Courtney Milan is here to talk about her newest book, The Earl Who Isn’t, and about climbing Mt. Fuji! Along the way we talk about training, the shifting style of historical romances, and audiobooks.And we have questions from you!

A few moments to be aware of before you listen: we talk a little about her dog Pele, who passed away earlier this year.

We also mention briefly the topics of antifat bias in medicine, weight gain, chafing, trauma, workplace abuse, cancer, and sexual harassment.

Thank you to Tara, Emily for the questions!

Music: purple-planet.com

You can find Courtney Milan at her website, CourtneyMilan.com, and you can sign up for her weekly tea newsletter as well!

Support for this episode comes from The Starling Inn, the new novel by Claire Therese! Find The Starling Inn by Claire Therese inside Kindle Unlimited now!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The ads and features of the September 2015 issue of Romantic Times are a nine-layer cake of wonderment and weird.

Don't miss the visual aids! WE GOT FONTS. And dogs!

Side trips include:

• Janet Dailey and who is writing her books (we don’t know)
• lawyer romances
• changes in cover design
• a twist cliffhanger in a quiz with no answer key!

Plus, this issue of the magazine and also Amanda both have terrific memories of RT 2015 in Dallas.

We have So many links!

• Meet Louisa, the cover model dog! (Instagram)
• Reformed Rakes’ episodes on Janet Dailey Part 1 and Part 2
• JanetDailey.com – all present tense
• Topaz Literary: “Janet Dailey and the Curious Case of the Missing Author”
• The Contemporary Romance Color of the Year (SBTB)
• Joyfully Jay
• “This is the Last RT: Kathryn Falk Announces End of Romantic Times” (SBTB)

Thanks to our sponsor for this week’s episode: Lume! New customers get 15% off ALL Lume products with our exclusive code and link. Use code SARAH15 at LumeDeodorant.com

Music: Purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jolenta Greenberg and Kristen Meinzer are podcasting powerhouses with shows like By the Book and How to be Fine With Friends.

This season they’re looking at friendship, the research behind sustaining friendships, ending relationships, and creating new connections with people – and they joined me to talk all about it.

You can find their show, How to be Fine with Friends where you get your podcasts – like this one!

TW/CW: short discussion of diet culture and diet books just after Kristen introduces herself. When she stops talking, hit your 30 second skip and you should be fine.

What are some of the traits you appreciate most about your closest friends?

...

You can find How to Be Fine with Friends where you get your podcasts, and you can follow the show on Instagram @howtobefinepod.

Jolenta Greenberg can be found on her website JolentaGreenberg.com, and on Instagram @jolenta_g.

Kristen Meinzer can be found on her website, KristenMeinzer.com, on Instagram @K10meinzer, and co-hosting her show The Daily Fail.

Music: Purple-planet.com

Thanks to our sponsor for this week’s episode: Lume! New customers get 15% off ALL Lume products with our exclusive code and link. Use code SARAH15 at LumeDeodorant.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re going back to September 2015, and I want to ease you into this knowledge, so take a breath, center yourself: that was nine years ago. I don’t get it either but apparently it’s true?

JR Ward is on the cover, and there’s all kinds of good stuff inside! Come with us to visit some reviews that are word salad, and some that made me say, a few times, “Way harsh, Tai. Way harsh.”

Don't miss the visual aids!

Music: purple-planet.com

Thank you to our sponsor for this week’s episode: HelloFresh!

For a limited time, kids eat FREE! Go to HelloFresh.com/sarahkids to unlock this exclusive offer. One free kids’ meal per box for two months while subscription is active. Visit HelloFresh.com/sarahkids!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chris DeRosa is co-host of the podcast Fixing Famous People, and has been a reality tv producer for 11 years. We talk about his career starting with Food Network then moving into unscripted reality tv like the Real Housewives, how reality tv has changed, and how much of the narrative producers have influence over – and what parts they don’t.

We’re also locating RH on the larger timeline of major television programs centering women over 40. I think this episode holds a lot for writers because it’s about making the conflict, and the motivations behind that conflict, public and spoken in dialogue. It’s a new way of looking at show/don’t tell.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alison aka Fashionably Evil is back with us recapping the ads and features from Romantic Times’ October 1999 issue!

There were leers, horny men, and nipples with personalities, and we explore effective friction and learn about The Douche Chills.

The visual aids are amazing this week – don’t miss the horny covers!

We also mentioned:

• Daniel Craig’s campaign for Loewe
• The updated text of Whitney, My Love covered at AAR
• Our conversation about Crusie’s books which capture a specific time period

Music: Purple-planet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Continuing my exploration of reality franchises that are favorites of romance readers, Shana joins me to talk about the Real Housewives franchise: her favorite Real Housewives locations and seasons, and what aspects of this reality franchise appeal to romance readers.

We cover relationships, conflict, and the blend of fiction and “reality,” and some of the ethical considerations as well, especially with the Real Housewives of Dubai.

Are you a Real Housewives watcher? Which ones? Do you think there’s a reason why romance readers are often also Real Housewives watchers?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have a special guest! Alison, aka Fashionably Evil, won our Romancing the Vote auction to co-host this round of RT Rewind with us! Congratulations!!

Alison picked our issue, October 1999, and wow, it’s just as weird as we’d hoped.

And, as part of the auction, we offered a midroll ad, which we typically don’t run. Alison chose to use her midroll to promote a website we love and admire, Scarleteen.com.

We start with a discussion of Alison’s incredible spreadsheet that she made us (❤️!) and a discussion of historical romance. Along the way: many yikes, many bikes.

I want to offer some heads up for racism, human trafficking, mentions of stillbirth, ableism, Islamophobia in the reviews.

These will be long episodes this month so journey with us back to 1999.

Don't miss the visual aids!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.