Tales from the Orc Den is hosted by three devoted monster romance book readers deep diving into series that we adore in this growing genre. The website is talesfromtheorcden.com. This podcast contains mature themes.
The hosts discuss popular tropes in monster-themed books, exploring the elements that make them appealing or unappealing to readers.
21 Mar 2025
Smut or Not? Separating Steam from Mist
What really makes a book “smutty”? Is it about explicitness, frequency, or something else entirely? And how does that definition shift when we talk about monster romance? In this episode, we’re tackling the age-old question: What defines smut? We’ll explore everything from spice levels to the line between romance and erotica, plus what non-explicit factors make a book sexy. Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to keep up with new episodes and let other people know about us! Check out Stacy'...
24 May 2024
AI and The Indie Romance Book World
If you can't be bothered to actually write it, why should I be bothered to pay for it and read it?
EJ, Stacy, and Amy have more bookish thoughts on their noggins, and this is a HEFTY ONE. No, we’re not turning into a tech podcast, but there is no denying AI is here, and it is a part of our world. We’re talking about a lot of different topics that are developing and diving into the technological, economic, ethical, and legal sides of AI and how it pertains to the indie romance world.
Many currently available AI tools are not great, but you may be surprised to learn why we think so.
Links to some of the many random things we mention:
That one tweet Stacy mentioned: https://x.com/ioana_nsfw_art/status/1784169462117151189 (https://x.com/ioana_nsfw_art/status/1784169462117151189)
A Paper on Cyberpunk and Late Stage Capitalism (So it isn’t just something that comes out of EJ’s mouth, and you have just to take it): https://ideas.repec.org/a/lum/jsmijo/v2y2020i1p63-74.html (https://ideas.repec.org/a/lum/jsmijo/v2y2020i1p63-74.html)
Tiffany Roberts’ Infinite City Series: https://www.authortiffanyroberts.com/theinfinitecity (https://www.authortiffanyroberts.com/theinfinitecity)
S. J. Sanders’ Broken Earth: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/52231217 (https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/52231217)
Transwoman’s AI invention modeled after her wife: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/life-after-life-trangender-ceo-martine-rothblatt-builds-robot-bina48-mind-clone/ (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/life-after-life-trangender-ceo-martine-rothblatt-builds-robot-bina48-mind-clone/)
Airline AI caught lying and the company held liable: https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20240222-air-canada-chatbot-misinformation-what-travellers-should-know (https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20240222-air-canada-chatbot-misinformation-what-travellers-should-know)
The Erotica Writers Subreddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/eroticauthors/ (https://www.reddit.com/r/eroticauthors/))
Nifty Links regarding AI litigation on EJ’s blog: https://monsterromancereviews.substack.com/p/bookish-thoughts-who-are-ais-major (https://monsterromancereviews.substack.com/p/bookish-thoughts-who-are-ais-major)
DeviantArt and AI, the most recent legal news story: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/05/10/deviantart-midjourney-stable-diffusion-artificial-intelligence-image-generators (https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/05/10/deviantart-midjourney-stable-diffusion-artificial-intelligence-image-generators)
Duolingo Letting Go of Translators: https://www.pcmag.com/news/as-duolingo-taps-ai-for-translation-human-contractors-lose-their-jobs (https://www.pcmag.com/news/as-duolingo-taps-ai-for-translation-human-contractors-lose-their-jobs)
Library resources for learning languages
Mango: https://mangolanguages.com/libraries/ (https://mangolanguages.com/libraries/)
Transparency Language Learning Software: https://www.transparent.com/ (https://www.transparent.com/)
Check out our Podcast Scavenger Hunt Here: https://talesfromtheorcden.com/2024/05/25/ai-and-the-indie-romance-book-world/
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
9 ratings
Spotify
4.9 / 5
13 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 27 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
20
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
82
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