675. Celebrating Confident Fat Black Women with Danielle Allen

675. Celebrating Confident Fat Black Women with Danielle Allen

Author: Sarah Wendell July 11, 2025 Duration: 52:57

Danielle Allen is the author of 55 books, including the new release Plus Size Player, part of the Curve series alongside Curvy Girl Summer, and Big Girl Blitz. And the player, as you’ll find out, is the heroine.


The trilogy focuses on three best friends, and so we talk about friendship, loyalty, and about centering fat Black women as romance heroines. Danielle has also written contemporaries inspired by Poe stories, so of course we talk about interpreting Poe as well.


You can find Danielle Allen at her website, AuthorDanielleAllen.com, and on her Patreon, Curvy Girl Confessions. You can also follow her on TikTokInstagramFacebook, and BlueSky.


Her cover artist is Keo Majoy. 



A special invitation: free samples of our bonus content!

Inspired by other Patreon folks, including Chris DeRosa at Fixing Famous People, I’ve made some of the Patreon content free so you can sample what we’ve got.

This collection of special previews is available now to all listeners, and there’s a link in the show notes to dive in. And if you like our free samples, join us in the Patreon community where there’s bonus content and more.





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If you’ve ever felt a little defensive about loving romance novels, or just want to dive deeper into the books you can’t put down, Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: A Romance Novel Podcast is your perfect companion. Host Sarah Wendell approaches the genre with a critic’s sharp mind and a fan’s enthusiastic heart, creating conversations that are as thoughtful as they are joyful. This isn’t just author interviews, though you’ll hear brilliant voices like Ilona Andrews, Sarah J. Maas, and the wonderfully unique Chuck Tingle. The scope of the podcast is deliberately wide, bringing in reviewers, librarians, editors, and publishing professionals to examine every facet of the romance world. You’ll get honest talk about tropes and trends, the business behind the books, and why these stories resonate so powerfully with millions of readers. Regular appearances from Amanda Diehl add another layer of camaraderie and insight. Listening feels like being part of a smart, welcoming book club where no opinion is dismissed and passion is a given. It’s a celebration of a genre that dominates fiction, explored with humor, intelligence, and genuine curiosity. Whether you’re a longtime devotee or a curious newcomer, this podcast offers a rich, engaging, and deeply human look at the stories we love.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: A Romance Novel Podcast
Podcast Episodes
705. RT Rewind: June 1997 Reviews [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:00
Amanda and I are back, deep diving into romance and pop culture history with issue 1997 of Romantic Times Magazine. The cover reads Love, Lust, Laugh, and we’ve got some vintage books to talk about. Then we talk about wh…
704. JQ Editions with Julia Quinn [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:47
My guest this week is Julia Quinn and we are talking about, of course, JQ Editions, a new subscription service creating special limited editions of historical romances. I’ve been writing about this since it was announced…
703. Oscars and Gossip with Kayleigh Donaldson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:37
Kayleigh Donaldson is back! She is the guest on some of the most popular episodes, and I know what that is: she’s brilliant. We recorded this just before the Oscar nominations were announced, so Kayleigh is making (some…
702. Heated Rivalry with Candy Tan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:24:02
Candy recapped Heated Rivalry, and is that enough? No, of course not. We had MANY things we wanted to exclaim at each other about, so why not podcast about it?We’re going to talk about the show, the acting, the adaptatio…
701. Holiday Wishes with Amanda and Sarah [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:05
It’s never too late for Holiday Wishes, right? We had such a record number of interviews for the Holiday Wishes episodes this year, and I truly love doing them. Thank you.But many of you asked about Amanda’s recs and wis…
700. An Art History Analysis of Romance Covers with Amanda Matta [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:00:50
Happy 700th Episode!! Amanda Matta is a debut author (her book is coming in 2027!), media commentator, royal analyst, and an art historian. I’ve mentioned Amanda, and her podcast Art of History, which I love. In that sho…
699. Holiday Wishes VII with Katie, Kate and Adam [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:55
Happy New Year!This week we are talking with Katie, Kate, and Adam – we’ve got book recs, wishes, spreadsheet discussions, dungeons, and some wishes that don’t violate the Hatch Act.There’s also rather appalling poo adve…
697. Holiday Wishes V with Shana, Sue, and Rhonda [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:07
This week we are talking with Shana, Sue, and Rhonda about book recs and wishes, plus fantasy and magical bureaucracy, grief in romance, schtupping by volume, and inventions for readers to find even MORE books.We also me…
696. Holiday Wishes IV with Rae A, Josephine, and Sneezy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:20
We’re back with more Holiday Wishes! This week we’re talking with Rae A., Josephine, and Sneezy!This week we are talking romance bookstores and road trips, luxurious bidets, webtoons, and, of course, books. And some rant…