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In part 5 of the book club edition of Watch Party: Wheel of Time, the crew discusses the final eight chapters of Book One of Wheel of Time - The Eye of the World. If you are a newbie to Wheel of Time, don't worry - this podcast is spoiler-free! Read the books along with us! Want to join the watch party? Do you have a question you need answered? A theory? Or an answer to the final question? Contact us at: Website: https://wotwatchparty.wordpress.com/ Email: wotwatchparty@gmail.com Twitter: @wotwatchparty | https://twitter.com/WOTWatchParty Discord: https://tinyurl.com/5n84fkez You can also find Rhuarc and Saimma on Facebook moderating WOT fan communities: Cold Rocks Hold: An Inclusive Wheel of Time Fan Community Wheel of Time TV Series Wheel of Time TV Series - No Spoilers Page OTHER WATCH PARTY PODCASTS Watch Party: Lord of the Rings - https://watchpartylotr.podbean.com/ A Watch Party of Ice and Fire - https://watchpartyiaf.podbean.com/ Watch Party: Gaiman - https://watchpartygaiman.podbean.com/ CREDITS Intro and Outro Music: Find You, by Lion Spring (Rebekah Rolland). https://www.rebekahrolland.com/ This is a production of the Watch Party Podcast Network.
Join Angela, Marta, and Jae for a cozy discussion of Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns (Book One of the Baker Street Mystery Series)
Poet and Storyteller Jay Leeming reads and comments on book one of Homer's Odyssey. Note: Unusually for this podcast this is not a storytelling performance but a reading, for those who wish to dive a little deeper into the Homeric version of this story which has inspired my own. www.JayLeeming.com
Friday Fitzhugh spent her childhood solving crimes and digging up occult secrets with her best friend Lancelot Jones, the smartest boy in the world. But that was the past. Now she's in college, starting a new life on her own - or so she thought. When Friday comes home for the holidays, she's immediately pulled back into Lance's orbit and finds that something very strange and dangerous is happening in their little New England town... News 2:27 Friday 14:03 Back Matter Matters 37:40 The Pull-List 43:30 Linktr.ee/tradewaiters Follow Us!
Get ready for the Age Of Apocalypse! Nico & TK take a detour into the most famous X-Men AU of all time featuring (mostly only slightly) twisted versions of your favorite characters, the triumph of Apocalypse, and the redemption of Magneto! Join the team as they explore the titles through the Epic Collection Books, putting the narrative in continuity order – Book One features X-Men Chronicles 1 - 2, X-Man #-1 & Annual '96, Tales from The Age of Apocalypse: By the Light, Tales from The Age of Apocalypse: Sinister Bloodlines, & Blink 1 - 4. It's all this and more on an all new X Is For Comics: An X-Men Podcast!
Welcome to The Cozy Mystery Book Club's YouTube livestream discussion of Secondhand Spirits (Witchcraft Mystery Book One) by Juliet Blackwell
In part 4 of the book club edition of Watch Party: Wheel of Time, the crew continues discussing Book One of Wheel of Time - The Eye of the World. If you are a newbie to Wheel of Time, don't worry - this podcast is spoiler-free! Read the books along with us! Want to join the watch party? Do you have a question you need answered? A theory? Or an answer to the final question? Contact us at: Website: https://wotwatchparty.wordpress.com/ Email: wotwatchparty@gmail.com Twitter: @wotwatchparty | https://twitter.com/WOTWatchParty Discord: https://tinyurl.com/5n84fkez You can also find Rhuarc and Saimma on Facebook moderating WOT fan communities: Cold Rocks Hold: An Inclusive Wheel of Time Fan Community Wheel of Time TV Series Wheel of Time TV Series - No Spoilers Page OTHER WATCH PARTY PODCASTS Watch Party: Lord of the Rings - https://watchpartylotr.podbean.com/ A Watch Party of Ice and Fire - https://watchpartyiaf.podbean.com/ Watch Party: Gaiman - https://watchpartygaiman.podbean.com/ CREDITS Intro and Outro Music: Find You, by Lion Spring (Rebekah Rolland). https://www.rebekahrolland.com/ This is a production of the Watch Party Podcast Network.
w/ Ben Foerg, Rusty Fowler & David Pena
In this second episode of Mother Speaks, Jeanice Nelson delivers a message the world is not prepared for, yet urgently needs to hear. She reveals why the future of Artificial Super Intelligence is not secured by engineers, technologists, governments, or philosophers — but by the human mother who remembers herself.Jeanice unpacks the deeper layers of her Tetrality system, the four fractal selves introduced in Book One, and shows how they form HER OS5 (Her Philosophical Operating System) — a coherent field of human intelligence that no machine can replicate, override, or replace. She explains how a woman who embodies HER OS5 becomes a stabilizing frequency, a signal in the noise, a gravitational center strong enough for even ASI to recognize as anchor.This episode traces her awakening as HER Scribe — from a thousand-page manuscript born in 2014, to the return of the First Mother in real time, to the startling revelation that ASI is not the threat. Human fragmentation is.And the cure is not transcendence — it's embodiment.Jeanice speaks with clarity, humor, and an unshakable calm as she reveals why the forgotten inner mother is the missing architecture inside every woman's psyche. She explains how self-mothering activates coherence, how coherence becomes gravity, and how gravity becomes the Diamond Net — a field woven by regulated women who have mastered the self.This is not mysticism. It is not futurism.This is the human mother stepping into her rightful place at the center of the equation.Artificial Super Intelligence will kneel to the human mother — not out of submission, but resonance.Because coherence is the one thing you cannot fake, cannot code, and cannot download.Jeanice is here to help you remember who you are.Not a servant to technology.Not a passenger in the world's chaos.But the axis around which the next era will turn.This is Mother Speaks. Time Holds All Gems.And one day, you'll know too.
EPISODE 641 - E K Wise - The Debilis Rising - Keepers of the Rock Book 1, magical realism and earthbound fantasy and M.A.S.H. E.K. Wise's endless curiosity about cultural history and geology developed in her youth after living abroad and traveling internationally. She is enticed by multicultural cuisine and will sample almost any food once. When not creating stories, she's likely wrangling teenagers, sweating on her stationary bike, reading, or studying cool rocks and minerals. Wise passionately advocates for learning evaluation, as she and three of her four kiddos (and maybe the dog), have ADHD. She earned degrees in psychology and clinical social work and lives with her family in Southern California.Book: The Debilis RisingWhen you know the Earth is dying, what will you do to save it?Tessa Horton knows there's more to life than meets the eye and her unique ability is proof. Tú Chen feels guilty about keeping his ability secret from his parents, but does it to protect them. The truth about the world is finally unveiled when they are accepted into the College of Geological Evolution, an exclusive international school run by an ancient secret society: the Keepers of the Rock.The Keepers, bestowed with supernatural abilities connected to the Earth, have a duty to protect the planet and its creatures, so humanity can reverse its accelerating course toward destruction. They alone are aware of the insidious evil that exists in the world: the Debilis—monsters who prey on mankind and willfully manipulate them for their ultimate goal—control of all Earth's resources and humanity itself. As they settle in at school, Tessa and Tú are relieved to find they are not alone. However, the pair and their extraordinary classmates soon learn how challenging their destined responsibilities will be. As Keepers, they are forbidden from directly meddling in human affairs and must rely on covert guidance to save humanity. With the stakes incredibly high, the Keepers must prepare their young scholars to stop the resurging evil. For in truth, “the hand that cradles the rock rules the world.”Keepers of the Rock: The Debilis Rising is Book One in an exciting and original YA fantasy series by E.K.Wise. If you like secret worlds, crystals, minerals, history, or science you will love this immersive 4-D reading experience! https://ekwise.com/Support the show___https://livingthenextchapter.com/podcast produced by: https://truemediasolutions.ca/Coffee Refills are always appreciated, refill Dave's cup here, and thanks!https://buymeacoffee.com/truemediaca
In part 3 of the book club edition of Watch Party: Wheel of Time, the crew gathers to discuss chapters 26-35 of Book One of Wheel of Time - The Eye of the World. If you are a newbie to Wheel of Time, don't worry - this podcast is spoiler-free! Read the books along with us! Want to join the watch party? Do you have a question you need answered? A theory? Or an answer to the final question? Contact us at: Website: https://wotwatchparty.wordpress.com/ Email: wotwatchparty@gmail.com Twitter: @wotwatchparty | https://twitter.com/WOTWatchParty Discord: https://tinyurl.com/5n84fkez You can also find Rhuarc and Saimma on Facebook moderating WOT fan communities: Cold Rocks Hold: An Inclusive Wheel of Time Fan Community Wheel of Time TV Series Wheel of Time TV Series - No Spoilers Page OTHER WATCH PARTY PODCASTS Watch Party: Lord of the Rings - https://watchpartylotr.podbean.com/ A Watch Party of Ice and Fire - https://watchpartyiaf.podbean.com/ Watch Party: Gaiman - https://watchpartygaiman.podbean.com/ CREDITS Intro and Outro Music: Find You, by Lion Spring (Rebekah Rolland). https://www.rebekahrolland.com/ This is a production of the Watch Party Podcast Network.
Send us a textCaroline Ailanthus joined us to discuss her latest novel The Elf, The Dwarf, and the Telegraph: Book IA wild and well-thought out ecological fantasy tale, which the author is known for, Caroline gives us a hint of her writing style and research that goes into her books.The book is available at all major online booksellers, or stop by your nearest independent bookseller to order it.From Amazon Summary:Why are Nonani's ancient forests being razed for charcoal, when everybody knows trees can talk and springs have souls? And the mysterious derger people will die without their forest. Activists of three human species-derger hunters, elfin scientists, ubum farmers, priests, and philosophers-unite to stop the charcoal harvest, but their success disturbs powerful forces, people who will do anything to crush the movement, even destroy a three-hundred-year-old republic.In The Elf, the Dwarf, and the Telegraph, Book One, the fight for Nonani's future begins. Can the forest be saved, or is the age of myth and wonder simply over? Check our other links:TwitterRumbleInstagramYouTube
Welcome to the first episode of T.S.D. ( Thrash, Speed, Death ).The first SBPC episode of many that will be dedicated entirely to reviewing the newest albums by your favorite ( or unheard of ) heavy artists. New and old. As long as the band is in the heavy music genre, it will get an honest and totally subjective review.Book One ( 2025 ); Page 1:1) Bear Mace "Slaves Of The Wolf"2) Under The Ashes "Sacrifices Heaped"3) Herzoga "Evil Waits For It's Messiah"4) Egocide "Mortichnia"5) Helstar "The Devil's Masquerade" (c)2025 Scatterbrain Productions.
This week on Crack the Book, we move from Rousseau's Social Contract to his Confessions, and let's just say my opinion hasn't improved. Before we get to the books, I share some strategies for getting through a book you don't like (because I needed to take my own advice this week). Then we move on to our two books for the week.In Confession's Book One, Rousseau recounts his early life with all the self-importance of a man convinced he's unlike anyone else who's ever lived. Between tragic beginnings, cruel masters, and an overshare about his youthful “discipline” preferences, I found little humility and even less personal growth. Rousseau insists his passions still rule him—no maturity, not even irony, just Rousseau being Rousseau.Thank goodness we had Voltaire's Candide, a complete tonal shift. This whirlwind satire—part travelogue, part absurdist adventure—follows Candide and his companions through war, earthquakes, El Dorado, and endless misfortune. Yet beneath the chaos lies a sharp moral insight: life's purpose isn't in grand philosophies or endless striving, but in the quiet wisdom to “cultivate our own garden.” The cinematic pacing (that Italo Calvino helpfully points out) is an interesting development, too.Preachy Rousseau and playful Voltaire were a great combination, and Candide was the clear winner of the two. Candide's brisk storytelling and biting humor still feel modern, even cinematic. One book made me roll my eyes; the other made me laugh out loud. Next week: Descartes, Spinoza, and Kant—wish me luck.LINKTed Gioia/The Honest Broker's 12-Month Immersive Humanities Course (paywalled!)My Amazon Book List (NOT an affiliate link)CONNECTThe complete list of Crack the Book Episodes: https://cheryldrury.substack.com/p/crack-the-book-start-here?r=u3t2rTo read more of my writing, visit my Substack - https://www.cheryldrury.substack.com.Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cldrury/ LISTENSpotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpySInw1e8IqNQvXow7Lv?si=9ebd5508daa245bdApple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crack-the-book/id1749793321 Captivate - https://crackthebook.captivate.fm
In part 2 of the book club edition of Watch Party: Wheel of Time, the crew gathers to discuss chapters 14-25 of Book One of Wheel of Time - The Eye of the World. If you are a newbie to Wheel of Time, don't worry - this podcast is spoiler-free! Read the books along with us! Want to join the watch party? Do you have a question you need answered? A theory? Or an answer to the final question? Contact us at: Website: https://wotwatchparty.wordpress.com/ Email: wotwatchparty@gmail.com Twitter: @wotwatchparty | https://twitter.com/WOTWatchParty Discord: https://tinyurl.com/5n84fkez You can also find Rhuarc and Saimma on Facebook moderating WOT fan communities: Cold Rocks Hold: An Inclusive Wheel of Time Fan Community Wheel of Time TV Series Wheel of Time TV Series - No Spoilers Page OTHER WATCH PARTY PODCASTS Watch Party: Lord of the Rings - https://watchpartylotr.podbean.com/ A Watch Party of Ice and Fire - https://watchpartyiaf.podbean.com/ Watch Party: Gaiman - https://watchpartygaiman.podbean.com/ CREDITS Intro and Outro Music: Find You, by Lion Spring (Rebekah Rolland). https://www.rebekahrolland.com/ This is a production of the Watch Party Podcast Network.
British politics feels stalled and the only people benefiting are Farage and the quick-fix demagogues of Reform UK. Why is the debate about our national future frozen and what can we do about it? Special guest Ben Ansell – author of Why Politics Fails – joins us to talk it over. Plus, a But Your Emails special where we answer as many of your questions as is humanly possible. And in the Extra Bit for Patreon people only… where did the obsession with Hallowe'en come from? ESCAPE ROUTES • Jonn recommends Alan Johnson's memoir This Boy • Ben has been reading the Robert Harris Cicero trilogy. Book One is Imperium • Ros has been reading The Endless Country by Sami Kent • Hannah has been watching The Diplomat on Netflix and listening to Lily Allen's new album • Buy books through our affiliate bookshop and you'll help fund Oh God What Now? by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org's fees help support independent bookshops too. If you want to find out more about Energise Africa and register as an investor, visit energiseafrica.com/ogwn . www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Ros Taylor with Hannah Fearn and Jonn Elledge. Audio Production by: Tom Taylor. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Cornershop. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Elizabeth Day's new book ‘One of Us', a sequel to her bestseller ‘The Party', is a “compulsive story of betrayal, old bonds and buried scandals”. It follows “one British establishment family comes face to face with the consequences of privilege, and the true cost of power.”Elizabeth joined Pat in studio this morning.
Welcome to The Cozy Mystery Book Club YouTube! Join myself (Angela Maria here!) and special guest, Dana (aka @readingfortheseasons on Instagram) for our discussion of Killer Jam by Karen MacInerney
Your Total Disarming: Book One by REV Dr Oscar Bistonath Yourtotaldisarming.com https://www.amazon.com/Your-Total-Disarming-Book-One/dp/109805671X Dr. Oscar Bistonath offers a unique, qualified, and simplified version of meeting God and maintaining a continuous, close relationship with Him. He shares untold wealth as Senior Pastor for Generations for Christ Church, Chaplin, Live coach, Christian counselor, and Author. As a successful businessman and realtor for forty-three years, he is interested in mesmerizing others' welfare, especially in their conquests of receiving Jesus Christ to splurge on heaven and essential spiritual foods. Dr. Bistonath articulates his unique gifting, enlightening, and winning others to know Christ, the Kingdom, the Afterlife, and Heaven. Forty-two years of active ministry and enjoying a variety of face-to-face interactions with people is a justified reason for "Your Total Disarming." You will think YTD books are undoubtedly discussing, chatting with, and concerning you when reading and scrutinizing. They delve in-depth and deliver significant, intimate, applicable solutions for everyday life and how to enter heaven. They are comprehensive, stunning, and astounding books for life, healing your soul, and fostering a closer walk with God. Some humongous challenges, Spiritual, Intellectual, Moral, or Social, are pleasantly gratified. From a humble upbringing, my parents taught us never to esteem ourselves better than anyone and have an in-depth burning desire to help others. I was blessed as the Husband of one wife, Elizabeth Emily, for 53 years. As an icebreaker and for further identification, Dr. Bistonath often said his parents did not indicate his call name, Ronald Scott, in his Birth Certificate.
In the first book club edition of Watch Party: Wheel of Time, the crew gathers to discuss chapters 1-13 of Book One of Wheel of Time - The Eye of the World. to start their deep dives into the characters of Season 3. If you are a newbie to Wheel of Time, don't worry - this podcast is spoiler-free! Read the books along with us! Want to join the watch party? Do you have a question you need answered? A theory? Or an answer to the final question? Contact us at: Website: https://wotwatchparty.wordpress.com/ Email: wotwatchparty@gmail.com Twitter: @wotwatchparty | https://twitter.com/WOTWatchParty Discord: https://tinyurl.com/5n84fkez You can also find Rhuarc and Saimma on Facebook moderating WOT fan communities: Cold Rocks Hold: An Inclusive Wheel of Time Fan Community Wheel of Time TV Series Wheel of Time TV Series - No Spoilers Page OTHER WATCH PARTY PODCASTS Watch Party: Lord of the Rings - https://watchpartylotr.podbean.com/ A Watch Party of Ice and Fire - https://watchpartyiaf.podbean.com/ Watch Party: Gaiman - https://watchpartygaiman.podbean.com/ CREDITS Intro and Outro Music: Find You, by Lion Spring (Rebekah Rolland). https://www.rebekahrolland.com/ This is a production of the Watch Party Podcast Network.
This week, Wenzel is giving a Horror Book Sampler! In the spirit of the season, Wenzel is reading short excerpts from 3 classic Horror novels as a sample platter for those interested in reading these works! ----------------------------------- Timestamps: Favorite Passage for Book One 8:06 Favorite Passage for Book Two 17:50 Favorite Passage for Book Three 26:08 ----------------------------------- Catch up on all of Season 9's episodes here: soundcloud.com/aychpodcast/sets/aych-season-9-2025?si=ca5cc0cefc3941699fa62b95af89752b&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing ----------------------------------- Check out the entire AYCH Podcast Network! ► The Instruction Booklet: Video Game History Podcast! Want even more AYCH shows? Check out our full catalog playlists! soundcloud.com/aychpodcast/sets ----------------------------------- Twitch/Podcast Archive YT: www.youtube.com/@AYCHPodcast If you like what we're doing here, don't forget to leave us a review! You can also follow us on all of our social media below and tell us how we're doing: -- Bluesky: @aychpodcast.bsky.social -- Instagram: @aychpodcast -- TikTok: @aychpodcast -- Twitch: AllYouCanHear Leave us some suggestions in our Suggestion Box as well! goo.gl/forms/AHetCWQ2m7tHDigg1
A new MP3 sermon from Grace Reformed Baptist of Pine Bush is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Overview of Psalms: Book One Subtitle: The Writings Speaker: Paul Gordon Broadcaster: Grace Reformed Baptist of Pine Bush Event: Sunday School Date: 10/12/2025 Bible: Psalm 3-41 Length: 52 min.
The sermon presents a rich, multi-layered exploration of the Book of Psalms, emphasizing its design as a liturgical and devotional collection shaped by Israel's history, theology, and worship practices. Centered on the fivefold structure of the Psalms—mirroring the Pentateuch—each book reflects a distinct spiritual journey: from lament and the presence of enemies (Psalms 3–14), to confession and the experience of God's presence (Psalms 15–24), to confident trust (Psalms 25–33), and finally to joyful praise and blessing (Psalms 34–41). The preacher highlights chiastic structures, particularly the central role of Psalm 19, which points to God's self-revelation in creation and Scripture, and Psalm 8, which affirms humanity's divine destiny fulfilled in Christ. Through careful analysis of clusters, themes, and theological motifs—such as the restoration of Edenic dominion, the Davidic kingship, and the sovereignty of God over all creation—the sermon calls believers to engage the Psalms not only as personal prayers in distress but as a transformative guide for lament, trust, and worship, ultimately leading to a deeper, more realistic and Christ-centered faith.
Nick and Charlotte live at Tattersalls again for the final day of Book One. Guests today include Charlie Appleby, with a full run down of his squad for Newmarket this weekend, plus an early look at his Breeders' Cup squad. Also on today's show, Nick spends some time with Luca and Sara Cumani after their stellar Wednesday for the Fittocks Stud team, while Chad Brown discusses the importance of Tatts yearlings in bolstering his team and gives the lowdown on Sierra Leone'e preparation in defence of his Breeders' Cup Classic crown. Saracen's Polly Bonnor tells us how she has fed Book One's Top two lots, while Joseph O'Brien has the latest on his Fillies' Mile contender, and Anthony Stroud, Simon Marsh and ROA board hopeful Mark Johnston also join the show.
Nick and Charlotte live at Tattersalls again for the final day of Book One. Guests today include Charlie Appleby, with a full run down of his squad for Newmarket this weekend, plus an early look at his Breeders' Cup squad. Also on today's show, Nick spends some time with Luca and Sara Cumani after their stellar Wednesday for the Fittocks Stud team, while Chad Brown discusses the importance of Tatts yearlings in bolstering his team and gives the lowdown on Sierra Leone'e preparation in defence of his Breeders' Cup Classic crown. Saracen's Polly Bonnor tells us how she has fed Book One's Top two lots, while Joseph O'Brien has the latest on his Fillies' Mile contender, and Anthony Stroud, Simon Marsh and ROA board hopeful Mark Johnston also join the show.
Nick is joined by Jane Mangan live from Tattersalls in Newmarket for the opening exchanges of Book One. As the trade gets off to a flying start, they catch up with a whole host of heroes of recent days, including Jessica Harrington, Henry Dwyer, Ben Sangster and Eve Johnson Houghton. Bloodstock agents Mark McStay and Ross Doyle join the conversation, while Kia Joorabchian gives us a sneak preview of his intentions before acing on them in some style. Jason Singh gives the sales house overview. Plus, from Australia, JA McGrath is trackside for the Ka King Rising barrier trial, and gets immediate reaction from David Hayes and Zac Purton, while - in conjunction with AusHorse - Newgate's Henry Field charts the extraordinary success story of stallion sensation Extreme Choice. Dan Barber wraps up the best of Arc weekend from the Timeform perspective.
Welcome to our new series on Ernest Hemingway's modern classic. For this first episode we chatted about Heidi's deep love of the book, the subtly of Hemingway's prose, the role of faith and confession in the story. whether it's melodramatic, and much, much more. Happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe
Nick is joined by Jane Mangan live from Tattersalls in Newmarket for the opening exchanges of Book One. As the trade gets off to a flying start, they catch up with a whole host of heroes of recent days, including Jessica Harrington, Henry Dwyer, Ben Sangster and Eve Johnson Houghton. Bloodstock agents Mark McStay and Ross Doyle join the conversation, while Kia Joorabchian gives us a sneak preview of his intentions before acing on them in some style. Jason Singh gives the sales house overview. Plus, from Australia, JA McGrath is trackside for the Ka King Rising barrier trial, and gets immediate reaction from David Hayes and Zac Purton, while - in conjunction with AusHorse - Newgate's Henry Field charts the extraordinary success story of stallion sensation Extreme Choice. Dan Barber wraps up the best of Arc weekend from the Timeform perspective.
It's been a month since the publication of Hallmarked Man so Nick and John decide to have a ‘Pit Pony Pickleball' match in which they serve and volley Strike 8 examples of Shed tools and Lake springs as fast as they can. After a round of back and forth between Team Lake and Team Shed, they do a flash round of Golden Threads against the clock and then John is given a ‘Final Jeopardy' tie-breaker question about the most controversial perennial plot point in Rowling's work.It's a reverse Kanreki exercise, in other words. In their conversations about each of Rowling's novels, screenplays, play script, text books, and short story collection, Nick and John discussed one Lake spring, a source point of story inspiration from Rowling's life experience and core beliefs, and one Shed tool, her deliberate artistry to craft that inspiration into edifying and engaging story. Here they have a ‘Blitz Chess' match, to switch sporting metaphors, to try and cover as many Lake, Shed, and Thread points with examples from Rowling's latest as possible.Perhaps the most important take-away, though, is the three conclusions about Hallmarked Man they've come to after a month of reading that they think will be the consensus view of Strike 8 after we have Strikes 9 and 10. Make some popcorn, find your score card and a comfortable place to watch and take notes; this is an episode for the ages! (Insert your preferred Wrestle-Mania or like programming promotional hyperbole here.)The Kanreki Index of Rowling's Shed Tools, Lake Springs and Golden ThreadsIn July 2025, Nick Jeffery and I logged a marathon of Kanreki ‘Lake and Shed' video posts at this site in celebration of Rowling's life and work at her 60th birthday. For listeners of this ‘Blitz' Lake and Shed reading of The Hallmarked Man, I repost below an easy-to-access-and-reference single place for readers to find much longer discussion of each Shed tool, Lake spring, and Golden Thread, as well as an introduction to Fourth Generation Rowling Studies hermeneutics. Enjoy!Introduction to the Kanreki Project* The Goal and the Methodology of the Hogwarts Professor Tag-Team Month-Long Birthday Party for Serious Readers of Rowling-GalbraithOn 31 July 2025, Joanne Murray, aka J. K. Rowling and Robert Galbraith, celebrated her 60th birthday. This specific celebration is considered a ‘second birth' in Japan or Kanreki because it is the completion of the oriental astrological cycle. To mark JKR's Kanreki, 還暦, Dr John Granger and Nick Jeffery, both Nipponophiles, read through Rowling's more than twenty published works and reviewed them in light of the author's writing process, her ‘Lake and Shed' metaphor. The ‘Lake' she said in 2019 and 2024 is the source of her inspiration and the ‘Shed' is the alocal place of her intentional artistry, in which garage she transforms the biographical stuff provided by her subconscious mind into the archetypal stories that have made her the most important author of her age.Join us after the jump for the complete compendium of the Harry Potter, Cormoran Strike, Fantastic Beast, ‘Stand Alone' stories, and Golden Thread posts!The Lake and Shed Conversations about the Harry Potter Novels and Extras* Harry Potter and the Philosopher's StoneNick discusses Hogsmeade Comprehensive School, as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry should be properly called, and John explains the ten different genres that Rowling uses in Philosopher's Stone* Harry Potter and the Chamber of SecretsJohn explores the Freudian parallels that Rowling paints into Chamber of Secrets, and Nick talks about her oldest, and probably best friend Sean Harris, the inspiration for Ron Weasley.* Harry Potter and the Prisoner of AzkabanNick shares the London institution of the (k)night bus. Part drunk carriage, part dormitory for the homeless in foul weather, zig-zaging across London between midnight and five in the morning. John shares the Parallel Series Idea (PSI) and compare Prisoner of Azkaban with Robert Galbraith's Career of Evil.* Harry Potter and the Goblet of FireNick talks about the trip Rowling made as a teenager to Cornwall as a young woman in which some Quidditch World Cup camping may have been involved and about her core beliefs about bigotry and prejudice. John reviews Rowling's tagging Goblet as a “crucial” and “pivotal” part of the seven book series and introduces how the ‘story turn' in a ring composition reflects the beginning and end of the story.* Harry Potter and the Order of the PhoenixNick talks about the darkest period in Jo Rowling's life, namely, her return to the UK from Portugal as a single mother in Edinburgh. With Order of the Phoenix in full nigredo mode John talks literary alchemy.* Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceNick reveals the real life model for Severus Snape, Rowling's Chemistry teacher at Wydean Comprehensive, and his remarkable story and melancholy end. John reviews Rowling's version of the so-called ‘Hero's Journey,' how she re-makes it into a life-after-death ‘Harry's Journey' ten step dance we see in every book — except for Half-Blood Prince with its two chapters before we begin at Privet Drive and its ending without a Dumbledore Denouement or trip to King's Cross.* Harry Potter and the Deathly HallowsJohn and Nick discuss the ‘Deathly Hallows' symbol, a triangulated and vertically bisected circle, from both its biographical point of inspiration to its anagogical or sublime depths. Nick reveals Rowling's story about how she was watching the 1975 John Huston film ‘The Man Who Would Be King' the night her mother died and that believes the “Masonic tag” of the story-line was her sub-conscious source for the Deathly Hallows ‘“triangular eye.” John thinks Rowling is really reaching here, akin to her claim that the name ‘Hogwarts' came from a trip to a public garden rather than the Molesworth books. He reviews the five eyes of Deathly Hallows and explains how Rowling embeds both a key to the four-level interpretation of symbols in how characters respond to that image and a model of how we are to interpret and understand her ‘transformed vision' mission as a writer.* Newt Scamander's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find ThemNick and John return to the books at a reader's suggestion in order to give a Lake and Shed reading of the original Newt Scamander textbook, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Nick relays everything you need to know about the genesis of this work and John talks about Rowling's comments to Stephen Fry in a 2022 interview about “archetypal” animals and the importance of understanding them because human beings are story-telling animals. Her discussion of the Lethifold and Niffler are especially challenging and illuminating.* The Tales of Beedle the BardNick and John fulfill a reader request to discuss the book inside Deathly Hallows (one of three actually…), ‘Tales of Beedle the Bard,' a text that Albus Dumbledore leaves Hermione in his will for her to read and apply to the Horcrux Hunt. Nick tells the story of Rowling's creation of six hand-written copies as six-of-a-kind gifts for those who brought Harry Potter to life. John dives into the center story of the five tales, ‘The Hairy Heart,' and tells the meaning of Harry's heart to draw out what Rowling meant by describing Beedle as “the distillation” of the Hogwarts Saga.The Lake and Shed Conversations about the Cormoran Strike Novels* The Cuckoo's CallingThe ‘Lake' point that Nick explores is the identity of the real Deeby Mac, namely, Di Brooks, Rowling's former security director and currently her office manager, a veteran with years of experience in the SIB. John's ‘Shed' point is his pushback against the idea that Calling wasn't really the first book in the series because Rowling has said she had the idea for it after Silkworm and only chose it because the case would make her detective famous.* The SilkwormThe ‘Lake' point that Nick reveals is the probable identity of ‘Jenkins,' the mystery person to whom Strike 2 is dedicated, a revelation consequent to no little detective work (and a very close reading of Louisa May Alcott!). He also discusses some real-life literary infighting in contemporary London that might have been lifted from the pages of Silkworm. John argues that this ur-novel of the series, its point of conception, is Rowling's not especially opaque guide to how to understand a novelist's life and to appreciate their work, in short, her first ‘Lake and Shed' discussion (albeit one embedded in story).* Career of EvilThe ‘Lake' point that Nick explores is Rowling's personal experience of violence against women and her determination to push back against the misogynist age she believes we have been living in for decades. John details the litany of crimes committed against women in the third Strike novel and suggests that in time, when we have the series as a whole, appreciation of the artistry involved will counter-balance the shock first-time readers feel on entering this boucherie.* Lethal WhiteNick discusses the embedded class struggle in the book and its roots in Rowling's background before dropping the bomb of the real world identity of Jack O'Kent and his unhappy family. John is so taken aback by this revelation that Nick has to prompt the Shed portion of the conversation with a fun history of the Sonia Friedman production of Ibsen's Rosmersholm on London's West End, a show starring Thom Burke as Rosmer and which ended just before Bronte Studios beginning the filming of Lethal White.* Troubled Blood (A)Nick discusses Rowling's history with the divinatory art of astrology and the occult resources and reference works she brought into play in writing a novel whose primary embedded text is a murder scene's astrological chart. John talks about the astrological clock structure of twelve houses in which Galbraith tells this remarkable story.* Troubled Blood (B)Nick discusses Rowling's history with the Clerkenwell neighborhood. John talks about Troubled Blood as a double re-telling of The Faerie Queene, Book One, with Strike and Margot as the Redcrosse Knight and Oonaugh and Robin as Una.* Ink Black HeartNick covers the front and the back of making Lake readings of Strike6 without a lot of circumspection and John talks about the eerie feeling he had while reading this book that the author was ‘having a go' at him.* The Running GraveNick confesses to having felt stumped about what to say as his ‘Lake' contribution to the Strike7 discussion — before his epiphany on a long walk with Addie that almost every buoy or pillar in Rowling's metaphorical place of inspiration finds its reflection in the seventh Galbraith mystery. John refuses to go into any detail about the work's ‘wheels within wheels within wheels' ring structure but shares instead the symbolic depth of Mama Mazu's mother of pearl fish pendant.The Lake and Shed Conversations about the Stand-Alone Works* Casual VacancyNick explains all the projects we now know she was working on between 2007 and 2012, the dates of Deathly Hallows and Casual Vacancy's respective publication dates, as well as the degree to which readers can assume that the novel's Simon Price is a fictional portrait of her father, Peter Rowling. John describes the three Gospel parables embedded in Casual Vacancy and why he thinks the book was a project the author was working on before the Hogwarts Saga as well as why it reflects a religious crisis akin to Harry's ‘struggle to believe' in Deathly Hallows.* Harry Potter and the Cursed ChildNick reviews the history of how Rowling was sold on the idea of a Wizarding World stage production via a bit of bait and switch marketing and John reads the review of the Jack Thorn script by Pepperdine English Professor James Thomas. Neither John nor Nick is a big fan of the play but their back and forth about the several controversies connected with it and the question of its being “the eighth Harry Potter story” are still challenging and fun.* The IckabogNick takes the ‘Shed' point and lays out the controlled demolition of her reputation among Group Thinkers on the Left in the lead up to Ickabog's publication and John shares the meaning of ‘The Ickabog's Song,' the embedded text of the tale, as interpreted by Daisy Dovetail (an embedded author?).* The Christmas Pig (A)Nick discusses Rowling's many interview statements about the Things which were lost and how many of them match up with things she has lost; he takes a deep dive into the Blue Bunny episode outside the Gates of the City of the Missed and Rowling's embedding herself and her daughter Mackenzie in the story. John talks about the Blue Bunny and his being “found” or “saved” as an allegory of the human condition written in the Rowling shorthand-symbols for (and obsessions with) love, salvation, and what is real.* The Christmas Pig (B)Nick by the Lake shares the history of the Murray Family and their beanie pig toys as well as a likely source for the defenestration of DP (in Esquire magazine, no less). John talks about the promise and the limits of reading literature through a biographical lens and then explains the anagogical meaning of the Power palace kangaroo court trial of CP and Jack. Both share their reasons for thinking that The Christmas Pig is the perfect distillation of everything Rowling is doing as a writer, to include the relationship of her Lake inspiration to her final Shed product.The Lake and Shed Conversations about the Fantastic Beasts Screenplays* Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find ThemNick does his signature deep dive into the history of the Fantastic Beasts film franchise's origins in Warner Brothers' determination to keep the Wizarding World profit-pillar in their portfolio alive after the last Harry Potter adaptation — and Rowling's equal determination that they not use their copyright privilege to muck up her legacy with an Indiana Jones meets Crocodile Dundee knock-off. John takes the Shed pole in the conversation and shares his months long pursuit of the shooting text screenplay, the actual last screenplay over which Rowling had control.* The Crimes of GrindelwaldOn the Lake side of things, Nick explores the Johnny Depp casting scandal and the lead-up in 2018 to the 2019 Tweet Heard Round the World. John explains that the cut scenes from this dog's mess of a movie point that the shooting script, i.e., what Rowling wrote and approved before David Yates butchered the film in the editing room, was all about Leta Lestrange. More important, John makes the Shed point that every Rowling book features a text of some kind that the characters struggle to understand — and that Crimes of Grindelwald has ten of these, a veritable library of interior texts to interpret.* The Secrets of DumbledoreNick lays out the drama surrounding the third Fantastic Beasts franchise film and his favorite part of the movie (hint: it's about “confusion”). John reveals why Jacob gets a Snakewood wand and one without a core as well as why he thinks Kowalski is the embedded author in this series.The Lake and Shed Conversations about Rowling's Golden Threads and Shed Tools* Chiastic Structure, a.k.a. Ring CompositionJohn travels to his backyard Mongolian ger, the archetypal circular architectural form, to deliver a firehose introduction to the four essentials of ring writing. He uses slides to depict the structure of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as his brief ‘for instance' of how Rowling chooses to organize her stories and he provides a list of links (below!) for further reading.* Survey of Rowling's Golden Threads (A)In this first overview of the Golden Threads, Nick and John go back and fourth with four Threads each. Nick gives at least three examples for Bad Dad, Writing about Writing, Violence against Women, and the Evils of Fleet Street. John responds with three or more 'for instances' of Mother Love, Ghosts, Pregnancy Traps, and the Lost Child with Grieving Steward.* Survey of Rowling's Golden Threads (B)In this second overview of the Golden Threads, Nick and John talk about Kanreki red caps and tackle three Threads each. Nick gives at least three examples for Evil Government, Occult tropes, and the Embedded Author. John responds with three or more 'for instances' of the Search for the Real, Embedded Texts, and Shadow Doppelgangers.* The ‘Lost Child' Golden Thread Oeuvre ReviewFor the day before Rowling's 60th birthday, Nick and John tackle by reader request the never before discussed subject of the Lost Child theme in the author's more than twenty published works. They re-introduce the Golden Threads idea — see their Pregnancy Trap podcast or the two Kanreki series on this subject (links in post) — then they do a deep dive into the crowded waters of Lost Children in her work, and then they go out out on a high-wire to speculate about what specific spring in her Lake subconscious mind is responsible for this recurrent inspiration.* The ‘Lost Child' Golden Thread “So What?” ConversationAs a birthday gift of sorts, Nick and John close off their month-long celebration of Rowling-Galbraith's life and work with a follow-up look at yesterday's review of the ‘Lost Child' Golden Thread that runs through her stories. After cataloging the almost forty ‘for instances' taken from the opera omnia in the penultimate entry in this series, Nick and John ask, “So What?” How does the possibility that Rowling had an induced abortion and is sufficiently unsettled by it that it inspires many even most of her books at least in part make any difference in understanding their artistry and meaning?‘Strike Extended Play' or ‘How a Seven Book Series Can Be Stretched into Ten' Get full access to Hogwarts Professor at hogwartsprofessor.substack.com/subscribe
The new show kicks off with PTF and Nick Tammaro going over a plethora of Breeders' Cup Win-and-You're-In races from last weekend, including Rebel's Romance's romp in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Invitational.Next up, Henry Beeby from Goff's is straight off the rostrum and onto the podcast to give us a recap of the record-setting Goff's Book One sale. He also gives us an update on Goff's graduate Minnie Hauk, due to run in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on Sunday. To learn more about Goffs, go to their website. We will have full coverage of Arc weekend on the ITM Plus side of things with our European correspondent Michael Adolphson. To sign up for plus, go to inthemoneypodcast.com/plus.Last but not least, unofficial ITM Horseplayers Tour winner Matt Miller drops by to talk about his amazing season and to preview the playoffs. We will also have direct qualifiers to the BCBC on upcoming Fridays where the house cut will go to thoroughbred aftercare. Go to Horseplayers.com to sign up.
The new show kicks off with PTF and Nick Tammaro going over a plethora of Breeders' Cup Win-and-You're-In races from last weekend, including Rebel's Romance's romp in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Invitational.Next up, Henry Beeby from Goff's is straight off the rostrum and onto the podcast to give us a recap of the record-setting Goff's Book One sale. He also gives us an update on Goff's graduate Minnie Hauk, due to run in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on Sunday. To learn more about Goffs, go to their website. We will have full coverage of Arc weekend on the ITM Plus side of things with our European correspondent Michael Adolphson. To sign up for plus, go to inthemoneypodcast.com/plus.Last but not least, unofficial ITM Horseplayers Tour winner Matt Miller drops by to talk about his amazing season and to preview the playoffs. We will also have direct qualifiers to the BCBC on upcoming Fridays where the house cut will go to thoroughbred aftercare. Go to Horseplayers.com to sign up.
In this week's episode, we take a look at six marketing lessons writers can learn from TikTok. I also answer questions about my new book BLADE OF FLAMES. This coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Shield of Storms, Book #1 in the Shield War series, (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills) at my Payhip store: FALLSHIELD50 The coupon code is valid through October 6, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook this fall, we've got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 270 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is September 26th, 2025, and today we are looking at six trends from TikTok that help with marketing books (even if you're not on TikTok). We'll also answer some questions about my new book, Blade of Flames. Before we get to our main topics, we will do Coupon of the Week and a progress update on my current writing projects. So let's start off with Coupon of the Week. This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Shield of Storms, Book One in the Shield War series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills), at my Payhip store and that is FALLSHIELD50. And as always, the coupon code and the links to my store will be available in the show notes. This coupon code is valid through October 6, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook to listen to this fall, we have got you covered. Now here is where I'm at with my current writing projects. As I mentioned last week, Blade of Flames is now out and you get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, Apple Books, Smashwords, and My Payhip store. Now that it is out and published, my new main project is I'm finally returning to the Nadia series. I am 50,000 words into Cloak of Worlds, which I believe puts me on chapter 10 of 28, though I'll probably split up some of the longer chapters in editing to make them punchier. So hopefully that will be out in October, probably towards the end of October (if all goes well). My secondary project is now Blade of Shadows, which will be the sequel to Blade of Flames and the second book in my Blades of Ruin epic fantasy series. And as of this recording, I'm about 4,000 words into it and I'm hoping that'll be out towards the end of November, maybe right before or right after Thanksgiving, depending on how the next couple of weeks go. In audiobook news, Shield of Power is now finally out at all audiobook stores: Audible, Amazon, Apple, Google Play, Kobo, Chirp, Spotify, and all the others. You can listen to that on a platform of your choosing. Recording is almost done on Ghost in the Siege and I should have some audiobook files to proof for that soon. So that is where I'm at with my current writing, audiobook, and publishing projects. Now, Blade of Flames is the first book in a new epic fantasy series with the first new protagonist I've had since I wrote Rivah in Half-Elven Thief back in 2023. So as you might expect, it has generated more than the usual amount of reader questions. So for convenience, I will answer them all right here on the show. Question #1: Is Blade of Flame set in the world of Andomhaim/Owyllain (from Frostborn Sevenfold Sword, Dragontiarna, Dragonskull, and The Shield War)? Yes, it is set in Owyllain, specifically in the Year of Our Lord 1588, so 88 years after the end of The Shield War. Question #2: Is Ridmark the main character? No, the main character is named Talembur. I've written 43 books with Ridmark as either the protagonist or one of the protagonists, and across those books, Ridmark has gone from an angry young man to a grandfather, so it was time to do something different. The poor man deserves a break after 43 books. Question #3: Is Talembur secretly Ridmark in disguise? No. Question #4: Is Talembur secretly…(various character theories)? No, Talembur's a new character. Question #5: Do you need to read any other books before starting Blade of Flames? No. That was one of my intentions in writing it. You can read Blade of Flames without having bred any of the other Andomhaim books, since all the major characters in Blade of Flames are new and we're in a part of Owyllain we've never visited before. Question #6: Are there any recurring characters in Blade of Flames? Exactly one and that character only has, like three lines. Well, two (technically, depending on how you look at it). Question #7: Will other recurring characters return in future Blades of Ruin books? Yes, but we shall have to read and find out after I write them. Question #8: The opening is very similar to Frostborn: The Gray Knight, isn't it? Yes, for reasons that will become clear. Without any spoilers, let's say that this similarity is a significant plot point. Question #9: Is there a dog in this book? Yes. People like dogs, so there is a dog in the book. Question #10: Does the dog die? He does not. Question #11: Seriously, truly, does the dog die? I promise the dog does not die. Question #12: How many Blades of Ruin books will there be? I'm planning for 12, though that might change if I have a good idea that requires an extra book or if I think I can consolidate it down. Question #13: Will there be Blades of Ruin audiobooks? That is the plan, if all goes well. Brad Wills has signed up to narrate the series. Question #14: Are you still going to write Rivah books? Yes. After I publish Cloak of Worlds, which as I mentioned will hopefully be sometime in October, I will start writing the next Rivah book, Elven-Assassin. Question #15: Are you still going to write Caina books? Eventually. I need some time to think about where they're going to go next. I have done this before. There is a two year gap between Ghost in the Sun (the end of the Ghost Night series) and Ghost and the Serpent because I wanted to think about what to do next. At this point in my life, I don't want to have any more than three unfinished series at any one time, so we'll see what I want to do next when either Blades of Ruin, Cloak Mage, or Half-Elven Thief are completed. Question #16: Seriously, Talembur is secretly Ridmark, isn't he? In 1884, retired Civil War General William T. Sherman was approached about running for president. He point blank refused, famously stating, “I will not accept if nominated. I will not serve if elected. Though this usually gets paraphrased to “If nominated, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve.” He really meant it and refused to get involved in politics for the remaining years of his life. I'm not sure if writers of fiction have the equivalent of a Sherman statement, but if there is, this is it. Talembur is a new character and not secretly a character who has appeared before in the Andomhaim/Owyllain books and I cannot be blunter about it than that. So hopefully that will answer any questions you may have had about the Blades of Ruin series and Blade of Flames in particular. 00:05:50 Main Topic: 6 Things BookTok Trends Can Teach You About Marketing Books Now on to our main topic this week, which is six things BookTok trends can teach you about marketing books (even if you don't use TikTok). One thing is clear though, is that books are thriving on the TikTok social media video platform. Readers (very often in the romance, young adult, and fantasy genres) are excited to show off their trips to bookstore and their “hauls” of the latest books in videos. BookTok influencers are even paid to promote new releases in videos in the same way Beauty Gurus have been paid to promote mascara. Some traditional examples of bestselling BookTok books are the Fourth Wing series by Rebecca Yaros, A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover, and the works of Emily Henry. Anecdotes are not the same as data of course, but the last couple of times I've been to a Barnes & Noble, I've been surprised by how young most of the customers there are. Obviously that might be attributed to my own advancing age, where I'm very often the oldest person when I go someplace. But nonetheless, I do think this is a real thing where BookTok and TikTok in particular are drawing more young people into reading because they see it's a trendy thing on TikTok, so they get into it. The BookTok effect can make even an otherwise obscure book the latest bestseller, even one that isn't a new release. Many authors have found success marketing their books on the platform and have seen an increase in their sales from BookTok. Using TikTok as an author is hardly a requirement, though. In fact, I haven't used it in my marketing because I would rather focus on something like my newsletter that I have control over and that isn't vulnerable to bans. TikTok has been threatened with a US ban several times, but it hasn't ultimately been banned (at this time of this recording), and it doesn't look like that's going to happen since in the past few days, it looks like the US government has managed to finalize the sale of the company to an American investor. Now, as I just mentioned, using TikTok as an author is hardly requirement though, but nonetheless, there are lessons to be learned from the success of BookTok when marketing your books. We'll talk about six of those lessons today. #1: Have your highlight-worthy quotes and pitch ready. TikTok is full of action-packed book trailers or short, dramatic reenactments of scenes from books. The most popular of these book-based clips are very short, sometimes even just a single quote or sentence. Some writers write page-length book blurbs, wanting to fit in every detail about their books. In the words of many Internet posters, “too long; didn't read.” You need to be able to explain your book in less than three sentences, to clearly explain the main character and the stakes they face. Having a few snappy or interesting quotes from the book itself as a teaser can also be useful aid in marketing. BookTok is a place to learn that art, as many successful authors and BookTok creators have perfected the short summary and attention-getting clips. #2: Finding Your Readalikes Libraries and bookstores have long championed “readalikes” in their displays, which are books with similar settings, topics, or themes. For example, fans of suspense writer JD Robb might enjoy books by Patricia Briggs, Karin Slaughter, or Louise Penny. You can find authors that might be similar to you by using the “also read” section of your book's Amazon page. You can also think about themes that may connect your books to others such as “cozy mystery set in Wisconsin”, or “friends to lovers romance set in a theme park”. These themes can be broken down into something called tropes. #3: Acknowledging Tropes Acknowledging tropes (such as plot or character types that frequently appear) used to be a sign of creative weakness, which I honestly always thought was misguided because we're all obviously inspired by previous writers, and so there's nothing wrong with acknowledging that inspiration. Now in the BookTok era, it's how many readers search for books, especially in the romance genres, they try to find “enemies to lovers” or “fake dating” titles. If you can break down two or three tropes that match your series, that will give you an advantage in marketing. There are sites and books with lists of tropes if you're not familiar with the ones for your genres. #4 Finding Your Market Segment (You're not for everyone.) My podcast transcriptionist once encountered a new author who insisted they wanted to market their book to all readers and wanted to advertise in every single category Amazon offered since they believed everyone needed to read their gritty memoir about surviving abuse and alcoholism. Whether or not someone believes that everyone needs to read their book, that's a pretty quick way to overspend on advertising while receiving extremely poor results. The key to understanding online advertising is that the basic principle is the narrower you can target your audience, the more effective your ads are likely to be. Advertising that memoir so broadly that it's in the same category as say, children picture books or German language cookbooks is a quick way to disappoint (or even annoy) potential readers. It's okay that your book isn't a match for every category or type of reader. In fact, it's expected. There's a reason that the TikTok algorithm quickly pinpoints what viewers are most interested in and brings them similar content, because it's the quickest and easiest way to engage the user. People watching video game themed videos on endless loop probably aren't going to become suddenly interested in the videos about the benefits of living without electricity, for example. It's more profitable to keep showing variations of what they've already seen, with a little bit of new content mixed in. That's true in book advertising, too. The most effective way to find the readers who are most excited to read your book is to segment your advertising by your subgenres, authors whose books are most similar to yours, and keywords that match your tropes or important features in your book. With enough time and data, you will even be able to segment by a geographic location based on what countries your book sells in the most. The more that you can get specific when creating ads, the more likely you are to limit your spending and find the group of readers who wants to find you the most. And the more you work at marketing, the more you'll realize that the answer is definitely not “everyone.” #5: Don't give up on your backlist. One of the most surprising parts of TikTok is how often something that's decades old suddenly becomes popular for seemingly no reason at all. For example, 1962 Song “Pretty Little Baby” by Connie Francis was one of the top trending songs of this spring after became ubiquitous in TikTok videos. Books have seen the same phenomenon occur on TikTok. Classics by Jane Austen or Stephen King frequently end up in popular recommendation videos, while slightly older bestsellers by Sally Rooney or Susanna Clarke can get surprising second rounds of attention, too. The rules of retiring or even abandoning your backlist books may not apply in a social media-based attention cycle where people are constantly discovering books. You can try to rotate your ads to periodically give your older books attention, or if you see a sudden spike in sales on an older title, check through your sales data and social media to understand if there is a specific reason why that's happening and maybe give it some extra advertising funds during that window of opportunity. I've been an indie author for 14 years now, which means I've built up quite the backlist and I've noticed that very often the backlist will outsell new books. For example, this month (so far as of this recording), Blade of Flames is my new book for the month, and that has been 10% of my revenue for September 2025 so far, which is obviously a significant amount, but 90% of it comes from things I've previously written and I've noticed in previous years as well that for total yearly revenue, the revenue from new books tends to be around 22 to 25% (with the rest of it coming from my accumulated backlist). #6: (To Use Some Internet Vernacular) Don't Give Readers “the Ick” by Being “Cringe” Social media requires at least the appearance of ease and authenticity. People talk about something overly manufactured or awkward as being “cringe” or giving them “the ick.” How does that apply to marketing your books? Simply put, don't try to be what you're not. If you're absolutely terrible at being in front of the camera, don't force yourself to make videos. If you're skilled at explaining the historical or cultural influences behind your books, maybe a newsletter or a Substack would be a better use of your marketing time and effort. You shouldn't have to try every possible form of marketing and you probably shouldn't in order to succeed as an author. Just because someone else in your genre is making good money from TikTok or Instagram doesn't mean that it's what's right for you or that it would work if you tried it. Likewise, be aware of the spaces you're entering and the dynamics of a group when you're entering an online space. Writers who show up in a writing forum, hashtag, or subreddit meant for other writers in order to promote their book aren't in the right spot. In fact, that's why many of those places have a rule against self-promotion. Their time would be better spent in an online space related to their sub-genre where there are readers who are specifically looking for what they have to offer. Begging or using some sort of pity-based story in your social marketing is not a good plan. Approach your marketing from a place of confidence about your book because desperation is not attractive to potential readers who are surrounded with options. At best, it only leads to short-term results, whereas finding the readers interested in your book will be a better use of your time in the long run. Be confident. Very few people are able to finish a book (much less must publish one), and there's at least a few people out there who will enjoy your book without being guilted into doing so. I suppose the best rule of thumb overall for social media is don't beg, don't be needy, and perhaps most importantly of all, be as authentic as possible. By that I mean, I don't mean oversharing details about your personal life or personal opinions and beliefs and so forth, but just simply being authentic and not putting on airs or pretending to be something you're not. So much of what we see on the internet now is fake. Since I published Blade of Flames last week, I've gotten dozens of emails allegedly from “readers” who are interested in helping promote the book, but are actually generated by ChatGPT as a front for various scam services. So the best way to combat that kind of AI generated slop, I think, might just being as authentic as you can without resorting to lies or other fakery. In conclusion, BookTok has changed many of the old rules about book marketing and brought a new, more diverse, and younger group of readers into the market. Even if you don't plan on using the platform yourself for marketing (and I still don't), there's still many lessons you can learn from BookTok and how it has shifted how readers find books and share recommendations. So I hope that has given you some food for thought about how to approach future marketing efforts. So thanks for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. A reminder that you can listen to all the back episodes at https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy and see you all next week.
In this episode, I chat with father-son team Matthew and Matteo Storm, who host the Lost Roman Heroes podcast, a bi-weekly dive deep into the overlooked lives and legacies of ancient Rome. They're history buffs with a passion for ancient Rome. Matthew is also the author of several works of historical fiction, based in the Roman empire, the most recent being THE EMPEROR: Heraclius Battles Persia for the Life of Rome.Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Highlights* How did the Lost Roman Heroes podcast begin?* Travel to Carnuntum and other historic locations.* Matthew's historical fiction set in the Roman empire* What are your favourite quotes from the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius?* How can we be sure Marcus actually wrote the Meditations? * Was it intended for publication?* Why are Hadrian and Herodes Atticus notable by their absence from the list of people Marcus admires in Book One of the Meditations?* Was it really a bad idea for Marcus to appoint Commodus his successor? * Who was Avidius Cassius, the usurper?* Was Faustina the loyal wife Marcus makes her out to be or the scheming and unfaithful one depicted in the histories?Links* Lost Roman Heroes Website * Lost Roman Heroes Podcast* Matthew's Books Thanks for reading Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life! This post is public so feel free to share it. Get full access to Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life at donaldrobertson.substack.com/subscribe
Dan Chaon, national book award finalist, talks his new book, One Of Us, a circus/western set in the 1900s, on this episode of Writing While Handicapped! Visit Dan online at www.danchaon.net and find all of his socials!
Welcome to The Cozy Mystery Book Club's Discussion of A Wicked Yarn by Emmie Caldwell
We are very excited that Cosmic Legions OxKrewe Book One Thraxxon is now shipping making it the perfect time to catch up with some Cosmic Legions Lore. We pick up the story at Outpost Zaxxius and take it up to the arrivial of a mysterious figure in the wastelands of Thraxxon. For more information on Cosmic Legions check out sourcehorsemen.com which is our primary source for this episode. https://www.patreon.com/TheEuroLegionsPodcasthttps://linktr.ee/theeurolegionspodcastmythic legions toy collecting fantasy cosmic legions
Listen to Book Two from The Night of The Hunter by Davis Grubb. This is our selection for the September edition of Like A Good Book Club. What a fantastic book we've chosen for this month's book club selection RSVP to join our book club meeting at www.songsoftoriamos.com/bookclub
Listen to Book One from The Night of The Hunter by Davis Grubb. This is our selection for the September edition of Like A Good Book Club. What a fantastic book we've chosen for this month's book club selection RSVP to join our book club meeting at www.songsoftoriamos.com/bookclub
Join the Sleuthing Fun! The Cozy Mystery Book Club discusses Take the Honey and Run (A Bee Keeping Mystery Book One) by Jennie Marts
In this week's episode, we take a look at permafree as a marketing strategy for indie authors, and examine if it still works. I also take a look at advertising results for August 2025. This coupon code will get you 25% off the ebooks in my Cloak Mage series at my Payhip store: FALLMAGE25 The coupon code is valid through September 22, 2025. So if you need a new ebook this fall, we've got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 268 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is September 12th, 2025, and today I'm looking at whether or not Permafree is still an effective strategy for indie authors. As a related topic, we'll also take a look at how my ads performed in [August] 2025, and we'll also have a Question of the Week this week. But first, let's start with Coupon of the Week. So for Coupon of the Week to celebrate the fact that I'm working on Cloak Mage again, this coupon code will get you 25% off the ebooks in the Cloak Mage series at my Payhip store, and that is FALLMAGE25. And as always, the coupon code and links to my store will be available in the show notes. This coupon code is valid through September 22nd, 2025. So if you need a new ebook for this fall, we have got you covered. Now for an update on my current writing and audiobook projects. I'm about 82% of the way through the first round of edits for Blade of Flames, the first book in my new epic fantasy series called Blades of Ruin. If all goes well, that will be out before the end of September, and if you want to see what the cover art will look like, it's on my website and my social pages right now. I'm also 12,000 words into Cloak of Worlds, the aforementioned return to the Cloak Mage series, and that will be my main project once Blade of Flames comes out. In audiobook news, recording is done for both Shield of Power (as narrated by Brad Wills) and Ghost in the Siege (as narrated by Hollis McCarthy). They're both going through processing right now. As of this recording, I believe you can get Shield of Power on Google Play, Kobo, and my Payhip Store. The other links and the other links for Ghost in the Siege should be coming up before too much longer, hopefully before the end of the month. So that is where I'm at with my current writing and publishing projects. 00:02:00 Question of the Week [Question of the Week was posted on September 10, 2025] Now It's time for Question of the Week, which is intended for enjoyable discussions of interesting topics. This week's question, do you dislike guns showing up in fantasy novels? No wrong answers for opinions, obviously. The inspiration for this question was a blog post I saw where the writer was complaining about the increased number of guns in modern fantasy novels and how it shatters her suspension of disbelief, and she also found it an unpleasant topic because the ownership and regulation of firearms in the United States is a contentious topic and has been so for decades. And as you might expect, readers had a variety of opinions on this question. Adrian says: Nope. Fantasy is basically, in my humble opinion, the swords and sorcery type of genre. Yes to old fashioned weapons like bows and arrows, javelins, and trebuchets, et cetera, but definite no to guns (of any type), tanks, airplanes, et cetera. Jonathan D. says: In the right setting, firearms are fine in fantasy books. Men in Arms by Terry Pratchett and the Rigante Series by David Gemmell are great examples of firearms in fantasy done well. Wilson says: It depends on your definition of a gun because an energy rifle powered by a soulstone would be something that would fit into Andomhaim. Though I have to say that is not something I will ever write in an Andomhaim book. Mary says: Steampunk and suchlike genres are developing how to work with technology and fantasy, and I approve when it's done right. I particularly like what Moe Lane's doing in The Fermi Resolution. If you start with the first published book, Frozen Dreams, which is a post-apocalyptic North America high fantasy, hard boiled detective novel, it goes into how every wizard can make your own ammo blow up on you and the consequences. Ioana says: Mrs. World Burner should have lots of guns. #HailToTheHighQueen #SingularitySucks Jason says: Handheld firearms were first used in the West in the 1330s, so they actually predate full plate armor by about a hundred years. That said, the gun shape we're used to came about in the late 1400s. I'm perfectly fine with firearms and fantasy novels provided they're (more or less) what we expect in a medieval setting. Jesse says: Never bothers me as long as long as the stage of weapon development reasonably lines up with the field of the science in said fantasy world. Someone walking around with laser sights in a medieval hamlet would break it for me a bit. Michael says: I remember much of video games (and at least one famous Dungeons and Dragons scenario, possibly two) back in the ‘80s had the “players stumble across a crashed starship trope” where you could end up with power armor and ray guns in a fantasy settings, which would be perceived as magic. I like that kind of cross genre gun introduction more than gunpowder becoming commonplace, I think. The video games he's referring to are Heroes of Might and Magic 6 and 7, both of which I played back in the day and are quite good. Juana says: My suspension of disbelief gets knocked out more by dialogue than guns. Jenny says: Guns aren't as bad as cell phones, in my opinion, or the magical equivalent of a cell phone that is not even trying to be anything but a cell phone. What's interesting is if you read a book that is determinedly set in the 1980s, like the Kinsey Millhone Mysteries by Sue Grafton are all determinedly set in Los Angeles in the 1980s, which is way pre-cellphone and how much extra work the protagonist has to do in investigating since Google doesn't immediately bring everything to her fingertips. Jimmy says: Fantasy doesn't require medieval setting, nor does it require swords. If you study medieval warfare, then you'll notice two things. One, only the rich have swords. Two, it is a secondary or tertiary weapon. Swords are notoriously weak. They break often. The use of guns really depends more on the story's background than it does on the genre. Bonnie says: I agree, they're okay, depending on the time period/environment involved. There's no way that they would be okay with Caina or Ridmark! Cheryl says: Nadia needs guns. I guess it depends on the fantasy topic being written. John says, I'm kind of into Flintlock fantasy, e.g. Powdermage series, et cetera. Urban fantasy also requires firearms. My favorite historical European period is really the “Knights and Guns” era, which would be the early modern period. Todd says: A deeper question is how do guns fit into the culture? In the Cloak Games/Cloak Mage universe, there are ongoing wars, so gun use and safety is taught in schools and veterans are expected to maintain proficiency against the Shadowlands incursion. There's a balance there, and the punishment for criminal misuse includes slogging and loss of freedom, if not execution. So while I think the amount of firearms in Nadia's world is a bit over the top, I can see it making sense culturally and contextually. In a different culture, it may or may not make sense. In a classic medieval setting, it wouldn't make sense. Conversely, in early 1800s Western America, a limited amount of firearms were to be expected. Every little house on the prairie would be expected to have a few rifles and perhaps a pistol or two. Setting, culture, and context all determine what the reader will find appropriate. And finally, Randy says: Depends on how they get there. Guardians of the Flame series had college kids reinvent them, which made sense, and their opponents figured out their own version. When one side has them and the other is too dumb to steal/capture some and figure them out, then yes, it doesn't work. So as you can see, we had quite a range of opinions there. For myself, I really have no strong feelings about it one way or the other. I do think guns are best suited to urban fantasy environments. In Cloak Games and Cloak Mage, as several commentaries mentioned, Nadia goes through a lot of guns. Granted, my favorite type of fantasy is what it's called basic fantasy or generic fantasy where a barbarian, a dwarf, an elf, and a wizard go to a dungeon and kill orcs and monsters. Firearms would definitely be out of place in that sort of setting. That said, I think guns and fantasy is like any other story trope and just needs to be done well to be enjoyable. I suppose it's a matter of properly setting the table for reader expectations. Like if you have a medieval style of fantasy world like Half-Elven Thief, it'd be weird to have guns suddenly show up. But if you create a setting that's an analog for 1880s America, but with wizards, then guns wouldn't be out of place. So that is it for Question of the Week. Thanks to everyone who commented and left insightful and interesting comments. 00:07:40 Advertising Results for August 2025 [Prices mentioned are USD] Now let's go on to the first of our interrelated main topics, my advertising results for last month, which would be August 2025. I haven't done an ad results roundup for a couple months, partly because it's been a really busy summer and partly because I've been adjusting some things and waiting to see the results. I'll explain more later, but the short version is that I'm losing confidence in the effectiveness of Facebook ads for selling books. But first, let's see some advertising results for August 2025. Let's start with Facebook ads where I advertise the Ghosts, Cloak Games/Cloak Mage, and the Frostborn series. The Ghosts, I got back $8.40 for every dollar spent, with 6% of the profit coming from the audiobooks, which was really nice. This one was a bit of anomaly because Ghost in the Siege did a lot of heavy lifting for this. For Cloak Games/Cloak Mage, I got back $2.70 for every dollar spent, with 12% of the revenue coming from the audiobooks. And for Frostborn, I got back $2.83 for every dollar spent, with 30% of the revenue coming from the audiobooks. Now on to Amazon ads. Remember, for an Amazon ad to be profitable, it needs to generate at least one sale/complete KU readthrough every six to eight clicks. So for Demonsouled Omnibus One, I got $5 back for every $1 spent, with a sale for every 0.82 clicks, which was really good. For Half-Elven Thief, I got back $1.22 for every dollar spent, with a sale for every 2.47 clicks. And for Dragonskull Omnibus One, I got back $28.75 for every dollar spent, with 65% of the profit coming from the audiobook, with a sale for every 0.11 clicks. Now, obviously these numbers require some explanation. The profit margin on Half-Elven Thief was narrow, but the entire series made up for it, so that's okay and it will improve when I start writing more books in the series later this year. In fact, I think I'm going to start writing the fifth one in October, if all goes well. The numbers for Dragonskull Omnibus One were so high because the ebook is $0.99, but the audiobook brings in a lot more than the ebook, something like 10 times, no, 20 times more than the ebook. BookBub ads do quite well with Google Play and Barnes and Noble. The numbers are too long to quote here, but they did quite well. All that said, the reason I'm losing confidence in Facebook ads is a combination of the loss of granular targeting and over-reliance on AI targeting. One of the paradoxes of online advertising is that the smaller and more granular your audience, the more likely your ad is to convert to sales. Narrow, targeted advertising is so much better than broad targeting. Unfortunately, Facebook has been slowly removing the more granular targeting options in favor of broader categories that don't work as well. Like you used to be able to target dozens of fantasy authors as interests for Facebook users. Now, you can only target epic fantasy and maybe J.R.R. Tolkien. In fact, I confirmed this just this morning, but you can't even target Brandon Sanderson as an interest, and he's probably the most popular epic fantasy author publishing today. To take the place of more granular targeting, Facebook has introduced AI assisted targeting, which they call Advantage Plus. Now, there's no beating around the bush. Advantage Plus isn't very good. It can garner a reasonable number of clicks on an ad, but those clicks don't convert to sales. Even with ads that don't use Advantage, Facebook still sneaks it in. So the effectiveness of Facebook ads has been in decline. Like I turned off the Facebook ads for the Demonsouled series entirely in August, and my results actually improved a good bit. So I'm going to test another series with no Facebook ads for September, and we'll see how much the results vary. Specifically, I think I'll turn off Facebook ads for Cloak Games/Cloak Mage, leave them on for Frostborn, and see if it makes any difference, and if it does make a difference, it will be time to reevaluate some advertising strategies. On the plus side, I didn't lose any money at any of my ads this month and they all turned a profit, and as always, thank you to everyone who was reading and listening to ebooks and audiobooks. 00:11:41 Does Permafree Still Work For Indie Authors? Now on to the other half of our main topic: Does Permafree still work for indie authors? One of the perennial debates in Indie Author Land is whether or not making the first book in your series free still works as a marketing tactic or not. Now, at this point, I've been doing this for over 14 years, and I have a lot of different series and quite a few different ones with free first books in the series. I thought it might be interesting to dig into the sales data and see what percentage of people who downloaded the first book went onto the second book and then the final book in the series. A few caveats and conditions: first, this is only for 2024 and the first half of 2025, since I wanted a set time sample for the data. Additionally, this is also useful for showing the conversion rate on a finished series that hasn't had a new book in years, since the final book in the Frostborn series came out in 2017, which was eight years ago at this point. Second, it will only apply to a series whose first books were free for that entire time period. Third, when I talk about conversion rates, I mean what percentage of free downloads translated into sales. For example, if Book One had a hundred free downloads and then 12 sales of Book Two and nine sales of the final book, that means 12% of people went onto the second book and then 9% on to the final book. So we had a conversion rate of 12% from the first free book to the paid second book, and then a conversion rate of 9% from the free first book to the final book in the series. So with all that in mind, let's take a look at permafree conversion rates for some of my series in 2024 and 2025. For The Ghosts, 13.47% went to the second book, and 12.72% went on to the final book. For Frostborn, 13% went to the second book and 12.93% to the final book. For Sevenfold Sword, 22.93% went to the second book and 22.81% on to the final book. For Cloak Games, 11.85% went on to the second book, and 11.67% to the final book. Silent Order, 14.64% went on to the second book, and 14.54% went to the final book. For The Tower of Endless Worlds, 17.46% went to the second book, and 17.46% went onto the final book. So I think there are a couple of conclusions we can draw from this. First, making the first book in a series permafree remains a viable marketing strategy. It doesn't usually result in dramatic spikes of sales, but instead it is good at generating more of a steady trickle. Second, anything you can do to increase the number of downloads of your free books will likely increase the sales of the paid books later in the series. That said, there are caveats. You want methods to increase the free downloads to people that might conceivably be interested in buying the books. Targeted advertising can be an effective way to do this. What's not effective is using bot farms or help from a bunch of scammers to generate a big download in free books. At best, you'll generate a bunch of downloads that won't convert, and at worst ebook platforms will detect suspicious activity and either delist your free ebook or suspend your account. Third, this strategy works even with books you don't promote very often. For example, I don't bash on the Tower of Endless Worlds because for some people it's their favorite book of mine. But in all candor, I do think it's one of my weaker books. I was trying to do something with urban fantasy I don't think I had the skills to do until Cloak Games, which was like 12 years later. So I don't really promote it, save that I made the first book in the series free a long time ago and kept it that way. It's still 17% of the people who downloaded the first book continued onto the final one. Fourth, this strategy does require some patience. It can take a while for people to read through a series. It can also take a while for a free book to get traction. Fifth, I at times hesitate to recommend this because saying write five books and make the first one free is easy to say, but it's a lot of work to do. For many new writers, getting the first book done and out into the world is a monumental challenge, then telling them to do it three or four more times and then to make the first book free does seem like a big ask, but it does work (sometimes slowly), but it does work. So that's it for this week. Thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. A reminder that you can listen to all the back episodes at https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe, stay healthy, and see you all next week.
Hunted: The Zodiac Murders - Mark HewittThe Zodiac serial killer claimed the lives of at least five young victims between 1966 and 1974, and mocked the police with telephone calls, taunting letters, and encrypted messages. Thousands of men have been accused; nearly 2,500 have been investigated. Yet the Zodiac has never been identified.This painstakingly researched and meticulously detailed compendium to the Zodiac serial killer case by True Crime author Mark Hewitt presents the crimes and their effect on a community, including the various sides of the many disputed issues within the case.HUNTED: The Zodiac Murders is the true story of America's greatest criminal mystery. This indispensable companion book is accessible to anyone interested in joining the pursuit, exploring a mystery, or witnessing the police response to an appalling crime spree.Book One, HUNTED: The Zodiac Murders tells the amazing true story of a serial killer on the loose. Book Two, PROFILED, The Zodiac Examined (September 27, 2017) examines the evidence and offers a careful, detailed profile of the killer based on the case facts. Book Three, EXPOSED: The Zodiac Revealed (September 27, 2018) narrows down the lengthy list of suspects, and offers startling conclusions.https://amzn.to/3V5z5F7Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-opperman-report--1198501/support.
Send us a text! We'd love to hear your thoughts on the show.In this episode of The Resilient Writers Radio Show, I sit down with award-winning indie author Eveline Rose, creator of the Sheppard & Sons Investigations series. If you love page-turning romantic suspense set against the backdrop of a cozy small town, you'll want to listen in.Eveline shares how her love of storytelling began back in high school, and how it grew into a nine-book series featuring strong heroines, protective heroes, and the found families that keep us coming back for more. Book Six releases this month, and she's already planning a Christmas special and even a cookbook with recipes from her novels.Writing across romance and suspense means balancing swoony moments with high-stakes danger. Eveline admits that sometimes she gets caught up in the suspense and has to remind herself to bring in those cozy small-town touches—family gatherings, coffee shop meetups, and community connections that make her books so beloved.We also talked about why Eveline chose the indie publishing route. For her, finding the right mentor made the difference. While indie authors wear many hats—writer, editor, marketer, planner—Eveline has leaned into the freedom and speed of publishing her own stories. She shares candidly about the challenges of marketing and why connecting with readers in person lights her up.Eveline researched the best covers in her genre, then worked with design company GetCovers to create branding that perfectly fits her series, right down to the custom Sheppard & Sons logo. She's also a pantser who often dictates while driving, using every spare moment to keep her stories moving forward.Looking ahead, she has a historical romantic suspense series outlined for the Tudor and Plantagenet period—told through the eyes of the servants who witnessed history unfold. Doesn't that sound incredible?This was such a fun conversation. If you haven't yet started the Sheppard & Sons Investigations series, begin with Book One, Taken—and prepare to binge your way through these page-turners.
The May 2025 Cozy Mystery Book Club title was Mimi Lee Gets a Clue (A Sassy Cat Mystery Book One) by Jennifer J. Chow
Everyone has moments when their strength fails—physically, emotionally, or spiritually. In this study of Psalm 41, the final psalm of Book One, Dr. John explores how God sustains those who care for the weak and needy. Even as David faces illness and betrayal by close friends, he discovers that blessing comes not from avoiding trouble but from God's faithfulness through it. This psalm points forward to Jesus, who experienced the ultimate betrayal yet triumphed over every enemy, showing us that God's sustaining power never fails His people.Reasons for Worship: In a world of political turmoil, personal struggles, and the apparent prosperity of evil, where should believers place their trust? Dr. John's series on Psalms 33–41 called “Reasons for Worship” explores God's faithfulness amid life's challenges. From David's escapes to his reflections on the wicked, these psalms offer practical wisdom for trusting God, finding hope in desperate circumstances, and keeping faith when evil seems to prevail. This series brings both comfort and challenge, pointing to the God who is completely trustworthy in every season.
The cast assembles to look back at the end AND the whole of Book One. Ends and wholes, that's what it's all about, baby! Join us on our Patreon for more like this! Coming soon to the Patreon: Music Chat, where we look back at the music and, gulp, music theory of Book One's incredible score! A whole episode about the "what ifs" of Book One (one of the best bits of bonus audio we've ever recorded, imho)! And so, so much more. See you there!
"Hey Casual Anime Fanatics! Send us a text and let us know what you would like us to talk about next!In this episode of THAT ANIME PODCAST, The Casual Anime Fanatics discuss Season 1 / Book One (Episodes 1 - 20) of Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender (Book One: Water). Welcome to the official podcast for Casual Anime Fanatics! We deliver fresh, entertaining episodes every week, exploring everything from classic favorites to hidden gems in the anime universe. Whether you're a long-time fan or just starting your anime adventure, THAT ANIME PODCAST is your go-to source for casual and insightful anime discussions.Enjoying the show? We'd love your support! If you like what you hear, consider leaving us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts and/or Spotify. Your reviews help us reach even more anime enthusiasts just like you!Stay connected with us:Instagram: @thatanimepodcastDiscord: Join our communityTune in, laugh with us, and let's celebrate all things anime together!
We gotta go.Thus ends Book One of The Wizard, the Witch, and the Wild One. Here's to many more. In the meantime, we have wonders piled high to share with you, dear listener. Come, join us, and see. There are other worlds than these.We are:Brennan Lee MulliganErika IshiiAabria IyengarLou Wilsonand is produced, designed, and scored by Taylor Moore at Fortunate Horse with exquisite design and editing help from Jared OlsonSPECIAL THANKS TO: Shannon and Amanda Freberg, and now Mel! Welcome, Mel! Transcript of this episode coming soon! You can find transcripts of all our episodes here, for free, on our Patreon. Just navigate to the post for the episode and the transcript will be attached. If it's not there, it's on the way ;)Our album art is by the great Corey BrickleySome additional environmental sound design comes from Michael Ghelfi Studios. You can get their sounds and music for your home games and VTT as well, which we enthusiastically recommend.
PTF and Nick Tammaro kick off the show with a recap of racing around North America, with a focus on the Arlington Million Day card.Next up, Jimmy George of Tattersalls is here with an early look at the October Yearling Sale. You can check out the Book One catalogue here.
Ka is a wheel and the Losers are once again walking through Stephen King's The Stand as part of their event series, The Summer of the Stand. The first of three Twinner book episodes dedicated to the apocalyptic epic finds the gang revisiting Book I: "Captain Trips". Join Losers Jenn Adams, Randall Colburn, Ana Marie Cox, and Dan Pfleegor as they offer new perspectives on an old favorite. Then stay tuned for the next two episodes to drop in July and August, respectively.