Ep. 4 Bea Koch: Owner of The Ripped Bodice

We’re joined this week by Bea Koch of The Ripped Bodice. The Ripped Bodice is the only exclusively romance bookstore in America–and a truly wonderful place.

We talk about Bea’s fascinating graduate degree in fashion history, her love of Early Modern British history, and passive aggressive embroidery. We discuss why romance is unquestionably feminist and some of the challenges she faces as the owner of a romance only bookstore.

Listen on iTunes! Or click below.

Two of my favorite Bea quotes from this episode:

“Elizabeth I is the Beyonce of her time.”

“Are you scared I’m going to cut your dick off? I would never do that, I don’t like blood.”

You can follow The Ripped Bodice on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. You can also follow Fitzwillian Waffles, the roguishly charming dog, on Instagram.

*Books mentioned in this episode:

Highlander series by Karen Marie Moning

Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce

A Lady’s Code of Misconduct by Meredith Duran (passive aggressive embroidery)

Harlots the TV show on Hulu

Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas

Duke of Pleasure by Elizabeth Hoyt

*The above links will take you to The Ripped Bodice website where you have the option to purchase the print books from the only exclusively romance bookstore in the US. We love them–please consider showing your support to such a wonderful small business! If you’re in the LA area, definitely go and visit the store–it’s magical!

Special thanks to our Editor, Chris Willett.

Jenny Nordbak

About the Author

Jenny Nordbak earned a B.A in Interdisciplinary Archaeology from the University of Southern California. After graduating, she spent two years leading a double life, working in healthcare construction by day, while secretly working as a Dominatrix at a dungeon in LA by night. Her memoir, The Scarlett Letters: My Secret Year of Men in an LA Dungeon (St. Martin’s Press, 2017), is a candid look into that time in her life. Jenny is an advocate for sex positivity and female empowerment. She writes the Stocks and Bondage column for Penthouse and has been featured as a sex expert on The Doctors. She contributes to Men’s Health and has appeared in numerous publications including Newsweek, Women’s Health, Cosmopolitan, and Redbook. She is currently working on developing her memoir for TV and finishing her next book, a romance novel. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and children.

2 comments on Ep. 4 Bea Koch: Owner of The Ripped Bodice

Danielle O says:

February 24, 2018 at 11:37 am

I’ve been a romance reader for 30 years, since age 12, but stopped last year. Only after listening to this podcast did I realize that I stopped reading after the election. Maybe I felt guilty for this escapist pleasure, maybe I was just too depressed to inquire into other worlds. But this episode reminded me that reading romance isn’t just escapism, it is a form of self-affirmation! And I forgot about the Song of the Lioness series – I loved those books in middle school and was so glad to be reminded of the authors name and titles.
I have jumped back into my habit and will continue to catch up on past episodes. Keep up the great work!

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1. Jenny Nordbak says:
  
  February 24, 2018 at 12:18 pm
  
  I can’t tell you how happy this comment just made me! I’m so glad you’re reading again and happy you’re enjoying the show!
  
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