Bookwild

This week, I talk with C.I. Jerez about her emotional and empowering novel At the Island's Edge. We dive into the inspiration for the story, how she explored PTSD, and why she chose to write about a single mom who served in the army.At the Island's Edge SynopsisAn Iraq War veteran returns to Puerto Rico to reconnect with―and confront―the past in a heart-wrenching novel about duty, motherhood, and the healing power of home. As a combat medic, Lina LaSalle went to Iraq to save the lives of fellow soldiers. But when her convoy is attacked, she must set aside her identity as a healer and take a life herself.Although she is honored as a hero when she returns to the US, Lina cannot find her footing. She is stricken with PTSD and unsure of how to support her young son, Teó, a little boy with Tourette’s. As her attempts to self-medicate become harder to hide, Lina realizes she must do the toughest thing yet: ask for help.She retreats to her parents’ house in Puerto Rico, where Teó thrives under her family’s care. Lina finds kinship, too―with a cousin whose dreams were also shattered by the war and with a handsome and caring veteran who sought refuge on the island and runs a neighborhood bar.But amid the magic of the island are secrets and years of misunderstandings that could erode the very stability she’s fighting for. Hope lies on the horizon, but can she keep her gaze steady? Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

This week, we have some chaotic dog interruptions, I recorded int he dark because I couldn't even with the light, AND we broke a record and talked about more than 30 books in one episode!! Enjoy the chaos that is Gare, Steph and my 10 Before the End episode.Kate’s  10 Before the EndWhat We Leave Behind by Wanda Morrishttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/250326a1-6252-41eb-8fbd-318b3903b56cCamp Damascus by Chuck Tinglehttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/3e324bb5-9f00-4258-817b-00c69ad824f7The Midnight Knock by John Framhttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/46ce3210-0707-4b1d-89b7-0c573c72aca8When They Burned the Butterfly by Wen-Yi Leehttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/e294b55a-9bf5-42cd-a8c2-88aa2f65c91bBoom Town by Nic Stonehttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/81091a8c-97c2-4037-aaaf-666230289df8The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwoodhttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/3aaf1dab-83a2-4089-9345-680455651355James by Percival Everetthttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/cd626fd8-11de-458a-a71a-4b1c64c86ff1Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burtonhttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/cda69bb3-94a7-4b17-82ef-3036a098d7cdBeautyland by Marie-Helene Bertinohttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/a5d8c362-9ccc-4bfa-869c-44c8847b17efI, Medusa by Ayana Grayhttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/e2c48dc1-1ee0-4904-9b6e-d53e3f23712b Gare’s 10 Before the EndForget You Saw Her Noelle W Ihlihttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/bbd97b5b-38b0-4982-bb5d-60fcee5a243cHaven’t Killed In Years by Amy K. Greenhttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/70c6f0b5-c572-4689-b5e5-880199ce497cWe Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewerhttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/49154c03-2e3c-4b00-b63f-1d6a7ef61fdbWatch Us Fall by Christina Kovachttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/25a51cf8-34f3-41d5-aefa-f4ff20d1159cWith Friends Like These by Alissa Leehttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/224004584-with-friends-like-these?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=9sa6BhhMqr&rank=1The Fix by Mia Sheridanhttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/7642f03d-53ab-441d-bfc2-c435fde870a1Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashinohttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/03c6a590-d537-4566-8bb2-0147089b467dIf I Go Missing by Leslie Wolfehttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/4a5751dd-ce3d-4d23-b7e5-21d8c95028b4The Wives of Hawthorne Lane by Stephanie DeCarolishttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/345b587e-4541-496e-91d6-9738a1e5534aThe Haunting by Natasha Prestonhttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/2ebce8b2-c94b-489f-87a4-bcff8591d1d8 Steph’s  10 Before the EndThe Adults by Alison Espachhttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/b9ebc09a-4c52-4a56-a833-b25b38572ac8The Artist of Blackberry Grange by Paulette Jacksonhttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/1d352936-217c-4d99-a0a3-8e5167d6c7cfBreakneck Bay by Faith Gardnerhttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/886205bb-7647-4a28-b688-71c275927c32Still True by Maggie Ginsburghttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/b2973ace-7b9a-47c8-9bde-faf6b87874e3Heartbroke by Chelsea Biekerhttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/9ee3902f-6e65-4e7e-992d-cf742c3938efIs This A Cry For Help by Emily Austinhttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/868d3c84-e887-4075-adea-460a26d5eb79Matchmaking for Psychopaths by Tasha Coryellhttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/7fe84956-aabb-4e62-9fbb-66813da5b7c5This Girl’s a Killer by Emma C. Wellshttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/ad549123-76a8-442c-a809-789048a5902aLove You to Death by Christina Dotsonhttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/4ffd068e-b2da-4108-9e79-409aff0c9a9cThe Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cookehttps://app.thestorygraph.com/books/bb8fdd23-aaa5-4103-8972-427720e99382 Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

This week, I talk with Alma Katsu about her new horror novel Fiend. We dive into her inspiration for the story, what draws her to horror, and how she crafted this insidious family.**Every tech issue that could happen did happen, so there's a somewhat rough cut when we had to switch platforms.Fiend by Alma Katsu SynopsisImagine if the Sackler family had a demon at their beck and call.The Berisha family runs one of the largest import-export companies in the world, and they’ve always been lucky. Their rivals suffer strokes. Inconvenient buildings catch on fire. Earthquakes swallow up manufacturing plants, destroying harmful evidence. Things always seem to work out for the Berishas. They’re blessed.At least that is what Zef, the patriarch, has always told his three children. And each of them knows their place in the family—Dardan, as the only male heir, must prepare to take over as keeper of the Berisha secrets, Maris’s most powerful contribution, much to her dismay, will be to marry strategically, and Nora’s job, as the youngest, is to just stay out of the way. But when things stop going as planned, and the family blessing starts looking more like a curse, the Berishas begin to splinter, each hatching their own secret scheme. They didn’t get to be one of the richest families in the world without spilling a little blood, but this time, it might be their own. Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

This week, I dive into how I went from listening to audiobooks, to wanting to edit audiobooks, to co-narrating and editing my first audiobook over the course of like six months!Hear how narrating and producing The Underdog came together with Sagit Schwartz, what surprised me about narrating, and how sentimental I am that I recorded it in my neighborhood library. Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

This week, I got to talk with Jeffery Deaver and Isabella Maldonado about their second in their Sanchez & Heron series The Grave Artists. We dive into how they create a Serial Killer 2.0, the positive and negative uses of technology, and how they write together.The Grave Artist SynopsisA wedding reception is coming to a close in the Hollywood Hills when the blissful day is shattered by the death of one of the newlyweds. Though the incident appears to be an accident, Homeland Security Investigations agent Carmen Sanchez and her partner, security expert Jake Heron, discover that the tragedy is the third in a series of similar deaths and conclude something far more sinister is at play.The two uncover chilling evidence pointing to a serial killer who has taken evil to the next level. Dubbed the Honeymoon Killer, this man isn't interested in his victims but in creating his own macabre masterpiece from their graves--focused on the survivors and reveling in their grief. And now his dark obsession has turned to Carmen and Jake...The Honeymoon Killer has decided they are the perfect next target. Take one out and delight as the other crumbles. Time is running out as a deadly game between predator and prey begins. Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

This week, Gare, Steph and I share books we are excited about on our Fall TBRs!Books We Talked AboutThe Reformatory by Tananarive DueSalt Bones by Jennifer GivhanKeep This for Me by Jennifer FawcettThe Women of Wild Hill by Kirsten MillerCursed Daughters by Oyinkan BraithwaiteThe Hitchhikers by Chevy StevensThe Mad Wife by Meagan ChurchAlchemy of Secrets by Stephanie GarberThe Intruder by Freida McFaddenThrough Our Teeth by Pamela N. HarrisThe Haunting of Room 904 by Erica T. WurthThe Bone Thief by Vanessa LillieLife and Death and Giants by Bob Rinaldi Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

This week, I got to talk with L.S. Stratton about her newest thriller In Deadly Company! We dive into how she wanted to write a fun, bingey thriller, how she used the meta approach of a movie being made about the past timeline, and how she crafted the very corrupt, very welathy family in the middle of it all.In Deadly Company SynopsisAs the assistant of the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, Nicole Underwood has plenty of tasks on her to-do list—one of which is the blowout birthday celebration for her nightmare, one-percenter boss, Xander Chambers. But when the party ends in chaos and murder and Nicole is one of the survivors, suspicion—from the investigators to the media—lands on her. Was she the reason for all the bloodshed?A year after those deadly events, Nicole tries to set the public record straight by agreeing to consult on a feature film based on her story. However, on the set in LA, she's sidelined by inappropriate casting and persistent, bizarre script changes, while also haunted by the events of that party weekend with visions of her now-deceased boss. It seems clearing her name isn't so simple when the question of guilt or innocence is...complicated. Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

This week, Steph and I talk about fiction books that taught us about different subjects!Books We Talked AboutPlay Nice by Rachel HarrisonEloquent Rage by Brittney CooperWordslut by Amanda MontellHood Feminism by Mikki KendallThe Great Mann by Kyra Davis LurieFrancine’s Spectacular Crash and Burn Renee SwindleYou Know Her by Meagan JennettThe Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan KamaliWhat Comes After by Joanne TompkinsBlood Sisters by Vanessa LillieThe Whistler by Nick MedinaDo What Godmother Says by Shelley StrattonHarlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher MurrayThe Reformatory by Tananarive DueMy Government Means to Kill Me by Rasheed NewsonThe Great Believers by Rebecca MakkaiThe Yellow Wife by Sadeqa JohnsonThe House of Eve by Sadeqa JohnsonTake My Hand by Dolen Perkins-ValdezHappy Land by Dolen Perkins-ValdezThe Foundling by Ann LearyThe Manor of Dreams by Christina Li Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

This week, I got to talk with Penny Zang about her debut novel Doll Parts! We dive into her inspiration for the story, the importance of music throughout, and the ways Sylvia Plath's life and writing influenced Doll Parts.Doll Parts SynopsisSome stories refuse to stay buried.For best friends Nikki and Sadie, college was supposed to be a fresh start, a way to blast Courtney Love from car speakers and leave their youth behind. But along with sadness-obsessed girls and intrusive professors, a dark story plagues their small all-women's school: the Sylvia Club, a campus legend surrounding the deaths of multiple Sylvia Plath-adoring students, all written off as suicides. Aspiring writer Nikki finds herself drawn to the tragic tales, so much so that dead girls begin to haunt her dark imagination. As she digs deeper, Nikki soon suspects there's much more to the story - a suspicion that will lead to a tragedy of its own, one that will tear her and Sadie apart.It's been nearly twenty years since Sadie last saw her estranged friend. Now, Nikki is dead, and when Sadie ends up pregnant by Nikki's grieving husband not long after the funeral, she finds herself stepping into her ex-best friend's seemingly perfect life. But the longer Sadie lives in Nikki's eerily preserved home, the more she sees her appear and soon, she's convinced that Nikki is sending her clues from beyond the grave. Because it seems Nikki never stopped looking for answers about what happened to the girls of the Sylvia Club, and she may have been its latest victim. Told in a dual timeline, Doll Parts is a provocative and irresistible debut, at once an exploration of the dark chasms that break apart friendships, an ode to the aching beauty of girlhood, and a sharp portrayal of grief that can physically haunt you.  Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

This week, Gare, Steph and I talk about some of our favorite books we read in August!Books We Talked AboutMy Husband by Maud VenturaToo Old for This by Samantha DowningDon’t Forget to Write by Sarah Goodman-ConfinoHappy Land by Dolen Perkins-ValdezThe Locked Ward by Sarah PekkanenKnife River by Justine ChampineDominion by Addie CitchensEveryone is Lying to You by Jo PiazzaEverything is Tuberculosis by John GreenThe Trad Wife’s Secret by Liane Child Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

This week, I got to talk with Rebecca McKanna with Steph Lauer IN PERSON about Rebecca's book Don't Forget the Girl. We dive into how a short story collection inspired the book, how she got to know her characters, and why she chose the ending she chose.Don't Forget the Girl SynopsisWe never remember the dead girls. We never forget the killers. Twelve years ago, 18-year-old University of Iowa freshman Abby Hartmann disappeared. Now, Jon Allan Blue, the serial killer suspected of her murder, is about to be executed. Abby's best friends, Bree and Chelsea, watch as Abby's memory is unearthed and overshadowed by Blue and his flashier crimes. The friends, estranged in the wake of Abby's disappearance, and suffering from years of unvoiced resentments, must reunite when a high-profile podcast dedicates its next season to Blue's murders.Tense and introspective, Don't Forget the Girl is an astonishing debut thriller that mines the complexities of friendship and the secrets between us that we may take to the grave.  Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

This week, Gare, Steph and I share short, bingey books we highly recommend!Books We Talked AboutEveryone Is Lying to You – Joe PiazzaThe Favorite Girl – Monica AryaThe Mad Wife - Meagan ChurchThe Grave Artist – Isabella Maldonado & Jeffrey DeaverHappy Land – Dolen Perkins-ValdezBath Haus – P.J. VernonShort & BingeyEverything Is Tuberculosis – John GreenThe Trap – Catherine Ryan HowardThe Locked Door – Freida McFaddenLiars – Sarah MangusoThe Retreat – Krysten RitterI Did It for You – Amy EngelLula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books – Kirsten MillerBlack Sheep – Rachel HarrisonThe Woods Are Waiting – Katherine Green Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

This week, I got to talk with Kaila Yu about her memoir Fetishization: A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism, and Beauty.  We dive into her experience growing up amidst yellow fever, how her self image was affected, and how she learned to love and accept herself.Fetishization: A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism, and Beauty SynopsisNo one fetishized Kaila Yu more than she fetishized herself. As a young girl, she dreamt of beauty. But none of the beautiful women on television looked like her. In the late '90s and early 2000s Asian women were often reduced to overtly sexual and submissive caricatures—the geishas of the book-turned-film Memoirs of a Geisha; the lewd twins, Fook Mi and Fook Yu, in Austin Powers in Goldmember; Papillon Soo Soo’s sex worker character in the cult Vietnam War movie Full Metal Jacket; and pin-up goddess Sung-Hi Lee. Meanwhile, the "girls next door" were always white. Within that narrow framework, Kaila internalized a painful conclusion: The only way someone who looked like her could have value or be considered beautiful and desirable was to sexualize herself.Blending vulnerable stories from Yu’s life with incisive cultural critique and history, Fetishized is a memoir-in-essays exploring feminism, beauty, yellow fever, and the roles pop culture and colonialism played in shaping pervasive and destructive stereotypes about Asian women and their bodies. Yu reflects on the women in media who influenced her, the legacy of U.S. occupation in shaping Western perceptions of Asian women, her own experiences in the pinup and import modeling industry, auditioning for TV and film roles that perpetuated dehumanizing stereotypes, and touring the world with her band in revealing outfits. She recounts altering her body to conform to Western beauty standards, allowing men to treat her like a sex object, and the emotional toll and trauma of losing her sense of self in the pursuit of the image she thought the world wanted.  Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

This week, I talk with Zoe B. Wallbrook about her hilariously funny and suspenseful mystery novel History Lessons. We dive into her inspiration for the book, how she incorporated misogynoir and how she injected so much humor.History Lessons SynopsisA college history professor must solve her superstar colleague's murder before she becomes the next target in this funny, romantic debut mystery, perfect for readers of Janet Evanovich, Kellye Garrett, and Ali Hazelwood.As a newly minted junior professor, Daphne Ouverture spends her days giving lectures on French colonialism, working on her next academic book, and going on atrocious dates. Her small world suits her just fine. Until Sam Taylor dies.The rising star of Harrison University’s anthropology department was never one of Daphne’s favorites, despite his popularity. But that doesn’t prevent Sam’s killer from believing Daphne has something that belonged to Sam—something the killer will stop at nothing to get.Between grading papers and navigating her disastrous love life, Daphne embarks on her own investigation to find out what connects her to Sam’s murder. With the help of an alluring former-detective-turned-bookseller, she unravels a deadly cover-up on campus.This well-crafted, voice-driven mystery introduces an unforgettable crime fiction heroine. Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

This week, Gare shares all the ins and outs of Ethel Cain's dark, haunting album Preacher's Daughter!Check out the album here. Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

This week, I chat with Leigh Dunlap about her darkly comical debut thriller Bless Your Heart. We dive into her inspiration for the story, how her screenwriting background influenced her novel writing process, and how her relationship with her son formed the story.Bless Your Heart SynopsisAnderson Tupper, a member of one of Atlanta’s richest families, has been murdered in the dugout of the Little League field where he was a volunteer coach, and it’s up to Detective Shay Claypool, a single mother from the other side of town, to find his killer.With the exclusive area of Buckhead threatening to secede from the city of Atlanta and take its tax revenue with it, Shay is under pressure to solve the murder of one of Buckhead’s own. Accustomed to handling drug dealers and prostitutes, she must now contend with an even more sinister the Buckhead Betties, the insufferably entitled women of Georgia’s most affluent zip code. One of them might be a murderer, but who? Is it the old-money queen of Buckhead? The mysterious new girl in town? The drug dealing trophy wife?It seems secrets and lies are as plentiful as luxury handbags in Atlanta and everyone’s guilty of something. Shay’s investigation will make her examine her own prejudices and discover that, as women and mothers, she might not be that different from the Betties after all. And if she isn’t careful, they just might take her down with them. Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

This week, I talk with Samantha Downing about her snarky new thriller Too Old for This. We dive into her inspiration for the story, her favorite parts about writing Lottie, and how she chooses memorable names for her characters.Too Old for This SynopsisLottie Jones thought her crimes were behind her.Decades earlier, she changed her identity and tucked herself away in a small town. Her most exciting nights are the weekly bingo games at the local church and gossiping with her friends.  When investigative journalist Plum Dixon shows up on her doorstep asking questions about Lottie’s past and specifically her involvement with numerous unsolved cases, well, Lottie just can’t have that.But getting away with murder is hard enough when you’re young. And when Lottie receives another annoying knock on the door, she realizes this crime might just be the death of her… Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

This week, Steph and I talk about books with memorable characters who we will never forget!Books We've Been ReadingYou Belong HereDon’t Forget the GirlRecursionDoll PartsHoney and SpiceDo What Godmother SaysBooks with Memorable CharactersJunieRemarkably Bright CreaturesDissolutionThe Paper PalaceAn Inconvenient WomanNone of This is True Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

This week, I talk with Cobie LaJeanne about her pitch-black thriller Blood in the Cradle. We dive into her inspiration for the story, how the book developed over time, and what it was like creating a detective with synesthesia!Blood in the Cradle SynopsisWhen decorated detective Chloe Van Belle receives a call about a severed limb in a fountain, she dreads returning to Encounters, a renowned angel-worshipping church tied to her dark childhood wounds. She’s further shocked to learn six-year-old Lillian vanished [from the congregation] without being reported.Chloe’s half-sister Rosie, a devout believer engaged to the reverend’s son, remains unwavering that everything unfolds according to divine will, refusing to see the evil in front of her.An eerie search leads to Lillian’s body tucked in a cradle with a vintage watch, linking the crime to a similar murder twenty years ago. The gruesome scene triggers Chloe’s morbid fascination with death, making her visual-gustatory synesthesia, which gives murder a literal sweet taste, harder to hide. With Chloe’s nightmares and half-memories resurfacing, she engages in a macabre game of cat and mouse with the killer.As casualties grow and evidence points to the highest levels of the church leadership, Chloe must protect Rosie and her team—but is it from a monster or herself? Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

This week, Gare, Steph and I talk about new-to-us authors we discovered and love!Books We Talked AboutThe Book of AccidentsThe Babysitter LivesThe Killer on the RoadUnlikely AnimalsHistory LessonsWhat Lies Between UsBehind Every Good ManLove You to DeathDeeper Than the DeadThis Violent Heart Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian