063. The Three Waves of Romance with Eric Selinger
Oct 3, 2020Romance scholar Eric Selinger explores different types questions that have been asked about popular romance (not enough), how romance research has come in waves (three, to be precise), and asks "how can I make this romance more interesting?" (you always can).
062. Transculturalism & Wuxia in My Beautiful Enemy by Sherry Thomas
Sep 26, 2020Guest Jayashree Kamble, romance scholar is back to discuss My Beautiful Enemy by Sherry Thomas. This novel is a cross between Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and a passing narrative, and layers in discussion of Chinese culture and the history British imperialism. Jayashree explored the Wuxia influence and transculturalism in a paper published in March 2020 in the Journal of Popular Romance Studies.
061. Alphaholes with Jodie Slaughter: Unpacking Problematic Faves
Sep 19, 2020Dame Jodie Slaughter bares her belly in the first of the our explorations of problematic favorite tropes. We unpack the alphahole in popular romance fiction - why does Jodie love it? Why do readers love it? And why is it problematic when it recurs in the romance genre?
060. Romance Research with Jayashree Kamble
Sep 12, 2020Jayashree Kamble, a romance scholar and Vice President of the International Association for the Study of Popular Romance, joins me to discuss the various ways romance can be studied. She gives a brief overview of the history of the romance genre and pop culture research, why she doesn't encounter the hierarchy of taste when teaching romance, and explains who romance scholarship is for.
059. A Sordid Journey into Romance Podcasting
Sep 5, 2020Jhen (host Monogamish Podcast) joins the podcast to interview ME in this retrospective on season 1 of Shelf Love. I tell my sordid journey into romance and romance podcasting, plus, I prepare you for season 2, and give you a look under the hood of this podcast and how and why I do it. Questions answered: why I'm no longer a member of RWA, why sometimes you just have to do the thing, and my correspondence with Jayne Ann Krentz.
058. East Asian American Romances with Cultural Historian Hsu-Ming Teo
Aug 29, 2020Season 2 Premiere! Hsu-Ming Teo, a cultural historian and romance scholar, joins me to discuss her research on cultural authenticity in east asian american romance novels, among many other fascinating topics such as love as a commodity, intimacy, Australian convict romances, historical accuracy, and why impact still rules, but intent may matter more than we think. We also discuss novels by Ruby Lang, Courtney Milan, Helen Hoang, and Jeannie Lin.
057. Black Romance Podcast: An Oral History (New Podcast Preview)
Aug 25, 2020Learn more about a new podcast that is an oral history project for Black Romance: "The Black Romance Podcast features weekly conversations with Black writers, editors, and scholars of historical and contemporary popular romance fiction. Julie Moody-Freeman and guests talk about a range of experiences: their difficulties trying to publish love stories with Black characters; their favorite books; writing and teaching about black romance fiction; traditional vs self-publishing; publishing queer romance fiction; and their recently released books."
056. I Think I Might Love You by Christina C. Jones with Nicole Falls
Aug 18, 2020I Think I Might Love You by Christina C. Jones is the Romcom Novella that will have you laughing out loud and wondering what DOD stands for. Highly irreverent, wholly lovable Nicole Falls is back for part 2 to discuss this romance novel worth reading.
055. Nicole Falls: Imposter Syndrome in the Time of Coronavirus
Aug 11, 2020Highly irreverent, wholly lovable Nicole Falls joins me to discuss imposter syndrome, how gifted and talented programs destroyed us, having the privilege to explore creative, personally fulfilling projects and the concessions we make to prioritize those projects, Danielle Steel's desk, incorporating the pandemic into contemporary romance, plant puns and plant bae, and how quickly and often people forget that not everyone has their worldview.
054. A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole with Tasha L. Harrison
Aug 4, 2020A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole is our romance worth reading, and Tasha L. Harrison joins me once again to drop wisdom faster than a sword-making Scottish Duke can make our heroine forget that she definitely should not be making out with her boss. Our conversation is far-ranging - friends who aren't friends, parents who suck, figuring out how your brain works, and the horse your man smells like. Enjoy!