Shari's Book Club

You’ve heard her voice before, even if you didn’t know it. Debby Gerber played Agent 355 in several episodes of the Defiant Ones audio drama, and now she’s narrating Heather Blanton’s Defiant Ones novelettes, introducing each story as Agent 355 herself.

In this episode of Shari’s Book Club, Debby takes us behind the microphone:

• How she brought a spy history barely remembers to life
• The scene that stayed with her most
• What it means to open every story as Agent 355
• The behind-the-scenes habits that keep her voice ready
• Why a voice can be an invitation, and what’s coming next for the audiobooks

Listen to the audio drama, then read the novelettes.

Listen to Defiant Ones on The Washington Times: all episodes

Read the novelettes by Heather Blanton:

• Abigail Adams
• Prudence Wright
• Penelope Barker
• Phillis Wheatley
• Sybil Ludington
• Two Kettles Together
• Deborah Sampson
• Agent 355

Play along: Download the free Defiant Ones Reading Bingo card and fill it in at your own pace.

The book links above are affiliate links. Purchases support The Women In My World.

Agent 355 may have been one woman or a code name shared by several women who risked everything in the American Revolution. In this episode of Shari’s Book Club, Shari and Katie explore the mystery behind the legendary spy, the brutal prison ship at the heart of the story, and the final novelette in the Defiant Ones series.

Shari wrote and directed the audio episode and has also portrayed Agent 355. Join the conversation about the women history nearly forgot, the real-world inspiration behind the story, and what’s ahead for Defiant Ones.

📖 Read Defiant Ones: Agent 355: https://link.amazon/B04aKSTsT

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🎧 Listen to Shari’s Book Club on Apple Podcasts.

Affiliate disclosure: We may receive a portion of purchases made through the book link. Your support helps The Women In My World put women of faith to work in entertainment and media. Thank you!

Welcome back to Shari’s Book Club!

This week, Shari and Katie are dreaming out loud: What would Defiant Ones: The American Revolution’s Bravest Women look like as a limited television series?

From sweeping historical settings and unforgettable characters to the Abigail and John Adams love story, mysterious spies, battlefield heroes, and women whose ordinary lives collided with extraordinary moments in history, Defiant Ones has a world we would LOVE to see brought to the screen.

In this episode, we’re talking about what makes a great book-to-screen adaptation and why some stories feel made for television.

We’re diving into:
✨ What makes a book work as a TV series
✨ Why the world of a story matters so much
✨ Characters audiences want to follow anywhere
✨ The Abigail and John Adams love story at the heart of Defiant Ones
✨ How the immersive audio drama could translate visually
✨ The actors we can already imagine bringing these characters to life
✨ Why a limited series gives these stories room to breathe

And we already have some pretty important pieces in place: scripts, incredible talent, sound design, and an original score. Now we get to dream about what happens when you bring that world to life visually.

👇 NOW WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU:

If Defiant Ones became a television series, who would YOU want to see play these women?

And what book have you read that you would love to see turned into a movie or TV series?

🎧 Listen to Defiant Ones: The American Revolution’s Bravest Women and dive into the novelettes to experience even more of each woman’s story.

📖 And don’t forget: Agent 355’s novelette releases this Thursday!

Shari Rigby and Katie Phillips are asking book clubs to join them. Inspired by the Hello Sunshine model, Shari's Book Club reads faith and family stories from new and established voices, and readers help decide which books become the next audio drama, series, or film. Bring your group (or start a new one!) and help pick the stories.

Get involved:

• Fill out the Google Form to tell us about your group
• Help us name our readers! When Calls the Heart fans are "Hearties," so what should Shari's Book Club readers be called? Comment with your best idea. If we pick yours, we'll send you a free novelette.

Penelope Barker refused to stay silent. 

In 1774, she gathered fifty-one women in Edenton, North Carolina and led one of the first organized political protests by women in American history, a declaration so bold it made headlines back in England. 

This week, Shari and Katie sit with Penelope's story and ask what her courage still asks of us today, from the seasons that shape our character to the convictions worth standing on no matter the cost.

Shari's Book Club is hosted by Shari Rigby, an actress, writer, director, and producer with over two decades in entertainment, and Katie Phillips, producer and writer. 

Together they go looking for the inspiring faith and family stories they believe are missing from today's culture: stories about women, hope, and redemption. 

And they don't think these stories are meant to stay on the page. Every book they cover could be the next immersive audio drama, television series, or film. 

It's time to elevate better stories.