Tara 0:18
Hey everyone, I am Tara Scott with me as always is Kris Bryant. Welcome to Queerly Recommended.
Kris 0:25
This is Episode Three and we are so glad to be back here with you.
Tara 0:29
So we just wanna pause before we get started, we just really want to thank everyone who subscribed and just an extra special thanks to people like Tagan Shepard and Lily Seabrooke reached out on Twitter, let us know how much they liked our first full episode. You know, we’ve really been overwhelmed and thrilled by the positive responses that we’ve had so far. And we would love to hear from you more. So if you want to reach out directly, or if you have any questions that you’d be interested in Kris and I answering in a future episode, please, please send us an email at podcast@queerlyrecommended.com because we would love to answer listener questions live.
Kris 1:03
Perfect. Now, we are recording this on January 10. So it’s a week and a half before this is going to air. So you’re all are listening to this today, the day before the inauguration.
Tara 1:15
And frankly, we have no idea what’s going to happen in the days between today and the day that you’re listening to this. We couldn’t have anticipated what happened this week, or I mean, I suppose we kind of sort of anticipated something was going to happen, but we didn’t know it was going to be a goddamn insurrection.
Kris 1:33
Right.
Tara 1:35
Kris, how are you doing? Are you okay? I mean, this is your this is your country.
Kris 1:39
It’s…I was really surprised. It was my lunch hour when I started watching just the whole entire confirmation. And then when things started to go south, you know, I knew that there were protesters there. And I kind of figured there would be some rioting but not to this, not to this extreme. And I’m just I’m floored that nobody thought to put more cops, more any sort of protection at our Capitol for this very reason. You everybody kind of saw something like this coming, we knew it was gonna be bigger than what was anticipated because look at how much how much police presence there was, during all the Black Lives Matter marches that we had. And then you see a bunch of Trumpers come marching down and nobody thinks to, you know, to take them seriously. And and of course we all know, we all know how extremists can be. And it’s just been it’s it’s I don’t even know how to describe it. It’s It’s unbelievable, but yet it really isn’t. And the fact that there are still people out there that support Trump floors me. I just had a not really a confrontation on Facebook, you know, I try not to talk about it much. But on my one of my sister’s posts, she said something about this whole “How can anybody be a Trump supporter anymore?” and somebody responded with “Well, if it wasn’t for Trump, we wouldn’t have a vaccine for five years.”
So I actually this is really interesting, because I just had on my Patreon page, a personal one, I had a guest who was a microbiologist for infectious diseases on there explaining how the virus, what the virus is, how the vaccine works, and how we are so far ahead, that we were able to get the vaccine, you know, as quickly, quote, unquote, quickly as we did, and so I had I reached out to her, I said, I need you to write me something so that I can post it, I can cut and paste it and post it to this person, because she’s not educated on what she’s saying. And this is what this is what happens, people start believing lies that are on all social media platforms. And we get into a situation like this because nobody corrects people or if they try to, you know, I try to do it so it’s not an attack necessarily. I mean, there are some people I will reach out and attack which is like, our Senator Josh Hawley here, Missouri. I can’t stand him, I think he’s horrible. And he’s one of the ones that it you know, rah, rah, Trump. You know, he did the fist going into the Capitol Building. So. So there’s a lot going on, and I am not all right.
Tara 4:18
I mean, I think that’s fair.
Kris 4:20
Yeah.
Tara 4:21
I know, even. I mean, I’m a Canadian, and I was not okay, watching this week. I have so many friends. I mean, including you. I have so many friends. And also family like I do have family that lives in the States. I have some cousins and an aunt that lives in California, and I just worry and I also find it baffling to go from, you know, in the morning on Twitter, it was all about “Holy shit, Mitch McConnell is finally saying the right thing” because of the speech he was making to like, not that anymore, right? Like it just it was like a switch flipped. And all I could think was, Oh, this is the prologue to The Handmaid’s Tale. Literally they take the government out. That’s what, that’s what happened in that. I am glad that it got shut down before they could do worse. It is a shame that anybody had to die. But I mean, the fact that they built a fucking gallows.
Kris 5:19
Yeah. And nobody, like— Had anybody else done that for anything else. It just it wouldn’t have happened even, you know, and Trump should have even said, “Hey, take it down. This is inappropriate.” You know, there’s one thing to to protest something, but another thing you know, he fucking loved it. He did. He loved all of this, everything about this. He loved and he still loves it.
Tara 5:40
Yeah. And again, it’s just like, What? What is going to happen?
Kris 5:44
Right?
Tara 5:44
In the next eight days? No idea.
Kris 5:46
None.
Tara 5:47
Anything is possible. But I am hoping that people are going to stay safe—
Kris 5:52
Right.
Tara 5:52
—and that we are going to get to them inauguration. And again, like we were talking about last time, that the grownups are going to be able to come back.
Kris 6:01
I know. And my I think, you know, let’s not do it, let’s do it virtually. You know, so everybody’s safe. Do it from an undisclosed location. Have the inauguration happen and then so then that leaves the Trumpers like, staring at one another not knowing what to protest because they don’t know where they need to be or, you know, do more damage and then they’ve done.
Tara 6:20
I agree, at the risk of a jarring people with a rapid topic shift. We have some other news that is much better than any of what we just talked about. You have a brand new baby book that’s out. Do you want to tell people about it?
Kris 6:34
I do. My book Scent is out now. It is the fourth of my Sensory Series. It is about a woman. She’s an artist. And she also is part owner of a packaging company. And on her way home from work, actually on her way to her studio every week. She rides the the train and she’s noticed that there is a woman who is on the train only on Thursdays. And this woman always smells really sweet. And and she’s very attractive. And so of course my the main character, Nico. She wants to get to know her but doesn’t really know how to approach her. You know, she’s kind of nervous about the whole thing. And she’s been burned by, you know, past relationships. She had a, an ex wife and an ex girlfriend that basically destroyed her. So her confidence is low. She’s slowly building up—her sister Trish is helping her—and so she decides, okay, starts off and she decides she’s going to go on the train and she’s going to go talk to this person. And so she leaves work, she gets on the train, and she of course chickens out.
So later, it turns out that this this woman, she’s a chocolatier, so she needs new packaging for a new artwork for a new chocolate line, an artisan chocolate line that she is she’s designing and she’s made and so she goes to Nico’s company. And—
Tara 8:03
There they are.
Kris 8:03
There they are, exactly. So you kind of it’s kind of a Nico doesn’t really share a lot about herself because she wants she wants Sophia to like her for herself because too many things have happened in the past. So she’s going to woo and win Sophia over with her personality and not her money. And so that’s the story. And I’m very excited about it. It’s like I said, it’s the fourth in the series. I have one more left. And and who doesn’t love chocolate? Who doesn’t love the smell of chocolate or anything about it? The sugar and sweetness. That is the one thing we all love. If there’s, you know, when you— What’s the first thing you do when you get like a cake or something out of the oven. It’s just the smell. Everybody loves the smell of sweet. Whatever it is, whether it’s cake, cupcakes, chocolate, I love the smell of it. Like, I love— I’m an olfactory person. Smells really get to me the most. And so I had a lot of fun writing this book and the research was fun.
Tara 9:08
I know you just had to try all that chocolate I did and I really did. The book wouldn’t have been the same without it. What else
Kris 9:17
are you gonna do? Yeah, it would have been a boring book without the without all the the intense research I did for it and I loved every minute of it.
Tara 9:26
So does this book come with a warning that people probably need to have snacks nearby?
Kris 9:31
I think it should probably have but I think the cover gives it away. I think you know immediately, Okay, I’m gonna have to I’m gonna have to some chocolate nearby to eat, to read this. So.
Tara 9:43
All right, well, everybody if you’ve been swayed, it is available everywhere now. So go get it.
Kris 9:49
Yes. Scent. Love it. Okay, so Tara, what are you reading? What are you watching right now? What’s keeping your interest? How are you killing time.
Tara 9:59
I wanted to give a quick update on the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells because I talked about it last time. And I stayed up way too late last night finishing the novel. So now I have read everything that has been published. And I am dying. The next novella, which is coming out in April, but why do I have to wait that long? Side note: did you see the person who decided to get in a fucking fight with Nora Roberts on her own website about how long publishing takes?
Kris 10:35
Yes.What an idiot.
Tara 10:37
So I am not going to be Deborah, who makes bad choices and fights with Nora Roberts and just say I understand how publishing works. I’m sorry, Martha Wells, if that sounded like I was being a brat. I just have enjoyed this series so much. And so any of you if you enjoy sci fi, go get it. Even if you don’t typically read sci fi, you might like it anyway. Because what can be better than a robot that should be murdering people but instead wants to watch 35,000 hours of TV and has to grapple with feeling feelings
Kris 11:10
Yeah, there’s nothing better.
Tara 11:12
There’s nothing better. There have been times where I’ve been so floored by something that happened that I’m like immediately slacking Sarah who runs Smart Bitches Trashy Books one of the sites where I review and I’m like Sarah I’m not okay, right now. She’s like, I know you’re not okay, and I know why you’re not okay.
So go, go do it. The thing that has been keeping me busy in any of my time that is not tied up, either with my family or work. And I actually started this over the holidays, is a game on the Nintendo Switch, and it is called Hades. And holy shit is it amazing. So the concept is that you are playing as the son of Hades. So this is not one of those games where you can like, set up your character—
Kris 11:55
Good.
Tara 11:55
—make them look however you like or name them or whatever. It’s like, No, you are Zagreus, the son of Hades, you are trapped in the underworld, and you don’t want to be there anymore. And so you’re trying to escape, to go back up to the surface of Earth, and you are going to die. In this game, you are going to die many, many, many times, because that’s actually the point. Because as you do each run, you are accruing different things that will make you stronger and will make you fight more effectively. And it’s so good, the writing is excellent. You come across all of the different Greek gods and goddesses because they give Zagreus boons, which is basically like you get different abilities with each of them. And every run is different, because there are six weapons to choose from and they can give you different the boons that they give you will effect different weapons differently. You can get upgrades to your weapons, you can like, it’s just see, am I inarticulate? I’m just so excited. And there’s a part of me that’s like, but what if I was playing right now? It’s like, No, you dumbass as you’re playing, you’re recording a podcast, you can’t play video games at the same time. It’s not possible. So I just, I can’t recommend it enough.
The other thing I wanted to talk about is a book that I started listening to today, because my hold came in from the library, and it is called Dolly Parton Songteller: My life in lyrics. And so the idea is that it is it is a memoir, but it’s from the perspective of the way she writes songs, and the songs that she’s writing. And so you hear a little bit about how she grew up in poverty, when she’s talking about the song The Coat of Many Colors, and the inspiration for that song and where it came from. And I would say for anybody who’s interested in this book, if you can get both the audio book and like the book book or ebook or however you want to do it, because the audio book is phenomenal, and it actually just sounds like Dolly is talking. It doesn’t sound like she’s performing a book at all. But when I went to look on Amazon, I saw that if you get the book then you also get all the photos that go with it, which you obviously cannot get—
Kris 14:17
Right
Tara 14:18
—in the audio book.
Kris 14:19
Right. And who doesn’t love Dolly? I mean Dolly—
Tara 14:21
Right?
Kris 14:22
—she’s saving the world right now.
Tara 14:24
She— Oh, man. See, I always I always admired her anyway because she just does so much great philanthropic work—
Kris 14:32
She does.
Tara 14:33
—she, all the, ah, all the books that the millions and millions of books that she’s given away to millions of kids to help with childhood literacy is incredible. She’s also a phenomenal singer, but like, this is a year we found out that she’s a literal superhero, putting a million dollars towards COVID vaccine research. Like how’s that for somebody taking some of their wealth—
Kris 14:54
And very quiet about it.
Tara 14:57
Yes.
Kris 15:00
I, when I was a child, when I was a kid. I remember, you know, everybody knew Dolly Parton because of her big boobs. I mean, let’s just say, I mean, really, that’s—
Tara 15:11
And hair.
Kris 15:12
And hair.
Tara 15:12
When I was when I was six, and a child of the 80s, when I was a little six year old, in the 80s, I would watch her variety show. And I just thought she was the most beautiful person in the whole world with her amazing magical hair. And then I grew up and learned it was all wig.
Kris 15:30
You didn’t know that. That’s cute.
Tara 15:32
No.
Kris 15:33
I remember, like Dolly Parton has always been a supporter of LGBT, always has been. She’s the one that said, You know, I don’t understand why we can’t have we can’t allow gay marriage, let’s let the the gay people be as miserable as the straight people. So she was she has always been her quote was something like that, I don’t know, off the top of my head. But she’s always just this. She’s just perfect. I mean, I am a Dolly Parton fan, just for all that she’s done. Especially, you know, the older I get, I appreciate it more, you know, I think you know, with her getting older too, and, and just the older you get, the more calm you become. And you and you get more involved in your communities, I think and trying to support things. And she does, you’re right, she does so many good things. And I just, I can’t say enough good things about her.
Tara 16:21
The other thing that’s kind of interesting listening to the book—I’m probably only about a half an hour in—is that she talks a lot about her spirituality, because it is tied a lot to her writing process. She talks about being in the zone as being in this like God place and that so much of her inspiration, like she has these lines that she attributes to like God just giving them to her. And what I like is that, for me, it’s challenging the idea that you can’t have a deep faith, but still be a supporter of queer people, because my experience has generally told me the opposite. And so I am personally finding it kind of healing to hear her talk about her spirituality, but to also know that she is such a strong supporter of people like us, and that she cares about us and that she’s, you know, that vaccine wasn’t just for the straight people that she was giving money, or anything like that.
Kris 17:19
Yeah, so she’s, uh, yeah, with when I was a kid, it was we had our music on a lot. Like I think I mentioned before, we had choices, we could either pick country, we could pick Elvis or Motown and those we didn’t grow up with TV. So it was music. So I know all the Elvis songs. I know all of Motown. And I know a lot of Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers. And of course, you know, their duet. Yeah. So yeah, for sure.
Tara 17:48
So Kris, what are you reading or watching right now what has been helping distract you from the world?
Kris 17:55
So I finished, I got into Bridgerton and finished it like in a day, it was one of those where it’s just, I turned it on and see and I love the bodice ripper type books. That’s what I read in college. We’ve talked about that before. And that’s kind of what Bridgerton is, you know, you have your dukes and duchesses and your lords. And it’s, it’s actually kind of, it’s just, it’s like, my books that I read are coming to life on the screen. But the cool thing, so the storyline is great. I mean, I like the storyline. But what I really liked is that they took contemporary music, and played it classically, if that’s even a thing. So you hear song and you think oh it’s just music, you know, you’re just like you’re watching they go to all these balls, until you hear a song. I think that’s really cool. And then all of a sudden, you’re starting to sing the song, you’re like, why do I know this song? And it’s like, you know, “Girls Like You”, Maroon Five, or you’re singing Billie Eilish, or, you know, it’s just, it’s great. I love it. So that was kind of a fun little thing that they threw in, a little morsel. That was very entertaining. So I watched Bridgerton like I said, in one day and right now I am empty. I have seen it all I have watched everything. I have used some of my friends recommendations of things to watch, and they’re horrible, and they’re no longer my friends. Yeah, what?
Tara 19:24
Kris says no friends anymore.
Kris 19:25
Right? We’re not friends anymore. Don’t tell me to watch— this is horrible. So I’m so desperate. I like scream into to my, my remote, you know, zombie movies, apocalyptic movies, because that’s what I like to watch or action movies. And I’ve seen like everything you know, we’re unfortunately, we’re like a year and a half or so behind because nothing’s really been made only a few things have been made in 2020. So I’ve seen it all. I’ve caught it. I’m caught up on everything. And so I’m reading now.
Tara 19:56
And what are you reading?
Kris 19:58
I started Spindrift by Anna Burke, I started that, the Seal Cove Series. So I think that’s the first one. And I believe that
Tara 20:07
It’s great.
Kris 20:08
It is it is. I love it. And I loved that there of course dogs and then of course, the universe can have gotten
Tara 20:13
So many good dogs in that book and great dog names.
Kris 20:20
Right, Kraken. I love it. I love the whole thing, release the Kraken, which is great. Yes, you know, we all need that. So I’m reading that now. And also, I’m watching the playoffs, football playoffs. So that’s what’s been keeping me entertained for the last week.
Tara 20:38
So I guess football is still a thing in this COVID world?
Kris 20:41
You know, I know. But you know, here’s the deal. It’s so funny, because I was just talking about this earlier today, when my hometown in Kansas City does well at sports I’m in and I like I love watching the playoffs because I want to know who we’re going to play. And same thing with baseball, I want to watch pl ayoffs, who we’re going to play. But if my team is out, then I really don’t care about it. But and I’m like I said I’m desperate to watch anything. And I get so bored with some of the recommendations I’ve received. So football’s on, it’s mindless. I can like lean over, watch it. Oh, yeah. Cool. And then I can do whatever I need to do. So it’s kind of it’s just just kind of how it is here in the Midwest.
Tara 21:24
Do you rewatch shows at all?
Kris 21:26
I do. I do. If it’s been a while, like I can’t just— sometimes I’ll watch a show. And I’ll be like, I really liked it. I’ll watch it again. But most of the time that I need a gap period, because I have the TV on all the time. I’m constantly watching things that if it’s on again, and my mind remembers it clearly, then I get bored with it. So—
Tara 21:51
Yeah, see, I had a ritual when I was in grad school, where every time I was going to clean my apartment, and it wasn’t a very big apartment. But I was lazy. So it took a while. Because I left too long in betweene.. And so I would put on the BBC miniseries for Pride and Prejudice, the, you know, the Colin Firth, Jennifer Ehle. For me, it’s the best Pride and Prejudice. And so I would like to have it on so I could listen while I was cleaning, and then I would come and sit down
Kris 22:18
Exactly, exactly.
Tara 22:20
And then I go clean again, and then come back and sit down again.
Kris 22:23
Like for sure I will rewatch movies for that reason. Like all the good parts. I’ll rewatch them. So tell us, what is your big recommendation this week?
Tara 22:33
Okay, so I had a recommendation in mind. And then everything went fucking sideways. And so I’m going to postpone that recommendation for a future episode. But get ready. This is me teasing you all that in a future episode, I’m going to talk to you about the best book that I read in all of 2020.
Kris 22:54
And I’m reading it now as well. And I’ve kept it quiet.
Tara 22:57
Hooray. It actually might be the best book I’ve read in the last decade. Yeah, that’s not even an exaggeration. Like I literally mean it, I think I think it is. So yeah, you’re all just gonna have to wait a couple more weeks to hear what that is. Sorry, not sorry. Hope you come back. But yeah, it’s just like given what’s going on in the world I think this week, I want to bring a recommendation for a comfort read. If for any reason you haven’t listened to the last episode, I would say please go back. Listen to the last episode that we did. Because I also have a fantastic comfort read for you there which is Who We Could Be by Chelsea M. Cameron, which was a book that I read last year and adored. But this week, I am going to share my absolute ultimate comfort read one of my favorite books in the whole wide world and it is called Hoosier Daddy by Ann McMan and Salem West. And who doesn’t love a book that starts off with a pun in its title? I love it, depending on what it is. I don’t like most puns, but I like this one. And the reason it’s a pun is that it takes place in small town, Indiana, which is Hoosier country? As far as I understand as a Canadian who hasn’t been there before?
Kris 24:08
Yes, as a sports person, I appreciate that. So
Tara 24:12
Oh, good. Hooray. There’s a whole other level there that I just don’t. Okay
Kris 24:17
Basketbell. Okay, go ahead.
Tara 24:18
So the idea of this story is that it is told in the first person from the perspective of Jill Fryman who goes by the name, Friday. Everybody calls her Friday. She’s been working at Krylon Motors for 12 years. She’s a line supervisor. She has no real authority. Most of the people that have authority in the factory, of course, are men who don’t know nearly as much as her, much to her frustration and chagrin. She’s been working on her MBA but doesn’t really feel like there’s much point why finish it. What does she do with it? And she goes and hangs out with a workhouse at the end of the day at their local bar of choice, which is called Hoosier Daddy. Now, Krylon, the factory has just been bought by a Japanese company. And so there’s going to be a change of management happening. And this leads to some UAW or United Automobile Workers, the union, some of their agitators showing up in town because they’re hoping to get enough of the workforce to get their signatures over so that they can trigger a vote to unionize the plant.
And where it gets interesting is that one of the agitators is Elle, who is this beautiful, smart, funny, charming woman. They have instant chemistry. They don’t really fight it, they’re really interested in each other. And although they should technically be enemies, because you know, one of them is in management at the factory, and the other one is a union agitator. They just can’t help themselves. And it’s an adorable romance.
There are so many things that I love about this book. And I have talked about it as often as I can into as many people as I can, because I just think it’s one of those books that everyone should read because it has so much heart. And it has so much humor. And for me, it’s a book that spoke directly to my heart too, because I identified so much with Friday, I grew up pretty much right across from the Detroit border in Windsor, Ontario. And Windsor is the auto manufacturing capital of Canada. Obviously, it’s taken a bit of a beating in the last couple of decades. But when I grew up, you know, everybody either were working for Ford, Chrysler or GM or and if they weren’t working for their they were like my dad working for other factories that were building the parts that Ford, Chrysler or GM were taking. And I got a masters and I lived in a county, which sounded pretty similar to kind of the county area in this book as well. You know, like I come from a farming family. And I didn’t feel like it felt I never felt like I totally fit in there, which was only as an adult and I moved away and realized I was queer. I was like, Oh, there it is. That’s the thing. There it is. And so for me, it was so incredible to see Jill go on this journey of reckoning with like, who she is and her value, and that she is a person who deserves respect and love and authority. And it’s just lovely. And there’s other like, the characters are so quirky, but it’s never…The way it’s done, it never feels like the book is punching down at them. It never feels like it’s making fun of them. It’s all with love, which was a really also really big thing for me.
But there were times like I remember, I read it on my Kindle. I’ve read this book so many times, and I’ve listened to it a few times. And so the first time I read it, I laughed so hard, I was crying, and I couldn’t see anymore. And then I listened to it the first time. And it did it again. I was like there was this one time I was cooking while I was listening to it. And I was laughing so hard. And I had to put the knife down, like stab myself or cut my finger off. And I I think that was because of the there’s a joke about Warren Jeffs in there, which you kind of have to know who he is. But he’s that like Mormon leader from Utah, who married too many 16 year olds or something like that. And it just…chefs kiss so good.
Kris 28:32
And they you know, they’re funny in real life, too. They’re just hilarious to be around. Ann and Salem.
Tara 28:38
Yes. And I think to like, as funny as this book is like, again, like I said, it doesn’t punch down and there’s so much heart and it’s so thoughtful. Like it’s such a thoughtful, gentle, loving representation of small town life. And there’s really, there’s no angst to be had in there. The only thing that if anybody is looking for any kind of content warnings is that there is sexual harassment at work. There’s a part of me, you know, as a woman in my 40s it’s like “and what workplace doesn’t?”
Kris 29:10
I was just gonna say that. Yeah, I was just gonna say that same thing. I mean, especially, you know, in the 80s and 90s. It was horrible. You know, it’s improved, but I think we’ve all been through it.
Tara 29:21
Yeah. Which doesn’t make it it doesn’t make it okay. But I also I wouldn’t even say that it was particularly egregious in this book. So this is a book that I feel very safe, recommending as “Do you want to just hide away from the world in a book that’s full of love, and laugh and relax?” It’s, it’s the absolute perfect choice.
Kris 29:44
Great.
Tara 29:45
So Kris, what is your big queer recommendation for the week.
Kris 29:49
For this week, and I probably should have used it for the first episode, but I wanted to kind of review everything about it, but my recommendation is Wynonna Earp. So I’m going to read a synopsis about this wonderful show and all the reasons why I love it. Wynonna Earp has been away from our home hometown Purgatory for years, but returns to reluctantly take on a role that Wyatt Earp’s heir is destined for: demon protector. Her task is to take out revenants, the resurrected souls of the criminals who were taken down at one time by her great grandfather. Wynonna teams up with her sister Waverley, Agent Xavier Dolls and Doc Holliday. And so this is the reason why like, Okay, first of all, full disclosure, it took me three tries to get into the show. Three times it took me I think, because it was recommended to me and I wasn’t I didn’t know what it was about. There’s one of those where it’s like, and I’ll give it a try, and I just couldn’t get into it.
My friend, KB Draper told me to get to watch it. And I just I really, I couldn’t get into it. The first couple of times I tried it. And also a side note, KB Draper also told me to watch Xena, and I couldn’t even get into that show, so fight me on that, but I’m probably one of the few people that really didn’t get into the whole Xena thing.
Tara 31:18
I never did either.
Kris 31:19
Okay, so good. I have I have an ally here.
Tara 31:22
Yeah, you You are not alone. I Love Lucy Lawless. But I ended up being more of a fan of hers from Battlestar Galactica and also seeing her fight people like Kevin Sorbo on Twitter.
Kris 31:32
Yes, that’s fantastic. I actually responded to that. But um, but and even so I didn’t even know about Xena when it was on, you know, in the 90s I think. I didn’t even know about it. So to go back and watch it after we have some representation and movies and other shows to go back and watch Xena, it just it just doesn’t work for me. I just anyway, so so that didn’t work
Tara 31:54
No, because you would have to settle for subtext.
Kris 31:57
Right exactly.
Tara 31:58
Instead of like now there’s actual, like, no it’s text now and all these other things.
Kris 32:01
Right you actually see the kiss you see the making out you see the sex and the love making and love and, and the relationship build. And so that’s what I’m in for, you know, I’m into it now for for those kinds of things, not things that you have to like you said, you kind of have to read between the lines to get. So I love this show, because I love Wynonna Earp because it is a series that has positive out and proud queer couple, and they don’t die. It’s one of those where, like, every season, you know, their their relationship improves, and it evolves. And it’s just it’s beautiful to see. Wynnona’s younger sister Waverly and the town Sheriff Nicole Haught. They are right. They they’re recognized as Wayhaught, which is perfect. You know? They’re teenagers. Gotta love it. They’re happy and sexy throughout the seasons. And there’s no doom and gloom. You know, they get separated a few times, but not by choice. It’s just part of the storyline.
Tara 33:00
How many seasons are there now?
Kris 33:01
Four.
Tara 33:02
Cool.
Kris 33:03
So and there’s a big fight. I mean, the fans. So there’s this whole thing called Earpers, hastag Earpers, and I consider myself an Earper. And it’s a family experience. And there’s so many people out there who love this show and promote it and always talk about it. And I’ve never experienced it before. It’s almost like a Trekkie convention, you know, you get all these people who dress up and it’s almost like Star Trek, except it’s just it’s it’s Earper.
Tara 33:33
Like the Firefly, like the Firefly. Let’s try that one more time. I got the Firefly fans, calling themselves. Browncoats.
Kris 33:40
Right.
Tara 33:40
Although. one point of clarification. It is not a family show. This is not a show for kids. I’ve seen only the first season and to be honest, there is no reason why I didn’t continue with it. Other than sometimes I just don’t keep watching things.
Kris 33:54
Right. I fall to that too.
Tara 33:56
Right. Like I really enjoyed the first season. I thought it was awesome. The violence was a little too much for me because I’m a big baby. But I really liked it. And the kind of the other thing that I personally liked is that it’s filmed not too far from where I live.
Kris 34:11
Nice.
Tara 34:12
There are scenes actually there like there are little bits that are filmed right in Calgary. I’m like, “Oh, I know exactly the spot in Calgary where they filmed it.” And, fun fact, our former day home provider is a murder victim in one of the episodes.
Kris 34:24
Oh, that’s fantastic. Nice.
Tara 34:28
She didn’t live in the episode, but she sure kept our kid alive when she was little.
Kris 34:32
And that’s the part. So being an Earper it’s, it’s nice. I’ve been to a few— first of all start off with ClexaCon. When I was in ClexaCon I attended a lot of the panels where they had Wynonna Earp panels. And so then all the Earpers show up and ask questions and they interact and also you can join. They have like a get togethers. They have like dinner. Yeah, like meet and greets. And there’s like, you can have like happy hour with them. And the thing I love about the whole entire staff and cast is that they take the time to talk to their fans. Like, there is so much togetherness with this whole thing, that I love it so much for that reason that it’s like I said, it’s a family, you know, I, I found a family with my publishing company and all the writers there. And then you have this, I have this extra family where it kind of bleeds. A lot of a lot of Earpers are LGBT. And so my two worlds kind of intersect at certain points. And I love that. I love that that, that they that they come together. So some of my writers and readers are fans of the show and I meet them. That’s kind of nice. I like that a lot.
Tara 35:45
Related question. Am I remembering correctly reading online that the two actors who play like that are the Wayhaught couple. Am I remember correctly, that they both also discovered and recognized their queerness from playing these characters?
Kris 36:07
I think so yes. Or at least they outwardly came out and said it during the show, you know, during the filming of the show. But you know, they’re just I love everything about about the cast and these characters. And like the characters, I love the actual actresses.
One time, I was at a an Earp convention, and I can’t remember what it was called, but it was one in St. Louis. And so we’re all standing kind of you had to like sneak around this velvet rope type thing, you know, and you’re all in line for something. And there’s this trashcan, like five feet from us. And we’re just sitting, we’re talking about and all of a sudden, like the character who plays Waverly pops out of the trashcan. Like, she’s in there listening. And I’m sure she’s giggling. And she just popped up just to surprise everybody. Just kind of waved and then went back to behind the curtain for the next event. I mean, it’s great. It’s playful, and wonderful.
And like I said, the queer representation is great. It’s positive, which is what we need. And it’s interesting, because I went back and I revisited season one, because I was like, Okay, why did I struggle so much the first time the season one. And I think that the actors were just trying to get comfortable with who their characters are. I mean, Melanie Scrofano who plays Wynonna, she is very, very snarky. And at the beginning, it’s a little rusty, I think she was trying to figure out who that character really is. Because now like hands down, there’s so much chemistry going on in the show. From like, everything. I mean, you see, see how they they start melding together as a family on the on the screen. And I love that I love that, that you see that you feel that I need chemistry, if I watch something, I need the chemistry to be there. For all the characters not just love interest characters, but the actual you know, the sisterly love and then you have like the friends and then and then you have like the boyfriends, the girlfriends, you just need to have that chemistry. And it took a little bit but I think now it’s a fantastic it’s perfect. Like it is a perfect show. And the fans made the season happen. But there was so much involvement. The fans, you know, writing to everybody and and they did billboards in Time Square. To get this show.
Tara 38:24
It was supposed to be cancelled, right?
Kris 38:25
Right, it was supposed to be canceled. And because they’re the fandom is just so, all these Earpeers, they’re just so dedicated to the show, they want more that they they made it happen. It’s It’s great. It’s a great chat. So if you can pick it up again, if you find the time, then you know and know that it is a paranormal series, you know, you’re going to get some strangeness and you have to like the whole disbelief, you know, suspension of disbelief. You have to believe in completely unbelievable with this and just have fun with it. Because that’s what it is. It’s just fun.
Tara 39:00
Yeah, I am gonna come back to it at some point. Yeah, because I did enjoy it. And I enjoyed the characters and you’re right, the chemistry gets really good. And it’s just, I don’t know, it’s worthwhile. I just have to finish Schitt’s Creek first.
Kris 39:12
Still on Schitt’s Creek, huh?
Tara 39:15
I take so long to watch things because I read one to two books a week. And I also started playing Hades. Each run through like, I have to finish a run through before I put down the switch. And that takes about 45 minutes each time and I work and I have these kids. Yeah, they love me and want to hang out with me which is pretty. It’s actually pretty amazing. I’m saying it like it’s not cool, but very cool.
Kris 39:40
It is.
Tara 39:40
Yeah no, we’re that age where they still think I’m awesome. So unfortunately Wynonna Earp has to wait but I know that it will wait because I will come back.
Kris 39:48
Right. You know, and and it’s great because even the writer Emily Andras, she’s, she’s so involved, especially on Twitter, you know, she’s really involved with the fandom and also politics down here. So it’s interesting to get here take on things. And I just I do I love I love it when a show, you know from ground level, you start with a show at the very beginning and you grow with it. And it just becomes a family and and all these conventions that go on. Whether it’s specific to the show or ClexaCon or any sort of Comic Con, I went to a Comic Con and they had some characters from Lost Girls, which is probably something I’ll talk about in future episodes, because Lost Girls is a really good series to watch as well.
Tara 40:37
Well, that is all for this episode. Thank you so much for joining us. Again, if you have enjoyed the show, please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. And if you can leave a review, we will give you the highest of fives you know, like in our hearts.
Kris 40:51
Right.
Tara 40:51
Because we’re not in your house. But we’ll want to do it.
Kris 40:54
We’ll do a virtual one, maybe a virtual hug.
Tara 40:57
Right? If you want to connect with us on your favorite social media sites, you can just search for clearly recommended we are on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. And we will respond, we promise. And like I mentioned at the beginning of the show, if you want to send us a question or just a note, you can email us at podcast@queerlyrecommended.com. That’s all for today. Goodbye.
Kris 41:18
Bye
But I love, I love the fact that you know I almost started at the ground level with this with this show.
Tara 42:04
Oh yeah.
Kris 42:04
And just—
Tara 42:05
Have you— She’s in Letterkenny. Have you seen it?
Kris 42:09
Ah, no, I haven’t.
Tara 42:12
She’s not as good in Letterkenny unfortunately which I don’t think is her fault, I think it’s how they wrote her character. But I mean, if you’re looking for something else to watch, it’s a comedy. It takes place in like rural…probably. I think it’s supposed to be Ontario it like it’s in Canada, and it’s so clever. There’s so much wordplay, it has a lot of heart. The characters are hilarious. It’s super sex positive. It’s queer positive. It’s great. Go do it. I hope you like it so that we can still be friends.