What is the Bodice Ripper Project? Meet Maren, an opera singer who has a penchant for writing miniature romance scenes while she is backstage and reads them aloud to her castmates in the dressing room. Now that everyone is in quarantine and there are no operas in production, she has decided to bring these stories to YOU. The stories she has written are playful parodies of the kind of novels you might bring to the beach or find at the airport...but with a twist. She has built the characters around the opera production she was in at the time she wrote it, creating romances for background characters (for example, Noble #2 and Servant #6). Writing about women with agency - women who are comfortable with their own passions - has allowed Maren to heal old wounds of sexual abuse. These stories are entertaining and titillating...but they also hold within them keys to feminine empowerment. This podcast is for you if you... * enjoy romance novels * like or are curious about opera * are a feminist * any of the above If that's you, what are you waiting for? Hit the subscribe button.