This post is sponsored by E.V. Mitchell, author of the upcoming Savage Bonds, book two in the Shadowmist Pack series! If you’re craving fated mates and protective alphas, these five paranormal romance books are essential additions to your TBR. This list is a curated journey through everything I love about paranormal romance. I chose them because they each highlight a different “flavor” of the fated bond: Ali Hazelwood brings the modern, witty banter Nalini Singh provides … Continue reading E.V. Mitchell’s Top Five Fated Mate Paranormal Romances→
It’s FRIDAY FRIDAY GOT TO GET DOWN ON FRIDAY! But don’t worry, that is NOT this week’s Friday Video. HOWEVER. This week we are talking SONGS. Specifically, what is your earliest favorite song that you can remember? My earliest favorite song that I heard on the radio when I was with my friends and beginning to define my own taste was very 80s: “Into the Groove” by Madonna. I was obsessed with this stupid movie, … Continue reading Friday Videos Love Old Songs→
Recently in the podcast Discord community, Jfhobbit was giving a thorough and very thoughtful explanation of Omegaverse and its variations, and I asked her to expand on those thoughts for anyone who has heard of but isn’t super well-versed in Omegaverse fiction, its tropes, and its history. Plus, she offers recommendations of some of her faves. Jfhobbit is a long-time reader, writer, and English teacher. She reads in almost every romance genre under the sun, … Continue reading A Reader’s Guide to the Omegaverse→
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 … Continue reading 710. Writing Characters with Chronic Illness (Plus Restaurant Recs!!) with Riss M. Neilson→
This piece of literary mayhem is exclusive to Smart Bitches After Dark, but fret not. If you’d like to join, we’d love to have you! Have a look at our membership options, and come join the fun! If you want to have a little extra fun, be a little more yourself, and be part of keeping the site open for everyone in the future, we can’t wait to see you in our new subscription-based section … Continue reading The 80s Are Back…in Books→
Today in “This is from 2006?!” we have… Judson Laipply, a motivational speaker and dancer whose belt is doing so much work in this performance. So much work. Srsly. So much. But then, there’s only one dance video online, right? There can really only be one dance video to rule them all. Mazel tov to Zendaya and Tom Holland for allegedly getting married with literally actually factually absolutely positively no leaks. Truly a wonderful and … Continue reading Friday Videos Hope You Do All the Dances→
We are back, recapping the July 2000 issue of Romantic Times! We’ve got: Anthologies Carpathians 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. You can watch the … Continue reading 709. RT Rewind: July 2000 Reviews→
Every now and again, I remember this video. Well, sort of. Specifically I remember to sing and dance to it across the kitchen at inopportune moments. I also love silly videos featuring game characters and screen recordings. It’s one of my favorite subgenres, even if I have NO idea which game it is (I know which game this is). Do you have any fave video game clips or parodies? Please do share in the comments … Continue reading Friday Videos are Uber L33t→
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.
This piece of literary mayhem is exclusive to Smart Bitches After Dark, but fret not. If you’d like to join, we’d love to have you! Have a look at our membership options, and come join the fun! If you want to have a little extra fun, be a little more yourself, and be part of keeping the site open for everyone in the future, we can’t wait to see you in our new subscription-based section … Continue reading Are the Books You’re Reading Giving What You Want Out of Reading a Romance?→
It’s Friday, there are videos on the internet, so let us go a-spelunking! And leaning into how “okay” I am at graphic design, forsooth! A graphic to celebrate these spelunking expeditions! Ah, VHS. Speaking of, I imagine the video quality of this vintage commercial was influenced at some point by a VHS transfer. This week’s Friday Video is a commercial from 18-20 years ago (it had to be on VHS, right? Or Betamax?) and it’s … Continue reading Friday Videos Love Being Not Sluggish→
