Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: A Romance Novel Podcast Sarah Wendell

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 HighlanderCarrie’s review of Ana María and the FoxMy interview with Erica Ridley about her Winchesters series 
Music: purple-planet.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, PAAlmina Wombwell Herbert, Countess of CarnarvonHistory 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
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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 abuseThe subversive revolution of teaching a word a day in a minoritized languageUsing 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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Y’all, the April 2005 issue of Romantic Times is a treasure of truly amazing fun. So many of you told me that episode 609, where we looked at the reviews, made you laugh so hard you cried.
Well, let me share some highlights of what is about to happen to your eardrums.
The Mr. Romance Cover Model Pageant was a Six-episode reality tv show on the Oxygen network, and we missed it when it ran. It’s not all on YouTube but we have a few links!We have the arrival of what I called the “venti sized” paperbackRomance writers with “dedicated rooms for Star Wars collectibles!”We’ve got some disturbing gimp masks on computer generated Poser people.It’s a glorious time. Come on over.
Did you ever attend Mr Romance at RT? Did you see the Mr Romance Pageant on tv?! And gosh, do you have a Romance SoundTrack CD? Please tell me everything.
Don’t miss the visual aids!
Links! For your browsing pleasure!
Jafar’s staff on EbayThe 2005! cover snark featuring The Big Sword and the Naked GuyThe 2006 post about the Venti sized paperbacksThe cover for Running Anonymous – NSFW, NSFL
And visit the visual aids for a clip from Mr Romance on the Oxygen network!
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