Today, we're talking to Lauren Brandenburg.

We talk about Lauren's favorite book as a kid (The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards), her upcoming 10th book in the Gardener series, being the MC for Realm Makers, her hall of art on her website from her readers, and her guidance she offers to new writers.

Lauren H. Brandenburg drinks hot cocoa every single morning and unashamedly has an alarm clock with bunny ears. She’s a multi-award-winning author, including an American Christian Fiction Writers’ Carol Award winner, Realm Award and Selah Award finalist, as well as a finalist for the People’s Book Prize in the UK. Lauren writes to give young readers and grown-ups epic stories and cozy tales of fantastically lovely places to dwell. But most importantly, she’s a wife and mother who loves our Heavenly Father so very much! She currently lives with her husband, Jamie, and their children in a lovely little town just south of Nashville, Tennessee.

Visit her at LaurenHBrandenburg.com

It's our first solo episode in ...mutters... 

Well, we're not exactly sure how long. But still!

Aaron, Josh, and Liberty sit down to discuss what we're currently working on, our most recent projects, and among the rabbit trails, we also discuss the things we wish we knew when we first started publishing. Overall, for a free-wheeling show like ours, we managed to keep it on track. cough, cough uh-huh. 

You can check out our personal projects on the following sites:

Aaron: His website, AaronDeMott.com 

Josh: X.com

Liberty: Instagram and Substack

Today, we talk about the upcoming Realm Makers Expo, the outgrowth of the Realm Makers Writer's Conference. It's happening July 18 - 20, 2025 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  To find out more, check out RealmMakers.com . Find the RealmSphere here.

Find out more about JJ Johnson's books here.

Today we have returning guest, Lindsay Franklin! Our longtime listeners might remember her from our VERY FIRST episode in 2016!

We talk about her upcoming release, The Unraveling of Emlyn DuLaine. We discuss the starts of the character of Emlyn, which reach back to her first story as an adult writer. Other topics discussed:

• Coffee/tea/snacks!
• Writing male characters as a woman who is an INTJ.
• The most difficult scene to write in her book.
• AUDIOBOOKS!
• What questions Lindsay asks herself when starting a new project.
• Finding the source of your writers block.

Lindsay A. Franklin is the Carol Award–winning author of The Story Peddlerand ECPA best-selling author of Adored. By day, she wrangles chaos as Managing Editor of Enclave Publishing. By night, she spins whimsical tales fueled by hot drinks, rainy days, and the thunderous purrs of her spoiled cats. Lindsay lives among the misty evergreens of thePacific Northwest with her family. She is currently on a quest to discover the sparkliest nail polish on the planet.

You can find out more about Lindsay and her work at LindsayAFranklin.com.

Instagram.com/@Linzyafranklin 

Today with our 5th Season Debut, we have 4-time returning guest, H.L. (Heidi) Burke! We talk to her about the upcoming DOSA Files Anthology (Volume 2!) which our very own Aaron DeMott is a part of.  We also talk the RPG writing she's doing and the perils of doing a book launch just before Christmas.  Also : MUTANT CARIBOU!

H. L. Burke has written more books than she can count—because she's written a lot of books, not just because she can't count very high. 

Easily distracted by shinies, she has published in many subgenres including fantasy romance, Steampunk, and superhero, and always creates story worlds with snark, feels, and wonder. 

Married to her high school crush, a now retired Marine, she spends her time writing, spoiling her cats, and supervising her two supervillains in training (aka her precocious daughters). 

Originally from Oregon, but currently living in a forest in West Virginia, she wilts without trees and doesn't mind the rain. She is a fan of delicious flavor, a follower of the Light, and a believer in happily ever after. You can find more about H.L. Burke's books at HLBurkeAuthor.com.

Kerry Nietz is an award-winning science fiction author. He has twelve speculative novels in print, along with two novellas, a handful of short stories, and a non-fiction book, FoxTales. 

Kerry’s novel A Star Curiously Singing won the Readers Favorite Gold Medal Award for Christian Science Fiction and is notable for its dystopian, cyberpunk vibe in a world under sharia law. It  is often mentioned on “Best of” lists. 

Among his writings, Kerry's most talked about is the genre-bending Amish Vampires in Space. AViS was mentioned on the Tonight Show and in the Washington Post, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly. Newsweek called it “a welcome departure from the typical Amish fare.” 

Kerry is a refugee of the software industry. He spent more than a decade of his life flipping bits, first as one of the principal developers for the now mythical Fox Software, and then as one of Bill Gates's minions at Microsoft. He is a husband, a father, a technophile and a movie buff.

In this episode, we talk about his latest book, Rhats Free, set in the Takamo Universe--which was an education for us as the hosts because we weren't old enough to know about this. 

The show kind of runs the gamut in topics as we talk writing, marketing, and Kerry's other creative pursuits.

Learn more about Kerry at Nietz.com. 

Back in the day, Gretchen E K Engel enjoyed penning her English teacher’s favorite essays as much as earning highest marks in physics. But science won over the arts, and Gretchen pursued a career as a chemical engineer. Her love of the written word was not neglected as she authored hundreds of technical documents including such riveting works as Spill Prevention, Controls and Countermeasure Plans and Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans.

She lives in Tucson with her husband, her daughter aka Young Realmie, and her extroverted tuxedo cat, plus a college-aged son across town. Ms. Engel enjoys playing tennis, biking, hiking, traveling, or lying on a pool float doing nothing.

An environmental consultant by day and speculative fiction writer by night, Gretchen researches STEM characters in a professional setting and gets paid to do it. She has published short stories in anthologies and magazines. Her manuscript The Barber Surgeon won the ACFW Genesis Award for speculative fiction.

Havok Legendary Anthology: https://amzn.to/4frjSGM

Stalk Gretchen on Instagram: Instagram.com/GretchenEKEngel 

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Today we interview Heidi Lynn Burke about her latest super hero book, Game On, and the anthology DOSA Files: Tales from the Supervillain Rehabilitation Files.

You can learn more about Heidi's work at: Heidi's Website

Today we interview Janeen Ippolito about her latest book release, Nobody's Hero, and Author Elevate author services.

Learn more about Janeen at:  jiauthor.com  

Today we interview Laura VanArendonk Baugh about her Japanese history/fantasy book Only the Dead Face North, and other works.

Learn more about Laura and her books at:  LauraVAB.com