The Rev. Dr. John F. Toles is an Episcopal priest and author. He has served as the rector of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Enid since 2015 and has been an ordained priest in the Episcopal Church for over twenty years. In addition to his pastoral duties, Fr. Toles is an accomplished writer, known for his engaging mystery novels featuring the character, Father Anthony Savel. His works often blend elements of faith, humor, and suspense, drawing from his experiences in ministry. Tune in to hear an excerpt from The Golden Fistula and learn more about the snarky, lovable Father Savel.

Tornado Alley's June 2025 interview is with a renaissance woman, Debbie Burkart. She's a writer of fiction and nonfiction. She's also a quilter, a horsewoman, and a native of the middle of the country. Hear her story.

J. M. Linkhart is a fantasy writer and co-founder of Goblin Booth Productions, a small multi-media studio based in Oklahoma. Her Kirkus-starred, debut novel First-Degree Magic releases May 6, 2025. She is the writer, editor, and primary voice actress of The Harrowing of Minerva Damson, an audio-drama available on all major podcasting platforms. When not writing or recording one of the many podcasts she produces, you may find her reading about her latest historical hyperfixation or rewatching Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the umpteenth time. 

Listen to her thoughtful discussion of genre-blending and staying true to her vision.

When not writing, Marty Ludlum is an award-winning college professor of Business Law at the University of Central Oklahoma. His Disco Diva Series features the newly promoted detective Donna Summer Wyznecki (Yes, she's named after the disco diva), who breaks hearts and solves mysteries with a little sass and an eclectic cast of quirky characters, good food, bad dancing, and plenty of hysterical twists. Listen to Marty discuss his Las Vegas setting and how to party and solve crime with Donna Wyznecki.

Dawn Allen is a retired writing professor, past president of Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc., and an award-winning writer. Her stories have appeared in online journals and print anthologies. She is an active member of the Tornado Alley Chapter of Sisters in Crime and the Mystery Writers of America. She holds an MFA in Writing from the University of Nebraska. 

Dawn loves Poe and writing mysteries. Tune into her lively interview on writing and get a preview of her new novel.

A published author and award-winning engineer and scientist, Dona Mularkey reads from her latest publication, The Seven Year Glitch, a novel from Wild Rose Press. Dona graduated from UNC-Charlotte as their first female student to earn an engineering degree, later earning a PhD at Vanderbilt University. A world traveler, professor, and scuba diver, Dona has also worked and studied abroad in Japan and Ukraine. To fill the evenings in Kyiv, she began writing short stories, which served as outlines for two novels she wrote after retiring. She is still traveling and blogs about it at nowwhat-mularkey.com. Enjoy her energetic interview.

Content Warning: Alludes to racist language and sexist attitudes of characters

Meet Courtny Bradley, affectionately known as Courtagonist in the cozy mystery realm. An educator with over a decade of experience, Courtny has been unraveling cozy mysteries online since 2017. Married to her best friend, she juggles the delightful chaos of parenting two rambunctious toddlers in the heart of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Courtny’s debut novel, Death on Deck, kicks off her new cozy mystery series, The Cruising Crew. The series will feature a group of women friends cruising through life together. Courtny guides readers through a nautical journey seasoned with warmth, wit, and a touch of Oklahoma flair. Listen to Courtny as she describes her process and her true-to-life inspirations.

USA Today bestselling author, Callie Hutton, has penned more than sixty-eight historical romance books and Victorian Cozy Mysteries with humor and “historic elements and sensory details.” (The Romance Reviews). Ms. Hutton’s cozy mystery book, The Sign of Death was a finalist in the Simon and Schuster Mary Higgins Clark award in 2022. With close to a million novels sold and translated into several languages, she continues to entrance readers with her heartfelt stories. Callie reads from her recent novel, Homicide at the Vicarage, taking the listener into the fashion, cuisine, and atmosphere of a Victorian wedding. 

Shaun Perkins, the founder/director of the Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry in Locust Grove, has published several books of poetry and a novel. She is a podcast co-host of Wacky Poem Life and has a book about the fiction of Erle Stanley Gardner, “Cocktails, Coquettes & Cigarettes: Perry Mason Concoctions,” coming out soon from Bear Manor Media. Shaun is a Teaching Artist with the Oklahoma Arts Council. She has also been the webmaster for the Territory Tellers, Oklahoma's state storytelling organization, for many years. In this interview, Shaun reads from her mystery in verse, The Book with the Good Intentions. Tune in to hear about poetic mystery.

Mark Edward Jones is an award-winning author known for his mystery, thriller, and paranormal novels. He also won first place for flash fiction in the Southwest Writers Contest. A retired higher education finance professional, Mark began his writing career after retiring in 2017. He is best known for the Detective Henry Ike Pierce series, starting with Peculiar Activities, and his contributions to the "Friday the 13th" paranormal series. Born and raised in Duncan, Oklahoma, he holds degrees in political science and public administration from the University of Oklahoma. In his interview, he reads from “The Man in the Fedora: Three Stories of Evil,” which won the 2024 OWFI first place award for mystery and suspense novels.