Swords & Sapphics: Recent Episodes
Rachel Bowdler, Ivana Maříková
A podcast about all things sapphic hosted by Rachel & Ivy (may include sharp objects).
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Dearest gentle listener, these podcasters have much to say about the newest season of Bridgerton. After a much needed catch up, we share our thoughts on the popular regency show's latest installment, including our love for Nicola Coughlan and the introduction of not one, but two, queer storylines.
Theme song: Forces of Attraction by Scott Holmes Music
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We're back after our short break! This week, we bring you an interview with award-winning crime author Rachel McLean. She tells us how she plots her murders (fictional, of course), how she came to write full-time with the Dorset Crime series, and how her own relationship to her sexuality inspired main character DCI Lesley Clarke's journey as a later-in-life lesbian.
Theme song: Forces of Attraction by Scott Holmes Music
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For this week's episode we were joined by another podcasting duo – the Librorians! We found out how they started their podcast and what listeners can find when tuning in. They shared what they love about working in a library, but also what it's like these days, especially with all the book bans happening across the US.
Theme song: Forces of Attraction by Scott Holmes Music
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This week, we bring you a very exciting episode! We chat about A Sweet Sting of Salt with none other than Rose Sutherland! She told us how this wonderful story came to be, what inspired her writing and perhaps a little tease on what comes next.
Theme song: Forces of Attraction by Scott Holmes Music
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In this week's episode, we have a guest you might already be familiar with – Merlina Garance. We chat about their Achillean Book Bingo, what both readers and writers can expect from this wonderful event, and then we share some recommendations!
Theme song: Forces of Attraction by Scott Holmes Music
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For this week's episode, we've watched two queer movies, Good Grief and Bottoms, and chatted about them! We of course started with a catch-up and ended up spilling some book twitter tea (we also hated on Taylor Swift, so be aware).
Theme song: Forces of Attraction by Scott Holmes Music
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In our second episode of the new season, we bring an exciting interview with Oliver Brackenbury, the editor of New Edge Swords & Sorcery magazine. He shares some exciting secrets and lots of his plans for the future, as well as everything readers and fans of the genre can expect next!
Theme song: Forces of Attraction by Scott Holmes Music
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WE. ARE. BACK! Season 3 is here and we're kicking it off with a catch up. After Rach shows off her Czech vocabulary, she spills lots and lots of tea from the end of last year so get ready for some great laughs. We end the episode by sharing what are our goals and dreams for 2024!
Theme song: Forces of Attraction by Scott Holmes Music
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This week, after our usual catch-up on what we’re currently enjoying, in which we dive into a conversation about Grey’s (shocker, I know, who could have seen this coming), we share our thoughts on the new season of Heartstopper! Then we chat about NaNoWriMo and how we're doing. And before we say our goodbyes, Rach spills some tea!
Theme song: Forces of Attraction by Scott Holmes Music
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Boo! The scariest time of the year is upon us: preptober. After our usual catch up, we shortly talk about how we get into the Halloween spirit, our small spooky traditions, and our favourite scary media to consume during these weeks. Then we dive into the yearly subject of how we're preparing for NaNoWriMo.
Theme song: Forces of Attraction by Scott Holmes Music
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After a little break, we're back with quite the exciting episode. This week, we chat with the lovely Rachel Runya Katz, the author of Thank You For Sharing. We talk about her book, what inspired them to write it, and what we can expect from her next!
Theme song: Forces of Attraction by Scott Holmes Music
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This week we decided to share a secret... Yes, the rumours are true. We're neurodivergent. After our usual catch-up, we talk about how we figured out we're autistic and ADHD respectively and we share how it impacts our life, as well as our media and creative experiences.
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After our usual media catch-up, we share our thoughts on the Red, White & Royal Blue movie and compare this new adaptation to the book by Casey McQuiston. At the end of this episode, we answer some of our listener's questions in a new segment!
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This is not a drill – we are back! After a small break, we are returning with a new episode in which we simply catch up on all the things we're enjoying. We, of course, close the episode with a little bit of tea to spill and some ongoing drama in the book community.
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After we catch up on what we're currently enjoying as usual, we dive into what might be a painful subject to some... marketing. In Episode 6, we discussed our writing processes and in Episode 8, we talked about publishing your book. Now it's time to talk about how to market your little brainchild! Ivy offers her expert insights on how to approach marketing and what channels might be the best for you when promoting your story.
Theme song: Forces of Attraction by Scott Holmes Music
After we catch up on what we're currently enjoying, we dive into the broad subject of publishing. In Episode 6, we discussed our writing processes, but what comes next? Find outwith our published author, Rach, who shares her views and tips on both indie and traditional publishing, and how to get your manuscript ready for readers!
Theme song: Forces of Attraction by Scott Holmes Music
This week we dived into another activity we enjoy and a subject we mention here and there: gaming. We discuss the games we are currently loving and then head back in time to look at our gaming journey and share what games we loved as kids. The spot of this week's "Forgotten Women in History" belongs to Mary Elizabeth Anderson, the inventor ofwindshield wipers.
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Extra Tea Hour is our new episode feature, in which we have a little chat (okay, a rant) about current social media discourse making the rounds, usually within the book community or pop culture. This week, we discuss the varying attitudes towards representation and diversity in literature, discussing what these words really mean to marginalised identities and how hostility within the industry is sometimes misdirected towards individual authors when it comes to marginalisation. We argue that instead of expecting a multitude of representations from one author who is unqualified to write from so many perspectives, we should hold publishers accountable for their underrepresentation of certain identities.
Theme song: Forces of Attraction by Scott Holmes Music
As always, we catch up with our current reads as well as the shows we’re currently watching. Then, in honour of Camp NaNoWriMo month, we talk about our writing challenges, works in progress, and how we feel about setting our books in places we know well. As usual, random tangents may be included.
Theme song: Forces of Attraction by Scott Holmes Music
We are back after quite the hiatus! Ivy kicks the episode off with her new segment in whichshe introduces a woman forgotten in history, then as usual, we catch up on what we're currently consuming. Rach tells us all about the Indie Author Spring Festival about which youcan find more details in our article before we dive into Netflix's new season of Shadow and Bone! We discuss the made disservice to the characters and how rushing storylines is never really a good idea.
Last but not least, Ivy spills some Selena Gomez x Hailey Bieber tea and takes over Rach's attempts at promoting her new book Summer at the Scottish Castle which is out now!
Theme song: Forces of Attraction by Scott Holmes Music
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Buckle in, because it’s a busy one this week! Catch up with what we’re enjoying at the moment, and then listen to us diveinto the issues surrounding TV and movie adaptations of recent true crime and celebrity stories, focusing on the way real-life trauma is used, glamorised, and exploited to generate profit by big-name productions such as with Pam and Tommy,Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, and Blonde.
Content Warnings
Strong language, and discussions of murder, rape, and death.
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This week we have decided to take a look at a few historical movies centered around sapphicrelationship and talked about how and why it's disappointing to only see big budget movies with queer women that are still being stuck and confined by the shackles of history.
At the end, Ivy spills some tea from the world of book twitter which inevitably sends both of us on yet another rant about book pirating and how it can affect people's livelihood.
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This week we're bringing you an interview with Rebecca Thorne, author of cosy fantasy Can't Spell Treason without Tea, for which you can read our review here. We've been sitting on thisgem for a while and we're over the moon to be able to share it with you now too. We chatted in depth about Rebecca's book, her inspiration and writing process and some other projects she's planning on blessing us with.
While Ivy might not have any tea to spill this week, we did go on a little rant involving authors and reviews.
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We’re back — and with lots of new updates! In our first podcast of 2023, we catch up on what books and shows we’ve been enjoying recently, and then dive into the most recent drama surrounding the book community (spoiler alert: there’s a lot). From an author faking their death to an It Ends With Us colouring book, January has already given us plenty of strange and not-so-wonderful topics to rant about, so if you’re behind on the latest social media incidents, this is the place to learn things about authors, books, and discourse against your will.
Be sure to stay tuned until the end for an exciting announcement about next week’s episode, which may or may not feature our first special guest of the year! We’ll give you a hint: this author’s book includes just as much tea as we have for you in this episode, only steeped in a little more love…
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If you keep up with the queer reading community, you will have seen Courtney Kae's In The Event of Lovealready, and we're so excited that, for our final day of Queermas, we got to sit down and talk to the wonderful author behind Rachel and Morgan's snowy love story. We discuss traditions and inspirations in this special episode, and also explore thedifficulties that come with being a queer author in an open discussion about Courtney's experiences.
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Today, we're here with our third Queermas podcast episode, this time with best-selling romance author Clare Lydon, whohas published over twenty sapphic books, including The Christmas Catch and Christmas in Mistletoe. Listen to us talkabout festive joy in fiction, Clare's impressive writing career, and also her own podcast, Lesbians Who Write!
Theme song: Forces of Attraction by Scott Holmes Music
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We're already halfway through Queermas, and today we have another special guest episode - this time with ImogenMarkwell-Tweed, author of over twenty queer romance novellas. Imogen's work promises cosy baking scenes and low-stake plotlines, and at Christmas, with her fake dating story Bus Ticket Baby, what could be better? Listen to us talk aboutpregnant protagonists, sexy Christmas ghosts, and Imogen's future projects now!
Theme song: Forces of Attraction by Scott Holmes Music
On the third day of Queermas the sapphics gave to me... a very special Queermas episode with Make You Mine ThisChristmas author, Lizzie Huxley-Jones (try fitting that into one verse!). Lizzie tells us about their experience andinspirations behind their wonderful, festive laugh-out-loud romance, from their sapphic twist on the fake dating trope, tochasing a baby reindeer through a Christmas market, to their plans for Book Two. You can also expect insight into writingdisabled and autistic characters, and to hear about Lizzie's festive favourites and 2023 book recs!
We also sit down to talk about Ivy's festive Czech traditions — which may or may not involve fish scales.
Theme song: Forces of Attraction by Scott Holmes Music
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Muahahahaha! Happy Halloween, stabby sapphics! To get in the spooky spirit, we had our very first guests on the podcastthis week: up first, author Wendy Dalrymple talks all about her gothic-inspired horror stories, including her newestreleases, Roser Park and Don’t Read This or you Might Die. Then we chat to P.K. Reeves about her new urban fantasynovel, Vampire Magic, which is the second book in theLineage Series. We also talk about our favourite Halloween go-tosand share some exciting news with our listeners - so be sure to stay tuned until the end, boos, and if you haven’t already,check out Wendy and P.K’s books!
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Join us this week for a good old catch-up about everything we’ve been loving recently, including Apple TV+ dramas and alot of books! We then ask “What’s the tea, Ivy?” and discuss current subjects such as even more friction in fiction, the Try Guys, Kanye West, and the lack of fat representation in media.
Theme song: Forces of Attraction by Scott Holmes Music
This week, we discuss all things publishing, including the strained dynamic between readers and authors in online spaces, the ramifications of piracy on indie authors’ livelihoods, and the drawbacks of traditional publishing.
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This week we return with another Let’s Be Real episode, where we discuss the protests and restrictions of bodily autonomy following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by “morality police” in Tehran after being accused of violating laws that require women to cover their hair with a hijab and their bodies with loose clothing. We also examine the weaponisation of religion and the worldwide restriction of women’s bodily autonomy.
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We analyse the idea of ‘false activism’ by looking at a range of celebrities and how they choose to use their platform. Before that, we catch up on all things film, TV, and literature and ask “What’s the tea, Ivy?”, our newest segment surrounding the latest celebrity gossip.
Theme song: Forces of Attraction by Scott Holmes Music
This week, we return with our second Let’s Be Real episode, discussing the conflicting reactions spurred by the recent death of Queen Elizabeth II and why ignoring the royal institution’s role in colonisation, poverty, and other social ills becomes a problem not just in recognising global history, particularly surrounding people of colour, but also the ignorance perpetuated in present day. Before that, we catch up on all things film, TV, and literature and ask “What’s the tea, Ivy?”, our newest segment surrounding the latest celebrity gossip, dealing with the strange fallout of Venice Film Festival.
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This week, we introduce a new segment named “What’s the tea, Ivy?” where Ivy updates us on recent Tik Tok and media industry drama. She tells us all about the hidden conflict surrounding new movie Don’t Worry Darling, Netflix’s Bridgerton lawsuits, and pious adaptations of musicals Hamilton and The Greatest Showman. We then discuss the Ancient Greek poetess, Sappho, exploring how male and female scholars’ perspectives of the ambiguous figure differ and analyse verses that became the reason why the queer term ‘sapphic’ was derived from her name.
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Our newest episode is about... us. We talk about the shows we're enjoying, the books we're loving and much more.
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This week, we watched new Netflix movie Purple Hearts and discussed the harmful romanticisation of the relationship between a liberal woman and a conservative man.
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In our newest episode we once again dive into our favorite show – Killing Eve! We go into detail while discussing episode three and four of season one and we share our thoughts about the show, the representation and more, so be aware of the spoilers!
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This week we've dissected the portrayals of female friendships and queer representation in the media, what they mean to us and what we're missing.
Forces of Attraction by Scott Holmes Music
This week we talk about the iconic fictional women who shaped us when we were growing up, and those we look up to now.
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In our second episode we dive into our favorite show – Killing Eve! We go into detail while discussing episode one and two of season one and we share why we love the show and some of our favorite moments so be aware of the spoilers!
Theme song: Forces of Attraction by Scott Holmes Music
We introduce our new feature, "Let's Be Real," a sporadic spin-off where we discuss the impact of current events. This week, we address the overturning of Roe v Wade in the US Supreme Court and the consequences this has on people seeking abortions.
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We kick off our brand new Sapphics & Swords podcast show with conversations about queer and plus-size representation surrounding First Kill, Olivia Dade books, and more, and discuss our own experiences with sexuality, queer media, and what we’re avidly consuming this week!
Theme song: Forces of Attraction by Scott Holmes Music