Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: A Romance Novel Podcast

Jo Piazza is my guest this week to discuss her new book, The Parisian Heist. This book is a dual timeline story weaving together a 1990s heist at the Orsay museum with the story of Jo van Gogh, Vincent van Gogh’s sister in law, who is the reason we know who Vincent is today.

Along the way we talk about

• DNFing books
• Stealing art
• Mythologizing artists usually men
• And how many women do nearly everything half scared.

You can find Jo Piazza – and her book tour! – at her website JoPiazza.com. Her podcast is Under the Influence.

And you can hear her discussing her book Everyone is Lying to You in Episode 677. Everyone is Lying to You with Jo Piazza.

We also mentioned:

• Anthony Amore, Director of Security and Chief Investigator at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
• The Gardner Museum Theft
• The Red Wheelbarrow Bookshop, Paris
• In the Café: Agostina Segatori in Le Tambourin, Van Gogh Museum
• A Crab on its Back, Van Gogh Museum
• Bookcase Books, Jo Piazza’s pop up bookstore, on Bookshop.org

Music: purple-planet.com

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We’re back in the time machine heading to March 2009 to check out the new books reviewed in Romantic Times Magazine.

We’ve got:

• Hot dog shrines
• Alpha heroines
• PT Cruisers
• Allegories for the siege of Leningrad
• Whore’s Dust

We’ve got some new books in the magazine that are still bangers today across many genres, alongside some books that we’re going to leave in 2009, right after we talk about them in this episode. We got big yikes, folks! Big yikes!

You can find this episode on YouTube at Smart Podcast Trashy Books.

Music: purple-planet.com

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A few months ago, Kayleigh Donaldson joined me to discuss Oscar predictions and other pop culture stories, and we decided to connect quarterly to discuss popular culture.

We discuss the misogyny attached to Timothy Chalamet hate, a deep dive into the public post history of Club Chalamet as indicative of larger issues in fandom behavior, Madonna’s new album, Lizzo’s new album, and the Tartan Army.

The through-line of our conversation is really fandoms, specifically changing fan and audience behavior for better or for worse, what it means, why it’s happening, and maybe, how can it stop already.

When two book bloggers who have been on the internet for a good while discuss pop culture, it’s a very good time.

You can find Kayleigh Donaldson at her website, KayleighDonaldson.com, on Bluesky, and on Pajiba.com. You can also sign up for her (excellent) newsletter, Gossip Reading Club.

You can find Kayleigh on the following episodes:

• 576. BookTok, Hockey Romance, and People as Products with Kayleigh Donaldson
• 678. The Osmanification of Fiction Covers with Kayleigh Donaldson
• 703. Oscars and Gossip with Kayleigh Donaldson

We also mentioned:

• IG: footage of Madonna and Connor Storrie at Paris Fashion Week
• Widow’s Bay
• Bitch by Lizzo
• Confessions 2 by Madonna
• My Lady Jane

Do you like to listen to your favorite podcasts on YouTube?

https://www.youtube.com/@SmartPodcastTrashyBooks

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My guest this week is Kirsty Greenwood, whose new book Romantic Hero is out now everywhere, all over the world.

Kirsty writes what she calls “speculative romantic comedy,” and I really loved her first book, Love of my Afterlife.

We discuss SHOCKING topics like deleting the first book she tried to write, the character journeys in Romantic Hero, dealing with writer’s block, and punching people in the face.

Want to watch this episode? Find us on YouTube!

New! I’m posting clips from Romantic Times Rewind on TikTok! 

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You can find Kirsty Greenwood at her website, KirstyGreenwood.com, and sign up for her newsletter. You can also find her on Instagram and on Facebook at KirstyGreenwoodBooks.

You can also listen to us discussing Love of my Afterlife in Episode 622. The Love of My Afterlife with Kirsty Greenwood.

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The time machine is all charged up, and we’re headed back to May 1996 to take a look at the ads & features from Romantic Times magazine. It’s the late 90s, so you know that means Incredible Cover Art.

We also discover just how much creepy stuff Amanda owns currently, debates about babies in romance, cheap conference hotel rooms, woman flamingos, and incredible women heroines.

I don’t know if you’re a video watcher, but the video for this episode has ALL the visuals on screen. 

But if you’re NOT a video watcher, the visual aids were so bountiful I needed to give them their own post. 

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My guest today is bestselling author Ashley Poston, whose new book, The Someday Garden, is out this week.

The Someday Garden was inspired by The Secret Garden, so we’re going to talk about inspiration, gardening, fandoms, changing genres and having your readers grow up with you as a writer.

TW/CW – discussion of grief, and of suicide at almost exactly 1 hour into our conversation.

You can find Ashley Poston on her website, AshPoston.com, on IG as @HeyAshPoston, and on Threads @HeyAshPoston.

We also mentioned:

• Diary X (RIP)
• Cheerful Plants app (when to water your succulents!)
• Apple
• Android
• Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Parody Musical 
• Boothbay Garden, Maine
• Jardin de Quatre-Vents, Quebec, Canada
• The Butchart Garden, British Columbia, Canada

Do you like to listen to your favorite podcasts on YouTube? We’re there, too! Come on over!

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We love the 90s, and that’s where we’re headed this month, gazing at the impossible mullets from Romantic Times magazine.

We’re talking about the newest books from May 1996, including the second book in what is now a 15-book much-loved series, and some truly memorable character names.

We’ll investigate, “What’s wrong with this man?” We’ll have “lashings of good fun.” Plus we learn a SHOCKING TRUTH about Amanda’s reading history.

Want to watch on YouTube?

We also mentioned:

• Movie Pooper
• Classic Romance: Which One First? Nora Roberts Edition
• My Reddit post about the centerfold

Music: Purple-planet.com  

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Martha Wells is back, and we are taking a deep spoilery dive into Platform Decay.I want to be clear here: if you haven’t read Platform Decay, we are about to spoil the dickens out of it. Yes, Charles Dickens is in Platform Decay, you heard it here first. We’re going to discuss infrastructure fury, trains in Japan, Honor Princess Detective, and more – and when I say we are spoiling, we are spoiling.

In other words, if you haven’t read Platform Decay, and you don’t want to know much about the story, skip this episode until after you’ve read it. This is a very book club kind of conversation.

You can find Martha Wells on her website, MarthaWells.com, and she's on Bluesky, Goodreads, and Instagram.

Please note: Martha Wells is NOT on Threads or Facebook. If someone contacts you on there, it is not really her! 

We also mentioned:

• Legend of Zeng Hai
• Unveil: Jadewind

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We’re back in the time machine, heading to December 2012 to look at the ads and features from Romantic Times magazine. 

This episode features a high amount of extreme zany. We’ve got so many treats for you this week, including the Steeple Hill Drinking Game, the reverse Colonel Sanders, Jude Deveraux’s thoughts on modern romance heroes of the time, shifters and more. 

Watch the episode and see the ads we're talking about on YouTube, or find the visual aids at SBTB.com!

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We’re sampling Tropetails cocktail mixes, discussing what we’re reading and playing, and what books we’re looking forward to in the coming months.

We were not paid to promote them, but we did receive free samples and they are delicious.

We also mentioned:

• Manta: Flower of Allure aka Flowers are Bait 
• Game: Winter Burrow
• Game: Librarian – Tidy Up the Arcane Library
• Elyse’s review of Yesteryear
• My review of Platform Decay

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This episode is brought to you by Ophelia — an original audio drama, inspired by Hamlet, where Ophelia finally gets to be the main character.

Forbidden magic, a crumbling kingdom, a slow-burn love triangle with a prince and his very guarded, very intriguing, best friend. The kind of love triangle where you will absolutely pick a side and you will not be quiet about it. Learn more at Hatch.co/ophelia

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Support for this episode comes from The Undergrads: Student Union by #1 New York Times-bestselling author Julie Murphy–a sexy new rom com about a college marriage of convenience that goes way beyond chemistry 101. Ali Hazelwood calls The Undergrads: Student Union “one addictively swoony book.” Available now wherever books are sold!

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You can get 10% off of Tropetails drink mixes with code SBTBTROPES!

Find all the books and games we discuss at SBTB!

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