Middle Ground Books: After Hours

After a round of villain laughs, Megan, Debra, and Lance try to decide what makes a villain when the obvious answer keeps falling apart. Some monsters are not as dangerous as they look. Some heroes are dangerous because everyone trusts them. And some villains never need to enter the room at all. By the end, the question is not just who the villain is, but who gets believed when everyone is telling...

Megan, Debra, and Lance bring Page Turners into the Fourth of July with summer reads, shop updates, July book clubs, listener shout outs, and the kind of American holiday traditions that only sound normal until someone asks you to explain them. Chapter Thirty Five: Page Turners Pt. 6 Red, White, and Books This chapter moves from Independence Day conversations into what everyone has been reading, w...

Megan, Debra, and Lance talk Cory Doctorow’s The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI , the AI bubble, copyright, data centers, customer service dead ends, and the uneasy and frustrating feeling that technology is getting better at using people than helping them. Support Middle Ground Books wherever you are. Physical books and ebooks are available worldwide through the shop’s Bookshop page, an...

Megan, Debra, and Lance sit down for a casual get-to-know-us episode about the choices, accidents, and small acts of welcome that helped shape Middle Ground Books into more than just a shop over the past two years. In this chapter, the hosts celebrate two years of Middle Ground Books and the unexpected moments in their lives that have stuck with them to this day. They talk small business, communit...

A dead author’s unfinished book. Children forced into someone else’s plan. An ancient soul weighing. A flock of sheep solving a murder. Megan, Debra, and Lance talk about the stories people leave behind, who gets control of them, and why scotch may or may not count as soup. Support Middle Ground Books wherever you are. Physical books and ebooks are available worldwide through the shop’s Bookshop p...

June is packed, and so is this episode. Megan, Debra, and Lance break down the biggest new releases hitting the shelves, including Ann Patchett’s quietly unsettling Whistler , Melissa Albert’s dark fairy tale adult fiction The Children , Isabel J. Kim’s buzzy sci fi thriller Sublimation , and Marion , a feminist Psycho retelling where this time, the knife is in her hands. Then a customer asks for...

Summer reads, childhood memories, and a whole lot of books. Megan, Debra, and Lance talk public pools, farm work, county fairs, and the stories they snuck in after dark. Plus June book club picks, a store birthday, discounts, and what is on their reading lists for the season. What childhood book still feels tied to summer in your memory? Support Middle Ground Books wherever you are. Physical books...

Megan, Debra, and Lance celebrate crossing 100 YouTube subscribers with viewer shoutouts, comment responses, and a little appreciation for the people helping the podcast grow. Then science fiction takes over the shop, asking how much of the genre belongs to real science, how much belongs to imagination, and how much comes from the fears people are carrying at the time. H. G. Wells’ The Invisible M...

An episode recorded near Christmas 2025, sent forward like a bookstore time capsule. Megan, Debra, and Lance have a conversation that somehow involves a naked detective over Los Angeles, imprisoned gods, betrayal, lost Narnia doors, and food comparisons that we have now grown accustomed to. Support Middle Ground Books wherever you are. Physical books and ebooks are available worldwide through the...

Lit RPG takes over the shop as Megan, Debra, and Lance dig into Dungeon Crawler Carl , A Parade of Horribles , and the strange pull of stories built around game mechanics, monsters, and impossible odds. The conversation branches into isekai, Aethon Books, sci-fi versus fantasy, Reddit reactions, and why Matt Dinniman’s series hits harder than its premise suggests. Support Middle Ground Books where...

Debra, Megan, and Lance settle in after a long week for a looser, after-hours recording. The conversation drifts through Emporia Kansas events, Comic Con memories, merchandise ideas, and the podcast’s unexpected international reach, with side tangents that stretch from Bob Ross to Scooby-Doo. Another chance to spend time with the hosts outside the usual book talk. Well…for the most part. Support M...

Independent Bookstore Day is almost here, so the shop is in prep mode. There are plans for a costume event for kids, raffle prizes, local authors coming through, and a couple golden tickets hidden somewhere in the store. In between all the planning, the trio still finds time to give the rundown . When a bookstore turns an event into something interactive, does it bring people in or just add to the...

Megan, Debra, and Lance open with a Comic-Con recap before moving into a National Poetry Month reading. They explore haiku from Basho, Buson, Issa, and Shiki, selections from Shel Silverstein, slam pieces by Taylor Mali and Mike McGee, and Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est.” The conversation also includes original Midwestern poetry from Kerry Moyer and a reading of Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Bed...

Middle Ground Books After Hours steps onto the Comiccon floor. Along the way, you’ll meet Jeffrey Winkler, who founded Cate’s Concepts and works across both design and hands-on building, Stephanie Hasen, a literary agent working with authors and publishers in children’s and young adult literature, Basi, owner of Senciil Studios, a Midwest-based Black comic book company, Kyle Strahm, known for his...

The bookstore trio scrambles to finish Comicon costumes while celebrating their surprising connection to Wishbone, the beloved literary dog. Lance reads gruesome passages from Dante's Inferno, sparking debate about whether it's profound literature or medieval fanfic. Inspired by a book about magical libraries that relocate people into classic novels, they debate which public domain book they'd esc...

Megan and Debra bring in their latest book club picks while Lance reads from a Terry Pratchett story, all of it sitting in the same space at once while they all get ready for Comicon. Do you push through a book no matter what, question everything as you go, or stop the second something feels off? If any of these books caught your ear, you can get your copy through Middle Ground Books, wherever you...

Irish mystery fiction, St. Patrick’s Day folklore, and a focus on Caimh McDonnell’s Bunny McGarry series and its mix of humor and crime. If any of these books caught your ear, you can get your copy through Middle Ground Books, wherever you are. Print books and ebooks are available worldwide through the shop’s Bookshop page, and audiobooks are available through the store as well. Support Middle Gro...

Fantasy author T. Kingfisher has built a reputation for mixing humor, horror, and strange creatures in unforgettable ways. This chapter looks at Nine Goblins and the unusual tone that defines her fantasy worlds. When fantasy mixes humor with darker elements, does it make the story more memorable or does it pull you out of the world? Support Middle Ground Books wherever you are. Physical books and...

This chapter takes a look at the realities of running a small bookstore and the strange things that come through the door. From used book buybacks to unexpected finds, the shelves sometimes fill with items no one could have predicted. The team talks about blind date with a book ideas, unusual inventory, and the day to day surprises that come with owning a bookstore. It’s a glimpse into the unpredi...

When you come back to a series years later, how do you refresh yourself? Recaps, spoilers, rereads, or just jump in and hope for the best? This chapter returns to the Page Turners series and moves through the books currently taking up Megan, Debra, and Lance’s headspace. The conversation ranges from finally finishing a long awaited fantasy finale to revisiting the grisly beginnings of the mystery...

This chapter centers on Travis Baldree’s Legends and Lattes and Bookshops and Bone Dust as an entry point into cozy fantasy. The conversation moves from small business storytelling to the realities of self publishing and traditional shelves, drawing in part from SFF Addicts Podcast episodes 39 and 40. From orc run coffee shops to struggling bookshops, the genre keeps its focus on work, community,...

This interlude steps away from a single theme and introduces unrestrained conversations between Megan, Deborah, and Lance about what has been taking up their headspace lately. The conversation moves through author habits, hobbies, and the dynamics between each member. From sea creatures to the kinds of museums that make you wonder who decided they should exist in the first place, the range is wide...

Lance, Megan, and Deborah reflect on Black History Month, sharing personal experiences, reading insights, and the authors and stories that have shaped how they think about the month. The conversation moves between books, culture, and lived experience, creating space for thoughtful discussion rather than tidy conclusions. If any of these books caught your ear, you can get your copy through Middle G...

The Page Turners series continues as the group settles in to talk through what they’ve been reading lately. The conversation bounces between time travel, romance, bookish love, and the usual side paths that come with a table full of readers. Along the way, they share what’s been happening around the shop and invite anyone in the Emporia area to stop by, hang out, and find their next favorite read....

The group revisits a conversation with Tiffany Killoren , talking through her move from practicing law into writing fiction, what it cost to walk away from one profession, and how that decision slowly opened the door to a writing career that found readers far beyond where it began. Stay connected with Middle Ground Books After Hours by following the store on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. The te...