In this episode, we welcome German graphic artist and writer Susanne Kulendahl to discuss her graphic adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s Orlando. Kulendahl shares her path from studying visual arts and illustrating calendars and children’s books to creating graphic novels. She explains how a publisher’s Virginia Woolf biography project led her to read Woolf’s work, with Orlando becoming her favorite, and describes translating the novel into images. We discuss how Orlando treats gender change as natural, Woolf’s ironic tone, and why the story remains relevant today. 

Susanne’s Books

Orlando: A Graphic Novel Adaptation of Virginia Woolf's Queer Classic

Death in Venice: According to Thomas Mann 

Where to Find Susanne

https://susanne-kuhlendahl.de/

Instagram

Timeline

00:00 Welcome to Liberation is Lit

00:20 Meet Susanne Kulendahl

00:56 Why Graphic Classics Work

01:24 Susanne’s Creator Journey

02:34 Finding Virginia Woolf

03:43 Adapting Orlando in Images

04:57 Reading as Inner Cinema

06:22 Storytelling and Social Change

08:52 Favorite Scenes to Draw

09:51 What She’s Reading Now

10:30 Staying Grounded as an Artist

11:50 Where to Find Susanne Online

12:24 Podcast Wrap Up and Farewell

Thank you for being part of the Liberation is Lit podcast! If you have stories to share, want to suggest topics, or just want to connect, find us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @liberationislit or visit our website at liberationislit.com. If you enjoyed the episode, please consider leaving a review! Remember, your voice matters, and together, through the lens of stories, we're making a difference in the world.

In this episode, we welcome author and publicist Traci Saulsberry to discuss her upcoming book, This Is How You Love Her. Saulsberry shares her long-held desire to write, her career in publicity including working at NBC, and how leaving corporate prompted questions of identity that led her back to writing. She describes a non-traditional publishing journey that began with a LinkedIn message to a publishing president and evolved into a book deal and a “meta” narrative that shows her finding herself while writing about self-love. The book releases in August, so pre-order today!

Traci’s Book

This is How You Love Her (out on 8/14)

Where to find Traci

Instagram

LinkedIn

Timeline

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

00:34 Traci’s Path to Authorship

02:23 Landing a Book Deal

03:31 Why the Book Is Nonlinear

04:51 Finding the Title and Theme

06:40 Identity Beyond the Work

09:49 Surrender, Control, and Vulnerability

13:15 Journaling as a Map to Self

15:51 Upcoming Projects and Promotion

17:25 Advice, Preorders, and Farewell

Thank you for being part of the Liberation is Lit podcast! If you have stories to share, want to suggest topics, or just want to connect, find us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @liberationislit or visit our website at liberationislit.com. If you enjoyed the episode, please consider leaving a review! Remember, your voice matters, and together, through the lens of stories, we're making a difference in the world.

In this episode, we welcome debut novelist Charity Collier to discuss her journey to becoming an author, from journaling and overcoming dyslexia-related discouragement to gaining confidence with her writing. Charity shares the inspiration and symbolism behind her romance novel, Making It Over the Tobin Bridge, rooted in Boston’s North Shore/South Shore culture and the bridge’s meaning as a personal crossing. We explore how romance can be powerful and subversive, emphasizing self-love, empowerment, and platonic love alongside romantic relationships. 

Charity’s Book

Making It Over the Tobin Bridge

Other Books Mentioned

Midnight Library by Matt Haig

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower

Olivia and Jai by Rebecca Ryman

Where to Find Charity

Instagram

Timeline

00:00 Welcome to the Podcast

01:10 Charity’s Writing Journey

04:00 Why Tobin Bridge

05:39 Reinventing Romance

09:37 Staying Grounded

10:59 Next Book Wolf Eyes

14:22 Books Inspiring Her

17:08 Community Impact Advice

19:45 Where to Find Charity

20:33 Final Thanks and Outro

Thank you for being part of the Liberation is Lit podcast! If you have stories to share, want to suggest topics, or just want to connect, find us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @liberationislit or visit our website at liberationislit.com. If you enjoyed the episode, please consider leaving a review! Remember, your voice matters, and together, through the lens of stories, we're making a difference in the world.

On the Liberation is Lit podcast, host Tayler Simon talks with New Jersey author Kim Coleman Foote about her lifelong journey as a writer, the family storytelling that inspired her historical fiction, and how her novel Coleman Hill uses both tragedy and humor to humanize relatives and explore intergenerational trauma rooted in slavery. Foote discusses researching family history, using imagination when records are missing, and how writing helped her gain empathy without excusing harm, while challenging normalized cycles of violence. She shares grounding practices like taking breaks, prioritizing mental health, and accountability, and previews her upcoming book Saltwater Sister, which moves between the 18th century and 1999 to examine the Dutch role in the slave trade, repeating history, Ghana, and reparations. The episode closes with community-impact advice: start small by building respectful relationships with neighbors.

Kim’s book

Coleman Hill

Where to Find Kim

Website

Instagram

Facebook

Timeline

00:00 Welcome and Introductions

00:37 Kim’s Writing Journey

01:30 Why Historical Fiction

04:48 Trauma and Humor in Coleman Hill

07:52 Humanizing Family Through Backstory

09:05 Research and Character Childhoods

11:40 Writing as Healing and Breaking Cycles

13:56 Staying Grounded as a Writer

16:50 Saltwater Sister Preview

19:58 Making Impact Locally

21:12 Where to Follow and Closing

Thank you for being part of the Liberation is Lit podcast! If you have stories to share, want to suggest topics, or just want to connect, find us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @liberationislit or visit our website at liberationislit.com. If you enjoyed the episode, please consider leaving a review! Remember, your voice matters, and together, through the lens of stories, we're making a difference in the world.

In this episode, we welcome author and high school science teacher Channelle Desamours to discuss her new YA supernatural thriller mystery, They Call Her Regret. Channelle shares why she writes for teens, how the dystopian boom reignited her reading, and how science and problem-solving inform her approach to mysteries. 

Channelle’s Books

They Call Her Regret

Needy Little Things

Other Books Mentioned

When I Was Death by Alexis Henderson

The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Where to Find Channelle

channelledesamours.com

Instagram

TikTok

Timeline

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

01:02 Why Write YA Mysteries

04:24 Regret Plot and Stakes

05:40 Themes of Consequences

08:54 Social Justice in Fiction

11:35 Staying Grounded as Author

13:13 Students Reading Her Books

15:29 Upcoming Releases and Writing

17:18 Recent Reads and Recs

19:02 Advice and Closing

Thank you for being part of the Liberation is Lit podcast! If you have stories to share, want to suggest topics, or just want to connect, find us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @liberationislit or visit our website at liberationislit.com. If you enjoyed the episode, please consider leaving a review! Remember, your voice matters, and together, through the lens of stories, we're making a difference in the world.

In this episode, we welcome writer Dhayana Alejandrina to discuss storytelling, social change, and Dhayana’s concept “Creative Stillness,” a reframe of writer’s block as a needed pause to live life and spark creativity. Dhayana shares her origins as a writer, her focus on capturing humanness, and how social media pressures and hyper-capitalism can distort creative worth, emphasizing trusting your voice and what true support looks like beyond trends.

Dhayana’s Book

Creative Stillness

Agridulce

Where to find Dhayana

Substack 

https://dhayana-alejandrina.square.site/

Instagram

Timeline

00:00 Welcome and Introductions

01:15 Dhayana Writing Origins

03:06 Creative Stillness Explained

06:21 Creating Under Pressure

11:42 Why Community Matters

16:26 Published Works and Workshops

18:53 Staying Grounded as a Writer

22:14 Advice for Community Impact

24:48 Where to Find Dhayana

25:37 Closing and Call to Action

Thank you for being part of the Liberation is Lit podcast! If you have stories to share, want to suggest topics, or just want to connect, find us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @liberationislit or visit our website at liberationislit.com. If you enjoyed the episode, please consider leaving a review! Remember, your voice matters, and together, through the lens of stories, we're making a difference in the world.

In this episode, we welcome author D.A. Murray to discuss her dystopian novel Dominion: Ascension and how storytelling can explore social change. Murray shares her background as a longtime writer and a Black woman in corporate America and tech, explaining that the book was shaped by observations of social, political, and economic power dynamics, shifting gender roles, coercion, and technology’s influence on humanity. 

D.A. Murray’s book

Dominion: Ascension

Other Books Mentioned

Vicious by VE Schawb

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne

Where to Find D. A.

damurrayoffical.com

Facebook

Instagram

Tiktok

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome and Introductions

00:39 Chicago Weather Banter

01:14 Why Write Dystopia

04:46 Themes Behind Dominion

07:53 Bias and IQ Testing

09:17 Coercion and Power

13:05 Staying Grounded Today

14:51 What She Reads Now

16:23 Book Two Teaser

17:31 Advice for Impact

20:01 Where to Follow

20:44 Podcast Wrap Up

Thank you for being part of the Liberation is Lit podcast! If you have stories to share, want to suggest topics, or just want to connect, find us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @liberationislit or visit our website at liberationislit.com. If you enjoyed the episode, please consider leaving a review! Remember, your voice matters, and together, through the lens of stories, we're making a difference in the world.

In this episode, we interview author and retired university criminologist James B. Wells about his investigative memoir, Because: A CIA Coverup and a Son’s Odyssey to Find the Father He Never Knew. James recounts learning that his father supposedly died as the only passenger on a civilian plane shot down in Vietnam, then discovering more than 400 letters in 1991 that revealed his father as a truth-driven whistleblower who criticized corruption and war practices. We talk about standing up for marginalized people, speaking truth to power, and the belief that peace requires forgiveness and forgiveness requires truth.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

00:49 Origin of the Memoir

02:08 Father the Whistleblower

03:40 Investigating the Crash

05:51 Healing Through Story

08:11 Truth and Forgiveness

09:39 Vision for Change

11:32 Whistleblowing as Practice

14:02 New Writing Projects

16:04 Reading Inspiration

17:33 Advice for Impact

19:04 Where to Find James

20:32 Closing and Farewell

James’ Book

Because: A CIA Coverup and a Son’s Odyssey to Find the Father He Never Knew

Other Books Mentioned

Precious Freedom by James Bradly 

Flyboys by James Bradly 

Flag of Our Fathers by James Bradly 

Rules for Whistleblowers: A Handbook for Doing What's Right by Stephen M. Kohn

Where to Find James

Jamesbwells.com

Thank you for being part of the Liberation is Lit podcast! If you have stories to share, want to suggest topics, or just want to connect, find us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @liberationislit or visit our website at liberationislit.com. If you enjoyed the episode, please consider leaving a review! Remember, your voice matters, and together, through the lens of stories, we're making a difference in the world.

In this episode, we interview author Bsrat Mezghebe about her debut novel, I Hope You Find What You’re Looking For. Bsrat describes her approach to connecting the 10,000-foot view of society with everyday human life and explains the novel as a story about Eritrean women seeking freedom in the DC suburbs on the eve of Eritrean independence in 1991. We discuss the Eritrean War for Independence, diaspora, and the moral complexity of revolutionary choices. Bsrat reflects on writing about liberation across shifting American politics.

00:00 Welcome to the Podcast

00:35 Meet Bsrat Mezghebe

02:07 Debut Novel Overview

03:05 Characters and Structure

04:25 What Readers Take Away

05:37 Writing Liberation in America

12:06 Staying Grounded

13:50 What She Reads Now

14:50 Next Projects and Nonfiction

15:52 Fiction Versus Nonfiction

17:21 Advice for Community Impact

19:08 Social Media and Focus

20:31 Where to Find Bsrat

21:09 Closing and Call to Action

Bsrat’s Book

I Hope You Find What You’re Looking For

Other Books Mentioned

Toni at Random: The Iconic Writer’s Legendary Editorship by Dana A. Williams

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson

Where to find Bsrat

bmezghebe.com

Instagram

Thank you for being part of the Liberation is Lit podcast! If you have stories to share, want to suggest topics, or just want to connect, find us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @liberationislit or visit our website at liberationislit.com. If you enjoyed the episode, please consider leaving a review! Remember, your voice matters, and together, through the lens of stories, we're making a difference in the world.

In this episode, we interview author Jill Tew about how she got into writing dystopian romance and middle-grade stories. Jill shares how her love of sci-fi and nerdy Black kids and discusses her new climate-justice dystopian romance, An Ocean Apart, centered on wealthy elites escaping environmental collapse on luxurious sea ships while land communities suffer. 

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

00:36 Jill Tew Origin Story

01:16 From Corporate to Divergent

02:37 Middle Grade Breakthrough

03:49 Representation in Dystopia

04:47 Ocean Apart Climate Plot

07:22 Social Justice in Sci Fi

10:28 Staying Grounded as Writer

12:52 Upcoming Books and Headspace

15:19 What Jill Is Reading

16:32 Community Impact Advice

17:59 Where to Find Jill Closing

18:49 Podcast Sign Off

Jill’s Books

An Ocean Apart

Rayana Johnson's Giant Leap

Kaya Morgan's Crowning Achievement

The Dividing Sky

Other Books Mentioned

The Genie Game by Jordan Ifueko

Where to find Jill

jilltew.com

Instagram

Threads

TikTok

Thank you for being part of the Liberation is Lit podcast! If you have stories to share, want to suggest topics, or just want to connect, find us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @liberationislit or visit our website at liberationislit.com. If you enjoyed the episode, please consider leaving a review! Remember, your voice matters, and together, through the lens of stories, we're making a difference in the world.