Silent Episode with Nancy

Ashley

Briana Bass writes romance and romantasy stories for modern Christian women, alongside gentle, spiritually grounded resources for women and teens navigating tender seasons of faith. With fifteen years of youth ministry experience and eleven years in higher education, she creates cozy, emotionally honest spaces where women feel seen, safe, and deeply understood.

In this episode, Briana shares how her own faith journey has shaped her writing, how she discerns what God is inviting her to create in each season, and what her years in youth ministry taught her that still shows up in her stories today. She also opens up about writing for women who feel caught between certainty and doubt, and what she hopes readers feel after finishing one of her books.

What We Talked About:

1. How her faith journey shapes her writing
2. Balancing imagination, theology, and emotional honesty
3. Discerning what to create in each creative season
4. Lessons from fifteen years in youth ministry
5. Writing for women who feel "in the middle" of faith

Connect with Briana Bass:

Website: authorbrianabass.com

Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram & LinkedIn: linked on her profile

Liza Jacob is a seasoned audiobook narrator with over 30 titles produced across romance, cozy mystery, fantasy, and speculative fiction, and more than 10 accents mastered. Having worked closely with producers, engineers, and authors, she brings a rare insider's view of exactly where audiobooks succeed, and where they quietly fail.

In this episode, Liza breaks down what's really happening in the first few chapters that determines whether listeners finish a book or abandon it, the performance choices most indie authors don't realize are costing them retention, and how her unique perspective as both narrator and author shapes the advice she gives.

What We Talked About:

1. Why some audiobooks get abandoned by chapter four
2. Performance choices that quietly cost authors listeners
3. Choosing between AI narration and human narration
4. What narrators wish authors understood but rarely say out loud
5. How to choose the right narrator for your book

Connect with Liza Jacob:

Website & free guide: lizajacob.com/indie-authors

TikTok: linked on her profile

Paula Panariello didn't start writing until after she retired. She's the author of The Necklace series, a Regency-era historical romance trilogy following the Stanhope family in early 1800s England, and she's currently working on a new series set in her own hometown of Mercer, Pennsylvania, in the 1940s, with The Christmas That Love Came due out this fall.

In this episode, Paula shares the moment she decided to move from loving historical romance to writing it herself, why she chose a necklace as the connecting thread across her family saga, and how her own Midwest childhood shapes the settings and stories she's drawn to now. She also encourages other seniors to find the creative hobby they never thought to try.

What We Talked About:

1. Starting a writing career after retirement
2. Why she chose historical romance and the Regency era
3. Using a necklace as a symbolic thread across generations
4. Branching into small-town 1940s romance
5. Encouraging seniors to discover new creative hobbies

Connect with Paula Panariello:

Website: linked on her profile

Most of us know the names Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin, but history has largely overlooked the "ordinary man" who stood at the center of it all. Steve Vesce spent his career as an entrepreneur and CEO before a research project introduced him to Harry Hopkins, FDR's closest confidant and the visionary behind the New Deal. That discovery became his debut novel, One Ordinary Man, a 2025 American Writing Awards Finalist.

In this episode, Steve shares the moment during his research that convinced him this had to be a full novel, how Hopkins rose from an obscure Iowa social worker to a pivotal WWII strategist, and what it took to balance a CEO's discipline with the creative demands of writing an award-winning biographical epic.

What We Talked About:

1. The research spark that became a 600-page novel
2. How Harry Hopkins rose from obscurity to FDR's inner circle
3. The hidden "levers" behind the New Deal and WWII victory
4. Balancing a CEO's mindset with creative writing
5. Why the Greatest Generation's story still resonates today

Connect with Steve Vesce:

Website: stevevesce.com

Facebook & Instagram: linked on his profile

Will Severns was fired on a Tuesday and had his first clients by Wednesday morning. That origin story says everything about how he operates. As Chief Relationship Officer at ShareYourStory.com, he's spent seven years helping leaders, authors, and entrepreneurs find and share the stories the world hasn't heard yet, and he's the co-founder of Tablesetters, a free men's community built around real connection.

In this episode, Will shares what that first 24 hours after being fired taught him about security versus calling, what "story hunting" actually means and sounds like in conversation, and what he's learned building a community around nothing but a fire, a table, and genuine connection.

What We Talked About:

1. Fired on a Tuesday, first clients by Wednesday morning
2. The difference between storytelling and "story hunting"
3. Building Tablesetters around genuine, agenda-free connection
4. Stewardship over ego as an operating principle
5. Why no algorithm can replace actually knowing someone

Connect with Will Severns:

Website: shareyourstory.com

LinkedIn: linked on his profile

Michelle Miles believes in fairy tales, true love, and a little bit of magic in every story. With over two decades of writing and publishing experience, she's the author of fantasy romance, fairy tale retellings, paranormal adventure, and time travel fiction, and she hosts her own podcast, Miles Beyond the Page, where she talks with authors about their writing journeys.

In this episode, Michelle shares what first drew her to fairy tale retellings and how she makes familiar stories feel entirely her own, the hardest lesson she's learned balancing the art and business of indie publishing, and a piece of advice from a podcast guest that changed her own approach to writing. She also talks about building a sustainable, full-time creative career.

What We Talked About:

1. What draws her to fairy tale retellings
2. Balancing the art and business of indie publishing
3. Lessons learned from hosting Miles Beyond the Page
4. Blending romance, magic, and action in one story
5. Building a sustainable career as a full-time creative

Connect with Michelle Miles:

Website: michellemilesbooks.com

Podcast: Miles Beyond the Page

Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok & Threads: linked on her profile

Guy Morris escaped an abusive childhood at 13 to become a homeless runaway, yet earned three degrees by 25, including acceptance to Harvard's MBA program. After a 38-year leadership career across Fortune 100 software, tech, and global energy companies, he became a multi-award-winning author of intelligent thrillers often compared to Dan Brown and Michael Crichton, and wrote the nonfiction guide, The AI Tsunami: A Survival Guide for Humanity.

In this episode, Guy shares what carried him through his early years of hardship, the biggest misconception people still hold about where AI is actually headed, and how he decides which pieces of his own extraordinary life experience belong in his fiction. He also opens up about the deep research behind his thrillers and why he isn't afraid to write about politics and religion.

What We Talked About:

1. Surviving an abusive childhood and homelessness at 13
2. Earning three degrees and a Harvard MBA acceptance by 25
3. The truth about AI's risks and benefits, from an early pioneer
4. Turning real-life experience into thriller fiction
5. Why his books tackle politics and religion head-on

Connect with Guy Morris:

Website: guymorrisbooks.com

Facebook, Twitter/X, YouTube, Instagram & LinkedIn: linked on his profile

Steven Ferrara built one of the largest privately held financial services firms in the country, serving as CEO for 25 years. But his deepest work began after the loss of his 23-year-old son, which opened a 20-year journey of journaling, reflection, and spiritual transformation. That journey became his acclaimed book, From Grief to Gratitude: A New Paradigm on Death, praised by Jack Canfield as one of the best books on grief he's read.

In this episode, Steven shares the moment he realized his private journaling needed to become a book for others, how he chose the inner path of healing over anger and blame, and what it actually means to view death with curiosity rather than fear. He also breaks down the four steps of his Inner Pathway: acceptance, willingness, letting go, and gratitude.

What We Talked About:

1. The 20-year journaling journey that became a book
2. Choosing healing over anger and blame after unimaginable loss
3. A new paradigm for viewing death with curiosity instead of fear
4. The four steps of the Inner Pathway
5. How spiritual awakening shaped his 25 years as a CEO

Connect with Steven Ferrara:

Website: stevenferrara.com