In today's episode, I am chatting with Katherine Snow Smith. Katherine is a Raleigh native and has lived throughout the south as a newspaper reporter, editor, daughter, sister, mother, wife, divorcee and friend. Her memoir, Stepping on the Blender & Other Times Life Gets Messy was publishing in November 2023. Katherine shared all about the writing of her book, including how funny life can be, but also the experience of sharing the raw and honest essays. She talks about the differences in writing as a reporter versus for personal essay. We chatted about how we can feel connected through reading, library tips with young children, as well as a fabulous gift idea for your friends! I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. Happy listening!

Alexie gives us all the tips on reading with dyslexia, what to do and who to contact if you think your child may struggle with dyslexia. And most importantly, she gives us hope! That with the right tools and study strategies you or your child can fall in love with reading too. Her book flight today features decodable books for dyslexic readers and both books are published by Barrington Stoke.

Today we have an episode from the kids for the kids. I am speaking today with Colton and his Dad, Ryan Sawyer. Colton is 11 years old and a 5th grader. Colton teamed up with his Dad and wrote the book, We Can Do Hard Things, to inspire anyone who has felt the weight of struggling to fit in or battling self-doubt. He shares his journey of overcoming self-doubt and finding resilience. He is our youngest published author on the show to date and I am beyond excited to share our conversation with you.

In today’s episode, I am chatting with Sara E. Johnson. Sara lives in Durham, North Carolina. She worked as a middle school reading specialist and local newspaper contributor before her husband lured her to New Zealand for a year. Her first novel, Molten Mud Murder, is the result. The fifth book in the series, The Hungry Bones, comes out on June 11th, 2024. I had so much fun chatting with Sara. She talks about the connections she has made through the writing process to help her research and write her novels. Lastly, Sara totally understood the book flight! Tune in to hear the fun approach she took. Happy listening!

In today’s episode, I am chatting with Trunnis Goggins. Trunnis is an educator, author and consultant for small businesses and higher-rated institutions. Trunnis is also the host of a podcast called The 4 P’s of You. The 4 P’s are Passion, Planning, Purpose and Persistence, which are all essentail in our life journeys towards success.This episode is sure to inspire you. Happy listening!

In today’s episode, I am chatting with Dr. Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai. Born and raised in Việt Nam, she is the author of the global best-selling novels The Mountains Sing and Dust Child.

In this episode, Quế Mai shares about the importance of tonal marks in the Vietnamese language, how writing saved her with a traveling lifestyle, what she has learned about herself through writing. She brought a wonderful book flight with her to highlight Vietnamese authors. Happy listening!

In today’s episode, I am chatting with Jared Michaud. Jared has had a life-long drive to write fiction and is the author of Brightstar: Energematrice6 – The Epimyth Begins. He is on a mission to give his children’s generation myths built on the greatest foundation the world has ever seen. We talked about the importance of myth in stories, the gentle art of writing about the truth, including a piece of yourself in the characters you write and more! This is a delightful episode with Jared, I hope you enjoy. Happy listening!

In today’s episode, I am chatting with Jaime Jo Wright. Jaime is the author of ten novels, including her latest novel, Night Falls on Predicament Avenue. We had a wide ranging conversation on this episode from momento mori photography, fashions we hoped to never see again, which of her ten novels was her favorite to write as well as a sneak peek at the title of her next book coming April 2025. This was such a fun and delightful conversation, I hope you enjoy it too. Happy listening!

Today we have an episode from the kids for the kids. I am speaking today with Morgan and her Mom, Jenn Kappes. Morgan is 8 years old and a 3rd grader. She has brought a book flight of her favorite graphic novels. I have listed the recommended ages for the books of the flight below. They live in sunny, beautiful Hawaii and you can hear the birds chirping in the background, it sounds idyllic! Happy listening!

In today’s episode, I am chatting with J.D. “Danny” McCabe. J.D. is a Pittsburgh, PA native, and the author of The Third Gift, a true story about a tumultuous marriage gone wrong. He now speaks with organizations across the country about his experiences. Danny was encouraged to share this unbelievable voyage in rediscovering himself by the many people who witnessed and heard about his journey first hand. Happy listening!