Dreadfully Yours

Raven sits down with filmmaker, composer, and founder of Crime Sonics Dan Brown Jr. for a conversation surrounding documentary filmmaking, musical storytelling, and the emotional architecture behind true crime media.

Now also known for the documentary “Girl Forgotten: What Happened to Brianna Wells?,” Dan discusses the years-long process of independently creating a feature-length true crime documentary, from research and narrative structure to the emotional responsibility that comes with telling real stories rooted in tragedy.

The conversation also takes a deep dive into the role music plays in storytelling and atmosphere. As the founder of Crime Sonics, Dan has composed cinematic music featured across documentaries, podcasts, and true crime programming, with his work appearing in productions connected to major crime media outlets and television programs. Together, Raven and Dan explore how instrumental scoring shapes audience emotion, tension, pacing, and memory — often becoming an invisible but essential narrator within documentary storytelling.

The discussion also touches on the film’s haunting main theme, “Raise Cain,” which Raven was honored to lend vocals to as part of the backing choir — a powerful musical piece designed to help bring Brianna’s story and presence back to the forefront through sound and emotion.

The episode further explores collaboration, independent filmmaking, creative process, and how stories can continue evolving long after the cameras stop rolling.

Watch the Documentary on Fawesome.

Mentioned in this episode:

This Is True Crime Book

Find This Is True Crime anywhere you get your books, or chose a retailer at www.RavenRollins.com.

Raven sits down with investigative journalist and bestselling nonfiction author Sally Denton for a conversation surrounding longform investigative storytelling, narrative nonfiction, and her book “The Colony: Faith and Blood in a Promised Land.”

A former investigative reporter and author of nine nonfiction books — including multiple New York Times Editors’ Choice selections — Sally discusses her transition from journalism into book writing, the research process behind uncovering deeply layered stories, and the responsibility that comes with reconstructing real-world tragedy through narrative.

The discussion centers on “The Colony,” which examines the shocking murders and violent history surrounding a prominent Mormon family living within a fundamentalist community in Mexico.

(This episode originally aired on the podcast Sirens | Southern True Crime with Raven Rollins. It has been reformatted for use on this podcast.)

Find retail links to this storyteller's work, along with other books, podcasts, films, and music featured on the show at https://linktr.ee/DreadfullyYours.

Find Raven's books, audiobooks, and podcasts at www.RavenRollins.com.

Support the show by donating today.

Mentioned in this episode:

Sins of the South Book Ad

Find Sins of the South anywhere you get your books or choose a retailer at www.RavenRollins.com.

Raven Rollins sits down with civil rights attorney, advocate, and author Jarrett Adams for a powerful conversation surrounding wrongful conviction, resilience, justice, and storytelling through lived experience.

At just seventeen years old, Jarrett Adams was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to prison for a crime he did not commit. After spending nearly a decade incarcerated, he was eventually exonerated — a journey that would ultimately lead him to become a civil rights attorney fighting for others impacted by systemic injustice.

The discussion centers around his memoir, “Redeeming Justice,” which Jarrett also narrates in audiobook form, offering listeners an intensely personal perspective on survival, identity, incarceration, and rebuilding life after exoneration.

We also discuss some of Adams cases that hail from Ada, Oklahoma - that of Garrett Peterson and Anthony Mealy.

(This episode originally aired on the podcast Sirens | Southern True Crime with Raven Rollins. It has been reformatted for use on this podcast.)

Find retail links to this storyteller's work, along with other books, podcasts, films, and music featured on the show at https://linktr.ee/DreadfullyYours.

Find Raven's books, audiobooks, and podcasts at www.RavenRollins.com.

Support the show by donating today.

Mentioned in this episode:

This Is True Crime Book

Find This Is True Crime anywhere you get your books, or chose a retailer at www.RavenRollins.com.

Raven sits down with author and historian Marta McDowell for a conversation surrounding the dark and fascinating relationship between gardening, folklore, poison, and crime fiction in her book “Gardening Can Be Murder: How Poisonous Poppies, Sinister Shovels, and Grim Gardens Have Inspired Mystery Writers.”

Together, they explore the surprising ways gardens, plants, landscapes, and even ordinary gardening tools have shaped mystery and murder narratives throughout literary history. The discussion dives into poisonous plants, gothic atmosphere, classic mystery influences, and how authors have long used nature itself as both setting and weapon in storytelling.

The conversation also touches on literary history and why gardens so often become symbolic spaces for secrecy, death, beauty, and buried truths in fiction.

Find the book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or wherever you get your books.

Thanks to Marta for being on the show!

(This episode originally aired on the podcast Sirens | Southern True Crime with Raven Rollins. It has been reformatted for use on this podcast.)

Find retail links to this storyteller's work, along with other books, podcasts, films, and music featured on the show at https://linktr.ee/DreadfullyYours.

Find Raven's books, audiobooks, and podcasts at www.RavenRollins.com.

Support the show by donating today.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Darkest Season: True Crime

Halloween. Thanksgiving. Christmas. For mood readers who love Southern true crime, get The Darkest Season today. KU/Kindle Exclusive. Paperbacks anywhere.

In this installment of Cryptids Unscripted, Raven Rollins sits down with folklorist Simon Vaughn for a conversation surrounding the legend of skinwalkers — one of the most feared and misunderstood figures in Indigenous folklore. Together, they explore the origins of the stories, how the legend has evolved through modern media and internet culture, and why tales surrounding skinwalkers continue to unsettle people across generations.

The discussion also touches on folklore, fear narratives, regional storytelling, and the way mythology transforms as stories are passed from one generation to the next. We talk Wendigos, Shamans, Voodoo, Werewolves, Vampires, the games Until Dawn, The Quarry, The Dark Pictures Anthology, and Stephen King books and movies (yes, we are aware we called the film by the wrong name - Sleepwalkers).

(This episode originally aired on the podcast Sirens | Southern True Crime with Raven Rollins. It has been reformatted for use on this podcast.)

Find retail links to this storyteller's work, along with other books, podcasts, films, and music featured on the show at https://linktr.ee/DreadfullyYours.

Find Raven's books, audiobooks, and podcasts at www.RavenRollins.com.

Support the show by donating today.

Mentioned in this episode:

That Which Separates Man (Book)

Find That Which Separates Man in paperback and on Kindle Unlimited.

Cryptids Unscripted Intro

Dreadfully Yours presents: Cryptids Unscripted with Simon Vaughn

Raven, along with her guests, Folklorist Simon Vaughn & Professor of Psychology Mandy McNeely, takes you from the 50s to today with a deep dive on Satanic Panic, serial killers, spooky houses, cults, and the Devil himself.

(This episode originally aired on the podcast Sirens | Southern True Crime with Raven Rollins. It has been reformatted for use on this podcast.)

Find retail links to this storyteller's work, along with other books, podcasts, films, and music featured on the show at https://linktr.ee/DreadfullyYours.

Find Raven's books, audiobooks, and podcasts at www.RavenRollins.com.

Support the show by donating today.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Darkest Season: True Crime

Halloween. Thanksgiving. Christmas. For mood readers who love Southern true crime, get The Darkest Season today. KU/Kindle Exclusive. Paperbacks anywhere.

Raven speaks with author, previous TV producer, and psychotherapist Sagit Schwartz about her new thriller book, Since She's Been Gone. The conversation included topics such as: eating disorders, mental health, book trigger warnings and disclaimers, grief, and chemistry testing actors for romance films.

Find Since She's Been Gone anywhere you get your books or on the Zon here: https://amzn.to/483gFui

Find Sagit here: https://sagitschwartz.com, https://www.instagram.com/sagitschwartz/

(This episode originally aired on the podcast Sirens | Southern True Crime with Raven Rollins. It has been reformatted for use on this podcast.)

Find retail links to this storyteller's work, along with other books, podcasts, films, and music featured on the show at https://linktr.ee/DreadfullyYours.

Find Raven's books, audiobooks, and podcasts at www.RavenRollins.com.

Support the show by donating today.

Mentioned in this episode:

I Crit You Not: An RPG Podcast

Listen to I Crit You Not anywhere you get your podcasts.

In Chapter Five, Raven speaks with fellow author J. C. Fuller, whose popularity sprouted from The Rockfish Island Mystery series, a murder mystery who-dun-it book series. J. C. can be found making cute videos on TikTok or you can find the series Facebook page and follow for the newest release details and updates at https://www.facebook.com/Blackbearalibi.

Black Bear Alibi (Book 1) Philip Russell, a U.S. Park Ranger on a remote Pacific Northwest island, stumbles upon a dead woman in the forest. The local sheriff, Lane, arrives to investigate. Loyal to the islanders, Philip clashes with Lane, who trusts no one. As they dig deeper, they uncover hidden secrets among their neighbors. The killer may be closer than they think.

The Push (Book 2) Once again, death has found its way to Rockfish Island’s National Park, this time in the form of a terrible climbing accident. When Sheriff Lane discovers the victim has ties to an accidental drowning the summer before, she becomes suspicious the two deaths are linked and not accidents at all. Recruiting Park Ranger Phillip Russell into her investigation, the two begin looking into the past...

False Findings (Book 3) In book three of the series, dark deeds, intended to remain hidden beneath the cold waters bordering the island, have surfaced, shocking the small community and casting a dark shadow over its residents...

Within The Pines (Book 4) A well-kept secret from the average tourist, Rockfish Island is the chosen destination for an all-inclusive corporate getaway with a fun-filled weekend of glamping and horseback riding planned, each guest expecting a good time despite mounting tensions and ladder-climbing aspirations. When a shot rings out in the early morning, the celebratory atmosphere dissolves, and Sheriff Lane, with Ranger Philip Russell in tow, must discern if the corresponding death is an accident, a matter of opportunity, or a murder for hire.

JC Fuller Website

On TikTok

(This episode originally aired on the podcast Sirens | Southern True Crime with Raven Rollins. It has been reformatted for use on this podcast.)

Find retail links to this storyteller's work, along with other books, podcasts, films, and music featured on the show at https://linktr.ee/DreadfullyYours.

Find Raven's books, audiobooks, and podcasts at www.RavenRollins.com.

Support the show by donating today.

Mentioned in this episode:

That Which Separates Man (Book)

Find That Which Separates Man in paperback and on Kindle Unlimited.

In this episode, Raven Rollins sits down with bestselling true crime author Kathryn Casey to discuss “Deliver Us,” her haunting investigation into the infamous Texas Killing Fields cases — a stretch of desolate land tied to decades of disappearances, violence, and unanswered questions along the I-45 corridor.

The conversation explores the real stories behind the victims, the emotional weight of investigative true crime writing, and the lasting impact these cases have had on families and communities across Texas. Kathryn also discusses the adaptation of her work into the Netflix documentary series “Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields,” in which she appears.

🖤 Get “Deliver Us” wherever books are sold.

(This episode originally aired on the podcast Sirens | Southern True Crime with Raven Rollins. It has been reformatted for use on this podcast.)

Find retail links to this storyteller's work, along with other books, podcasts, films, and music featured on the show at https://linktr.ee/DreadfullyYours.

Find Raven's books, audiobooks, and podcasts at www.RavenRollins.com.

Support the show by donating today.

Mentioned in this episode:

Sins of the South Book Ad

Find Sins of the South anywhere you get your books or choose a retailer at www.RavenRollins.com.

In this episode, I'm joined by Kathy Reichs, one of the most respected voices in forensic science and crime fiction. A practicing forensic anthropologist and the author behind the Temperance Brennan series (Bones), Reichs brings a rare dual perspective—working real cases involving unidentified remains while also translating that science into compelling narrative.

Our conversation moves beyond pop-culture portrayals of forensic work and into the reality of what bones can—and cannot—tell us. We talk about skeletal trauma, time since death, identification challenges, and the responsibility that comes with speaking for the dead. Reichs also reflects on how her real-world experience shapes her fiction, the limits of forensic certainty, and why patience and restraint matter as much as expertise in death investigations.

This is a grounded, thoughtful discussion about science, truth, and storytelling—centered not on spectacle, but on accountability, accuracy, and the lives behind the evidence.

Kathy Reichs is a board-certified forensic anthropologist who has worked on hundreds of cases involving unidentified human remains. She is also the bestselling author of the Temperance Brennan series, which inspired the television show Bones. Reichs is known for her insistence on scientific accuracy, ethical storytelling, and victim-centered work—both in the lab and on the page.

You can get her book here, or wherever you get your books.

(This episode originally aired on the podcast Sirens | Southern True Crime with Raven Rollins. It has been reformatted for use on this podcast.)

Find retail links to this storyteller's work, along with other books, podcasts, films, and music featured on the show at https://linktr.ee/DreadfullyYours.

Find Raven's books, audiobooks, and podcasts at www.RavenRollins.com.

Support the show by donating today.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Darkest Season

Find The Darkest Season: True Crime in the American South from Halloween to Christmas anywhere you get your books. Releasing mid-October 2026.