Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: A Romance Novel Podcast

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

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

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

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

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

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

...

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

...

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!

...

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

Find all the books and games we discuss at SBTB!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.