I'm so excited to welcome a former Southern Virginia University student to the podcast! Jen Carpenter is a writing star on the rise and she's not just the debut author of the romcom How to Slay a Lion, she's also a co-founder of a brand new bookstore in Buena Vista, Virginia. Her energy and enthusiasm for books, bookstores, and life will leave you smiling for days.

Buy Jen's book:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0990481077

Learn more about Jen:
https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0DJKY4ZK9/about

Follow Leaf and Lore on IG:
https://www.instagram.com/leafandlorestore/

Follow Leaf and Lore on FB:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573024493610

Learn more about Jason:
http://www.jasonfwright.com

About the book:
Amelia Anderson has always been the queen of the library, but when the town’s most historic building, her library, is threatened by a demolition order, she’s ready to become a heist mastermind. The target? A manila envelope containing the document that could save the library. The obstacle? Lucas Chernov—her high-school crush turned infuriatingly handsome billionaire contractor.

She wants her library. He wants to push it over. This. Is. War.

Lucas is no stranger to tough decisions, but Amelia is unlike any challenge he’s ever faced. As the eldest of ten brothers, each as enigmatic as the next, Lucas carries the weight of a family curse and the expectations of a town. But when Amelia, with her frizzy hair and fierce determination, stumbles into his life—or rather, his mansion—Lucas finds himself questioning more than just his building plans.

With a Newfoundland dog named Nemean at her side, Amelia is determined to save the library, even if it means facing down her old feelings for Lucas. What she doesn’t expect is for Lucas to be drawn to her quirky charm and a proposal that could change both of their lives forever.

In a town where everyone knows your business, can Amelia and Lucas find common ground—and maybe something more—before the wrecking ball swings?

How to Slay a Lion is a sweet, slow-burning, enemies-to-lovers, laugh-out-loud Hercules retelling about finding courage, love, and the unexpected places where you might discover both.

This podcast is brought to you by InkVeins, your source for book publicity, promo, press releases and more. Text 540-212-4095 for more information.

Such a treat to reconnect with Ashley Boyson about her brand new children's book. Ashley's story is one of the most inspiring you'll ever hear!

Buy Ashley's book:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0990481077

Learn more about Ashley:
https://www.themomentswestand.com/

Learn more about Jason:
http://www.jasonfwright.com

About the book:
You never expect to lose your cheerleader. You never think that one day the one who always told you that you were born for greatness, wouldn't be there to watch you become it. This is a story about a young child who lost someone really special to them, and their journey through the emotions that followed. A story of sad times and happy memories that become a wave of the grief and trauma associated with losing someone you love. And the triumph on the other side of the pain and realizing they will be with you forever.

To all the kids who have lossed someone they love. You are not alone. There are so many who have navigated this lonely journey. You will get through this. It will be hard, but you will be carried and come out stronger on the other side. Nobody can ever replace what you have lost, but there are so many people who can love you and help you through this new chapter without them.

I hope this book brings you comfort and warms your heart as you face these new emotions and find ways to work through them. You are never alone. May your angels be close and may you feel the strength and courage they will bring as they cheer you on from the other side.

This podcast is brought to you by InkVeins, your source for book publicity, promo, press releases and more. Text 540-212-4095 for more information.

Rebecca Connolly is back! The prolific and award-winning author joins the show to discuss her new genre-bending book and her future. Don't tune out early! You just might miss an appearance by the famous Aunt Edith!

Buy Rebecca's book:
https://www.amazon.com/Crime-Br%C3%BBl%C3%A9e-Bake-Off-Mystery/dp/B0DJDQ76NH

Learn more about Rebecca:
https://www.rebeccaconnolly.com/

Learn more about Jason:
http://www.jasonfwright.com

About the book:
The Great British Baking Show meets a cozy mystery with a contemporary romance and a Regency-era twist. 

When Claire Walker is selected to be a contestant on the immensely popular cooking show, Britian’s Battle of the Bakers, she is thrilled. She can’t wait to spend eight enchanting weeks baking at the picturesque estate of Blackfirth Park. She can almost smell the fresh pastries wafting through the air as she and her fellow contestants use historical equipment to bring pre-1900s recipes to life. If she can win the fifty thousand pounds, she’ll be able to ditch her teaching job and launch her baking career. 

The Viscount of Colburn, Jonathan Ainsley, is the custodian of Blackfirth Park and an eligible bachelor. With his family’s income dwindling, he reluctantly agrees to host the entire production team, but he refuses to participate since he’s had enough of single women who see him as nothing more than a potential conquest. But when a contestant is found dead soon after filming begins, Jonathan is forced to get involved. To make matters worse, the baker’s death is eerily similar to the legendary death of the tenth Viscountess of Colburn two hundred and fifty years earlier, which sends rumors racing through the estate. 

Even as suspicion falls on some of the bakers, a decidedly different kind of heat begins to simmer between Claire and Jonathan. If they are to have any hope of a future romance, they must first solve the mystery before the show gets canceled or someone else falls prey to the Blackfirth Park ghost.

This podcast is brought to you by InkVeins, your source for book publicity, promo, press releases and more. Text 540-212-4095 for more information.

Jason takes the hot seat on his own podcast! Join us as Jason's beta readers and good pals Emma Wierschke and Annabelle White ask him questions about his new middle-grade novel Scar Dakota and its journey to bookstores.

Jason opens up about writing, what he learned from the Zoom beta reading group, and all three share their favorite scenes and characters. You'll absolutely love these two spunky hosts!

Buy Scar Dakota:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CTJ6TMDX

Learn more about Jason:
http://www.jasonfwright.com

Watch trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnaUQSX9cfE


About the book:
Shane Dakota's world is falling to pieces. He's just moved over Christmas break from North Carolina to the very strange mountain land of Utah. Suddenly Shane's grandparents are raising him and he's spending way too much time teaching his grandpa about Netflix while learning more than any seventh grader ever should about pickleball.

But even Shane knows those aren't his biggest problems. His mother, a member of the National Guard, has just passed away and Shane is struggling with the truth. Plus when the holiday break ends, Shane has to walk into a huge new school with a story, a secret, and a fresh scar on his right cheek.

Shane tries to fit in, but he can't stop thinking about his mother, wondering about a father he's never even met, and remembering the bizarre accident in North Carolina that sent his world spinning. Just when it all feels upside down, Shane makes friends with his new neighbors Kabir, Ink, and a crew of almost-famous YouTubers. Shane even scores a new nickname - Scar - and he actually likes it!

But just as Scar finally finds his place, he betrays a friend and receives a mysterious text message that threatens to expose his secret. Can Scar face the truth about friendship and his family in front of the entire seventh grade on the biggest stage he's ever seen? Will he learn lessons about the power of religious and cultural diversity in time?

More than anything, Scar must learn that everyone has scars, and if we choose, they have power to become beautiful.

This podcast is brought to you by InkVeins, your source for book publicity, promo, press releases and more. Text 540-212-4095 for more information.

After a few false starts, we're giddy to have Dr. Ron Dwinnells swinging by The Book Drop Mic to discuss his new novel, Thirty Days Hath September. This is exactly the kind of storytelling Jason is drawn to, and we think you'll love learning why.

Buy Ron's book:
https://www.amazon.com/Thirty-Days-September-Ronald-Dwinnells/dp/1632998173

Learn more about Ron:
https://rondwinnells.com/book-publications

Learn more about Jason:
http://www.jasonfwright.com

About the book:
Wealthy fourth-year medical student Jack is miserable and mean. An elderly patient, seeking her long-lost lover, is about to send him on the journey that will change his life.

Aimless Jack Maizel is a slovenly medical student who is unlikeable, arrogant, and slightly manic. Persuaded by his influential parents to pursue a medical career, he cannot hide his contempt for the profession and even for some of his neediest patients. His classmate, Ahgri, a well-mannered and gentlemanly former Tanzanian mountain guide and coffee plantation worker, is an unlikely best friend.

When Maizel begins a month-long clinical rotation on the first day of September in 1982 with a hospital admission work-up for elderly and soft-spoken Mildred Dixon, he has no intention of doing any more than he has to. As the month goes by, she recounts a tender and passionate romance with a young U.S. Army Air Force lieutenant headed off to bombing runs over Germany. She appeals to Jack for help in her last wish of finding the love of her life again.

As the days run out on September, Mildred and Ahgri’s collective wit and Mildred’s touching plea eventually lead Maizel to a life-altering experience. The astonishing twist that ignites a path for Maizel’s future will leave readers with a poignant lesson on how we learn to live and love. Dwinnells’s memorable characters and his message of hope, kindness, forgiveness, and redemption will appeal to readers across genres.

Ronald Dwinnells is the author of the Axiom Gold Medal-winning leadership book, Don’t Pick Up All the Dog Hairs.

This podcast is brought to you by InkVeins, your source for book publicity, promo, press releases and more. Text 540-212-4095 for more information.

Whitney Hemsath stopped by the show to share her new book with a delicious title! It's called Types, Shadows, and Casseroles: Finding Christ in Your Daily Life and both the book and our discussion will you inspire to see Him more often and in more places.

Buy Whitney's book:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1963659007

Learn more about Whitney:
http://www.whitneyhemsath.com

Learn more about Jason:
http://www.jasonfwright.com

About the book:
When it comes to finding Christ, it isn’t a matter of knowing where to look; it’s simply a matter of training ourselves to see.

Through the law of Moses, God embedded symbolic reminders of the coming Messiah into every aspect of the lives of the ancient Israelites. Likewise, everything we see and experience in our modern world can be a type and shadow of Christ. Types, Shadows, and Casseroles makes finding those symbols and connections a skill anyone can develop.

With plenty of guided examples, relatable personal stories, and fresh scriptural insights, Hemsath shows readers how to find new meaning and spiritual significance in familiar objects and stories from the scriptures as well as how to transform their daily experiences into opportunities to grow closer to Christ.

This podcast is brought to you by InkVeins, your source for book publicity, promo, press releases and more. Text 540-212-4095 for more information.

Kathryn Cunningham joins us to discuss an experience that changed her life forever and how it led to a book about heartbreak, healing, and hope. Do not miss this interview and  her beautiful new book: Walking Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

Buy Kathryn's book:
https://www.amazon.com/Walking-through-Valley-Shadow-Death/dp/1462147186/

Learn more about Kathryn:
https://kathryncunninghamauthor.com

Learn more about Jason:
http://www.jasonfwright.com

About the book:
On February 6, 2023, Kathryn Cunnigham’s eight-year-old son, Dallin, fell from a slide at school and hit his head on the frozen ground. On the evening of the next day, his soul slipped quietly through the veil. 

Walking through the Valley of the Shadow of Death is Kathryn’s account of what filled those two days: the sorrow, the tears, the decisions, and most importantly, the miracles that came before and after. It is a witness of the awful inevitability of death, that mountain that looms over this valley of mortality. It is a testimony of the loving mercy of our Savior Jesus Christ, the only one who can warm and guide us when that mountain’s oppressive shadow darkens our path. In the days of Kathryn’s deepest distress, she tested the words of our prophet that we should seek and expect miracles and found they were true.

This story will help you see miracles in your own life, losses, and strengthen your testimony of the truthfulness of the plan of salvation.

This podcast is brought to you by InkVeins, your source for book publicity, promo, press releases and more. Text 540-212-4095 for more information.

My friend Tyler Whitesides stopped by the Book Drop Mic to discuss his return to the wonderful world of Janitors. Listen and learn why he felt inspired to revisit his beloved universe of garbage.

Buy Tyler's book:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1639931686

Learn more about Tyler:
http://www.tylerwhitesides.com

Learn more about Jason:
http://www.jasonfwright.com

About the book:
Ordinary trash becomes extraordinary at the magical school of garbage―a summer school for young garbologists.

Garbage has come to life as animated creatures called junklets and are wreaking havoc in elementary schools. Only the specially trained kids from the magical School of Garbage can stop the rise of the trash monsters. With the school’s magical janitorial supplies―brooms that can fly, toilet plungers that can reverse gravity, and mops that can capture anything in their strings―the ordinary becomes extraordinary. 

Landon Murphy discovers the undercover janitorial world when his soon-to-be-stepsister, Jade Shu, guides him through a magical portal at the bottom of a dumpster that leads to a fantastical landfill and the home of the School of Garbage, where she has secretly been a student for the last few years. 

Problems at home with his family make it hard for Landon to feel like he belongs anywhere, but he is quickly welcomed as a student at the intriguing school for wizard-like janitors. His class on the science of garbology is like being a crime-scene investigator, and every student gets to bond with one of three Servites―small, magical animals who exhale enchanted dust to help kids focus or be creative or have energy. 

Landon and Jade―along with allies from the original series―are tasked to take out the trash and figure out who―or what―is behind the mysterious garbage attacks and stop them before the entire world is literally trashed.

This podcast is brought to you by InkVeins, your source for book publicity, promo, press releases and more. Text 540-212-4095 for more information.

We're honored to have Dr. Sam Wilkinson stop by the Book Drop Mic to talk about his powerhouse debut: What Evolution and Human Nature Imply About the Meaning of Our Existence. Tune in and learn why this is one of the spring's buzziest books. Can science, faith, religion and human nature all dance well together?

Buy Sam's book:
https://www.amazon.com/Purpose-Evolution-Nature-Meaning-Existence/dp/1639365176/

Learn more about Sam's work:
https://samueltwilkinson.com/

Learn more about Jason:
http://www.jasonfwright.com

About the book:
In Purpose, Yale Professor Samuel Wilkinson tells the story of how recent discoveries from a variety of scientific disciplines—ranging from evolutionary biology to cognitive psychology—suggest there is an overall purpose for human existence. At the same time, Purpose summarizes the latest science from these fields in an attempt to answer some of the deep questions about human nature: Are we ultimately selfish or altruistic? Do we have free will? What is at the root of human happiness? How can a society simultaneously maximize individual happiness and communal well-being? Purpose makes the case that our innate desire to seek for meaning, purpose, and ultimately God, is not at odds with science and evolution.

This podcast is brought to you by InkVeins, your source for book publicity, promo, press releases and more. Text 540-212-4095 for more information.

Rebecca Connolly didn't choose to write her beautiful new book, it chose her. Learn why and fall in love with this true story in our latest episode of the Book Drop Mic. You'll be glad you did. And we promise you'll want to add Hidden Yellow Stars to your reading list before our discussion even ends.

Buy Rebecca's book:
https://shadowmountain.com/product/hidden-yellow-stars/

Learn more about Rebecca:
https://emilyhuey.com/

Learn more about Jason:
http://www.jasonfwright.com

About the book:
Based on the true story of two World War II heroines who risked everything to save Jewish children from the Gestapo by hiding them throughout Belgium.

Belgium, 1942.

Young schoolteacher Andrée Geulen secretly defies the Nazis in Belgium, who are forcing Jews to wear a yellow Star of David. Andrée is not Jewish, but she feels a maternal connection to her students, who are living in constant fear, and decides to take action. No child should have to suffer under such persecution. But what can one woman do against an entire army?

Ida Sterno is a Jewish woman who works with the Committee for the Defense of Jews in Belgium, a clandestine resistance group tasked with hiding children from the Gestapo. She wants to recruit Andrée because her Aryan appearance can provide crucial security measures for their efforts. Andrée agrees to join and begins work immediately by adopting a code name: Claude Fournier.

Together, Andrée and Ida, and their undercover operatives, work around the clock to move Jewish children from their families and smuggle them to safety through the secret channels established by the resistance. As each child is hidden, Andrée commits to memory their true name and history. Someday, she vows, she will help reunite as many of these families as she can.

But with the Gestapo closing in and the traitorous Fat Jacques who has turned from ally to enemy and is threatening to identify and expose any Jew he meets, Andrée and Ida must work even harder against increasingly impossible odds to save as many children as possible and keep them safely hidden--even if it might cost them their own lives.

This podcast is brought to you by InkVeins, your source for book publicity, promo, press releases and more. Text 540-212-4095 for more information.