In this week’s podcast episode, we’re looking at the glorious  ads and features for the October 2000 issue of RT Magazine.

Thank you to Mari for this issue, and for some of the backstory!

You can also find all the RTRW content at our category page for Romantic Times Rewind. 

If you want to listen and follow along with this entry, we have more detail in the audio, but you can click play and listen and read and absorb all the visual goodness:

Take a look at this cover, y’all, yinz, and youse:

As I mentioned on the show, that hand on the left there looks like it’s about to rip out a few chesties along with the shirt.

This is what academic folks call a ‘rich text:’ the grabby hands, the shirt, the grin – it is very much an example of the Romantic Times aesthetic. Are the hands meant to be readers? I presume so. Like I said, a rich text. And a weird one!

That’s Cherif Fortin, who also appears in this ad, where the other model looks like she’s swooned, or possibly deceased?

The letters to the editor are always a treat. This letter made Amanda emotional:

If Ms. Dennie was 63 in 2000, she could still be with us. We hope you’re reading great romances today!

This letter dropped my jaw:

“I just had one of the greatest moments of mv new career as an author- I received a phone call from a fan! An avid RT reader; she saw the reviews of my historicals, bought them, and loved them. Thanks so much, RT! I truly appreciate the publicity, which every new author needs. RT has certainly helped launch my career!”

A PHONE CALL. Was this a thing? Did RT publish author phone numbers? Did this reader look up the number? I’d be a little unnerved. Ok, a lot unnerved.

Then we begin the 200th issue retrospective. The pictures are incredible.

There’s Kathryn and the Fabs.

What was Bertrice saying/yelling? Are they frolicking about in their nightgowns?

“Rosemary Rogers oozed sensuality in her books and in real life as she danced at one of the
many parties at Kathryn’s home in the early ’80s.”

OOZED. My goodness.

We also took a side trip into what “waxing down the galley” meant – and it turned out it was literally applying wax to the galley for printing. Check out this ad we found while researching!

This was a tough one to research because “magazine” “Galley” and “Waxing” yielded pages for gun magazines, boat galleys, and body waxing.

We’ve got pictures of past issues:

There was not only a celebration of the magazine’s history, but also romance’s history, with a “time line of  groundbreaking romances.”

We also had a lot of possibly dead or definitely in danger cover models in this issue, including the one above with Cherif Fortin.

Here’s In the Shadow of the Moon by Karen White.

And then later we discuss this cover: clearly the way to deal with annoying people is to make them kneel and threaten them with a torch?

Or maybe it’s better to just…poison them? Maybe?

Also look at that mullet. It’s exceptional! 

Then we came to the greatest part of the magazine in my opinion: EXTREME TROY.

First, Jettison by D.E. White, which according to Reddit is a Star Trek fanfic. 

One commenter pointed out, “There is a lot of leather in that outfit. Nice Colonial Marine Pulse Rifle though.”

The pulse rifle is from Aliens. This is ALSO a rich text!

But you’re not ready for the next page:

EXTREME TROY!

I’ve looked for the EXTREME TROY calendar and have no found a copy. WOE. I will continue to haunt eBay for EXTREME TROY.

And those are the Ads & Features from October 2000.

Remember, if you join the Patreon, you’ll get access to the entire issue as a PDF.

What do you think? Do you remember any of these books?  Do you remember EXTREME TROY?