Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Bookcast Episode 137: The Mic Was Right Where I Left It
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Bookcast Episode 137: The Mic Was Right Where I Left It
I'm back! After a few months away, I'm back in the closet with a mic, some iced coffee, and a lot to get into.
In this episode I catch up on my May TBR, I talk about the 12 Lives Challenge, about my Hallmark mystery obsession and what it has to do with writing romance, I break down the release plan for Standard of Care, and get into event season.
Beverage Break: Iced coffee. It was 11 a.m.
Book Report
2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge: 53 of 150 books — 35% toward goal, 4 books ahead of schedule.
What I want to get read in May:
- These Heathens: A Novel — Mia McKenzie (listening on audio)
- Ms. Lorraine's Late-in-Life Love — T.L. Martin | A reverse age-gap novella set in the world of The Black Wife Effect in the Cinnamon Grove neighborhood. 1 Read it in one night. Delightful — especially if you're 40+ and into romance.
- L.A. Coroner: Thomas Noguchi and Death in Hollywood — Anne Soon Choi | The next 12 Lives Challenge read.
- Mist and Malice (Haven #2) — Rachel Howzell Hall
- The Drowning Season — Debra Webb | ALC from NetGalley. Releases approximately May 12th.
- Sunset Over Napa Valley — Monica Garner | ARC that is no longer an ARC — released April 28th. Getting to it.
The 12 Lives Challenge
Hosted by Dr. Raymond Williams (@rtwilliams16). The goal: read 12 biographies in 2026. The rule: biographies only! No memoirs, no autobiographies. It has to be a book about someone, written by someone else. Join in and use the hashtag #the12liveschallenge.
DL's progress — 4 of 12:
- The Smartest Guys in the Room — Bethany McLean & Peter Elkind (the fall of Enron)
- The Wizard of Lies — Diana B. Henriques (Bernie Madoff)
- The Butler: A Witness to History — Wil Haygood
- G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century — Beverly Gage
What I'm Streaming
- Garage Sale Mysteries — amateur sleuth, small town, cozy stakes, killer always gets caught
- Haley Dean Mysteries
- Mystery 101
- Occasional free mystery movies on Hulu and YouTube
Why it connects to writing: Romance and cozy mystery run on the same contract with the reader: the outcome is known going in. The satisfying ending is guaranteed. The work is in stacking complications, near-misses, and tension so the reader stays engaged even when they know where it's going. That is the exact problem a romance writer solves every time they sit down.
Low stakes, familiar structure, no emotional tax after months of finishing a book is not a guilty pleasure, it is maintenance and self care.
Writing & Publishing Update
Crime Writers of Color Podcast
I sat down with Robert Justice on the Crime Writers of Col
Support the show
Stay connected:
Visit my website–Booksbydlwhite.com
Join my newsletter – booksbydlwhite.com/newsletter
Follow me on Substack–Main Substack | Short Fiction Substack
Buy books & merch – booksbydlwhite.com/shop
Support this show with a recurring gift at bookcast.buzzsprout.com or Buymeacoffee.com/booksbydlwhite.
If you enjoyed this episode, please rate & review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And if you really liked it, tell a friend.
View all episodes
By Books by DL White
5
99 ratings
I'm back! After a few months away, I'm back in the closet with a mic, some iced coffee, and a lot to get into.
In this episode I catch up on my May TBR, I talk about the 12 Lives Challenge, about my Hallmark mystery obsession and what it has to do with writing romance, I break down the release plan for Standard of Care, and get into event season.
Beverage Break: Iced coffee. It was 11 a.m.
Book Report
2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge: 53 of 150 books — 35% toward goal, 4 books ahead of schedule.
What I want to get read in May:
- These Heathens: A Novel — Mia McKenzie (listening on audio)
- Ms. Lorraine's Late-in-Life Love — T.L. Martin | A reverse age-gap novella set in the world of The Black Wife Effect in the Cinnamon Grove neighborhood. 1 Read it in one night. Delightful — especially if you're 40+ and into romance.
- L.A. Coroner: Thomas Noguchi and Death in Hollywood — Anne Soon Choi | The next 12 Lives Challenge read.
- Mist and Malice (Haven #2) — Rachel Howzell Hall
- The Drowning Season — Debra Webb | ALC from NetGalley. Releases approximately May 12th.
- Sunset Over Napa Valley — Monica Garner | ARC that is no longer an ARC — released April 28th. Getting to it.
The 12 Lives Challenge
Hosted by Dr. Raymond Williams (@rtwilliams16). The goal: read 12 biographies in 2026. The rule: biographies only! No memoirs, no autobiographies. It has to be a book about someone, written by someone else. Join in and use the hashtag #the12liveschallenge.
DL's progress — 4 of 12:
- The Smartest Guys in the Room — Bethany McLean & Peter Elkind (the fall of Enron)
- The Wizard of Lies — Diana B. Henriques (Bernie Madoff)
- The Butler: A Witness to History — Wil Haygood
- G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century — Beverly Gage
What I'm Streaming
- Garage Sale Mysteries — amateur sleuth, small town, cozy stakes, killer always gets caught
- Haley Dean Mysteries
- Mystery 101
- Occasional free mystery movies on Hulu and YouTube
Why it connects to writing: Romance and cozy mystery run on the same contract with the reader: the outcome is known going in. The satisfying ending is guaranteed. The work is in stacking complications, near-misses, and tension so the reader stays engaged even when they know where it's going. That is the exact problem a romance writer solves every time they sit down.
Low stakes, familiar structure, no emotional tax after months of finishing a book is not a guilty pleasure, it is maintenance and self care.
Writing & Publishing Update
Crime Writers of Color Podcast
I sat down with Robert Justice on the Crime Writers of Col
Support the show
Stay connected:
Visit my website–Booksbydlwhite.com
Join my newsletter – booksbydlwhite.com/newsletter
Follow me on Substack–Main Substack | Short Fiction Substack
Buy books & merch – booksbydlwhite.com/shop
Support this show with a recurring gift at bookcast.buzzsprout.com or Buymeacoffee.com/booksbydlwhite.
If you enjoyed this episode, please rate & review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And if you really liked it, tell a friend.