Bookwild

This week, I chat with Rachel Kramer Bussel —editor, essayist, and founder of Open Secrets Magazine —about a lifelong love of reading, writing and editing.  Listen to hear about: How memoirs allow readers to experience others' lives in highly personal ways Rachel’s journey from editing 70+ erotica anthologies to building a personal essays literary magazine How “ordinary” lives still make compellin...

You all know how excited I am to say that this week, I got to chat with Marcus Kliewer about his newest horror book The Caretaker!  We dive into his unconventional path to writing, our shared fascination with psychological horror, and how he plants his Easter eggs in multiple mediums. Listen to hear more about: The Caretaker’s premise, tone, and how it connects to We Used to Live Here Marcus Kliew...

Today is a solo episode, and I share all of my thoughts on Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke, The Drama and Trust Me: The False Prophet.  I briefly discuss the discourse around Yesteryear and The Drama without spoilers, and go in depth on Trust Me: The False Prophet, WITH spoilers.  Then, for anyone who wants spoilers, I discuss spoilery aspects of Yesteryear and The Drama at the end of the episode....

In this episode, I talk with Rebecca Sharpe about her debut con-thriller Harmless Women.   Listen to hear about: Rebecca's long, bumpy publishing journey How the book explores the way society underestimates women, and how that perception can be both a vulnerability and a weapon How Rebecca's fluid, character-driven writing process focuses on emotional pacing, moral complexity, and letting the stor...

In this episode, I talk with Justin C. Key about his speculative novel The Hospital at the End of the World.  Justin shares how his medical training and fascination with AI, consciousness, and ethics informed the novel’s evolution from a short story into a full-length work. We dive into the tension between technological advancement and human connection, particularly in medicine, emphasizing the ir...

In this episode, Gare and I chat with our long time favorite John Marrs ! John shares his journey from journalist to author, his out of order writing process, why he doesn’t always think his books are that dark (LOL), and a wild group of frogs in his yard (yes, I said frogs). Listen to our whole conversation to hear about: What it was like getting his first book idea, writing it, and self publishi...

In this episode, I chat with Courtney Kocak about her debut memoir Girl Gone Wild !   She shares how it is both a personal reckoning and a cultural critique, tracing her journey from a “too much” small-town girl to a woman navigating ambition, sexuality, religion, and creative identity. She reflects on how early influences—strict religious messaging, shame around the body, and a lack of role model...

In this episode, I talk with Jeremy Jernigan about his deeply personal and intellectual journey behind The Edge of the Inside , unpacking how Jeremy’s lifelong love of writing evolved into a healing-driven project that blends memoir and theology. We discuss how time and emotional distance were necessary to move from bitterness to clarity, allowing Jeremy to structure the book into reflection, beli...

In this episode, MacKenzie Green and I talk with Ashley McGirt-Adair about her new book, The Cost of Healing in Silence, and the deep, often overlooked impact of racial trauma within healthcare systems. Ashley shares how her personal experiences, her grandmother’s legacy, and over a decade of work as a trauma therapist shaped her approach to culturally responsive care.  Listen to hear about: The c...

Gare, Steph and I share and discuss our favorite reads from the first quarter of 2026! Kate’s Books Queen of Faces by Petra Lord Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke She Drinks the Light by Yasmin Angoe Judge Stone by Viola Davis and James Patterson These Heathens by Mia McKenzie Gare’s Books The Secret Lives of Murderers Wives Strangers in the Villa by Robyn Harding Ours Is a Tale of Murder by Seraphi...

This week, I talk with Olesya Salnikova Gilmore about her historical-suspense The Fortune Tellers of Rue Daru. We dive into: Her writing process as a "plantser" Why she's drawn to dark genres: historical fiction, gothic, fantasy, mystery How blending genres creates tension and unpredictability How she has experienced and writes about the “in-between” feeling of not fully belonging to one culture H...

This week, I talk with writing duo Katherine Greene, aka Claire C. Riley and A. Meredith Walkters, about their new small town thriller Where the Truth Lies! We dive into: Writing a thriller inspired by real-life events and the challenge of balancing fiction with truth How this story came from Abbi’s family history and a decades-old newspaper clipping The emotional difficulty of writing characters...

Halley broke the news to me that The Bachelorette was cancelled after the video of Taylor Frankie Paul was sold to TMZ, so we start off right in the mess of pop culture.  Listen for our thoughts on: Cancellation/pause of The Bachelorette starring Taylor Frankie Paul due to domestic violence allegations Ethics of airing real-life trauma and abuse on reality TV Trad wife culture vs. reality of women...

This week, I talk with Andrea M. Butler about her debut speculative fiction Mother. We dive into a wide range of topics, including: The origin of the novel’s idea Dreams and spiritual communication Energy work and spirituality Speculative fiction grounded in reality The “predictive” nature of fiction Capitalism, wealth inequality, and food insecurity Religion and evangelical culture Community as r...

As promised, MacKenzie Green and I share our Oscars reactions, and thoughts on just about everything:  - Awards season and Oscar campaigning  - Timothée Chalamet discourse  - Misty Copeland’s performance  - Sinners on Broadway??  - Criticism of Sean Penn winning Best Supporting Actor  - The historical context of Black Oscar winners, and why Michael B. Jordan's win is so HUGE - Comparisons to past...

Erin and I both adored Kin by Tayari Jones, and we decided to do a whole episode discussing it!  The first 15ish minutes are spoiler free, so if you haven't read it yet, you can listen and decide if the vibes sound right for you.  After that, we get into everything we loved about the characters, the prose, the plotting and the themes! Kin by Tayari Jones Synopsis Vernice and Annie, two motherless...

This week, I talk with Keith Giles, Mary Terhune, Zac Cannon and Nish Dubashia about their collective work in Quantum Theology: Volume One. Listen to hear about: How science and spirituality may not be opposites , but different ways of exploring the same underlying reality How ideas from quantum physics—like interconnectedness and entanglement—echo concepts found in mysticism and religious traditi...

Steph has been traveling the world, and now she is back with Gare and me, talking about our Last, Current and Next Reads! Kate’s Last, Current and Next Kin by Tayari Jones The Midnight Taxi by Yosha Gunaseker When I Was Death by Alexis Henderson Alexis Henderson’s Substack About When I Was Death Gare’s Last, Current and Next The Final Hunt Audrey J Cole The Missing Sister by Joshilyn Jackson The V...

This week, I talk with Juliet Izon about her debut contemporary fiction novel The Encore. Listen now to hear about: How Izon, a longtime journalist pivoted into fiction, writing secret scenes at night, cold-DMing composers on Reddit for research, and building a debut novel from pure creative obsession Fame, artistic ambition, and complicated family dynamics, especially the mother-daughter tension...

It's a solo ep today! I get into the full story of my first ever in-person author interview at Wild Geese Bookshop with Kate Alice Marshall!  I give a play by play of what was going on in my head, and share some fun facts about Kate Alice Marshall. For me, the experience ended up being a reminder of how far Bookwild has come. I reflect on the journey from starting a bookish podcast with no audienc...

This week, I talk with Stephen Graham Jones about his new short story Night of the Mannequins , and the many horror books he's also written. Listen to hear: A behind-the-scenes look at how Stephen Graham Jones writes horror: following first sentences, trusting surprise endings, and letting stories unfold without outlining or theme-driven intent. Insight into why teenage perspectives, slashers, and...

This week, I talk with Susana M. Morris about her Octavia E. Butler cultural biography Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler. Listen to hear about: Octavia Butler’s journey from a shy, self-diagnosed dyslexic student to a groundbreaking sci-fi author, and how her relentless “positive obsession” with writing shaped her career.   How Butler’s work reflects deep research, histor...

This week, I talk with Susan Walter about her new airplane thriller Murder at 30,000 Feet.  She shares her inspiration from the story, how she writes such cinematic thrillers, and how she managed multiple POVs. Murder at 30,000 Feet Synopsis It’s a ticket to paradise. Flight 868 with nonstop service to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Over a dozen tipsy passengers are off to a destination wedding. A team of...

This week, MacKenzie Green (who auditioned for ANTM) and I talk about the cultural implications of America's Next Top Model documentary Reality Check.  We also share fiction and non-fiction books that relate to the themes of the documentary. Hear us dive into: How pop culture—especially America’s Next Top Model —shaped beauty standards, body image, and the way women learned to critique themselves...

This week, I talk with Wendy Walker about her new ice skating thriller Blade! We dive into her past with ice skating, how she developed her cast of characters, and how she chose the unique plot structure. Blade Synopsis Ana Robbins was an Olympic star in the making—until tragedy forced her to leave that world behind. At the age of sixteen, she gave up her dream and never looked back. Fourteen year...