Backlist and Chill

"We're so good at writing books; we just take all of the conflict right out of 'em!"

Backlist: Season 4 continues with Cate Tiernan's SWEEP series book two: THE COVEN (from 2001)!

Chill: What're we boozin' today? Cyna's whipped up a Witches Brew (1 part each Midori, Sprite, orange juice, but then also added vodka, more OJ, and more Sprite to make it taste, uh, better). Ollie is drinking a modified Broken Mirror (1 part each Absente absinthe, lime, sugar-water). Check out our set ups on twitter: Cyna - Ollie.

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

Next time:  Season 4 Episode 3: BLOOD WITCH! Chiller and Chillest tier patrons will receive this episode before it goes public! 

(1h 22m. Content Warning: Vulgar language, drinking alcohol, dramatic readings, discussions of imaginary parenting role play, and mentions of 9/11 timeline obsessing from the hosts; Spoiler-filled blurbs, discussions of religion and magic, witches and witchcraft, the gays do exist but we're not protags or love interests, the moral gray of when to tell a kid they're adopted, unsolved murder mystery, recent history persecution of witches, not getting consent for using witchy powers on people, girlhate, bullying, gaslighting, fighting over a boy, "purity of the blood" type ridiculousness, attempted assault from a boyfriend, toxic masculinity, plot that could be solved by technology and communication, possessive boys, and overall easy reading 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!

"I'm not wearing a bra."

Backlist: A new season and a new author! Cate Tiernan's SWEEP series begins with BOOK OF SHADOWS (not that the titles mean absolutely anything, again) published January 2001!

Note from Ollie: Sorry about my tinny audio! I accidentally used my laptop mic recording and not my good external mic. Boo! Never again.

Chill: Drinking! Cyna is drinking a variation on a Witches Blood that she's calling a Blood Witch (tart cherry juice, vodka, orange juice, lime juice, and Sprite). Ollie is drinking cousin of babywine (Wildvine's blackberry merlot). Check out our set ups on twitter: Cyna - Ollie.

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

Next time:  Season 4 Episode 2: THE COVEN! Chiller and Chillest tier patrons will receive this episode before it goes public! 

(1h 28m. Content Warning: Vulgar language, drinking alcohol, dramatic readings, and timeline obsessing from the hosts; Misleading and spoiler-filled blurbs, low bar diversity acknowledgement, some tokenism and exotification, large named cast, discussions of religion and magic, witches and witchcraft, internalized body shame, the gays do exist but we're not protags or love interests, needy lonely boys, lack of communication, jealousy, queer analogs, controlling behavior from a friend, first crushes, first kisses, and overall easy reading 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!

It's here! In this Intro episode for season four, Ollie and Cyna get to know a little more about the author of our next backlist, Cate Tiernan! Are you ready for some witches???

100% credit to FireFairy and Cate Tiernan's Official Site for the information shared in this episode. There's loads more that we didn't cover, especially pertaining to Sweep, so if you're a fan, we highly recommend taking a ride in the Wayback Machine to check them out.

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: SWEEP: Book of Shadows! 

As promised, here's our chat about the terrible short story BLOOD WILL TELL by LJ Smith. This is a slight alternative to part of the ending, but not an actual full alt ending. It's like an AU insert. Some of the happenings in this story will definitely double down on our readings of how bad feeding must be in previous stories *cough Damon-Feeding-On-Stefan cough* *Damon-feeding-on-unwilling-girls-ever cough cough*

(30m. Content Warning: Vulgar language, shipping boys, sad cookie eating, and drinking alcohol from the hosts; Feeding as metaphor for sex, coerced consent, homophobia, bisexual erasure, sexualization of teenagers, pedophilic language, blood, mental health stigmatization, sex-shaming, "women's virtue" bullshit, justification of an abuser, turning friends over for abuse, infantalization of a high schooler, guilt tripping, and basically just porn-without-plot author fanwanking from the short story.)

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!

"Allow me to reveal the plot. I am the Detective Stefan Salvatore."

Backlist: It's the final book of our Season talking about THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: DARK REUNION. This is LJ Smith's fourth novel, published May 1992. And for the first time this season, we have a bunch of good to say!

Chill: Drinking! Ollie is drinking absinthe (sugar water, absinthe, and lemon juice, aka A Broken Mirror) and Cyna is drinking a Rebirth (orange juice, rum, lemon juice). Check out our set ups, one is prettier than the other by far:  Ollie - Cyna.

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

Next time: Our Intro Ep for Season 4! Who will it be....? Chiller and Chillest tier patrons will receive this episode a few weeks before it goes public! 

(1h 57m. Content Warning: Vulgar language, drinking alcohol, shipping boys together, Ice Giant alien-conspiracy theorizing, dramatic readings, and continued Team Katherine from the hosts; Saint Elena, body horror, thinly veiled metaphors for sex/sexual assault, compulsive heteronormativity, manipulation, gaslighting, abusive friendships, terrible sartorial choices, violence and mentions of domestic violence, dehumanization of people with mental illnesses, mental illness used as plot device, manpain, murder, death, sexualizing teenagers, victim shaming and blaming, blood, bullying, atmospheric spookiness, and Gothic horror 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!

"That's a nice way to end it. Fuck, there's more."

Backlist: It's the penultimate episode of Season 3 with THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: THE FURY. This is LJ Smith's third novel, published November 1991, featuring "character development", "redemption arcs", "heterosexuals", Our Lady of the Attempted Eternal Polyamorous Triad, and the hand of the author! Bonus: Katherine and Honoria make the best worst roommates.

Chill: We're drinking the same thing, gasp! Love Noir Satin Red Wine: aka Elena Gilbert's life. Has good wine color. Our snaps:  Ollie - Cyna.

As mentioned: The LJ Smith Cover Resource - check out those gorgeous Thai Vampire Diaries covers!

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

Next time: the (90s-era) finale! TVD: DARK REUNION. Chiller and Chillest tier patrons will receive this episode a few weeks before it goes public! 

(1h 59m. Content Warning: alcohol consumption, explicit sexual discussion, sexual assault, rape, animal violence, violence against animals, suicide, suicidal ideation, gaslighting,  inappropriate student-teacher relationships, sexualizing teenagers, bullying, blood, girlhate) 

Continuing Season 3 of B&C with THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: THE STRUGGLE. This is LJ Smith's second novel, published October 1991. A trilogy in four parts!

What's aged well, what's going in the trash, and can we possibly recommend this?

Featuring Cyna drinking an alcoholic shake, "Vampire Cocktail" (vanilla ice cream, Triple Sec,  white creme de cacao, and strawberry drizzle) and Ollie with some cousin-of-babywine (Wild Vines blackberry merlot). Intro theme - "Let It In" by Josh Woodward.

Bonus content! Peep Cyna's drank set up via our Twitter sharing. (Ollie opted not to take a pic because they were drinking the same thing as book 1, in a MLP:FiM Twilight Sparkle mug.)

Next time: TVD: THE FURY! Chiller and Chillest tier patrons will receive this episode a few days before it goes public!

(1h 38m. Content Warning: Vulgar language, drinking alcohol, shipping boys together, dramatic readings, and whining that Katherine deserves better from the hosts; compulsive heteronormativity, thinly veiled metaphors for sex/sexual assault, manipulation, gaslighting, abusive friendships, violence, manpain, girlhate, sexualizing teenagers, victim shaming and blaming, stalking, inappropriate teacher-student dynamics, blood, bullying, main character death, atmospheric spookiness, and Gothic horror 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!

Time to kick off Season 3 of B&C with THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: THE AWAKENING. This is LJ Smith's first novel, published September 1991. And no one could guess that we're talking about... vampires! Again! (We're very on-brand.)

What's aged well, what's going in the trash, and can we possibly recommend this?

Featuring Cyna drinking the mixed drink "The Vampire Diaries" (strawberry syrup, pepper vodka--oh wait, no, that was awful; rum & coke it is!) and Ollie with some basic-ass wine in honor of Elena being That Girl (Barefoot pink moscato, and Wild Vines blackberry merlot). Intro theme - "Let It In" by Josh Woodward.

Bonus content! Have a gander at Cyna and Ollie's drank set ups via our Twitter sharing.

Next time: TVD: THE STRUGGLE! Chiller and Chillest tier patrons will receive this episode a few days before it goes public!

(1h 26m. Content Warning: Vulgar language, drinking alcohol, shipping boys together, and whining that Katherine deserves better from the hosts; compulsive heteronormativity, thinly veiled metaphors for sex/sexual assault, manipulation, gaslighting, abusive friendships, assault, white knighting, violence, manpain, girlhate, underage drinking, entitlement, stalking, off-screen suicide, murder, blood, animal death, atmospheric spookiness, and Gothic horror 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!

We're prepping for our next boo~klist, and right in time for the spooky Halloween season! In this Intro Episode, Cyna and Ollie explore the history of our third Backlist & Chill author, LJ Smith!

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 Vampire Diaries: The Awakening!

Welcome back, listeners! In the fifth episode of Season 2, B+C is chatting at you about MIDNIGHT PREDATOR. Published in January 2002, the fourth Den of Shadows by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. This story includes vampires, hunters, and shapeshifters, set in a human trafficking plot-line of sorts.

Featuring Cyna drinking the mixed drink "Turquoise Daiquiri" (rum, Triple Sec, Blue Curacao, lime juice, pineapple juice) and Ollie with whatever random nips they found at their place and their brother's (Smirnoff Fluffed Marshmallow vodka with sprite; Bacardi Gold; Disaronno). Intro theme - "Let It In" by Josh Woodward. 

Bonus content! Have a gander at Ollie's drink set ups over on Twitter.

Next time: We announce our author for SEASON THREE, and give our Intro Episode! Chiller and Chillest tier patrons will receive this episode a few WEEKS before it goes public!

(1h 31m. Content Warning: Vulgar and lewd language, drinking alcohol, book sniffing, timeline obsessing, and dramatic readings from the hosts; discussions of human and supernatural trafficking and slavery, terrible white dude advice from authority figures, victim shamey language, abusive relationships, physical abuse, neglect, mental abuse, manipulation, brain-washing, personality modification, kink-adjacent BDSM-type scenarios, abusers harboring other abusers, ableist characters, misogyny, girlhate, and oblivious classism from the book.)

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, friends!