We’re going back in time to look at the ads and features of the September 2002 issue of Romantic Times!

This issue left us with many questions, such as:

What the hell is Tart Noir?

Are reviewers elsewhere too mean? (Not us – we weren’t online yet!)

How much lore is there about pesto?

Should you jump into a pile of leaves?

Should you soak crawfish tails in milk?

Why is an author defending polygamy?

What snack is best for reading and why is it not an apple?

We had a lot of fun, even if the feature article was a bit of a let down, so please come join us for assorted silliness, and a Shadow Prince with no neck!

Don’t miss the visual aids – so many screengrabs, so many weird necks!

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Oriana Leckert is the Head of Publishing at Kickstarter, and works with the many, many authors who are finding community support on Kickstarter. They’re hosting a celebration all this month, Heartstrings & Hardbacks: Kickstarter and Romance, so we connected to talk about successful romance projects, strategies that work and don’t work on Kickstarter, and the evolution of fandom (a topic I’m always curious about).

Oriana has worked in publishing for a long time, and applies her entire employment experience to her current job. She’s also the author of a book called Brooklyn Spaces, and it sounds like it was a really cool project.

You can find Oriana Leckert on her website, and on Instagram.

We also mentioned:

• Heartstrings & Hardbacks
• Monopsony
• Episode 507. Romance Kickstarters with Lucy Eden and Katee Robert
• My post on book title SEO madness

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We asked our Patreon community to vote on this month’s issue, and September 2002 won by a wide margin. So let’s dive into the book reviews, shall we?

There are strange subcategories and overlapping genres, and also color-conscious aliens and amnesia, too. Plus, we talk a bit about one of the best lines Avon ever produced.

Don’t miss the visual aids, because some of the covers are something.

We also mentioned:

• Avon True Romances
• A thread from Ashia Monet on the shift away from story arc to story trope (Twitter)
• Carrie’s review for How to Manage a Marquess, where she talks about soap bubble books

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In June 1989, Kathryn Falk published The Romance Reader’s Handbook, a 354 page spiral bound collection of everything a romance reader would need to know. Steve Ammidown leads us on a brief tour of this artifact of romance history.  

There’s a collection of over 2000 pseudonyms, plus a directory of where to contact authors, lists of bookstores that love romance, and recommended reads. And of course, advertisements from authors inviting readers to correspond with them. 

This is early social media for authors and readers, and it’s a fascinating time capsule. 

A PDF scan of the pages we talk about is available for downloads at SBTB.

You can find Steve Ammidown at RomanceHistory.com, and on Instagram @RomanceHistorian. 

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In episode 611, we talked about the ads and features in the April 2005 issue of Romantic Times, and there was an ad on the back cover for Romance Soundtracks. We could not find anything about them, but Malaraa in our Patreon sure did!

We’ve got samples! We’ve got MUSIC that you’re meant to read with, and Amanda tries to identify the genre/album the music was from.

MASSIVE THANKS to Malaraa for finding this treasure trove!

We’ve! Got! Links!

• Episode 611. Romantic Times Rewind: April 2005 Ads & Features
• The Wayback Machine copy of the Book Soundtracks Website – thanks to Malaraa!
• Pure Moods!
• Music League
• Throwback Trivia Takedown
• Medieval Fantasy Music

Music: Purple-Planet.com

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In a review for Never Cross a Highlander, Shana came up with the ACAB scale, or the Alyssa Cole Anti-Slavery Book Scale, which ranks how central the horror of slavery is to the storyline. I asked her to tell me all about it, and Shana, kindly, said yes.Our conversation grows (of course) to include the field of narrative therapy and bibliotherapy, other evaluative rubrics for reading, and the subgenres, professions, settings we can, and cannot, relax into.

NB: I had a cold when we recorded, so apologies for my very low voice.

You can find Shana here at SBTB, and on Instagram @BlackBabeReads.

We also mentioned:

• Shana’s review of Never Cross a Highlander
• Carrie’s review of Ana María and the Fox
• My interview with Erica Ridley about her Winchesters series

Music: purple-planet.com

Special offer from Lume: New customers get 15% off ALL Lume products with our exclusive code and link. Use code SARAH15 at LumeDeodorant.com.

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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!

Music: purple-planet.com

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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, PA
• Almina Wombwell Herbert, Countess of Carnarvon
• History Tea Time with Lindsay Holiday – YouTube – Dollar Princesses

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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

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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 abuse
• The subversive revolution of teaching a word a day in a minoritized language
• Using humor to overcome the “cultural hangover of linguistic oppression”
• More poetry!

TW/CW: discussion of intimate partner violence and domestic abuse, depression, stalking.

Music: purple-planet.com

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