Valley in the Mojave Desert, Eastern California
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John is "The Voice in My Helmet" on Instagram, but there is so much more to this story. What if a single ride could reset your sense of time, place, and what truly matters? We sit down with John Gorley from eastern New Mexico—yes, the neighbor down the dirt road where the stars burn bright—to trace a journey that moves from Route 66 nostalgia to the modern meaning of riding for peace, love, and presence. This isn't a gear checklist or a speed brag. It's a story of how two wheels can carry us into deeper connection with each other and the land.We start with small towns and big skies, then zoom into the centennial energy around Route 66 and what happens when interstates bypass history. John's Honda Goldwing becomes a quiet hero: a machine so smooth it disappears, leaving the ride to do the talking. The heart beats loudest during a father-daughter trip that runs Albuquerque to Sedona, the Grand Canyon, and Las Vegas, then drops into Death Valley where June heat boils gas and vapor-lock forces a hard stop. Less than a day later, they're above 12,000 feet in Yosemite, playing in snow. In between, there's ice cream, laughter after a parking lot tip-over, Highway 1's cliffs, the Avenue of the Giants' humbling scale, and the eerie beauty of Nevada's Highway 50, the loneliest road with Pony Express ghosts and a horizon that never seems to arrive.“The voice in my helmet” isn't a brand—it was his daughter, the navigator, the companion who turned miles into meaning. When she said he'd miss that voice, she named a feeling every rider knows: the way presence sounds when you're truly in it. John now uses that phrase on Instagram to share short, unscripted notes from the road—sunrises, quiet encouragement, and reminders to notice the light. We talk about why positivity matters, how riding can dissolve worry, and why gratitude grows when we choose the slow road, the older route, the scenic pass. Colorado's Million Dollar Highway, Silverton's night silence after the last steam train departs, and the Cumbres and Toltec line add texture to the map and proof that wonder is a renewable resource.If you crave stories that honor small places, reliable bikes, family bonds, and the simple joy of stepping outside, this one's for you. Hit play, ride with us through heat and snow, and rediscover the peace that waits on the other side of the next bend. If it resonates, subscribe, share with a riding friend, and leave a review to help others find the road. Tags: Mindfulness, Motorcycle riding, mindful motorcycling, motorcycle therapy, nature connection, peace on two wheels, Rocky Mountain tours, rider self-discovery, spiritual journey, motorcycle community, open road philosophy.
Avoid Energy Vampires & Spiritual Care Team Talk PodcastFIVE PRIMARY POINTS of the PODCASTAdventure and Taking Chances Build VitalityDr. Mishra recounts a spontaneous trip to Death Valley sparked by the rare “super bloom” of wildflowers. Despite the long drive and minimal planning, the experience became transformative. The key lesson is that some of life's best memories arise from taking reasonable risks and embracing adventure, even when circumstances are imperfect.Three Life Lessons from the Death Valley Experience* Don't underestimate your ability to do difficult things* Be a “super connector” when traveling or meeting new people* Serendipity often leads to powerful and memorable experiencesPreparation Converts Opportunity into PerformanceUsing the quote “Chance favors the prepared mind” (Louis Pasteur), the podcast emphasizes that opportunities rarely translate into success without preparation. Preparation—through learning, practice, and discipline—allows people to capitalize on unexpected opportunities when they arise.Historical Examples Illustrate the Power of PreparationThe shared lesson: consistent preparation builds skill, resilience, and eventual excellence.* Louis Pasteur achieved breakthroughs through years of scientific preparation.* The Beatles dramatically improved after thousands of hours performing in Hamburg clubs.* Muhammad Ali trained relentlessly despite disliking training.* Steve Martin spent years honing his craft before becoming famous.Emerging Science: “Battery Transplants” for CellsThe podcast concludes with fascinating new research on mitochondrial transplantation. Scientists transferred healthy mitochondria into mesenchymal stromal cells and observed:* Increased cellular energy production* Faster cell growth* Greater resilience to stress and toxinsThis early basic science research suggests potential future therapies for diseases linked to mitochondrial dysfunction, including heart and neurodegenerative diseases.Copyright VyVerse, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit vitalityexplorers.substack.com/subscribe
The war with Iran is turning into what is now being described as Death Valley, not on land but at sea. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In this conversation, Bob sits down with singer, author, and friend Tasha Layton to talk about courage, fear, and what it looks like to keep moving forward when life gets messy. Tasha shares the story behind her song Meet Me in the Valley and the surprising decision to spend three days alone in Death Valley with nothing but prayer requests, a tent, and a lot of honesty about what she was feeling.Together they talk about why we can't go around the hard parts of life, why emotions are often roadmaps instead of problems, and how remembering who we are can help us take the next courageous step forward.Connect with Tasha: @tashalaytonConnect with Bob: @bobgoff--Join Bob and his friends at an upcoming workshop: bobgoff.com/events
Morse code transcription: vvv vvv An epidemic of violence The women and girls killed by men last year Five Iranian women footballers in Australian safe house after Asian Cup protest Man charged with murder of Soham killer Ian Huntley First new V Level subjects announced from 2027 Keith Flints devil horned bench defended by Braintree reverend Glasgow Central Station remains closed in aftermath of fire Death Valley blanketed in wildflowers in best bloom since 2016 How the red v blue school wars exposed the social media gap between children and parents Like Brooklyn Beckham, Im estranged from my family Bridgend man Has Hollywood golden boy Timoth e Chalamet lost his shine
Morse code transcription: vvv vvv Has Hollywood golden boy Timoth e Chalamet lost his shine Like Brooklyn Beckham, Im estranged from my family Bridgend man Death Valley blanketed in wildflowers in best bloom since 2016 How the red v blue school wars exposed the social media gap between children and parents First new V Level subjects announced from 2027 An epidemic of violence The women and girls killed by men last year Five Iranian women footballers in Australian safe house after Asian Cup protest Glasgow Central Station remains closed in aftermath of fire Keith Flints devil horned bench defended by Braintree reverend Man charged with murder of Soham killer Ian Huntley
Morse code transcription: vvv vvv How the red v blue school wars exposed the social media gap between children and parents Has Hollywood golden boy Timoth e Chalamet lost his shine Man charged with murder of Soham killer Ian Huntley First new V Level subjects announced from 2027 Five Iranian women footballers in Australian safe house after Asian Cup protest Like Brooklyn Beckham, Im estranged from my family Bridgend man An epidemic of violence The women and girls killed by men last year Glasgow Central Station remains closed in aftermath of fire Death Valley blanketed in wildflowers in best bloom since 2016 Keith Flints devil horned bench defended by Braintree reverend
Morse code transcription: vvv vvv Like Brooklyn Beckham, Im estranged from my family Bridgend man First new V Level subjects announced from 2027 Man charged with murder of Soham killer Ian Huntley How the red v blue school wars exposed the social media gap between children and parents Death Valley blanketed in wildflowers in best bloom since 2016 Glasgow Central Station remains closed in aftermath of fire Keith Flints devil horned bench defended by Braintree reverend An epidemic of violence The women and girls killed by men last year Has Hollywood golden boy Timoth e Chalamet lost his shine Five Iranian women footballers in Australian safe house after Asian Cup protest
On this episode, host Niki Sridhar discusses the current superbloom in Death Valley, exploring the conditions that lead to these events and their ecological impacts on surrounding ecosystems.
If you're an adventure seeker, these are some of the most dangerous tourist spots on the planet you need to know about! From the sweltering heat of Death Valley in California to the freezing cold of Mount Everest, these places are not for the faint-hearted. Then there's Bolivia's “Death Road,” a narrow mountain path with dizzying drops, where just one wrong move could be your last. In Brazil, you have Snake Island, filled with one of the deadliest snake species in the world—definitely not your typical vacation spot! These places might be breathtaking, but they come with serious risks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode of 2 Right Turns, we sit down with Kevin Kelly, Clemson's Senior Director of Player Personnel Evaluation with 25 years of NFL scouting experience, to break down the 2026 Clemson draft class, covering players like Blake Miller, T.J. Parker, Antonio Williams, and Cade Klubnik. Later, Jacoby Ford joins to talk about what it means to be back home in Death Valley, this time as an Offensive Player Development coach, reflecting on his legendary playing career and the journey that brought him back to Clemson. Finally, we welcome mid-year enrollee wide receiver Naeem Burroughs for our Freshman Orientation series, as the Jacksonville, Fla., native shares why he chose Clemson, the brotherhood he's found in the receiver room, and the energy he plans to bring to the field!Watch the full episode at www.ClemsonPlus.com
Brannagh Rattigan delivers the news on Iranian and Russian cooperation, new footage of a shooting involving a ICE agent, and a super bloom in Death Valley on 3/9/2026.
Welcome back, inner circle! DOUBLE FREE EPISODE
This week in national park news: Mount Rainier National Park has officially dropped its timed entry reservation system for 2026 — joining Yosemite, Arches, and Glacier in abandoning the pandemic-era crowd management experiment. Meanwhile, one of Yellowstone's most unusual geothermal features — Echinus Geyser — has suddenly begun erupting again after years of dormancy. We also cover: • A fatal incident near the Kīlauea caldera in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park • A controversial proposal to build new border barriers through Big Bend National Park • One of the best wildflower blooms in Death Valley since 2016 • A strange act of vandalism at Big Sur's famous Calla Lily Valley • Possible campground closures in Washington state parks • And the opening of a brand-new Texas state park for the first time in 24 years 00:00 Intro 00:46 Mount Rainier Drops Timed Entry 02:01 Hawaii Volcano Fatal Incident 02:57 Yellowstone Geyser Returns 04:47 Big Bend Border Wall Proposal 06:58 Death Valley Wildflower Bloom 08:14 Big Sur Flower Vandalism 09:46 Washington Campground Cuts 10:58 Texas Opens New State Park 12:05 Wrap Up
The National Park Service said the colorful display is being fueled by multiple rounds of rain since autumn, with blooms expected to continue at low elevations into mid-late March. Also, the warmest weather since October is predicted for some parts of the Midwest and Northeast with temperatures as much as 25 degrees above the historical average. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover. To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button. This week we talk to Rachel Ray, CEO of the International Book Project, a nonprofit organization in Lexington, KY that helps make book lovers out of people all over the world. She talks to us about the logistics of shipping books and how close relationships with the Peace Corps and other nonprofits help get English-language books into people's hands. And for our book recommendation section of the show, we are focusing on spies, but these definitely aren't of the James Bond variety. We offer up 6 book suggestions that stretch our understanding of an espionage story. We are light on books set during the Cold War or World War II but instead focus on outside-the-box spy characters. Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- A Dark Room in Glitter Ball City by David Dominé 2- The White Heart of the Mojave: An Adventure with the Outdoors of the Desert by Edna Brush Perkins 3- Ghost Town Living: Mining for Purpose and Chasing Dreams on the Edge of Death Valley by Brent Underwood 4- Guards, Guards! (Discworld series) by Terry Pratchett 5- The Storyteller of Casablanca by Fiona Valley 6- Poets Square: A Memoir in Thirty Cats by Courtney Gustafson 7- A Five Star Read by Fellow Book Lover Jenni Scott @storytimereviews - Theo of Golden by Allen Levi 8- Oxford Soju Club by Jinwoo Park 9- Who is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht 10- An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole 11- Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead 12- Mr. Nice Spy by Tiana Smith 13- The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler by John Hendrix Media Mentioned: 1- Murder in Glitterball City (HBO Max 2026) 2- John Hendrix's link to The Faithful Spy research - https://goose-hawk-c589.squarespace.com/bonhoeffer-research 3- Terry Pratchett Puzzle - https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-world-of-terry-pratchett-1000-piece-puzzle-a-discworld-jigsaw-by-paul-kidby-terry-pratchett/29dbddde082184ce?ean=9781399620697&next=t&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=%7Bcampaignname%7D&utm_content=6443417794&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=16235479093&gbraid=0AAAAACfld41whhyxRMyYH28KslljMJPpx&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIieS7rND8kgMVYCBECB3sphbOEAQYByABEgIRtvD_BwE
With all the rain this winter, the wildflower forecast is looking really good — but how good, exactly? Does this qualify as a superbloom year (and why do we care so much)? Host Sonja Cho Swanson talks with Dr. Naomi Fraga, Director of Conservation Programs at California Botanic Garden, about what makes a superbloom, the secret lives of seeds, and what the resilience of these seemingly-fragile flowers tells us about life in the desert. Plus: Dr. Fraga shares her insider tips for the best places to see wildflowers this spring. Learn more about Dr. Fraga's wildflower tour in Death Valley this weekend (currently sold out, waitlist available). Learn more about the sponsors of this March 3rd episode: Southern Nevada Water Authority UNLV Performing Arts Center Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram, or email us at lasvegas@citycast.fm. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719. For more Las Vegas news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, Hey Las Vegas. Learn more about becoming a City Cast Las Vegas Neighbor at membership.citycast.fm. Looking to advertise on City Cast Las Vegas? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise.
Destination: Mojave Desert Welcome to Dr. Mary Travelbest's 5-Step Guide to Solo Travel for women like you who need a little extra support as they travel the world (slowly), one woman at a time. I've been traveling solo since 1972. Now you can experience for yourself in the Book Series: 5 Steps to Solo Travel, A Woman's Guide to Travel and Destinations in Her Prime, found on Amazon. Yes, it has been a best seller in its category for some time! Please rate this podcast and the book! In this episode: Mojave Desert FAQ: loneliness on the road and how to pause when it happens. Today's Mistake- Dropping off at the Navajo Reservation Travel Advice: Have multiple backups when traveling in the desert. FAQ: How do I handle moments when loneliness or vulnerability hits unexpectedly on the road? Loneliness can show up even on a dream trip — and it doesn't mean you made a mistake. When it happens, I don't fight it or judge it. I pause, rest, and reconnect — whether that's through a familiar routine, a call home, or simply being around other people in a café or public space. Solo travel builds confidence, but it also requires emotional honesty. Feeling vulnerable doesn't make you weak; it reminds you that you're human — and capable of navigating it. Today's destination: Mojave Desert, including Joshua Tree The Mojave Desert is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. Let's dig deeper into this desert. The Mojave Desert is a North American desert spanning California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona, known for its iconic Joshua trees, stark beauty, and extreme temperatures, including those in Death Valley. It features diverse landscapes, including sand dunes (Kelso), lava tubes, salt flats, and unique wildlife. Major attractions include Joshua Tree National Park, Death Valley, and Mojave National Preserve, offering activities such as hiking, stargazing, and exploring ghost towns. Key Figures & Details: Area: Around 47,000 to 50,000 sq mi (or 120,000 to 130,000 sq km). Location: Southeastern California, southern Nevada, northwestern Arizona, and southwestern Utah. Elevation: Extreme range, from 282 ft below sea level (Death Valley) to over 11,000 ft at Telescope Peak. Borders: Bounded by the Sierra Nevada, San Gabriel/San Bernardino Mountains, Great Basin Desert, Sonoran Desert, and Colorado Plateau. Nickname: Often called the "high desert" due to its significant elevation. You can listen to two podcasts about my Death Valley adventures. Episodes 310 and 311 from 2025. https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/mojave-desert/ Inside the desert is: Joshua Tree National Park: Home to dense Joshua tree forests, hiking, and stargazing. Death Valley National Park: North America's hottest, driest, and lowest point (Badwater Basin). Mojave National Preserve: Features Kelso Dunes, lava tubes (like Hole-in-the-Wall), Cima Ghost Town, and Zzyzx. Red Rock Canyon State Park & Valley of Fire State Park: Known for colorful cliffs and hiking. Stargazing: Excellent dark skies for astronomy. Today's Mistake- Dropping off at the Navajo Reservation I was driving from Chicago to San Diego, and one of my riders wanted to be dropped off at the Navajo Reservation. This was a several-day trip, and I was happy to have the company in the car. I've not seen this friend since, and I think she's ok. I wonder whether it was a mistake to do that. Travel Advice: Have multiple backups when traveling in the desert. Have more than enough of the key items, food, water, blankets, and gas when you travel in the desert. Sometimes, you can't find things you need here. Be prepared. Where are you going? Please let me know if I helped you with your travel. The show notes have ways to connect. Connect with Dr Travelbest 5 Steps to Solo Travel website Dr. Mary Travelbest X Dr. Mary Travelbest Facebook Page Dr. Mary Travelbest Facebook Group Dr. Mary Travelbest Instagram Dr. Mary Travelbest Podcast Dr. Travelbest on TikTok Dr.Travelbest onYouTube In the news
Dean Karnazes is a world-renowned ultramarathon runner and best-selling author. Some things Dean has done:- Ran 350 miles (560 km) in 80 hours and 44 minutes without sleep in 2005- Ran a marathon to the South Pole in −13 °F without snow shoes- Ran a marathon in each of the 50 states in 50 consecutive days- Ran 135 miles (217 km) across Death Valley in 120 °F- 148 miles (238 km) in 24 hours on a treadmill- Ran 3,000 miles (4,800 km) from Disneyland to New York City in 75 daysAnd so many other absolutely incredible things. This conversation is a deep dive into his mind, experiences, and life.Find Dean Here: https://www.instagram.com/ultramarathon/My IG: https://www.instagram.com/jamesbrackiniv/Want to work with me? https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScx1-ILH2euEUchlEmSSj3ccMc0qR464ZpLlN4W74f5_gq_iw/viewformLearn about your health: https://bit.ly/45L3fmyGet the best flavored toothpicks: bit.ly/4sBCKtO
Today, I'm sitting down with Lori Harder, powerhouse entrepreneur, bestselling author, and Founder & CEO of Glōci, a daily skin routine you can drink. Lori opens up about her journey from a restrictive upbringing and early “rejection therapy,” to rebuilding after 2008, when she and her husband faced $300,000 in debt and had to become entirely new people to rise. We talk about the “Death Valley” season, the space between who you've been and who you're becoming when it feels isolating, uncertain, and wildly uncomfortable. Then we go deep into power couple dynamics: the boundaries, the off-limits language, and the agreements that keep love safe while building big lives. If you're becoming the woman who can hold more money, more success, and more love, this conversation will support you.Follow Lori Harder here:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loriharder/Website: https://loriharder.com/Listen to the Earn Your Happy Podcast here: https://loriharder.com/podcast/Use the code: HAPPY and get 40% off when you purchase Glōci products - a skin routine you can drink! https://getgloci.com/Join us for the 3 Steps to a Self-Image Upgrade Masterclass on March 3rd, as I teach you how to embody your next-level identity so you can attract money effortlessly! Register here: https://empress.danielleamos.co/3-days-to-a-self-image-upgrade/I am inviting you to the Momentum Summit on April 15th at Hamilton (Toronto), Canada - a full-day, high-touch experience for women who are building businesses, leading teams, and carrying real responsibility and are ready to stop operating from pressure, proving, or perfectionism. https://empress.danielleamos.co/momentum/Get exclusive access to powerful behind-the-scenes riffs I only share with my inner circle. SUBSCRIBE to unlock it now and go deeper with me here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/818893/subscribeThe Success Society is your gateway to an elevated life - an empowering community for driven individuals who are ready to align with abundance, success, and purpose. Join us for less than a cup of coffee per month! https://empress.danielleamos.co/the-success-society/Want to start working with me? Book a complimentary strategy call with The Success Society Team. We're here to support you. https://danielleamos.as.me/consultationYou can catch the video version of this episode on my YouTube channel. Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/@thedanielleamosOne conversation with me can change your life. Access my free gift, Success Mindset Workshop, here: https://successmindsetworkshop.danielleamos.co/If you love this episode, please share it on Instagram, tag me, and send me a DM @TheDanielleAmos; I'd be so grateful if you could leave me a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.Support the show
Sodium, sodium, they showed from their podium!Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland add another grain to their pile of salt with this week's Salt And Horticulture Pt. 2 on The Growing Season. With the level of ice on walking and driving surfaces all across the GTA the trio felt it prudent to discuss salt tolerant plant materials. Jack discusses an upcoming surgery. He's a little nervous.Rising temperatures due to climate change causes our lake water to evaporate quicker, increasing the salt content in the soil.Sea Asparagus and Suaeda Maritime can live in places like Death Valley, one of the saltiest places on earth. Matt rants about boxwoods and that leads to a chat about how street trees react to an over salted growing environment. Salt Cedar leads to an episode of Strange But True. Purple Loosestrife and Hogweed join the chat. Correlations between wildfires in Los Angeles and Australia are drawn. How can Epsom salts diffuse salt exposure. HYDRANGEA, HYDRANGEA, HYDRANGEA! Also, SUMAC! You know it. Tiger Eyes Sumac is GORGEOUS. Are dandelions salt tolerant? Beebalm, horizontal Juniper, daylily, rugosa rose and many more plants are labelled 'salt tolerant.'Tune in. Looking to book a consult for your property? We'd love to help. CLICK HERE.What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE.Subscribe to The Growing Season podcast. CLICK HERE.
Discover why Death Valley in spring offers the perfect setting for a transformative vision quest. We discuss the nine-day experience of solitude, fasting, and self-discovery that helps people find purpose at life's crossroads. Rites of Passage City: Bend Address: PO Box 8454 Website: https://wildernessquest.org/
When people think of LSU athletics, they think football Saturdays in Death Valley.But inside Baton Rouge, another championship culture has been built on the track.In this episode of Field City Sports Presents: Sports Anonymous, we sit down with LSU legend Armanti Hayes — a 9x All-American, NCAA Champion, 2x SEC Champion, and one of the most consistent quarter-milers in program history.From winning a USATF National Junior Olympic title in high school to running 45.65 in the 400m and helping LSU capture an NCAA title in the 4x100 relay, Armanti breaks down:• What separates LSU sprint culture from the rest• The pressure of competing in the SEC• Relay dominance and national championship moments• Life on campus during peak LSU football energy• How today's NIL era is changing track athletes• The mindset required to break 46 secondsThis isn't just a track interview.It's a masterclass in discipline, leadership, and championship standards.If you care about LSU track, SEC sprinting, or the mentality behind elite performance — this one is for you.#FieldCitySports #LSUTrack #SECTrack #NCAA #400m
Death Valley might need a name change!
Turbulent times, spreading love, and finding hope, oh my! Shaun Duke, Trish Matson, and Jennifer Brozek join forces to share the things they loved in 2025 and the things they’re looking forward to in 2026! We discuss books, movies, geeky things, experiences, and much more! Plus, we share some VERY important announcements about the show! Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode! Show Notes: 2025 Things: Shaun: Susana Morris’ Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler All of the independent films Daniel and I got to watch and write or talk about (thanks Strike Media and Deaf Crocodile!) The two podcasts I got to be on to talk about movies I genuinely love: Reserved Recommendations with Hugh Dingwall (on Nightbreed) and Fine Beats and Cheeses (on Mac & Me)! Trish: Death of the Author: A Novel by Nnedi Okorafor Andor S2: aired April 22, 2025 through May 13, 2025, 12 episodes. Mad props to producer Tony Gilroy. Revolutions Podcast Season 11 (Mars), by Mike Duncan: aired October 2024 to June 2025, 30 eps Jennifer: Overgrowth by Mira Grant (best book I read all year) Sinners. Such an amazingly good/original movie Hades 2. Great storytelling and replayability. It's a thing I do with the Husband. Daniel: Uncertain Sons and Other Stories by Thomas Ha and Lost in the Dark and Other Excursions by John Langan Hundreds of Beavers (2022) Directed by Mike Cheslik AGFA Secret Society Sandra: A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna (the perfect romance at the perfect time when I read it) The Great Flood (dir. Kim Byung-woo); not without its problems but I give it kudos for being the disaster flick I hadn't expected to be a scifi flick Draw Steel (an interesting change from D&D 5e) Paul: Duology: The Witch Roads and the Nameless Land, a duology of fantasy novels from Kate Elliott. Set in a new and rich fantasy worlds, Elliott hitting all the power chords. Plur1bus: Aired in Fall/Winter 2025 on Apple TV. Constantly surprisingly, interesting, thought provoking, with some great acting BallxPit, a rogue like game inspired by Balatro, Vampire Survivors and Arkanoid (for those who remember it). 2026 Things: Shaun: The Republic of Memory by Mahmud El Sayed OR The Subtle Art of Folding Space by John Chu All of the independent films Daniel and I are going to get to watch and write and talk about this year, some from the very same places I’ve already mentioned. Seeing how Capricon will go, as I was head of programming this year (with Cassandra Moritz as my honorable and most excellent 2nd). Trish: The Faith of Beasts by James S.A. Corey, 2nd in The Captive's War series, coming in April, because I loved the first book, The Mercy of Gods. Murderbot S2 Other: 13th Icon RPG, starting in February on Arvan Eleron's Twitch channel. PrinceJvstin will GM, and I'm playing a dragonborn druid in it, along with Darcie Little Badger as a human rogue, Kathleen de Vere as a human paladin, and Mur Lafferty as a goliath barbarian. Jennifer: Strixhaven: Omens of Chaos by Seanan McGuire Old Gods of Appachalia: Long Shadows, Season Six podcast Finishing Eberron Oracle of War, Can*Con in Ottawa, Oberon's Post Club Daniel: Partially Devoured by Daniel Kraus Evil Dead Burn (2026; dir. Sébastien Vaniček) Blood Feast and the Films of Herschell Gordon Lewis (AGFA Restorations) Sandra: Platform Decay by Martha Wells Murderbot S2, but also Slow Horses S6 (which is totally fantasy lol) Bouchercon (Calgary) Paul: Children of Strife by Adrian Tchaikovsky. The latest in his Children series, I want to see where his rich world of human and post-human sapients, from spiders to crows, will go next. The Odyssey movie. I just want to see what Nolan will do with one of the ur-texts of the Western Tradition. And it can't be worse than the early 2000's Troy (which tackled The Iliad) It just CAN'T. Death Valley photography trip in December 2026. Am I a good photographer? No, but I enjoy doing photography and this is a chance to do it in a place every photographer wants to go. Video versions of our episodes also appear on our handy YouTube channel! Sub and watch! Don’t forget to catch our live format every Friday at 7 PM Central on Twitch at AlphabetStreams! If you have a question you'd like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page. Our new intro and outro music comes from Holy Mole. You can support his work at patreon.com/holymole. See you later, navigator!
Today, we're heading deep into the California desert for a cautionary tale about isolation, miscalculation, and just how unforgiving nature can be. Let's step into Death Valley and unravel the tragic mystery of the Death Valley Germans.
One Day In Death Valley What’s it like to live in a converted fire truck for one day in Death Valley? Join me for details in One-Day-In-Death-Valley-Bob Davis Podcast 1167. Podcasts About My New Rig Firstly I have been doing podcasts about the new rig. In fact it has become sort of series. A Dream […] Read more The post One-Day-In-Death-Valley-Bob Davis Podcast 1167 appeared first on The Bob Davis Podcasts.
The National Park Service says the hottest place in North America may soon be covered in wildflowers due to the weather, marking the first superbloom in 10 years. And even as the harshest cold begins to fade from the Northeast this week, AccuWeather forecasters warn that the stormy pattern is not quite finished. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
If your New Year motivation didn't make it to February, this episode is for you. Ryan and his business partner and longtime friend, Brent Underwood, talk about how waiting for permission, perfect conditions, or external validation quietly turns into procrastination, even for high performers. They discuss why open-ended ambitions are harder than deadlines, how success can actually make starting new things scarier, and the trap of telling yourself, “I'll get to it later.”Let's not write the year off just yet. The Daily Stoic New Year New You challenge is opening back up for a limited time. Learn more and sign up today at dailystoic.com/challenge.
A Death Valley landmark is inching closer to reopening, find out when it's expected to make a comeback. Plus, two people killed in a double homicide, where a child called 911, have been identified. And, the site of a famous scene from the movie 'Casino' has a new owner. You can tune in to 7@7 on any of your favorite streaming platforms.
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover. To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button. This week we talk to Rachel Ray, CEO of the International Book Project, a nonprofit organization in Lexington, KY that helps make book lovers out of people all over the world. She talks to us about the logistics of shipping books and how close relationships with the Peace Corps and other nonprofits help get English-language books into people's hands. And for our book recommendation section of the show, we are focusing on spies, but these definitely aren't of the James Bond variety. We offer up 6 book suggestions that stretch our understanding of an espionage story. We are light on books set during the Cold War or World War II but instead focus on outside-the-box spy characters. Books Mentioned In This Episode: 1- A Dark Room in Glitter Ball City by David Dominé 2- The White Heart of the Mojave: An Adventure with the Outdoors of the Desert by Edna Brush Perkins 3- Ghost Town Living: Mining for Purpose and Chasing Dreams at the Edge of Death Valley by Brent Underwood 4- Discworld series by Terry Pratchett 5- The Storyteller of Casablanca by Fiona Valpy 6- Poets Square: A Memoir in Thirty Cats by Courtney Gustafson 7- A 5 Star Read by a Fellow Book Lover Jenni Potter Scott @storytimereviews - Theo of Golden by Allen Levi 8- Oxford Soju Club by Jinwoo Park 9- Who is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht 10- An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole 11- Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead 12- Mr. Nice Spy by Tiana Smith 13- The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler by John Hendrix Media Mentioned: 1- Murder in Glitterball City - HBO Max, 2026 2- John Hendrix - Link to The Faithful Spy research - https://goose-hawk-c589.squarespace.com/bonhoeffer-research
The Timbisha Shoshone Tribe just held an event to commemorate 25 years since the landmark legislation outlining a historic co-stewardship agreement between the tribe and the National Park Service in Death Valley. The tribe's name is on the entrance sign to the park. At the same time, the Trump administration is calling for the removal of informational plaques in the visitor center that tells the tribe's story. The sign's removal is one of almost 20 at National Park sites around the country, including Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument, the site of the allied tribes' decisive victory over George Armstrong Custer and U.S. Army's 7th Cavalry Regiment. We'll talk to tribal representatives about how the information in National Parks was developed and what message removing it sends. GUESTS Dorothy FireCloud (Rosebud Sioux Tribe), retired assistant director of Native American affairs for the National Park Service Otis Halfmoon (Nez Perce), retired National Park Service employee Mandi Campbell (Timbisha Shoshone), tribal historic preservation officer for the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe Gheri Hall (Blackfeet), co-director of the Tribal Historic Preservation Office for the Blackfeet Tribe Break 1 Music: This Land (song) Keith Secola (artist) Native Americana – A Coup Stick (album) Break 2 Music: Wahzhazhe (song) Scott George (artist) Killers of the Flower Moon Soundtrack (album)
How California is falling behind on filing after-action reports from major natural disasters. We'll look at why LAUSD teachers could soon walk off the job. Plus, a preview of the Coachella of star gazing coming to Death Valley this weekend. Support The L.A. Report by donating at LAist.com/join and by visiting https://laist.comSupport the show: https://laist.com
It's officially February, which means we are full of love for our city and all it has to offer! Between the Death Valley superbloom, a new Elvis doc, and the James Beard semi-finalists announcement, there's plenty of reasons to be out and about this month. Host Sonja Cho Swanson is joined by newsletter editor Rob Kachelreiss and Nevada Current reporter Michael MJ Lyle to share the events they can't miss and businesses they're crushing on during this month of love. If you're new here, welcome! We've put together a starter pack for you with episodes and articles to welcome you to the City Cast Las Vegas community. Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram, or email us at lasvegas@citycast.fm. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719. For more Las Vegas news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, Hey Las Vegas. Learn more about becoming a City Cast Las Vegas Neighbor at membership.citycast.fm. Looking to advertise on City Cast Las Vegas? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise.
This week on Parkography, we look at the Trump administration's directive that's leading to the removal of exhibits and signs about slavery, Native American displacement, labor history, and climate change at national parks across the country. We also examine new polling showing strong bipartisan opposition in Western states to the nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management, and a lawsuit challenging new federal rules that limit public input on logging, drilling, and wildlife management projects in national forests. We'll also cover new policies making it easier to lease public lands for oil and gas development — even as recent federal lease sales in Colorado draw zero bids — and a major reorganization of federal wildfire programs with the launch of a new U.S. Wildland Fire Service. On the ground, we're tracking a record year for search and rescue at Yosemite, recent vandalism near Bridalveil Fall, illegal off-road driving that damaged rare desert plants at Death Valley's Eureka Dunes, and adaptive reopening plans for the Grand Canyon's North Rim after last year's wildfire. And we'll end with some good news: a surprise dinosaur fossil discovery at Dinosaur National Monument and major restoration projects underway at memorials and fountains across Washington, D.C. ahead of America's 250th anniversary. Find the Slinky Stove that's right for your next adventure at: https://www.slinkystove.com/?ref=PARKography Join the PARKography Facebook group to discuss this episode and more: https://www.facebook.com/groups/parkography The video on explaining passes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBfqPOoEu4w&t=357s Check out our other channels focused on RV travel: @RVMiles @RVMilesPodcast 00:00 Intro 01:10 Exhibits Removed From National Parks 06:31 Controversial Nominee for Bureau of Land Management 08:43 Lawsuit Against New Federal Rules on Public Lands 10:24 Expanding Oil and Gas Development in National Forests 12:20 Unified US Wildland Fire Service 13:26 Updates on National Park Service Sites 16:55 Dinosaur Fossils and Restoration Projects 18:09 Conclusion and Farewell
The 2026 VT football schedule is here! In year one of the James Franklin era, the ACC served up a stinker. The away slate is brutal, 6 true road games, and the league has Tech traveling all over the country. The back half of the dance card has the Hokies playing 4 of the top 6 teams in the league from 2025. Those four don't even include the Clemson game - a trip to Death Valley looms large in late October. There are some potential top-25 challenges, but most, if not all, are projected to come away from Lane Stadium. Tap in to hear the gang's first reaction to the 2026 slate. Buy the guys a beer: buymeacoffee.com/twodeep
Send us a textIn episode #171 we talked with the Ultramarathon Man, Dean Karnazes aboutHow nutrient-dense food and recovery have kept him injury-freeIntuitive eating supporting performance and agingMental Mastery in EnduranceNamed by TIME as one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World,” Greek-American Dean Karnazes has pushed his body and mind to inconceivable limits. He once ran 50 marathons, in all 50 US states, in 50 consecutive days. He's run across the Sahara Desert and run a marathon to the South Pole. He's run a 200-mile relay race solo, 10 times. An acclaimed endurance athlete and NY Times bestselling author, coach and speaker, he's won the Badwater Ultramarathon, running 135 miles nonstop across Death Valley during summer, and has raced and competed on all seven continents, twice. Dean is an ESPN ESPY winner, a 3-time recipient of Competitor magazine's Endurance Athlete of the Year award and has served as a US Athlete Ambassador on three Sports Diplomacy envoys. He's twice carried the Olympic Torch and is a recipient of the President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition Lifetime Achievement Award. Dean has been featured in TIME, Newsweek, The NY Times, Forbes, the LA Times, The Today Show, 60 Minutes, The Late Show with David Letterman, CBS News, CNN, ESPN, NPR, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, the BBC, and now the Nutritional Revolution podcast. He remains most proud of his ongoing contributions of time and funding to programs aimed at getting kids outdoors and active. He has raised millions for charity and served on the Board of Girls on the Run, an international organization that helps young girls learn valuable life skills through training and completing a 5K.Please note that this podcast is created strictly for educational purposes and should never be used for medical diagnosis or treatment.Follow : IG: instagram.com/ultramarathonWeb: ultramarathonman.com/Read Dean's BooksMentioned:Hammer Perpetuem SolidsKillian Korth Episode: nutritional-revolution.com/podcasts/kilian-korths-triple-crown-of-200s-quest-nutrition-and-mindset-for-the-win/Run the Athens Marathon with DeanTurmeric Ginger TeaMORE NR Save 10% on our website with code NEWPOD10 Apply to work with us, click here: https://nutritional-revolution.com/ Follow us @nutritionalrevolution Save 20% on supplements at our trusted online source: https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/kchannell Join Nutritional Revolution's The Feed Club to get $20 off with an additional $20 Feed credit drop every 90 days.: https://thefeed.com/teams/nutritional-revolution If you're interested in sponsoring Nutritional Revolution Podcast, shoot us an email at nutritionalrev@gmail.com.
Today, I am speaking with a former property manager from South Carolina who decided life was too short to spend it working 24/7. So she and her husband sold everything, bought a travel trailer and hit the road in search of a slower, more fulfilling life. Katherine Skiles dove into the Workamping lifestyle and has held a wide variety of roles in places like Arizona, California, Michigan, the Outer Banks and Texas. She managed RV parks, sold memberships, and even helped build a membership organization from the ground up. But, over time, she realized that true happiness wasn't found in running things, rather it was found in bonfires, friendships and freedom. In this conversation, Katherine shares practical tips for other Workampers, such as how to avoid common job pitfalls, what to look for in a good employer, and why traveling light, reducing debt, and having a written agreement really matters. She also talks about cooking pizzas over a campfire, camping through a Michigan winter, and how six surprise puppies in Death Valley taught her the importance of staying flexible. If you've ever wondered whether Workamping can truly lead to a more joyful life, Katherine's story will give you hope and a few good laughs, too. Katherine discovered that Workamping isn’t just about finding a job, but more about building a life that gives you room to breathe, explore and connect with people. After years of running a busy business, she chose a different path that let her cook over bonfires, make friends across the country and see the United States through her dogs' eyes. She reminded us how important it is to go into Workamping prepared. That means reducing debt, knowing the legal ins and outs of compensation, asking smart questions during interviews and always getting the details in writing. Her experiences, both good and bad, have shaped how Katherine approaches each opportunity on the road and she's happy to share those lessons with others. If you’d like to follow Katherine's journey or get in touch, she shares her adventures on Facebook at The Traveling Fluffies where she posts updates from her travels, often from the perspective of her dogs, Marley and Daisy. That's all for this week's show. If you have been Workamping for one season or many years, we would love to hear about your adventures. I encourage you to schedule an interview with me at workampershow.com. We'd love to hear about your Workamping experiences, how you got started RVing, and what you love and dislike about the RVing lifestyle. Help others explore all the different ways to live this great lifestyle by sharing your story. If you are an employer of Workampers, then we invite you to be on the podcast, too. Share all of the details of your Workamping jobs in a future episode. It only costs a little bit of your time. Schedule an interview with me today by going to workampershow.com. You'll find the schedule buttons at the bottom of the home page. It's at freezing or below throughout much of the country today, so I have you bundle up and enjoy some hot chocolate. We'll see you on the next episode of The Workamper Show. Thanks for listening!
All right college sports fans, this episode breaks down Dabo Swinney's full explanation of the tampering case that caused Clemson to recently lose transfer-portal signee Luke Ferrelli to Ole Miss. It also shows why it should reach far beyond Death Valley and The Grove, even beyond college football fields across the nation. The details (and the calmness) that Swinney and athletic director Graham Neff showed is a big part of our reaction to the Clemson football press conference, because it shows that Tigers leadership is serious about making this instance a cornerstone for NCAA enforcement to act upon in cases anywhere. It also figures to affect college basketball, baseball and softball, gymnastics, volleyball, any sport where big NIL payments to top athletes drive player movement between programs. For Clemson fans, the case clearly affects how the NCAA transfer portal rules apply here, especially given Swinney's long hesitance to use the portal to sign significant players. We talk about what Swinney revealed about the player involved as well as opposing coaches and staff in the Mississippi program, and we provide our own analysis of Dabo's comments and evidence with no reason to believe it's a lie based on the detailed case that is being made. #ClemsonFootball #DaboSwinney #TransferPortal #CollegeFootball We're glad you found us! Be sure to get in the comments on our YouTube channel, and share what you think – keep it FAMILY FRIENDLY, there's little eyes and ears here, y'all, but we want to know what's on your mind!
Brian Buffini started a real estate team before teams were a thing. Back in 1992. Back before brokerages had any idea what to do with a team.Today, Buffini & Company coaches and trains agents, team leaders, and broker owners around the world.All along, Brian's viewed teams as “the future of real estate.” But team leadership isn't for everyone and aspirations for a mega team aren't necessary.Brian was kind enough to be a guest on our show as I was a guest at his Buffini Coaching live event to share decades of insights, experience, and influence.With a live audience of hundreds of real estate professionals, Brian sat down with me to share what it took to sell 100 homes in a year in the late 80s, why teams emerged, who should (and shouldn't) build a team, what the main team models are, where “Death Valley” is for team leaders, what leaders must stay focused on and watch out for ... and much more!A HUGE thank you to Brian and his entire team for welcoming me into their community in such an open and sincere way!Watch or listen for Brian Buffini's insights into:Leading and managing yourselfWhat it took to sell 100 homes/year in the late 1980s with one assistantWhy and how he started a team in the early 1990s (and why he struggled initially)Why he's long viewed teams as “the future of real estate” and who teams are best forWhy referring out excess business is a good first step toward a teamHow to find your first assistantWhat other stages of team maturity look like and the key to finding your right size (spoiler: 4-7 is a sweet spot)Why 80% of agents should keep selling (perhaps with a team to support them)What the hardest thing about real estate is (and what mistakes that leads to)How to restore connection with the people and relationships that matter most (your customers and your team)A leadership lesson from NFL and NASCAR champion Joe GibbsAt the end, learn about A and B teams, hotel soaps and sewing kits, and the power of ohana and the ocean.Connect with Brian Buffini:→ https://www.instagram.com/brian_buffini/→ https://www.instagram.com/buffiniandco→ https://www.buffini.com/solutions/realstrengths/→ https://www.buffini.com/solutions/blitz/Connect with Real Estate Team OS→ https://www.realestateteamos.com→ https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos→ https://www.instagram.com/realestateteamos/
Repainting boring beige, more warm and cozy blankets, our beds should be comfortable, how to transform your house to an oasis, seeing the good. The women in the window, death in paradise, midsomer murders, murder before evensong, do we need acorn tv, murder city, cuffs, Death Valley. Salad in a jar, homemade fried wontons, loaded tuna salad, 10 minute garlic noodle, Italian penicillin soup, high protein lasagna. Remember MLK
Death Valley - Mysteries, Legends, and the MissingBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/missing-persons-mysteries--5624803/support.
Mike and Dusty tackle by far the most difficult hike in Death Valley National Park. In the first part of a two-episode hike, they laugh about being the teacher's special helper all the while climbing some of Death Valley's most arduous incline. For more of our episodes on hikes in this and other National Parks, click here. To browse through our entire Library of hiking trail episodes, Trail Mix episodes, interviews, and more, visit our Episode Finder.Instagram: @GazeAtTheNationalParksFacebook: Gaze at the National Parks#gazeatthenationalparks#hikeearlyhikeoften#adventureisoutthereHosted by Dustin Ballard and Michael RyanEpisode Editing by Dustin Ballard and Michael RyanOriginal Artwork by Michael RyanOriginal Music by Dave Seamon and Mariella KlingerMusic Producer: Skyler FortgangCheck out Aeropress and use my code GAZE for a great deal: https://aeropress.com. And go to MoonTravelGuides.com to get your Moon Travel Guide today! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/gaze-at-the-national-parks/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Matt Trump opens this episode of Spellbreakers with reflections from a New Year trip to Las Vegas and Death Valley before shifting into a deep dive on recent breakthroughs in artificial intelligence. The core of the show focuses on the rapid evolution of AI development tools, particularly “vibe coding” and agentic software, where large language models are now capable of planning, writing, and improving code with minimal human input. Matt walks through his firsthand experience using Claude and Claude Code, explaining how software can now be built by describing intent rather than writing lines of code. He explores what this means for programmers, white-collar jobs, automation, and the broader economy, including why recent AI updates have sparked anxiety and excitement across the tech world. Along the way, he discusses data centers, hardware constraints, corporate consolidation, and why this moment represents a fundamental shift rather than incremental change, closing with reflections on how quickly the future is arriving.
You've got clarity. You know what you want. But do you actually understand what's driving the whole thing? Most people focus on goal-setting and never dig into the psychology underneath. Today I'm breaking down five principles that drive every outcome you're chasing. This is mastermind level thinking that applies everywhere. Your business. Your employees. Your kids. Your personal goals. Once you understand these fundamentals, your goals stop being struggles and start becoming systems that actually work. Fair warning: you might need to listen to this one a few times. Featured Story I've got a friend who's about to run across Death Valley. We're talking 140 miles through Badwater in 130-degree heat with 25,000 feet of vertical climb. Yesterday I asked him what his outcome was. He said he needs to climb the mountain because that's part of the route. I stopped him right there. That's not your outcome. Your outcome is to break the world record. If you climb the mountain, great. But you might get tired on the other side and stop. The mountain is a step. Breaking the record is the outcome. That distinction changes everything about how you approach what you're doing. Important Points Most people confuse their actionable steps with their actual outcome, which guarantees confusion and missed goals. The true value isn't the goal itself but what achieving it creates in your life, business, or legacy right now. Everything you build should scale without breaking your peaceful base or creating more work than it's actually worth. Memorable Quotes "Life should not be as hard as it is. I've never believed it, never liked it, so I decided to hack my way better." "Know your outcome, not a vague promise to yourself. Vague outcomes guarantee you'll stop when things get tough." "Give it a clear name so you can live it, tell people about it, and magically transport yourself right into the game." Scott's Three-Step Approach Know your specific outcome and chunk your actionable steps into an operational system you can actually follow. Understand the true value beyond the surface goal because that's what keeps you moving forward when it gets hard. Make it scalable with a clear name so it builds on itself without breaking what's already working in your life. Chapters 0:11 - What actually drives your goals (mastermind thinking) 1:28 - The five principles behind every successful outcome 2:28 - Know your outcome (not vague promises to yourself) 3:23 - Operational systems beat scattered action every time 4:24 - Making it scalable without breaking your peaceful base 5:43 - Why a clear name changes everything about execution Connect With Me Search for the Daily Boost on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify Email: support@motivationtomove.com Main Website: https://motivationtomove.com YouTube: https://youtube.com/dailyboostpodcast Instagram: https://instagram.com/heyscottsmith Facebook Page: https://facebook.com/motivationtomove Facebook Group: https://dailyboostpodcast.com/facebook Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What does 2026 hold for indie authors and the publishing industry? I give my thoughts on trends and predictions for the year ahead. In the intro, Quitting the right stuff; how to edit your author business in 2026; Is SubStack Good for Indie Authors?; Business for Authors webinars. If you'd like to join my community and support the show every month, you'll get access to my growing list of Patron videos and audio on all aspects of the author business — for the price of a black coffee (or two) a month. Join us at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn. Joanna Penn writes non-fiction for authors and is an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling thriller author as J.F. Penn. She's also an award-winning podcaster, creative entrepreneur, and international professional speaker. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. (1) More indie authors will sell direct through Shopify, Kickstarter, and local in-person events (2) AI-powered search will start to shift elements of book discoverability (3) The start of Agentic Commerce (4) AI-assisted audiobook narration will go mainstream (5) AI-assisted translation will start to take off beyond the early adopters (6) AI video becomes ubiquitous. ‘Live selling' becomes the next trend in social sales. (7) AI will create, run, and optimise ads without the need for human intervention (8) 1000 True Fans becomes more important than ever You can find all my books as J.F. Penn and Joanna Penn on your favourite online store in all the usual formats, or order from your local library or bookstore. You can also buy direct from me at CreativePennBooks.com and JFPennBooks.com. I'm not really active on social media, but you can always see my photos at Instagram @jfpennauthor. 2026 Trends and Predictions for Indie Authors and Book Publishing (1) More indie authors will sell direct through Shopify, Kickstarter, and local in-person events — and more companies like BookVault will offer even more beautiful physical books and products to support this. This trend will not be a surprise to most of you! Selling direct has been a trend for the last few years, but in 2026, it will continue to grow as a way that independent authors become even more independent. The recent Written Word Media survey from Dec 2025 noted that 30% of authors surveyed are selling direct already and 30% say they plan to start in 2026. Among authors earning over $10,000 per month, roughly half sell direct. In my opinion, selling direct is an advanced author strategy, meaning that you have multiple books and you understand book marketing and have an email list already or some guaranteed way to reach readers. In fact, Kindlepreneur reports that 66% of authors selling direct have more than 5 books, and 46% have more than 10 books. Of course, you can start with the something small, like a table at a local event with a limited number of books for sale, but if you want to consistently sell direct for years to come, you need to consider all the business aspects. Selling direct is not a silver bullet. It's much harder work to sell direct than it is to just upload an ebook to Amazon, whether you choose a Kickstarter campaign, or Shopify/Payhip or other online stores, or regular in-person sales at events/conferences/fairs. You need a business mindset and business practices, for example, you need to pay upfront for setup as well as ongoing management, and bulk printing in some cases. You need to manage taxes and cashflow. You need to be a lot more proactive about marketing, as you won't sell anything if you don't bring readers to your books/products. But selling direct also brings advantages. It sets you apart from the bulk of digital only authors who still only upload ebooks to Amazon, or maybe add a print on demand book, and in an era of AI rapid creation, that number is growing all the time. If you sell direct, you get your customer data and you can reach those customers next time, through your email list. If you don't know who bought your books and don't have a guaranteed way to reach them, you will more easily be disrupted when things change — and they always change eventually. Kindlepreneur notes that “45% of the successful direct selling authors had over 1,000 subscribers on their email lists,” with “a clear, positive correlation between email list size and monthly direct sales income — with authors having an email list of over 15,000 subscribers earning 20X more than authors with email lists under 100 subscribers.” Selling direct means faster money, sometimes the same day or the same week in many cases, or a few weeks after a campaign finishes, as with Kickstarter. And remember, you don't have to sell all your formats directly. You can keep your ebooks in KU, do whatever you like with audiobooks, and just have premium print products direct, or start with a very basic Kickstarter campaign, or a table at a local fair. Lots more tips for Shopify and Kickstarter at https://www.thecreativepenn.com/selldirectresources/ I also recommend the Novel Marketing Podcast on The Shopify Trap: Why authors keep losing money as it is a great counterpoint to my positive endorsement of selling direct on Shopify! Among other things, Thomas notes that a fixed monthly fee for a store doesn't match how most authors make money from books which is more in spikes, the complexity and hassle eats time and can cost more money if you pay for help, and it can reduce sales on Amazon and weaken your ranking. Basically, if you haven't figured out marketing direct to your store, it can hurt you.All true for some authors, for some genres, and for some people's lifestyle. But for authors who don't want to be on the hamster wheel of the Amazon algorithm and who want more diversity and control in income, as well as the incredible creative benefits of what you can do selling direct, then I would say, consider your options in 2025, even if that is trying out a low-financial-goal Kickstarter campaign, or selling some print books at a local fair. Interestingly, traditional publishers are also experimenting with direct sales. Kate Elton, the new CEO of Harper Collins notes in The Bookseller's 2026 trend article, “we are seeing global success with responsive, reader-driven publishing, subscription boxes and TikTok Shop and – crucially – developing strategies that are founded on a comprehensive understanding of the reader.” She also notes, “AI enables us to dramatically change the way we interact with and grow audiences. The opportunities are genuinely exciting – finding new ways to help readers discover books they will love, innovating in the ways we market and reach audiences, building new channels and adapting to new methods of consuming content.” (2) AI-powered search will start to shift elements of book discoverability From LinkedIn's 2026 Big Ideas: “Generative engine optimization (GEO) is set to replace search engine optimization (SEO) as the way brands get discovered in the year ahead. As consumers turn to AI chatbots, agentic workflows and answer engines, appearing prominently in generative outputs will matter more than ranking in search engines.” Google has been rolling out AI Mode with its AI Overviews and is beginning to push it within Google.com itself in some countries, which means the start of a fundamental change in how people discover content online. I first posted about GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) and AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) in 2023, and it's going to change how readers find books. For years, we've talked about the long tail of search. Now, with AI-powered search, that tail is getting even longer and more nuanced. AI can understand complex, conversational queries that traditional search engines struggled with. Someone might ask, “What's a good thriller set in a small town with a female protagonist who's a journalist investigating a cold case?” and get highly specific recommendations. This means your book metadata, your website content, and your online presence need to be more detailed and conversational. AI search engines understand context in ways that go far beyond simple keywords. The authors who win in this new landscape will be those who create rich, authentic content about their books and themselves, not just promotional copy. As economist Tyler Cowen has said, “Consider the AIs as part of your audience. Because they are already reading your words and listening to your voice.” We're in the ‘organic' traffic phase right now, where these AI engines are surfacing content for ‘free,' but paid ads are inevitably on the way, and even rumoured to be coming this year to ChatGPT. By the end of 2026, I expect some authors and publishers to be paying for AI traffic, rather than blocking and protesting them. For now, I recommend checking that your author name/s and your books are surfaced when you search on ChatGPT.com as well as Google.com AI Mode (powered by Gemini). You want to make sure your work comes up in some way. I found that Joanna Penn and J.F. Penn searches brought up my Shopify stores, my website, podcast, Instagram, LinkedIn, and even my Patreon page, but did not bring up links to Amazon. If you only have an author presence on Amazon, does it appear in AI search at all? Do you need to improve anything about what the AI search brings up? Traditional publishers are also looking at this, with PublishersWeekly doing webinars on various aspects of AI in early 2026, including sessions on GEO and how book sales are changing, AI agents, and book marketing. In a 2026 predictions article on The Bookseller, the CEO of Bloomsbury Publishing noted, “The boundaries of artificial intelligence will become clearer, enabling publishers to harness its benefits while seeking to safeguard the intellectual property rights of authors, illustrators and publishers.” “AI will be deeply embedded in our workflows, automating tasks such as metadata tagging, freeing teams to focus on creativity and strategy. Challenges will persist. Generative AI threatens traditional web traffic and ad revenue models, making metadata optimisation and SEO critical for visibility as we adjust to this new reality online.” (3) The start of Agentic Commerce AI researches what you want to buy and may even buy on your behalf. Plus, I predict that Amazon does a commerce deal with OpenAI for shopping within ChatGPT by the end of 2026. In September 2025, ChatGPT launched Instant Checkout and the Agentic Commerce Protocol, which will enable bots to buy on websites in the background if authorised by the human with the credit card. VISA is getting on board with this, so is PayPal, with no doubt more payment options to come. In the USA, ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Free users can now buy directly from US Etsy sellers inside the chat interface, with over a million Shopify merchants coming soon. Shopify and OpenAI have also announced a partnership to bring commerce to ChatGPT. I am insanely excited about this as it could represent the first time we have been able to more easily find and surface books in a much more nuanced way than the 7 keywords and 3 categories we have relied on for so long! I've been using ChatGPT for at least the last year to find fiction and non-fiction books as I find the Amazon interface is ‘polluted' by ads. I've discovered fascinating books from authors I've never heard of, most in very long tail areas. For example, Slashed Beauties by A. Rushby, recommended by ChatGPT as I am interested in medical anatomy and anatomical Venuses, and The Macabre by Kosoko Jackson, recommended as I like art history and the supernatural. I don't think I would have found either of these within a nuanced discussion with ChatGPT. Even without these direct purchase integrations, ChatGPT now has Shopping Research, which I have found links directly to my Shopify store when I search for my books specifically. Walmart has partnered with OpenAI to create AI-first shopping experiences, and you have to wonder what Amazon might be doing? In Nov 2025, Amazon signed a “strategic partnership” with OpenAI, and even though it's focused on the technical side of AI, those two companies in a room together might also be working on other plans … I'm calling it for 2026. I think Amazon will sign a commerce agreement with OpenAI sometime before the end of the year. This will enable at least recommendation and shopping links into Amazon stores (presumably using an OpenAI affiliate link), or perhaps even Instant Checkout with ChatGPT for Amazon. It will also enable a new marketing angle, especially if paid ads arrive in ChatGPT, perhaps even integrating with Amazon Ads in some way as part of any possible agreement, since ads are such a good revenue stream for Amazon anyway. The line between discovery, engagement, and purchase is collapsing. Someone could be having a conversation with an AI about what to read next, and within that same conversation, purchase a bookwithout ever leaving the chat interface. This already happens within TikTok and social commerce clearly works for many authors. It's possible that the next development for book discoverability and sales might be within AI chats. This will likely stratify the already fragmented book eco-system even more. Some readers will continue to live only within the Amazon ecosystem and (maybe) use their Rufus chatbot to buy, and others will be much wider in their exploration of how to find and discover books (and other products and services). If you haven't tried it yet, try ChatGPT.com Shopping Research for a book. You can do this on the free tier. Use the drop down in the main chat box and select Shopping Research. It doesn't have to be for your book. It can be any book or product, for example, our microwave died just before Christmas so I used it to find a new one. But do a really nuanced search with multiple requirements. Go far beyond what you would search for on Amazon. In the results, notice that (at the time of writing) it does not generally link to Amazon, but to independent sites and stores. As above, I think this will change by the end of 2026, as some kind of commerce deal with Amazon seems inevitable. (4) AI-assisted audiobook narration will go mainstream I've been talking about AI narration of audiobooks since 2019, and over the years, I've tried various different options. In 2025, the technology reached a level of emotional nuance that made it much easier to create satisfying fiction audio as well as non-fiction. It also super-charges accessibility, making audio available in more languages and more accents than ever before. Of course, human narration remains the gold standard, but the cost makes it prohibitive for many authors, and indeed many small traditional publishers, for all books. If it costs $2000 – $10,000 to create an audiobook, you have to sell a lot to make a profit, and the dominance of subscription models have made it harder to recoup the costs. Famous narrators and voice artists who have an audience may still be worth investing in, as well as premium production, but require an even higher upfront cost and therefore higher sales and streams in return. AI voice/audio models are continuing to improve, and even as this goes out, there are rumours on TechCrunch that OpenAI's new device, designed by Jony Ive who designed the iPhone, will be audio first and OpenAI are improving their voice models even more in preparation for that launch. In 2026, I think AI-narrated audio will go mainstream with far-reaching adoption across publishing and the indie author world in many different languages and accents. This will mean a further stratification of audiobooks, with high quality, high production, high cost human narrated audio for a small percentage of books, and then mass market, affordable AI-narrated audio for the rest. AI-narrated audiobooks will make audio ubiquitous, and just as (almost) every print book has an ebook format, in 2026, they will also have an audio format. I straddle both these worlds, as I am still a human audiobook narrator for my own work. I human-narrated Successful Self-Publishing Fourth Edition (free audiobook) and The Buried and the Drowned, my short story collection. I also use AI narration for some books. ElevenLabs remains my preferred service and in 2025, I used my J.F. Penn voice clone for Death Valley and also Blood Vintage, while using a male voice for Catacomb. I clearly label my AI-narration in the sales description and also on the cover, which I think is important, although it is not always required by the various services. You can distribute ElevenLabs narrated audiobooks on Spotify, Kobo Writing Life, YouTube, ElevenReader, and of course your own store if you use Shopify with Bookfunnel. There are many other services springing up all the time, so make sure you check the rights you have over the finished audio, as well as where you can sell and distribute the final files. If they are just using ElevenLabs models in the back-end, then why not just do that directly? (Most services will be using someone's model in the back-end, since most companies do not train their own models.) Of course, you can use Amazon's own narration. While Amazon originally launched Audible audiobooks with Virtual Voice (AVV) in November 2023, it was rolled out to more authors and territories in 2025. If your book is eligible, the option to create an audiobook will appear on your KDP dashboard. With just a few clicks, you can create an audiobook from a range of voices and accents, and publish it on Amazon and Audible. However, the files are not yours. They are exclusive to Amazon and you cannot use them on other platforms or sell them direct yourself. But they are also free, so of course, many authors, especially those in KU, will use this option. I have done some for my mum's sweet romance books as Penny Appleton and I will likely use them for my books in translation when the option becomes available. Traditional publishers are experimenting with AI-assisted audiobook narration as well. MacMillan is selling digital audiobooks read by AI directly on their store. PublishersWeekly reports that PRH Audio “has experimented with artificial voice in specific instances, such as entrepreneur Ely Callaway's posthumous memoir The Unconquerable Game,” when an “authorized voice replica” was created for the audiobook. The article also notes that PRH Audio “embrace artificial intelligence across business operations—my entire department [PRH Audio] is using AI for business applications.” And while indie authors can't use AI voices on ACX right now, Audible have over 100 voices available to selected publishing partnerships, as reported by The Guardian with “two options for publishers wishing to make use of the technology: “Audible-managed” production, or “self-service” whereby publishers produce their own audiobooks with the help of Audible's AI technology.” In 2026, it's likely that more traditional publishers — as well as indie authors — will get their backlist into audio with AI narration. (5) AI-assisted translation will start to take off beyond the early adopters Over the years, I've done translation deals with traditional publishers in different languages (German, French, Spanish, Korean, Italian) for some fiction and non-fiction books. But of course, to get these kinds of deals, you have to be proactive about pitching, or work with an agent for foreign rights only, and those are few and far between! There are also lots of languages and territories worldwide, and most deals are for the bigger markets, leaving a LOT of blue water for books in translation, even if you have licensed some of the bigger markets. I did my first partially AI-translated books in 2019 when I used Deepl.com for the first draft and then worked with a German editor to do 3 non-fiction books in German. While the first draft was cheap, the editing was pretty expensive, so I stopped after only doing a couple. I have made the money back now, but it took years. In 2025, AI Translation began to take off with ScribeShadow, GlobeScribe.ai, and more recently, in November 2025, Kindle Translate boosting the number of translated books available. Kindle Translate is (currently) only available to US authors for English into Spanish and also German into English, but in 2026, this will likely roll out to more languages and more authors, making it easier than ever to produce translations for free. Of course, once again, the gold standard is human translation, or at least human-edited translations, but the cost is prohibitive even just for proof-reading, and if there is a cheap or even free option, like Kindle Translate, then of course, authors are going to try it. If the translation gets bad reviews, they can just un-publish. There are many anecdotal stories of indie success in 2025 with AI-translated genre fiction sales (in series) in under-served markets like Italian, French, and Spanish, as well as more mainstream adoption in German. I was around in the Kindle gold-rush days of 2009-2012 and the AI-translation energy right now feels like that. There are hardly any Kindle ebooks in many of these languages compared to how many there are in English, so inevitably, the rush is on to fill the void, especially in genres that are under-served by traditional publishers in those markets. Yes, some of these AI translated books will be ‘AI-slop,' but readers are not stupid. Those books will get bad reviews and thus will sink to the bottom of the store, never to be seen again. The AI translation models are also improving rapidly, and Amazon's Kindle Translate may improve faster than most, for books specifically, since they will be able to get feedback in terms of page reads. Amazon is also a major investor in Anthropic, which makes Claude.ai, widely considered the best quality for creative writing and translation, so it's likely that is used somewhere in the mix. Some traditional publishers are also experimenting with AI-assisted translation, with Harlequin France reportedly using AI translation and human proofreaders, as reported by the European Council of Literary Translators' Associations in December 2025. Academic publisher Taylor and Francis is also using AI for book translation, noting: “Following a program of rigorous testing, Taylor & Francis has announced plans to use AI translation tools to publish books that would otherwise be unavailable to English-language readers, bringing the latest knowledge to a vastly expanded readership.” “Until now, the time and resources required to translate books has meant that the majority remained accessible only to those who could read them in the original language. Books that were translated often only became available after a significant delay. Today, with the development of sophisticated AI translation tools, it has become possible to make these important texts available to a broad readership at speed, without compromising on accuracy.” (6) AI video becomes ubiquitous. ‘Live selling' becomes the next trend in social sales. In 2025, short form AI-generated video became very high quality. OpenAI released Sora 2, and YouTube announced new Shorts creation tools with Veo 3, which you can also use directly within Gemini. There are tons of different AI video apps now, including those within the social media sites themselves. There is more video than ever and it's much easier to create. I am not a fan of short form video! I don't make it and I don't consume it, but I do love making book trailers for my Kickstarter campaigns and for adding to my book pages and using on social media. I made a trailer for The Buried and the Drowned using Midjourney for images and then animation of those images, and Canva to put them together along with ElevenLabs to generate the music. But despite the AI tools getting so much easier to use, you still have to prompt them with exactly what you want. I can't just upload my book and say, “Make a book trailer,” or “Make a short film.” This may change with generative video ads, which are likely to become more common in 2026, as video turns specifically commercial. Video ads may even be generated specifically for the user, with an audience of one, maybe even holding your book in their hands (using something like Cameos on Sora), in the same way that some AI-powered clothing stores do virtual try-ons. This might also up-end the way we discover and buy things, as the AI for eCommerce and Amazon Sellers newsletter says about OpenAI's Sora app, “OpenAI isn't just trying to build a TikTok competitor. They're building a complete reimagining of how we discover and buy things …” “The combination of ChatGPT's research capabilities and Sora's potential for emotional manipulation—I mean, “engagement”—could create something we've never seen before: an AI ecosystem that might eventually guide you through every type of purchase, from the most considered to the most impulsive.” In 2026, there will be A LOT more AI-generated video, but that also leads to the human trend of more live video. While you can use an AI avatar that looks and sounds like you using tools like HeyGen or Synthesia, live video has all the imperfect human elements that make it stand-out, plus the scarcity element which leads to the purchase decision within a countdown period. Live video is nothing new in terms of brand building and content in general, but it seems that live events primarily for direct sales might be a thing in 2026. Kim Kardashian hosted Kimsmas Live in December 2025 with a 45 minute live shopping event with special guests, described as entertainment but designed to be a sales extravaganza. Indie authors are doing a similar thing on TikTok with their books, so this is a trend to watch in 2026, especially if you feel that live selling might fit with your personality and author business goals. It's certainly not for everyone, but I suspect it will suit a different kind of creator to those who prefer ‘no face' video, or no video at all! On other aspects of the human side of social media, Adam Mosseri the CEO of Instagram put a post on Threads called Authenticity after Abundance. He said, “Everything that made creators matter—the ability to be real, to connect, to have a voice that couldn't be faked—is now suddenly accessible to anyone with the right tools.” “Deepfakes are getting better and better. AI is generating photographs and videos indistinguishable from captured media. The feeds are starting to fill up with synthetic everything. And in that world, here's what I think happens.Creators matter more.” It's a long article so just to pick a few things from it: “We like to talk about “AI slop,” but there is a lot of amazing AI content … we are going to start to see more and more realistic AI content.” I've talked to my Patreon Community about this ‘tsunami of excellence' as these tools are just getting better and better and the word ‘slop' can also be applied to purely human output, too. If you think that AI content is ‘worse' than wholly human content, in 2026, you are wrong. It is now very very good, especially in the hands of people who can drive the AI tools. Back to Adam's post: “Authenticity is fast becoming a scarce resource, …The creators who succeed will be those who figure out how to maintain their authenticity [even when it can be simulated] …” “The bar is going to shift from “can you create?” to “can you make something that only you could create?” He talks about how the personal content on Instagram now is: “unpolished; it's blurry photos and shaky videos of people's daily experiences … flattering imagery is cheap to produce and boring to consume. People want content that feels real… Savvy creators are going to lean into explicitly unproduced and unflattering images of themselves. In a world where everything can be perfected, imperfection becomes a signal. Rawness isn't just aesthetic preference anymore—it's proof. It's defensive. A way of saying: this is real because it's imperfect.” While I partially love this, and I really hope it's true, as in I hope we don't need to look good for the camera anymore I would also challenge Adam on this, because pretty much every woman I know on social media has been sent sexual messages, and/or told they are ugly and/or fat when posting anything unflattering. I've certainly had both even for the same content, but I don't expect Adam has been the target for such posting! But I get his point. He goes on:“Labeling content as authentic or AI-generated is only part of the solution though. We, as an industry, are going to need to surface much more context about not only the media on our platforms, but the accounts that are sharing it in order for people to be able to make informed decisions about what to believe. Where is the account? When was it created? What else have they posted?” This is exactly what I've been saying for a while under my double down on being human focus. I use my Instagram @jfpennauthor as evidence of humanity, not as a sales channel. You can do both of course, but increasingly, you need to make sure your accounts at places have longevity and trust, even by the platforms themselves. Adam finishes: “In a world of infinite abundance and infinite doubt, the creators who can maintain trust and signal authenticity—by being real, transparent, and consistent—will stand out.” For other marketing trends for 2026, I recommend publicist Kathleen Schmidt's SubStack which is mostly focused on traditional publishing but still interesting for indies. In her 2026 article, she notes: “We have reached a social media saturation point where going viral can be meaningless and should not be the goal; authenticity and creativity should. She also says, “In-person events are important again,” and, “Social media marketing takes a nosedive… we have reached a saturation point … What publishers must figure out is how to make their social media campaigns stand out. If they remain somewhat uninspired, the money spent on social ads won't convert into book sales.” I think this is part of the rise of live selling as above, which can stand out above more ‘produced' videos. Kathleen also talks about AI usage. “AI can help lighten the burden of publicity and marketing.” “A lot of AI tools are coming to market to lessen the load: they can write pitches, create media lists for you, send pitches for you, and more. I know the industry is grappling with all things AI, but some of these tools are huge time savers and may help a book more than hurt it.” On that note … (7) AI will create, run, and optimise ads without the need for human intervention Many authors will be very happy about this as marketing is often the bane of our author business lives! As I noted in my 2026 goals, I would love to outsource more marketing tasks to AI. I want an “AI book marketing assistant” where I can upload a book and specify a budget and say, ‘Go market this,' then the AI will action the marketing, without me having to cobble together workflows between systems. Of course, it will present plans for me to approve but it will do the work itself on the various platforms and monitor and optimize things for me. I really hope 2026 is the year this becomes possible, because we are on the edge of it already in some areas. Amazon Ads launched a new agentic AI tool in September 2025 that creates professional-quality ads. I've also been working with Claude in Chrome browser to help me analyse my Amazon Ad data and suggest which keywords/products to turn off and what to put more budget into. I'll do a Patreon video on that soon. Meta announced it will enable AI ad creation by the end of 2026 for Facebook and Instagram. For authors who find ad creation overwhelming or time-consuming, this could be a game-changer. Of course, you will still need a budget! (8) 1000 True Fans becomes more important than ever Lots of authors and publishers are moaning about the difficulty of reaching readers in an era of ‘AI slop' but there is no shortage of excellent content created by humans, or humans using AI tools. As ever, our competition is less about other authors, or even authors using AI-assisted creation, we're competing against everything else that jostles for people's attention, and the volume of that is also growing exponentially. I've never been a fan of rapid release, and have said for years that you can't keep up with the pace of the machines. So play a different game. As Kevin Kelly wrote in 2008, If you have 1000 true fans, (also known as super fans), “you can make a living — if you are content to make a living but not a fortune.” [Kevin Kelly was on this show in 2023 talking about Excellent Advice for Living.] Many authors and the publishing industry are stuck in the old model of aiming to sell huge volumes of books at a low profit margin to a massive number of readers, many of them releasing ever faster to try and keep the algorithms moving. But the maths can work for the smaller audience of more invested readers and fans. If you only make $2 profit on an ebook, you need to sell 500 ebooks to make $1000, and then do it again next month. Or you can have a small community like my patreon.com/thecreativepenn where people pay $2 (or more) a month, so even a small revenue per person results in a better outcome over the year, as it is consistent monthly income with no advertising. But what if you could make $20 profit per book? That is entirely possible if you're producing high quality hardbacks on Kickstarter, or bundle deals of audiobooks, or whole series of ebooks. You would only need to sell to 50 people to make $1000. What about $100 profit per sale, which you can do with a small course or live event? You only need 10 people to make $1000, and this in-person focus also amplifies trust and fosters human connection. I've found the intimacy of my live Patreon Office Hours and also my webinars have been rewarding personally, but also financially, and are far more memorable — and potentially transformative — than a pre-recorded video or even another book. From the LinkedIn 2026 Big Ideas article: “In an AI-optimized world, intentional human connection will become the ultimate luxury.” The 1000 True Fans model is about serving a smaller, more personal audience with higher value products (and maybe services if that's your thing). As ever, its about niche and where you fit in the long long long long long tail. It's also about trust. Because there is definitely a shortage of that in so many areas, and as Adam Mosseri of Instagram has said, trust will be increasingly important. Trust takes time to build, but if you focus on serving your audience consistently, and delivering a high quality, and being authentic, this emerges as part of being human. In an echo of what happened when online commerce first took off, we are back to talking about trust. Back in 2010, I read Trust Agents: by Julien Smith and Chris Brogan, which clearly needs a comeback. There was a 10th anniversary edition published in 2020, so that's worth a read/listen. Chris Brogan was also on this show in 2017 when we talked about finding and serving your niche for the long term. That interview is still relevant, here's a quick excerpt, where I have (lightly edited) his response to my question on this topic back in 2017: Jo: The principle of know, like, and trust, why is that still important or perhaps even more important these days? Chris: There are a few things that at play there, Joanna. One is that the same tools that make it so easy for any of us to start and run a business also allow certain elements to decide whether or not they want to do something dubious. And with all new technologies that come, you know, there's nothing unique about these new technologies. In the 1800s, anyone could put anything in a bottle and sell it to you and say, this is gonna cure everything. Cancer — gone. And the bottle could have nothing in. You know, it could be Kool-Aid. And so, the idea of trying to understand what's behind the business though, one beautiful thing that's come is that we can see in much more dimensions who we're dealing with. We can understand better who's the face behind the brand. I really want people to try their best to be a lot clearer on what they stand for or what they say. And I don't really mean a tagline. I mean, humans don't really talk like that. They don't throw some sentence out as often as they can that you remember them for that phrase. But I would say that, we have so many media available to us — the plural of mediums — where we can be more of ourselves. And I think that there's a great opportunity to share the ‘you' behind the scenes, and some people get immediately terrified about this, ‘Ah, the last thing I want is for people to know more about me,' but I think we have such an opportunity. We have such an opportunity to voice our thoughts on something, to talk about the story that goes behind the product. We were all raised on overly produced material, but I think we don't want that anymore. We really want clarity, brevity, simplicity. We want the ability for what we feel is connection and then access. And so I think it's vital that we connect and show people our accessibility, not so that they can pester us with strange questions, but more so that you can say, this person stands with their product and their service and this person believes these things, and I feel something when I hear them and I wanna be part of that.” That's from Chris Brogan's interview here in 2017, and he is still blogging and speaking at writing at ChrisBrogan.com and I'm going to re-listen to the audiobook of Trust Agents again myself as I think it's more relevant than ever. The original quote comes from Bob Burg in his 1994 book, Endless Referrals, “All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to, those people they know, like and trust.” That still applies, and absolutely fits with the 1000 True Fans model of aiming to serve a smaller audience. As Kevin Kelly says in 1000 True Fans, “Instead of trying to reach the narrow and unlikely peaks of platinum bestseller hits, blockbusters, and celebrity status, you can aim for direct connection with a thousand true fans.” “On your way, no matter how many fans you actually succeed in gaining, you'll be surrounded not by faddish infatuation, but by genuine and true appreciation. It's a much saner destiny to hope for. And you are much more likely to actually arrive there.” In 2026, I hope that more authors (including me!) let go of ego goals and vanity metrics like ranking, gross sales (income before you take away costs), subscribers, followers, and likes, and consider important business numbers like profit (which is the money you have after costs like marketing are taken out), as well as number of true fans — and also lifestyle elements like number of weekends off, or days spent enjoying life and not just working! OK, that's my list of trends and predictions for 2026. Let me know what you think in the comments. Do you agree? Am I wrong? What have I missed? The post 2026 Trends And Predictions For Indie Authors And The Book Publishing Industry with Joanna Penn first appeared on The Creative Penn.
Another year ends, and once more, it's time to reflect on our creative goals. I hope you can take the time to review your goals and you're welcome to leave a comment below about how the year went. Did you achieve everything you wanted to? Let me know in the comments. It's always interesting looking back at my goals from a year ago, because I don't even look at them in the months between, so sometimes it's a real surprise how much they've changed! You can read my 2025 goals here and I go through how things went below. In the intro, Written Word Media 2025 Indie Author Survey Results, TikTok deal goes through [BBC]; 2025 review [Wish I'd Known Then; Two Authors], Kickstarter year in review; Plus, Anthropic settlement, the continued rise of AI-narrated audiobooks, and thinking/reasoning models (plus my 2019 AI disruption episode). My Bones of the Deep thriller, pics here, and Business for Authors webinars, coming soon. If you'd like to join my community and support the show every month, you'll get access to my growing list of Patron videos and audio on all aspects of the author business — for the price of a black coffee (or two) a month. Join us at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn. Joanna Penn writes non-fiction for authors and is an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling thriller author as J.F. Penn. She's also an award-winning podcaster, creative entrepreneur, and international professional speaker. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. J.F. Penn books — Death Valley, The Buried and the Drowned, Blood Vintage Joanna Penn books — Successful Self-Publishing, 4th Edition The Creative Penn Podcast and my community on Patreon/thecreativepenn Unexpected addition: Masters in Death, Religion and Culture at the University of Winchester Book marketing. Not quite a fail but definitely lacklustre. Reflections on my 50th year Double down on being human. Travel and health. You can find all my books as J.F. Penn and Joanna Penn on your favourite online store in all the usual formats, or order from your local library or bookstore. You can also buy direct from me at CreativePennBooks.com and JFPennBooks.com. I'm not really active on social media, but you can always see my photos at Instagram @jfpennauthor. J.F. Penn — Death Valley. A Thriller. This was my ‘desert' book, partially inspired by visiting Death Valley, California in 2024. It's a stand-alone, high stakes survival thriller, with no supernatural elements, although there are ancient bones and a hidden crypt, as it wouldn't be me otherwise! The Kickstarter campaign in April had 231 Backers pledging £10,794 (~US$14,400) and the hardback is a gorgeous foiled edition with custom end papers and research photos as well as a ribbon. As an AI-Assisted Artisan Author, I used AI tools to help with the creative and business processes, including the background image of the cover design, the custom end papers, and the Death Valley book trailer, which I made with Midjourney and Runway ML. The audiobook is also narrated by my J.F. Penn voice clone, which took a while to get used to, but now I love it! You can listen to a sample here. I published Death Valley wide a few months later over the summer, so it is now out on all platforms. J.F. Penn — Blood Vintage. A Folk Horror Novel, and Catacomb audiobook I did a Kickstarter for the hardback edition of Blood Vintage in late 2024, and then in 2025, worked with a US agent to see if we could get a deal for it. That didn't happen, and although there were some nice rejections, mostly it was silence, and the waiting around really was a pain in the proverbial. So, after a year on submission, I published Blood Vintage wide, so it's available everywhere now. My voice clone narrated the audiobook, listen to a sample here. I also finally produced the audiobook for Catacomb, which is a stand-alone thriller inspired by the movie Taken and the legend of Beowulf set in the catacombs under Edinburgh. I used a male voice from ElevenLabs, and you can listen to a sample here. The book is also available everywhere in all formats. J.F. Penn — The Buried and the Drowned Short Story Collection One of my goals for 2025 was to get my existing short stories into print, mainly because they exist only as digital ebook and audiobook files, which in a way, feels like they almost don't exist! Plus, I wanted to write an extra two exclusive stories and launch the special edition collection on Kickstarter Collection and then publish wide. I wrote the two stories, The Black Church, inspired by my Iceland trip in March, and also Between Two Breaths, inspired by an experience scuba diving at the Poor Knights Islands in New Zealand almost two decades ago. There are personal author's notes accompanying every story, so it's part-short story fiction, part-memoir, and I human-narrated the audiobook. I achieved this goal with a Kickstarter in September, 2025, with 206 Backers pledging almost £8000 (~US$10,600) for the various editions. I also did my first patterned sprayed edges and I love the hardback. It has head and tail bands which make the hardback really strong, gorgeous paper, foiling, a ribbon, colour photos, and custom end papers. The Buried and the Drowned is now out everywhere in all editions. As ever, if you enjoy the stories, a review would be much appreciated! Joanna Penn Books for Authors Early in the year, How to Write Non-Fiction Second Edition launched wide as I only sold it through my store in 2024, so it's available everywhere in all formats including a special hardback and workbook at CreativePennBooks.com. While I didn't write it in 2025, I made the money on it this year, which is important! I also unexpectedly wrote the Fourth Edition of Successful Self-Publishing, mainly because I saw so much misinformation and hype around selling direct, and I also wanted to write about how many options there are for indie authors now. The ebook and audiobook (narrated by human me) are free on my store, CreativePennBooks.com and also available in print, in all the usual places. If you haven't revisited options for indie authors for a while, please have a read/listen, as the industry moves fast! All my fiction and non-fiction audiobooks are now on YouTube After an inspiring episode with Derek Slaton, I put all my audiobooks and short stories on YouTube. Firstly, my non-fiction channel is monetised so I get some income from that. It's not much, but it's something. More importantly, it's marketing for my books, and many audiobook listeners go on to buy other editions especially non-fiction listeners who will often buy print as well. I'm one of those listeners! It's also doubling down on being human, since I human narrate most of my audiobooks, including almost all of my non-fiction, as well as the memoir, and short stories. This helps bring people into my ecosystem and they may listen to the podcast as well and end up buying other books or joining the Patreon. Finally, in an age of generative AI assisted search recommendations, I want my books and content inside Gemini, which is Google's AI. I want my books surfaced in recommendations and YouTube is owned by Google, and their AI overviews often point to videos. Only you can decide what you want to do with your audiobooks, but if you want to listen to mine, they are on YouTube @thecreativepenn for non-fiction or YouTube @jfpennauthor for fiction and memoir. The Creative Penn Podcast and my Patreon Community It's been another full year of The Creative Penn Podcast and this is episode 842, which is kind of crazy. If you don't know the back story, I started podcasting in March 2009 on a sporadic schedule and then went to weekly about a decade ago in 2015 when I committed to making it a core part of my author business. Thanks to our wonderful corporate sponsors for the year, all services I personally use and recommend — ProWritingAid, Draft2Digital, Kobo Writing Life, Bookfunnel, Written Word Media, Publisher Rocket and Atticus. It's also been a fantastic year inside my Patreon Community at patreon.com/thecreativepenn so thanks to all Patrons! I love the community we have as I am able to share my unfiltered thoughts in a way that I have stopped doing in the wider community. Even a tiny paywall makes a big difference in keeping out the haters. I've done monthly audio Q&As which are extra solo shows answering patron questions. I've also done several live office hours on video, and shared content every week on AI tools, writing and author business tips. Patrons also get discounts on my webinars. I did two webinars on The AI-Assisted Artisan Author, which I am planning to run again sometime in 2026 as they were a lot of fun and so much continues to change. If you get value from the show and you want more, come on over and join us at patreon.com/thecreativepenn We have almost 1400 paying members now which is wonderful. Thanks for being part of the Community! Unexpected goal of the year: Masters in Death, Religion and Culture at the University of Winchester During the summer as I did my gothic research, I realised that I was feeling quite jaded about the publishing world and sick of the drama in the author community over AI. My top 5 Clifton Strengths are Learner, Intellection, Strategic, Input, and Futuristic — and I needed more Input and Learning. I usually get that from travel and book research, but I wasn't getting enough of that since Jonathan is busy finishing his MBA. So I decided to lean into the learning and asked ChatGPT to research some courses I could do that would suit me. It found the Masters in Death, Religion and Culture at the University of Winchester, which I could do full-time and online. It would be a year of reading quite different things, writing academic essays which is something I haven't done for decades, and hanging out with a new group of people who were just as fascinated with macabre topics as I am. I started in September and have now finished the first term, tackling topics around thanatology and death studies, hell and the afterlife in the Christian tradition, and the ethics of using human remains to inspire fiction, amongst other interesting things. It was a challenge to get back into the style of academic essay writing, but I'm enjoying the rigour of the research and the citations, which is something that the indie author community needs more of, a topic I will revisit in 2026. I have found the topics fascinating, and the degree is a great way to expand my mind in a new direction, and distract me from the dramas of the author community. I'll be back into it in mid-January and will finish in September 2026. Book marketing. Not quite a fail but definitely lacklustre. I said I would “Do a monthly book marketing plan and organise paid ad campaigns per month for revolving first books in series and my main earners.” I didn't do this! I also said I would organise my Shopify stores, CreativePennBooks.com and JFPennBooks.com into more collections to make it easier for readers to find things they might want to buy. While I did change the theme of CreativePennBooks.com over to Impulse to make it easier to find collections, I haven't done much to reorganise or add new pathways through the books. I'm rolling this part of the goal into 2026. I said I would reinvigorate my content marketing for JFPenn, and make more of BooksAndTravel.page with links back to my stores, and do fiction specific content marketing with the aim of surfacing more in the LLMs as generative search expands. I did a number of episodes on Books and Travel in 2025, but once I started the Masters, I had to leave that aside, and although I have started some extra content on JFPennBooks.com, I am not overly enthusiastic about it! I also said I would “Leverage AI tools to achieve more as a one-person business.” I use AI tools (mainly ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini) every day for different things but as ever, I am pretty scatter gun about what I do. I lean into intuition and I love research so I am more likely to ask the AI tools to do a deep research report on south Pacific merfolk mythology, or how gothic architecture impacted sacred music, or geology and deep time, rather than asking for marketing hooks. I intended to use more AI for book marketing, but as ever, I was too optimistic about the timeline of what might be possible. There's lots you can do with prompting, finessing things and then posting on various platforms, but I'm not interested in spending time doing that. My gold standard for an AI assistant is to feed it the finished book and then say, “Here's a budget. Go market this,” and not have to connect lots of things together into some Frankenstein-workflow. That's not available yet. Maybe in 2026 … Of course, I still do book marketing. I have to in order to sell any books and make money from book sales. We all have to do some kind of book marketing! I have my Kickstarter launches which I put effort into, as well as consistent backlist sales fed by the podcast, and my email newsletter (my combined list is around 60K). I have auto campaigns running on Amazon Ads, and I have used Written Word Media campaigns as well as BookBub throughout the year. This is basically the minimum, so as usual, must do better! I'm pretty sure I'm not the only author saying this! However, my business has multiple streams of income, and I have the podcast sponsorship revenue as well as the Patreon, plus sporadic webinars, which add to my bottom line and don't require paid advertising at all. Reflections on my 50th year I woke up on my 50th birthday in March in Iceland, by the Black Church of Budir out on the Skaefellsnes peninsula. As seals played in the sea and we walked in the snow over the ancient lava field under the gaze of the volcano that inspired Jules Verne Journey to the Centre of the Earth, and my short story, The Black Church, which you can find in my collection, The Buried and the Drowned. On that trip, we also saw the northern lights and had a memorable trip that marked a real shift for me. I've been told by lots of people that 50 is a ‘proper' birthday, as in one of those that makes you stop and reconsider things, and it has indeed been that, although I have also found the last few years of perimenopause to be a large part of the change as well. A big shift is around priorities and not caring so much what other people think, which is a relief in many ways. Also, I don't have the patience to do things that I don't think are worth doing for the longer term, and I am appreciating a quieter life. I'd rather lie in a sunbeam and read with Cashew and Noisette next to me then create marketing assets or spend time on social media. I'd rather go for a walk with Jonathan than go to a conference or networking event. In my Pilgrimage memoir, I quote an anonymous source, “Pilgrim, pass by that which you do not love.” It's a powerful message, and I take it to mean, stop listening to people who tell you what is important. Listen to yourself more and only pay attention to that which you feel drawn to explore. On pilgrimage, it might be turning away from the supposedly important shrine of a saint to go and sit in nature and feel closer to God that way. In our author lives, it might be turning away from the things that just feel wrong for us, and leaning into what is enjoyable, that which feels worthwhile, that which we want to keep doing for the long term. Let's face it, as always, that is the writing, the thinking, the imagination. As ever, I have this mantra on my wall: “Measure your life by what you create.” It's the creation side of things that we love and that's what we need to remember when everything else gets a little much. Many authors left social media in 2025, and while I haven't left it altogether, I don't use it much. I post pictures proving I am human on Instagram @jfpennauthor which automatically post to Facebook. I barely check my pages on Facebook though. I'm also still on X with a carefully curated feed that I mainly use to learn new cool AI things which I share with my Patreon Community. Double down on being human. Travel and health. Yes, I am a human author, and yes, I continue to age! When you've been publishing a while, you need to update your author photos periodically and I finally had a photoshoot I loved with Betty Bhandari Photography, which means I can add the new pics to my websites and the back of my books. Are you up to date with your author photos? (or at least within a decade of the last photoshoot?!) Here are a few of the pictures on Instagram @jfpennauthor. Healthwise, I gave up calisthenics as it was too much on top of the powerlifting and the amount of walking I do. I did another British Powerlifting competition in September in the M2 category (based on age) and 63kgs category (based on weight). Deadlift: 95kgs. Squat: 60kgs. BenchPress: 37.5kgs. While this is less overall than last year, I also weigh less, so I'm actually stronger based on lift to body weight percentage. I have also done a few pull-ups in the last week with no band, which I am thrilled with! On the travel side, Iceland was the big trip, and I also had a weekend in Berlin for the film festival, where I met up with a producer and a director around an adaptation of my Day of the Vikings thriller. That didn't pan out, as most of these things don't, but I certainly learned a lot about the industry — and why it doesn't suit me! Once again, I dipped my toe into screenwriting and then ran away, as has happened multiple times over the years. When will I learn? … Over the summer of 2025, I visited lots of gothic cathedrals including Lichfield, Rochester, Durham, York, and revisiting Canterbury, as part of my book research for the Gothic Cathedral book. I have tens of thousands of words on this project, but it isn't ready yet, so this is carried over into 2026 as it might happen then, depending on the Masters. I spoke at Author Nation in Las Vegas in November 2025, and before it started, I visited (Lower) Antelope Canyon, one of the places on my bucket list, and it did not disappoint. What a special place and no doubt it will appear in a story at some point! How did your 2025 go? I hope your 2025 had some wonderful times as well as no doubt some challenges — and that you have time for reflection as the year turns once more. Let me know in the comments whether you achieved your creative goals and any other reflections you'd like to share.The post Review Of My 2025 Creative And Business Goals With Joanna Penn first appeared on The Creative Penn.
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Frank McKinney has built 44 oceanfront mansions on spec and is a Philanthro-Capitalist with 32 self-sustaining Haiti villages, Ultramarathon in 135 Death Valley race, and author of 9 best selling books Welcome to the Conscious Millionaire Show - How to Become an Ultra-Performer. Now 3X week M / W / F with host JV Crum III. Are you an Entrepreneur, Founder, Business Leader? Committed to reaching the Top 1% of Performers and have revenue $250K to $50M? Sign up for your Breakout...here's what's included in your complimentary session: (1) Define your #1 Ultra-Outcome - your break out goal (2) Find out your #1 block keeping you from it - and how to remove it (3) Get actionable steps to scale bigger faster and find out if an Ultra-Performer Program with JV is right for you. Schedule Your Breakthough Session Now Join Host JV Crum III, with 2 exits and over 75M revenues in his companies, he is the Ultra-Performer Coach for 6- to 8-figure owners ready to join the top 1%. Season 12 of the award-winning Conscious Millionaire Show. World's #1 conscious business and performance podcast for foundeers and entrepreneurs who want to become Ultra-Performers. Access Conscious Millionaire Show Millions of Listeners. 190 countries. Inc Magazine "Top 13 Business Podcasts" with over 3,000 episodes. Listen 3X a week.
In his 20's, working an office job he hated, Tom woke up in the middle of the night with a wild idea: why not take people on bike trips? No playbook. No investors. Just a sense that he could make a living doing what he loved. His first trip? Four guests riding through Death Valley, pitching their own tents. From there, Backroads scaled to hotels, while weathering a bike burglary, a van rollover in the desert, 9/11, the Great Recession, and a pandemic that brought tourism to a halt. Today, Backroads runs 5,000+ trips a year in 60+ countries.This is a masterclass in savvy cash flow, scrupulous quality control, and dogged iteration. If you care about travel, brand, or building a services business at scale—listen to this.What you'll learn:How a 5,000 mile solo bike trip laid the groundwork for Backroads The first guided trip in Death Valley: four people, high winds, 50 miles/day How to get your stolen bikes back: confront the thief yourself The “collect early, pay late” flywheel that powered growth without investorsHow Backroads survived 9/11, 2008, and COVID—and what changed after each shockAvoiding the Instagram trap and delivering peak, uncrowded experiencesTImestamps:7:24 – Tom's epiphany and the eight pages of notes that started Backroads10:15 – From cubicle to road bike: the solo trip that shaped the company's DNA12:46 – Trip #1: Making mistakes in Death Valley—and learning fast24:47 – Tom's DIY recovery operation after a warehouse burglary29:21 – Cash without capital: spend your deposits, pay hotels later 30:55 – The Nevada rollover: walking out of the ER…and running the next trips40:06 – Recovering after 9/11 and the financial crisis—and rebuilding the company's value prop45:46 – Post-COVID surge, and avoiding the tyranny of the travel selfie This episode was produced by Casey Herman with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant. Our audio engineers were Patrick Murray and Jimmy Keeley.Follow How I Built This:Instagram → @howibuiltthisX → @HowIBuiltThisFacebook → How I Built ThisFollow Guy Raz:Instagram → @guy.razYoutube → guy_razX → @guyrazSubstack → guyraz.substack.comWebsite → guyraz.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In 1996, a small group of German tourists disappeared in Death Valley National Park without a trace. Fifteen years later, the tenacity of one man solved the case.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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