Episode Summary

Rogan and his mom are back in the shed for another rambling, sunburnt, dog-interrupted chat. This week: a matcha quest that spans three towns, a video game that's basically camping in space, and a deep dive into what a "flannel graph" actually is.

Engagement prompt

Comment below — what do you think Rogan's forgotten "thing of the week" was?

Episode Summary

For the first time ever, Ramblings from the Little Shed welcomes a lawyer! Holly sits down with Ted Sutton, attorney and partner at Corporate Direct, to talk about his debut book, Greenback's Book of Law — a story that teaches kids (and honestly, plenty of adults) how the legal system works, narrated by a very good boy: an eight-year-old golden doodle named Greenback.

Ted opens up about growing up around bestselling authors, why he thinks the world needs more legal literacy, and why, as he puts it, "people love dogs and people hate attorneys," so a dog made a much better narrator than he ever could.

Episode Highlights

• Meet Ginger — the real-life goldendoodle napping in the background who inspired Greenback's look and temperament
• The family business of storytelling — how Ted's dad, Garrett Sutton (co-author in the Rich Dad series with Robert Kiyosaki), sparked the idea that grew into Greenback's Book of Law
• From Rich Dad, Poor Dad to Greenback's Book of Law — Ted's mission to do for legal literacy what Rich Dad Poor Dad did for financial literacy
• Three years in the making — first drafts, endless revisions, and finally bringing on illustrator Tony Elmore for the cover
• Time-blocking as a writer — how Ted borrowed his dad's "one day a week to write" routine to balance a full-time legal career with writing a book
• Marketing a first book — targeting the homeschool market, Amazon ads, podcast tours, and Instagram (@GreenbacksBOL)
• Advice for aspiring authors — find your passion, and get real feedback from your actual target audience (Ted used ~50 kids aged 12–18 as beta readers!)
• Lawyer jokes, self-aware and unbothered — Ted's honest (and hilarious) take on why the legal profession needed a friendlier messenger

Connect with Ted Sutton

• Book site: greenbacksbookoflaw.com
• Instagram: @GreenbacksBOL
• Firm: Corporate Direct

Thanks for listening to Ramblings from the Little Shed! If you enjoyed this episode, follow the show and leave a review — and go tell Ginger she's a star.

Episode Summary

In this heartfelt episode of Ramblings from the Little Shed, host Holly B. sits down with author, publisher, and former psychology professor Sharissa Bradley for a conversation that moves seamlessly between dogs and dreams.

Sharissa shares the moving story of Puff, the gentle old poodle who helped her daughter overcome a lifelong fear of dogs simply by respecting her space, and how his "little brother" Buddy has since become both a beloved family member and an unofficial personal assistant, reminding Sharissa to take breaks, walks, and snacks amid her busy entrepreneurial life.

Episode Highlights

Sharissa's Creative World

• 5-2 Press: Founded after years as an author (her first book reversed her own autoimmune markers through food-as-medicine). She now publishes memoirs and educational nonfiction, including an annual women's anthology (5th edition launching in June) featuring stories, recipes, DIYs, and even a pet submissions section.

• Project Seed Money: Her free passion project supporting women authors with grant-writing resources, a directory of female-owned publishing services, master classes, and a podcast interviewing authors and industry pros. Rebuilt from scratch after an early competitive "one winner a month" model didn't sit right with her values.

• Women in Publishing Summit: A 4-day event (multiple simultaneous tracks: author, marketing, speaker, publisher) with huge networking value.

Practical Tips Shared

On writing contests & grants:

• Prioritize free, legitimate grants first (check for real arts-focused credibility).
• Use Submittable and filter for entry fees under $25.
• Always read the eligibility section first — if you don't match ~95%+, skip it.
• Higher fees (~$50–60) can be worth it if the prize is significantly larger (e.g., $20–30K) — but only after trying free/cheaper options.
• Write pieces specifically for a contest rather than submitting work you plan to publish independently, to avoid copyright conflicts.

Where to find Sharissa Bradley

Website: https://sharissabradley.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharissabradley.author/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@sharissabradley

Episode Summary

Holly B. sits down with two women at very different stages of one shared project: Cathy Mulroy, one of the first women to work at Inco (a major Sudbury mining company) back in 1974, and now the author of a memoir being adapted into a short film — and Olena Sharhan, a Ukrainian filmmaker who moved to Canada in 2022 and is now assisting Cathy as director. The conversation weaves together pets, creativity, resilience, and the making of an independent film based on Cathy's book, all anchored by a very good dog named Bella and a very unbothered cat named Oki.

Meet Our Guests

Cathy Mulroy is the author of My View from the Blackened Rocks.  Cathy is one of the first women to work at Inco, a giant mining company in Sudbury, in 1974, when she was 19, and is now directing a short movie on Chapter 52 of her book. Over the years, Cathy has had many cats and dogs, but today Cathy has two grand dogs, and they look after them, spoil them, send them home. 

Olena Sharhan, a Ukrainian who moved to Canada with my cat Okki in 2022. Olena began as a prop maker on indie movie sets thanks to a passion for 3D printing and design. Over the past two years, she held multiple crew positions on more than six films and now stepping into an assistant directing role.

Episode Highlights

Pets as Healing Partners

Cathy shared that during an 18-month illness, Bella climbed into bed with her daily, staying calm and present rather than jumping or crowding her.

The Inco Strike & Chapter 52

Chapter 52 is the basis for the short film, and centers on an incident in the lunchroom during the 1978–79, eight-and-a-half-month Inco strike. Cathy, married at 16 and in a difficult marriage at the time, became active in the strike's wives' committee and describes it as the turning point that changed who she was. A companion resource mentioned: the documentary Wives' Tales, about women's experiences during that strike.

From Book Pitch to Film Set

The film began after a chance coffee invitation from a former Sudbury mayor who'd read Cathy's book and encouraged her to pitch it at a script festival. A short-script version earned a standing ovation, which led producers to commit to making the movie, and connected Cathy with Olena, producer Christina, and crew member Rizzo.

Fundraising with Purpose

Cathy is donating proceeds from her handmade jewelry directly to the film budget, with an explicit priority: making sure every crew member is paid a fair, union-standard wage.

Where to find more information:

Instagram: Chapter 52 Film

Episode Summary

In this episode of Ramblings from the Little Shed, Holly and Rogan sit down with artist and writer Pam Vale to explore how her rescue cats, Kimba and Meyer, quietly shape her creative life. Pam opens up about her journey from decorative painting to digital art licensing, the challenge of protecting personal creativity inside a monetized business, and why she's finally embraced writing as a new outlet. The conversation wanders (in the best way) into rest, burnout, and Pam's ongoing love affair with Scotland.

Meet our guest

Pam Vale is an artist, writer, and licensed art professional based in Southern New England. With nearly 40 years as a professional artist, her work spans decorative painting, digital art licensing, and now writing (via her Substack and podcast).

Takeaways

1. Animals as creative anchors — pets can offer grounding, routine, and even direct inspiration.
2. New skills take time — licensing success wasn't overnight; patience and mentorship mattered.
3. Protect non-monetized creativity — hobbies with no career stakes preserve joy.
4. Rest is a practice, not an event — small breaks can replace the pressure of "all or nothing."
5. Place shapes art — travel and landscape can imprint on creative work in subtle, lasting ways.

Where to Find Pam

Instagram @pam_vale

Substack @pamvale

Youtube Building A Creative Life

Episode Summary

Holly chats with dark fiction author Seth Voorhees about the animals that fuel his creativity, his writing routine, and the eternal question of whether authors are allowed to kill off their main characters. Warm, funny, and rambling in the best way.

About the Guest

Seth Voorhees is a Black Hills Author, living in South Dakota. He draws on his experiences as a social worker, particularly in adolescent development and mental health, to shape his characters and their journeys through human morality and challenges. He identifies himself as a dark fiction author. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree with an emphasis in sociology and psychology from Black Hills State University.

Topics Covered

The Bird Feeder Office Seth writes with a view of his bird feeders and finds birdwatching genuinely inspiring, including the time he dumped expiring seed in the yard and drew a flock of ~40 grackles and robins, set to Ride of the Valkyries on TikTok.

Snowball the Rabbit The real star of Seth's social media. Covered: rabbit moods, why they don't like to cuddle, the ever-growing front teeth problem ("buy chew sticks obsessively or let him chew your house"), proper pick-up technique, and a childhood rabbit named Charlie who once shocked himself on a lamp cord.

Canyon Lake Park & the Mocking Mallards Seth's go-to spot for creative unblocking is walking among ducks and geese. Bonus: mallard ducks apparently laugh at you.

The Writing Routine

• Up between 4–6 a.m., writing by candlelight-adjacent rabbit chaos
• 1,000–2,000 words/day goal, "even if it's mumbling blabber"
• His metaphor: reading is nutrition, writing is exercise — both required for a healthy imagination
• "BS writing" as a warm-up tool (literally alphabet exercises to clear the mind)
• Writes through insomnia as an unofficial sleep aid

What "Dark Fiction" Actually Means Not pure horror. It is more of a blend of horror, thriller, mystery, and spirituality, centered on characters finding hope through circumstances outside their control.

The Big Debate: Should Authors Kill Off the Main Character? Seth's hard stance: maiming is fine, killing is not — even a "meaningful" death feels like a cheat. Holly agrees: happy ending not required, but closure is non-negotiable.

Book Club Ambitions Neither has managed to sustain a book club (Seth's coworker attempt collapsed when everyone kept picking work-related books). They float the idea of a virtual BYO-snack book club — and a possible future episode recapping it.

Where to Find Seth

Facebook @Seth T Voorhees

Instagram @authorsvoorhees

Seth Vorhees’ website https://sethtvoorhees.com/bookstore/

Episode Blurb

Grab a lawn chair and pull up for a fireside chat with Holly B. and author Robert O. Bowers hanging out in the shed. Robert takes us from Oklahoma panhandle golf courses to Bigfoot-adjacent cryptids to the sweetest, most expressive dog you've never met (his name was Blue, and he had his own camp chair). Along the way: writer's block confessions, a lifelong losing battle with drawing cowboy hats, and a "haunted pond" story with a twist you will not see coming.

In This Episode

• The dogs of Robert's life: Blue the pointer/Australian Shepherd mix (RIP, and now immortalized on a book cover), a rescue papillon who comforted Robert's mom through cancer, and current spoiled-rotten sisters Daisy and Daphne
• From campfire to Kindle: how Campfire Tales from Uncle Rob started as stories told around an actual campfire in a rainstorm in October 2022
• The Uncle Rob universe: four volumes of true hunting-and-fishing stories (plus one bonus near-murder story that just needed telling)
• Going fictional — Red Eyes at Black Mesa and Robert's latest release, Have Dog Will Travel, featuring a boy named Randall, a face-eating cryptid, and a dog named after Robert's own Blue
• What's next: a prequel set in the 1800s and a sequel called Devil's Canyon
• Robert the artist: sketching book-signing doodles, painting Western stars, and his eternal nemesis: the cowboy hat
• THE STORY: golf balls, a "haunted" abandoned mansion, a screaming buddy named Dale, and a red-eyed "monster" rising from a pond (you'll want to hear this one told, not summarized)
• A possible tease: Robert's considering his own podcast (Campfire Stories with Uncle Rob)

Find Robert's Books

Search Robert O. Bowers on Amazon — available in paperback, Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible.

• Campfire Tales from Uncle Rob, Vols. 1–4
• Red Eyes at Black Mesa
• Have Dog Will Travel
• Coming soon: an untitled prequel + Devil's Canyon (sequel)

S.1. E.49

Ramblings from the Little Shed — hosted by Holly B. New episodes whenever the shed (and the mosquitoes) allow.

Episode Summary

Holly sits down with children's author and multi-hyphenate creative Diann Floyd Boehm for a warm, wide-ranging chat that moves from rescue dogs to silk painting to the childhood art-class moment that almost stopped her creative life before it started. Diann shares how a teaching career, a move overseas, humanitarian work in East Africa, and a persistent "little voice" all led her back to storytelling — and gives a behind-the-scenes look at her Boomer the Curious Bunny series and its upcoming space-themed installment.

About our Guest

Diann Floyd Boehm is a children's book author and artist known for the Moonling series, Harry the Camel, and the Boomer the Curious Bunny series (Plum Creek Press). A former classroom educator, she has also done humanitarian work across Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia, and creates original illustrations using silk painting techniques.

Quick Takeaways

• The brother who agreed to dog-sit Lola in exchange for a big-screen TV he'd never give back
• The 6th-grade teacher ripping Diane's watercolour in half in front of the class, and how she didn't paint again until adulthood
• Creative setbacks in childhood (a harsh teacher, a bad grade) can echo for decades, but they don't have to be permanent.
• A three-year-old who slept with her copy of a Boomer book
• Diane's belief that she's giving departed loved ones, or their unfulfilled dreams a voice through her performances
• You don't need a rigid routine to be a "real" writer; some of the best work comes from letting ideas sit until they're ready.
• If you tell stories to friends, family, or a classroom. You're already a storyteller.

Episode Summary

Author and podcaster Randi-Lee Bowslaugh joins the show for a warm, funny, and surprisingly moving conversation about her five cats, three dogs, and a barn full of horses she volunteers with, and how all of it feeds her writing. The conversation moves from naps and horse personalities into her children's books, her mental-health-focused podcast The Write or Die Show, and the deeply personal story behind her book Goodbye Too Soon, about losing her brother. She closes out talking about adapting that book into an indie film.

Meet Our Guest

Randi-Lee is an outspoken advocate for mental health, a YouTube host of the Write or Die Show and a public speaker. She is the mother of two grown children, a grandmother, and a wife. She has dealt with depression for more than half her life, and was diagnosed late in life with Autism and CPTSD. She wants others to have the tools they need to keep going

Topics Discussed

• Sleep & rest — the joys of a great nap and the occasional 12-hour crash
• Meet the horses — Douglas (her favourite, recovering from ring bone), Darth Vader (the "jerk" with a stoma), Wayne, Tinkerbell ("Ms. Bell"), Tucker, Bruce, Diego ("go-go-go"), and Eddie the "not all there" thoroughbred
• The dogs — Freddie (retired service dog, health scare mid-episode), Daphne (rescued beagle nobody wanted), and Zen (young shepherd-husky mix and household ringleader)
• Writing inspired by pets — Diamond the Cat, Neo's Forever Home, and the anthology Paw Prints on the Kitchen Floor
• Her podcast — The Write or Die Show, now nearly 5 years old, interviewing creatives about mental health
• Loving an Addict — her most-viewed solo episode, recorded days after her brother's death
• Goodbye Too Soon — her book about her brother, re-releasing June 20th (his birthday) with 50% new content
• Turning the book into an indie film — her early, honest, figure-it-out-as-she-goes plans for a screenplay and production

Where to Find Randi-Lee
https://www.facebook.com/rbwriting/

https://www.instagram.com/randileebowslaugh/

https://www.tiktok.com/@randileebowslaugh

https://substack.com/@randileebowslaugh?

https://www.rbwriting.ca

https://www.youtube.com/@randileebowslaugh

https://www.amazon.ca/stores/Randi-Lee-Bowslaugh/author/B08QJTS9T9?ref=ap_rdr&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Episode Summary

Holly sits down with fellow Canadian Craig — creator of the hit podcast Canadian History Ehx, just days before he sets off on the trip of a lifetime: a 17,000-km, 52-day journey across Canada from just outside Edmonton to Nova Scotia, out to BC, and back home again. Along for the ride is his rescue dog Berton, a 102-lb Great Pyrenees/Saint Bernard cross named after Canadian legend Pierre Berton.

They talk dogs, reactive-dog life, the business of building a podcast and social media brand from scratch, the AI experiment that went viral, and what it takes to plan a cross-country trip down to the exact kilometre — sponsor towns, buffer distances, and all.

In This Episode

• Berton is going viral for napping while Craig's deeply researched history posts get a fraction of the engagement
• The reasoning behind a leash and "I'm a rescue, give me space" leash for a reactive 100-lb dog
• Craig's path from computer programmer → community newspapers → podcasting → full-time creator
• Budgeting an 800-km buffer for detours and spontaneous invitations along the route

Links & Follow

• Craig's podcast: Canadian History Ehx
• Craig's book: Canada's Main Street
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cdnhistoryehx/