Welcome to Smart Podcast, Trashy Books! Each Friday, I talk with authors, readers, reviewers, bloggers, publishing professionals, editors, and librarians, or combinations thereof, and share the fun and mayhem with you. Frequent topics include romance fiction, the brilliant and interesting people who read, write, and produce it, and issues common among romance readers, along with a hefty side order of silliness. Plus, we always recommend some books we’re reading and really enjoying.
And speaking of recommendations, are you new to the podcast? Welcome!
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, fear not: here are some of our most popular episodes – so far!
Joanna Shupe posted a TikTok on November 11, 2024, in response to angry readers chastising her for writing in her newsletter about her disappointment with the election results. I have included the audio with her permission. She says in her comments that she could teach a whole class about the parallels between the Gilded Age and the current political and cultural climate, which I am calling The Dumpster Age. I reached out and said, I … Continue reading 650. “I’m Going to Keep Daring” – Romance and History with Joanna Shupe→
One! More! Time! We’ve got one last set of interviews with all of you, and we’re going out with a banger of a book list. We’re talking about Y’all Fest, koalas, how terrifying David Tennant is, bonkbusters, Taylor Swift lyrics as book titles, and pop culture portal fantasies in romance. TW/CW: As part of my conversation with Carisa, who teaches history, we discuss some historical police violence and discussion of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, discussions … Continue reading 649. Kindness Everywhere: New Year’s Recs & Wishes from Claudia, Carisa, Verity, Colleen, and Elyse→
We’re traveling around the world again, with Sarah Jane, Lilisonna, and Martin to gather recs, and wishes, and terrible jokes. We’ve got more joyful recommendations for AJ Sherwood’s books, more cozy games, more pop culture documentaries, and more cats visiting the show. We’ve got one more episode featuring listeners in various parts of the world. Record number of people signed up this year. Thank you!
We’re traveling all over the world again, from the west coast of the US to Germany to discuss the price of PopTarts, book recommendations, and wishes for 2025 with Megan, Alanna, Sue, and Rhonda. Thank you for being part of these episodes!
My guest this week is Elizabeth Hoyt!! This episode was SO MUCH FUN to record and produce and I am so excited to share it with you. We talk about her latest book, No Ordinary Duchess, writer’s block, emotionally constipated heroes, and the special place for sunshiny heroines. Plus we talk about how genres have changed in popularity over the course of her career. Side trips include the magic of writing about people who slowly … Continue reading 646. Swashbuckling and Historical Romance Classics with Elizabeth Hoyt→
We’re taking a tour around the US with stops in California, Ohio, Maryland, Texas, and Georgia with Carrie, Jenna, Melissa, Lisa, Josephine, and Cara! We’ve got holiday wishes and a bunch of recommendations. Thank you to everyone who signed up in record numbers to do a holiday recording with me. These are very fun! Music: purple-planet.com
My guests this week are, in the words of my home vernacular, yinz n’at. We’re traveling all over the country this week and we’re talking about fanfic, finding an unending treasure trove of books to read from a new favorite author, and taking time for restorative actions. There is still time to sign up if you’re a member of the Patreon community! Head over to Patreon and you’ll find the link.
It’s the first of our holiday episodes, and my guests are…all of you! Members of the podcast Patreon have signed up in record numbers to do interviews, so in the coming weeks, we’ll have recommendations, wishes, and bad jokes galore from folks all over the world. There is still time to sign up – head over to Patreon and you’ll find the link. This week, we’re headed to South Africa, Washington DC, Taiwan, Maryland and … Continue reading 643. Safety, D&D, and Smut Logic: Holiday Wishes from Dani, Katie, Sneezy, Julianne and Lisa→
Sophie Vershbow is a freelance journalist who writes a lot about books, reading, and the publishing industry. You might have seen her article about celebrity book ghost writers and about DNFing without guilt. We talk about her experience with social media strategy for authors and publishers, and with writing about publishing. We also discuss how much book publicity has changed, so stay tuned for extremely good advice for managing social media for book publicity. Then, … Continue reading 642. Books Journalism and Social Media with Sophie Vershbow→
It’s time for the Ads & Features from the November 2015 issue of Romantic Times magazine! Our cover story is…the 10th anniversary of Samhain publishing. We’ve got articles on series bibles and rugby romance – and a lot of ads when YA covers were all White girls in Giant Dresses. Come back in time with us – we had a lot of fun chatting about this issue, even though it was a bit of a … Continue reading 641. RT Rewind: November 2015 Ads & Features→
Lucy Jane Wood’s debut book, Rewitched, is out, and we connected to talk all things cozy, witchcraft, all the different 90s witches in pop culture, and the big feelings around turning an age with a zero on the end. Ultimately, this is a book about a person who wants to keep her own power – a theme I could certainly celebrate! Lucy Jane is also a TikToker and YouTuber with a sizeable following, so we … Continue reading 640. Cozy Witchcraft with Lucy Jane Wood→
