On this week’s Corks & Conversation with J.D. Allen episode we talked about her many books and haunted museums and murderabilia!  Have a listen …

J.D. Allen is the author of the Sin City crime fiction series. Surprisingly she started “accidentally” in romance fiction but is happy to be back at her thriller roots. 

Brick and Bones is the fifth book in her Sin City series, a gritty PI series set in Las Vegas. We suggest you get a copy here, or the whole series. (indie bookshop.org or Amazon.com) And we paired it with a 19 Crimes Cabernet, which matches the title of her first in the series, 19 Souls.

Or you can order your wine from Naked Wines! We absolutely love their wines and what they are all about! Just be sure to use one of our links when you order (like the coupon at the top of our website) so that we can get a little credit for the referral! 

Naked Wines – Discover the best way to enjoy great wine!

We had such fun talking about murderabilia, zombie burlesque, and writing conferences. What? They are all related!

Episode Highlights:
6:20 It’s the brick!
9:21 Murderabilia; it’s a thing! (Spelled correctly?)
10:52  JD LOVES LV
11:16 A haunted museum
11:52 Zombie Burlesque shows

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 Katie Lattari episode we talked about her debut thriller and a certain famous neighbor in Maine! Have a listen …

Katie Lattari’s thriller, Dark Things I Adore, drew us into the Maine woods, weaving stories from the past and present in a darkly delicious way. It is a tale of secrets, lurking danger, and revenge. But our discussion was more on the fun side of how she made the story and her inspirations. As Katie put it … 

“I would love to write a story where the woman was in charge and is the one doing the revenge and doing the violence. I think there are a lot of books where, and these thrillers are so compelling and I’m obsessed with them, where the protagonist who happens to be female is kind of always on her back feet, and the work of the book is for her to figure out ‘am I losing my mind? What’s going on? How can I get out of this situation?’ She’s the one scrabbling and scraping and trying to figure things out. And I was like ‘I’d like to reverse that’ ”

Katie also has been blogging about the process of publication. We love how she has gone into detail and shared it with the world. As she says,

“There seems to be, for some reason that is unclear to me, a bit of mystery, a bit of obfuscation around publishing- the business of it, certainly money. And I don’t know why, in the sense that, it is just a business, it is just an industry like any other. But there’s a weird sort of shame or something around just talking about these things in very real terms. And then on top of that there’s a bit of mystery about like ‘don’t share the trade secrets’ as if someone being successful means that there’s one less seat at the table”

Dark Things I Adore is a masterfully written dive into haunting psychological crime fiction! We suggest you get a copy (indie bookshop.org or Amazon.com)  And ironically we paired it with a sweet wine, Castello del Poggio Moscato. Or you can order your wine from Naked Wines! We absolutely love their wines and what they’re all about! Just be sure to use one of our links when you order (like the coupon at the top of our website) so that we can get a little credit for the referral!

Naked Wines – Discover the best way to enjoy great wine!

Highlights:
1:48 Guess who else lives in Maine?
16:25 who doesn’t love a lazer-focused, in control, and dangerous woman?
18:16 Phil Collins sounds lemony and a professor smells like smoked sausage
19:59 unusual tattoo inspo
28:30 imposter syndrome
31:52 the beauty in working your ass off
32:52 my neighbor, Stephen King

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!

In this week’s GOBrecs Book Club – Run Rose Run & The Survivors episode, we are recommending two best-selling crime fiction books! Have a listen …

We chose two very different crime fiction books but can recommend both to everyone, depending on your mood.  

Cathi chose to pair food and wine with Run Rose Run by Dolly Parton and James Patterson. 

Who doesn’t love Dolly Parton? When Cathi heard she was partnering with James Patterson on a thriller, she was IN. An upcoming country singer/songwriter, AnnieLee Keyes, works to escape her troubled past with the help of her new friends in Nashville, including a retired Country music patriarch. A fun read from Patterson, who never disappoints, and Parton, who always inspires. 

Order RUN ROSE RUN here for you and a friend (indie bookshop.org or Amazon.com). You can also order your wine from Naked Wines … and use our special coupon link at the top of the page!

Naked Wines – Discover the best way to enjoy great wine!

Christie’s choice was The Survivors by Jane Harper 

This month’s GOBRecs relates directly to Christie’s dream destination of Australia! The Survivors is a suspenseful novel set in a tourist town on the coast of Tasmania. A deadly storm from years earlier still haunts the community. When a body turns up on the beach, all the past secrets start to come to the surface. As the murder investigation progresses, Harper delves deep into the emotions and traumas of the characters. All of this is set by the atmospheric writing that allows us Americans to catch a glimpse of life on the other side of the globe. Such an engrossing read and worthy recommendation to all our crime fiction loving listeners!

Order THE SURVIVORS here (indie bookshop.org or Amazon.com) and pair it with 19 Crimes The Banished and some shrimp on the barbie! 

Here are some of the highlights from the episode!
8:46 Come for the Wine, Stay for the Crime
12:00 Upcoming Australian Tour?
13:45 Cathi Introduces her pick
15:39 Naked Wines
23:48 Scott Peterson – vitner or criminal
25:15 Carrot Cake – Amazing spill

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 Daisy Bateman episode we share lots of laughs while talking about her foodie cozies! Have a listen …

Daisy Bateman is the author of the Lefty-nominated Marketplace Mysteries series, in which artisan marketplace owner Claudia Simcoe solves mysteries and eats things in an idyllic small town on the Northern California coast. Since we are all about food and mystery, we loved this fun conversation! Daisy is funny and this comes through in her writing. Here’s what she said about writing and critiquing humor:

“You do have to look at your jokes critically and be like ‘am I just indulging myself here, is anybody else going to even understand why I think this is funny, and have I stretched a little bit too far to try to make this joke work and now the whole paragraph doesn’t make sense’. You have to be a little bit brutal even with your humor.”

And on the fun part of writing a novel:

“The joy of writing these books is coming up with these characters and trying to find ways to give them quirks that you might not necessarily expect … Each person comes in and I try to think about them as if they were the center of the story, and how to make a person who would be interesting enough to read about on their own”

Our chat veered into travel and foodie cities that had Cathi drooling! As Daisy says:

“For me, one of my definitions of a great food city is somewhere where anywhere you go, at any kind of level, you get great food.”

This episode we switched up the wine with hard cider! Refreshing and delicious, Ace ciders went great with A Dismal Harvest. We suggest you get a copy (indie bookshop.org or Amazon.com) and enjoy with your favorite cider flavor like we did!   

Highlights
2:50 Cider Pubs are a thing
4:19 Book Birthday on the Ides of March
6:40 Artisan Marketplace is a great setting for a mystery
9:13 Character creating is fun
12:00 Humor in writing, natural or work?
15:00 Best Foodie Destinations
18:45 Biotech to Author path
20:49 Deadline writing
24:36 Ghost Book

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 Veronica Gutierrez episode we covered a diverse range of topics filled with quite a few laughs! Have a listen …

Veronica Gutierrez is the debut author of As You Look, a real page-turner of a crime fiction novel. Novelist is just the latest of a string of careers and accomplishments that make Veronica one of our most interesting guests. Her writing is inspired by her QPOC friends and family as well as her past as a community organizer, non-profit leader, civil rights attorney, and corporate executive!

She grew up in Boyle Heights, the Los Angeles home of her protagonist, Yolanda Avila. Yolanda is a Los Angeles private investigator who races to find her kidnapped godson and protect her wife from a murderer all while dealing with her own “juju.” Here’s how Veronica describes this character:

“She’s a woman who is dealing with grief and guilt and the intersection of those two with some nascent psychic tendencies that she, as a detective who wants to focus on facts, rejects.”

We also enjoyed talking about her mixology and her book, My Little Black Cocktail Book.  Christie learned a new term “philanthropic cocktailing” in relation to Veronica’s fundraising venture, Mixology on a Mission. And we found out her favorite cocktail is a Boulevardier, which is like a negroni, but with bourbon instead of gin. 

This debut novel is described as a must read Latinx LBGTQ+ Crime Fiction Novel. We loved all aspects of this page-turner and think you will too! We suggest you get a copy (indie bookshop.org or Amazon.com) and enjoy with a glass of wine (try Rombauer Zinfandel if you want to splurge) like we did! 

Highlights
4:10 This wine is fine
7:28 Philanthropic Cocktailing
9:03 Cover Art, It’s personal!
15:00 We’re talking ju-ju
16:38 We love good relationships in novels
20:06 Veronica’s favorite drink recipe
22:00 Lot’s of jobs on the way to author

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 Maggie Smith episode we enjoyed a fun talk with her about writing women’s fiction with a crime fiction slant. Have a listen …

Maggie Smith joined us to chat about her debut novel, Truth and Other Lies. After a successful career as a business woman, she turned to writing as a creative outlet. She described it as the hardest thing she had done in her life. Her story centers on the dynamics of three women – a young reporter, her politically opposite mother, and an iconic journalist who becomes a mentor. Although there is a crime involved, her book is considered Women’s Fiction. As Maggie told us:

“It’s definition from the women’s fiction writers association, which I’m active in, is that the main character goes on an emotional journey, and emotional arc so they are different at the end.”

But what she summed up the confusion in this way:

“Read what you want – the genre is only there to help people decide ‘oh that might be for me’ or ‘that might not be for me’”

Regardless, we loved her book. She handled the character’s relationships and some polarizing topics in such a way that we think everyone will find middle ground. We suggest you get a copy (indie bookshop.org or Amazon.com) and enjoy it with a glass of Butter Chardonnay like we did!

Maggie also has a podcast called Hear Us Roar where she interviews women’s fiction authors. And just like us, she enjoys the hell out of it! On recording the podcast she says (and we concur):

“Every Monday when I do it, I come down and I say to my husband ‘that is the most interesting person I have ever…’ and he says ‘you do realize you say that every week.’”

Highlights:
5:37 The hardest thing she’s ever done
15:45 Let’s be honest: everybody reads their reviews
16:55 Womens Fiction vs. Crime Fiction
21:45 We (women) need some time, too!
23:00 Cover considerations
29:32 A great Australian reading recommendation
31:40 The most interesting person she’s ever met

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!

In this week’s GOBrecs Book Club – The Violin Conspiracy & The Christie Affair episode, we are recommending two fantastic books that would please everyone! We love these “just us” lively conversations! Have a listen …

We both chose novels by authors who are from North Carolina. We also both chose Sauvignon Blancs! Really, it was not planned! But we couldn’t be happier about our choices and continued coincidences! 

Cathi chose to pair food and wine with The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont. 

Agatha Christie, still the best selling novelist of all time, went missing for 11 days in 1926.  What happened during that time still remains a mystery. Author Nina de Gramont writes a fascinating and fictionalized take, told through the eyes of Christie’s husband’s mistress, Nan O’Dea. There have been many theories about what really happened during this time –  this is not that; it’s better. The narrator/mistress drips the story to the reader, moving back and forth between her early life and the 11 days Christie was missing. It’s imaginative, intriguing, and twisty.

Order the book here for you and a friend (indie bookshop.org or Amazon.com). Then have a great discussion paired with Starborough Sauvignon Blanc and Hot Reuben Dip. Here’s a good recipe on Culinary Hill.  

Christie’s choice was The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb. 

For this GOBrec, Christie is especially proud of her find in this debut novel from a North Carolina writer, Brendan Slocumb. Okay, maybe the Good Morning America Book Club found it first, or did they? Regardless, there is no doubt that The Violin Conspiracy is a book that will have universal appeal! A family fiddle that almost no one wanted turned out to be a Stradivarius that everyone wants. Ray McMillan, the underdog protagonist fights against injustice, prejudice, and just about everyone he knows to find his violin and play the music he loves on a world stage. Readers will not want to put it down … sure to find the classical music industry fascinating and the prevalent societal racism heart-wrenching.

Order your copy here and order a few extra for gifts (indie bookshop.org or Amazon.com). Pair it with Bread & Butter Sauvignon Blanc and Indian Food takeout or frozen. If you want to make your own, try this delicious recipe, Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala, from The Girl on Bloor. You can even sub cauliflower for a veggie version! 

Here are some of the highlights from the episode!
4:05 A different take on the title – The Christie Affair
6:10 Rueben dip and a sauvignon blanc
9:10 Why Cathi was interested in her pick
15:22 Bread and Butter Sauv. Blanc and Indian Food
20:25 Why Christie chose her pick
21:20 NC connections all over the place!

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 Liz Milliron episode we enjoyed a fun talk with her about writing historical crime fiction. Have a listen …

Liz Milliron is the author of multiple short stories, the Laurel Highland Mystery Series, and the Home Front Mystery Series. The latest book, The Lessons We Learn, is a historical mystery set in 1943 Buffalo. This coincidentally was the same year and city where Christie’s mother, Barbara, was born! So it was such fun talking about how things were back then. Many women worked in the manufacturing jobs that men left to fight in World War II. Liz’s grandmother was one of them and inspired Liz to write this story. In her words,

“What happens if this young woman who is just doing what she thinks is her patriotic duty to help the war effort shows up one day and there’s a dead body on the manufacturing floor.”

Liz did her research so this book is not only a good mystery but is also a fascinating look at history. We suggest you get a copy (indie bookshop.org or Amazon.com) and enjoy it with a glass of Seaglass Pinot Grigio like we did!

We also discussed the different paths to becoming an author and some of Liz’s tips for getting it done. As Liz says…

“One of my very favorite pieces of advice comes from Hallie Ephron, who said just hold your nose and write.”

Listen to this Corks & Conversation with Liz Milliron for all the laughs and insights!

Highlights
2:45 Pro tip: choose your wine by the label
8:15 All roads lead to Buffalo!
12:20 A movie buff detective
20:53 The things we do for the sake of research
27:00 Her advice to aspiring writers(hint: You do have the time!)

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 Mariko Tamaki episode we could have talked for hours about writing novels, comics, and diverse representation in art! Have a listen …

Mariko Tamaki  is a best-selling author of graphic novels, comics and prose. We just loved talking with her, she had so much insight into creating art in the current environment. Topics and characters represented in novels are more diverse nowadays. And this happily leads to much broader conversations, especially with kids! As Mariko points out,

“The thing I say to people about young adult books is that they are about young adults… and I think that really just covers such a spectrum of experiences. I think that there are young adult books that feel closer to middle grade, and there are young adult books that feel closer to adult fiction. And I think that spectrum makes sense when you think about there are young adult lives that sort of delve into things that are more or less mature depending on where your at as a person

Her latest book, COLD is a haunting YA novel about a shocking crime in a quiet town and four students who knew too much and said too little. It’s a page-turner that we know will lead to great discussions on topics like bullying/peer pressure, bystander syndrome, and LGBTQ+ issues. Part of her inspiration came from books of her childhood. Piggy in Lord of the Flies stuck with her and influenced her:

“I’ve always wanted to do something with that character, and to do something with just that feeling of peril and what it feels like to feel that you are in a dangerous situation and that you are not safe and how different people adapt to that.”

Mariko also shared with us the process of making graphic novels and comics. So fascinating! Here is what she has to say about this:

“Generally, there’s been a lack of conversation about the collaborative nature of art. I think people like to think of creators, or like to think of the writer, as being who’s the most important or who’s telling the story. But really most stories and most mediums, except for novels, are created by multiple people.”

This episode was jam packed with interesting information! For your next book club, we suggest you read her book and listen to this podcast as prep. You will be talking all night! You can get your copies of COLD here! (indie bookshop.org or Amazon.com) 

Here are some highlights from the episode:
3:30 Book Birthday vs. Book Launch
6:30 Defining YA
8:30 Haunted (or inspired) by Lord of the Flies
11:45 How long is “forever” in book writing time?
24:00 My Seltzer Sister!
28:00 Invisibility Cloak Uses
35:00 The Collaborative Nature of Art

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 Laurie Stevens episode we delved into psychological suspense and talked about hybrid publishing.  Have a listen …

Laurie Stevens is the award-winning author of the Gabriel McRay Series. Suspense Magazine says Laurie is “the leader of the pack,” of writing psychological suspense, and we concur! Her latest book, In Twilight’s Hush, is the fourth in the series and we continue to see Gabriel McRay’s excellent detective work while he fights his inner demons from past traumas. We love how she wrote a character who faces his mental health struggles. In her words,

“I wanted to write a character that I could really get into his psyche and show someone coping from victim to survivor and do all the steps.”

Laurie suggested a delicious wine, Tapiz Malbec, to share during our talk. And we suggest you get her book, In Twilight’s Hush, and get hooked on the series like we did. You can get it here and you may want to go ahead and get the rest of the series! (indie bookshop.org or Amazon.com)    

And looking forward, she disclosed there will be another Gabriel McRay book! She is also working on a completely different novel, a young adult sci fi, which came out of her research into technology.

“I’ve been doing a lot of research on all the technical advancements that we’re going to be seeing in the next 25, 50 years. And boy it’s happening really fast and it blows your mind. And so I’ve just set a book in that time, and it’s just what happens with people as they get very dependent on artificial intelligence and then what happens to them when they don’t have it anymore”

We also found Laurie’s road to publication and how she became a hybrid author fascinating. She is both self published and traditionally published. We are sure to find it as interesting as we did.

Here are some highlights from the episode:
7:00 Everyone is a writer in LA
7:40 Wining and Dining is part of the job
8:02 How a letter from an inmate turned out to be the best compliment
20:00 Fire mitigation tactics (Spoiler: oak trees!)
21:50 A Hybrid author’s journey

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!