
Audience member: Is that –
Robin: – and then I started reading everything by Garrett Leigh, because –
Sarah: Garrett Leigh.
Robin: Yes.
Audience member: Yeah.
Robin: I just jumped right into the, right into the hole, and I love them all. I read, like, four of ‘em in a row, so.
Amanda: Can you spell Leigh?
Robin and audience member: L-E-I-G-H.
Sarah: Got that wrong.
[Laughter]
Audience member: Good to know.
Sarah: Correct that.
Audience member: – called Misfits?
Robin: Misfits.
Sarah: So if people buy books during the podcast recording, I will be very excited.
[Laughter]
Sarah: So, do you have any baseball book recommendations? ‘Cause I know you’re a baseball fan.
Robin: You know what? Here’s the funny thing: I don’t read baseball books because people always get it wrong.
Audience member: Really?
Sarah: Right?
Robin: And it bothers me! If you call the manager a coach, I will put the book down. It’s not a coach. All me. Nobody else who’s reading these books gives a shit what you call the coach. It’s a manager, oh, my God!
Sarah: But you care.
Robin: But I care, because I love baseball so much.
Sarah: Have you read the new Julie James?
Robin: I have not!
Sarah: Okay. So she’s a, she’s a Cubs fan – it’s so good, y’all, The Thing About Love just gave me so – Good Book Noise, right?
Audience member: Yeah! It was a good decision. In fact, I got on the next morning, and I was like, yeah.
Sarah: That was a bad decision.
Audience member: You poor thing.
Sarah: You’re wearing the right shirt.
Audience member: I had to put it down to come here.
Sarah: You had to put it down – why are you here? Go –
[Laughter]
Sarah: Come on, girl, you have to read it! So in The Thing About Love, Julie James is a, is a Cubs fan, and I know you’re a Sox fan, so I am, I am bringing up sacrilege at this time, I know.
Robin: [Hisses]
Sarah: I know. I understand. And there’s one scene where her hero’s family, she has them in south parts of Chicago, which is White Sox.
Robin: Right.
Sarah: And she was like, I got to this point where the, they’re talking about baseball, and I had to say nice things about the White Sox, and I just couldn’t do it, and I turned ‘em back and made ‘em Cubs fans!
[Laughter]
Sarah: And then, and then I was, I was at a book event with her, and somebody, Katie Dunneback from Chicago, she was like, it does happen; there are random Cub fans. I don’t know why, but there are pockets. Now, what do you say to that? Do you think that’s possible?
Robin: There are random pockets, but they’re not, they can’t be fans of both.
Sarah: No, you cannot do both.
Robin: You can’t be fans of both.
Sarah: You cannot do both.
Robin: So, it’s either one or the other, and if you’re in the –
Sarah: And they are only Cubs.
Robin: – if you’re in the opposite territory, you are very quiet about your fandom.
Sarah: So, what, like, before they talk to each other over dinner, they shut all the windows?
Robin: Right. Exactly.
Sarah: Are the neighbors looking? Okay, so, anyway, the Cubs game –
Robin: I read, actually, an ARC of a Julie Ann Warren, and I – or not – Julie –
Sarah: There’s a lot of Julies.
Robin: – Walker.
Audience member: Walker, yeah.
Sarah: Julie Ann Warren Walker.
Robin: Julie Ann Walker.
Sarah: Julie Ann Walker Warren?
Robin: And she has lots of baseball in her book, and I didn’t know that when I started reading the ARC, but she got it right, so it was okay.
Audience member: Which one?
Robin: But she’s from – the one that comes out this fall, the one that comes out this fall.
Sarah: So here’s what we’re going to do: would anyone like to request a book recommendation from Robin? If you would like to make a request, raise your hand. We want to do it as specifically as possible, the trope you like, the thing you like, okay.
Robin: Good Lord!
Sarah: Real quick.
Robin: Bring me all the tropes, all the tropes.
Sarah: Okay, go ahead, real quick.
Audience member: Unrequited love getting requited.
Sarah: That’s like half of them!
[Laughter]
Robin: Unrequited love getting – I don’t –
Sarah: There’s a couple ways to spin that!
Robin: – read that trope, though!
Audience member: Are you talking historical or contemporary?
Other audience member: I don’t care. Just two or more humans that –
Audience member: Valerie Bowman’s – Rafe Cavendish’s book, which I can’t remember the name of. It’s Daphne Swift and Raven, Rafe –
Sarah: You remember the characters?!
Robin: I am horrible at book recs!
Sarah: That’s amazing!
Audience member: I can’t remember the auth-, the title!
Sarah: I don’t remember any of the words! I just remember –
[Laughter]
Sarah: I am, I am the patron you hate.
Robin: Yes!
Sarah: I’ll be like, so, there’s a woman on the cover and –
Robin: No, I’m the patron I hate too!
Sarah: – the dress is yellow, and it’s cut down to here.
Audience member: Something’s behind her.
Sarah: Right. Just, this is –
Robin: If you tell me the dress is yellow, I will remember it.
Audience member: It was a blue book.
Other audience member: You know that.
Sarah: It was blue. I liked this book; it was blue.
Robin: I once made a display of all red books.
Audience member: Nice!
Robin: Well Red in Indiana, and every single cover was red.
Audience member: Wow!
Sarah: Ooh! Well played! I know!
Audience member: Nice for Valentine’s Day.
Robin: Thank you!
Sarah: So, anyone want to make a request, ‘cause I’ve got questions.
Robin: Do not do this. No!
Sarah: Ma’am, you want to make a request? Okay, hang on, I’m going to bring you a microphone.
[Laughter]
Sarah: You don’t want a microphone? All right, you make the request, and I’ll say it. I’ll, I’ll spare you.
Audience member: Romantic comedy, but, like, laugh out loud.
Sarah: Romantic comedy, but laugh out loud.
Robin: It’s so funny that you mention that.
[Laughter]
Sarah: Is this what happens when you drink? You just –
Robin: No!
Sarah: – bad, bad puns?
Audience member: She’s punny.
Robin: I didn’t even realize that –
[Laughter]
Audience member: Oh, Robin!
Sarah: I’m so proud of you!
Robin: What I meant was, I got a book rec today that was laugh-out-loud funny, enemies-to-lovers –
Audience member: Oh! Oh –
Robin: – that’s, that comes out May 30th!
Several audience members: Ooh!
Robin: So –
Sarah: She doesn’t remember the name; sorry.
Robin: Nope, I got it, I got it right here!
Audience member: All right, Robin!
Robin: It’s Ann Marie Walker, Black Tie Optional.
Audience member: Oh, I’ve seen that around.
Sarah: She’s excellent? We have a, we have a second on that one.
Robin: And it’s supposed to be kind of akin to Jennifer Crusie?
Several audience members: Ooh!
Robin: But funnier and sexier.
Audience member: That’s my ultimate.
Sarah: Black Tie Optional, Ann Marie Walker.
Robin: And I, I was hearing the pitch on this, and I one-clicked it as soon as she turned around.
[Laughter]
Robin: Like, literally! She turned around to say something to someone else, and I was like, [one-click sound effect].
Audience member: Thank you!
Sarah: It is so dangerous, right?
Robin: It’s crazy!
Sarah: Right? It’s horrible!
Audience member: Can I add one?
Sarah: Can you add one? Of course! Do you want use a mic?
Audience member: No.
Sarah: No? Okay, that’s fine; I’ll repeat!
Audience member: So, it was laugh-out funny to me, but it’s The Player and the Pixie.
Sarah: The Player and the Pixie?
Other audience member: I’ve heard that.
Audience member: Yes. The hero is a rugby player, and he’s very famous, and he’s horrible in bed.
Other audience member: I can’t –
Sarah: The hero is a –
Audience member: Ohhh!
Sarah: – rugby player, he’s famous, and he’s in crap in bed. I would just like to point out that everyone in this room went, ohhh!
[Laughter]
Audience member: It’s all over.
Sarah: Like, bad in bed is what you don’t want? Like, that’s –
Audience member: That’s not true because then they’re teachable.
Other audience member: Right!
Sarah: Ooh, yes, you make good points! You make very good points. I agree. I stand corrected. I –
Audience member: One that I always go to that’s funny when I need between heavy books is Shelly Laurenston.
Sarah: Oh, my gosh.
Several audience members: Yes.
Sarah: Shelly Laurenston is great.
Robin: And one that I for-, one that I forgot about that really did make me laugh was Between a Rock and a Hot Mess.
Audience member: Yesss!
Robin: [Laughs]
Sarah: That was like the hiss of good book!
Robin: By Phyllis Bourne, B-O-U-R-N-E.
Sarah: Now, I have heard that Alice Clayton makes people laugh.
Several audience members: Yes.
Sarah: I know she makes you laugh, Amanda.
Amanda: Yep!
Sarah: And I loved, I love Jennifer Crusie for when I’m feeling really crappy, and she always makes me laugh, even if I’ve read that book a thousand times? And the other one that I just – I wasn’t, like, cry-laughing ridiculously, but The Hating Game by Sally Thorne? It is, it is, it is just like, I’m grinning at the book. Like, the book can’t see me, but I’m smiling at it.
[Laughter]
Sarah: Smiling at it just the same. Actually, I have a whole page of recommendations when anyone asks me for comedy or, contemporary or historical, I have a whole page.
Robin: ‘Cause I can never remember.
Sarah: Oh, it was the one that had words in it. It had some words.
Robin: And I like the end.
Sarah: Yeah.
Robin: It had some words, and I liked the end.
Sarah: It had all of, and it had twenty-six letters in it. Would you want to hear them?
[Laughter]
Sarah: All in different orders, but the same twenty-six. All right, does anyone have any last questions for Robin?
Robin: I have to give a quick pitch, since Damon is actually in the room. Post election, when I was feeling kind of –
Audience member: Not happy.
Robin: – different. I was feeling differently. My comfort read is Hot Head by Damon Suede.
Everyone: Ohhh, yes!
Robin: I love that book so much. I think I’ve read it –
Sarah: How come?
Robin: – like, five times. Just because it’s got all the, all the feels. It’s best friends –
Audience member: Mm-hmm.
Robin: – one has a crush on the other –
Sarah: Hot, gay firefighters.
Robin: – hot, gay firefighters, but really –
Sarah: I mean, those are three words that go well together.
Robin: – that’s almost secondary. Like, it’s the feeling in the book –
Sarah: Mm-hmm.
Audience member: Aw!
Robin: – that is, it – that! Aww! Yes, that.
Sarah: So here’s what I want you to do: I want you to stay put because I’m going to torture my crew in a little bit.
Robin: Awesome.
Sarah: But first I have a, I have a little interlude for you. So, five years ago RT was in Kansas City? It was five years ago, right?
Audience member: I think so.
Other audience member: Kansas City.
Sarah: Kansas City, it was a great conference. So I –
Audience member: 2013.
Sarah: 2013 – four years. Wait, do-de-do-de-do.
Audience member: Yes, 2013.
Redheadedgirl: Yeah.
Sarah: 2013, okay. So, I don’t know what day or time or year it is, I don’t know how old I am, so then you could just tell me it was, like, last week and I’d be like, yeah, totally, absolutely. So while I, before I went, I got an email from somebody who said, oh, I, I read your site, and I know you like baseball, and I’m a season-ticket holder for Kansas City Royals, and I would love to give you my tickets to go to a game. And as a very socially shy, introverted person, I, I don’t know what happened to me, but what I, what I said was, no, I would really like to go with you! Would you – now, this was a great decision, and I look back on Past Sarah and I’m like, that was kind of risky. Like, you could have been in a ditch. Like, somebody lures you out with baseball tickets, and they’re like, ha-ha, you gave my book a D! We have to talk now!
[Laughter]
Robin: That would totally work on me too.
Sarah: Right? Right? You, you, this is, see, we’re just proclaiming our weaknesses. You put baseball tickets in front of us and we’re like, what, what do you need? Need an A? We can do that! Sure, yeah! Vowels, no problem. So, I meet this lovely person, and she’s super cool, and we go to the game, and we have a really good time, and then I see her at another conference! She’s like, let’s have a drink! And I’m like, this is great, this is wonderful! You sort of hit it off with people. You know how you meet somebody at a conference, and all of a sudden you have, like, sixty-five things in common, you can talk for ages?
Audience member: Right.
Sarah: So I meet her at another conference, and finally I’m like, okay, what, what are, I see you at RT, I see you at RWA, what are, what, why are you here? And she said, well, I, I used to read romance, I loved it so much, and then I stopped reading it, and then I started reading it again, and I thought, you know what? I can do this. Y’all ever had the feeling like, all right, I think I can do this? I have this feeling that there’re two main paths that romance readers follow. One is, all right, this is terrible and I know I can do better and make myself happy, and then they go write one, or they’re so inspired by the book they are holding, they’re like, all right, I really want to try to do this too, and I think this was more of the latter case. And I was like, so you wrote one! She’s like, well, I think I’ve written, like, three, but I’ve definitely finished one.
[Laughter]
Sarah: And I was like, wow! She’s like, so I think, I think I want to try to sell it, and I was like, that’s awesome! So then at the next conference, like a year later, so I’m going to meet with agents, and I was like, oh, oh, cool! Who are you meeting with? Let’s talk about it! The next year: all right, I’m going to meet with editors! I was like, oh, that’s amazing! And then the next year: I got, I got a contract! So I wanted to bring up my friend; she’s in the room; her book came out on Tuesday.
[Cheering]
Sarah: Yay! So come on up, Janna. Welcome! Did I embarrass you? Are you, like, ready to die now?
Janna MacGregor: Yeah, I am.
[Laughter]
Sarah: So, everybody, this is Janna MacGregor. I have a micro- –
Janna: Hi, guys! I’m so delighted to be here.
Sarah: I have a microphone for you.
Audience member: Oh, tell me about this book. Groverling?
Janna: It was lovely. There was some good groveling.
Audience member: Oh, oh yes.
Janna: It’s on a puppy scale of groveling.
Sarah: Oooh! So I don’t need to ask you any questions at all!
Audience member: Sorry!
Sarah: You can just go sit back – no, it’s cool! Awesome! Nothing is better than an, oh, yeah. So, Janna, your book came out on Tuesday. Happy release week!
Janna: Thank you very much!
[Cheering]
Sarah: Okay, so please share with us the name of your book, the series, and the genre –
Janna: Okay.
Sarah: – and tell us a little bit about it!
Janna: Okay. Well, the name of the book, I just said it, but I’ll repeat it. It’s The Bad Luck Bride. It’s the first book in the Cavensham Heiresses series, and I write historicals set in the Regency period. So, that was my first love. I started reading Barbara Cartland.
[Laughter]
Sarah: Yes!
Janna: That was my first book. My mom was a schoolteacher, and she’d bring home all these books. You know, on Fridays they would switch, you know, these big paper bags. They’d, all the teachers would bring in their books –
Sarah: Why are they always in paper bags, right?
Janna: Yeah!
Sarah: Right?
Janna: Well, I mean, you know, back then they had those handles that they could carry them back and forth with, and –
Audience member: And you can put, like –
Janna: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Sarah: And you, and you didn’t get charged for them at the grocery store.
Janna: Exactly.
Sarah: Mm-hmm.
Janna: Exactly. And so I’d pull out all the Barbara Cartlands –
Sarah: ‘Cause you were –
Janna: – ‘cause I liked the way that the guys looked on the covers.
[Laughter]
Sarah: Well, duh. Of course. So you’re a historical reader.
Janna: Yes!
Sarah: All right, so what are the major sort of tropes and hooks of The Bad Luck Bride?
Janna: Let’s see, it starts off with a jilted bride, revenge, marriage of convenience, redemption – let’s see, what else is there?
Audience member: There’s a storm.
Janna: Oh, yeah, storms, yeah.
Sarah: Snow storms, rain storms? Hail storms?
Janna: Rain storms, rain storms.
Sarah: Rain storms, rain storms.
Janna: Big thunderstorms. Yeah, there is a lot of lightning.
Sarah: Are there any Latino Amish mechanics in the storm?
[Laughter]
Janna: No, but I’m sitting there thinking, how am I going to get that into the next one?
Sarah: I know you can do it. The carriage breaks down, and this really handsome man appears, and, hello!
Janna: Yeah, there you go, there you go!
Sarah: Here is my next question. This is a very important question. So, on a scale of one to five, five being, this was good, all right, this was cool, and then – excuse me, one being, all right, you know, feels, five being, I need to go buy the Costco-size box of tissues because there’s so much angst, like the whole pallet, not just the ten-pack. Like, you’re just going to get the whole thing on the wood that’s shrink-wrapped, and you’re just going to put it on the roof and drive home and see what happens. Like, that – where are we on the angst scale here, ‘cause I, I know that as a reader, ‘cause we’ve talked a lot about the books we’ve read, you like the angst. Like, you like mascara running, hot mess, sobbing, yeah. This is your –
Janna: I do, I do.
Sarah: – this is your jam; that’s your catnip.
Janna: Yeah. And I will tell you that I’ve read this book a gazillion times, and I have cried every time, except for the last one, and I think it was because I was so saturated, you know?
[Laughter]
Janna: With a –
Sarah: So this is a cry, catharsis book.
Janna: Yeah, it is, it is. So I’d say 4.5, 4.7.
Sarah: All right, so if you like angst, this is your jam.
Janna: Yeah, yeah.
Sarah: This is all – you, you already – oh!
Janna: [Laughs] Thank you!
Sarah: We are, this is going to be a very expensive show.
Janna: I know, I know, I know.
Audience member: One-click!
Sarah: Robin’s over here like, yeah, I just need to tap-tap-tap-tap.
[Laughter]
Sarah: So, what about the next, ‘cause this is a trilogy, right? Maybe.
Janna: Well, yes.
Sarah: God willing, and –
Janna: Yeah, we’re hoping, hoping maybe a little bit more.
Sarah: – a quadrille. A quintogy.
Janna: Yeah.
Sarah: Tenta-, vingtogy.
Janna: I want some of that wine.
[Laughter]
Sarah: It’s good wine; I’m good at math now. I’m really math –
Audience member: And speaking in –
Sarah: – I’m mathing and wording well good now. So, what –
Audience member: Is the next one Emma and Somerton?
Janna: Yes! You’ve read the book!
Audience member: Yes, I have! I reviewed it, too!
Janna: Oh! Oh, okay, great! Thank you! That’s awesome!
Sarah: There’s nothing better than someone reviewing a book. That’s the shit! I – oh, look, there it is!
Janna: Oh, that’s right!
Audience member: It was at the St. Martin’s event.
Sarah: I’m pretty sure that if you ask Janna later to sign it she would be willing to find a pen. Let me just tell you something. Are, are you an author? Raise your hand if you’re an author. All right, if someone asks you to sign your book, does that ever get old? No!
[Laughter]
Sarah: No, I mean, maybe if I’m on the toilet and you’re sliding it under the door?
Audience member: No, even then.
Sarah: Even then it’s fine. You know what? You’re totally right! I don’t need to be on Twitter. I need to be signing books at all moments, right? Never gets old to ask an author to sign their book. So tell us about the next one in the series. How high are we on the angst level? What are we talking about here?
Janna: I cried – [laughs] – I cried with this one too, but it’s a good cry.
Sarah: It’s a catharsis cry?
Janna: Yeah. The, the next one’s kind of like Ebenezer Scrooge meets, you know, Susan B. Anthony.
[Exclamations, laughter]
Audience member: She spends, like, half the novel, when you see her, as, like, a side character? She’s getting, like, philosophical texts from random people, and she’s collecting all the books, so it’s like this crazy thing, like, she’s, like, her entire purpose of going to, like, a party is to meet people to go get books.
Sarah: So, she’s one of us.
Audience member: Right!
Other audience member: She’s my people!
Audience member: And the hero is described by the guy who’s the sort-of villain as being more tightly wound than any pocket watch he’s ever seen.
Two audience members: Oh, my God!
One of them: I need this book!
Audience member: So, yeah. I’ll enjoy it.
Sarah: You do need this book.
Janna: And that’s book two, and it’s called The Bride Who Got Lucky.
Sarah: Ohhh! Mrow! Curmudgeon heroes are so great, right? Like, a grumpy hero who’s like, all right, fine, I like you.
[Laughter]
Sarah: I can accept these positive feels. Fine.
Audience member: That’s why I like Amanda Quick’s books.
Sarah: Yep. Amanda Quick does great grovel.
Janna: Oh, yeah.
Sarah: Oh, yeah.
Janna: What’s the one where she’s got the, the skirt on, or the dress on with the dragons or the serpents, because he’s –
Audience member: Oh! –
Janna: I love that one. Is it Surrender? No –
Audience member: No, it’s not Surrender, it’s – Emily is the name of the –
Janna: Heroine.
Sarah: Who are you magical people?
Robin: Right?! Right?!
Audience member: I’ve probably read this book at least six times.
Sarah: I’ve read, I’ve read Act Like It, and I’d still have to sit and tell you that it’s not –
Janna: Scandal, that’s it.
Sarah: Scandal by Amanda Quick?
Janna and audience member: Yes.
Sarah: You said –
Audience member: Oh, yeah.
Janna: Oh, yeah.
Sarah: Oh, yeah.
Janna: Oh, yeah.
Audience member: You could see the S; it’s like a light bluish teal color.
Other audience member: Yeah, with a dark-
Sarah: That’s my brain!
Janna: Yeah! Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Audience member: It’s in paperback in my little book closet.
Sarah: All right. So what are you working on now? Are you working on another book?
Janna: Yeah. I finished up the third one; it’s with my editor, and we’re waiting to see, I’m waiting to see what she’s going to say about it, but my agent and my beta reader thought it was the best book that I wrote, so.
Sarah: Aww!
Janna: But it, to me, it’s kind of a quieter novel, you know? So I, it’s not – I don’t know.
Sarah: I’m down.
Janna: Yeah. Yeah.
Sarah: Now, I went to your website ‘cause I’m nosy.
Janna: Yeah?
Sarah: There was a whole article about you –
Janna: [Laughs]
Sarah: – from the, was it the law review from Missouri?
Janna: No, the Missouri Lawyers Weekly.
Sarah: Missouri Lawyers Weekly.
Janna: Yeah.
Sarah: So you’re totally out, like, I’m a lawyer in my real life, and I write romance. There’s, okay, first of all, there’s a lot of you.
Janna: Yeah.
Sarah: There’s a whole lot of recovering attorneys writing romance; it’s really interesting. And you were pretty cool with, with being completely public about both your names.
Janna: Well, my husband did this. My hus-, I practice with my husband, and he’s so tickled, he’s been so supportive of me, he was so tickled that I, you know, have got this book coming out that he contacted the newspaper.
Several audience members: Aww!
Sarah: And had them be, yeah.
Janna: Yeah.
Audience member: That’s adorable.
Janna: I know, I know. He’s so sweet. And the MacGregor, the –Gregor part comes from Greg.
Everyone: Aww!
Sarah: So you named yourself after your husband?
Janna: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. I know.
Sarah: Are you going to cry? I don’t have any tissues; I didn’t bring any.
[Laughter]
Sarah: I’m kind of –
Audience member: You’re going to start crying.
Sarah: I know, seriously, I’m feeling emotional.
Janna: I know. I know.
Sarah: All right. So, it is actually very difficult, I think, for authors to talk about their own books. I know I have a hard time with it.
Janna: Yeah.
Sarah: Like when I wrote – it had words.
Audience member: It had words.
Other audience member: [Laughs] It’s a good thing.
Sarah: Is it easier for you now that you’re a pub- – no? Do you know, by the way, that right now, you’re a published author?
Janna: I know. It’s so funny.
Sarah: Isn’t it weird?
Janna: I mean, it’s so funny to see people with the book, you know.
Sarah: Like, oh, wait, that looks familiar!
Janna: Yeah! Well, at the St. Martin’s Pies and Picks, Kristen Ashley was up there and, I mean, I just fangirled all over ‘cause, you know. [Laughs] And I felt kind of bad.
[Laughter]
Janna: ‘Cause she had all these fans around her, and I’m like, you know, oh, I just loved the Motorcycle Man, but then you came out with Mystery Man, and oh, my God, it was so great!
Sarah: Yes, but, see, I think that if you’re an author with the same house, you should have, like, VIP squee lane. Sort of like the special boarding lane when you get on the airplane –
Janna: Yeah, yeah!
Sarah: – you get to walk on the blue carpet. If you’re an author in the same house, you get special squee privileges.
Janna: No, you don’t. As a matter of fact –
Sarah: You should!
Janna: No. You’re, you’re in the back. You’re in the very back.
[Laughter]
Janna: Because they had all these books, and I was like, oh, can I have that one? They go, no. No.
Sarah: ‘Cause it’s for the readers.
Janna: It’s for the readers.
Sarah: And you’re –
Janna: So I don’t even get ARCs; I don’t get anything anymore.
Audience member: What?! Oh, no!
Sarah: So you should start a blog.
[Laughter]
Janna: You know, that’s what I wanted to do! That’s, that’s –
Sarah: Really? I didn’t know that! You wanted to start a blog?
Janna: That’s, that’s really why I, I came to RT 2013 in Kansas City. I wanted to meet South Bitches, I mean Smart Bitches, Trashy Books.
Audience member: Smart Bitches South. [Laughs]
Janna: Yeah! Smart Bitches South!
Sarah: That’s hilarious! I didn’t know that.
Janna: Yeah! Yeah, yeah, yeah! Oh, not anything on, on your, you know.
Sarah: You can be on – we’ve got a lot of room.
Janna: No, no, no! No, no, no! I was, I was just going to do historical. Just historical.
Sarah: There’s always room.
Janna: Yeah. No. No. Not anymore, there’s not.
Sarah: Yeah, once you, once you cross into published author lane, it’s really hard to give critical reviews.
Janna: You’re done. You’re done.
Sarah: Tends, tends to piss people off a little bit. Yeah. All right. So what books would you like to recommend?
Janna: Okay, well, I’m currently reading An Extraordinary Union –
Audience member: Mm-hmm.
Janna: – and I love it, and, and I was very disappointed; I thought I’d be able to finish it up here, and I can’t.
Sarah: Like, what? Like, right now, while you’re up here?
Janna: No, no, no. While I’m at RT. Yeah, yeah, yeah!
Robin: Please open your books to page –
[Laughter]
Janna: I know, I don’t! But you can’t read in here. You can’t read here. There’re two books, and I’m sure you guys have all read it if you’re fans of Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, but the first one that I just absolutely have to recommend is The Duke’s Wager by Edith Layton.
Sarah: Oh, I love that book.
Janna: And I got that from, from her –
Sarah: [Whispers] Oh, I love that book!
Janna: I, I can read that book, and I’m still surprised at the end of it. I mean, I’ve read it, like, three times. The Duke’s Wager: you’ve got to get that book.
Sarah: Oh, it’s so good, and it’s coming out –
Janna: – it’s coming out –
Sarah: – it’s coming out digitally –
Janna: Yes.
Sarah: – ‘cause her children are re-digitizing her books, so her children are re-releasing – ‘cause she died a couple of years ago, and her two sons and her daughter are, are, like, the literary estate of Edith Layton, and they’re digitizing her backlist very carefully. The Duke’s Wager is coming out soon.
Audience member: Oooh!
Other audience member: Have you read it?
Audience member: I have not!
Sarah: [Gasps] So good!
Janna: It’s, I’ve never read anything like it.
Audience member: What’s the name?
Sarah: Okay, The Duke’s –
Janna: I can’t even describe it.
Sarah: – The Duke’s Wager by Edith Layton, L-A-Y-T-O-N. So, there are two lords, one is a duke, and there’s, I think the other guy’s like a viscount or something lofty, and they make a wa- –
Janna: Marquess.
Sarah: Is he a marquess?
Janna: He’s a marquess.
Sarah: Thank you. So he and the duke make a wager about this young woman that, who’s going to be the one to basically hit it and quit it, ‘cause they’re, they’re skuzzy. And so the marquess, a lot of the story spends time with the marquess, and there’s this wonderful moment about maybe a third to a half in when you’re like, wait a minute, I don’t actually know which one of these guys is the hero? And it’s so, it’s like a trick. It’s like a trick played on the reader, because you’re not sure who the, the hero is, and they, like, you’re, you think, well, this guy is horrible, but wait, maybe he’s not. Wait, that guy’s horrible. Wait, maybe he’s not, and the heroine is figuring it out along with you, so it’s like a puzzle in book form. It’s wonderful, and it’s an older style Regency. So way back in the day, Regencies used to be about the same length as a Harlequin –
Janna: Mm-hmm.
Sarah: – series, a series book. They had a lower word count. I don’t think there’re sexytimes in this one.
Janna: Mm-mm.
Sarah: There’re very few Regencies – I don’t think there were sexytimes in Edith Layton’s books until she got into single title with Avon. Edith Layton also has the greatest cover ever published by Avon? This was, mm, couple years ago. She was still alive; she hated this cover. She liked to have realistic sex in her books. I did a whole interview with her children on the podcast –
Janna: Ohhh!
Sarah: – and they talk about their mom and what they learned about being the children of a romance author and how she would, like, get a pedicure and be like, oh, that woman is my next heroine. I’m going to design a whole book around her!
[Laughter]
Sarah: And they’d be like, oh, my God, we can’t take you anywhere! So there’s a single-title book from Avon. It’s purple, and the, so there’re these jagged, spiky rocks, they’re like knife blades, and there’s a huge ocean wave coming up from behind them, like, it’s going to be messy, and she’s sitting on one of these jagged rocks, like, and her legs are spread. He’s kneeling in between them without his shirt off on some other rocks, and they look like they are having the best time, and there is no way this doesn’t hurt.
Audience member: Oh, my God.
[Laughter]
Sarah: And I will put a picture up in the podcast show notes when I post this episode. Like, she looked at that and was like, oh, what the hell? Like, they are doing it in the most dangerous place ever.
Audience member: Is there O face and everything?
Sarah: Oh, with blowing hair –
Audience member: Oh, my God!
Sarah: And, like, the ocean spray is going one way, and her hair is going the other, so they’re the center of a micro- – oh, yeah, that crave, that cover’s crazy, but The Duke’s Wager is one of my favorite Regency romances.
Janna: It is.
Sarah: If it’s not digitally out now, it will be very –
Robin: $3.99 on –
Sarah: It’s out?
Robin: Yep.
Sarah: Oh, they did it! Yes! Okay, you guys, it’s so good.
Robin: Good!
Janna: It’s so good. And of course my, my other favorite is – and I read this at least twice a year – is the Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas. I just think it’s –
Sarah: Ah!
Janna: – I just think it’s gold. And I just had somebody come up to me and say that my villain in the first book reminded her of Sebastian, St. Vincent, and I’m just like –
Sarah: Oh, mercy!
Janna: – oh, God, thank you so much!
[Laughter]
Sarah: Seriously.
Janna: Seriously.
Sarah: That’s, that’s, like, knee-weakening level. Wow.
Janna: Right, I know, I know.
Sarah: So the next book is The Bride Who Got Lucky –
Janna: Right.
Sarah: – and that is scheduled to come out about when?
Janna: October 31st.
Sarah: All right! Well, everybody, congratulations to Janna MacGregor!
[Cheering]
Janna: Thank you for sharing it with me. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Sarah: I’m so glad to have you on the show!
[music]
Sarah: And that is all for part one of the live show. I hope you enjoyed that. As, as with last time, recording with four separate tracks means the editing is a little bit new, but I also think the sound is really, really great, so I hope that that (a) was not too loud for you. I tried to do the volume correctly. I believe that’s called ducking, so every time your autocorrect substitutes ducking instead of, you know, whatever else you meant to type? That’s an actual word, and I was doing it. Yay! Autocorrect knows me so well.
Again, I want to thank Janna MacGregor and Robin Bradford and Elyse, Carrie, Amanda, and Redheadedgirl and everyone who came to the live show at RT. I hope I can do more of these, because it was tremendous fun, and if you came to hang out with us, thank you for joining us. You made it so much more entertaining.
The music you’re listening to was provided by Sassy Outwater. This is Caravan Palace. This track is called “Lazy Place,” and you can find it on their two-album set with Caravan Palace and Panic, and you can find that at Amazune – Amazune – Amazune and iTonns. Listening to this? I’m not even taking that out, ‘cause that was awesome. Amazon and iTunes. You can learn more about Caravan Palace on Facebook and on their website.
I also should tell you that we have our own iTunes page – not our own iTonns page, iTunes – iTunes.com/DBSA! You can find recent episodes, the books we talk about, and the last four episodes with books that we mentioned then too. It’s awesome! You should go check it out.
Speaking of books, all of the books that we mention in this episode, as many as I could make out in the audio, I will have links to those at smartbitchestrashybooks.com/podcast.
I also want to extend a special thank-you if you have liked or subscribed to or tweeted about or recommended or left a review for the podcast. There’re all these things you can do to interact with the podcast, including emailing me, but if you’ve done any of those, thank you so much, and if you are a supporter and fan of the show and would like to check out Patreon campaign, it is at patreon.com/SmartBitches.
I will be back next week with the second half of our live show recording. In the meantime, on behalf of Robin and Janna and everyone here, including Orville and Wilbur who are waiting to climb into the sound box again, we wish you the very best of reading. Have an excellent weekend.
[swirling music]
This podcast transcript was handcrafted with meticulous skill by Garlic Knitter. Many thanks.
I have to jump in before even finishing this podcast to say HUZZAH for librarian romances! There are two charming contemporary series I’ve been reading–Lovestruck Librarians by Olivia Dade is almost over (sad, but that means there’s a bunch of books available!), and depicts small-ish town community as well as casual diversity. And the first book (novella) Broken Resolutions features stuck-in-the-snow too, haha. And Sarah Title is starting a Librarians in Love romantic comedy series. Disclaimer that I know her personally and really like her. But The Undateable is hilarious (the librarian accidentally goes viral as a grumpy librarian meme!) AND speaking of more catnip, the next one coming out next month features a male librarian! (Falling for Trouble)
Male librarians! That’s what I want. Male nerds in general. Is there a rec thread for male nerd romances? I’ll need to search for it.
I absolutely loved this podcast. It felt so short. You all sounded wonderful. I have ten Amazon pages open and my budget is already crying in anticipation.
I’m only part-way through the podcast, but I wanted to say yay for all of it so far! I follow Robin on Twitter (I’m also a librarian), and was cheering in my car on the way to work as I listened.
Also, I have a copy of the Amish Vampires in Space cover at my desk at work. Seriously, not joking. Our Americorps VISTA volunteer last summer gave it to me after I got her to read Hedging His Bets (hedgehog shifter–again, not joking).
Can’t wait to finish listening on my way home tonight, and I’m praying for the day I get to attend RT for myself and meet some of you lovely folks in person!
Looks like I’m not alone with my library (and bookstore) romance kick, having recently started a library job and wanting to read books in my new setting! Recently asked Twitter to help me with some recs for a list on my blog (and to overload my TBR obviously). Got a good list, but not big enough for my liking 😉
Just put The Undateable on my TBR. In the middle of Broken Resolutions right now, so I’m trusting your rec of Sara Title, Cat, lol.
Any chance there’s a list on the site with some more books to check out? Or anyone know of a list somewhere else? Goodreads overwhelms me with their lists. I already tried on there.
This episode was so great!!! So many book recommendations. Listening to the comedy romance recommendations, made me think of “Walk of Shame” by Lauren Layne. Its hilarious. Look up all the book recommendation from above!!
Loved this podcast so much! Any chance you guys want to post the second half a little early? I mean it is a long weekend..;)
@Arethusa I’ve totally read a contemporary with a male librarian, but I can’t remember what it was. I could submit a HaBO, but it would essentially say, there’s a male librarian! If I remember, he was new to town too.
Also, another librarian romance I’d recommend – Looking for Trouble by Victoria Dahl.
I read most of the Lovestruck Librarian series after hearing about Driven to Distraction on a recent SBTB podcast, but I’ve found them to be hit or miss.
@Arethusa I figured it out! A great male librarian read is Taking the Heat
by Victoria Dahl. It’s the last book in the same series as Looking for Trouble.
What a fun show! And thanks for the transcript, Garlic Knitter.