On today's episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet. I'm joined by author Brad Barkley to talk about his new young adult novel, The Reel Life of Zara Kegg. In this heartfelt story, sixteen-year-old Zara moves with her dad to a small town, still reeling from the loss of her mother. Life feels stalled—until Zara takes a job as a projectionist in a rundown movie house, a quiet refuge where she finds unexpected comfort in the glow of the old films. There she meets Zachary, a boy with odd clothes, odd stories, and a charm that masks his own struggles. What unfolds is a love story threaded with both comedy and tragedy, much like the movies playing on Zara's screen. In this episode, I'll chat with Brad about his writing journey, the importance of honest young adult stories, and how his love of old Super 8 films shaped this novel.

Author Kevin Hincker to talk about his new sci fi novel, The Story Eaters of Yamm. This is a book about a book—and about the strange, brilliant minds who write them. The main character, Larry, is a struggling sci-fi author with a worldview that doesn't quite match the rest of society. Out of work and living with his mom, he gets roped into a market-research-meets-thought-experiment project alongside other sci fi writers, all chosen for their ability to imagine the future. Their assignment? Gameplay an alien invasion. It's all fun and free lunches…until the alien snails they've been inventing actually show up. In this love letter to the genre, Kevin leans into everything he adores about science fiction—its humor, its imagination, and its willingness to ask big questions.

Author Annie Dike talks about her new novel, Clovis—a story loosely inspired by her own life. Set in Clovis, New Mexico, the novel follows a young girl coming of age, while navigating hard truths about love and loss, family trauma, addiction, betrayal, and the complicated path toward forgiveness and joy. Annie takes readers on an emotional roller coaster through childhood memories and adult reckonings, reminding us that family is rarely simple—often messy, sometimes painful, and occasionally beautiful. Although Clovis was her biggest writing challenge to date, Annie found the process unexpectedly therapeutic and infused the story with her signature sense of humor, bringing light to even its darkest moments. In this episode, Annie discusses her writing journey, the feedback she's received from readers, and why she chose to make the leap into literary fiction with this novel.

Author Victoria Dillon discusses her debut novel, Ava. The story follows Larkin, a young woman forced by her state's laws to carry a nonviable pregnancy to term. The loss she suffers shapes every choice she makes thereafter. Years later, determined to reclaim her bodily autonomy, she turns to a radical genetic technology during her second pregnancy. Her daughter, Ava, is born healthy, but the altered DNA leaves Ava with a reproductive system unlike any human's: she can only lay eggs. Such a radical biological shift raises a host of new questions about agency, ethics, and inheritance for Ava and other girls like her. In this episode, I'll chat with Victoria about her writing journey, the surprising research that went into understanding the egg-laying process, and the powerful reactions readers have had to this emotionally charged story.

Author Evan Kidwell discusses his debut fantasy novel, Timeaous Spark and the Luck Curse. This first installment in a new series introduces a world where magic is unlocked through brutal trials, and the abilities revealed determine one's place in a rigid class system. Timeaous Spark discovers his magic—known as "minor luck"—is a power society views as dangerous. His journey forces him to decide whether to accept the role he's been assigned or fight for the life he wants. Evan wrote this story with themes of bullying and self‑discovery in mind, drawing on his own childhood experiences and the advice that helped him through them. And although this is his first book, he's been inventing characters and worlds in his head since he was a kid—and some of those characters finally make their debut in this novel. In this episode, Evan chats about his writing journey, the moment at a work conference that pushed him to finally write the book, and the people in his life who encouraged him to keep going.

Author Sonia Daccarett discusses her debut memoir, The Roots of the Guava Tree: Growing up Jewish and Arab in Colombia. Sonia never intended to write a book. But as she reached middle age, she found herself looking back on a childhood that felt strangely distant from the life she was living now. Her memoir became a way to bridge those two worlds. Sonia grew up in Colombia speaking a different language, surrounded by the vibrant culture of her country as well as the traditions of her Jewish and Arab heritage. Her grandparents emigrated to Colombia and built a life there, and Sonia was always captivated by the stories, customs, and languages that shaped her family—and, ultimately, her own identity. When she enrolled in a memoir-writing class, the memories began to surface in vivid, sensory detail, eventually blossoming into the book she never expected to write.

Author Melanie Anagnos discusses her debut novel, Nightswimming. The story drops us straight into the gritty streets of Paterson, New Jersey, circa 1979. Jamie Palmieri, a young patrol officer barely three years out of the academy, suddenly finds himself pulled into a brutal double-murder investigation. What begins as a request for an extra pair of hands quickly becomes something far more dangerous, as Jamie realizes the killer may be turning his sights on him. But Nightswimming isn't just a tense police procedural—it's a sharp look at the era's entrenched injustices, including the way female victims were routinely dismissed by a police force that was overwhelming male. Melanie describes Nightswimming as gritty mystery that is definitely of its time.

Author Helen Hynson Vettori discusses her new Black Swan thriller series. The first two books—Black Swan Impact and Black Swan Shock—are out now, with a third on the way. Before becoming a novelist, Helen spent her career as a government planner for catastrophic events like pandemics. When she retired in 2018, she imagined a quiet life of travel and crafting. Then 2020 arrived. As the world shut down, Helen was stunned to see the government ignore the very plans she helped create. To cope with the anxiety of that moment, she began journaling, which quickly transformed into storytelling. The result was Black Swan Impact, set during a pandemic in the year 2113, followed by, Black Swan Shock, centered on the aftermath of a massive earthquake. Drawing on her real-world expertise, Helen writes stories rooted in disaster but driven by energy, resilience, and hope.

Author D.A. Murray discusses Dominion: Ascension, the first book in her new Dominion trilogy. The story takes place about thirty years in the future, in the aftermath of a devastating war that has reshaped society into a post-apocalyptic nation now known as Dominion. The consequences of that conflict run deep—cognitive decline, widespread infertility, and a dramatic shift in the balance of power. In this world, women now hold control. At the center of the story is Dani Matthews, an investigative reporter and the daughter of a high-ranking Dominion official. As Dani digs the truth behind the government's propaganda, she uncovers unsettling secrets—about Dominion, about the war, and about her own mother. In this episode, we cover D.A.'s writing journey, the power dynamics between men and women and what happens when those dynamics are flipped, and why the heart of this story isn't technology or politics but human relationships.

Author Bill Hulseman discusses his new book, six to carry the casket and one to say the mass. This powerful collection of personal essays grew out of Bill's experience with grief and burnout after losing several family members in a short span of time. Through his writing, he reflects on how he arrived at that moment in his life, exploring themes that range from family to Catholicism to queer-belonging and pop culture. Bill shares stories from his early formative years, the pivotal choices that shaped his path, and the moments that helped him understand and embrace his queer identity. In this episode, I'll chat with Bill about his writing journey, the influences he calls "raindrops in a desert", and the meaning behind the book's striking tittle—six to carry the casket and one to say the mass.