Tsh chats with Millie Florence, a young author who recently published her first middle-grade novel, Beyond Mulberry Glen, with Waxwing Books. They chat about alternative education, following your skills and interests during the adolescent years (and how homeschooling is a boon for this), the process of getting a novel published, what makes a good story, and more.

* Millie Florence

* Beyond Mulberry Glen

* Waxwing Books

* Tsh’s newsletter: The Commonplace

* Tsh’s books, trips, & Rule of Life

* Join Tsh’s next pilgrimage: The Rhine River 2025

* Tate & Tsh’s letters

* German is weird

* Theology of the Body

* Recommended reads

* Buy a round of drinks

Tsh talks with her daughter Tatum, who’s currently studying 6,000 miles away in Austria. …From an empty classroom with wifi in Austria, she chats with Tsh about studying abroad, living cross-culturally, Theology of the Body, friendships, and all other sorts of sundry. (She’s currently in a four-way tie as Tsh’s favorite human.)

* Tsh’s newsletter: The Commonplace

* Tsh’s books, trips, & Rule of Life

* Join Tsh’s next pilgrimage: The Rhine River 2025

* Tate & Tsh’s letters

* German is weird

* Theology of the Body

* Recommended reads

* Buy a round of drinks

Tsh talks with musician and writer Andrew Peterson about his approach to storytelling, the sacramental nature of his sort of work, why embodiment matters, and what he’s learned in the decades of wearing the many hats he wears. (Plus, he shares when we can expect the next season of Wingfeather!)

* Andrew Peterson

* The Wingfeather Saga

* Andrew’s upcoming Resurrection Letters tour

* The Rabbit Room

* Passions of the Soul, by Rowan Williams

* The Expectation Gap, by Steve Cuss

* Tsh’s newsletter: The Commonplace

* Tsh’s books, trips, & Rule of Life

* Join Tsh’s next pilgrimage: The Rhine River 2025

* Recommended reads

* Buy a round of drinks

Tsh talks with Douglas McKelvey, author and editor of the Every Moment Holy prayer collections, which she has long loved and used frequently. They talk about the role of communal prayer, why the need for both written and spontaneous prayer, and why it’s helpful to use prayers both new and old, crafted by others, to help deepen our relationships with God.

* Dixie’s Substack newsletter, The Hollow

* The Every Moment Holy series

* The Wingfeather Saga

* Everything Sad is Untrue, by Daniel Nayeri

* Emily Lex watercoloring books

* Tsh’s newsletter: The Commonplace

* Tsh’s books, trips, & Rule of Life

* Join Tsh’s next pilgrimage: The Rhine River 2025

* Recommended reads

* Buy a round of drinks

Tsh talks with historian and homeschooling mom Dixie Dillon Lane about homeschooling education, teaching history — imagination is our greatest tool! — leaning into the seasons, writing and reading books, and more.

* Dixie’s Substack newsletter, The Hollow

* Dixie on Hearth & Field

* When Teaching Children History, Embrace Imagination

* From Darkness to Light: Reclaiming Advent

* The Longest Johns

* Mingulay Boat Song

* Walk the Camino de Santiago with Dixie

* Tsh’s newsletter: The Commonplace

* Tsh’s books, trips, & Rule of Life

* Join Tsh’s next pilgrimage: The Rhine River 2025

* Recommended reads

* Buy a round of drinks

Tsh and her good friend Sarah Mackenzie kick off January by working through a few topics from Tsh’s annual new year reflection questions… It’s a good conversation.

* Sarah’s businesses: Read-Aloud Revival and Waxwing Books

* Tsh’s New Year Reflection Questions

* The Hallow app

* The Fulfillment of All Desire, by Ralph Martin

* I Believe in Love, by Jean C. J. d’Elbée

* Table for Two, by Amor Towles

* Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman

* Jon Acuff & Meg Meeker: their conversation on parenting

* Introduction to the Spiritual Life, by Brant Pitre

* The Three-Minute Reset podcast

* Create Your Rule of Life self-paced workshop

* Tsh’s newsletter: The Commonplace

* Tsh’s books, trips, & Rule of Life

* Join Tsh’s next pilgrimage: The Rhine River 2025

* Recommended reads

* Buy a round of drinks

A short little reminder-announcement: creating your own personal Rule of Life is both a time-tested practice and a great way to kick off a new year (but also, it’s good any time of year) — and I’ve got a little tool to guide you in the process of creating your own. Thousands use it every year… Listen in for details.

(Regular episodes resume next week!)

* Create Your Rule of Life self-paced workshop

* Rule of St. Benedict

* Tsh’s newsletter: The Commonplace

* Tsh’s books, trips, & Rule of Life

* Join Tsh’s next pilgrimage: The Rhine River 2025

* Recommended reads

* Buy a round of drinks

Tsh chats with Shawn Smucker, novelist and co-owner (with his wife) of the indie bookstore Nooks. They talk about his first foray into running a bookshop, what it’s like to connect with local regulars, how to decide which books to stock, how to juggle bookshop-keeping with writing (or not), and other sundry regarding the delights and challenges of keeping the lights on in the neighborhood book nook.

* Shawn & Maile Smucker’s bookshop: Nooks

* Shawn’s newsletter: The Courage to Live It

* Shawn’s books

* Tsh’s newsletter: The Commonplace

* Tsh’s books, trips, & Rule of Life

* Ned Bustard

* I Cheerfully Refuse, by Leif Enger

* The Secret History, by Donna Tartt

* The Witch Elm, by Tana French

* Slow Productivity, by Cal Newport

* The Bee Sting, by Paul Murray

* This is Happiness, by Niall Williams

* The Overstory, by Richard Powers

* I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down, by William Gay

* Recommended reads

* Become a supporting subscriber

* Buy a round of drinks

* Join the next pilgrimage on the Rhine River

Tsh chats with Jonathan Rogers, author and podcast host. It’s the twentieth anniversary of Jonathan’s first middle-grade fiction series, The Wilderking Trilogy, so they talk about what makes good children’s literature, why we all love stories, and how our native homelands affect our perspective of stories… He loves swamps.

* Jonathan Roger’s podcast: The Habit

* Jonathan’s middle-grade series, The Wilderking Trilogy

* Tsh’s newsletter: The Commonplace

* Tsh’s books, trips, & Rule of Life

* Willie Pearl band

* The Rabbit Room

* Recommended reads

* Become a supporting subscriber

* Buy a round of drinks

* Join the next pilgrimage on the Rhine River

Tsh chats again with Faith Moore, author of Christmas Karol and podcaster of Storytime for Grownups, about holiday traditions, kicking off Christmas, and ways to make reading A Christmas Carol accessible. She’s got a new series to read alongside with you this Advent!

* Faith Moore’s podcast: Storytime for Grownups

* Faith’s novel, Christmas Karol

* Tsh’s newsletter: The Commonplace

* Tsh’s books, trips, & Rule of Life

* Tsh’s Advent book, Shadow & Light

* A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

* Our Tempestuous Day: A History of Regency England, by Carolly Erickson

* Winter Fire, by Ryan Whitaker Smith

* Recommended reads

* Become a supporting subscriber

* Buy a round of drinks

* Join the next pilgrimage on the Rhine River