Thursday, August 28, 2025

E176: Ghost Hunting and Haunted Dolls with Alice Vernon


Today I welcome professor Alice Vernon to the show to discuss her newest book, GHOSTED: A SOCIAL HISTORY OF GHOST HUNTING, AND WHY WE KEEP LOOKING. It’s an engaging sociological look at Ghost Hunting primarily in British history. We discuss modern ghost hunting television shows, the evolving business approaches to ghost tours, and the escapades of her haunted doll, Bev, which she purchased on Ebay. You can find Alice on Instagram

Alice Vernon with Bev, the haunted doll purchased from Ebay.

Monday, August 25, 2025

E175: Ruby Dixon and BY THE HORNS!

 


Today I welcome Ruby Dixon to the show to discuss her newest book, BY THE HORNS. It’s a fun monster romance with adventure, humor and spice, told with Ruby’s signature attention to craft. We discuss her journey as a writer, the evolution of monster romance and the work these stories do in fiction. She also answers questions from some of my Patreon members. Thank you Sarah Beth and Trevor for such thoughtful questions! 

Thursday, August 21, 2025

174: Isabel Canas and THE POSSESSION OF ALBA DIAZ

 


Today I welcome Isabel Canas to the show to discuss her newest book, THE POSSESSION OF ALBA DIAZ. It’s a beautifully lush book with her signature cinematic storytelling. We discuss writing about possession in our current political climate, what possession means in the context of motherhood, and we get to the root of her core story. We also chat about genre blending between horror and romance, which you all know is my favorite combination!

In the episode we discuss THE YEAR OF WONDERS by Geraldine Brooks, which is a historical novel based on a real English village that sequestered itself during a plague outbreak so as not to spread the disease. They knew most would die, but they did not want to spread it. 

We also discussed Isabel's class with the Writers Conservatory on writing Gothic. It's called "The Dark Fantastic: Crafting Unputdownable Fiction, and you can take this class at any time. It's available here.

The short story anthology Isabel discussed is an Owl Crate exclusive called Monsters in Masquerade, which is available here.

Finally, if you want to sign up for Isabel's newsletter, you can do so here!

Thursday, July 31, 2025

E173: Sarah Best Durst and THE ENCHANTED GREENHOUSE

 


Today I welcome Sarah Beth Durst to the show to discuss her newest book, THE ENCHANTED GREENHOUSE. It’s a delightful cozy fantasy novel with sentient plants, a winged cat, and some subtle commentary on who has the right to learn and the importance of libraries in our communities. We also discuss a bit about craft and genre blending, if you’re interested in writing a cozy fantasy yourself. I hope you enjoy it!


Thursday, July 17, 2025

172: Sangu Mandanna and A WITCH'S GUIDE TO MAGICAL INNKEEPING

 


Today I welcome Sangu Mandanna to the show to discuss her newest book, A WITCH’S GUIDE TO MAGICAL INNKEEPING. It’s a wonderful book full of whimsy, self-reflection, and the most unusual ghosts I’ve ever read. This book wasn’t just a pleasure to read, it was so well written that I asked as much about craft as I did about her cozy fantasy elements. We also discuss the autism representation in her book, so I hope that has as much meaning for you as it did for me. 


Thursday, July 3, 2025

E171: Goth Girl Summer with Rachel Harrison and Stephanie Gagnon from Books in the Freezer

 


Today I welcome two of my favorite people back to the show to help me celebrate my birthday (July 4th) Stephanie Gagnon, from Books in the Freezer and Rachel Harrison join me for this special episode full of Goth Girl Summer book recommendations! 





Friday, June 20, 2025

E170: Libraries in Books with Jenny Adams and Jocelyn Codner


Today we celebrate Libraries! To do this, I welcomed back Jocelyn Codner and author Jenny Adams whom you all may remember from my Literacy episode last Fall. For the first 20 minutes, we discuss the state of libraries, celebrate a few victories, and share ways you can support your libraries. The rest of the episode is dedicated to book recommendations that feature libraries across genres. I've listed the recommended books below, as well as Jenny Adams' book, with links to my Bookshop. I hope you enjoy the show!




Jenny
The Underground Library - Jennifer Ryan 
Strange the Dreamer - Laini Taylor
Overdue - Stephanie Perkins

Jocelyn
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami
Grasshands by Kyle Winkler
The Library Book by Susan Orlean

Agatha
The Librarians by Sherry Thomas
The Parliament by Aimee Pokwatka
Funny Story by Emily Henry