Living The Next Chapter: Candid Conversations with Authors and Writers for Readers Searching for a New Read

EPISODE 696 - Heather Ogden - The Lies We Fear - The Betrayal, Dark Fantasy, Power and Control, Truth as Rebellion Heather Ogden is a writer, fantasy worldbuilder, and lifelong storyteller who finds strength in solitude and meaning in imagination. As an introvert, she’s always been drawn to quiet spaces where deep emotions and layered characters can unfold without noise. She writes to explore iden...

EPISODE 695 - Becca Pearce - You Don’t Have to Achieve to Be Loved - Identity, Health Scare and Rebuilding, and For What In this heartfelt conversation, Becca Pearce shares her personal journey from striving for relentless achievement to discovering the simple truth that love does not depend on accomplishment. Joining from Baltimore, Maryland, Becca recounts how her community, the influence of her...

EPISODE 694 - Anna B Reardon - Wethersfield Road - A love letter to anyone who’s ever felt like they were too much Living The Next Chapter welcomes author Anna B. Reardon to dive into her debut novel, Wethersfield Road, and the deeply human journey behind it. Speaking from her home in Austin, Texas, Anna shares the vibrant backdrop of her city and how its mix of nature and creativity mirrors the m...

EPISODE 693 - Lally Pia - Fortune Teller’s Prophecy: A Memoir of an Unlikely Doctor Lally Pia is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and an award-winning author. Her debut memoir, The Fortune Teller’s Prophecy: A Memoir of an Unlikely Doctor was published by She Writes Press in April, 2024. It received first place in the Chanticleer International Book Awards (2023), third place at the Independent...

EPISODE 692 - Sandra Freels - Anneke Jans in the New World - an ordinary woman who lived an extraordinary life Originally from Indiana, Sandra Freels majored in Russian at Indiana University and then completed a PhD in Slavic Languages and Literatures at Stanford University. The author of three textbooks, for many years she headed the Russian Program at Portland State University. An interest in ge...

Episode 691 - Laura L Engel - You’ll Forget This Ever Happened - Secrets, Shame, and Adoption in the 1960s This intimate conversation with memoirist Laura Engel explores late blooming creativity, the cost of secrecy, and the profound impact of reunion and loss across generations. Speaking from the foothills outside San Diego, Laura reflects on beginning her first book at sixty eight, transforming...

EPISODE 690 - Cindy Eastman - True Confessions of An Ambivalent Caregiver, Grief, Loss and The Next Chapter About the author Cindy Eastman is a writer and an educator. Her career has taken a wide and diverse route from introducing computer skills to elementary schoolchildren, teaching freshman English as an adjunct at a community college to facilitating a writing course for seniors for the Osher L...

EPISODE 689 - Matthew Neal Boedy - The Seven Mountains Mandate - Exposing the Dangerous Plan to Christianize America and Destroy Democracy A movement driven by prosperity preachers, extremist politicians, and right-wing power brokers laid the groundwork for Trump’s presidency and is now advancing its agenda under his second administration. This multipronged effort against our national institutions...

EPISODE 688 - Ruth A Milligan - The Juniper Ridge Trilogy - A Dystopian Science Fiction Thriller Series Ruth A. Milligan writes Science Fiction and Horror stories. She found her love of writing in grade school where she pounded out her stories on an old typewriter heavier than her and spent almost every day reading at the public library. When she's not writing, Ruth enjoys dance, hockey, airp...

EPISODE 687 - Carter Vance - A story of living, loving and growing up on Canada's Parliament Hill In this engaging episode, author Carter Vance shares his writing journey with host Dave, connecting as fellow Canadians. Originally from the small town of Cobourg, Ontario—famous for its literal Big Apple roadside sculpture and summer beach—Carter credits a high school teacher's encouragemen...

EPISODE 686 - Richard Walter - DEADPAN is a funny novel about an unfunny subject - Hate speech and bigotry Richard Walter is an author of best-selling fiction and nonfiction, celebrated storytelling educator, screenwriter, script consultant, lecturer and retired professor who led the screenwriting program in the film school at UCLA for several decades. He has written scripts for the major studios...

EPISODE 685 - Scott Hatfield - The Shadow of Cáelunárra, Semi-Clean and  NO SPICE - Epic Dark Immersive Fantasy About the author Scott A. Hatfield Jr. is a lifelong storyteller, political scientist, and avid hiker who blends myth, emotion, and world-shaping prophecy into his writing. Based in the Intermountain West, Scott draws inspiration from the raw landscapes of Utah, his academic studies, and...

EPISODE 684 - Cyndi Brec - THE THERANS SERIES, hidden truths, the weight of untold legends, and the power of preserving the past while daring to shape the future My name is Cyndi Brec. I love writing my heroine into dangerous webs of deception while I sip French vanilla iced coffee. I'm an avid reader turned YA fantasy romance writer with a strong background in Recreational Therapy who has pe...

EPISODE 683 - Anson Joaquin - Author of Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction and Epic Fantasy - The Infernal Age series Anson Joaquin joins the show from Roanoke, Virginia, a mountain town he describes with both affection and humor. While the location may have been jokingly dismissed by others, it provides the peaceful setting where Anson balances family life, a full time job, and his work as a noveli...

EPISODE 682 - Ben Schenkman - Author of The Devil You Know Series, Representation and Stories That Include All Voices Ben Schenkman likes many things in life: his 20-pound Maine coon cat, his family, his coffee, and his eclectic hobbies—not necessarily in that order. Ben also likes to play devil’s advocate in his urban fantasy books by exploring the gray areas of good and evil with questions like,...

EPISODE 681 - Lisa Cheek - Twenty-five year career editing feature films and TV, The Big Day Lisa Cheek’s writing career began after a twenty-five year career editing feature films and TV commercials. Her first memoir, “Sit, Cinderella, Sit”, was a People Magazine pick, an Amazon Bestseller, made Zibby’s Most Anticipated Books for 2025 and was a Next Generation Indy Award finalist in Women’s Liter...

EPISODE 680 - John Newton - Historical science fiction, a stone that heals anything, look-alikes, and time travelers losing their tools About John Newton Born in Simi Valley, California, John Newton attended twelve different schools until he finally got it right and was graduated from a high school on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. The Cypriots soon realized it was in their national interest...

EPISODE 679 - Eric Nierstedt - Author of the urban fantasy series, the pantheon saga About the author Eric Nierstedt grew up in central New Jersey, raised on a healthy diet of TV, comic books, and way, way too many books. As a child, he constantly daydreamed about his favorite stories, and re-adapting them to accommodate the early characters he was creating (and really, who didn't think that...

EPISODE 678 - Robert Howell - Canadian Author of the Gothic Horror, Blood Castle, the sequel to Blood Mansion Robert Howell has a range of skills and experiences, having studied Business Administration in college while taking courses in literature, poetry, cartography, and supernatural studies. ​After completing college, he joined the military to satisfy his urge to travel across Canada and variou...

EPISODE 677 - Peter Cotton - Tales from Frank the Snake for Children from a Doctor, Grandfather and Storyteller Peter Cotton is a retired physician living on Dewees Island in South Carolina, writing fun books for young children about Fred the lovable snake and his friends. Peter grew up in England where the first tale was conceived long ago as a bedtime story for his then young children about how...

EPISODE 676 - Jennifer Celeste Briggs - Watching Sarah Rise - A Journey of Thriving With Autism Jennifer Celeste Briggs has a BA in English Literature from Swarthmore college. She lives in Pittsburgh, PA with her husband and two daughters. Her daughter Sarah has a genetic anomaly and autism. When Sarah was four, Jenny decided to run a Son-Rise Program for her, calling it Sarah-Rise, and training a...

Episode 675 - David Niemitz - Writer and Teacher - Guild Mage,  a serial fantasy novel Writer and teacher David Niemitz joins the show from Connecticut to talk about his dual life in the classroom and on the page, and how both worlds feed each other. He shares how teaching “film as literature” to high school seniors, using stories like Star Wars, The Matrix, Moana and The Princess Bride to explore...

EPISODE 674 - Hope Cole - Fantasy Author and Health Writer - Daughter of the Void About the author H.R. Cole is a Pennsylvania native who completed her first (handwritten) fantasy novel at the age of twelve. She’s remained an avid writer and has one published middle grade novel and a successful health journalism career. Cole lives with her husband, dogs, and cats in mountainous Upstate New York. B...

EPISODE 673 - Mary Alice Stephens - UNCORKED - Getting sober is one thing, staying sober another Mary Alice Stephens is a creative nonfiction storyteller. As a television writer-producer for HGTV, Food Network, and other media outlets, she shared others’ stories on everything from outdoor adventures to home improvement. Now, in her debut book, Uncorked -- an Amazon #1 New Release in both Alcoholis...

EPISODE 672 - Karin K Jensen - The Strength of Water - An Asian American Coming of Age Memoir The Sibylline Press edition of The Strength of Water, An Asian American Coming of Age Memoir, is scheduled for release on November 7, 2025! It is available for review on NetGalley and Booksprout. Pre-order on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever books are sold. In 1920s Detroit, King Ying stands on a bo...