In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, author Valerie Bolling discusses her debut children’s picture book titled, Let’s Dance. This rhythmic, rhyming picture book showcases dances from all over the world and features children of diverse backgrounds and abilities tapping, spinning and boogying away. Valerie’s aim in writing this picture book was to ensure that diverse children were reflected in her work, and she believed that dance was the perfect background for doing so-—because dance is a way in which we can all connect with one another. Valerie’s background is in education, and her career has spanned over 25 years. One of her primary goals as an educator has always been to get kids to love writing. In this episode, Valerie discusses her writing journey, how she became a writer at the very young age of four, and how she is embracing online tools for book promotion and school visits as a way to continue to connect with kids.

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In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, author Nancy B. Kennedy discusses her new middle grade book, Women Win the Vote: 19 for the 19thAmendment. This book features brief biographies of 19 key women who helped pave the way for passage of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote. It is beautifully designed and vividly illustrated by the talented Katy Dockrill. In 2017, one of Nancy’s friends mentioned that the year 2020 would mark the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. That conversation got Nancy’s creative mind spinning. In 2018, Nancy attended a writer’s conference where she won a pitch-a-palooza contest for her idea about a middle grade book focusing on the women’s suffrage movement. That contest win led her to finding an agent, which led to her finding a publisher. And in February of this year, Nancy’s book was published--just in time to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Amendment 19. In this episode, Nancy discusses her writing journey, how persistence has been the key to achieving her writing goals, and how any day she gets to write is a great day.

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In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, author Eileen Meyer discusses her latest children’s picture book, The Superlative A. Lincoln: Poems About Our 16th President. In this book, Eileen has written charming and whimsical poems expressing Abraham Lincoln’s superlative nature. As you may know, President Lincoln is famous for his many superlatives. For example, he was our tallest president, the president who was the best wrestler, the best storyteller, and the only president to hold a patent on an invention. The Superlative A. Lincoln tells the story of our 16th president from a unique perspective that young readers will enjoy, and Eileen’s poems teach kids about all the ways in which Abraham Lincoln was so unique, encouraging them to consider all the ways in which they, too, are superlative. In this episode, Eileen discusses her writing journey, how working with illustrator Dave Szalay brought President Lincoln to life on the page, and how winning a community-wide essay contest as a kid set her on the road to becoming a published author.

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In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, author Liz Tolsma discusses her new book, The Green Dress. It is a romantic suspense novel based on the true crimes of Sarah Jane Robinson in Massachusetts in the 1880s. Mrs. Robinson poisoned several family members to collect on their insurance policies. Liz takes Mrs. Robinson’s crimes and weaves them into her own thrilling tale as part of Barbour Publishing’s True Color Crime series. This is Liz’s second novel for the True Color Crime series. Her first, The Pink Bonnet, was a mystery based on events involving the Tennessee Children’s Home Society in 1932. Liz draws inspiration for her books from true life stories, whether they are true crimes for her suspense novels or her own family’s stories for her WWII fiction. In all of her books, Liz loves to incorporate suspense, action and mystery, along with a touch of romance. In this episode, Liz discusses her writing journey, how her work as an editor has influenced her own writing and how she enjoyed researching and writing The Green Dress so much that it convinced her to write more—and she has now has more true crime stories on the way.

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In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, author Annette Whipple discusses her upcoming nonfiction children’s books, including The Story of the Wright Brothers: A Biography for New Readers, Whooo Knew? The Truth about Owls and The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion: A Chapter-by-Chapter Guide to the Little House books. Annette’s motto is “facts are fun,” so it’s no surprise that she loves research and writing nonfiction books for young readers. As a self-professed life-long learner, Annette’s goal is to write fun and informative books that will allow her to share her love of learning with kids. In this episode, I’ll chat with Annette about her writing journey, how her love of science and history comes in handy when writing her fact-filled children’s books, and how she began her writing career as a blogger before turning her hand to writing books for young readers.

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In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, author Linh Nguyen-Ng discusses her latest book, Dragons N’ Antibodies. It is a short story introduction to a longer novel to be released next year. Dragons N’ Antibodies takes an esoteric look at DNA and proposes the question, “What if DNA were magic?”. This story follows a scientist who is on a desperate quest to find a cure for his own daughter’s terminal illness, and his search takes him to the limits of reason and into an inconceivable quantum world of human biology that contains DNA-dragons. Linh is a lover science fiction and spirituality, and her stories are a unique blend of the two. She is also an artist who has written and illustrated two children’s picture books. In this episode, I’ll chat with Linh about her writing journey, the important role that critique partners and editors play in any writer’s work, and how her work as an artist colors and shapes her writing.
 
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In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, author Merriam Saunders discusses her two children’s picture books, My Wandering, Dreaming Mind and My Whirling, Twirling Motor. Merriam also has a middle grade novel releasing in early 2021. While all of books feature characters with ADHD, it is not the only thing Merriam writes about – but it is one thing she is passionate about. By day, Merriam is a licensed family therapist specializing in ADHD, as well as an adjunct professor of psychology. She didn’t set out to write books, although she loved writing stories as a kid, but she now sees her writing for young readers as an extension of her skills and passion for helping children. In this episode, Merriam discusses her writing journey, how she helped compile a database of kid lit books dealing with mental health issues on the website anovelmind.com, and how writing a fan letter as a kid to her favorite children’s book author changed her life forever, because that fan letter eventually led to Merriam meeting her husband.
 
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In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, author Joseph Mazerac discusses his novel, Into the Attic of the World. It is the story of a normal teenage boy named Charles who meets another teen, known only as Captain Kid. Captain Kid describes reality as a deck of cards, with many layers and, like cards in a deck, two different sides – one red and one blue. The world as we know it is the blue side of the Reality Deck. Captain Kid invites Charles on a remarkable adventure up the Reality Deck and into the Attic of the World. Joseph began his writing journey as an artist creating graphic novels. When his story ideas became too big for the graphic novel form, he turned his hand to full-length novels. You can hear Joseph read from his novel, Into the Attic of the Word, on his own podcast called The Blue Deck. In this episode, Joseph discusses his writing journey, how his love of audio books helped sparked his desire to write stories after struggling with dyslexia as a kid, and why one of the best parts of being a writer is watching his kids get interested in his books.

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In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, award-winning author Laurie Wallmark discusses her picture book biographies about women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). The women who are the subjects of Laurie’s books are pioneers in fields ranging from computer science to mathematics to astronomy. Her latest book is titled, Numbers in Motion: Sophie Kowalevski, Queen of Mathematics. (Check out Laurie reading from her picture books on her Youtube channel.) Laurie has always loved math and is a former software engineer and computer science professor. Now, she channels that passion into her writing, finding ways to explain difficult concepts to young readers and sharing the stories of amazing women in STEM. In this episode, Laurie discusses her writing journey, why she believes children’s pictures books are an excellent way to get kids excited about science and math and why she believes it is important for both girls and boys to read about women in STEM. 

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In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, author Darlene Beck-Jacobson discusses her latest middle grade novel, Wishes, Dares and How to Stand Up to a Bully. It is a coming of age story about losing a family member, summer vacation, learning how to be brave and a fish who grants wishes. This book was Darlene’s first novel in verse, and she found the experience of fashioning a story out of the poems she wrote to be both intriguing and joyful. Wishes, Dares and How to Stand Up to a Bully is Darlene’s second book. Her debut work, the award-winning Wheels of Change, is middle grade historical fiction about racial intolerance, social change and sweeping progress set at the turn of the twentieth century. Tune in to hear Darlene discuss her writing journey, discovering her uniquely middle grade voice and the wonderful story behind her latest book’s delightful cover art.

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In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, author Diane Barnes discusses her latest novel titled, More Than. Ms. Magazine named it one of the best feminist books to curl up with. More Than, like her other novels, is about relationships. In particular, it is a story about the power of female friendships. Diane has considered herself a writer since the second grade. Now, she is a marketing and corporate communication writer by day and a novelist in whatever spare moments she can find. Diane is fascinated by relationships, whether its friendship, romance or the relationship we have with ourselves, and she explores these subjects in her stories. Tune in to hear Diane discuss her writing journey, the story inspiration one can find in a fitness bootcamp, and how her stories explore the power we all have to overcome obstacles.

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In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, author Alanna Ritchie discusses her newest work, Beach City: A Memoire of a 19 Year-Old Cali Girl. The book is an homage to growing up in Southern California and grappling with coming of age angst as well as excitement. It is a story of the narrator’s transition from girl to woman while trying to proclaim who she is and what she wants. Alanna always wanted to write books, and she started writing Beach City over a summer while in college. Seventeen years later, the book is now published. These days, Alanna finds herself doing a great deal of writing-—product marketing and blog posts for work, as well as her own poetry and two other published books. Tune in to hear Alanna chat about her writing journey, her desire to find her own unique voice through her writing, and her belief that readers want stories about accessible people, insecurities and all.

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In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, author and illustrator Timothy Young discusses his children’s picture books, the latest of which is curiously titled, “Untitled.” Some of his other books include I’m Looking for a Monster and I Hate Picture Books!, which lovingly pokes fun at some of the classics of children’s literature. Tim has worked as an animator, a toy designer and an illustrator of books by other authors. While Tim has always been an artist, he was never very confident as writer when he was a kid, so he is the first to admit his surprise about being a published author of almost a dozen books. Tune in to hear Tim chat about his writing journey, the joy he finds in doing school visits, and how the most surprising part of his writing journey is that he actually has a writing journey.

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In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, author Terri Wangard discusses her newest release titled, Roll Back the Clouds. It is a story that takes place during World War I on the ill-fated, final voyage of the Lusitania in 1915. Terri has published other historical fiction novels as well, including a series set during World War II. Terri has always been a writer, a lover of libraries and a student of history. She has degrees in both history and library science, and she puts them to good use writing her own stories. Tune in to hear Terri discuss her writing journey, the attention to detail required when writing historical fiction, and the importance of writing groups for support and growth as an author.

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In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, author Jillian Bradfield discusses her two guided journals for teens and preteens. Her first book is a guided journal for girls titled, Write on Girl! She followed up her debut work with a second journal, Write on Boy! These journals contain writing prompts designed to engage, encourage and motivate girls and boys to make smart decisions and express themselves through journaling. In addition to the writing prompts, the journals contain coloring pages and interesting discussion topics, and Jillian’s overall goal is to get teens and preteens to communicate and understand their thoughts and feelings by writing. Jillian was inspired to create these journals based on her own teenage journaling experience. Tune in to hear Jillian chat about her writing journey, her desire to help young adults express themselves through journal writing, and her sources of inspiration for the journals that she has created, which, of course, include her parents.

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In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, award-winning author J.R. Sharp discusses his newest release, Breaking From the Enemy. It is the story of family, honor, love and freedom-fighting in Italy during WWII. Breaking from the Enemy is the first book in a trilogy, and it follows on from J.R.’s debut work, Feeding the Enemy, which is based on J.R.’s own family history in northern Italy during the war. It tells the story of his family’s struggle to survive when faced with the destruction of their farm and their way of life. J.R. is a retired United States Navy Commander who has lived and served all over the world. Now, in retirement, he is pursuing his love of writing and sharing his insight on the European struggles during WWII. In this episode, I’ll chat with J.R. about his writing journey, the real-life inspiration for some of his characters, and the lessons he learned from interviewing his family members about their experiences during the war to end all wars.

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In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, award-winning children’s picture book illustrator Nicole Tadgell discusses her most recent book, Tiara’s Hat Parade. Nicole’s lovely illustrations have filled the pages of more than 30 books for children. Nicole has always been an artist, taking easily to drawing and painting as a kid. Today, Nicole is an advertising agency art director with more than twenty years’ experience in graphic design. But illustrating children’s picture books is a passion, and Nicole uses her talents to help books come to life for young readers. She has even begun writing her own stories and illustrating them as well. Tune in to hear Nicole discuss her illustrating journey, what being an artist has meant to her, and her advice for people who want to pursue careers in publishing.

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In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, award-winning author Yvonne Ventresca discusses her two young adult novels-—Pandemic and Black Flowers, White Lies-—and her most recent short story, which will appear in a new anthology titled, Voyagers: The Third Ghost. Yvonne’s writing journey began with nonfiction works and technical writing, but she eventually transitioned to fiction and hasn’t looked back. Her debut novel, Pandemic, is certainly relevant at the moment. It is the story about a contemporary virus outbreak, a most timely topic. Tune in to hear Yvonne discuss her writing journey, what she learned about outbreaks and pandemics from her book research, and her advice for teens and writers of all ages.

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In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, freelance editor Jessica Hatch discusses her journey through the publishing world, some common mistakes that authors tend to make, and the various types of edits that a book goes through on its way to being published. Jessica got her start in publishing in the hallowed halls of some of New York City’s biggest publishing institutions. She worked her way through many slush-piles and learned how to successfully market books. Today, she puts her knowledge and experience to good use helping her clients edit and revise their manuscripts and market their own books. If you are a writer or you want to become a writer, or even if you are simply curious about the world of writing and publishing, this episode is for you. All writers, wherever they are on their writing journey, must experience that inevitable stage in the publishing process known as editing. Some love it, some loathe it. But everyone must do it, and we can all get better at it. Tune in to hear Jessica chat about different types of editing resources (including some resources available on her website and her own online courses) to help authors make life easier for themselves and their editors.

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In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, author Lauren Kerstein discusses her debut children’s picture book, Rosie the Dragon and Charlie Make Waves. It is a story about the challenges of teaching a dragon how to swim. This picture book was the result of Lauren’s writing efforts during National Picture Book Writing Week, although it started out as a completely different story. As a result of playing with different story structures and drawing on her own experiences as a child and family therapist and a swim team mom, that original story evolved into her debut book, which is all about having courage and learning new skills--such as learning to swim, which is especially difficult if you’re a dragon. Tune in to hear Lauren chat about her writing journey, how her 20+-year career as a therapist influences and informs her writing, and the invaluable role critique partners play in her work.

The Bookshop at the End of the Internet is also available on iTunes, Google Play Music, Spotify and iHeartRadio. Subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss an episode!

In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, author Megan Kinney discusses her debut novel, Dakota Peace. It is the story of a 911 dispatcher struggling with burnout who meets a South Dakota state trooper searching for a kidnapped foster child. In writing this debut novel, Megan drew upon her own experiences as both a foster parent and a law enforcement wife. Megan was inspired to write this novel by a real-life incident that occurred in her hometown. Megan attended the funeral for two police officers killed in the line of duty. At their funeral, a recording of their “last call” was played, the last call made by a 911 dispatcher to the fallen officers. It was an experience that deeply affected Megan, and in it she found the spark for her book, Dakota Peace. Tune in to hear Megan discuss her writing journey, what she learned when she took a citizens dispatch course and spent several hours in the emergency dispatch center, and how writing this story gave her closure for the real life tragedy that hit so close to home.

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In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, author Shaun O. Smith discusses his newest book, Shaun O. Smith: A Collection of Poems. This self-titled work contains poems that are designed to invite the reader to see what Shaun sees when he looks himself in the mirror. Shaun’s poems show us who he is, both as a poet and as a person. This collection is filled with the philosophical, existential and emotional ideas that Shaun walks around with on a daily basis, with a dash of humor sprinkled here and there. Tune in to hear Shaun discuss his writing journey, the inspiration he draws from being a father to his young daughter and newborn son, and the wonderful surprise he received when he read his wife’s forward to this self-titled collection of poems -- it was in the form of a love letter.

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In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, author Patti Stockdale discusses her debut novel titled, Three Little Things. The inspiration for her novel came from a collection of love letters that her grandparents exchanged during World War I. The lovely box of letters was given to Patti at just the right time, when she needed a project for a college writing course. Patti started writing, but, after graduation, she put away her manuscript in favor of life’s other responsibilities. Years later, she dusted off the manuscript, and Three Little Things was eventually published. It is the story of forbidden love. As Arno goes off to war in Europe, Hattie stays behind in Iowa in her father’s house. The young pair exchange letters during the Great War, sharing three little secrets in each letter and growing closer with each one. Tune in to hear Patti discuss her writing journey, how learning her grandparents’ love story inspired her to write one of her own, and how a chance meeting in an airport led to a wonderful endorsement for her book from an acclaimed NYT best selling author.

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​In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, author Donna Schlachter discusses her historical mysteries with a touch of romance, including her latest book titled, Double Jeopardy. Donna loves a good mystery and has written her own in both novella collections and full-length novels. She often develops her main characters first, getting to know them inside and out, and then finds an interesting moment or event in history in which to set their particular mystery. In Double Jeopardy, she places her characters in a silver mining town in Colorado during the 1880’s. Is there romance? Yes. Is there a mystery? Absolutely. Tune in to hear Donna discuss her writing journey, how she strikes a balance between planting red herrings and not leading the reader too far astray, and how the best writing advice she ever received involved her husband and a post office mailbox.

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In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, Talia Carner, award-winning author of historical fiction based upon true, but little-known facts, discusses her newest release, The Third Daughter. It is the story of a young woman lured from Russia to Buenos Aries in the late 1800’s by a false promise of marriage, only to find herself forced into prostitution by a legally-sanctioned union of traffickers called the Zwi Migdal, which operated with impunity on a global scale for nearly 70 years. Talia’s books involve social issues that feel as relevant today as they would have in the time period in which her stories are set. Tune in to hear Talia discuss her writing journey, the use of fiction as a vehicle to inform and educate readers about challenging social issues, and how she found the courage to write such difficult stories.

The Bookshop at the End of the Internet is also available on iTunes, Google Play Music, Spotify and iHeartRadio. Subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss an episode!