Alone At Lunch

This week we are joined by Ruby Dubie Doo! You might know her as the woman making unique clothes online, but Ruby Dubie Doo is also Carly’s childhood next door neighbor!

In this episode, Ruby Dubie talks about her rise as a viral content creator. She reflects on her internet fame—from a viral mozzarella clip to a massive post about dress colors—and building a community of hundreds of thousands of followers. The conversation also explores her childhood spent feeling like an outsider, navigating creative pursuits purely for joy. Give this episode a listen!

Recommendations From This Episode: 

@couture.to.the.max

Project Runway 

Follow Ruby Dubie: @ruby_dubie_doo

Follow Carly: @carlyjmontag

Follow Emily: @thefunnywalsh

Follow the podcast: @aloneatlunchpod

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This week we are joined by Tarajia Morrell! Tarajia Morrell is a native New Yorker who grew up at the table. Her food and wine reporting and essays have appeared in WSJ. Magazine, T Magazine, Food & Wine, Departures, and Cherry Bombe, among other publications. Morrell is the co-author of James Beard Award-winner Savor: A Chef’s Hunger for More, with Fatima Ali. Her memoir, Desire Feeds the Feast is out now. 

In this episode, Tarajia sits down with Carly and Emily to discuss her latest memoir, Desire Feeds the Feast, exploring how storytelling provided clarity through life’s transitions and early motherhood. She reflects on her childhood inside a rent-stabilized Manhattan apartment steeped in her family's culinary and wine pursuits, her deep craving for rural freedom during escapes upstate, and her view of hospitality as an art form rooted in generous care. The conversation covers her experiences feeling like an outsider during her school years, facing the realities of single parenting, discovering solidarity among fellow moms. 

Recommendations From This Episode: 

Somebody Feed Phil

Call Me By Your Name

Follow Tarajia Morrell: @tarajiamorrell

Follow Carly: @carlyjmontag

Follow Emily: @thefunnywalsh

Follow the podcast: @aloneatlunchpod

Please rate and review the podcast! Spread the word! Tell your friends! 

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This week we are joined by Kennedy Cole! Kennedy Cole is a speculative author with a BFA in Creative Writing and a Certificate in Publishing. Born in North Carolina, she lives by the beach with her partner and enjoys playing games, puzzling, sipping matcha, and collecting tattoos. Her creative portfolio includes an array of published fiction, poetry, and nonfiction with Oakland Arts Review, Carolina Muse, Second Story Journal, and others. There Used to Be People Here is her first novel.

In this episode, Kennedy discusses how a college short story grew into a horror-sci-fi book set in 1978 Mississippi, and how writing without an outline helped the story take shape. She reflects on bringing her experiences as a Black and bisexual writer into her work, creating fully human characters, and exploring what it means to feel like an outsider. Kennedy also shares how she landed a book deal before graduating college, navigates publishing and promotion, and finds inspiration in the everyday spaces where she feels most at ease.

Recommendations From This Episode:

The Bones Beneath My Skin

X Files

All The Sinners Bleed

Follow Kennedy: @kennedyreadsandwrites

Follow Carly: @carlyjmontag

Follow Emily: @thefunnywalsh

Follow the podcast: @aloneatlunchpod

Please rate and review the podcast! Spread the word! Tell your friends! 

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This week we are joined by Cantor Laura Stein! Laura Stein is a cantor, licensed clinical social worker, and PhD candidate in the psychology of religion, blending spiritual care, mental health, and research on how to live a meaningful, whole life. Growing up knowing she was a lesbian gave her an outsider’s view of the world, and after experiencing abuse at her cantorial seminary, she turned from singing in pulpits to studying trauma, reclaiming one’s voice, and how personal healing and collective justice can drive change. She’s now writing a book that weaves that research with her story of overcoming spiritual harm. She stays connected to sacred Jewish music by officiating weddings and lifecycle events, work that landed her in Vogue and on a list of NYC’s Top 20 Wedding Officiants. 

In this episode, Laura joins Carly and Emily to discuss her work as a cantor, social worker, and PhD researcher studying how justice is taught in clergy training. She reflects on how harm and silencing during her own seminary experience inspired her research and became part of a longer journey toward healing and reclaiming her voice. The conversation also explores queer identity, growing up in the 1990s, and how moments of loneliness can shape who we become.

Recommendations From This Episode:

Kissing Girls on Shabbat

The Jews of Summer

Alone Kissing Girls On Shabbat with Dr. Sara Glass

Follow Laura: @cantorlaurastein

Follow Carly: @carlyjmontag

Follow Emily: @thefunnywalsh

Follow the podcast: @aloneatlunchpod

Please rate and review the podcast! Spread the word! Tell your friends! 

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This week we are joined by Tanya Grant! Tanya Grant writes twisty thrillers packed with secrets, murder, and gossipy group dynamics. Her essays have appeared in Writer’s Digest and CrimeReads, and she’s spoken about creativity on various podcasts.

Tanya lives in Seattle with her family and a herd of cute but messy guinea pigs. When she’s not writing or conducting highly suspicious web searches (for research!), you can find her gardening in her foxglove-filled yard or dreaming up her next plot twist over a cup of cinnamon tea.

In this episode,Tanya Grant joins Carly and Emily to discuss her new psychological thriller, *A Beautiful Lie*—a queer story of obsession set in a Newport mansion, where intimacy, trust, and privilege shape the characters’ lives. She shares how her journey from romance writing to thrillers, her love of research, and her hyperfocus influenced the book, alongside reflections on her later-in-life ADHD diagnosis and the role of burnout in understanding herself. The conversation also explores handling reader feedback, motherhood, and taking risks. 

Recommendations From This Episode:

Count My Lies

You

Follow Tanya: @tanyagrantbooks

Follow Carly: @carlyjmontag

Follow Emily: @thefunnywalsh

Follow the podcast: @aloneatlunchpod

Please rate and review the podcast! Spread the word! Tell your friends! 

Email us: [email protected]
 

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This week we are joined by Cole Brauer! Cole Brauer is a record-breaking American professional sailor who finished second in the grueling 2023–2024 solo race around the world. Brauer and her work have been featured in The New York Times and on Today and CNN. A University of Hawai‘i graduate, she is a sought-after speaker for companies and organizations ranging from PJT to Kaiser Permanente, known for her candid storytelling and a philosophy of unvarnished grit. When she isn’t sharing her story on land, she is back on the water as a co-skipper for an IMOCA 60 team.

In this episode, Cole Brauer shares her journey from sailing around the world to writing a book about her experiences, including the creative process behind designing fonts for accessibility and recording your own audiobook. She also addresses the importance of authenticity, gender identity, and resilience in pursuing one's passions.

Recommendations From This Episode: 

A Marriage At Sea

Young Woman And The Sea

Follow Cole: @colebraueroceanracing

Follow Carly: @carlyjmontag

Follow Emily: @thefunnywalsh

Follow the podcast: @aloneatlunchpod

Please rate and review the podcast! Spread the word! Tell your friends! 

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This week we are joined by Ellen O’Clover! Ellen O’Clover is the author of If Not You, The Heartbreak Hotel, and other stories for teens and adults. Her books have been selected for Book of the Month, appeared in outlets like NPR and Rolling Stone, and been nominated for multiple states' book awards. She lives in a little green house under a giant aspen tree near Boulder, Colorado, with her rocket scientist husband and two perfect bulldogs.

In this episode, Ellen discusses her journey from copy writing to romance novels, the importance of authentic storytelling, and the themes of friendship, love, and self-doubt in her latest book 'If Not You.' She shares insights on writing for different age groups, her creative process, and her experiences balancing her career and personal life.

Recommendations From This Episode: 

How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days

Great Big Beautiful Life

Follow Ellen: @ellenoclover

Follow Carly: @carlyjmontag

Follow Emily: @thefunnywalsh

Follow the podcast: @aloneatlunchpod

Please rate and review the podcast! Spread the word! Tell your friends! 

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This week we are joined by Maggie Gates! Maggie Gates is an author who writes raw, relatable romance novels packed full of heat and humor. Maggie calls North Carolina home. In her spare time, she enjoys daydreaming about her characters, jamming to country music, and eating all the barbecue and tacos she can find! Her e-reader is always within reach due to a love of small-town romances that borders on obsession. Make sure to check out her latest novel, Blue Jean Summer! 

In this episode,  Maggie shares her journey from culinary school to becoming a successful romance novelist, discussing her writing process, character development, and the influence of her personal life on her books.

Recommendations From This Episode: 

Sterling Point

The Wrong Paris

Follow Maggie: @authormaggiegates

Follow Carly: @carlyjmontag

Follow Emily: @thefunnywalsh

Follow the podcast: @aloneatlunchpod
 

Please rate and review the podcast! Spread the word! Tell your friends! 

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This week we are joined by Marshall J Moore! Marshall J. Moore is the author of the Son of a Sailor cozy fantasy trilogy, the Rites of Resurrection epic fantasy trilogy, and over thirty published short stories. His story “Red Lanterns” won second place in the Baen Fantasy Adventure Award Short Story Contest. His latest novel, The Henchperson’s Guide to Unionizing is out 9/22/26. 

Author Marshall J. Moore joins the show to talk about Henchperson's Guide to Unionizing, a cozy horror novel he describes as "Horrible Bosses meets What We Do in the Shadows," and how he uses character relationships to balance absurdity with real emotional weight around abuse, exploitation, and found community. He also  traces his path as a storyteller — from becoming a reader in first grade and loving Animorphs, to his theater background and disciplined 2,000-3,000-word daily writing practice.

Recommendations From This Episode: 

What We Do In the Shadows

Dungeon Crawler Carl

Follow Marshall: @marshalljmooreauthor

Follow Carly: @carlyjmontag

Follow Emily: @thefunnywalsh

Follow the podcast: @aloneatlunchpod

Please rate and review the podcast! Spread the word! Tell your friends! 

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This week we are joined by Isabel Sterling! Isabel Sterling writes stories about queer love and resilience with a witty magical twist. She is the author of several YA and adult novels, including: These Witches Don’t Burn and With All My Haunted Heart. Connect with Isabel at www.IsabelSterling.com

Author Isabel Sterling joins the show to talk about her new sapphic ghost story, With All My Haunted Heart, and how a childhood steeped in witchy books, tarot, and Practical Magic grew into the worlds she writes today. She dives into grounding magic in real practices like Reiki and tarot, discovering her queerness through writing, and the mindset tools — honed through her work as a life coach for authors — that got her through rejection, rewrites, and a canceled book contract. It's a conversation about joy, grief, and ambition coexisting, essential listening for anyone drawn to stories with heart, humor, and haunted energy.

Recommendations From This Episode: 

Hocus Pocus 2

Death Becomes Her

Follow Isabel: @isa_sterling

Follow Carly: @carlyjmontag

Follow Emily: @thefunnywalsh

Follow the podcast: @aloneatlunchpod

Please rate and review the podcast! Spread the word! Tell your friends! 

Email us: [email protected]

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.