Lauren Odom reads her piece inspired by Jim Morrison, life, death, cemeteries, and the space between them.

About the Author/Reader/Performer:

Lauren Odom is a writer, astrologer, intuitive, and creative exploring the space where the physical and spiritual worlds meet. Her work is grounded in the belief that life itself is a spiritual practice — that art, travel, music, beauty, history, and lived experience can all become gateways to intuition and deeper self-understanding.

Alongside her work in the legal technology world, Lauren writes about astrology, intuition, creativity, and the unseen threads that connect us to places, people, and moments in time. Her current book-in-progress, inspired in part by Jim Morrison, explores creativity, identity, connection, and the liminal spaces between the ordinary and the mysterious.

Her work tends to resonate with thoughtful, curious people who are spiritually open but firmly grounded — people who want to explore intuition and meaning without disconnecting from the richness of everyday life.

Instagram and Threads: @insightsbylauren

Blog:

https://www.laureninsights.com

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If you are interested in being a featured author, reach out on Instagram @wakingthewhispers, or email me at [email protected]

Credits:

Guest: Lauren Odom

Music by: Solomon Bloomer

Recorded, produced, edited by: Ben Bloomer

Logo and art by: Ben Bloomer

Leanne and Ben discuss the art of taking out the trash.

About the Author/Reader/Performer:

Leanne Kathleen Indigo is a poet, speculative fiction and comic writer (L. K. Indigo), and singer (Elle Indigo) who draws inspiration from the mundane to the mystical, often speculating on love, life, and mental health. Her debut poetry book, Blank Canvas, is out now.

You can find Leanne on IG at @lkindigo and @headlessgnomes, and on threads @lkindigo

Check out her websites: https://lkindigo.com and https://headlessgnomes.com

If you are interested in being a featured author, reach out on Instagram @wakingthewhispers, or email me at [email protected]

Credits:

Guest: Leanne Kathleen Indigo

Music by: Solomon Bloomer

Recorded, produced, edited by: Ben Bloomer

Logo and art by: Ben Bloomer

Michael Bane discusses his newest creative venture, a comic book. Ben and Michael discuss creating for creating's sake

About the Author/Reader/Performer:

Michael is an attorney, a dad, and a formerly closeted nerd. He once ran marathons, but has since made peace with himself.

If you are interested in being a featured author, reach out on Instagram @wakingthewhispers, or email me at [email protected]

Credits:

Guest: Michael Bane

Music by: Solomon Bloomer

Recorded, produced, edited by: Ben Bloomer

Logo and art by: Ben Bloomer

Steve Coughlin shares about his background and discusses his poem in progress, "Dinner at Christo's"

About the Author/Reader/Performer:

Steve Coughlin is the author of two books of poetry, Another City and Deep Cuts, as well as a chapbook, Driving at Twilight. He directs the undergraduate Creative Writing program at Western Colorado University and also teaches in the Nature Writing concentration in Western's MFA program.

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If you are interested in being a featured author, reach out on Instagram @wakingthewhispers, or email me at [email protected]

Credits:

Guest: Steven Coughlin

Music by: Solomon Bloomer

Recorded, produced, edited by: Ben Bloomer

Logo and art by: Ben Bloomer

MJ and Ben Discuss the book-writing process and take a bit of an astral journey to interrogate one of her book's characters to force them to justify their exitstence

(Follow along with MJ as she reads her short story: Part 1; Part 2)

MJ Perkins is an author and a labor lawyer living in New York, writing about love, power, and Christmas. MJ is also co-owner of a recording studio in the Catskills where she and her husband narrate, record, and produce audiobooks, music, podcasts, and more.

MJ’s debut novella, Fa La La La Law, is a cozy, romantic, magical tale about a lawyer who saves Christmas. It comes out November 1. MJ is also in the editing phase of a full length novel called Union Yes, a steamy contemporary romance about a labor lawyer who falls in love with a union organizer as they work together to unionize a circus.

The best way to stay up to date on MJ’s progress and to have early access to pre-order links (coming soon!) is to go to mjperkinsbooks.com and sign up for her newsletter. MJ can be found on instagram at @mjperkinsbooks. She also co-hosts a podcast with three charming British authors (including previous Waking the Whispers guest Louis Urbanowski) called Book Juice, now available on YouTube and Spotify.

Book Juice: Spotify; Youtube

If you are interested in being a featured author, reach out on Instagram @wakingthewhispers, or email me at [email protected]

Credits:

Guest: MJ Perkins

Music by: Solomon Bloomer

Recorded, produced, edited by: Ben Bloomer

Logo and art by: Ben Bloomer

Rachel shares her poem as featured in The Summerset Review, and we discuss formal poetry and her piece.

About the Author/Reader/Performer:

Rachel Aguirre is a Spanish teacher and associate editor for fws: journal of literature & art. Her work appears in Passages North, Bluestem, The Summerset Review, Puerto del Sol, Glass: A Journal of Poetry, and elsewhere. In her free time, she likes to cook fare from Veracruz and locate the resident swan in the small, nearby lake.

You can find Rachel on instagram @rachuleta_9

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If you are interested in being a featured author, reach out on Instagram @wakingthewhispers, or email me at [email protected]

Credits:

Guest: Rachel Aguirre

Music by: Solomon Bloomer

Recorded, produced, edited by: Ben Bloomer

Logo and art by: Ben Bloomer

Micah reads an excerpt from Emily and Other Poems, a poetry collection forthcoming from By Common Consent press in October of 2026

About the Author/Reader/Performer:

Micah Cozzens graduated with a PhD in Creative Writing from Ohio University in 2024. Her work has appeared in Irreantum, Segullah, LIT Magazine, Jersey Devil Review, Ampersand, and Time of Singing magazines. She was also a finalist for the Fugue annual poetry prize. Her first full length poetry collection, titled Emily and Other Poems, is expected in October of 2026 from By Common Consent press.

Instagram: @micahcozzens

If you are interested in being a featured author, reach out on Instagram @wakingthewhispers, or email me at [email protected]

Credits:

Guest: Micah Cozzens

Music by: Solomon Bloomer

Recorded, produced, edited by: Ben Bloomer

Logo and art by: Ben Bloomer

Amy Harrison juxtaposes the chaos of the world and the order inside of it, in the context of the art of Jackson Pollock

About the Author/Reader/Performer:

Amy Harrison is a high school English teacher. She began writing angsty poetry in high school in the early 2000s, but it became a serious passion during the height of the pandemic when she found comfort in the tapping out of haiku syllables. Her self-published chapbook is a pairing of haiku and polaroid images about healing and grief. Her social bio is a haiku that reads “swear words are welcome / unapologetic life / failure does happen”

Website: https://www.poetryandpolaroids.com/

Insta: @poetryandpolaroids

Threads: @poetryandpolaroids

Bluesky: @poetryandpolaroids.bsky.social

Link to chapbook: https://www.blurb.com/b/11389037-healing

If you are interested in being a featured author, reach out on Instagram @wakingthewhispers, or email me at [email protected]

Credits:

Guest: Amy Harrison

Music by: Solomon Bloomer

Recorded, produced, edited by: Ben Bloomer

Logo and art by: Ben Bloomer

Elizabeth previews her memoir, coming out on June 22, and we discuss her story and the memoir-writing process.

About the Author/Reader/Performer:

Elizabeth Wilson is a memoir writer, coach, podcaster, and mom living in Colorado whose memoir, Lonely Girl, will be published June 22nd, 2026. Lonely Girl reminds us of some of our most core human needs: to be known, to be loved, and to belong—and how sharing our stories fosters connection.

Socials and Links:

@ewilsonwrites on Instagram and Threads

Book Presale and author info: whisperedwisdompress.com

Podcast & Writer Support: inspiredwritercollective.com

If you are interested in being a featured author, reach out on Instagram @wakingthewhispers, or email me at [email protected]

Credits:

Guest: Elizabeth Wilson

Music by: Solomon Bloomer

Recorded, produced, edited by: Ben Bloomer

Logo and art by: Ben Bloomer

A bonus episode! M. Anthony C. is back, and this time, he's the host! He talks to Ben about a poem Ben wrote. I hope it fills your weekend with whimsy.

Head over to @ofthepoetsheart on Instagram

If you are interested in being a featured author, reach out on Instagram @wakingthewhispers, or email me at [email protected]

Credits:

Guest Host: M. Anthony C.

Guest: Ben Bloomer

Music by: Solomon Bloomer

Recorded, produced, edited by: Ben Bloomer

Logo and art by: Ben Bloomer