What really makes a book “smutty”? Is it about explicitness, frequency, or something else entirely? And how does that definition shift when we talk about monster romance? In this episode, we’re tackling the age-old question: What defines smut? We’ll explore everything from spice levels to the line between romance and erotica, plus what non-explicit factors make a book sexy.

Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to keep up with new episodes and let other people know about us!

Check out Stacy's other podcast project, TropesG.O.A.Ts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tropesg-o-a-ts/id1793022885)

Check out EJ’s monster romance blogging directly on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/monster_romance/) and Substack (https://monsterromancereviews.substack.com/).

Authors, Books, and Other Media We Mention:

• Vulture Article: https://www.vulture.com/article/rebecca-yarro-fourth-wing-empyrean-guide.html
• Rebecca Yarros
• Sarah J. Maas
• Bound to the Battle God by Ruby Dixon
• A Lady of Rooksgrave Manor by Kathryn Moon
• The Company of Fiends by Kathryn Moon
• Sanctuary with Kings by Kathryn Moon
• Honey Phillips
• Susan Trombley
• Nosferatu (2024) ****
• Doves & Demons by Clio Evans
• How to Train Your Goblin King by Erin Vere
• Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
• Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett
• Good Faeries/Bad Faeries by Brian Froud
• Grindhouse Double Feature (2018)
• Deal with the Devil by Lizzie Strong
• Doctor D'Arco, Sorcerer of London: A Victorian Gothic Romance by Kathryn Colvin
• Amelia Peabody series
• Morning Glory Milking Farm by C. M. Nascosta
• Moon Blooded Breeding Clinic by C. M. Nascosta
• Scrubs (2001-2010)
• Escaping the Friendzone by Emily Antoinette
• Mahdfel from the Warlord Brides Universe by Nancey Cummings
• Orc Sworn Series by Finley Fenn
• Berries and Greed by Lily Mayne
• Milana Jacks
• Loki Renard
• I Married a Lizardman by Regine Abel
• I Married a Naga by Regine Abel
• Mate for the Alien P*rn Star by by Alexis B. Osborne
• Romantically Inclined Reviews
• Love Hina
• Upon a Moon-Dark Moor by Rebecca Brandewyne

If you can't be bothered to actually write it, why should I be bothered to pay for it and read it?

EJ, Stacy, and Amy have more bookish thoughts on their noggins, and this is a HEFTY ONE. No, we’re not turning into a tech podcast, but there is no denying AI is here, and it is a part of our world. We’re talking about a lot of different topics that are developing and diving into the technological, economic, ethical, and legal sides of AI and how it pertains to the indie romance world.

Many currently available AI tools are not great, but you may be surprised to learn why we think so.

Links to some of the many random things we mention:

• That one tweet Stacy mentioned: https://x.com/ioana_nsfw_art/status/1784169462117151189
• A Paper on Cyberpunk and Late Stage Capitalism (So it isn’t just something that comes out of EJ’s mouth, and you have just to take it): https://ideas.repec.org/a/lum/jsmijo/v2y2020i1p63-74.html
• Tiffany Roberts’ Infinite City Series: https://www.authortiffanyroberts.com/theinfinitecity
• S. J. Sanders’ Broken Earth: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/52231217
• Transwoman’s AI invention modeled after her wife: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/life-after-life-trangender-ceo-martine-rothblatt-builds-robot-bina48-mind-clone/
• Airline AI caught lying and the company held liable: https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20240222-air-canada-chatbot-misinformation-what-travellers-should-know
• The Erotica Writers Subreddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/eroticauthors/)
• Nifty Links regarding AI litigation on EJ’s blog: https://monsterromancereviews.substack.com/p/bookish-thoughts-who-are-ais-major
• DeviantArt and AI, the most recent legal news story: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/05/10/deviantart-midjourney-stable-diffusion-artificial-intelligence-image-generators
• Duolingo Letting Go of Translators: https://www.pcmag.com/news/as-duolingo-taps-ai-for-translation-human-contractors-lose-their-jobs
• Library resources for learning languages
  • Mango: https://mangolanguages.com/libraries/
  • Transparency Language Learning Software: https://www.transparent.com/

Check out our Podcast Scavenger Hunt Here: https://talesfromtheorcden.com/2024/05/25/ai-and-the-indie-romance-book-world/

Many of our discussions are aimed at those already in the Monster Romance genre. This one’s got the baby monster f*ckers in mind. Stacy, EJ, and Amy talk about pitfalls we’ve noticed others run into (not naming names!). And we have wisdom for finding your ideal monster romance gateway. And, yes, we do have some recommendations sprinkled throughout!

Authors, Books, and Series We Mention:

• Dusk Walker series (https://www.goodreads.com/series/345992-duskwalker-brides)
• Vera Valentine’s books, Squeak and Unhinged (https://www.valentineverse.com/books)
• Dragon's Bride by Katee Robert (https://www.kateerobert.com/the-dragons-bride)
• Deceived by the Gargoyles by Lillian Lark (https://www.lillianlark.com/pnr)
• I Married a Lizard Man by Regine Abel (https://www.regineabel.com/books/i-married-a-lizardman)
• Morning Glory Milking Farm (and the rest of The Cambric Creek Series) by C. M. Nascosta (https://cmnascosta.com/books/)
• Harley LaRoux (https://www.harleylaroux.com/)
• Tiffany Roberts (https://www.authortiffanyroberts.com/)
• Orc Sworn series by Finley Fenn (including The Lady and the Orc and The Maid and the Orcs) (https://finleyfenn.com/series/orc-sworn/)
• Uncertain Magic by Laura Kinsale (https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/802157)
• Beauty by Robin McKinley (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41424.Beauty)
• Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley (https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/8089)
• Emma Holly (https://emmahollyauthor.wordpress.com/)
• Kresley Cole (https://kresleycole.com/)
• Gena Showalter (https://genashowalter.com/)
• Tail and Claw by Nancey Cummings (https://nanceycummings.com/tail-and-claw/)
• Lark Green (https://www.authorlarkgreen.com/)
• Cate C. Wells (https://www.catecwells.com/)
• Ashley Bennett (https://ashleybennettauthor.carrd.co/)
• Ruby Dixon (https://rubydixon.com/)
• Lyonne Riley (https://www.lyonneriley.com/)
• Susan Trombley (https://susan-trombley.com/)