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!
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 … Continue reading 718. RT Rewind: December 2012 Reviews→
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 … Continue reading 717. Archangel’s Finale with Nalini Singh→
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 … Continue reading 716. Here for All the Reasons: Bachelor Critique With Ilana Masad and Stevie K. Seibert Desjarlais→
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: Opening a romance and speculative fiction book store Wealth disparity! Seeing the world premiere of episode 1 of Heated Rivalry at the Image+National queer film festival in Montreal The effect of Heated Rivalry on Joie de Livres Then … Continue reading 715. Books, Wine & Nachos at Joie de Livres: A Conversation with Claire Trottier→
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 … Continue reading 714. The Edge of Space-Time with Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein→
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. … Continue reading 713. Enemies to Lovers with Alisha Rai→
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, … Continue reading 712. Like, Follow, Subscribe: The Cost of A Childhood Online with Fortesa Latifi→
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 … Continue reading 711. RT Rewind: July 2000 Ads & Features→
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→
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→
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.
