Share your thoughts on this episode, text us now.

Bleeped words in today's episode: Drüg$, Hüm@n Traff!c!ng

Happy Holidays People,

We are kicking off our Holiday Hiatus episodes with the incredible writing team of Breakfield and Burkey. Dianne specifically chose this show as part of our memorial tribute to Rox Burkey who we lost in 2025. She was an incredible woman, as you will hear in this episode, and a real loss to the writing community.

Charles Breakfield, as the CTO of the Enigma Series, leverages his decades of technology expertise, including security, networking, voice, and anything digital, to bring innovative technothriller elements into storytelling. He has deep knowledge of World War II history, has traveled extensively, and seeks cultural exchanges to learn what makes different people tick. Charles enjoys wine tasting, winemaking, Harley riding, cooking new recipes, and woodworking. 

Rox Burkey, as the COO of the Enigma Series, uses her extensive professional knowledge of optimizing technology and business investments to drive stellar customer experiences into the ongoing stories of the Enigma Series. Characteristics of people she has met over her career are woven into their stories. Rox enjoys her family, friends, puppies, reading, reviewing books, and traveling whenever possible. Meeting readers at various events is one of her favorite pastimes. 

Breakfield and Burkey have created award-winning stories that resonate with men and women, with a fresh perspective on technology possibilities within a fictional framework. They pen The Enigma Series and the Enigma Heirs Series, and cozy mysteries with the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles (MBCC). 

Subscribe to our podcast now and be ready for Season 5 beginning Feb. 4, 2026.

The Enigma Series Website

The Enigma Series on Instagram

The Enigma Series on YouTube

Breakfield on Amazon

Burkey on Amazon

New Book: MBCC The Flight Enigma

Support the show

Shop our Zazzle Store: Burckhardt_Books

Subscribe: Newsletter

Support Us: FREE options. Learn more, HERE!

BurckhardtBooks.com: 

• *NEW* Haunted Hearts Series
• Buy: Burckhardt Book Collections

Book Banter Productions:

• BUY AN ISSUE: Book Banter Magazine
• BBP on Facebook
• BBP on TikTok
• Apply to be a Guest: Podcast Guest Application

About Dianne:

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

Share your thoughts on this episode, text us now.

Bleeped words: Serial K!ller x3

Hello Happy People,

It’s the season finale, and we’re wrapping up the year with bestselling author Melissa Payne, whose stories of redemption, love, and second chances have captured readers’ hearts. Her latest novel takes us to Sunny Pines Retirement Community, where secrets, spirits, and a determined grandmother named Birdie Allen prove that adventure doesn’t end at sixty-two.

Melissa and I talk about finding hope in unexpected places, the beauty of aging characters who still have plenty of fight left, and how a touch of mystery and magic can make even the heaviest story feel full of light. We also chat about writing through the chaos of family life, celebrating small victories, and the joy of closing out another creative year.

If you love heart, humor, and a dash of the supernatural, this conversation will leave you smiling and ready for the holidays.

Melissa Payne is the bestselling author of The Wild Road Home, A Light in the Forest, and several other award-winning novels set in small mountain towns. She lives in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains with her husband, three kids, a friendly mutt, a very loud cat, and the occasional bear.

As we wrap up this season of Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt, thank you for tuning in, sharing the love, and supporting all the incredible authors we’ve featured this year. Everyone with Burckhardt Books and Book Banter Productions wishes you a peaceful holiday season filled with good stories, warm drinks, and a little bit of magic. We will share the "Best of" episodes starting next week until our season five opener February 4, 2026. 

Melissa's Website

Buy Melissa's Books

Melissa on Facebook

Melissa on instagram

Melissa on BookBub

Support the show

Shop our Zazzle Store: Burckhardt_Books

Subscribe: Newsletter

Support Us: FREE options. Learn more, HERE!

BurckhardtBooks.com: 

• *NEW* Haunted Hearts Series
• Buy: Burckhardt Book Collections

Book Banter Productions:

• BUY AN ISSUE: Book Banter Magazine
• BBP on Facebook
• BBP on TikTok
• Apply to be a Guest: Podcast Guest Application

About Dianne:

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

Share your thoughts on this episode, text us now.

Hello My Happy People,

This week on Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt – Book Talk Podcast, Dianne welcomes back Dr. David Weill. We first spoke in Season 3, Episode 135 when his fiction book All That Really Matters was coming out.

Dr. Weill is the Principal of the Weill Consulting Group, which focuses on improving the level of transplant care. Before founding his consulting firm, he served as Director of the Center for Advanced Lung Diseases and the Lung and Heart-Lung Transplant Program at Stanford University Medical Center.

In addition to his work in medicine, Dr. Weill is a successful author. His newest book, Tell Me I Belong: A Journey Across Faiths and Generations, is a deeply personal exploration of identity, heritage, and belonging. Known for his memoir Exhale and his novel All That Really Matters, Dr. Weill continues to expand his storytelling voice with honesty, compassion, and reflection. 

When he isn’t writing or consulting, Dr. Weill enjoys life in New Orleans with his wife and their two daughters.

In this episode, Dianne and Dr. Weill had a wonderful in-depth discussion about the inspiration behind Tell Me I Belong and the universal search for connection that unites his life and his work.

S3 EP 135 Previous episode

David's Website
David on LinkedIn
David on Facebook
David on Instagram
David on Amazon

Support the show

Shop our Zazzle Store: Burckhardt_Books

Subscribe: Newsletter

Support Us: FREE options. Learn more, HERE!

BurckhardtBooks.com: 

• *NEW* Haunted Hearts Series
• Buy: Burckhardt Book Collections

Book Banter Productions:

• BUY AN ISSUE: Book Banter Magazine
• BBP on Facebook
• BBP on TikTok
• Apply to be a Guest: Podcast Guest Application

About Dianne:

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

Share your thoughts on this episode, text us now.

Hello My Happy People,

Dr. David Gibson is back on the show, and this time he’s traded forensic botany for a dystopian adventure. The longtime scientist and professor known for Planting Clues: How Plants Solve Crimes returns to chat about his bold new novel Elite Memories, a futuristic story where memory transfers, sentient animals, and survival all collide.

We talk about what inspired this unexpected leap from nonfiction to sci-fi, how real science sneaks into his storytelling, and why even in a world ruled by technology, it’s still human nature that drives the story. David also shares how years of studying ecosystems shaped the way he builds worlds on the page, both real and imagined, and why writing fiction might be the most freeing experiment of his career.

If you love authors who take creative risks, scientists who spin great stories, and tales that make you think while keeping you entertained, this episode is for you.

David J. Gibson, PhD, FRSB, is an Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Plant Biology at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology. He’s written several acclaimed works on ecology and forensic botany. With Elite Memories, he steps into fiction, blending sharp science with a wild imagination to explore what makes us human.

Previous Episode S2 EP 58

David's Website

David on Linktree

David on Amazon

David on Facebook

David on Instagram

Support the show

Shop our Zazzle Store: Burckhardt_Books

Subscribe: Newsletter

Support Us: FREE options. Learn more, HERE!

BurckhardtBooks.com: 

• *NEW* Haunted Hearts Series
• Buy: Burckhardt Book Collections

Book Banter Productions:

• BUY AN ISSUE: Book Banter Magazine
• BBP on Facebook
• BBP on TikTok
• Apply to be a Guest: Podcast Guest Application

About Dianne:

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

Share your thoughts on this episode, text us now.

Hello My Happy People,

Imagine waking up in your childhood home, with your ten-year-old self still living there. How different would your past look when seen through your adult eyes? That’s the wild premise at the heart of You Cannot Mess This Up: A True Story That Never Happened by award-winning author Amy Weinland Daughters.

In this week’s episode, Amy joins me to talk about memory, forgiveness, and what really happens when you face the ghosts of your own past. With her trademark wit and raw honesty, she shares her author journey and why she believes that none of us are quite who we remember.

You’ll laugh, you’ll question your own memories, and you might even call your mom after this one.

Born in Houston and raised in Spring, Texas, Amy is the 2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Overall Winner for Humor and Comedy. Her work blends hilarious truth-telling with heart-punch insight into how our stories make us who we are.

If you’ve ever wondered what you’d say to your younger self or what she might say back, this episode just might reshape your self-image.

Amy's Website

Buy Amy's Books

Amy on Facebook

Amy on Instagram

Amy on Threads

Support the show

Shop our Zazzle Store: Burckhardt_Books

Subscribe: Newsletter

Support Us: FREE options. Learn more, HERE!

BurckhardtBooks.com: 

• *NEW* Haunted Hearts Series
• Buy: Burckhardt Book Collections

Book Banter Productions:

• BUY AN ISSUE: Book Banter Magazine
• BBP on Facebook
• BBP on TikTok
• Apply to be a Guest: Podcast Guest Application

About Dianne:

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

Share your thoughts on this episode, text us now.

Hello My Happy People,

This week on Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt, we’re heading back to the wild, wonderful 1990s, a time before smartphones, Google Maps, or Instagram-worthy selfies. Author Candace MacPhie joins us to talk about her Back in a Year travel series, a hilarious and heartfelt chronicle of one woman’s global backpacking adventures.

Her debut, Finding Color, took home the Silver in the 2024 Global Book Awards for Humor and Satire, and it’s just the first stop on a five-book journey around the world. We also chat about the next books in the series, Life Strikes Back, and Hello, I Am Here, and what readers can look forward to as Candace continues her storytelling journey.

Born in Montreal and now based in Calgary, Alberta, Candace has lived and worked on four continents. A former business professional turned writer, she traded the corporate grind for creative freedom during the pandemic and hasn’t looked back since. When she’s not writing, she’s hiking, baking, or laughing with her husband and three kids.

If you’ve ever dreamed of dropping everything to chase adventure (or just need a good laugh about what happens when you actually do), you’ll love this episode.

Candace's Website

Candace on Facebook

Candace on Instagram

Candace on Linktree

Candace on TikTok

Candace on Amazon 

Support the show

Shop our Zazzle Store: Burckhardt_Books

Subscribe: Newsletter

Support Us: FREE options. Learn more, HERE!

BurckhardtBooks.com: 

• *NEW* Haunted Hearts Series
• Buy: Burckhardt Book Collections

Book Banter Productions:

• BUY AN ISSUE: Book Banter Magazine
• BBP on Facebook
• BBP on TikTok
• Apply to be a Guest: Podcast Guest Application

About Dianne:

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

Share your thoughts on this episode, text us now.

Hello My Happy People,

I hope you all survived the Halloween Season and are ready to join us as we move into the final stretch of Season 4 of Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt – Book Talk Podcast. As the holiday shopping season draws near we are going to bring even more great books to help you check off every avid reader you will need a gift for.

Today I welcome YA fantasy author Heather Ogden, whose writing blends magical realism with the emotional depth of human resilience. Her debut novel, The Betrayal: The Lies We Fear introduces readers to Angelette Arabella, a young woman living in the shadow of her nation’s supposed hero, her father, Valerius Arabella. To the world, he’s a savior. To her, he’s simply “Dad.” But when a staged kidnapping unravels into something far darker, Angelette discovers that her life, her family, and her country are built on lies and that the truth may cost her everything. In Libertis, truth isn’t just dangerous, it could be treason.

Tune in as we discuss the art of world-building, the value of being introverted, and why the most powerful magic often comes from facing our fears. Join us for a thought-provoking exchange that opens the final chapters of Season 4 with heart, honesty, and a touch of rebellion.

The Lies We Fear Website

Heather on Instagram

Heather on YouTube

Heather on Amazon

Support the show

Shop our Zazzle Store: Burckhardt_Books

Subscribe: Newsletter

Support Us: FREE options. Learn more, HERE!

BurckhardtBooks.com: 

• *NEW* Haunted Hearts Series
• Buy: Burckhardt Book Collections

Book Banter Productions:

• BUY AN ISSUE: Book Banter Magazine
• BBP on Facebook
• BBP on TikTok
• Apply to be a Guest: Podcast Guest Application

About Dianne:

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

Share your thoughts on this episode, text us now.

Hello My Happy Fiends,

This is my favorite time of year. Today on Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt I celebrate with a hauntingly good discussion with award-winning author K.T. Anglehart, creator of The Scottish Scrolls trilogy. Her stories weave Celtic folklore, reincarnation, and the pull of destiny into modern-day magic that feels just right for seasonal reading in October.

K.T.’s debut, The Wise One, won the Chanticleer Paranormal Book Award and earned a Publishers Weekly Editor’s Pick, while her follow-up, The Twin Flame, turned up the heat with higher stakes, deeper shadows, and more powerful magic. The journey continues in the trilogy's final installment, The 8 Gateways, arriving fall 2025, where the threads of prophecy and power twist tighter than ever.

In this episode, K.T. shares her journey from journalist to novelist, her fascination with folklore, and how she balances realism with enchantment. If you love a little mystery, a touch of witchcraft, and the charm of autumn storytelling, this conversation will cast just the right spell.

K.T.'s Website

K.T.'s Smart.Bio

K.T. on Substack

K.T. on Facebook

K.T. on Instagram

K.T. on Threads

Support the show

Shop our Zazzle Store: Burckhardt_Books

Subscribe: Newsletter

Support Us: FREE options. Learn more, HERE!

BurckhardtBooks.com: 

• *NEW* Haunted Hearts Series
• Buy: Burckhardt Book Collections

Book Banter Productions:

• BUY AN ISSUE: Book Banter Magazine
• BBP on Facebook
• BBP on TikTok
• Apply to be a Guest: Podcast Guest Application

About Dianne:

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

Share your thoughts on this episode, text us now.

Hello My Happy Fiends,

Halloween is quickly approaching and the nights are growing darker, a perfect time to read a great thriller. Which is why I'm sharing my chat with award-winning author Chad Boudreaux with you all today. We discussed his latest thriller, Homecoming Queen, and all of his incredible work. His latest book delivers the perfect amount of chills in the form of a dangerous storm, long buried secrets, and struggles for survival. What more could you want from a hauntingly good read?  

Homecoming Queen is set in the small Texas town of Miranda and follows Anika Raven, a former homecoming queen turned fugitive. With the law closing in and tensions rising, Anika has to fight ghosts from her past and enemies who refuse to stay buried.

Before turning to fiction, Chad Boudreaux served in high-level positions within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice, bringing a sharp insider’s realism to every page. Now Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of the nation’s largest military shipbuilder, he channels his experience into thrillers giving them captivating authenticity.

Chad and I also take a look back at his award-winning debut novel, Scavenger Hunt, which captured multiple honors, including the Literary Titan Book Award and the American Fiction Award for Thriller: Legal. We discuss the challenges of being a D.C. insider turned author, his writing process, justice, and what it takes to keep readers awake long after midnight and reading well into the witching hours.

This Halloween season, Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt turns up the tension with a tale where the storm isn’t the only thing to fear.

Chad's Website

Chad on BookBub

Chad on Facebook

Chad on Instagram

Chad YouTube

Chad on Substack

Support the show

Shop our Zazzle Store: Burckhardt_Books

Subscribe: Newsletter

Support Us: FREE options. Learn more, HERE!

BurckhardtBooks.com: 

• *NEW* Haunted Hearts Series
• Buy: Burckhardt Book Collections

Book Banter Productions:

• BUY AN ISSUE: Book Banter Magazine
• BBP on Facebook
• BBP on TikTok
• Apply to be a Guest: Podcast Guest Application

About Dianne:

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

Share your thoughts on this episode, text us now.

Hello My Happy Halloween Fiends,

We are just spiriting away through this Halloween season. Today is another hauntingly good episode with award-winning, best-selling author and podcaster Tricia Copeland. Tricia joins me for a magical episode of Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt–Book Talk Podcast.

Tricia believes magic infuses every part of life and love, aided by the stories that transport us to new worlds. Her Realm Chronicles series begins with To Be a Fae Queen, where a young faerie princess must claim her throne and face enemies both seen and unseen. With powerful storytelling and a gift for building immersive fantasy worlds, Tricia captures the beauty and danger of magic that exists just beyond the veil.

In this conversation, Tricia and I talk about her journey from writing about real-life recovery to crafting award-winning fantasy adventures as well as her other series, and her Finding the Magic Book Podcast.

So step into the world of the Fae with us and discover why Tricia Copeland’s stories remind us that real magic lives within and around all of us.

Tricia's Website

Tricia on Facebook

Tricia on Instagram

Tricia on YouTube

Tricia on TikTok

Tricia on Amazon

Finding the Magic Book Podcast

Support the show

Shop our Zazzle Store: Burckhardt_Books

Subscribe: Newsletter

Support Us: FREE options. Learn more, HERE!

BurckhardtBooks.com: 

• *NEW* Haunted Hearts Series
• Buy: Burckhardt Book Collections

Book Banter Productions:

• BUY AN ISSUE: Book Banter Magazine
• BBP on Facebook
• BBP on TikTok
• Apply to be a Guest: Podcast Guest Application

About Dianne:

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