We make it so today with author Jan (J.E.) Thomas, author of The AI Incident and Control Freaks. Lots of good habit discussion, some Star Trek, and exactly how you can be a certified Human Author. Jan is a delight!

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This episode’s book reviews:

HOW TO GROW A FAMILY TREE by Bea Birdsong, illustrated by Jasu Hu

THIS BOOK IS ON FIRE! by Ron Keres, illustrated by Arthur Lin

CASSINI'S MISSION by Katie Venit, illustrated by Julia Blattman

The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com

Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes. You can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com

Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!!

Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur and as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!

Today's second-timer is our last-timer of 2025! Matt Forrest Esenwine graces us once again with his delightful, radio-ready voice for a soothing exit to the year.

In addition to Matt's twelve other books (some of which you can hear about in our first conversation from 2021), this year Matt released his anthology A Universe of Rainbows: Multicolored Poems for a Multicolored World.

We don't get to talk a ton about anthologies, so this was a delight!

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This episode’s book reviews:

JOVITA WORE PANTS by Aida Salazar, illustrated by Molly Mendoza

THIS BOOK IS PERFECT by Ron Keres, illustrated by Arthur Lin

MY DAD IS THE BEST by Fran Pintadera, illustrated by Joan Turu

The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com

Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes. You can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com

Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!!

Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur and as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!

Karyn Friedman-Everham (Josh's agent sibling - hi, Joyce!) has a fascinating story that's a little bit backwards from how most of us approach our debuts, but that's what makes her story fascinating and very endearing!

Her 2024 debut was Otter Oughta Know, followed in October 2025 by Chesed. Two different paths, one cool convo!

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This episode’s book reviews:

NUNU AND THE SEA by Isabella Kung

ERNO RUBIK AND HIS MAGIC CUBE by Kerry Aradhya, illustrated by Kara Kramer

The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com

Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes. You can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com

Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!!

Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur and as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!