Podcast: Play in new window | Download (24.7MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More

Guests: Ainslie Paton & Jodi McAlister | Host: Kat Mayo | Audio producer : Rudi Bremer | Recorded: 17/8/2013 RWA

We hope you’re enjoying our podcast blitz this week. Some of you might have been wondering why you can’t find us on iTunes — that’s because it takes a while to get listed on the directory. But we’re finally there! If you’re an iTunes user, you can find our listing here. (We’d love it if you can leave us a review or a rating!)

Today’s chat meanders into all sorts of interesting territory. We had originally planned an hour-long podcast, but we got so engrossed in the conversation we ran long (and ended up running late for the author signing that was on that evening). So once again, this is a conversation in two parts, and part 2 will be up tomorrow. We go through the history of Mills & Boon, and I learned so much. I think many readers will find aspects of this history quite surprising. Also, we talk about similarities between porn and musical theatre, so there’s that.

I also wanted to mention that Jodi’s thesis has been formally approved, and she is due to graduate in a few months. Congratulations, Jodi! Jodi will be appearing at the Melbourne Writers Festival on Saturday. She will host a panel called Losing It, where she chats about virgin heroines with romance author Melanie Milburne and young adult fiction author Fiona Wood.

Kate Cuthbert, who was in episodes 1 and 2, will also be at the Melbourne Writers Festival this weekend. She is hosting two panels: A Romantic Career, with Anne Gracie and Mary Jo Putney; and Reader, I Married Him, with Sarah Mayberry, Fiona McIntosh, and Shobhaa De.

Guests

Ainslie Paton — Author of hyper-real romances featuring characters that defy stereotypes: ainsliepaton.com.au, @AinsliePaton

Jodi McAlister — Literary historian, who is now officially ‘Dr Jodes’: Theatre from the Backseat (blog), Momentum Moonlight (blog), Book Thingo (Virgin Hornypants Specialist), If I were bold and beautiful (Tumblr), @JodiGetsBold (Bold and the Beautiful tweets), @JodiMcA (general tweets)

Books

• Shatter the Sky by Denise Robins — BT | Amz
• Desert Prince, Bride of Innocence by Lynne Graham — BT | Amz
• The Romance Fiction of Mills and Boon, 1909-1990s by Jay Dixon — BT | Amz
• The Virgin’s Treasure by Louise Gerard — BT | Amz
• Desire is Blind by Denise Robins — BT | Amz
• The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss — BT | Amz
• Peyton Place by Grace Metalious — BT | Amz
• The Garden of Persephone by Nan Asquith — BT | Amz
• Loving with a Vengeance: Mass produced fantasies for women by Tania Modleski — BT | Amz
• Reading the Romance by  Janice A. Radway — BT | Amz
• P.S. I Love You by Barbara Conklin — BT | Amz
• Divergent by Veronica Roth — BT | Amz
• Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel —  BT | Amz
• Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James — BT | Amz
• Story of O by Anne Desclos — BT | Amz
• Crossfire series by Sylvia Day — BT | Amz
• Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris — BT | Amz
• Original Sinners series by Tiffany Reisz — BT | Amz

Authors

Ainslie Paton, Denise Robins, Lynne Graham, Jay Dixon, Louise Gerard, Lilian Warren (aka Celine Conway, Kathryn Blair, Rosalind Brett), Betty Neels, Violet Winspear, Anne Mather, Anne Hampson, Victoria Holt, Sidney Sheldon, Jackie Collins, Eliza Haywood, Delarivier Manley, Kelly Hunter, Anais Nin

Links

• Romancing The Virgin — Photo of Jodi’s bound thesis
• Mass market romance: pornography for women is different by Ann Barr Snitow
• Athena Bellas
• Returning to Manderley by Alison Light
• Fifty Shades of Genre by Jodi McAlister — Is Fifty Shades romance or porn?
• Mali’s comment at Dear Author, where she distinguishes between romance, erotica and porn

Missed a previous episode? You can find a list of all the Book Thingo podcast episodes here and catch up. You can also email your feedback and suggestions to podcast@bookthingo.com.au.