Ep #130 – LUST & FOUND

“BETA IN THE STREETS, ALPHA IN THE SHEETS”

This week Meka and Melinda, aka Melinka, host the podcast joined by special guest author Olivia Dade and continue our discussion of beta and cinnamon roll MCs

EP 130 HOSTS

> MEKA WHITE (she/her) is the voice behind BookAbility.me where she writes about her adventures in reading romance and being visually impaired. Meka loves pushing books and can’t wait to share her favorites with you. When she’s not reading, Meka also enjoys singing and exploring the Pacific Northwest with her guide dog, Treble. You can follow Meka on Twitter @Mektastic

> MELINDA UTENDORF (she/her) was that child reading Baby-Sitters Club and Sweet Valley High books with a flashlight until 2 a.m. and checking out stacks of books from the library every week. After getting sick of ‘important’ books in her English degree classes, she turned to romance and HEAs and hasn’t looked back since. Melinda spends her time doing puzzles, listening to podcasts, and helping as admin for @RomanceSparksJoy. When she’s not busy with all of that, she’s a freelance editor or talking about books as @MelindaEdits

EP 130 GUEST

OLIVIA DADE (she/her) grew up an undeniable nerd, prone to ignoring the world around her as she read any book she could find. Her favorites, though, were always, always romances. As an adult, she earned an M.A. in American history and worked in a variety of jobs that required the donning of actual pants: Colonial Williamsburg interpreter, high school teacher, academic tutor, and (of course) librarian. Now, however, she has finally achieved her lifelong goal of wearing pajamas all day as a hermit-like writer and enthusiastic hag. She currently lives outside Stockholm with her patient Swedish husband, their whip-smart daughter, and the family’s ever-burgeoning collection of books. You can visit Olivia’s website at https://oliviadade.com/ or follow her on Twitter @OliviaWrites

EP 130 DISCUSSION

NOTE: This discussion was recorded during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic

> “Melinka” is Meka and Melinda’s cute portmanteau

> Olivia’s first trade romance, Spoiler Alert, is due in Oct 2020

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50496918-spoiler-alert

> The upcoming romance anthology, He’s Come Undone, featuring a new short by Olivia is due in May 2020

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51831578-he-s-come-undone

> Here is the Cinnamon Roll Master List (to be clear, this list was created in 2017 and is by no means exhaustive)

Link: https://tinyurl.com/ybkgob65

>> And here’s an addendum to the original list (again, created in 2017, not exhaustive)

Link: https://tinyurl.com/yat4q2qs

> Title: House Rules (Uptown #3)

Author: Ruby Lang

Relation to theme: Male MC Simon

Representation: Asian author, cis het MCs, Asian MC, white MC, seasoned MCs

Content Warnings: divorce

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49170547-house-rules

> Title: Beary Christmas, Baby

Author: Sasha Devlin

Relation to theme: Male MC Liev

Representation: Black author, cis het MCs

Content Warnings: car accident due to snow

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29873875-beary-christmas-baby

NOTE: This book was previously discussed on RBP ep #125

> Title: Tinsel in a Tangle

Author: Ainslie Paton

Relation to theme: Male MC Adam

Representation: White author, cis het MCs, fat rep (secondary character)

Content Warnings: co-worker harassment, brief violence

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41128398-tinsel-in-a-tangle

> Title: Play it Again

Author: Aidan Wayne

Relation to theme: Male MCs Dovid and Sam

Representation: Queer author, queer MCs, blind MC

Content Warnings: none identified

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44318572-play-it-again

> Title: Your Heart Will Grow (The Absolutes #1)

Author: Chace Verity

Relation to theme: Trans Male MC Morgan

Representation: Queer author, queer MCs

Content Warnings: (provided by the author)

– Offers of sex as currency/bargaining tool

– Multiple instances of a character being drugged

– Slut-shaming

– Abusive family members

– Hair-pulling kink

– Some graphic violence

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30324115-your-heart-will-grow

> Title: Feels Like Summer (Summer Storm #2)

Author: Six de los Reyes

Relation to theme: Male MC Adrian

Representation: Filipino author, cis het MCs

Content Warnings: extreme menstruation, past toxic relationship

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34609563-feels-like-summer

> Title: Teach Me (There’s Something About Marysburg #1)

Author: Olivia Dade

Relation to theme: Male MC Martin

Representation: White author, cis het MCs, fat rep

Content Warnings: (provided by the author) history of emotional and/or physical abuse, intermittent harassment from a work superior, fatphobia

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44648234-teach-me

NOTE: This book was also discussed in RBP eps #101 and #125

> Title: Shield of Winter (Psy-Changeling #13)

Author: Nalini Singh

Relation to theme: Male MC Vasic

Representation: Asian author, cis het MCs

Content Warnings: child abuse, abduction, torture, suicide, violence

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17159944-shield-of-winter

> Title: Shards of Hope (Psy-Changeling #14)

Author: Nalini Singh

Relation to theme: Male MC Aden

Representation: Asian author, cis het MCs

Content Warnings: child abuse, abduction, torture, suicide, violence

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23482092-shards-of-hope

NOTE: This book was also discussed in RBP ep #125

> Melinka’s monthly romance shout-out goes to The Ripped Bodice, the romance-oriented, independent, brick-and-mortar bookstore in Culver CIty, California, which continues to serve as a champion of the romance community. You can follow them on Twitter or on Instagram @TheRippedBodice or follow the link to their website below

Link: https://www.therippedbodicela.com/

> Finally, here’s the link to Olivia’s amazing talk on fat rep in romance aka Big Love: Fat Representation in Romance

Link: https://tinyurl.com/ycdww8gc

> Which favorite cinnamon rolls did we miss? Let us know on Twitter or Instagram @RomBkPod

Happy Reading!

EP 130 MUSIC CREDIT

Music: “Lift Off” by Jahzzar

From the Free Music Archive

CC BY-SA 3.0