I had an amazing conversation with fellow writer and podcaster Jackie Amsden. Jackie Amsden worked as a fashion model in China, Japan, and Taiwan before retiring at the age of eighteen after one too many agent threats, nude photo shoot requests, and self-loathing-induced Pocky binges. If you’d like to learn more about her descent into the darker side of Asia’s candy-coated modeling industry sign up for free installments of her upcoming memoir and get updates about the sequel to The Tokyo Cover G...
Jul 29, 2022•45 min
JN Supermom (Jessica Nielsen) is a poet, writer, and author born and raised in the British Columbia Kootenay’s. A trained Healthcare Aide and mother of seven children who have a range of special needs, she creates her works from experiences and the world around her. Always excelling with the love of writing; she perceives the world in simplistic and unique ways. She believes every person has something inspiring to share. You also find her randomly writing on her blog and taking on a new project ...
Jun 09, 2022•30 min
Autumn Bardot is the author of stories about fearless women and dangerous passions. She writes historical fiction, historical erotica, and contemporary fantasy. Her 4-book urban fantasy series is written under the pen name LZ Marie. She’s a wife, mom, grandma, and teacher. Because that doesn’t keep her busy enough, she has a YouTube channel and podcast for new writers with lots of writing tips, author tools, and inspiration. Autumn writes best at home in her sunny Southern California backy...
Jun 02, 2022•54 min•Season 2Ep. 18
ShaunTay (EnrichMom) is dedicated to sharing parenting hacks and solutions for busy moms to help them empower themselves. LinkTree Check out ShaunTay's books HERE
May 26, 2022•35 min•Season 2Ep. 17
K.M. West loves to write characters who explore their ancient traditions, cultures, and world with “humor-wrapped ruthlessness.” An insatiable knowledge seeker, she’s likely to be found devouring books on myths and ghosts (both real and perceived) alongside research papers on serial killers, war, and mental illness. As an IT professional, gym owner, yoga instructor, strength coach, mother, and partner, she spends any spare moment she has writing stories for people who want to believe in magic an...
May 19, 2022•55 min•Season 2Ep. 16
Natalia Hooker Natalia has 20 years of writing and publishing experience, specializing in non-fiction. She is the author of LJ Hooker The Man , Flipped and the Misha The Traveling Puppy children's series. Natalia has bachelor's degrees from the Australian National University and the University of London, and a master's degree from New York University. Natalia was born in Sydney and has lived in major cities including New York, London, Milan, and Paris. She is now based in Barcelona. She is the f...
May 12, 2022•34 min•Season 2Ep. 15
May Lark is a writer and lover of the romance genre ever since she read her first Harlequin Romance from the 80s. Join me as I talk to May about her Vella stories, our collective imposter syndrome, and how social media has become a necessary evil. May is a bit of an enigma online, but you can follow May on Instagram and check out her Vella stories on Amazon. Linktree...
May 05, 2022•39 min•Season 2Ep. 14
Jan Kirchner currently lives in Illinois with her husband, daughter, dog, two cats, and a gecko. As a debut author of Holes in Your Umbrella , she is a 2011 graduate of Olivet Nazarene University majoring in English with minors in Literature and Creative Writing. Check out Jan's blog Pieces of Fractured Glass Get Jan's books HERE...
Apr 28, 2022•33 min•Season 2Ep. 13
Sasha Blaine is a mother, lawyer, and life-long learner who loves history, world cultures, found poetry, and journalism. She has been writing, largely unpublished, most of her life. Inspired by the real-life travel adventures of a friend of hers, she started writing non-fiction children's books about the many amazing places he has been. Get Professor Ping Hangs with the Dead Follow Professor Ping's adventures on Instagram!...
Apr 21, 2022•43 min•Season 2Ep. 12
Lesley Larosse is a private voice instructor who has turned her passion for writing, working with teens, and music into her debut novel, This is How I Live Now . Get This is How I Live Now Check out her website Follow her on her favorite social media platform TikTok...
Apr 14, 2022•51 min•Season 2Ep. 11
Michelle Pointis Burns juggles mothering her ten children, homeschooling (the oldest five have now graduated college), living her Catholic faith, and writing. She loves to research topics of all kinds, read British authors (especially Jane Austen and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle), quote movies in regular conversation, and drink hot chocolate from elegant teacups. When asked how she manages it all, she has been known to reply, “Prayer, caffeine, and a sense of humor.” Michelle has been a devoted member...
Apr 07, 2022•55 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Dana and Chloe grew up in rural Ohio and sparked a close friendship in the summer of 2019. When the Pandemic hit in 2020 they saw it as an opportunity to be adventurous. As two young moms, they spent months finding creative outlets through baking and art, but they were running out of things to do. So, when Dana came to Chloe one Friday over coffee and suggested they write a book — it seemed like the next logical step in their endeavors to use their time at home to pursue something they'd always ...
Mar 31, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Kathleen Aldworth Foster is the author of Doneraile Court: The Story of The Lady Freemason. She is a lover of history, travel and old houses. Listen to my interview with her to find out how the idea for Doneraile Court was born, who she is and isn't related to, and why her memoir will be entitled "Scrappy". Get Doneraile Court HERE .
Mar 24, 2022•38 min•Season 2Ep. 8
California Girl Pam was always spontaneous, but then a 3 month trip overseas turns into an epic journey as she backpacked around the world SOLO for 3 years. Her sarcasm and optimism got her into and out of trouble through Africa, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, and New Zealand in the 1990's. Pre-internet days, Pam would sign her letters home as an homage to Indiana Jones and it stuck. For 25 years she's been told to write about her adventures, and it's finally here. Her debu...
Mar 17, 2022•49 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Katie Fabian is an author, illustrator, and the creator of “Cretaceous Fairytales”. You can follow her serialized fiction at https://www.ksfabiancreations.com/ Follow her on Instagram: @ksfabian_creations Follow her on TikTok: @ksfabian_creations
Mar 10, 2022•35 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Jennifer Walker is a teacher and writer from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She lives with her incredibly smart husband Ian, her hilarious and exceptionally sweet children Everett and Kennedy, and her floppy, impossible-not-to-love Bernedoodle puppy, Leo. When she's not teaching, writing, or reading, you can most likely find Jennifer in a yoga studio, in the kitchen baking muffins, or running off the calories of the muffins she's just baked. She's also famous for publicly embarrassing her...
Mar 03, 2022•39 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Stephanie K Clemens is known for many things: an author, photographer, dog mom, instagrammer, adventurer, teacher, lawyer, and more. When she’s not sitting behind her laptop she can be found on some adventure. Most of the time it’s a road trip with her two doggos, but recently it has been in the pages of a book. You can find all Stephanie's information HERE . Make sure you follow her dogs' Insta @pupfrankie
Feb 24, 2022•46 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Zee was born and raised in Manila, Philippines. She grew up with her dad, brothers, and grandparents. She currently lives in the North suburbs of Chicagoland, IL with her husband, twin sons, and fluffy dog. She is an engineer by education, a photographer by profession, an artist by practice, and a writer by soul. She drinks good coffee and appreciates fresh sushi. Just not together. Reverie is her first published work of fiction and the first book in the Woolgathering Series. It is a finalist in...
Feb 17, 2022•46 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Jessica Brown is the author of Something Sweet for Christmas and Staying Lost, Kindle Vella stories. Jessica gives me a lesson in the ins and outs of Kindle Vella, we wax poetic about the days of waiting for a commercial to pee, and I learn what her most prized possession is and why on this episode of Bookshelf Banter. You can find all of Jessica's links below: https://linktr.ee/JessicaBrownAuthor?fbclid=IwAR30i15O5tKf0vSo-bYiS8bHG7bbJ8KOOBBwcAiJ7gf611P3A3fGsnryvOk...
Feb 10, 2022•37 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Leani Lopez is a Puerto Rican writer from New Hampshire. Creating characters and stories has always been her passion ever since she wrote her first story. This passion led her to leave her long-time job to pursue writing full time. She writes romance and erotic thrillers in addition to ghostwriting and hosting her own writing podcast called “I Got Nothing”. You can find links to Leani's website and books HERE . ...
Feb 03, 2022•43 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Whitney Dineen is a rock star in her own head. While delusional about her singing abilities, there's been a plethora of validation that she's a fairly decent author (AMAZING!!!). After winning many writing awards and selling nearly a kabillion books (math may not be her forte, either), she's decided to just let the voices in her head say whatever they want (sorry, Mom). She also won a fourth-place ribbon in a fifth-grade swim meet in backstroke. So, there's that. Whitney loves to play with her k...
Sep 20, 2020•48 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Laura loves connecting with readers. For news and update, click the Follow button to the left or sign up for Laura's newsletter at www.lauraheffernan.com . Also find her on Facebook or on Twitter , where she spends far too much time tweeting about reality TV and Canadian chocolate.
Sep 13, 2020•31 min•Season 1Ep. 8
If you're a fan of contemporary women's fiction, you have to listen to this episode featuring author Monique McDonell! Find out how Monique comes up with wacky character names, her thoughts on "Wonder", why she doesn't write literary fiction, and that time she predicted Jamie Durie's career would take off on Oprah. Monique McDonell is a USA Today Bestselling Australian contemporary women’s fiction author, who writes chick-lit, romantic comedies and sweet romance novels. She I lives on the beauti...
Sep 06, 2020•48 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Tracy Krimmer loves coffee, popcorn, Drew Barrymore, and the movie Saving Silverman. She enjoys reading great books (of course) and writing realistic characters for you to enjoy. When she listens to music she prefers the 80s and 90s music she grew up on. In a typical day you'll find her writing at one of her favorite spots-on the couch, at the kitchen table, or at her favorite hometown coffee shop. You can find her on Twitter , Facebook , Instagram, and Goodreads . Find out all the latest ...
Aug 30, 2020•46 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Telling stories of resilient women, Kathryn R. Biel hails from Upstate New York where her most important role is being mom and wife to an incredibly understanding family who don't mind fetching coffee and living in a dusty house. In addition to being Chief Home Officer and Director of Child Development of the Biel household, she works as a school-based physical therapist. She attended Boston University and received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from The Sage Colleges. After years of writing ...
Aug 23, 2020•59 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Author Maida Malby cooks up multicultural, foodie, international contemporary romance stories filled with sizzling heat, mouthwatering spice, and a whole lotta love. When not writing, reading, or reviewing books, Maida consults her husband on word selection, debates with her ten-year-old son regarding the Oxford comma, cooks the dishes she features in her stories, procrastibakes using Baileys as her secret yummy ingredient, and watches golf and food shows on TV. Be sure to check out Maida'...
Aug 16, 2020•48 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Rich Amooi is the Amazon #1 Bestselling author of 15 romantic comedies , including It’s Not PMS, It’s You , Dying to Meet You , There’s Something About a Cowboy , and Madam Love, Actually . Over 500,000 downloads from readers around the world. A former radio personality and wedding DJ, Rich now writes romantic comedies full-time in San Diego, California, and is happily married to a kiss monster imported from Spain. Rich believes in public displays of affection, silliness, infinite possibilities,...
Aug 09, 2020•32 min•Season 1Ep. 3
This week I interviewed author Renee Conoulty. Renee is an Australian Air Force wife and mother of two. She writes stories of dance, romance, and military life including Heart Swings, Catching Onix, and Don't Mean a Thing. If you run into Renee at the shops, make sure you wave to get her attention because she'll likely be listening to an audiobook or lost in a daydream. Sign up for Renee's monthly newsletter and receive Cheek to Cheek for FREE! You can find out more about Renee on her webs...
Aug 02, 2020•34 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Welcome to the first episode of Bookshelf Banter! I'm your host, Heather Balog. I'm the author of 13 novels and 3 children's books that I wrote with my teenage daughter. I'm a wife, mom, school nurse, blogger, and audiobook narrator as well. On this podcast we'll be talking to some amazing Indie authors, specifically authors from the Rom-Com, Women's Fiction, and Chick Lit genres. You can find me at Heather Balog, Author on Facebook, the_bad_mommy_books on Instagram, The Bad Mommy Diaries...
Jul 27, 2020•14 min•Season 1Ep. 1
