Becca Title is my guest this week as we celebrate the grand opening of Meet Cute, a romance bookshop in San Diego! We talk about the process of opening a bookstore, the lawyer-to-romance pipeline, and the establishment of one of the greatest murals I’ve ever seen.
Then we squee at each other about books. Obviously. ...
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536. Meet Us at Meet Cute: A New Romance Bookshop!

Each week on Smart Podcast, Trashy Books, Sarah Wendell interviews authors, readers, reviewers, bloggers, publishing professionals, editors, and librarians about romance novels, which are among the most popular genres in fiction worldwide. Popular guests include: Ilona Andrews, Robin Bradford, NPR's Barrie Hardymon, Chuck Tingle, Sarah J. Maas, and Rachel Aaron. Amanda Diehl, co-pilot of the SS Smart Bitches, makes regular appearances with maximum silliness, especially during our Romantic Times Rewind episodes, where we take a look at old issues of Romantic Times Magazine (1981-2018). Frequent topics include romance novels, the way the genre is changing, and the brilliant and interesting people who read, write, and produce it, and issues common among romance readers. Plus, we always recommend some books we're reading and really enjoying. Learn more at SB-TB.com/Podcast. Join our Patreon for complete mayhem, shenanigans, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Amanda and I are traveling back in time to May 1994 and taking a look at the ads and features inside Romantic Times Magazine – oh, it’s a time.
We have questions – and answers! Are Eric Braeden and Victor Newman the same guy?  Is Kathryn Falk writing celebrity gossip and outing people?  Are there Lorena Bobbit jokes?  Were Glamour Shots™ very well represented among author headshots?  We had a great time looking at the reviews, and the ads & features do not disappoint.
Don’t miss the visual aids. Seriously. There’s crooning.
Thank you to Mari the Romance Girl for this issue!
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615. RT Rewind: May 1994 Ads & Features

Harper St. George joins me to talk about The Stranger I Wed (look at that gorgeous cover) and the dollar princesses of the Gilded Age. We talk about transactional marriages, the power dynamics of marriages of convenience – and Harper has a few recommendations of her favorites!
You can find Harper St. George at her website, HarperStGeorge.com, and on Instagram @HarperStGeorge. We also mentioned:Clayton, the preserved home of the Frick family in Pittsburgh, PAAlmina Wombwell Herbert, Countess of CarnarvonHistory Tea Time with Lindsay Holiday – YouTube – Dollar Princesses
 Join our Patreon for complete mayhem, shenanigans, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

614. Dollar Princesses and Marriages of Convenience with Harper St. George

Amanda and I are traveling to May 1994 and taking a look at the book reviews in this edition of RT Rewind!
We’re answering many questions, including: 
Why does five stars mean something is a classic, but one star is acceptable?What do CS, RM, VR, and F stand for inside Contemporary and New Reality?What grade did Dreaming of You receive?
 There’s so much Fabio, a telepathic cat, blaming tornadoes for murder, and a lot of time travel.
But my gosh, golly, gee whiz, do not miss the visuals for this episode!
Music: purple-planet.com
Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with @lumedeodorant and get 15% off with promo code [SARAH15 ] at LumeDeodorant.com! #lumepod Join our Patreon for complete mayhem, shenanigans, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

613. RT Rewind: May 1994 Reviews

Len Pennie’s book of Scots poetry poyums is out in the US this week, and you might have seen my post about her book launch earlier this week. Len is my guest today and we’re going to talk about:Poetry!Healing from trauma and abuseThe subversive revolution of teaching a word a day in a minoritized languageUsing humor to overcome the “cultural hangover of linguistic oppression”More poetry!TW/CW: discussion of intimate partner violence and domestic abuse, depression, stalking.
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612. Poetry in Scots with Len Pennie

Y’all, the April 2005 issue of Romantic Times is a treasure of truly amazing fun. So many of you told me that episode 609, where we looked at the reviews, made you laugh so hard you cried. Well, let me share some highlights of what is about to happen to your eardrums.The Mr. Romance Cover Model Pageant was a Six-episode reality tv show on the Oxygen network, and we missed it when it ran. It’s not all on YouTube but we have a few links!We have the arrival of what I called the “venti sized” paperbackRomance writers with “dedicated rooms for Star Wars collectibles!”We’ve got some disturbing gimp masks on computer generated Poser people.It’s a glorious time. Come on over.
Did you ever attend Mr Romance at RT? Did you see the Mr Romance Pageant on tv?! And gosh, do you have a Romance SoundTrack CD? Please tell me everything.
Don’t miss the visual aids!
Links! For your browsing pleasure!Jafar’s staff on EbayThe 2005! cover snark featuring The Big Sword and the Naked GuyThe 2006 post about the Venti sized paperbacksThe cover for Running Anonymous – NSFW, NSFL
 And visit the visual aids for a clip from Mr Romance on the Oxygen network! Join our Patreon for complete mayhem, shenanigans, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

536. Meet Us at Meet Cute: A New Romance Bookshop!

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