Bookwild

By Kate Hergott, Bookwild CollectiveTV & Film Fiction TV Reviews Drama Film Reviews

Bookwild episodes

May 26From Indoctrination to Curiosity: Promise Backlund's Gospel of Lies
In this episode, I talk with Promise Backlund about her book Gospel of Lies! She shares her experience growing up in evangelical Christianity, examining how fear, purity culture, certainty, and religious identity shaped her childhood and adult life. We dive into deconstruction, religious trauma, politics, sexuality, pleasure, and the complicated process of rebuilding meaning, identity, and awe outside of rigid belief systems.
Listen to hear about:
How faith was woven into every part of both our childhoods—from sunsets to sickness—creating a worldview where God explained everything and fear explained the rest.

How fear of hell, thought policing, and religious perfectionism can overlap with anxiety and OCD, especially when introduced during childhood.

Deconstructing during the late 2010s and how political shifts exposed tensions between teachings of love and exclusion inside evangelical spaces.

An examination of Biblical stories like Adam and Eve, questioning themes of obedience, curiosity, punishment, and whether religious narratives discourage questioning and self-trust.

How purity culture, worship environments, and restricted access to secular art shaped identity—and how reclaiming pleasure, curiosity, art, and personal agency became part of healing.
All the Bookwild Links:
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Follow Co-hosts On Instagram:
Gare Billings @gareindeedreads
Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland
Halley Sutton @halleysutton25
Brian Watson @readingwithbrian
MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba
Erin Ashley @bellametaphor
1 hr 23 min
May 23 All Our Thoughts About Good People by Patmeena Sabit with Erin Ashley
This week, Erin Ashley is back, and we dive into all our thoughts and reactions to Patmenna Sabit's stunning debut novel Good People! THIS IS A SPOILER EPISODE.
All the Bookwild Links:
Check Out the Bookwild Substack
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Follow Co-hosts On Instagram:
Gare Billings @gareindeedreads
Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland
Halley Sutton @halleysutton25
Brian Watson @readingwithbrian
MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba
Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

1 hr 8 min
May 19Palestinian Joy, Stand-Up Comedy and Secret Family History: Sara Hamdan's What Will People Think
This week, I talk with Sara Hamdan about her journey from finance and journalism into fiction, and how writing What Will People Think became a way to explore identity, belonging, family history, and the freedom to define yourself outside of expectations. Through conversations about comedy, Palestinian representation, women’s choices, historical memory, and the many forms of love, the episode explores how fiction can create connection and make complex experiences feel deeply human.
Listen to hear about:
How moving from finance into journalism—and eventually fiction—helped her discover storytelling as both a craft and a way to explore her own family history and identity.

Why stand-up comedy became central to the novel, including Sara’s real-life experience taking comedy classes to overcome public speaking anxiety and how humor can deliver difficult truths with softness.

Code-switching, compartmentalizing identity, and the pressure many women feel to justify life choices—while emphasizing the importance of autonomy and becoming comfortable showing up as your full self.

Fiction as a way to preserve cultural memory and show everyday life beyond headlines, using family stories, historical detail, and personal experiences to create empathy.
All the Bookwild Links:
Check Out the Bookwild Substack
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Follow Co-hosts On Instagram:
Gare Billings @gareindeedreads
Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland
Halley Sutton @halleysutton25
Brian Watson @readingwithbrian
MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba
Erin Ashley @bellametaphor
51 min
May 12Vietnam Vets, Addiction and Deserved Justice: Karen E Osborne's Justice for Emerson
This week, I talk with return guest Karen E. Osborne about her newest mystery Justice for Emerson!
Listen to hear about:
How Karen approached a dual-timeline mystery that blends a present-day murder investigation with the long emotional aftermath of the Vietnam War, addiction, race, and trauma.

How Karen’s research process is deeply people-centered—drawing from her husband’s Vietnam experiences, veterans, recovering addicts, and sensitivity readers to create emotionally authentic characters without judgment.

How she crafted her protagonist: a widowed nonprofit CEO balancing grief, self-doubt, romance, family tension, and danger while unraveling a conspiracy.

The way survival—through volunteering, recovery, or writing—gives meaning and accountability can help people endure trauma, addiction, and reinvention.

Karen's approach to writing, creativity, discipline, and timing, and how small daily habits (like 15 minutes a day) can build a creative life.
All the Bookwild Links:
Check Out the Bookwild Substack
Subscribe to Bookwild on YouTube
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Check Out Author Social Media Packages

Follow Co-hosts On Instagram:
Gare Billings @gareindeedreads
Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland
Halley Sutton @halleysutton25
Brian Watson @readingwithbrian
MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba
Erin Ashley @bellametaphor
58 min
May 12Haunted Houses and the Horrors of Domestic Motherhood: Aimee Pokwatka's Accumulation
This week, I talk with Aimee Poktwatka about her hew horror book Accumulation!
Listen to hear about:
Aimee's unconventional path to becoming an author—from anthropology and veterinary work to creative writing—and how curiosity has shaped her storytelling.

How Accumulation was inspired by Aimee’s real 18th-century home, a creepy doll her husband found in the yard, and her fascination with haunted house stories as metaphors for domestic life.

How the novel blends haunted house horror, psychological suspense, and social commentary to examine motherhood, invisible labor, and the slow erosion of self.

Aimee's “inefficient” writing process—heavy outlining followed by intuitive drafting—and how revision uncovers deeper emotional truths.

Why horror, especially domestic and psychological horror, can uniquely explore trauma, gender roles, and the unsettling transformation of everyday spaces into something terrifying.
All the Bookwild Links:
Check Out the Bookwild Substack
Subscribe to Bookwild on YouTube
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Follow Co-hosts On Instagram:
Gare Billings @gareindeedreads
Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland
Halley Sutton @halleysutton25
Brian Watson @readingwithbrian
MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba
Erin Ashley @bellametaphor
36 min
May 08Kara Confer and Emily Hone Are Getting Introverts to Go Out: The Wild Geese Event Staff
This week, you get to meet the book girlies who I haven't been able to stop talking about! Kara Confer and Emily Hone are the event team at Wild Geese Bookshop, and they are bringing some incredible authors to Indiana. Hear about how they have evolved into their current positions, some book event BTS, starting their podcast Fill Your Cup, and books that define their reading tastes!
Books Kara Mentioned
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies — Deesha Philyaw

The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman — Deesha Philyaw

Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead — Emily Austin

Remarkably Bright Creatures — Shelby Van Pelt

Done and Dusted — Lyla Sage
Books Emily Mentioned
The Hunger Games series — Suzanne Collins

Superfan — Jenny Tinghui Zhang

The Song of Achilles — Madeline Miller

Exquisite Things — Abdi Nazemian

A Good Vampire’s Guide to Blood and Boyfriends — Jamie D’Amato

The Strength of the Few — James Islington

The Poppy War — R.F. Kuang

Seek the Traitor’s Son — Veronica Roth

Phoebe Berman's Gonna Lose It — Brooke Averick
All the Bookwild Links:
Check Out the Bookwild Substack
Subscribe to Bookwild on YouTube
Get Bookwild Merch
Follow @imbookwild on Instagram
Check Out Author Social Media Packages

Follow Co-hosts On Instagram:
Gare Billings @gareindeedreads
Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland
Halley Sutton @halleysutton25
Brian Watson @readingwithbrian
MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba
Erin Ashley @bellametaphor
1 hr 3 min
May 05Privilege, Payback, and Pay-to-Stay Prison: Elizabeth Rose Quinn's Payback
This week, I talk with repeat guest and friend Elizabeth Rose Quinn about her new, somewhat locked room thriller Payback!
Listen to hear us discuss:
Payback’s fascinating “weekend prison” premise and how it critiques privilege within the carceral system

Balancing social commentary with a genuinely fun, propulsive thriller

Crafting a large cast of distinct, memorable characters

The psychological implications of our current judicial and carceral systems

How Quinn's work as a therapist informs how she creates character arcs
All the Bookwild Links:
Check Out the Bookwild Substack
Subscribe to Bookwild on YouTube
Get Bookwild Merch
Follow @imbookwild on Instagram
Check Out Author Social Media Packages

Follow Co-hosts On Instagram:
Gare Billings @gareindeedreads
Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland
Halley Sutton @halleysutton25
Brian Watson @readingwithbrian
MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba
Erin Ashley @bellametaphor
1 hr 12 min
May 01More Than Dragons & Spice: Bridget Howard's The Romantasy Lover's Journal
This week, MacKenzie Green and I talk with Bridget Howard about her new Romantasy Lovers' Journal.
Listen to hear about:
Bridget’s journey from book blogger to Bookstagram creator to marketing professional for publishers and authors

How romantasy evolved from YA and paranormal roots into today’s booming genre

Why romantasy, fantasy, and romance deserve the same literary analysis and cultural respect as “serious” fiction

The creation of the Romantasy Lover's Reading Journal and how it helps both seasoned readers and newcomers engage more deeply

Beginner-friendly romantasy recommendations, from gateway reads like ACOTAR to duologies and standalones
All the Bookwild Links:
Check Out the Bookwild Substack
Subscribe to Bookwild on YouTube
Get Bookwild Merch
Follow @imbookwild on Instagram
Check Out Author Social Media Packages

Follow Co-hosts On Instagram:
Gare Billings @gareindeedreads
Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland
Halley Sutton @halleysutton25
Brian Watson @readingwithbrian
MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba
Erin Ashley @bellametaphor
1 hr
May 01 Books that NEED Adaptations with Gare
This week, Gare and I talk about books we think deserve adaptations ASAP! Gare also brought a messy icebreaker to the episode.
Books We Talked About
Good People by Patmeena Sabit
The Anniversary by Alex Finlay
Judge Stone by Viola Davis and James Patterson
Secret Lives of Murderers Wives by Elizabeth Arnott
Into the Blue by Emma Brodie
Night Watcher by Stephanie Woolsoncroft
She Drinks the Light by Yasmin Angoe
Ours Is a Tale of Murder by Nora Murphy
The Seven Daughters of Dupree by Nikesha Elise Williams
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
All the Bookwild Links:
Check Out the Bookwild Substack
Subscribe to Bookwild on YouTube
Get Bookwild Merch
Follow @imbookwild on Instagram
Check Out Author Social Media Packages

Follow Co-hosts On Instagram:
Gare Billings @gareindeedreads
Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland
Halley Sutton @halleysutton25
Brian Watson @readingwithbrian
MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba
Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

59 min
April 29Katharine Hepburn, Old Hollywood and Performed Authenticity: Priya Parmar's The Original
This week, I talk with Priya Parmar about The Original, her fictionalized portrait of Katharine Hepburn’s early life and Hollywood reinvention, diving into how academic rigor, obsessive research, and creative intuition shaped the book.
We discuss:
Priya’s transition from academic and PhD research into fiction writing—and how scholarship still shapes her creative process

The accidental Google rabbit hole that led her to Katharine Hepburn’s hidden early struggles

A fascinating look at 1930s Hollywood as a surprisingly progressive, image-conscious, and socially fluid ecosystem

Fame, performed authenticity, grief, reinvention, and how public myths are intentionally built

Behind-the-scenes insight into writing historical fiction about a real woman whose voice, image, and legacy are already iconic
All the Bookwild Links:
Check Out the Bookwild Substack
Subscribe to Bookwild on YouTube
Get Bookwild Merch
Follow @imbookwild on Instagram
Check Out Author Social Media Packages

Follow Co-hosts On Instagram:
Gare Billings @gareindeedreads
Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland
Halley Sutton @halleysutton25
Brian Watson @readingwithbrian
MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba
Erin Ashley @bellametaphor
43 min