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Mikel Melwasul
Epic Military fantasy Author
EP 85: September 27th

​​Hello Happy People,

Today Dianne chats with epic fantasy author, Mikel Melwasul. The oldest of five boys, Mikel, usually going by "Mik" (as in Jagger), developed a love for fantasy at a young age when his father read The Hobbit and The Chronicles of Narnia to him before bed. 

At an early age, Mik was diagnosed with minor cerebral palsy and essential tremors, for which he underwent years of physical therapy. He grew up in Maryland, D.C, and GA and was regularly moving.

Mik moved out at 18 and went on to earn a degree in criminal justice while supporting himself, working full time. He met his future wife while in college and after graduation, his wife began teaching English. Mik spent time working on a farm, then an airport, and now works with a background check company in South GA, all the while pursuing his love of fantasy and writing.


Check out today's episode to learn more about this epic fantasy author.

• Mikel Melwasul on Amazon.com
• Mikel Melwasul Wattpad
• Mikel Melwasul on Facebook
• Mikel Melwasul on TikTok
• Mikel Melwasul on Instagram
• Mikel Melwasul on Linktree

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BurckhardtBooks.com:

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About Dianne:

• Dianne Burckhardt, Award-Winning Indie Author
• Meet Dianne EP 1: Who Am I?
• Dianne Burckhardt on Facebook
• Dianne Burckhardt on TikTok

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Hello Happy People,

In celebration of her birthday, Dianne took over her own podcast to share her books with you. She gives a brief recap of the books in her Into the West Saga Serial collection and does a reading from her seventh and final book in the serial, Into the West: Family Ties. She also introduces her next two projects, an FBI thriller titled The Touch and her medical autobiography, Free Bad Haircuts with Each Craniotomy.  Dianne had intended to do a reading from both of those titles as well, but a low pressure stormfront in her area gave her a raging migraine and she had to cut the show short. She will give you those readings in a future episode. 

Dianne also gives updates on our upcoming magazine, Book Banter Magazine. Be sure to mark your calendars! It drops October 1. 2023!

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BurckhardtBooks.com:

• BUY THE LATEST ISSUE: Book Banter Magazine
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About Dianne:

• Dianne Burckhardt, Award-Winning Indie Author
• Meet Dianne EP 1: Who Am I?
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Hello Happy People,

Today Dianne chats with the incredible, Meliza Farndell. Since they recorded this interview, Dianne has already joined Meliza for a live chat on her channel. It has been proven that when these two women start talking about books, it is hard for them to stop.

Meliza is a wife and mother currently living in Preston, UK.  When she is not focused on her family, you can find her developing new courses, coaching others, and of course writing books. She strives to help others to walk in freedom; "in their true identity and purpose".

Meliza was the is the daughter of a pastor, born and raised in beautiful South Africa. She felt loved and cared for by her family, life did not always follow a smooth and anticipated path. Meliza is quoted as stating, "Enter: an enemy that comes to kill, steal and destroy."

The women talk about Meliza's trials and tribulations in life which left her feeling empty and developing self-destructive habits. Her circumstances caused her to questions her relationship with her religious beliefs. She felt abandoned by God who she had turned to for help and answers.

A trip to the movies ended up turning her life around. Meliza found inspiration in the movie Tangled. Through this movie Meliza felt she had finally been heard, that God had seen her suffering, and He deeply cared about her struggles. This revelation gave her the strength to pick up her life, pull herself out of her despair and begin building a future as an author and coach to help others find the strength to follow their own dreams.

• Meliza Farndell's Website
• Meliza Farndell on Amazon.com
• Meliza Farndell on Facebook
• Meliza Farndell on Instagram
• Meliza's interview of Dianne on YouTube

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BurckhardtBooks.com:

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About Dianne:

• Dianne Burckhardt, Award-Winning Indie Author
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Hello Happy People,

Today Dianne gets to sit down with the incredibly funny, mystery author, J.C. Fuller. J.C. is the author of The Rockfish Island Mystery series. Not only is she a TikTok maven, but she is also a lover of all things mysterious, from fictional thrillers to true crime shows, and everything in between. J.C. is thrilled to be able to share her creations with readers and is currently developing a stand alone thriller outside of her hit series.

J.C. lives in Washington state. When time allows, she loves spending time in nature with her family. She shares her home two faithful dogs/feet warmers who are her writing companions. She also manages to record hilarious TikTok videos before rushing off to her 9 to 5 job (you must follower her if you are on TikTok, and if you aren't, go get on Tiktok to follower her!). Check out her current works in print: Black Bear Alibi (Book 1), The Push (Book 2), and False Findings (Book 3).

• J.C. Fuller on Facebook
• J.C. Fuller on Amazon.com
• J.C. Fuller Linktree
• J.C. Fuller's Newsletter Sign Up
• J.C. Fuller on TikTok  (treat yourself and check this out!) 

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BurckhardtBooks.com:

• BUY THE LATEST ISSUE: Book Banter Magazine
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About Dianne:

• Dianne Burckhardt, Award-Winning Indie Author
• Meet Dianne EP 1: Who Am I?
• Dianne Burckhardt on Facebook
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​Today Diane is joined by Carole T. Beers, western author of New West Mysteries with Heart ... and humor. Carole was born in Portland, Ore., to descendants of Oregon Trail pioneers. She fell in love with writing at an early age and with horses as soon as she could ride. She wrote her first story when she was only seven, complete with illustrations. She was first published in The Grants Pass (Oregon) Daily Courier in 1963 with her “Letters from London”.

She went on to earn her B.A. in Journalism from the University of Washington. She taught writing at a private school and began writing for romance and horse magazines. She worked as a journalist for 32 years and was a dance critic for the Pulitzer Prize-winning Seattle Times newspaper.

During her journalistic career, Carole wrote 7,000 stories for the Seattle Times,  several of which were award winners. Over the span of her career, she interviewed celebrities including: Katharine Hepburn, John Wayne, B.B. King, Rudolph Nureyev, and even HRH Queen Elizabeth. Carole has many interests outside of journalism. She competed on a women’s shooting team, earning a Sharpshooter rating. She has also flown planes, designed clothing, and tried her hand at PR.

​Carole is currently writing the Granny Oakley Mysteries featuring a modern, 80-year old descendant of Annie Oakley who tries her hand at trick-shooting to help her daughter save her guest ranch. The Granny Oakley Mysteries are described as a "zippy yet warm cozy is a spinoff of my Pepper Kane Mysteries".

• Carole T. Beers Website
• Carole T. Beers on Amazon.com
• Carole T. Beers on Facebook
• Carole T. Beers on Instagram
• Carole T. Beers on Pinterest
• Carole T. Beers on Goodreads
• Carole T. Beers on Twitter/X

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BurckhardtBooks.com:

• BUY THE LATEST ISSUE: Book Banter Magazine
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About Dianne:

• Dianne Burckhardt, Award-Winning Indie Author
• Meet Dianne EP 1: Who Am I?
• Dianne Burckhardt on Facebook
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Hello Happy People,

Today, Dianne is joined by comic book author Chris Denmead. Chris is the host of the midnight horror radio show, The Dr. Chris Radio of Horror. The show broadcasts from Worcester, MA and can be found on 91.3 FM. The show began in Oct, 2007 and airs Sunday nights at 10pm.

Chris is also a graphic novel/comic book author. He has published Vlada, a Dracula Tale in both graphic novel and comic formats. He created the graphic novel with comic book artist Ken Hunt. The premise is based on a gender swap of the classic Dracula story characters.

Chris lives in Framingham, MA where he has one son and a black cat. When he is not writing, Chris enjoys watching movies with his son, playing video games, and working on expanding his comic book collection.

• Chris Denmead's Kickstarter Page
• Chris Denmead's Amazon.com
• Chris Denmead's Vlada Facebook page
• Chris Denmead's Vlada Twitter Page
• Chris Denmead's Vlada Facebook page

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BurckhardtBooks.com:

• BUY THE LATEST ISSUE: Book Banter Magazine
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About Dianne:

• Dianne Burckhardt, Award-Winning Indie Author
• Meet Dianne EP 1: Who Am I?
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​Hello Happy People,

In part one of this interview, Dianne and Reenita covered a lot of Reenita's extensive background in media and business and had just begun to touch on her personal creative projects.

In part two, the women delve more into the comic projects Reenita is developing and her award-winning fiction book. Reenita was even gracious enough to indulge Dianne and read a significant portion from her book, Operation Mom. You are going to love today's episode. 

Be sure to check out Reenita's social media and follow her on Facebook for new updates on future projects. As dynamic as this woman is, Dianne is sure she will be a force to recon with in the publishing industry and someone you will want to watch! 

• ​Reenita Malhotra Hora's Website
• Reenita Malhotra Hora's Amazon.com Page
• Reenita M. Hora on Facebook
• Reenita M. Hora's Chapter by Episode
• Reenita's The Shadow Realm Podcast
• Reenita's True Fiction Podcast

Help Dianne celebrate her birthday this year by pre-ordering her
Into the West: Family Ties  eBook on Amazon for only 99¢

Give her the gift of hitting the paid bestsellers list. 
Price goes up to the normal cover price Oct. 1, 2023

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BurckhardtBooks.com:

• BUY THE LATEST ISSUE: Book Banter Magazine
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About Dianne:

• Dianne Burckhardt, Award-Winning Indie Author
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Reenita M. Hora

​From her publicist:
Reenita is a founder, executive-level content, operations, and marketing leader, and writer. With years of experience in media, entertainment, communications, tech/innovation and wellness industries in the USA and Asia, she grows organizations,  from startups through mid-size businesses, through storytelling, creative marketing and business strategy.

She served as Head of Marketing at SRI International, Silicon Valley's pioneer science and deep tech research institute, VP of Content at hibooks/Otto Radio producer/presenter for Bloomberg and award-winning host for RTHK Radio 3, Hong Kong.

Reenita founded, built and sold Ayoma, a health and wellness brand, and has written seven books, five non-fiction and two fiction. She contributed to The Hindu, South China Morning Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNN, Asian Investor, Times of India and National Geographic Kids, Cartoon Network Asia, Disney and more.

She's a limited partner in the How Women Invest fund which invests in women owned companies. She has recently launched Chapter by Episode, a digital publishing platform for immersive chat fiction stories with diverse themes.

• ​Reenita Malhotra Hora's Website
• Reenita Malhotra Hora's Amazon.com Page
• Reenita M. Hora on Facebook
• Reenita M. Hora's Chapter by Episode
• Reenita's The Shadow Realm Podcast
• Reenita's True Fiction Podcast

Help Dianne celebrate her birthday this year by pre-ordering her
Into the West: Family Ties  eBook on Amazon for only 99¢

Give her the gift of hitting the paid bestsellers list. 
Price goes up Oct. 1, 2023

Support the show

Support Us: FREE options. Learn more, Click here!

BurckhardtBooks.com:

• BUY THE LATEST ISSUE: Book Banter Magazine
• Buy & Read: The Into the West Saga Serial books
• Subscribe: Our Newsletter
• Apply to be a guest on our podcast: Podcast Guest Application

About Dianne:

• Dianne Burckhardt, Award-Winning Indie Author
• Meet Dianne EP 1: Who Am I?
• Dianne Burckhardt on Facebook
• Dianne Burckhardt on TikTok

Join the conversation, text us now.

Francesca Maria
Comic Book and Horror Author
EP 77: August 2nd

Hello Happy People, we have such a treat for you! Dianne finally got to sit down with a comic book author, Francesca Maria. The women had so much fun chatting and Dianne is thrilled to introduce you to Francesca and her work. 

From her website:
Francesca Maria has been penning horror stories since she could hold a pen at the age of six. This fascination with horror was spurred by her insatiable quest to uncover what was haunting her house as a child. Now in her late forties, Francesca is still haunted by her childhood home which continues to invade her dreams. 

Francesca has spent 19 years as the co-owner of Black Cat Comics in Northern California and has been reading comics for over two decades. She is an avid fan of Neil Gaiman, Tom King, Stephen King, Tom Taylor, Geoff Johns and Jeph Loeb. When she's not reading and writing horror, Francesca visits haunted places and records their histories. 

Francesca is a former journalist, a published author and a graduate from University of California at Berkeley.  Francesca is also a psychic medium/detective and uses her knowledge of the other world to aid in her storytelling.  She has a black belt in Taekwondo, drives a '53 Chevy truck and drums until her hands bleed. 

Find her work in the upcoming Death's Garden Revisited anthology, Black Cat Chronicles and her debut release of her short story collection: THEY HIDE: SHORT STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK, is out now!

Francesca is the co-chair for the San Francisco Bay Area Horror Writers Association Chapter.

• Francesca Maria's Website 
• Francesca Maria's Amazon.com Author Page
• Francesca Maria's Black Cat Publishing (Black Cat Chronicles Comic Book Series)

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BurckhardtBooks.com:

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About Dianne:

• Dianne Burckhardt, Award-Winning Indie Author
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Kammy Wood
The Modern Wordist (Editor, Author Coach, Ghostwriter)
EP 76: July 26th

​In today's episode, Dianne gets to chat with an old friend, Kammy Wood. For as long as Dianne can remember, Kammy has been an avid reader and lover of words so it made perfect sense to learn Kammy started her own business working with words and writers.  

Bio Provided by Kammy Wood:

The first hints of Kammy’s love of words appeared at age two, when she  “read”  books aloud, including classics like Caps For Sale. She readily retold the stories by looking at the pictures, and astounded unknowing adults with her interpretations of selections from the Captain Kangaroo catalog.

By age nine, her editorial inclinations emerged — she “rewrote” TV show plots on the fly, and pointed out typos in advertising copy to family and friends. 

She was gifted a typewriter as a teen. Then a word processor. Then another. Then a computer. You get the point. She wrote a lot, and for her own entertainment.

​She earned a BA in English from Emporia State University in 1999, and went to work at her local Barnes and Noble soon after, which led to a 17-year career. In 2010, while still at B&N, she started her freelance editing and proofreading business, helping authors and business clients with hundreds of projects over the course of 10-plus years.

​In 2023, she launched The Modern Wordist, expanding her services to include creative writing coaching and consulting, ghostwriting, and co-writing as a way to help even more people create great books and content. 

• The Modern Wordist Website
• The Modern Wordist on Facebook
• Kammy Wood, The Modern Wordist on LinkedIn
• Harvard Class on Managing Happiness (mentioned in interview)

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BurckhardtBooks.com:

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About Dianne:

• Dianne Burckhardt, Award-Winning Indie Author
• Meet Dianne EP 1: Who Am I?
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