Our featured story Ignorance or Innocence is from Johnnie Bernhard.  It will be included in an anthology of short stories about home, in September, 2021. Johnnie wrote this story awhile ago, before her successful novels. Unlike her novels, this story is autobiographical, set in a small Texas town where she moved in 8th grade. It's kind of a story about being an outsider, but Johnnie has this way of seeing the 'Gift' in things, even hard things like loneliness.  You will hear why she starts every story with character and family and what part of writing she equates to a runner's high - it's fantastic.  She's fantastic and she's clearly doing what she was meant to do. 

After you listen... you can listen to her TEDTalk here,  https://www.ted.com/talks/johnnie_bernhard_the_human_story 

You can find links to purchase her novels and audiobook on her website. http://www.johnniebernhardauthor.com/ 

You can find her mentoring writers through Gemini Ink https://geminiink.org/ 

And, you can see a lovely picture she shared of her and her mom Loula Mae taken on Johnnie's wedding day. We will share it on the Desideratum FB page.  

Thanks for listening.