Kris 0:20
Hello everyone and welcome to Queerly Recommended, the podcast that’s all about recommending queer movies, books, TV shows, and more. I’m Kris Bryant, contemporary romance writer with almost 20 books about women loving women.
Tara 0:31
And I’m Tara, I review queer women’s fiction at The Lesbian Review, Lambda Literary and Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. Happy New Year, everybody. And also Happy New Year to Kris, this is the first time you and I have talked since before the holidays.
Kris 0:47
Right. I haven’t talked to you since last year.
Tara 0:50
I know. To people who noticed that we skipped an episode. I’m sorry. We were going to rerun our first ever episode because we just need a little break over the holidays.
Kris 1:02
Right.
Tara 1:02
And then Calgary had- like literally it was a 20 Celsius degree weather swing. 30 Fahrenheit degree weather swing. And I was like laid out.
Kris 1:15
Aww that’s right.
Tara 1:16
Yeah, it was migraine time. And so that didn’t happen. But you know, hopefully, absence makes the heart grow slightly fonder in the meantime. So, Kris, what is something that you’re excited about this year, 2022? As we’re all being slightly cautious about trying not to be too excited, because I think we put too much hope on 2021.
Kris 1:42
That’s true. So right now, as everybody knows, maybe not, I don’t know, but I love Jeopardy. I’ve been watching it since I was a teenager. So like 10 years.
Tara 1:53
That’s right.
Kris 1:54
Because I mean, besides the fact that I just love Jeopardy. But my teacher, when I was in high school, my teacher was on the show. But Amy Schneider, we need to talk about Amy Schneider. She is the first transgender to win a million dollars on Jeopardy.
Tara 2:08
That’s amazing.
Kris 2:10
That is amazing. Like it is. I- it was so interesting, because when I saw her however, many weeks ago, she’s still a champion. I mean, she’s still going right now. Like-
Tara 2:20
Oh, seriously.
Kris 2:21
Yeah, so she is still going right now. And it was funny because I followed her like, I don’t know, maybe three days into her- when she first started. And she had like 1100 followers on Twitter. And now she’s up to I don’t know, like 70,000 or something just because like the support she is getting and how she’s bringing queerness to- in front of everybody. And it’s just been amazing. And and the host is Ken Jennings, like the last time you watched Jeopardy. He is the host.
Tara 2:54
Some of the people listening, when we were talking before we started recording, we were kind of like saying like, “Okay, what should we talk about?” And Kris was mentioning, Amy Schneider. And I admitted that because I don’t have cable the last time I saw a champion go super far in jeopardy it was Ken Jennings. And she was like, “So you were a fetus?”
Kris 3:16
That was a long time ago. A very long time ago.
Tara 3:19
Yes, I was a fetus. And I don’t remember anybody else.
Kris 3:26
I was a toddler.
Tara 3:28
I think that’s incredible. Because I mean, also, let’s be honest, it is a show that traditionally has had a bit of an older viewership. I mean, everybody watches Jeopardy, and everybody loves it. And it is great because the whole family can watch it. But also I mean, I remember when I was growing up, like you do not call between- You don’t you do not call grandma and grandpa between seven and eight. Because that is Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune time. And if you call grandma will tell you off- like that was- Eileen was not fucking around.
Like you don’t call during Price is Right and you don’t call during those two shows. And so I love that the show is including openly queer people and including trans people. And helping I mean, how many baby queers? How many baby trans people are seeing Amy Schneider and seeing that they do that?
Kris 4:22
Hopefully more.
Tara 4:24
Yeah.
Kris 4:24
More and more. I mean, it’s- her- Just like I said, she has grown so much on social media. And it says- she’s very clever as well. Her tweets are very clever. You know, she she does get a lot of hate.
Tara 4:37
Yeah.
Kris 4:38
She does get a lot of hate, but she also like blows it off. She’s really good at handling the situation.
Tara 4:42
Yeah. And hopefully, there’s much more love coming her way than there is hate and like love is drowning it out.
Kris 4:49
Right. Because I’ve noticed in the past year that there are a lot more gay people on Jeopardy, and also Wheel of Fortune, by the way. Wheel of Fortune I’ve seen a lot more when people are allowed to talk about their partners. “Well, I have my husband’s in the audience”or you know, “My wife’s in the audience”. So that’s kind of- that’s happened. I’ve noticed that that is more accepting in game shows.
Tara 5:10
I love that.
Kris 5:10
Yeah.
Tara 5:10
Is it still Pat Sajak?
Kris 5:12
I believe so. Yes. It is not a show that I watch all the time, because I have conquered it. And it is boring to me now.
Tara 5:19
Hey, wait, when you say you’ve conquered it, do you mean you always know the answer? Or have you been on Wheel of Fortune and I don’t know this.
Kris 5:26
No. I have not been on the show. But I did try out for it.
Tara 5:30
No!
Kris 5:31
My sister and I went to try out for it for Family Wheel of Fortune. And 20,000 other people had the same idea. And we said, “Fuck it” and we went and had lunch. I don’t do lines. I just can’t do lines. But like my family, we are vicious on this. We can get the puzzles so quickly. It is so competitive. So like, I don’t even watch it because it’s too easy.
Tara 5:54
So then have you been playing Wordle?
Kris 5:56
You know what? I just downloaded it, was it this morning or last night? I don’t remember but I just downloaded it because I think Amanda Radley and some other people have been posting
Tara 6:06
It is fun. I am ‘some other people.’
Kris 6:09
Or are you ‘some other people’?
Tara 6:10
Oh, yeah.
Kris 6:12
So let me tell you. So the first one I did I got in four tries.
Tara 6:16
Yeah.
Kris 6:16
So that’s- is that good? That’s good, right?
Tara 6:19
I mean, as long as you get within six tries. So two days ago, I got it in three tries for the first time. And I was like, “I’m a fucking genius and nobody can tell me anything today”. Like, that’s-
Kris 6:30
You’re on top of the world.
Tara 6:31
I am the smartest person alive.
Kris 6:33
Ever.
Tara 6:34
I think that’s kind of the beauty of it. Because for anybody that doesn’t know, Wordle it’s kind of cool. This guy built it because his wife, girlfriend, whatever, really likes word games. And it started out as this thing that it was just a gift but it has this functionality where you can share your score. And so people started sharing it. And it’s just taken off. And it’s only one word per day, six tries. And it’s five letters and yesterday, I did it again in three tries yesterday. And all I wanted was to go do all the previous ones because there’s been 200 so far, but you can’t even go back in the archive. And so it’s like you get one per day.
Kris 7:18
Does everybody get the same one?
Tara 7:20
Yes.
Kris 7:20
So you can brag.
Tara 7:21
Yes.
Kris 7:21
So you can call Amanda and say “What’s the word for the day?” And then you get it the first time? And then you show everybody, “Hey, I got it in one try?”
Tara 7:29
No, I think people would know you’re wrong. Nobody gets it in one try. I don’t know, to me, it’s kind of like those restaurants where there was an episode of The Layover, I think with Anthony Bourdain, in Montreal, and it’s this restaurant that serves nothing but fried bologna sandwiches, and you can’t change them at all. And it’s like, you come in and it’s like, if you try to ask them to change it at all, like fuck you like they’re not gonna do it. And that’s kind of how I feel about Wordle. You come in, you get one word. That’s all you get. If you don’t get it on your six tries. Sorry, you got to wait until tomorrow or you got to find a new browser. That is-
Kris 8:11
So do you ever find out the word if you don’t get it?
Tara 8:14
I don’t know. I haven’t not gotten it yet.
Kris 8:17
Oh look at you.
Tara 8:17
I know.
Kris 8:18
Look at you!
Tara 8:19
I’m basically a genius.
Kris 8:23
That’s awesome. I know I was thinking that too.
Tara 8:26
No, you weren’t. So in terms of what I’m excited about so far this year, just want to let all the people who are listening know if you don’t know yet. So The Lesbian Review, which like I mentioned at the beginning is a site that I review at, is in February putting on its first online event and it is all about sexy reads. So if you are at all inclined, if you like erotic romance, if you like seeing authors talk about all these things… I hear there is a certain author named Kris Bryant, wait, or is Brit Rydert that’s showing up as-
Kris 9:02
I think it’s Brit Ryder.
Tara 9:03
Brit Ryder is showing up, that’s right. Already, they’ve confirmed Brenda Murphy, A.L. Brooks, Fiona Zedde, Madeline Taylor, Brit Ryder, but also Kris Bryant is in brackets. So maybe you’ll meet both, who can say? K.C. Luck, Melissa Tereze and Meka James, there’s going to be on demand videos as well from Heather Rose Jones and Anna Stone. And that’s going to cover things like: how realistic should erotic fiction be? How do authors do research? What it means to create safe erotic fiction. So if you’re interested in that, we’ll drop a link in the show notes and you can reserve your spot on The Lesbian Reviews website.
Kris 9:44
Nice.
Tara 9:45
So Kris, what have you been reading or watching?
Kris 9:50
Okay, so last year, the show came out on Showtime called Yellowjackets, and it’s super weird and it involves like a plane crash and you know how I get about plane crashes.
Tara 10:01
Yeah, you write a fucking book about’em is what you do.
Kris 10:03
Exactly something really interests me, I’m gonna write a book about it. And so I’m fascinated because I’m totally frightened of plane crashes. And so this is about a plane crashes- this I don’t know if it’s a girls soccer team or what it is, but they’re they get in a plane wreck. And it’s a really well known cast, but it just, it goes from like the past to where they are now. And it just kind of wrote, you know, goes back and forth and back and forth. And so it’s not, it’s not great.
Tara 10:32
Mm hmm.
Kris 10:33
But it’s it- It has kept me interested enough to find out what the fuck is going on. It’s got a good cast, and there’s a queer lead.
Tara 10:41
Oh.
Kris 10:41
One of the- Yeah, I don’t know that I can recommend it yet because it’s not done. So I don’t know if it’s a full on recommendation, but I am watching it and there was a queerl lead.
Tara 10:50
What’s the tone? Like, is it pretty dark?
Kris 10:52
It’s pretty dark. It’s pretty dark. So we have like, Christina, what’s her name? Ricci. Christina Ricci is in there.
Tara 11:00
Oh, okay.
Kris 11:01
Juliette Lewis is in there. I mean, we’re talking like a pretty well known cast. So I’m like, “I’m gonna watch this this kind of interesting, because what would people do?” And so I can’t really spoil it. But like, there’s a reason why they’re not found. Because there’s some just like, it’s just yeah-
Tara 11:20
like corruption?
Kris 11:21
There’s corruption.
Tara 11:22
Dun dun dun!
Kris 11:25
There’s corruption.
Tara 11:26
Oh no.
Kris 11:26
It’s interesting. I need to I have to follow it through because I need to know like, how they get saved. I need to know what’s happening?
Tara 11:35
Do they get saved?
Kris 11:36
Yeah, because it’s like back when they’re like on this like remote place. It flashes back, they’re teenagers. You know like-
Tara 11:42
Ohhh. I think I misunderstood- so when I read he blurb about it on Amazon Prime, because my best friend was like, “I’m watching this” and I was like, “Okay, what’s this about?” And to me, it sounded like- So skipping between two time periods, and it sounded like there’s 20 years between the two time periods, but I thought it was like the plane crashed and this is them still living on the island 20 years later.
Kris 12:08
They’re stuck on this place for 18 months, though.
Tara 12:11
That’s too long.
Kris 12:12
That is too long. And that’s the whole point. It’s too long. And so guess what happens?
Tara 12:17
Is there enough therapy for that?
Kris 12:19
I’m gonna need therapy after this because it is so- it’s just it’s one of those where it’s like, “Okay, it’s on again. I gotta, I gotta finish it. I have to finish it now”.
Tara 12:28
Oh, no. It’s you new Handmaid’s Tale.
Kris 12:32
It is. It is my new Handmaid’s Tale.
Tara 12:34
We’re like, I don’t know if I’m enjoying it, but I can’t.
Kris 12:39
Yes, I need to know why this character, it goes into this trance and starts eating dirt. I need to know why that happens.
Tara 12:46
Oh, my.
Kris 12:47
So there’s some stuff that as an adult, you know, 20 years later why this is still happening to her. So I need to find out these things.
Tara 12:53
Okay, let me know how it goes. I’m going to continue not watching it. I would like to live vicariously through your experience.
Kris 12:59
Okay, I will definitely keep you posted.
Tara 13:02
Okay, what else?
Kris 13:03
So I just finished Jagged, which is a documentary about Alanis Morissette. And so I posted a question on Twitter the other day, “Where were you when you heard the secret Alanis Morissette secret track on Jagged Little Pill?”
Tara 13:19
At home.
Kris 13:19
And it blew my mind that so many people hadn’t heard it already.
Tara 13:23
Wait, did they not know about?
Kris 13:26
They didn’t know.
Tara 13:27
Can we talk about how like secret songs were just a thing on 90s albums.
Kris 13:31
And they were.
Tara 13:31
Because now with Spotify they’re just kind of like on there at the end of the list. And so in December- Yeah, like November/December, I started going back to a lot of the music that I listened to in high school, including Alanis. Like I listened to Jagged Little Pill again. Nevermind, the Nirvana album was a big one. And that one, like to me, Nevermind is a perfect album until the secret song. I hate the secret song so much and then I was like, “Ohh, yeah, secret songs”.
Kris 13:40
Yes, secret songs.
Tara 13:41
You can’t do that anymore, but I remember the one- I remember the one on Jagged Little Pill being pretty good.
Kris 14:07
Yeah, so here I was, however old I was. I don’t remember. I remember I was up the gas station.
Tara 14:14
You were four.
Kris 14:15
Right. I was four. I was driving. I was four. I was gassing up my Ford Bronco-
Tara 14:20
`Your parents Bronco.
Kris 14:21
Oh, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. My parents Bronco that they let me drive.
Tara 14:27
There were blocks on the pedals so you could drive.
Kris 14:31
Exactly. So so I’m pumping the gas and this was you know, I had the windows down, I was just jammin, doing my thing. And so I still have the car not on, but just the radio part on because I love music and I will listen to it at all times. So I was like gassing and literally the album was over. So I was like huh, so I just I just started gassing and then a minute and like 13 seconds later, all of a sudden I hear this “I-” And I’m like, “What?”
Tara 15:01
Oh.
Kris 15:01
And then it sounded, but I was like looking around, like “Who’s talking to me?” Because it’s acapella. And she, there’s no instruments or anything. It’s just her singing. And it’s crazy.
Tara 15:11
It’s so good.
Kris 15:12
So good. It’s so good. It’s amazing. So, so I watched this documentary, and I was kind of like, it made me sad, though. It was great because Alanis got me through a lot of shit in my life. I think she got a lot of people through a lot.
Tara 15:28
Oh, yeah.
Kris 15:29
Because she was she, like, broke the barrier. It’s okay to be mean, it’s okay to be you know, to be angry. It’s okay to you know, and that’s really only one song. The rest of it was kind of gentle. It’s kind of, you know, some of her songs are pretty gentle. They’re not like, You Oughta Know. It’s not like that.
Tara 15:47
Yeah. Cuz she was able to do it in the mainstream in the way that like, you could hear that kind of music with like, the Riot Girl scene, but it’s not like they were played on top 40 radio in the same way that Alanis was
Kris 15:57
Like, no, she shot up on top 40. And that album was great. And I don’t think that she ever got that fame again. But anyway, so this was about Jagged Little Pill. And it’s, I feel like- what I like to do is I like to ask myself, “Could I be friends with this person now, as an adult?” I do that a lot. I’m like, I think I did a list on Twitter, like who I would be friends with. Because there are some people that I truly admire. But I know that our personalities would completely clash and I could not be friends with them. And I think that about Alanis. I think like, she has a good life going on right now. And she has a family. She wrote the song, beautiful song about her children, but I don’t think that, you know, she would be my friend.
Tara 16:41
Yeah, that’s right. That’s kind of like, I don’t know why. But it makes me think of conversations about ice queens in books and there are people who are like, “I don’t understand how anybody likes ice queens, I’d never want to spend any time with one”. And I’m like, “Yeah, I don’t want to spend time with one either. But give me the book. I want to see their journey. Are you kidding me?”
Kris 16:59
We need that. Yeah, we need the difference. We need all of that in our lives. And so that’s why you know, ice queens are so popular. It’s because they are people we don’t know, people we could never get that close to unless we’re reading a book. You know, that’s the whole point is when you open up a book, and you read the pages and you get to know this character behind the scenes. So yes, perfect. So that is, that was good. So I do recommend it. Just if you’re like me, and you love Alanis Morrisette, then I recommend watching it.
Tara 17:29
Is it also, I mean, I feel like I know the answer but but I’m gonna ask anyway. Is it also good for even if you don’t like Alanis but you’d like music documentaries? Would you still recommend it in that case?
Kris 17:40
Yeah, I think so. Cuz you see how quickly she rose to fame. Like overnight, she had like the overnight success story. Here’s a side note. My best friend at the time, was- not I can’t remember his title. But eventually he became vice president of Boston Acoustics, which is stereo company. He has since moved on. But anyway, so that’s kind of we both had that in common was this music and he’s like, “Hey, I have to go up to Nebraska to check out this singer who’s singing in a high school gym. Do you want to go with me?” And I’m like, “Okay.” So I went up there and it was Alanis Morrisette. And she was singing Jagged Little Pill. Yeah. So I got to see it in a high school gym in the middle of nowhere, Nebraska. That is my Alanis Morissette story, besides the secret track while I was pumping gas.
Tara 18:26
That’s so good.
Kris 18:28
Amazing. Yeah. So I mean, it talks about you know, just the record industry and like you love music.
Tara 18:34
I love music documentaries. I watched the Tina Turner documentary over the holidays when my parents were staying with us and like it was so- it was so good. And like Tina Turner was one of just the sounds of my childhood-
Kris 18:49
Yeah
Tara 18:49
-and I would like I wouldn’t say that I was particularly a fan or not a fan. There’s a lot of artists I feel that way. Like Rod Stewart is also right up there. Like it’s just-
Kris 18:58
You just have a lot of respect for them.
Tara 18:59
Yes, but then I watched that and I had so much more respect, and then had to go listen to her Spotify. But then I thought I had a really hard time listening to any of the songs that Ike Turner had anything to do with.
Kris 19:15
Right. I saw the movie with Angela Bassett when she played Tina Turner, because you know I love Angela Bassett.
Tara 19:21
Yeah.
Kris 19:21
So watching that made me I know made me dislike him immensely. Just watching that movie when it came out.
Tara 19:27
Angela Bassett is in the documentary and she is ageless.
Kris 19:34
I love her.
Tara 19:35
She’s gorgeous. Yes.
Kris 19:36
I would run away with her right now.
Tara 19:39
Yeah.
Kris 19:40
I’m just saying. Anyway.
Tara 19:42
We wouldn’t know what to do with her. “Can we just look at you?” “Yeah, okay. Fuck off.”
Kris 19:50
Sure, no I’ll try to play cool. I’m so awkward though. I cannot play cool.
Tara 19:56
No. Yeah. Okay. And I heard I heard, a little bird named Kris Bryant told me that you’ve been reading a book.
Kris 20:03
I have been! Like 99.4% of my time is spent writing. And when I was in Ptown, I met a new writer, a new young adult writer. And so I was like, you know, I haven’t really read a lot of young adult books. So I picked up a book called Changing Majors by Anna Harnett Rikeart. And when I met her in Ptown, she’s absolutely hilarious, like she and her wife are there, there was so much fun to hang around with, and just her storytelling, just sitting around a table with a bunch of new people. And she was just so comfortable. And so I thought, well, maybe I’ll just give her book a try. So I started that book. And so far,it’s hilarious just like she is so I’m enjoying it. And I’ll let you know if it becomes a recommendation.
Tara 20:46
Please do.
Kris 20:48
So. Yes. So I have talked so much. And I think it’s, it’s time for you to take over and what have you been reading and watching?
Tara 20:55
Oh, my God. So many things, so many things. Ah, a new Drag Race has begun, season 14. There’s going to be so much Drag Race this year. Also, it is intense. There is this one where it’s like regular US season 14 There’s going to be UK Versus the World to an International Drag Race. I think they’re supposed to be an All Winners season of Drag Race. I’m super excited for that. Those are the ones that I’m the most excited about. But I am excited about this one. So what they’ve done is a split premiere. So when we’re recording this, they’ve only shown the first one. So I’ve only met seven of the 14 Queens.
Kris 21:33
Oh, cool.
Tara 21:34
Yeah. Lizzo was the guest judge for this one, which was- she was a fabulous judge.
Kris 21:39
I bet.
Tara 21:39
And by the time this episode airs, the second half of the premiere will air with Alicia Keys as the guest judge on that one. Already I am seeing some major major contenders. Korn Bread the Snack Jete is so freakin good. She is a big queen, but she is a fashion queen. She does this thing with her face that is like legitimately one of the funniest things I’ve seen on drag race so far, which sometimes when she’s lip synching, it’s just like (chef’s kiss) beautiful.
And there’s a queen that I actually recognize that I’ve been following on social media who was never apart of Drag Race before. So Willow Pill, who I think is in the same drag family as Yvie Oddly, winner of season 11 I think. She is a weird quirky queen and I am here for every minute of it. She did- so they did- they had to do a talent show as the big challenge in that episode. And she said that she was going to do a piece that was like, part lipsync, part about self care. And when she said that RuPaul was like, “What?” And then it was to Enya. And there was a bathtub there and just like the- she pours some extra bubble bath stuff in the bathtub, and she’s drinking wine and she pours the wine in the bathtub and then she goes over to- and she has like this long, long long like to the floor with a frilly collar kind of frilly sleeved nightie. And she goes over to this plate of spaghetti and starts eating it with her hands like really aggressively then pours the rest of that in the bathtub and then walks over strips off the night gown and is in this like tiny pink, I don’t even know, is it a bathing suit? Is it lingeries? Whatever. Pulls out a toaster and gets itinwith it and it was just one of those you could see the judges going from like “What the fuck?” to by the end like, they were into it. I think this is going to be just a fantastic season.
Kris 23:55
Nice.
Tara 23:55
So if you haven’t watched Drag Race before this might actually be a fun one to jump in and get started. Okay, so one of the things I like to do, I live in Canada. Cannabis is legal here. And so sometimes I just like to have an edible and watch a movie and see what happens. And so I had never seen Willow before but this seemed like a good movie to do that with. Have you seen Willow? That like old ass movie with-
Kris 24:21
Is Val Kilmer in it?
Tara 24:22
Yes.
Kris 24:23
Yes. I saw it when it probably came out when I was like two.
Tara 24:26
Yes. Val Kilmer and Joanne Whalley, who he went on to marry and then divorced. And I would just like to say, have you seen people talking about how The Mummy is the perfect movie for bisexuals?
Kris 24:38
No.
Tara 24:39
Yes, because of like Rachel Weisz and Brendan Fraser.
Kris 24:43
Right.
Tara 24:43
And in my opinion, I also think that Thor is the perfect move for bisexuals, but I wonder if…before Thor, there was Willow.
Kris 24:53
I got a look at it because you know, I’ve slept since then, several times. So I need to go. I need to pull it up and look at the cast.
Tara 25:01
Yeah, like, Joanne Whalley and Val Kilmer are both like, pretty hot in this movie.
Kris 25:08
Okay, yeah. Yeah, it’s funny because the IMDB page shows what they look like now. As opposed to like 30 years ago when the movie came out or 40.
Tara 25:19
She probably looks amazing now and he does not.
Kris 25:23
Not. Right.
Tara 25:24
And I will leave it there because life happens to everyone.
Kris 25:28
Yeah, tough times. Tough times.
Tara 25:30
I don’t look amazing. I don’t look like when I was-
Kris 25:32
Yeah, like the 10 year challenge that’s going on on all the social media platforms. I’m like, “Fuck no, I’m not doing that. No.”
Tara 25:41
No, thank you. But yeah, yeah, I think that’s the- I think that is the- that was the-
Kris 25:47
I think you’re right.
Tara 25:47
Yeah. Yeah. Neil brought it up. As soon as he said it was like, “Oh, yes.”
Kris 25:54
Right. Now I’m gonna go through all the 80s. I’m thinking of like, but movies like Romancing the Stone that were real big where, you know, Kathleen Turner was hot. But then was, what’s his face?
Tara 26:09
Michael Douglas?
Kris 26:10
Was he too manly man for bisexuality? Is that I mean, what do you think about that? Because he was kind of a jerk in the movie at the beginning on purpose.
Tara 26:20
I think that’s where I would want to get the opinion of a queer man.
Kris 26:28
Yeah, that’s a good idea.
Tara 26:30
Michael Douglas never did it for me, but I don’t know he must have done it for someone.
Kris 26:34
I feel like Michael Douglas smells like whiskey.
Tara 26:39
And cigars.
Kris 26:40
Cigars, whiskey. That’s what he smells like. I look at people and that’s so judgmental. I know. But just some sometimes you just think this person smells like cigarettes and whiskey.
Tara 26:49
Meanwhile, Catherine Zeta Jones apparently thought he could get it so.
Kris 26:53
Wow. Yeah, she was she has been on my top 10 List forever. I think she’s beautiful.
Tara 26:59
Oh, yes. In terms of games. Okay. So I do have a game where I would say the queer content is minimal, because it’s not really about that. But I started playing Fire Emblem: Three Houses on my Switch. And it is a game where you are a person. I don’t really know your background. I don’t- I can’t remember it doesn’t really matter. But anyway, you get to be a professor at a magic school. That’s not called Hogwarts. And it has three houses. And they are not Slytherin and Hufflepuff and all that bullshit. It’s- there’s no transphobia in this game. Isn’t that nice? Fuck JK Rowling-
Kris 27:35
Right!
Tara 27:35
-and her TERFy awful. And then it goes on to have like, yes, it starts in a school. But it’s really like political intrigue and different sides, like different factions fighting each other. But for the romance, because there is a romance however thin it is because like I said, it is not about the romance, but it includes a little bit of that. And so when you get to choose, your dad in the game gives you a ring that was your mother’s and it’s meant to, you know, give it to your love interest. And there are same sex love interests that you can give it to, which I think is really lovely. And so I have put probably 60 or 70 hours into that game since the last time we talked
Kris 28:18
So do you get to pick your sex at the beginning?
Tara 28:21
Yes.
Kris 28:22
Okay.
Tara 28:23
But you only can choose- that’s I think that’s the one thing that’s a bit of a shame is that you can only choose between male and female, there is no non binary option.
Kris 28:30
Hmm.
Tara 28:31
So I kind of wish there was a non binary option. Maybe in a future game, I think that would be pretty great. Although generally speaking, there’s not a lot of games where that’s even an option at all. Boyfriend Dungeon had it. Later Daters had it. So it tends to be more of those like dating sim games, but I’d love to see it happen in more. I have been watching a show that you can definitely get in Canada on Crave. It’s produced by Crave I don’t know if you can get it anywhere else in the world. But if you can, I completely recommend it. The only reason it’s not an official recommendation is I’m pretty sure it’s only in Canada, but it’s called 1 Queen, 5 Queers.
It’s a talk show hosted by Brooklyn Heights, Queen of the North, host of Canada’s Drag Race and finalists, semi finalists in RuPaul Drag Race, I think season 11. And it’s a panel show where it is pretty much exactly like it described. There is one drag queen, Brooklyn Heights who is hosting and asking the questions. There are five queer people of all kinds, like literally LGBTQ, they’re all there somehow. And they’re just talking about different topics. Sex comes up in almost every episode, even though there is where it comes up in every episode, even though there’s like one episode specifically about sex, but there’s also an episode about family. There’s one about race. There’s one about social media. It is so smart. There is some really interesting vulnerability that happens. I just think it is so good. And I every time Crave tells me there’s a new episode. I’m like, “YAY THERE’S A NEW EPISODE” and then I watch it right away. It’s so good. And then there’s one that Kris can’t see on our outline, but I want to give a shout out to. I have been reading Always by Kris Bryant and I’m not done yet because I keep having to put it down because I’ve been on deadlines for reviews and other websites, but it’s very good.
Kris 30:37
Do you like it?
Tara 30:38
I do
Kris 30:38
Oh, that makes me happy.
Tara 30:40
I like it very much. So far, Perry is still getting the run around.
Kris 30:46
Oh, well, that’ll end soon. That happens- that ends soon enough.
Tara 30:51
Okay, good.
Kris 30:51
So yeah.
Tara 30:52
What’s the wide release date?
Kris 30:55
Wide release date is January 11.
Tara 30:59
So by the time this episode airs, it is available.
Kris 31:03
Yay.
Tara 31:03
Kris is too modest to pimp her on book, but I’m not so go and get Always by my awesome co-host, Kris, you’re gonna love it. It’s a great one. Apparently, everybody cries when they read this book. So I guess be warned. And Kris, you be warned. Expect me to yell at you by text while crying later.
Kris 31:25
I will wait for it. I will wait for that text. And you’re welcome.
Tara 31:29
Oh, thank you.
Kris 31:30
But it’s good tears. Good tears.
Tara 31:32
Good. That’s what I want. So what’s your official recommendation this week?
Kris 31:38
Okay, so my official recommendation, I was really struggling because you know that I suck at time management. And I was going back and forth. Should it be a movie? Or maybe it should be Yellowjackets, but that’s creepy and I don’t know where that’s going. So I thought, “Do I have time to read a book?” So I was scrolling on Twitter Friday, because you know, nothing like waiting till the last minute because that’s what I do. I procrastinate. And one of our listeners mentioned the show Vigil. And like, I’m not even kidding, like two minutes later, I got a message from my friend who’s like, “Oh my gosh, I watching Vigil. You should watch it. It’s really cool. It has queer leads”. So I’m like, “Ah”.
So here’s the blurb. When a crew member is found dead aboard the Trident nuclear submarine HMS Vigil, the Scottish police begin an inquiry. The Vigil must remain on patrol in order to maintain the UK nuclear deterrent. So detective Amy Silva is forced to join the crew on board to conduct our investigation. Meanwhile, Detective Kyrsten Longacre follows leads back on land. As the two pursue parallel trails, the case grows more sinister and broadens to include the highest level of government and the British Navy. So I just want to say let me tell you my Gentlemen Jack friends. Saran Jones is back.
Tara 33:02
(audible gasp)
Kris 33:03
Yes.
Tara 33:04
Oh, she’s gorgeous.
Kris 33:06
And she’s queer in this one too.
Tara 33:08
Fantastic.
Kris 33:09
So I’m like, I’m in. I’m in. I’m gonna watch it. So it has intrigue, it has mystery. I mean, and of course, there’s like 300 crew members, only eight of them are female. I don’t think it’s 300. I think it’s like 180. The numbers high and then only eight females. I was looking for gayness everywhere. Like I was like, cuz I mean, come on. Submarine. Why not? And the only thing I found was it the detective so.
Tara 33:31
Oh.
Kris 33:31
But that’s okay. So, so much shit happens to her on the submarine. And I was sitting here thinking of ways to sue the Royal Navy. Because I couldn’t believe everything that this woman went through. And no sexual assault.
Tara 33:45
Good.
Kris 33:46
But some pretty fucked up mind games.
Tara 33:48
Mm hmm.
Kris 33:49
But she stayed strong through it all. And so basically, she had to go out. They had to heli- they took a helicopter and dropped her down onto the sub who popped up just to get her and another person and popped back down because they’re, you know, they’re-
Tara 34:03
It’s a submarine.
Kris 34:04
-keeping. Yeah, they’re, they’re keeping their world safe. So I was laughing. So they can’t risk being heard. So she can’t send any messages. She can only receive messages. So she’s working the case on the submarine. And then another detective on the squad, her name is Kirston, and she’s working the land avenue of this case. So they’re both- and they can’t talk to each other because it’s only one sided. So anytime Kirsten gets a clue she’ll go ahead and send it but Amy- I think that’s her character name. Amy can’t send any message back and she gets she really goes through some shit in the show. But it’s still really good.
What I like about this is that Amy’s backstory is told in flashes of memory. Like she is carrying a ton of baggage and you get to know her and her relationship with Kirsten you get to know that through flashes. Both of them have like these flash memories of each other. And it’s so bittersweet, you know that by the end of the series, it’s like a six parter. It’s only six episodes. You know, you’re jumping up and down on the couch. And at the end, you’re like, “Come on, come on!” So I recommend this to all of Jones’s fans, people who like a good whodunit, and people who don’t overthink things, like I did, because for a quiet submarine, the entire crew was loud as fuck.
Tara 35:29
Mm hmm.
Kris 35:29
So we’ve all seen the movies, the submarine chases, where somebody drops a spoon or stirs their coffee, and all of a sudden, you know, they’re dead. Bam. Because somebody heard them, you know, anyway. So if you can get past that, which I did, obviously, it’s very entertaining, and it can be binged in a weekend. So I thank you to the person who recommended it. I think it was Cindy girl. And then also my friend Kathy, so it was a good recommendation.
Tara 35:55
I’m gonna pass it on to Neil. That sounds like something he might like to watch.
Kris 35:59
He probably would. So what about you? What is your official recommendation?
Tara 36:03
My official recommendation this week is for a romance novel called Love and other Disasters by Anita Kelly. And this one caught my attention because the premise is, there is a queer woman, like she’s pansexual, who is pretty lovely, and a grumpy non binary person. And they are contestants on a cooking show.
Kris 36:26
Nice.
Tara 36:26
And I was like, “Oh, my God, give it to me”. And so Dalia is the pansexual woman. She’s recently divorced. She is kind of just about on the verge of bankruptcy, she is unhappy. Still living in Maryland, her family’s from Massachusetts, but she had moved to Maryland with her husband. And you know, when they divorced, he moved away. And she stayed. And so she’s like, “I don’t know, I got to do something”. And so she had an opportunity to join this reality show Chef Special. Unfortunately, in the first episode, luckily, after the judges got to taste the food, but she’s walking away with it and she just like trips, and her food flies everywhere. And it’s like, you know, instant, instant meme.
But she’s like, friendly and bubbly, and everybody likes her. And then there’s London Parker, who uses the pronouns, they/them, and is pretty nervous about being there. Their dad is, despite being three years has never accepted their pronouns. This woman at the dinner is transphobic to London, and London just wants to cook. You know, like, “Just let me do this”. And as they get to know each other, as London gets to realize that Dalia is not super flighty, and, you know, they take care of her in certain situations. You know, it’s really cute. They’re really sweet.
Kris 37:54
It sounds cute.
Tara 37:54
Like, it’s so freakin cute. And there are some like genuinely hilarious moments. And like, yes, there’s definitely the- the only content warning for this book is that there is transphobia for sure. We don’t see London’s dad be transphobic. But London talks about it and how that’s a problem. Obviously, there’s the other contestant, Lizzie, who is transphobic and tries to kind of get Dalia around to her position and Dalia is like “You need to fuck all the way off into the sun. That’s not okay”.
And then, which actually ties back exactly to what you were saying about Amy Schneider. Also, the transphobia on social media. Now the thing that I appreciate is that we never actually see the transphobic words get said we never see the misgendering in one situation, even when Lizzie is trying to bring Dalia around to her position. She uses the wrong pronouns. But what the author does is puts the correct pronoun in place, has they/their and then says, but she didn’t say they and I thought like it was so brilliantly, sensitively done to try to, like just balancing. Yes, this is a character like this is a person who experiences transphobia but trying to convey it in a way that will be the least hurtful as possible. I don’t know if that if that makes sense. But it’s just I don’t know this whole thing. It was so good. It had more angst that I experienced it but it but it was like a it was like the perfect amount. So that it kept it interesting. It had me kind of- like I know it’s a romance novel so I know how it’s gonna end right. Like obviously, they’re going to end up together. That’s not a question. And yet, I was still like, “OOOOOH How’s this gonna go? How are they gonna be brought back together?” So it was like the kind of angst that’s like real good and interesting, but not so much that it hurts because I have read. I like there are a couple romances I’ve read where the angst is so high that like it- It’s kind of painful to read.
Kris 40:11
I get anxious when there’s only like 10% of the book left, and there’s like, they haven’t come together. They haven’t. That’s what gets me.
Tara 40:22
So I’ve never read anything by Anita Kelly before. But it looks like they have a few other books. And I’m kind of inclined to go check them out because Love and ther Disasters was just a delight. I very much loved it.
Kris 40:37
Good.
Tara 40:37
And in the happiest coincidence of all. It releases the same day that this episode comes out. So you can go get it. Just go get it now. You don’t have to wait for it. You can get it and you can tell them that I sent you.
Kris 40:52
January 18th? Right?
Tara 40:54
Yeah.
Kris 40:55
Happy Happy birthday to my dad. Happy Birthday dad.
Tara 40:59
When’s his birthday?
Kris 41:00
January 18th.
Tara 41:01
My dad is January 19th!
Kris 41:04
We’re almost twins.
Tara 41:05
Almost.
Kris 41:09
Sorry, I totally interrupted you and you were like on a roll. I’m so sorry.
Tara 41:12
I was done.
Kris 41:13
Oh, okay. Yay.
Tara 41:15
And speaking about things that are done. Guess what? This episode is also done. Thank you so much for joining us. If you enjoy the show, and you haven’t subscribed yet please make sure you subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, you’ll always get notified when there’s a new episode. If you have a friend that you think would like the show, please tell them all about it. And if you’d like to support us we have a link to our kofi in the show notes or you can visit kofi.com/queerlyrecommended. You don’t have to is totally cool. But if you’d like to you can do that.
Kris 41:46
And just today I added the little jar, the tip jar on our Twitter account where it’s super easy there you look for the- you go to our profile, and there’s like a little tiny dollar bill that you’ll need your readers for because I could barely see it. And you can like tip us that way. So you can connect with us on all the social media sites just search for queerlyrecommended on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or you can email us at podcast@queerlyrecommended.com. Plus Tara and I both have our separate accounts as well so you can reach out to us on those accounts. So goodbye everybody.
Tara 42:23
Bye everyone. Until next time, I don’t know what I was trying to do there…
Kris 42:29
You were saying “AHHHHH”.
Tara 42:31
Skip one episode and just end up completely punchy. Oh my god. What a bunch of nut jobs. Okay, well so long.
And I’m like “Yeah, you just gotta skip ahead”. I think he lines it up near the end.
Kris 43:20
Okay. Oh, so here we go. Yeah, cuz you did you tell him you hijacked my computer.
Tara 43:26
I told you we can change that setting.
Kris 43:28
I’m just kidding. I need another drink.
Tara 43:36
Alright, let me know when you are ready to go and I am good whenever.
Kris 43:43
I think I’m good. I’m gonna make sure I’m plugged in, you can hear me yeah my little blue dots on everything’s good. Okay, here we go.
Tara 43:49
So just count down to like, I don’t know eight or so in your head before you get going.
Kris 44:00
Hello everyone and welcome to Queerly Recommneded the podcast that’s all about recommending queer movies, books, TV shows and more. I’m a contemporary romance writer with almost 20 books about women loving women.
Tara 44:10
But I forgot to write your name in there.
Kris 44:13
Fuck! That was beautiful too. I didn’t fuck it up.
Tara 44:17
You did amazing it was so good.
Kris 44:21
I will never be able to do that again. Son of a bitch! Okay, I’ll do the eight again. Ah, shit.
Tara 44:38
It’s good to laugh though, isn’t it?
Kris 44:41
It is.
Tara 44:44
So my eftthical.
Kris 44:47
Your fickle?
Tara 44:49
I give up.
Kris 44:50
My fickle!
Tara 44:53
I’m gonna talk really slowly cuz Neil can edit this out. Why did I close that tab? I’m such a dingus.
Kris 45:02
I don’t know. Here it is.