Bookwild

This week, I talk with return guest Karen E. Osborne about her newest mystery Justice for Emerson! Listen to hear about: How Karen approached a dual-timeline mystery that blends a present-day murder investigation with the long emotional aftermath of the Vietnam War, addiction, race, and trauma.   How Karen’s research process is deeply people-centered—drawing from her husband’s Vietnam experiences, veterans, recovering addicts, and sensitivity readers to create emotionally authentic characters without judgment.   How she crafted her protagonist: a widowed nonprofit CEO balancing grief, self-doubt, romance, family tension, and danger while unraveling a conspira...

This week, I talk with Aimee Poktwatka about her hew horror book Accumulation! Listen to hear about: Aimee's unconventional path to becoming an author—from anthropology and veterinary work to creative writing—and how curiosity has shaped her storytelling.   How Accumulation was inspired by Aimee’s real 18th-century home, a creepy doll her husband found in the yard, and her fascination with haunted house stories as metaphors for domestic life.   How the novel blends haunted house horror, psychological suspense, and social commentary to examine motherhood, invisible labor, and the slow erosion of self.   Aimee's “...

This week, you get to meet the book girlies who I haven't been able to stop talking about!  Kara Confer and Emily Hone are the event team at Wild Geese Bookshop, and they are bringing some incredible authors to Indiana.  Hear about how they have evolved into their current positions, some book event BTS, starting their podcast Fill Your Cup, and books that define their reading tastes! Books Kara Mentioned The Secret Lives of Church Ladies — Deesha Philyaw The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman — Deesha Philyaw Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead — Emily Austin ...

This week, I talk with repeat guest and friend Elizabeth Rose Quinn about her new, somewhat locked room thriller Payback! Listen to hear us discuss: Payback’s fascinating “weekend prison” premise and how it critiques privilege within the carceral system Balancing social commentary with a genuinely fun, propulsive thriller Crafting a large cast of distinct, memorable characters The psychological implications of our current judicial and carceral systems How Quinn's work as a therapist informs how she creates character arcs Check Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonC...

This week, MacKenzie Green and I talk with Bridget Howard about her new Romantasy Lovers' Journal. Listen to hear about: Bridget’s journey from book blogger to Bookstagram creator to marketing professional for publishers and authors How romantasy evolved from YA and paranormal roots into today’s booming genre Why romantasy, fantasy, and romance deserve the same literary analysis and cultural respect as “serious” fiction The creation of the Romantasy Lover's Reading Journal and how it helps both seasoned readers and newcomers engage more deeply Beginner-friendly romantasy recommendations, from gateway reads like ACOTAR to duologies and standalo...

This week, Gare and I talk about books we think deserve adaptations ASAP!  Gare also brought a messy icebreaker to the episode. Books We Talked About Good People by Patmeena Sabit The Anniversary by Alex Finlay Judge Stone by Viola Davis and James Patterson Secret Lives of Murderers Wives by Elizabeth Arnott Into the Blue by Emma Brodie Night Watcher by Stephanie Woolsoncroft She Drinks the Light by Yasmin Angoe Ours Is a Tale of Murder by Nora Murphy T...

This week, I talk with Priya Parmar about The Original, her fictionalized portrait of Katharine Hepburn’s early life and Hollywood reinvention, diving into how academic rigor, obsessive research, and creative intuition shaped the book. We discuss: Priya’s transition from academic and PhD research into fiction writing—and how scholarship still shapes her creative process The accidental Google rabbit hole that led her to Katharine Hepburn’s hidden early struggles A fascinating look at 1930s Hollywood as a surprisingly progressive, image-conscious, and socially fluid ecosystem Fame, performed authenticity, grief, reinvention, and how public myths are intentio...

This week, I chat with Rachel Kramer Bussel—editor, essayist, and founder of Open Secrets Magazine—about a lifelong love of reading, writing and editing.  Listen to hear about: How memoirs allow readers to experience others' lives in highly personal ways Rachel’s journey from editing 70+ erotica anthologies to building a personal essays literary magazine How “ordinary” lives still make compelling, meaningful essays The behind-the-scenes reality of running a submission-based publication The emotional and ethical tightrope of writing about real people, relationships, and personal struggles Rachel's "Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to ban books" T-shirt Books...

You all know how excited I am to say that this week, I got to chat with Marcus Kliewer about his newest horror book The Caretaker!  We dive into his unconventional path to writing, our shared fascination with psychological horror, and how he plants his Easter eggs in multiple mediums. Listen to hear more about: The Caretaker’s premise, tone, and how it connects to We Used to Live Here Marcus Kliewer's origin story—from Reddit horror posts to book deals and adaptations Insight into psychological horror, ambiguity in endings, and why “not knowing” is so unsettlin...

Today is a solo episode, and I share all of my thoughts on Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke, The Drama and Trust Me: The False Prophet.  I briefly discuss the discourse around Yesteryear and The Drama without spoilers, and go in depth on Trust Me: The False Prophet, WITH spoilers.  Then, for anyone who wants spoilers, I discuss spoilery aspects of Yesteryear and The Drama at the end of the episode.   Here is the link for the Substack article I mentioned about The Drama. Check Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the...

In this episode, I talk with Rebecca Sharpe about her debut con-thriller Harmless Women.   Listen to hear about: Rebecca's long, bumpy publishing journey How the book explores the way society underestimates women, and how that perception can be both a vulnerability and a weapon How Rebecca's fluid, character-driven writing process focuses on emotional pacing, moral complexity, and letting the story evolve organically rather than rigid outlining Harmless Women Synopsis Avalon Dale is a masterful grifter. She researches her victims thoroughly, kidnaps and sedates them, cleans out their bank accounts, and uses injections and h...

In this episode, I talk with Justin C. Key about his speculative novel The Hospital at the End of the World.  Justin shares how his medical training and fascination with AI, consciousness, and ethics informed the novel’s evolution from a short story into a full-length work. We dive into the tension between technological advancement and human connection, particularly in medicine, emphasizing the irreplaceable value of empathy and lived experience. Justin also discusses worldbuilding choices, balancing speculative ideas with grounded realism, and both the promise and risks of AI in healthcare and learning. Listen to hear about: ...

In this episode, Gare and I chat with our long time favorite John Marrs! John shares his journey from journalist to author, his out of order writing process, why he doesn’t always think his books are that dark (LOL), and a wild group of frogs in his yard (yes, I said frogs). Listen to our whole conversation to hear about: What it was like getting his first book idea, writing it, and self publishing it His transition to traditional publishing His hybrid plotter-pantser process The snacks he has ne...

In this episode, I chat with Courtney Kocak about her debut memoir Girl Gone Wild!  She shares how it is both a personal reckoning and a cultural critique, tracing her journey from a “too much” small-town girl to a woman navigating ambition, sexuality, religion, and creative identity. She reflects on how early influences—strict religious messaging, shame around the body, and a lack of role models—shaped her relationship to power, pleasure, and self-worth, while her experiences in Hollywood and the entertainment industry reveal the harsh realities behind the myth of “making it.”  Listen to hear about: How the m...

In this episode, I talk with Jeremy Jernigan about his deeply personal and intellectual journey behind The Edge of the Inside, unpacking how Jeremy’s lifelong love of writing evolved into a healing-driven project that blends memoir and theology. We discuss how time and emotional distance were necessary to move from bitterness to clarity, allowing Jeremy to structure the book into reflection, belief, and application. We also discuss shared experiences as pastor’s kids, the disorienting process of deconstruction, and the realization that faith is far broader than what we were taught. Listen to hear about: Writ...

In this episode, MacKenzie Green and I talk with Ashley McGirt-Adair about her new book, The Cost of Healing in Silence, and the deep, often overlooked impact of racial trauma within healthcare systems. Ashley shares how her personal experiences, her grandmother’s legacy, and over a decade of work as a trauma therapist shaped her approach to culturally responsive care.  Listen to hear about: The concept of racial trauma as real trauma, and why naming it explicitly matters in both therapy and broader cultural conversations. How systemic bias in healthcare shows up in real, life-threatening ways (mis...

Gare, Steph and I share and discuss our favorite reads from the first quarter of 2026! Kate’s Books Queen of Faces by Petra Lord Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke She Drinks the Light by Yasmin Angoe Judge Stone by Viola Davis and James Patterson These Heathens by Mia McKenzie Gare’s Books The Secret Lives of Murderers Wives Strangers in the Villa by Robyn Harding Ours Is a Tale of Murder by Seraphina Nova Glass Sorry for Your...

This week, I talk with Olesya Salnikova Gilmore about her historical-suspense The Fortune Tellers of Rue Daru. We dive into: Her writing process as a "plantser" Why she's drawn to dark genres: historical fiction, gothic, fantasy, mystery How blending genres creates tension and unpredictability How she has experienced and writes about the “in-between” feeling of not fully belonging to one culture How she processed grief through this story Her research of Slavic folklore and Western spiritualism movements The Fortune Tellers of Rue Daru Synopsis Spirited twenty-something Zina and her secretive grandmother, Baba Valya, own...

This week, I talk with writing duo Katherine Greene, aka Claire C. Riley and A. Meredith Walkters, about their new small town thriller Where the Truth Lies! We dive into: Writing a thriller inspired by real-life events and the challenge of balancing fiction with truth How this story came from Abbi’s family history and a decades-old newspaper clipping The emotional difficulty of writing characters based on real people vs. fictionalizing them Crafting multiple POVs + dual timelines to build tension and a fuller picture of the crime Exploring toxic masculinity and how it develops, including how “nice...

Halley broke the news to me that The Bachelorette was cancelled after the video of Taylor Frankie Paul was sold to TMZ, so we start off right in the mess of pop culture.  Listen for our thoughts on: Cancellation/pause of The Bachelorette starring Taylor Frankie Paul due to domestic violence allegations Ethics of airing real-life trauma and abuse on reality TV Trad wife culture vs. reality of women as breadwinners Religious conditioning and spiritual bypassing Purity culture and its connection to shame and abuse Grift culture (influencers, politics, capitalism) Age of Attraction's age gap dating approach The M...