In this episode, we’re diving into the tropes that make our monster-loving hearts soar—and the ones that make us want to throw our books across the room. Whether it’s a grumpy/sunshine dynamic, forced proximity, or a trope that just never works for us, we’re getting to the meat about what makes a trope hit just right.

Podcast Scavenger Hunt

Can you find when we mention these topics?

• [ ] Size Difference
• [ ] Forces Proximity
• [ ] Grumpy/Sunshine
• [ ] Fake Marriage
• [ ] Retold Folklore
• [ ] Cinderella Body Horror
• [ ] Under-Hyped Tiffany Roberts Books you must try
• [ ] Defending Ruby Dixon’s Honor
• [ ] The Chosen One
• [ ] Adult Love Triangles

Authors, Books, and Other Media We Mentioned

Books & Series

• The King’s Spinster Bride by Ruby Dixon
• Ice Planet Barbarians: Honeymoon Tales by Ruby Dixon
• Bull Moon Rising by Ruby Dixon
• Jaxar: Warlord Brides by Nancey Cummings
• Five Gifts for the Blacksmith’s Wife by Lyonne Riley
• A Minotaur Tale: Being a Monster Romance for Yuletide by Kass O'Shire
• The Rake by Kass O'Shire
• Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe (graphic novel/webcomic)
• Sugar Apple Fairy Tale by Miri Mikawa (manga series)
• Neon Gods series by Katee Robert
• A Kinda Fairy Tale by Cassandra Gannon
• Love Letters Duology by SJ Tilly
• The Belladonna Series by Adalyn Grace
• Cordon Empire by Anna Carven
• Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
• Mercenaries Series by Angela Knight (Goodreads link)
• Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton

Underhyped Picks: Tiffany Roberts

• Dust Walker by Tiffany Roberts
• Warlock’s Kiss by Tiffany Roberts
• Kraken Series by Tiffany Roberts
• Claimed by an Alien Warrior by Tiffany Roberts

Authors

• Joanna Lindsey
• Anna Carven
• Kresley Cole
• SJ Tilly
• Cassandra Gannon
• Laurell K. Hamilton
• Ruby Dixon
• Nancey Cummings
• Lyonne Riley
• Kass O'Shire
• Rachel Smythe
• Miri Mikawa
• Katee Robert
• Adalyn Grace
• Angela Knight
• Xiran Jay Zhao
• Tiffany Roberts

Other Media

• Nosferatu (2024 film adaptation)

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/