In Conversation with Terry Shepherd

Desire, Consequences, and the Art of Listening: Babette Fraser Hale on Narcissi What happens when a man’s greatest gift is making women feel truly seen—even when being seen isn't the same as being safe? In this episode, host Terry Shepherd sits down with author Babette Fraser Hale to discuss her interconnected novel in stories, Narcissi . Set across the sprawling Texas landscape during the pi...

What happens when an 18-year-old secret resurfaces under the unforgiving glare of the public eye? In this episode, host Terry Shepherd sits down with New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Steena Holmes to dive into her gripping psychological suspense novel, When You Tell . With over 3 million books sold and more than 55 thrillers to her name, Steena takes us into the volatile intersectio...

In 1966, 24-year-old Jerome Loving arrived in Vietnam as a commissioned officer, spending nearly nine months between Saigon and Cam Ranh Bay. Returning home to an indifferent and often hostile America, he put the war behind him to build a distinguished academic career as a scholar of Walt Whitman and Mark Twain. Decades later, Loving revisits his service in his newly published book, After the Good...

What happens when a man whose entire life is built around separating fact from fiction can no longer tell the difference? In this episode, host Terry Shepherd interviews sociologist-turned-fiction-author Todd Brown about his newest psychological thriller, Anna So Knows 'Ya . Brown discusses his transition from writing nonfiction to exploring the terrifying, uncertain territory of the human mi...

Terry Shepherd welcomes author Susan L. Katz to discuss her new book, Pole Dancers at the Red Barn , a collection of 14 interconnected stories spanning the 1940s through the 1980s. The novel explores the lives of five dancers, the club's owners, and their mothers, delving into how experiences with addiction, mental illness, betrayal, and abuse echo across generations. Katz explains how her ch...

Edward McDonald didn't just prosecute the mob; he lived the stories that inspired cinema history. As the leader of the Justice Department's Organized Crime Strike Force in Brooklyn during the 1980s, McDonald helped convict top figures from four of New York's five crime families, corrupt union officials, and members of Congress. In this episode, Terry Shepherd sits down with McDonald...

In the fall of 1969, a chilling rumor paralyzed the music world: Paul McCartney had died in a 1966 car crash and was replaced by a lookalike. Join host Terry Shepherd as he sits down with author Andru J. Reeve to deconstruct the greatest conspiracy theory in rock history. Decades before the internet, this viral hoax spread through whispered dorm-room gossip, underground college newspapers, and lat...

In this episode of "In Conversation," host Terry Shepherd sits down with London-born author Julie Esther Fisher to explore her new book, A Pearl Is Just an Accident . Set across 15 interconnected stories, the book follows Eliza James, a paintings conservator dedicated to carefully repairing damaged artwork by penetrating layers of surface grime and old overpaintings. As Eliza peels back...

There is a moment every traveler knows: standing before an iconic landmark, camera in hand, convinced you understand exactly what you are seeing. But beneath the surface of the world's most photographed places are stories much stranger, darker, and more extraordinary than standard guidebooks reveal. In this episode, host Terry Shepherd sits down with journalist and author Ronan O'Connell...

Proving Loyalty in Blood: World War II's Nisei Soldiers with "Top Shot" Chris Cheng Join author and broadcaster Terry Shepherd for a compelling conversation with History Channel's "Top Shot" champion, Chris Cheng, exploring his debut historical novel, Proven in Blood . After the events of Pearl Harbor, protagonist Daniel Tanaka and his family are stripped of their con...

Wars are typically fought with bullets and bombs, but one unsung hero believed a good book was just as essential. In this episode, Terry Shepherd sits down with author and law professor Molly Guptill Manning to uncover the extraordinary, largely forgotten story of Ray Trautman. As the chief librarian of the United States Army during World War II, Trautman built the largest military library system...

In this episode, host Terry Shepherd sits down with Dr. Patricia Leavy—a sociologist, pioneer of arts-based research, and author of over fifty books—to discuss her 25th work of fiction, Sugar Sand Land . The novel is a contemporary romance that follows the unlikely connection between Emerson Blue, a 28-year-old wildly famous social media influencer, and Ren Walker, a 48-year-old Grammy-winning cou...

Imagine trying to hide your father’s multi-million-dollar strip club empire from your Catholic school teachers and ballet carpool. For Laurel Woods, that was just the beginning. In this gripping episode, host Terry Shepherd sits down with Laurel Woods to discuss her explosive new memoir, Strip Club Heiress . Laurel shares her incredible true story of growing up in the glittering, chaotic world of...

What happens when a high-powered international lawyer trades his Tokyo firm for the unforgiving saltwater flats of the Florida Keys? In this episode, Terry Shepherd sits down with L. Mark Weeks to discuss his transition from the legal world to becoming a three-time Tarpon Tournament grand champion and the author of Poontown: A Novel of Chasing Tarpon and Glory . We dive into the psychological pres...

What happens when cutting-edge science, climate politics, corporate greed, and murder collide off the coast of Cape Cod? In this episode of In Conversation , Terry Shepherd sits down with award-winning journalist and author Judy Foreman to discuss her new thriller, The Scallop Plot . Judy shares how she transitioned from a career rooted in hard journalistic facts to crafting suspenseful fiction, a...

What happens when the people trying to save a dying downtown become the criminals in its story? In this captivating episode of The Conversation , Terry Shepherd sits down with author R. Scott West to discuss his new book, Smoke Rings: A Scruffy City Novel . Twenty years ago, Scott and his wife Bernadette helped breathe life back into Knoxville's nearly abandoned Market Square. However, this h...

In this profound episode, host Terry Shepherd sits down with author Rich Dunning to discuss his new memoir, Silence Was My First Language . Rich shares his harrowing yet deeply inspiring journey from a childhood marked by severe poverty, domestic violence, and teenage homelessness in the Bronx to becoming a highly successful senior executive in the medical device industry. For years, Rich's o...

Join Terry Shepherd as he sits down with author Gabriella Saab to explore the history and heart behind her new novel, The Survivors Guild . The conversation dives into the little-known experiences of Lebanese immigrants aboard the Titanic and the unique challenges faced by survivors in the disaster's aftermath. Episode Highlights Saab reveals how attending a Southern Federation of Syrian Leba...

Host Terry Shepherd steps into the shadowy world of international espionage and political betrayal with Bill and Karen Brodsky. Writing under the pen name K.B. Brodsky, this dynamic husband-and-wife duo joins the show to discuss their debut thriller, Beyond Honor .   Beyond Honor launches a gripping new series that transports readers from the war-torn streets of Damascus to the frozen reaches of S...

In this episode, Terry Shepherd sits down with Korey Rowe—Army veteran, filmmaker, and entrepreneur—to discuss his raw new memoir, The Soldier That Left: The Untold Story of Loose Change . The conversation explores Rowe's extraordinary journey from the battlefields of the Middle East to producing one of the internet's first viral blockbusters, offering an unfiltered look at dissent, surv...

Join Terry Shepherd for a deeply inspiring conversation with award-winning filmmaker Michael Gier about his latest documentary, The Heroism and Resiliency of 9/11: From Tragedy to Triumph . As America approaches the 25th anniversary of the attacks, Gier explains why his film shifts the focus away from the tragedy to shine a light on untold stories of extraordinary human courage and unity. In This...

For more than four decades, David Kibbe has challenged the fashion world to see beauty not as a rigid set of rules or flaws to be corrected, but as a powerful expression of identity. In this episode, Terry Shepherd sits down with the creator of the celebrated Image Identity System to discuss his joyful new book, David Kibbe's Power of Style . David introduces listeners to his revolutionary pr...

What if healing isn't about repairing what is broken, but remembering that we were never truly broken in the first place? In this episode of "In Conversation," host Terry Shepherd sits down with Denise Perez, the author of Alchemic Healings: The Art of Remembering and the founder of Alchemic Healings in Alachua County, Florida. Denise shares her deeply personal and mystical journey...

In this episode of "In Conversation," host Terry Shepherd sits down with historical fantasy author Judith Starkston to explore the captivating intersection of history, archaeology, and myth. Judith discusses her latest novel, Achilles' s Wife , and her passion for placing women at the center of ancient Bronze Age narratives. They also dive into a thoughtful review of Christopher Nol...

Dive into the limitless universe of storytelling with executive producer, director, and author Elliot Blake. From directing A-list talent in Audible's hit Moriarty trilogy to crafting Emmy-winning animation, Elliot is now exploring the written word with his debut sci-fi novella, Into The Great . Join host Terry Shepherd as they discuss the transition from screen to page, the power of personal...