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Shelf Love: Romance Novel DiscourseAuthor: Andrea Martucci
Shelf Love is about romance novels and how they reflect, explore, challenge, and shape desire. Host Andrea Martucci invites experts from a variety of perspectives to critically engaging with romance novels. Listen for discussions of individual books, genre discourse, and scholarly topics. Language: en Genres: Arts, Books, Relationships, Society & Culture Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Alchemised: Capitalizing Fanfic
Episode 172
Monday, 3 November, 2025
Fangirl Jeanne, fanfic elder, is back to revisit the fan fiction formerly known as “Manacled,” now traditionally published as “Alchemised” by SenLinYu. Three years after our initial discussion about Manacled in episodes 116 and 117, we delve into the transformation of this Harry Potter/”Dramione” (aka Draco-Hermione) + Handmaid’s Tale fanfic into a commercially-published romantasy novel. What happens to subtext when you remove the context of the text? What are the ethics of profiting from fanfic? What’s the harm in supporting derivative works of a prolific anti-Trans activist?File off those serial numbers and sit back and relax an absolute descent into madness as we try to figure out what the heck went on here.To counteract some of the harm of discussing this book, Jeanne suggests supporting trans charities such as the Good Law Project and the Trevor Project.Jeanne also recommends several books by trans authors or featuring trans characters:Reforged by Seth HaddonCemetery Boys by Aiden ThomasHell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph WhiteA Lady for the Duke by Alexis HallAndrea recommended:A Gentleman’s Gentleman by TJ AlexanderGuest: Fangirl JeanneWebsite | BlueSky | Threads Topics:00:25 Revisiting Manacled: Three Years Later 01:33 The Rise of Fan Fiction in the TikTok Era 03:21 From Fan Fiction to Published Novels 08:11 The Ethics of Consuming Fan Fiction 21:48 Highlighting Trans Charities and Authors 26:55 The Transformation of Manacled to Alchemised 38:31 Alchemised: A Romantasy Review 51:41 The Resonance Dilemma 52:40 Lazy Worldbuilding 52:57 Info Dumps and Pacing Issues 54:21 Immigrant Labor and Alchemy 54:41 Confusing Technology and Setting 56:01 The Good Guy Government 01:00:22 Character Backstories and Relationships 01:10:00 Romantasy and Market Trends 01:11:52 Critique of Alchemised 01:13:55 Final Thoughts and Conclusion Shelf Love:NEW! Substack for original writing and stuff | Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTubeEmail: Andrea@shelflovepodcast.com
