Travel Time Stories with Shannon: Real Journeys, Real Stories, Real Healing

What happens when intuition, spirituality, the unexplained, and storytelling collide? In this episode of Travel Time Stories: The Author Spotlight Series , I sit down with Wendy M. Kok , author of A Grey Resort , to go behind the pages and discover the woman—and the experiences—behind the story. Wendy and I talk about her writing journey, the world and characters she created in A Grey Resort , and...

What happens when desire fades… but the relationship is still there? In this honest and deeply needed conversation, Shannon and Ann sit down with Dr. Lori Davis , a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and Certified Sex Counselor, to talk about something so many people experience—but few feel comfortable discussing. From mismatched desire to emotional disconnection to the very real impact of...

What makes magic believable? What makes a villain unforgettable? And what happens when the characters—not the genre—are what truly pull you into a story? In this episode of the Travel Time Stories Author Spotlight Series , I sit down with C.A. House , author of Archblade: Legend of the Defiler , for a conversation that takes us deep inside the mind of a fantasy storyteller. We talk about C.A.’s al...

What happens when the life you built with someone you love suddenly changes forever? In this deeply moving episode of Travel Time Stories , Shannon and Ann sit down with Derrik Dyka , author of Good Grief Travel , to discuss grief, healing, loneliness, reinvention, and the unexpected ways travel helped him rebuild life after losing his wife of 24 years. Through journeys across Thailand, China, and...

📼 What do you get when you combine two high school losers, dinosaur-evolved aliens, an ancient VHS tape, a Mexican cartel—and an author with enough caffeine to launch a small moon? Apparently, you get Geoffrey Breedwell . And quite possibly one of the most delightfully chaotic Author Spotlight conversations yet. 😂 In this episode of Travel Time Stories: The Author Spotlight Series , Shannon and...

What if the worlds we create reveal something about the world inside us? In this episode of the Travel Time Stories: Author Spotlight Series , Shannon sits down with author, screenwriter, poet and creator Sai Marie Johnson , author of Of Masters & Slaves —a fantasy story filled with ancient oaths, dormant magic, betrayal, dangerous choices and an unbreakable bond between two sisters. At the ce...

What if your success was built on survival mode? In this deeply honest episode of Travel Time Stories , Shannon and Ann sit down with trauma-informed therapist, emotional regulation coach, and self-trust expert Felicia Brown to talk about burnout, people-pleasing, nervous system survival, emotional exhaustion, and the pressure many women feel to constantly “hold it all together.” Before becoming a...

What happens when you tell a dating service you want surprises? If you're Spetz, apparently you get more than you bargained for. In this episode of the Travel Time Stories: Author Spotlight Series , Shannon sits down with Spetz , author of Magnetic North: Navigating Love and Life with a Busted Binnacle —a funny, heartfelt and wonderfully unconventional memoir about romantic disasters, questio...

The Author Spotlight continues with poet and writer GOODW.Y.N. How do you escape war when fighting is all you know? In this episode of the Travel Time Stories: Author Spotlight Series , Shannon sits down with Nicole Goodwin, aka GOODW.Y.N. , author of Warcrimes —a raw and deeply personal poetry collection shaped by war, hate, love, motherhood, trauma, and transformation. GOODW.Y.N.'s experien...

What if the problem… was never you? In this powerful episode of Travel Time Stories , Shannon and Ann sit down with Russell Van Brocklen , known as The Dyslexia Professor , to talk about what it really means to grow up with dyslexia—and how one shift in understanding can change everything. For years, Russell believed the message so many struggling learners hear:   You’re not smart enough. But that...

 📚 Welcome to the very first episode of The Author Spotlight Series! Presented by Travel Time Stories with Shannon Limited Series: Sept - Nov Twenty authors.  Twenty books.   All genres.  And twenty completely different minds waiting to be discovered.  For our first Spotlight, Shannon and Ann sit down with poet Anthony Prieston , author of Whispers of Distress —an unapologetically dark, gothic an...

What if laughter could help save your life? In this powerful and surprisingly uplifting episode of Travel Time Stories , Shannon and Ann sit down with comedian, author, and mental health advocate Dave Mowry to discuss bipolar disorder, severe anxiety, homelessness, recovery, and how stand-up comedy became a turning point in his healing journey. After losing everything to mental illness and endurin...

What happens when travel becomes more than a vacation? In this inspiring episode of Travel Time Stories , Shannon and Ann sit down with Eleanor A. , founder of Elevate Your Escapes , to talk about meaningful travel, cultural connection, emotional transformation, and what exploring more than 70 countries has taught her about life. This conversation goes beyond travel tips and bucket lists. It’s abo...

Paralyzed at 20… and yet, this is not a story about loss.  It’s a story about what’s still possible.  In this powerful episode of Travel Time Stories with Shannon, Ann sits down with Ken Kunken—whose life changed forever during a college football game at Cornell University. A single moment left him almost completely paralyzed from the shoulders down.  But what came next… is what makes this story u...

What happens when your life takes a turn you never saw coming?  In this fascinating episode of Travel Time Stories with Shannon, I sit down with Eric Robinson, a recently retired FBI Special Agent whose journey is anything but ordinary.  Before spending 24 years in the FBI—working cases involving counterterrorism, crimes against children, gangs, drugs, and public corruption—Eric spent 12 years in...

🚢 What if your next trip changed more than your location?  Travel Time Stories is leaving the microphone behind and taking our community to SEA! 🌴 Everyone who books becomes part of something that will always be remembered as the first and be Founding Members of the TTS travel community. Join Shannon & Ann for our FIRST Story at Sea aboard the Crown Princess®, sailing the Southern Caribbean...

Brownies… for breakfast?  It sounds too good to be true—but today’s guest says it’s not only possible… it might actually be better for you.  In this fun, insightful, and surprisingly practical episode of Travel Time Stories, Shannon and Ann sit down with Lynne Bowman—aka the Glam Grandma—author of the bestselling cookbook Brownies for Breakfast: A Cookbook for Diabetics and Those Who Love Them.  A...

What if your life had a soundtrack… and you could rewrite it? In this deeply personal episode of Travel Time Stories, Shannon and Ann sit down with therapist and author Johnzelle Anderson to explore his powerful memoir, Mixtape: A Memoir—a story of survival, identity, and the journey from silence to voice. Told in “tracks” instead of chapters, Mixtape weaves together memories of growing up mixed r...

Why do so many relationships fail—even when both people care?  In this powerful episode of Travel Time Stories, Shannon and Ann sit down with internationally known relationship expert Anil Gupta (The Love Doctor) to uncover what’s really behind relationship struggles, emotional blocks, and the search for happiness.  Anil’s journey is as powerful as his message. After facing one of the darkest mome...

 What does it mean to walk through history… not as a tourist, but as a witness?  In this deeply moving episode of Travel Time Stories, Shannon and Ann sit down with author and historian Briana Gervat to explore her extraordinary 500-mile journey along the Western Front.  In 2022, as the world began to emerge from the isolation of the pandemic, Briana set out alone—on foot—from the border of France...

Are you traveling to find yourself… or to escape yourself?  In this thought-provoking episode of Travel Time Stories, Shannon and Ann sit down with clinical psychologist Bryan Gastelle to explore the deeper psychology behind why we travel—and what we’re really searching for when we do. Because let’s be honest… Sometimes travel isn’t just about adventure. It’s about stress, burnout, overwhelm… and...

Why do toxic relationships feel so hard to leave?  Why is sexuality still so difficult to talk about honestly?  And why do humans continue repeating emotional patterns they know are hurting them?  In this deep, unfiltered conversation, Shannon and Ann sit down with transformational coach and author Dr. Stephen Paul Edwards to discuss toxic relationships, emotional addiction, sexuality, shame, vuln...

You don’t always recognize abuse when you’re in it.  In this deeply emotional and eye-opening episode of Travel Time Stories, Shannon and Ann sit down with Mia Hanks, author of the award-winning memoir Bride-Made, to talk about her 29-year marriage to a covert narcissist—and the long, painful journey to understanding what she had been living through.  Narcissistic abuse doesn’t always look the way...

What does it mean to truly witness the world?  In this episode of Travel Time Stories, we sit down with veteran broadcast journalist Barry Maughan, whose life and career were shaped by decades of reporting across the African continent.  Barry shares the extraordinary story of traveling the length of Africa with his wife in a Volkswagen Kombi bus, journeying from Egypt to South Africa and visiting...

What if your life didn’t begin here… and doesn’t end here either?  In this powerful and thought-provoking episode of Travel Time Stories, Shannon and Ann sit down with Donna Hartley—international speaker, past-life reader, and survivor who has crossed over six times and returned with a completely different understanding of life, purpose, and the soul.  Donna’s experiences challenge everything we t...