Desideratum

Author Carol Van Den Hende sought solace in writing and then committed to sharing what she learned about resilience with her readers. Her novels Goodbye Orchid and Orchid Blooming are about love, personal growth, and trauma recovery.  Listen to how she drew inspiration from combat wounded veterans. Find out why her own personal love story (how she met her husband)  influenced her characters' brushes with kismet.  Hear an excerpt of Carol narrating Goodbye Orchid,  and find out how she used her first novel's backstory to create her 2nd novel - Orchid Blooming - which launches this month. 

Here's Carol's LinkTree which connects you to her book events, newsletter, social media presence, and website. 

A special thank you to Kathy L. Murphy who shined her light on Carol so I could find her.  Goodbye Orchid is the Pulpwood Queen's May 2022 Bonus Book of the Month.

As always, thank you for listening.

With a cast of many characters, telling the story from more than a dozen vantage points - Johnnie Bernhard takes readers on a journey with a widow and a sojourner in her new novel Hannah and Ariela.  Johnnie's connection to the land, the people, and the history of Texas shine through, but listen to how writing from all these different points of view challenged her and made her "put her ego in her back pocket". We talk about the layers of miracle and faith and we dig deeper into the real life tragedy of human trafficking at the heart of this harrowing fiction. 

You can find Johnnie's other award-winning literary fiction novels and more about her - on her website - HERE.  I’ve had the absolute honor of narrating her novels: Sisters of the Undertow, How We Came to Be, and A Good Girl.

Finally, you should know, a portion of the proceeds from Hannah and Ariela book sales will go to the aid of victims of human trafficking.

A special thank you to TCU Press, and as always, thank you for listening.

She comes from a long line of resilient, resourceful, and quirky Colorado women, and she loves finding obscure historical facts to write about.  But, while Randi Samuelson Brown's new novel is rooted in the past, it's action and suspense are current and contemporary.  We're talking about book one in her new series featuring a Brand Inspector in Colorado cattle country.  It's called Brand Chaser and it's layered with history, mystery, danger, suspense and even a little romance.  We begin with what made Randi jump from writing about Colorado's colorful past to this modern take on the wild west. 

Thanks to Randi Samuelson Brown for sharing her story and her history. And, thanks to her publisher Wolfpack publishing . You can find Brand Chaser everywhere you buy books. 

When was the last time you read a middle grade fiction? This week's featured author Heather Mateus Sappenfield will convince you it's time with her new novel The River Between Hearts. It’s an adventure with an almost-11 year old girl named Rill. It’s a story about friendship and compassion - and loss and longing.  You'll spend a few minutes with her main character Rill and her friend Perla in a reading that hints at the loss they both are struggling with. We also chat about why Heather creates characters with dyslexia and we find out how a former student's real life experiences informed the character Perla.

Thanks to Heather’s publicist Jackie Karneth at BooksForward - a JKS Communications Company, and Heather's publisher Janie Royal at Fitzroy Books - an imprint of Regal House Publishing.  You can find all of Heather's books on her website and learn more about having her visit you at your school or favorite book store. As always, thank you for listening.

Welcome to Episode 50! We’re talking to author Elayne Audrey Becker about her novel Forestborn - a fantasy story about human frailty, self doubt, and the dangers of othering - all examined through a magical lens. We begin with Elayne sharing why she made her main character Rora a shapeshifter. 

You will hear a scene from Chapter 1 when Rora is working as a spy for the king - tracking cases of a deadly disease. The scene takes place in a forest where you can hear the vivid nature Elayne creates. You’ll also hear the skill of the narrator - Sofia Zervudachi - who Audiofile Magazine says "strikes just the right tone as Rora - introspective but self assured". 

I want to thank Drew Kilman at Macmillan Audio and Giselle Gonzalez at TorTeen for connecting me with Elayne and making this Desideratum Podcast episode on Forestborn possible.  You can find more about Elayne - and get a sneak peak at Book 2’s cover and blurb on her website here. Book 2 is called Wildborn and will be released this August. If you want to hear the rest of the Forestborn audiobook - use this Libro.fm affiliate link to support the podcast and choose a local bookstore you want to benefit from every audiobook you buy.  As always, thank you for listening!

In our conversation with Jeffrey Blount, we talk about foundations, race relations, thunderstorms, banana seat bicycles, and parenting. His novel The Emancipation of Evan Walls centers on the childhood of a boy in the late 1960’s who decides he wants to be somebody.  Jeffrey's characters frustrate, illuminate, foster empathy and inspire. The novel is not an audiobook yet, so I asked my friend and fellow narrator Earl Sewell to read for us. Earl is an author, narrator, and audio drama podcaster - and as he does with every project - he brought a lot of heart to this reading.

Here is Jeffrey Blount's website and a link to Earl Sewell's latest audio drama podcast.

Enjoy and thanks for listening!