Audra Russell speaks with author Darbrielle Thomas. Darbrielle is a Black Queer author hailing from Long Beach, California. "The goal has always been love" Darbrielle bares the heart on her sleeve in debut memoir, "Love 'Oirs." The 31-year-old relishes the opportunity to become the best version of herself, and the beginning of her journey starts here, in her detailed account of instances where she warred with and basked in different aspects of love. The writers' hope is for this work to inspire,...
Aug 23, 2021•41 min•Season 2Ep. 77
Audra Russell speaks with author and entrepreneur Charles Ford. Charles Ford is an author who wrote about his experience as an employee of Con Edison. He is also a songwriter and music video producer and podcaster under the artistic name of Chas Bronxson. He can be heard on Chuck D of Public Enemy's Anthem Tongue Radio on the RapStation Network hosting two different shows: Art-Of-Facts and Genre Collaborations. He will be releasing an audible version of his 'Anatomy Of A Corporate Lynching' befo...
Aug 17, 2021•38 min•Season 2Ep. 76
Audra Russell speaks with author A.J. Ross. A.J. Ross is a Detroit-born and bred English teacher turned author. Writing since childhood, Ross thrived on the idea of creating her own worlds beyond the confines of the society she was born into. That desire led her to the world of Science-fiction, Superheroes, and Fantasy; mostly because these were the first worlds where she saw people like her. (Storm from X-men, Star Trek's Uhura and Geordi Lafordge, Star Wars Lando Calrissian, to name a few...) ...
Aug 17, 2021•57 min•Season 2Ep. 75
Audra Russell speaks with author Samone Johnson. California native Samone Johnson is a self-published storyteller, real estate investor, occasional blogger, mentor, and Thriftbooks junkie. Many of her writing projects have been inspired by her life experiences. She has served as a mentor for incarcerated youth for over ten years. In 2012, she self-published her first autobiographical short story, The Weekend: A Short Before the Story, as an eBook. In 2014, she published her second novel, Ball Ho...
Aug 03, 2021•45 min•Season 2Ep. 74
Audra Russell chats with author M Shelly Conner. Chicago native M Shelly Conner spent her summers bouncing between her grandmother in Memphis and relatives in Los Angeles, reveling in the sprawl of the Great Migration. She received her PhD from the University of Illinois at Chicago. A multigenre writer, she is the creator of the Quare Life web series and has published essays on dapper queer aesthetics, Black womanhood, self-sustainable living, and their intersections in various publications, inc...
Aug 03, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 2Ep. 73
Audra Russell speaks with horror authors Queen Aishah and Eboni Caldwell. Hailing from Newar, New Jersey, Queen Aishah is a comedienne, actress, producer, media personality, and humanitarian. Her authenticity and unique comedic timing make it easy for her to connect with diverse audiences of all ages. For more than 20 years she has been spreading her talent and joy to audiences, including hosting and headlining numerous comedy shows to entertain US troops stationed in Japan, South Korea, and Eur...
Jul 26, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Season 2Ep. 72
Audra Russell talks with author Carlos Patterson. Carlos Patterson is a North Carolina-born, Brooklyn-raised author, father, endurance athlete, Health and Life Coach, mentor, prosperous entrepreneur, and Real Estate investor. He has earned degrees in Biology and Mathematics. Carlos is a student and coach of self-improvement and professional development. He has worked extensively in the health coaching discipline making him a habit transformation specialist. He volunteers his time mentoring troub...
Jul 20, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 2Ep. 71
Audra Russell chats with author Rita Williams-Garcia. Rita Williams-Garcia's Newbery Honor Book, One Crazy Summer, was a winner of the Coretta Scott King Author Award, a National Book Award finalist, the recipient of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, and a New York Times bestseller. The two sequels, P.S. Be Eleven and Gone Crazy in Alabama, were both Coretta Scott King Author Award winners and ALA Notable Children's Books. Her novel, Clayton Byrd Goes Underground, was a National Boo...
Jul 13, 2021•1 hr 24 min•Season 2Ep. 70
Audra Russell speaks with author and poet Ludy Wooten. Ludy Wooten is a creative thinker and writer. Her passion for writing began at an early age. She was born in Haiti and moved to the United States at the age of 6. Her love for writing stemmed from having to learn English as a second language. She would spend hours enamored with the English language through watching shows like Sesame Street, listening to music, and watching videos. She became captivated by how they would use language to not o...
Jun 15, 2021•1 hr 28 min•Season 2Ep. 69
Audra Russell speaks with horror author Yanatha Desouvre. Desouvre is a modern-day renaissance man, full-time faculty member of Entrepreneurship at Miami Dade College, # 1 best-selling Amazon.com author, filmmaker, and public speaker. In addition to various publications and audiobooks, Desouvre wrote a well-received textbook titled, Essential Guide to Windows 10. His latest novella, “Revelations: Roads to Redemption, has been partially adapted as a short film titled, The Sweetest Girl. Desouvre ...
Jun 14, 2021•56 min•Season 2Ep. 68
Audra Russell chats with authors and poets Chyrel Jackson and Lyris Wallace. Chyrel J. Jackson and Lyris D. Wallace are avid lovers, readers and writers of African American Literature. They grew up in a Southern Suburb of Chicago, IL. Country Club Hills. As young girls they read Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and Judy Blume novels. College was the real scholastic awakening introducing these two Literary Enthusiasts to the Literary works of their great ancestors: James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Maya Angel...
Jun 13, 2021•57 min•Season 2Ep. 67
Audra Russell speaks with author Crystal Ann Mitchell. With her love of helping people, Crystal Ann Mitchell works as a nurse aide. She believes everyone is born with a gift. While working for others, she was also certain to pursue her own goals and dreams. From childhood, Mitchell dreamed of being a writer. She has always loved to write. She also enjoys spending time with her children, family, and friends. Mitchell is from Lexington, Kentucky. Beginning of Her Story is her debut novel. We talk ...
Jun 08, 2021•30 min•Season 2Ep. 66
Audra Russell speaks with author and poet Katchouscia Apollon. Katchouscia was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. During her birth the doctor accidentally damaged the nerves on the side of her face resulting in her having a speech impediment. Katchouscia moved permanently to the United States, Brooklyn, NY, to be exact, at the age of 3 yrs old. She spent years feeling different and unable to express herself. During her pre-teen years her family relocated to N.J. It was there that she met her classma...
Jun 08, 2021•51 min•Season 2Ep. 65
Audra Russell chats with author and poet Nubia the Doorway. Nubia's life work revolves around the hands-on study and application of the principles of Education, Spirituality, Psychology, and Creative Expression as applied to identity, human behavior, social systems, and relationships. She has over twenty years of experience working in these respective fields and has served as a consultant for more than twenty organizations in the last five years. She has been working as a Sole Proprietor since 2...
May 26, 2021•34 min•Season 2Ep. 64
Audra Russell speaks with Christian mystery author Gomer Joseph. Gomer Joseph, a native of Spring Valley, New York, earned his Business degree at Bob Jones University. Gomer says he writes stories “to glorify God, to minister, and to relate to my readers.” Reviewers commend his God-centered stories. He is the author of Never Gonna Be the Same, What's the Real Meaning of Love, You Gotta Do Right, Be Ready Always, and the Never As It Seems series. Joseph offers some of his work at no cost on Wattp...
May 11, 2021•53 min•Season 2Ep. 63
Audra Russell talks with sci-fi author Chase Bolling. This segment of 'Anything Goes' talks about Black authors in sci-fi. We've been in these spaces since BEFORE the genre began, with the first book dating back to 1859...even before Jules Verne and his Journey to the Center of the Earth. I speak with author Chase Bolling about Blacks in speculative fiction and his popular Vanguard series, which includes the increasingly popular books, The Road of Resistance and The War We Make. So sit back, rel...
Apr 30, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Season 2Ep. 62
Audra Russell chats with author and professor Dr. Regina Bradley. Dr. Bradley is the author of Chronicling Stankonia: the Rise of the Hip-Hop South . Chronicling Stankonia explores how Atlanta, GA hip hop duo OutKast influences the culture of the Black American South in the long shadow of the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. Bradley is also the editor of a collection of essays about OutKast for the University of Georgia Press titled An OutKast Reader . In this episode, we talk about the rap group, Out...
Apr 27, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Season 2Ep. 61
Audra Russell speaks with poet and author Calvin Ockletree. Calvin Jamal Ockletree is from Indianapolis, IN by way of Nashville, TN. He is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University with a B.S. in Criminal Justice and is currently in his last semester of completing his Master’s in Criminal Justice. His passion to write poetry began when he started journaling because he felt that his voice was not heard within his household. It transformed into poetry after he fell in love with a class calle...
Apr 20, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Season 2Ep. 60
Audra Russell speaks with author Alicia Nunn. Alicia Nunn is the author of Amazon best-seller, Ashira's World, and a contributor for Reflection magazine, Face 2 Face Africa, Chicago Tribune and Huffington Post. She has been recognized as an Athena Award and Leaders as Heroes finalist for her work as a fierce advocate for justice which is an underlying theme of her writing. Alicia uses the power of words as a force to move the reader and change the world. In this episode, we talk about African go...
Apr 13, 2021•32 min•Season 2Ep. 59
Audra Russell chats with author LaKase Cousino. LaKase Cousino is an author of fantasy, a musician, and Medieval History obsessive from the Midwest. Her debut novel, Across the Broken Tide, is forthcoming from Written in Melanin Publishing . When not writing, LaKase can be found reading about the 10th century or playing fetch with the family dog Ife. LaKase is a deep well of knowledge and so full of joy! You're going to laugh and learn in this episode. So grab your favorite beverage, sit back, a...
Apr 06, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Season 2Ep. 58
Audra Russell speaks with Demetrius Frazier, co-founder of Black Men Read. Mr. Frazier currently serves as the President of Black Men Read , a non-profit organization he founded with the current Vice President, Lance Adams. As part of Black Men Read , a community-based organization focused on improving literacy outcomes of Black males, he has been actively working in the Henrico County school system as well as in the Black community to inspire Black males to become lifelong readers. Demetrius Fr...
Mar 31, 2021•1 hr 37 min•Season 2Ep. 57
Audra Russell speaks with horror author Justin Q. Young. When it comes to Justin "Q" Young, you might see the author of several best-selling titles on the surface, but there is so much more than meets the eye. Young arrived on the literary scene in 2014 with the debut novel, Move Dat Doe. He took his career to new heights when he tapped into his erotic side with the best-selling series, Dickmitized. Making the transition from Urban Fiction to a female-dominated genre, Justin applied the simple f...
Mar 30, 2021•42 min•Season 2Ep. 56
Audra Russell speaks with Christian fiction author D.A. Bourne. D.A. Bourne is the author of The Phat Five series and DON'T PUSH ME. His goal as a writer is to bring integrity and faith through urban fiction. D.A's latest release, DON'T PUSH ME, was inspired by the social justice movement of 2020. It was a Sunday following the George Floyd tragedy that he was listening to a sermon series at his home church called "Silent No More". It had such a spiritual impact on D.A. that he stopped writing Bo...
Mar 23, 2021•46 min•Season 2Ep. 55
Audra Russell speaks with author Roland Taylor. Roland Taylor was born, raised, nurtured, and educated in Baltimore, Maryland. He is the author of two children's books: The Hip Hop Chess Master and I Know I Can, which he wrote to teach Black youths the power of perseverance, love, and empowerment. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in management and his Master of Business Administration in marketing. Roland is a proud husband and father of two, a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc...
Mar 16, 2021•40 min•Season 2Ep. 54
Audra Russell speaks with author and poet Tommy Gates. Tommy Gates, also known as The Realist Writer" is an author/poet from Savanah, Georgia who took his life story and experiences and made them vividly come to life all the while creating an undeniable storm to be reckoned with through social media by selling thousands of copies of his work around the globe. By daring to speak on topics and issues that most people stray away from The Realistic Writer captivated the hearts of readers through his...
Mar 09, 2021•50 min•Season 2Ep. 53
Audra Russell speaks with poet and author Kishawna Peck. Kishawna is a Canadian creative who infuses her island roots of Jamaica into her art. She began writing and singing from a very young age and has rediscovered art as a way to express the process of unbecoming who she never was. She finds inspiration in the small rhythms of life best exemplified in her poems, webs and watering. She is excited to continue exploring her creativity and to share her poetry with a broader audience. We have a hea...
Mar 01, 2021•45 min•Season 2Ep. 52
Audra Russell speaks with Dr. Joy'El Ballard. Dr. Joy’El Ballard is a board-certified Obstetrician/Gynecologist who encourages women to take a proactive approach to their health. She is deeply passionate about educating and empowering women to initiate and maintain a healthy lifestyle. She is a best-selling author of Loving Me, Myself and “Her”: Through Perimenopause & Beyond, which is a self-affirming guide that enlightens, encourages and empowers women approaching the menopausal transition...
Feb 28, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 51
Audra Russell chats with author Briana Cole. Briana Cole is an acclaimed author, motivational speaker, sex educator and actress. Her novels are known for exploring unconventional relationships and making readers question all expectations about love, lust, and monogamy. An Atlanta native, she graduated cum laude from Georgia Southern University and is a proud member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Her motto and ultimate drive toward success is a famous quote from Mae West: "You only live once,...
Feb 23, 2021•34 min•Season 2Ep. 50
Audra Russell chats with author Untamed. Author and poet, Untamed brings about enlightenment and amusement through real-life, everyday stories with resonating characters. This Cum Laude graduate of UMUC attributes her passion for the literary arts to her magnet school educational background. Her unique style of writing landed her awards such as Coca-Cola Young Writers Award and UBAWA’s Top 100 Authors 2018. Her creative talents afforded opportunities with SWAG Magazine, Boss Magnet Media, and tw...
Feb 16, 2021•56 min•Season 2Ep. 49
Audra Russell welcomes author Tiff Bella back to Between the Reads. Tiff Bella is the content creator and founder of The Bella Bunch. She is also a storyteller and author of over a dozen novels. Her best-selling series, Outside the Box, pushes the boundaries of imagination through its passion-filled pages. Tiff writes her stories about women because she believes “that though we may all have different stories and dispositions, we can find a piece of ourselves in every woman.” In this episode, we ...
Feb 16, 2021•46 min•Season 2Ep. 48
