Alyssa Hazel is a writer and poet who enjoys exploring the weird, wonky, and wonderful through her work. Though she specializes in Odd Tales and Horror, she dabbles in Fantasy and Science Fiction. Her pieces have found homes in Bluestem, the Red Coyote, and the Dark River Review. Her six books include; The Twitching Light Trilogy, The Third Test, To Those Who Haunt You, and Among the Juniper Trees. Her latest release--as of the day of this recording!--is the Twitching Light Omnibus.

We discuss the Twitching Light Omnibus, as well as her book coming out in July "The Beta Initiative", the sequel to "The Third Test."

Alyssa offers advice for marketing for authors and how she works her strategy. She talks about the time and intentionality it takes.

We rabbit trail on how insidious the IRS is (they can find us in space!)

And discuss her brainstorming techniques (you won't believe how she achieves it!) She recommends this YouTube channel for inspiration.

Overall, we really enjoyed having Alyssa on and hope the best for her upcoming projects!

You can find out more about Alyssa and her upcoming works on her website.

** Note: there was some issue with Aaron's audio and he couldn't be heard a chunk of the time. Not sure what was going on there...

We talk to the always awesome Tosca Lee, discussing her latest book, The Long March Home, a fictionalized account of the Bataan Death March from WWII.

She discusses the difference in writing process as a solo author, working Ted Dekker, and writing with Marcus Brotherton.

Tosca discusses what's the most difficult thing for her to write, and you'll never guess what that is!

Tosca and Liberty geek out about Midwest life. And who would Tosca sit down with for a monthly lunch?

You can find out more about Tosca at her website, ToscaLee.com .

Today, we're talking to Lauren Brandenburg.

We talk about Lauren's favorite book as a kid (The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards), her upcoming 10th book in the Gardener series, being the MC for Realm Makers, her hall of art on her website from her readers, and her guidance she offers to new writers.

Lauren H. Brandenburg drinks hot cocoa every single morning and unashamedly has an alarm clock with bunny ears. She's a multi-award-winning author, including an American Christian Fiction Writers' Carol Award winner, Realm Award and Selah Award finalist, as well as a finalist for the People's Book Prize in the UK. Lauren writes to give young readers and grown-ups epic stories and cozy tales of fantastically lovely places to dwell. But most importantly, she's a wife and mother who loves our Heavenly Father so very much! She currently lives with her husband, Jamie, and their children in a lovely little town just south of Nashville, Tennessee.

Visit her at LaurenHBrandenburg.com

It's our first solo episode in ...mutters...

Well, we're not exactly sure how long. But still!

Aaron, Josh, and Liberty sit down to discuss what we're currently working on, our most recent projects, and among the rabbit trails, we also discuss the things we wish we knew when we first started publishing. Overall, for a free-wheeling show like ours, we managed to keep it on track. cough, cough uh-huh.

You can check out our personal projects on the following sites:

Aaron:
His website, AaronDeMott.com

Josh:
X.com

Liberty:
Instagram and Substack

Today, we talk about the upcoming Realm Makers Expo, the outgrowth of the Realm Makers Writer's Conference. It's happening July 18 - 20, 2025 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

To find out more, check out RealmMakers.com .

Find the RealmSphere here.

Find out more about JJ Johnson's books here.

Today we have returning guest, Lindsay Franklin! Our longtime listeners might remember her from our VERY FIRST episode in 2016!

We talk about her upcoming release, The Unraveling of Emlyn DuLaine. We discuss the starts of the character of Emlyn, which reach back to her first story as an adult writer.

Other topics discussed:

• Coffee/tea/snacks!
• Writing male characters as a woman who is an INTJ.
• The most difficult scene to write in her book.
• AUDIOBOOKS!
• What questions Lindsay asks herself when starting a new project.
• Finding the source of your writers block.

Lindsay A. Franklin is the Carol Award–winning author of The Story Peddlerand ECPA best-selling author of Adored. By day, she wrangles chaos as Managing Editor of Enclave Publishing. By night, she spins whimsical tales fueled by hot drinks, rainy days, and the thunderous purrs of her spoiled cats. Lindsay lives among the misty evergreens of thePacific Northwest with her family. She is currently on a quest to discover the sparkliest nail polish on the planet.

You can find out more about Lindsay and her work at LindsayAFranklin.com.

Instagram.com/@Linzyafranklin

Today with our 5th Season Debut, we have 4-time returning guest, H.L. (Heidi) Burke!

We talk to her about the upcoming DOSA Files Anthology (Volume 2!) which our very own Aaron DeMott is a part of.

We also talk the RPG writing she's doing and the perils of doing a book launch just before Christmas.

Also : MUTANT CARIBOU!

H. L. Burke has written more books than she can count—because she's written a lot of books, not just because she can't count very high.

Easily distracted by shinies, she has published in many subgenres including fantasy romance, Steampunk, and superhero, and always creates story worlds with snark, feels, and wonder.

Married to her high school crush, a now retired Marine, she spends her time writing, spoiling her cats, and supervising her two supervillains in training (aka her precocious daughters).

Originally from Oregon, but currently living in a forest in West Virginia, she wilts without trees and doesn't mind the rain. She is a fan of delicious flavor, a follower of the Light, and a believer in happily ever after.

You can find more about H.L. Burke's books at HLBurkeAuthor.com.

Kerry Nietz is an award-winning science fiction author. He has twelve speculative novels in print, along with two novellas, a handful of short stories, and a non-fiction book, FoxTales.

Kerry's novel A Star Curiously Singing won the Readers Favorite Gold Medal Award for Christian Science Fiction and is notable for its dystopian, cyberpunk vibe in a world under sharia law. It is often mentioned on "Best of" lists.

Among his writings, Kerry's most talked about is the genre-bending Amish Vampires in Space. AViS was mentioned on the Tonight Show and in the Washington Post, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly. Newsweek called it "a welcome departure from the typical Amish fare."

Kerry is a refugee of the software industry. He spent more than a decade of his life flipping bits, first as one of the principal developers for the now mythical Fox Software, and then as one of Bill Gates's minions at Microsoft. He is a husband, a father, a technophile and a movie buff.

In this episode, we talk about his latest book, Rhats Free, set in the Takamo Universe--which was an education for us as the hosts because we weren't old enough to know about this.

The show kind of runs the gamut in topics as we talk writing, marketing, and Kerry's other creative pursuits.

Learn more about Kerry at Nietz.com.