This week on the podcast, Patrick and Tracy welcome Laura K. Maurer, author of THE RENEGADE AND THE LODESTAR.

About THE RENEGADE AND THE LODESTAR: Persephone is living a nightmare. Waking up on a cold, hard ground with air that smells like rot, the young goddess fills with horror as she remembers her sudden and unexpected demise. And now trapped in the realm of the dead, she clings to the dwindling hope of escape.

Hades won’t be stopped. Vowing to find his beloved and bring her back to the surface, he and his brother search fruitlessly for the opening unseen by the living… until they find an unlikely path. And as he descends into the Underworld, he finds himself face to face with a ferocious three-headed, six-eyed beast.

Learning she was betrayed and sent down below as part of a perverse plot, Persephone scrambles to test her powers as she thwarts the monster planning to make her his queen. While Hades battles seas of shades, inky dangers, and an endless labyrinth to reach the woman he can’t live without.

Can Persephone and Hades survive harpies, enemies and a dark world to be reunited?

About Laura K. Maurer: Laura has degrees in English and Comparative Religion from the University of Iowa. Born and raised in Springfield, Illinois, Laura is a Pilates teacher and jewelry designer who has sold literature-related jewelry in libraries and theaters throughout Southern California. She currently lives in Scottsdale, Arizona with her husband and son where she teaches Pilates and writes at her local library.

This week’s picks:

Links:

© 2026 Patrick Hester

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