Raging Romantics

Let's keep it short, sweet, and simple with some of Jen and Jackie's favorite romance books they grew up with!

• Katie McAlister "Blow Me Down"
• McAlister's ren faire book "Hard Day's Knight"
• Highlander series by Karen Marie Moning
• Especially "Spell of the Highlander"
• Viking series by Sandra Hill
• Sutherland Brothers series by Kresley Cole

Raging Romantics booklist!

Raging Romantics Booklist!

Content Warnings: Discussion of dubious consent, non-consent and rape within novels, cultural appropriation, and minor language use at 24:52- 25:57 ; 28:55-29:32 ; 47:42 - 50:00

Questions/Comments/concerns or suggestions for episodes? Email us at [email protected]!

Terms:

• Vikingr- Most likely meaning "pirate" or "raider," and potentially declining from Old Norse vik, meaning "creek." Used to delineate people of Scandinavian and Norse heritage who, during the early medieval period, were known for sailing and raiding other countries, primarily in the British Isles and Europe. This is where we get "Viking" from
• Valhalla - "hall of the Gods," a belief of the afterlife where those worthy of glory are able to dine and live in eternity with the gods
• C.E. - "Current Era" used in place of A.D. (anno domini)
• Saami - any member of a people speaking the Sami language who inhabit Lapland and adjacent areas of northern Norway, Sweden, and Finland, as well as the Kola Peninsula of Russia.
• Polytheistic - belief system with multiple gods
• Normans - A group of people that rose from the intermingling of Norse invaders with indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans during the 8th-11th century. They came to power in the Duchy of Normandy, and would be remembered for invading Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in 1066 and establishing an early English monarchy.
• Carolingians - The Carolingian Dynasty (751-887) was a family of Frankish nobles who ruled Francia and its successor kingdoms in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages.
• Anglo-Saxons -Any member of the Germanic peoples who, from the 5th c. C.E. to the time of the Norman Conquest (1066), inhabited and ruled territories that are today part of England and Wales.
• Lindisfarne - A monastic isle off the coast of Northumberland that would become famous for the being the first site of a Viking raid in 793 C.E.
• dubious consent - "dubcon"
• non-con - "non-consent"
• Divine Right of Kings - the doctrine that kings derive their authority from God, not from their subjects, from which it follows that rebellion is the worst of political crimes
• Anabaptist Elevator -

Authors/Books/Sagas we mention:

• Connie Mason
• Shannon Drake
• Catherine Coulter
• Beowulf
• The Sagas of Ragnar Lothbrok
• River Kings: A New History of the Vikings from Scandinavia to the Silk Road by Cat Jarman
• The Viking Wars: War and Peace in King Alfred’s Britain: 789-955 by Max Adams
• Prince Valiant by Hal Foster
• Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton
• The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss
• Fires of Winter (Haardrad Brothers book 1) by Johanna Lindsey
• Viking's Ecstasy by Robin Gideon
• Tender Marauder by Linda Lang Bartell
• The Outlaw Viking by Sandra Hill
• Dokiri Brides (series) by Denali Day
• Gathering of Dragons (series) by Milla Vane
• Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec
• Goddess of Nothing at All by Cat Rector
• **Hall of Smoke (series Jackie accidentally called Temple of No Gods) by HM Long
• Bloodsworn saga (series) by John Gwynne
• Sisters in Hate by Seyward Darby
• Neon Gods by Katee Robert

Articles we read:

• Romancing the Dark Ages: The Viking Hero in Sentimental Narratives (Calderón, 2007)--Google search for a download of this!
• Warrior woman burial
• No Nazis in Valhalla: Understanding the Use (and Misuse) of Nordic Cultural Markers in Third Reich Era Germany
• Who Owns the Vikings? Pagans, Neo-Nazis and Advertisers Tussle Over Symbols
• Viking Romance Novels Will Win You Over and We're Here to Help
• Shield-maidens, Valkyries, and Immortal Warriors: Viking Romance Novel Recommendations (McCoy, 2017)
• How to write a Viking: Top tips from the Sons Of Sigurd Authors (2020)
• Viking (britannica.com)
• Vikings (history.com, 2019)
• English Women Fell in Love with Vain Vikings (ThorNews, 2014)
• The Five Boroughs Of Danelaw (Brain, n.d.)
• Medieval Scandinavia: Power Dynamics in the Viking Age (Larrea, n.d.)
• Norse Mythology (Groeneveld, 2017)
• Norman (britannica.com)
• Ireland's History in Maps (Walsh, 2007)

We created a master list for you of ALL the books we've ever talked about! Check out the Raging Romantics Booklist for all the titles, series, and episode links your heart could ever desire as a romance reader. In the meantime, here's our little list of romantic suspense books to get you running. Enjoy!

DID YOU LISTEN TO THE TESSA BAILEY EPISODE YET?!?!?!?!

Questions/Comments/Concerns/Recommendations? Email us at [email protected] <3

Books we mention:

• My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey
• Protecting What's His by Tessa Bailey (Line of Duty series)
• Crossing the Line series by Tessa Bailey
• Colorado High Country series by Pamela Clare
• Especially Falling Hard, Tempting Fate, and Holding On
• The McCloud Brothers series by Shannon McKenna
• Especially Edge of Midnight
• Well Met by Jen DeLuca (Well Met series)
• The Lion's Den and The Siren by Katherine St. John
• Rock Chick series and Chaos MC series by Kristen Ashley

Hey romance nerds; join us for this quick episode where we talk romantic suspense! For a genre that is so widely popular and well-known, there's not that much to talk about with it. Do you have feelings/thoughts/opinions on romance books that feature suspenseful plotlines? Email us at [email protected]!

Don't forget to go check out our Tessa Bailey interview!

Books/authors we mention:

• Madame Will You Talk by Mary Stewart
• My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey
• Nightwork by Nora Roberts
• Legacy by Nora Roberts
• Under Currents by Nora Roberts
• Shelter in Place by Nora Roberts
• Colorado High Country series by Pamela Clare
• Jackie Ashenden
• The Hellbound Brotherhood by Shannon McKenna
• Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine
• American Queen by Sierra Simone
• Fever series by Karen Marie Moning

Thank you to Nicki Greenwood for sitting down with us and talking independent and hybrid publishing in romancelandia! Make sure to check out her books, some of which are at the Northern Onondaga Public Library.

We had so much fun chatting with all the authors these past two months, and we hope you listeners had a good time too. Don't forget to put all of these on hold at your Library or click Add to Cart!

Questions/comments/concerns/recommendations? Email us at [email protected].

Nicki's links:

• Website nickigreenwood.com
• Instagram @nickigreenwood01
• Facebook @Nicki.Greenwood.Author
• Twitter @nickigreenwood

It's time to announce the winners of the Ruby Dixon giveaway! Thank you to everyone who wrote in to enter! Winners, you will be contacted via email so you can get your goodies <3

Questions/comments/concerns/recommendations? Email us at [email protected]!

Congratulations again to the winners. Make sure to keep your ears out for our next giveaway! Rage on!

We have such a treat for you with this episode, dear listener...we sat down with the Michelangelo of dirty talk herself, Tessa Bailey!

Her newest book, My Killer Vacation, comes out June 6. The heroine is a podcast-lover herself, so how could we not get Tessa on the show?! We talk all things romantic suspense, as well as Tessa's writing influences, process, and how she manages to write so many amazing things in such a short amount of time.

And, as usual, we here at Raging Romantics would like to apologize for the audio quality...Thank you for bearing with us, as you always do. We'll get this whole technology thing one day. We appreciate you!

Questions/Comments/concerns/recommendations? Email us at [email protected]!

Tessa Bailey books to read right now:

• Protecting What's His
• My Killer Vacation
• It Happened One Summer
• Window Shopping
• Crossing the Line series
• Line of Duty series
• Heat Stroke
• Worked Up
• Getaway Girl
• Renaissance Man
• Hot & Hammered series

Other books/authors we mention:

• Hidden Fires by Sandra Brown
• Sunset Embrace by Sandra Brown
• Night Secrets by Kat Martin
• Dating Dr. Dil by Nisha Sharma
• Katee Robert
• Penelope Douglas
• Ruby Dixon
• The American Roommate Experiment by Elena Armas (Out September 6, 2022)
• Georgie All Along by Kate Clayborn (out January 31, 2023)

Podcasts we shout out

• Morbid
• My Favorite Murder

Thank you to Tracy Brody for joining us on the podcast. We have a chat with her about her (myriad) experiences in the world of romance publishing!

Tracy's website

Instagram @Tracybrodybooks

Twitter @Tracybrodybooks

Facebook @Tracybrodybooks

• Bad Karma Special Ops series
• Faking It with the Bachelor
• Faking It with the Green Beret (currently writing)

Join us for this (rather extended) talk about different publishing models in the romance world. We talk hybrid, small press, vanity presses, and independent publishing, and weigh a few of the pros and cons across the board. Long answer short, however you choose to pursue publishing, you're doing great sweetie!

Questions/comments/concerns/something you want to rage about? Email us at [email protected] ♡

Books/authors we talk about:

• American Dirt by Jeanine Cummings
• From Blood and Ash (series) by Jennifer Lynn Armentrout
• Mink
• Alexa Riley
• Jesmyn Ward
• Cape May by Chip Creek
• Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud by Anne Helen Petersen
• Tessa Bailey

General links:

• "Bad Romance" (Jeong, 2018) (The Verge article Jen mentioned)
• "What is an indie author?" (Alliance of Independent Authors)
• "What is Hybrid Publishing? Here Are 4 Things All Writers Should Know" (Warner, 2016)
• "Hybrid Publishing: Everything You’ve Always Wanted to Know" (Probst, 2021)
• "How to Get Your Book Distributed: What Self-Published Authors Need to Know" (Friedman, 2017)
• "How to Publish an eBook" (Alliance of Independent Authors, 2021)
• "The Shaky Future of Self-Publishing and Romance"(Bloom, 2018)
• "Why Would Anyone Sell A Book For $0.99?" (Bloom, 2021)
• Reddit about Ruby Dixon and Amazon
• "Black authors are on all the bestseller lists right now. But publishing doesn’t pay them enough" (Grady, 2020)
• "The Disadvantage of Market Saturation" (chron.com, 2020)

KDP:

• Kindle Direct Publishing
• Royalties in Kindle Unlimited
• "How Authors Get Paid in Kindle Unlimited" (Adrienne C., 2021)
• "Why is Amazon Banning Thousands of Authors?" (Bloom, 2018)

More info on vanity presses :

• "What is Vanity Publishing?" (Doppler, 2020)
• "Why it’s a bad idea to pay a vanity press to publish your writing" (Snyder, 2005)
• "Vanity Press: How to Dodge Scams and Self Publishing Companies to Avoid" (Allan, 2022)
• "Self Publishing Vs. Hybrid Publishing Vs. "Vanity Publishing"" (Hawk, 2021)
• Quora "Why are "vanity press" publishers viewed as such a bad thing?" (see discussion from Andrew Chapman specifically)

Victoria Aveyard tiktok (@victoriaaveyard), website, and instagram (@victoriaaveyard) - lots of information on what the nitty gritty is like!

Thank you so much to Carrie Nichols (aka Carol Opalinski) for sitting down with us and talking about what it's like to publish with romance super-brand Harlequin!

Carrie's website

Bookbub @carolopal

Instagram @authorcarrienichols

Facebook authorcarrienichols

Twitter @carolopal

There's still time to enter the Ruby Dixon giveaway! Email us at [email protected] by May 23, 2022 to be entered to win a new edition of Ice Planet Barbarians plus some gorgeous fanart.