Backlist and Chill

Backlist: Season six is off to a turbulent start! This is take two of our discussion of HAWKSONG by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes (published in July 2003), thanks to a recording error. Will an extra read and an extra week to reflect soften our hearts towards this, the so-called (by us, we called it that) "best" of the Kiesha'ra series?

Spoiler Alert: no. No, it actually did the opposite. Sorry.

Chill: Tangentially related drinks this time - Cyna is drinking a Golden Dream (orange juice, triple sec, vanilla vodka, and cream), and Ollie is drinking an Undeath in-- er, a Hawk's Keep (Absente absinthe - not on fire - and cold ginger ale). Take a look at our pretty pics!   Cyna - Ollie.

Intro theme - "Let It In" by Josh Woodward.

Next time:  Season 6 Episode 2: SNAKECHARM! Chiller and Chillest tier patrons will receive this episode before it goes public!

Happy holidays to everyone who celebrates, and we'll see you in the new year!

(1h 19m. Content Warning: Profanity, alcohol consumption, sexually explicit language, war, violence and death, classism, traumabonding as romance, sketchy consent.)

Psst! Want to get B&C delivered to your inbox days before it goes live to the public? Become our patron at the $2 or higher level and you are in! Already our patron? Then you know what we're talking about! Enjoy, friend!

Welcome to season six, folks, in which Cyna and Ollie are revisiting on of our earliest and most formative authors - Amelia Atwater-Rhodes! This season, we're taking a deep dive into what may be Atwater-Rhodes' most popular series - The Kiesha'ra. This will almost certainly end well!

Intro theme - "Let It In" by Josh Woodward.  No booze was consumed in the making of this episode - regularly scheduled alcohol to resume in Episode 1: The Kiesha'ra Vol 1: Hawksong!

Thanks for sticking with us, follks, and stay safe! Come check in with us on twitter @BacklistPodcast!

Special Backlist: We've been at this drinking game for 2 whole years! Can you believe it? I mean, we can. Definitely feels longer! And at long last, we're re-reading the Season 1 Ep3 book whose original audio was buggered up (Ollie apologizes forever), but it's totally fine: we learned a lot from that read which made this time extra interesting. Get ready for Annette Curtis Klaus' BLOOD AND CHOCOLATE, published August 1997!

Chill: Drinking! Cyna is drinking a Blood Orange Chocolate martini (crème de cacao, blood orange cocktail mix, orange juice, orange-flavored vodka). Ollie is drinking an absinthe cocktail, this time an Undeath in the Afternoon (Absente absinthe and ginger ale). Check our drink set ups on twitter since they're extra pretty: Cyna - Ollie

We'll be watching the B&C movie on Saturday the 28th, where we'll live tweet it; we'll post the exact time and hashtag on @BacklistPodcast twitter so watch for updates there. You can watch along with us with your own copy (or DM for link details).

Intro theme - "Let It In" by Josh Woodward.

Next time: Season 6 begins in December, and we'll post an announcement to Chillest tier patrons first. Chiller and Chillest tier patrons will receive the intro episode before it goes public!  

(1h 21m. Content Warning: Vulgar language, drinking alcohol, and dramatic readings from the hosts; Horror, body horror, physical and emotional violence, threats of violence, detailed gore, gun violence, dead dogs, human and animal corpses, murder, trial by combat/violent rituals that lead to death, bullying, girl hate, breaking and entering, destruction of property, toxic masculinity, adult werewolves sexualizing teenage werewolves, outdated opinions on women, misogyny, horny teenagers, sexual situations, rejection of self, shitty privileged boys who think over-highly of themselves, gaslighting, kidnapping, casual nudity, suicidal ideation, suicidal preparation, attempted *attempted* suicide, consent issues around women's bodies including sexual grabbing, sexual harassment, pedestal-putting and fetishizing of humans, not being able to fight "your nature", and softness treated as weakness from the novel.)

Psst! Want to get B&C delivered to your inbox days before it goes live to the public? Become our patron at the $2 or higher level and you are in! Already our patron? Then you know what we're talking about! Enjoy, friend!

Special Backlist: Time for a spooky Halloween Special! We're reading our first book written by a guy?! Christopher Pike's THE LAST VAMPIRE, published May 1994!

Chill: Drinking! Ollie is drinking an absinthe cocktail they love, the Shattered Mirror (Absente absinthe, simple syrup, lime juice). Cyna is drinking a mixed drink she calls a Sita (ginger ale, raspberry liqueur, grenadine, lemon juice, clear vodka + red food coloring). Check out our drink set ups on twitter: Ollie - Cyna

Bonus content: Sita's Vampire the Masquerade overpowered (OP) character sheet. How many experience points does this lady have!?

Suleikha Snyder's thoughts on The Last Vampire and Racial Representation.

Intro theme - "Let It In" by Josh Woodward.

Starting at 1:23:44 until 1:38:50 - MAJOR CONTENT WARNINGS! Neither of us are experts but we needed to talk about historical myths around Aryan mythology, mentions of Nazi Germany, propaganda, racism, colorism, appropriation of advancement in a "history to the colonizer" type revision to perpetuate false information that is or can be harmful, discrediting, and dehumanizing to Indian and Hindu cultures, and controversy surrounding those topics. Critical consumption of media herein.

Next time: 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY EVENT - BLOOD & CHOCOLATE! At long last! Chiller and Chillest tier patrons will receive this episode before it goes public!  We'll also watch the B&C movie and live tweet it; we'll post the date and hashtag ahead of time on @BacklistPodcast twitter.

Season 6 begins in December, and we'll announce to Chillest tier patrons first.

(1h 43m. Content Warning: Vulgar language, drinking alcohol, discussions of bad parents and kids stealing shit from libraries, teenage runaways and , homelessness, mentions of Nazi Germany and propaganda, and dramatic readings from the hosts; Extremely over-powered, sexually confident, and self-assured bisexual (probably hetero-romantic) vampire heroine, kidnapping, murder, physical violence, gun violence, horror, whitewashing of Hindu religion and mythology, whiteness as goodness, sex and sexual situations, nudity, reborn true love, teen character with HIV/AIDS, 1990s technology, flashbacks, demons, desecration of a pregnant corpse, insubstantial roles for other women, compressed timeline that requires suspension of disbelief, author self-insert character, cliffhanger ending, male gaze writing, stilted dialogue, Aryan mythology, racism, and colorism from the novel.)

Psst! Want to get B&C delivered to your inbox days before it goes live to the public? Become our patron at the $2 or higher level and you are in! Already our patron? Then you know what we're talking about! Enjoy, friend!

Backlist: Season 5 continues with the middle third of LJ Smith's THE SECRET CIRCLE: THE CAPTIVE (and another title that actually has any meaning) published October 1992!

Chill: Drinking! Cyna is drinking a Black John Crystal Skull, a cheap version of a Smoke Crystal Skull  (vodka, tea and lemonade Arnold Palmer, liquid smoke, black gel food coloring). Ollie is drinking an absinthe and tea cocktail (Absente absinthe, green and white tea, sugar). Check out our set ups on twitter: Ollie - Cyna.

And all those covers at: ljscovers.insanitysandwich.com - The Secret Circle covers 

Intro theme - "Let It In" by Josh Woodward. 

Next time:  Season 5 Episode 3: THE POWER! Chiller and Chillest tier patrons will receive this episode before it goes public!

(2h 6m. Content Warning: Vulgar language, drinking alcohol, and dramatic readings from the hosts; Misleading and spoiler-filled blurbs, magic removing consent and autonomy (including sexually--like we NEED TO BE CLEAR there's magic-compulsive rape implied against human guys), classism, not enough potential for The Gay, no plot that matters, bi-erasure, mean girls, zero parental oversight, privileged jerks and unexamined privilege, class warfare without addressing structural power, secrets, lies, non-Wiccan witchcraft, dark magic, kids doing petty crimes, extreme lack of diversity while coding antagonists with racist visuals and phrases, fetishizing of whiteness as goodness, lack of communication, breeding?, fire, violence, death, horror, and terribad pacing from the novel.)

Psst! Want to get B&C delivered to your inbox days before it goes live to the public? Become our patron at the $2 or higher level and you are in! Already our patron? Then you know what we're talking about! Enjoy, friend!

Backlist: A new season and a returning author! LJ Smith's THE SECRET CIRCLE series begins with THE INITIATION (and the title kinda has meaning, hooray) published September 1992!

Chill: Drinking! Cyna is drinking a Salem Witch (melon liquor, raspberry liquor, sweet & sour, vodka, grenadine, and club soda). Ollie is drinking a Triple L (Absente absinthe, lime juice, and homemade lilac simple-syrup--making it lilac-lime-licorice flavored). Check out our set ups on twitter: Cyna - Ollie.

And all those covers at: ljscovers.insanitysandwich.com - The Secret Circle covers 

Intro theme - "Let It In" by Josh Woodward. 

Next time:  Season 5 Episode 2: THE CAPTIVE! Chiller and Chillest tier patrons will receive this episode before it goes public!

(1h 40m. Content Warning: Vulgar language, drinking alcohol, and dramatic readings from the hosts; Misleading and spoiler-filled blurbs, poverty shaming, witch radar, insta-love, bi-erasure, mean girls, zero parental oversight, privileged jerks and unexamined privilege, class warfare without addressing structural power, colonization, plot holes, coerced and dubious consent (but not with anything sexual), bullshit blood purity, secrets, lies, non-Wiccan witchcraft, dark magic, extreme lack of diversity, lack of communication, first crushes, first kisses, and terribad pacing from the novel.)

Psst! Want to get B&C delivered to your inbox days before it goes live to the public? Become our patron at the $2 or higher level and you are in! Already our patron? Then you know what we're talking about! Enjoy, friend!

In this Intro episode for season five, Cyna and Ollie get ready to revisit LJ Smith (previously read in season 3 for The Vampire Diaries) to continue our trek through her backlist--and going for some witchy YA one more time!

Intro theme - "Let It In" by Josh Woodward.  No booze was consumed in the making of this episode--WHICH IS WILD, BECAUSE WE'RE SUPER GOOFY. Regularly scheduled alcohol to resume in Episode 1: THE SECRET CIRCLE: The Initiation! 

Thanks for being with us, listeners. We hope you're all holding tight out there. Come hang with us on twitter @BacklistPodcast.