On this week’s “POV – Time Management” episode, Cathi give Christie a mini masterclass in goal planning, achieving the goals through time management, and remaining accountable. This inspiring chat comes at just the right time as we head into 2024. We especially love the twelve week year idea! Have a listen …

Episode Highlights
02:00 – Times Square New Years?
04:00 – Identify your natural instincts
05:22 – Time blocking
07:18 – Edit daily
09:55 – Time suck – email and text
14:38 – There is a season for everything
15:10 – The execution
16:20 – Shout out to Hank Phillippe Ryan
17:30 – Hard things first
19:39 – Twelve Week Year
23:17 – Accountability – Fail?
26:40 – The magical part of the plan

Read Happy: The Ultimate Reading Journal (AMAZON, Barnes & Noble  or   BOOKSHOP.ORG)

December GobRecs Book of the Month:

Buy Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger (AMAZON.COM  or   BOOKSHOP.ORG)

All NEW LOW PRICES on all our merchandise!!

You can play the episodes from our website, wherever you listen to podcasts or watch them on our YouTube Channel.

And please subscribe right here to get an email with each new episode released. You’ll get a monthly newsletter jam-packed with cool information, contests, and our new GOB Recs where we give our current recommendations on what we are listening to, reading, and watching!

You can find all our episodes and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, YouTube, or right here on our website!

On this week’s Corks & Conversation III with Lisa Unger episode, we meet up again with the Master of Suspense, Lisa Unger, for an fun and inspiring chat.  She again delights us with her humorous and insightful answers to all our questions. We also recommend Lisa’s new novella, Christmas Presents, as a perfect gift for the thriller lover in the family.  Have a listen …

Episode Highlights
02:30 – The Season for writing
04:44 – The edgy side of Christmas
06:20 – Comfort food authors
07:40 –  Evoking reader joy
08:55 –  Omnivorous reader
11:20 – Classic rereads
14:10 – Best piece of writing advice
19:10 – Pivotal events
22:00 – Always about the writing
23:55 – Sleuthfest Guest of Honor

Buy Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger (AMAZON.COM  or   BOOKSHOP.ORG)

Reach out to Lisa Unger at her website – lisaunger.com

All NEW LOW PRICES on all our merchandise!!

You can play the episodes from our website, wherever you listen to podcasts or watch them on our YouTube Channel.

And please subscribe right here to get an email with each new episode released. You’ll get a monthly newsletter jam-packed with cool information, contests, and our new GOB Recs where we give our current recommendations on what we are listening to, reading, and watching!

You can find all our episodes and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, YouTube, or right here on our website!

On this week’s  Holiday Mix episode, we ask fun holiday questions  and get answers from these amazing crime fiction authors: Michael Farris Smith, Lisa Unger, Alan Orloff, and Peg Tyre. Laugh your way through this little diversion from the holiday stress. You might even get some ideas! Have a listen …

Buy Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger (AMAZON.COM  or   BOOKSHOP.ORG)

Buy Salvage This World by Michael Farris Smith (AMAZON.COM  or   BOOKSHOP.ORG)

Buy Sanctuary Motel by Alan Orloff (AMAZON.COM  or   BOOKSHOP.ORG)

Buy Strangers in the night by Peg Tyre (AMAZON.COM  or   BOOKSHOP.ORG)

All NEW LOW PRICES on all our merchandise!!

You can play the episodes from our website, wherever you listen to podcasts or watch them on our YouTube Channel.

And please subscribe right here to get an email with each new episode released. You’ll get a monthly newsletter jam-packed with cool information, contests, and our new GOB Recs where we give our current recommendations on what we are listening to, reading, and watching!

You can find all our episodes and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, YouTube, or right here on our website!

On this week’s Corks & Conversation with Peg Tyre episode, we talk with Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and crime writer, Peg Tyre, about her novel, Strangers in the Night, reissued on it’s 30th anniversary. We also delve into harrowing crime reporting, working as a woman in a male dominated career in the 80s and today, and Peg’s philanthropic work on education. Oh and the strangest things we’ve eaten … do we even know?

Have a listen …

Buy Strangers in the night by Peg Tyre (AMAZON.COM  or   BOOKSHOP.ORG)

Reach out to Peg Tyre at her website – www.pegtyre.com

All NEW LOW PRICES on all our merchandise!!

You can play the episodes from our website, wherever you listen to podcasts or watch them on our YouTube Channel.

And please subscribe right here to get an email with each new episode released. You’ll get a monthly newsletter jam-packed with cool information, contests, and our new GOB Recs where we give our current recommendations on what we are listening to, reading, and watching!

You can find all our episodes and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, YouTube, or right here on our website!

On this week’s “POV – Minimalist Gifting” episode, we discuss what to get the minimalist for gifts during the holidays.  We like consumable and experience gifts! Hear our ideas!  Have a listen …

December GobRecs Book of the Month:

Buy Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger (AMAZON.COM  or   BOOKSHOP.ORG)

CLICK HERE TO EMAIL A question or comment for Lisa Unger! (we might ask her during our episode!)

All NEW LOW PRICES on all our merchandise!!

You can play the episodes from our website, wherever you listen to podcasts or watch them on our YouTube Channel.

And please subscribe right here to get an email with each new episode released. You’ll get a monthly newsletter jam-packed with cool information, contests, and our new GOB Recs where we give our current recommendations on what we are listening to, reading, and watching!

You can find all our episodes and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, YouTube, or right here on our website!

On this week’s Corks & Conversation with Michael Farris Smith episode, we have an inspiring chat with Michael Farris Smith who the New York Times calls an “intoxicating literary stylist.” Michael writes darkly poetic novels and screenplays set in his native Mississippi. He shares everything from his perfect Manhattan recipe to his take on a dystopian “reality” found is his novel, Salvage This World, which is also our GOBRecs Book of the Month. Have a listen …

Episode Highlights
03:55 – Michael’s Manhattan recipe
05:40 – Origin Story
08:55 – Dystopian – fiction and reality
11:50 –  Being part of the solution
12:45 –  Distance for perspective
15:00 – Novels to Screenplay
16:56 – Best piece of writing advice
18:52 – Question in a Bottle
22:00 – Success comes from routine
27:22 – Writing isn’t romantic
28:58 – Mississippi Renaissance
33:10 – Intoxicated Literary Stylist!

Buy Salvage This World by Michael Farris Smith (AMAZON.COM  or   BOOKSHOP.ORG)

Reach out to Michael Farris Smith at his website – www.michaelfarrissmith.com

All NEW LOW PRICES on all our merchandise!!

You can play the episodes from our website, wherever you listen to podcasts or watch them on our YouTube Channel.

And please subscribe right here to get an email with each new episode released. You’ll get a monthly newsletter jam-packed with cool information, contests, and our new GOB Recs where we give our current recommendations on what we are listening to, reading, and watching!

You can find all our episodes and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, YouTube, or right here on our website!

On this week’s More November GOBRecs! episode, we share some of the best books we’ve recently read! We’ve got new recommendations on what you might want to read next, then add them to your gift list! Bonus … send in questions for Lisa Unger that we can ask on a future episode! Have a listen …

Episode Highlights
02:05– Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger
04:55 – Prom Mom by Laura Lippman
07:08 – The Exchange by John Grisham

Buy Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger (AMAZON.COM  or   BOOKSHOP.ORG)

Buy Prom Mom by Laura Lippman  (AMAZON.COM  or   BOOKSHOP.ORG)

Buy The Exchange by John Grisham (AMAZON.COM  or   BOOKSHOP.ORG)

CLICK HERE TO EMAIL A question or comment for any of the authors! (we might ask the author during a future episode!)

Read Cathi’s reviews:

Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger – This Christmas Novella (meaning it’s shorter than 200 pages) is the perfect Holiday read. While it takes place in a small town, in a blizzard, and in a bookshop, this is not a cozy Christmas story. Madeline Martin is the only surviving victim of a serial killer and now has created a decent little life for herself, running her indie bookstore, taking care of her dad, when a true crime podcaster moves to town, intent on delving into her past, and looking at other cold cases of unsolved murders, questioning the prosecution of her serial killer. A great cast of characters lead this suspenseful, dark read, perfect for this time of year.

Prom Mom by Laura Lippman – Similar to Christmas Presents, Prom Mom opens with a young woman, Amber Glass who’s escaped her past, but is pulled back home to Baltimore, hoping for second chance, after a rough exit, years earlier, when she was known as Prom Mom, because she allegedly killed her newborn baby on prom night, a baby no one knew about. Joe, her prom date who abandoned her that night, still lives in Baltimore and she plans to stay away from him and his plastic surgeon wife, known as Cad Dad. But, the two are drawn together, and Joe asks Amber the unthinkable, pulling her into a criminal triangle.

The Exchange by John Grisham – Remember The Firm by Grisham? A young lawyer, Mitch McDeere, with a lot to prove, gets a sweet offer from a Memphis law firm Bendini, Lambert & Locke, who represented the mob, and the FBI decided to Mitch to take down the firm? This is the follow up to Mitch McDeere and his wife Abby. It’s 15 years later, they’re living in Manhattan, and Mitch is partner at the largest law firm in the world. When a mentor in Rome asks him for a favor that will take him far from home, Rome, Libya, London,  Mitch finds himself and his family the target of terrorists, and he and Abby have to once again outsmart the bad guys.

All NEW LOW PRICES on all our merchandise!!

You can play the episodes from our website, wherever you listen to podcasts or watch them on our YouTube Channel.

And please subscribe right here to get an email with each new episode released. You’ll get a monthly newsletter jam-packed with cool information, contests, and our new GOB Recs where we give our current recommendations on what we are listening to, reading, and watching!

You can find all our episodes and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, YouTube, or right here on our website!

On this week’s “POV – All About Journaling” episode, we chat about different ways of journaling to improve mental health. We each have our own approaches as well as insight into ways to get started. We share and laugh, as always!  And we introduce our December GOBRec Book of the Month – Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger. Read it then journal about it using our READ HAPPY: The Ultimate Reading Journal. Have a listen …

Episode Highlights
02:50– Morning Pages
04:00 – Type your journal?
07:40 – Letter Journaling
09:00 – Gratitude Journaling
10:30 – Photo Journaling
12:45 – Audio Note Journaling
14:00 – READ HAPPY Journal
15:00 – Upcoming GOBRecs News

Must haves for journaling:

Read Happy: The Ultimate Reading Journal (AMAZON, Barnes & Noble  or   BOOKSHOP.ORG)

The Artist’s Way  by Julie Cameron (AMAZON.COM  or   BOOKSHOP.ORG)

December GobRecs Book of the Month:

Buy Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger (AMAZON.COM  or   BOOKSHOP.ORG)

CLICK HERE TO EMAIL A question or comment for Lisa Unger! (we might ask her during our episode!)

All NEW LOW PRICES on all our merchandise!!

You can play the episodes from our website, wherever you listen to podcasts or watch them on our YouTube Channel.

And please subscribe right here to get an email with each new episode released. You’ll get a monthly newsletter jam-packed with cool information, contests, and our new GOB Recs where we give our current recommendations on what we are listening to, reading, and watching!

You can find all our episodes and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, YouTube, or right here on our website!

On this week’s Read and Gift These GOBRecs! episode, we share some of the best books we’ve recently read! Listen to this short but sweet list of our recommendations on what you might want to read next, then add them to your gift list! Bonus … send in questions for the authors that we can ask on future episodes! Have a listen …

Episode Highlights
03:30– Sanctuary Motel by Alan Orloff
05:10 – Salvage This World by Michael Farris Smith
07:00 – All The Dirty Secrets by Aggie Blum Thompson

Buy Sanctuary Motel by Alan Orloff (AMAZON.COM  or   BOOKSHOP.ORG)

BuySalvage This World by Michael Farris Smith (AMAZON.COM  or   BOOKSHOP.ORG)

BuyAll The Dirty Secrets by Aggie Blum Thompson (AMAZON.COM  or   BOOKSHOP.ORG)

CLICK HERE TO EMAIL A question or comment for any of the authors! (we might ask the author during a future episode!)

Read Christie’s reviews:

Sanctuary Motel by Alan Orloff:  I characterize this book as a mystery that’s a cross between a cozy and a noir with a dash of suspense. It’s gritty, yet funny. I love the characters, and I do mean characters! Mess Hopkins is the protagonist who is like a modern day Batman, out to save the day for any of the lost souls who stumble into the sphere of his roadside Fairfax Manor Inn. This is the first in a series so look for more of Mess and the rest of the colorful cast of helpers. Perfect for the crime fiction fans that like high stakes without too much graphic violence.

Salvage This World by Michael Farris Smith:  Southern gothic and all that entails. Uniquely flawed characters in a sinister environment filled with harsh elements of both weather and human nature. The writing is so descriptive that you feel you are right there in a not too far future of southern Mississippi and Louisiana. Extreme weather has ravished the towns, leaving a deserted landscape left to only the most damaged individuals. In fact, in addition to reading it, I recommend listening to the audio version. It is beautiful and poetic reading of the darkest noir.

All The Dirty Secrets by Aggie Blum Thompson:  Part noir, part psychological, and all the way thrilling who done it. This book will have you turning the pages as haunting crime that happened to a group of high school friends seems to be repeated twenty-five years later, under completely new circumstances. Who can you trust? This is a dark study of human nature and friendships with a surprise ending.

All NEW LOW PRICES on all our merchandise!!

You can play the episodes from our website, wherever you listen to podcasts or watch them on our YouTube Channel.

And please subscribe right here to get an email with each new episode released. You’ll get a monthly newsletter jam-packed with cool information, contests, and our new GOB Recs where we give our current recommendations on what we are listening to, reading, and watching!

You can find all our episodes and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, YouTube, or right here on our website!

On this week’s Corks & Conversation with Erin Flanagan episode, we have a glorious time chatting about toxic female friendships of our youth, the hours to write and edit a book, Hallmark vs. Horror, Margaret Atwood, psychopathic readers, and our GOBRecs Book of the Month, Come With Me. Have a listen …

Episode Highlights
02:48 – Question from Rosie G – Come With Me origins
04:53 – Writers retreats
07:00 – Nicola’s five rules make the book structure
07:53 – Working with an editor you know and trust
09:31 – affirmations vs. justifications
12:48 – Erin’s mantra
14:25 –  Question in the bottle
16:08 –  What scares Cathy?
17:20 – Question from David B
19:08 – Margaret Atwood quote
20:01 – Answering Amanda’s question –  360 hours to write the book!
27:20 – Surprising path to an Edgar!
29:53 – Writing acknowledgements – Erin’s process
33:10 – Some readers are psychopaths!

Buy Come with Me by Erin Flanagan (AMAZON.COM  or   BOOKSHOP.ORG)

Reach out to Erin Flanagan at her website – www.erinflanagan.net

Let us know your interest in doing a Write In with us. In November we want to do write ins – where we meet on zoom to say hi, then go write for 45 minutes, then come back on to tell each other how we did. It is a fun way to make writing a more social event. Interested in GOB WriteIns with us in November? If so, click here to let us know what times are good for you!

We would love your help – Complete this anonymous survey!

All NEW LOW PRICES on all our merchandise!!

You can play the episodes from our website, wherever you listen to podcasts or watch them on our YouTube Channel.

And please subscribe right here to get an email with each new episode released. You’ll get a monthly newsletter jam-packed with cool information, contests, and our new GOB Recs where we give our current recommendations on what we are listening to, reading, and watching!

You can find all our episodes and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, YouTube, or right here on our website!