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Showing posts with label Bodice Tipplers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bodice Tipplers. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

A little something for you perverts

Once part of The Collinsport Historical Society Podcast, Bodice Tipplers is alive and well and ...  doing much better than the CHS Podcast, truth be told. I might have more to say about THAT debacle at a later date (short version: it was all my fault) but the Bodice Tipplers have continued to truck along. They're cranking out two episodes a month, give or take, and have added a few bonues for subscribers to their Patreon. (And oh my god did I screw up the CHS Patreon with aplomb. 2019 was not my favorite year.) You can listen to a sample of their Patreon bonus Aural Sex, which features exclusive clips of other podcasters reading the dirty parts from romance novels.

You can find the Bodice Tipplers Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/bodicetipplers.

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Podcast: Barnabas Collins and the Bodice Tipplers




Jonathan Frid is on the cover of "Barnabas Collins," the 1968 Dark Shadows novel by Marilyn Ross, but he's otherwise absent from the book. You might even argue that Barnabas Collins, at least the character you might know from the television show, is also absent from the tale. A vampire bearing that name makes his way through the course of the story but, unguided by Frid's peculiar wounded menace and a staff of writers that understood how to find humanity even in the most inhuman of characters, there's not much in the story will look familiar to fans of the television series.

And that's OK. It might even be a good thing, even if the results are often not that good.


Tie-in properties are so tightly managed today that they rarely ever surprise. There's no place for innovation in stories intentionally designed not to affect the events around it. No matter the level of crisis introduced, we'll find our plucky heroes right back at square one by the end of the story. A Hollywood studio spent $200 million on the next movie in their blockbuster series and they're certainly not going to have their narrative upended by some $5 book.

The rules were different for tie-in proprieties when Dark Shadows hit the airwaves in 1966. Back then, these things were just products to be dumped on shelves, and little thought was given to whether or not they were any good. There were efforts taken to maintain a basic level of continuity (if you did nothing else, you had to at least make sure Spock, Napoleon Solo and Will Robinson's names were all spelled correctly) but after that all bets were off. It's just too difficult to maintain continuity between a monthly comic series and a weekly television series. The people that should have been doing quality control on these products were otherwise occupied, leaving those details to lawyers only concerned with making sure the networks and production companies got paid.

Dark Shadows had the additional complication of being a daily series. Whole characters and storylines would be over before the the next Marilyn Ross novel would hit stands, no matter how quickly he cranked them out. Trying to make these narratives line up was impossible, so Ross didn't bother trying. Besides, Ross (actually Dan Ross, a one-man gothic romance factory who wrote more than 300 novels under a variety of pen names) couldn't watch the show at his home in Canada, anyway. The end result was a line of books that only occasionally resembled the television series, usually by accident.

The same was true (to various degrees) for the Dark Shadows comics published by Gold Key, the daily newspaper strip and the two feature films, House of Dark Shadows and Night of Dark Shadows. (Both movies killed off characters that were still appearing on the daily on the television series.) Just to make things even more difficult, the daytime serial even dabbled in parallel timelines, giving fans an almost endless buffet of interpretations.

While I've usually enjoyed seeing how the characters and situations from Dark Shadows might have developed in the hands of other creators, the differences can be quite jarring for even the most hardcore fan. And, if you don't already love the series, you might be less patience with Ross's seat-of-his-pants style of storytelling. He wrote more than 30 Dark Shadows novels in six years, as well as dozens of others during the same time frame. It's unsurprising that he was unable to maintain a continuity with the television series, but he was also unable to keep the facts straight in his own novels. The books frequently contradict each other. "Barnabas Collins" manages the stunning feat of contradicting itself.

This is the situation that Sara and Courtney wandered into with latest installment of the Bodice Tipplers podcast. To say they were confused is an understatement. If you're looking for an explanation for Dark Shadows' appeal, you ain't gonna find it in this book. It was kind of a lose-lose situation for everybody involved, not the least of which was Dan Ross. The novel was likely begun when Barnabas Collins was still intended to be a one-off villain on Dark Shadows in 1967. By the time the book hit the stands in November 1968, the character had become an unlikely pop idol and sex symbol. But the Barnabas Collins depicted in "Barnabas Collins" was a sexual predator with a penchant for grooming young girls into his service, a character that hardly earns the "America's grooviest ghoul" starburst plastered on the back cover. There's little fun to be had here, save for the archaeological kind.

To summarize: "Barnabas Collins" is a novel written by a man using a pseudonym about a television series he didn't watch, showcasing a character that had changed radically between the time the book was started and published, and features a supporting cast of characters that has almost nothing to do with anything seen on the daytime serial. Confused yet?

This episode marks the last one for Bodice Tipplers here at The Collinsport Historical Society. As of today they've got their own dedicated podcast feed, which means those of you listening here need to head over to wherever you get your podcasts and directly subscribe to them. (You can find them at iTunes HERE.)


You can listen to "Barnabas Collins" in the app near the top of this post, or download it directly HERE.

Jenn Vix has kindly let us use her song "In the House of Dark Shadows," a collaboration with Reeves Gabrels, in this podcast. Below is a full playlist of Jenn's music to accompany the "Barnabas Collins" episode. You can follow her on Twitter @JennVix or at her website http://jennvix.band/

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Bodice Tipplers: Flowers in the Attic, part 2


It's hard to keep up with the Bodice Tipplers podcast. About 15 minutes after finally getting first The Collinsport Historical Society out of the gate, BT already has the two-hour finale of their V.C. Andrews' Flowers in the Attic epic. To add insult to injury, their next episode -- which focuses on the print debut of everybody's favorite tortured vampire in Marilyn Ross's "Barnabas Collins" -- is edited and ready to be shared this weekend. And they're ready to record their next episode around the time they let Barnabas loose. Sigh.

Anyway, here's the episode. They've got a write-up about this episode at their website HERE, and you can download the episode below.

Monday, April 15, 2019

Podcast Alert: Flowers in the Attic



The increasingly inaccurate "March Madness" series from the Bodice Tipplers podcast is back, with the first of a two-part episode devoted to V.C. Andrews' 1979 gothic trash-terpiece "Flowers in the Attic." Sara and Courtney decided to split the epsiode into two parts because the whole thing topped out at three hours long ... and only ended then when their digital recorder ran out of memory.

"Flowers in the Attic" marks the halfway point in the March Madness series, which began with Peter David's Trekkie romance "Imzadi" and ends with an upcoming episode dedicated to "Barnabas Collins" by Marilyn Ross.

If you haven't read "Flowers in the Attic" you can find various editions of it on Amazon, which makes for a fascinting -- if depressing -- tour. Book cover art has really gone downhill since "Flowers in the Attic" was first published. Later editions of the book are shamelessly generic. (And make sure to check out the godawful cover of the audiobook.) Anyhoo, you can find a lot of great and terrible editions of "Flowers in the Attic" at Amazon HERE.

Sara and Courtney have written a lengthy blogpost to accompany the podcast, which you can find over at their website. If you're the impatient type and just want to get started, you can begin listening to it below.

Saturday, March 23, 2019

Bodice Tipplers boldly go ...


What does this have to do with Dark Shadows? Nothing! At least, directly. We could argue on Facebook all day long about how Star Trek and Dark Shadows fandoms overlap in hugely significant ways. Or about how the two shows have shared talent (Art Wallace, Kathryn Leigh Scott, Mitchell Ryan, etc.) over the years like they were Napster files. Or how this particular podcast I'm sharing here is part of a series that will lead in coming weeks to episodes about V.C. Andrews' Flowers in the Attic and ... Barnabas Collins by Marilyn Ross. It helps to know where a thread goes before you begin pulling at it.

Anyhoo, Bodice Tipplers have finally gotten around to starting their March Madness series, which takes them away from their traditional beat of trashy romance novels to genre fare involving time travel, aliens, vampires and whatever fucking genre Flowers in the Attic qualifies for. They've got a lot more to say about Star Trek over at their website HERE, or you can just dive right into the podcast below. You can follow Bodice Tipplers on Twitter at @BTipplers.

Sunday, March 3, 2019

Classic Dark Shadows novels getting audio editions in 2019



UPDATE: I'm told the Amazon listings aren't accurate and that there are no plans at the moment to release audio editions of the Marilyn Ross books. Which raises more questions than it answers, but that's where we are.



There's a lot to unpack here, so let's start at the top: According to Amazon, the classic Dark Shadows novels by Marilyn Ross will be given the audiobook treatment. While looking for a link to a particular title, I noticed an "Audio CD" edition of the book and assumed it was an error. After taking a look around the website, though, it appears many of the titles are set for release in audio editions throughout the year, beginning March 26 with the first title in the series, "Dark Shadows." Several more already have release dates, at least up to #13 in the series, "Barnabas Collins and the Mysterious Ghost," which does not yet have a release date. That means those of us who are fans of the ridiculous "Barnabas, Quentin and the Body Snatchers" will have to wait a bit longer for an audio edition of that trash-terpiece.

There are no other details available at Amazon. I'm curious to see who will be reading these books, and whether or not that $6.99 "Audio CD" is actually an MP3. (That price seems awfully cheap for a CD.)

I've heard rumblings online that omnibus editions of the Ross books will also become available this year. Is it true? I don't know! Nobody tells me anything. Which doesn't seem like a great marketing strategy, but what do I know?

Which brings me back to the original point to this blog post: The Bodice Tipplers Podcast is temporarily abandoning their coverage of traditional romance novels in March. An episode dedicated to "Imzadi," the Star Trek: The Next Generation novel by Peter David, is already in the can. They're recording an episode about "Flowers in the Attic" by V.C. Andrews today, and will round out the month with ... "Barnabas Collins" by Marilyn Ross! If you haven't read the book and want to before the podcast, you can find used copies HERE.

Meanwhile, the Bodice Tipplers podcast have done pretty good for themselves since launching in October. They not only hit their $400 fundraising goal for RAINN, but surpassed it by $200. They were mentioned by Oregon's Source Weekly in a roundup that also included Netflix's "One Day at a Time," "Luke Cage" and "Jessica Jones," and even got noticed by Smart Bitches, Trashy Books (yay!) and The AV Club (yay!) So go check them out www.bodicetipplers.com.

Sunday, February 17, 2019

Glam, bam, thank you ma'am



In January, the Bodice Tipplers podcast began raising money for RAINN, America’s largest anti-sexual violence organization. The goal was to raise $500 before the end of February, a goal they hit earlier this week. Even though donating to RAINN was a reward in itself, BT hosts Sara and Courtney offered a few incentives. Anyone who donated before March 1 has a chance to win a Bodice Tipplers tote bag packed with most of the shitty paperbacks they’ve read so far for the podcast. Also, if they succeeded in collecting $500 ... they'd release their teenage Glamour Shots photos.

You can still donate to RAINN and enter to win the tote bag o'books HERE, but because the $500 target has been reached they've already shared their Glamour Shots. Just click on the photo at the top of this page to head over to their website!

Thursday, January 17, 2019

Help send the Bodice Tipplers podcast to Collinsport



In March, the Bodice Tipplers podcast will be leaving the reservation to explore a few novels peripheral to their sphere of interest: trashy romance novels. They plan to do three books that month: the Star Trek: The Next Generation novel Imzadi by Peter David, Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews and ... well, the third is still up for discussion. Seeing as how I'm married to one of the two hosts (and am producer-by-default of the podcast) I've got a little influence over the title of the third book. It will absolutely be a Marilyn Ross book from the Dark Shadows line, but which one should it be?

I conducted a loose poll on social media last week and have narrowed it down to four possible books. (Note: I've nixed Barnabas, Quentin and the Body Snatchers because it's already been discussed at length on this website.)

Here are the candidates. You can vote using the Twitter poll below.

Dark Shadows, #1
Summary: "Despite warnings from the townspeople, Victoria Winters accepts the offer to come to the strange Collins House as governess. For some curious reason she feels the secret of her past may be uncovered in the bleak manor high on Widow's Hill. From the moment she arrives, Victoria becomes the target of someone in the house determined to destroy her. As the wind moans and the rain lashes around the isolated Collins House, Victoria, without friends in the manor, feels death close in on her, a choking, frightening death."

Barnabas Collins, #6
Summary: "America's Grooviest Ghoul Barnabas Collins, the 175-year-old vampire who has taken the country by storm comes alive in this new novel of gothic suspense. Your blood will grow cold as you read the never-before-told story of the foggy night in 1899 when Barnabas first arrived at Collinwood. You'll chill to the full horror of the real truth about Barnabas - a secret so terrible that it could not be revealed until now."

The Secret of Barnabas Collins, #7
Summary: "While searching for the woman who will replace his long-lost Josette, and thus end the terrible curse upon him, Barnabas meets lovely Clare Duncan. The story of their romance--and of the terror it brings to the beautiful young noblewoman--is a tale of Gothic suspense that will chill and delight the legions of Barnabas Collins fans."

Barnabas, Quentin and the Magic Potion, #25
Summary: "Barnabas predicts trouble for Collinwood when Nicholas Freeze, in whose antique shop Carolyn Stoddard works, discovers a centuries-old potion that promises eternal youth. Soon after, Mr. Freeze's daughter Hazel, tricked into taking the serum, dies. Carolyn is grief-stricken over her friend's death. Barnabas insists she stay on at the shop to watch Nicholas Freeze and his associates, one of whom Carolyn suspects is Quentin Collins, back at Collinwood in a disguise. Then Carolyn sees Hazel's ghost. She interprets this as a warning that Mr. Freeze has marked her for his next victim. Barnabas still refuses to let her quit. Has Barnabas made a fatal mistake by deliberately endangering Carolyn's life? Or will his plan avenge Hazel's murder and put her spirit to rest?"

Monday, January 14, 2019

The Bodice Tipplers Podcast needs you



West of Bangor the hills rise wild, and there are valleys with deep woods that no axe has ever cut. There are horrors beyond life's edge that we do not suspect, and once in a while man's evil prying calls them just within our range.

Danielle Steel has arrived at The Collinsport Historical Society — just as the prophecies foretold.

Steel's 1991 novel Palomino is the focus of the latest Bodice Tipplers podcast. Since launching their own website I've had less reason in recent weeks to plug new episodes here, but the latest episode is accompanied by something special. Sara and Courtney are trying to raise $500 for RAINN — the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization. If that's enough to motivate you to donate, click HERE to vget started. If you need a little more encouragement, please visit their website for additional information. Spoiler: If they meet their $500 goal, the two will release their 1990s Glamour Shots.

The latest Bodice Tipplers episode is streaming below and features the song "Carolina Peach Blossom" by The Dawn Key Shotguns. Give it a listen!

LINKS:

https://fundraise.rainn.org/fundraiser/1832498

http://www.bodicetipplers.com/2019/01/faaaabulous-prizes.html

Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Synchronize your clocks: It's the Bewitching Hour



'Tis the season to be wary: Despite what a thousand classic Christmas songs might tell you, the holiday season has the potential to be the most dangerous time of the year. According to the BMJ medical journal, your chance of having a heart attack peaks on Christmas Eve. Retail crime sees a spike in December. Robberies, burglaries and assault see a renewed interest around eves Christmas and New Year's, the same time of year that the baby eating Grýla and her more charming cousin Krampus nurse their grudges against children. It's enough to make you want to stay indoors and curl up with a book.

Which brings me to my point: There's a new Bodice Tipplers podcast! This episode brings together that most nefarious of holidays, Christmas, with our perennial heroines, witches. Sara and Courtney dive into Anne Stuart's 1986 novel "Bewitching Hour," the kind of nightstand reading that involves characters with names like "Sybil Richardson" and "Nick Fitzsimmons." The jacket summary uses the word "coming" about 18 times in case you have any doubts about the text/subtext of the novel. Also: witchcraft. It's like someone looked into Stevie Nicks' soul, wrote a book just for her and then deleted all the references to cocaine.

You can listen to the podcast below, and remember to visit the Bodice Tipplers website for additional background and reading recommendations. Merry Christmas!

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