Bookwild

Kate Hergott, Bookwild Collective
  • 5.0 (3)
  • DRAMA
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

On Tuesdays, Kate Hergott talks with authors about their books and writing processes. On Fridays, Kate talks with multiple co-host Bookstagrammers and BookTubers about a variety of bookish topics.

  1. 2D AGO

    Art As Resistance: Breaking Down Benito Bowl with MacKenzie Green

    BONUS EPISODE!! MacKenzie Green and I were set to record yesterday (the morning after the Benito Bowl) for a Friday episode, but all we could talk about was Bad Bunny's performance, so I decide for timing's sake, it made sense to release it today! We discuss it all: why it felt historic rather than merely entertaining, how the show functioned as protest art, communal storytelling, and cultural affirmation, especially for Latino and Afro-Latino audiences. We also dive into how intentional details—language, symbolism, ancestry, refusal to translate or explain—created a moment that centered people who are usually asked to assimilate, while inviting others to listen, learn, or sit with not fully understanding, proof that creativity, empathy, and resistance exist loudly and beautifully even in times of backlash and fear. Check Out Author Social Media Packages Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack Get Bookwild Merch Follow @imbookwild on Instagram Other Co-hosts On Instagram: Gare Billings @gareindeedreads Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland Halley Sutton @halleysutton25 Brian Watson @readingwithbrian MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba

    1h 26m
  2. Family, Fear and the Final Frontier: Jeff Rake's and Rob Hart's Detour

    2D AGO

    Family, Fear and the Final Frontier: Jeff Rake's and Rob Hart's Detour

    This week, I talk with Jeff Rake and Rob Hart about the first installment of their new series Detour. Jeff shares how he got the idea for the story originally for TV, but when he mentioned it to a friend they said it sounded like a novel. When he got connected to Rob, their partnership was instantly born, and they went on to write an entire full-length novel without meeting in person until the very end. They share what their process was like, how they developed such a large cast of characters, and how being fathers themselves shaped the family themes in the book. Detour Synopsis Ryan Crane wasn’t looking for trouble—just a cup of coffee. But when this cop spots a gunman emerging from an unmarked van, he leaps into action and unknowingly saves John Ward, a billionaire with presidential aspirations, from an assassination attempt. As thanks for Ryan’s quick thinking, Ward offers him the chance of a lifetime: to join a group of lucky civilians chosen to accompany three veteran astronauts on the first manned mission to Saturn’s moon Titan. A devoted family man, Ryan is reluctant to leave on this two-year expedition, yet with the encouragement of his loving wife—and an exorbitant paycheck guaranteeing lifetime care for their disabled son—he crews up and ventures into a new frontier. But as the ship is circling Titan, it is rocked by an unexplained series of explosions. The crew works together to get back on course, and they return to Earth as heroes. When the fanfare dies down, Ryan and his fellow astronauts notice that things are different. Some changes are good, such as lavish upgrades to their homes, but others are more disconcerting. Before the group can connect, mysterious figures start tailing them, and their communications are scrambled. Separated and suspicious, the crew must uncover the truth and decide how far they’re willing to go to return to their normal lives. Just when their space adventure seemingly ends, it shockingly begins. Check Out Author Social Media Packages Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack Get Bookwild Merch Follow @imbookwild on Instagram Other Co-hosts On Instagram: Gare Billings @gareindeedreads Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland Halley Sutton @halleysutton25 Brian Watson @readingwithbrian MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba

    39 min
  3. Big Hair and Big Secrets: May Cobb's All The Little Houses

    6D AGO

    Big Hair and Big Secrets: May Cobb's All The Little Houses

    This week, Gare and I chat with May Cobb about her new, messy thriller All the Little Houses! She shares the inspiration for the story, how she managed multiple POVs, and what it was like on the set of The Hunting Wives. All the Little Houses Synopsis It's the mid-1980s in the tiny town of Longview, Texas. Nellie Anderson, the beautiful daughter of the Anderson family dynasty, has burst onto the scene. She always gets what she wants. What she can't get for herself… well, that's what her mother is for. Because Charleigh Andersen, blond, beautiful, and ruthlessly cunning, remembers all too well having to claw her way to the top. When she was coming of age on the poor side of East Texas, she was a loser, an outcast, humiliated, and shunned by the in-crowd, whose approval she'd so desperately thirsted for. When a prairie-kissed family moves to town, all trad wife, woodworking dad, wholesome daughter vibes, Charleigh's entire self-made social empire threatens to crumble. Who will be left standing when the dust settles? Check Out Author Social Media Packages Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack Get Bookwild Merch Follow @imbookwild on Instagram Other Co-hosts On Instagram: Gare Billings @gareindeedreads Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland Halley Sutton @halleysutton25 Brian Watson @readingwithbrian MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba

    1h 3m
  4. Grief, Meteoric Fame and Parasocial Relationships: Ashley Winstead's The Future Saints

    FEB 3

    Grief, Meteoric Fame and Parasocial Relationships: Ashley Winstead's The Future Saints

    This week, Gare and I talk with Ashley Winstead about her new contemporary fiction (tragi-comedy but don't tell Ashley's publicists we said so) The Future Saints! We dive into her inspiration for the book, how it changed over the years through rounds of edits, and her fascination with ambitious women and how the world reacts to them. The Future Saints Synopsis This is a love story, but not the one you’re expecting. When record executive Theo meets the Future Saints, they’re bombing at a dive bar in their hometown. Since the tragic death of their manager, the band has been in a downward spiral and Theo has been dispatched to coax a new—and successful—album out of them, or else let them go. Immediately, Theo is struck by Hannah, the group’s impetuous lead singer, who’s gone off script by debuting a whole new sound, replacing their California pop with gut-wrenching rock. When this new music goes viral, striking an unexpected chord with fans, Theo puts his career on the line to give the Saints one last shot at success with a new tour, new record, and new start. But Hannah’s grief has larger consequences for the group, and her increasingly destructive antics become a distraction as she and her sister Ginny—her lifelong partner in crime—undermine Theo at every turn. Hannah isn’t ready to move on or prepared for the fame she’s been chasing, and the weight of her problems jeopardize the band, her growing closeness with Theo, and, worst of all, her relationship with her sister—all while the world watches closely. The Future Saints’s big break is here—if only they can survive it. Check Out Author Social Media Packages Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack Get Bookwild Merch Follow @imbookwild on Instagram Other Co-hosts On Instagram: Gare Billings @gareindeedreads Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland Halley Sutton @halleysutton25 Brian Watson @readingwithbrian MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba

    1h 38m
  5. Body Swapping, Dark Academia & Personal Magic: Petra Lord's Queen of Faces

    FEB 3

    Body Swapping, Dark Academia & Personal Magic: Petra Lord's Queen of Faces

    This week, I talk with Petra Lord about her debut genre bending fantasy-sci-fi-dark-academia book Queen of Faces. She shares the eight year journey of writing the book, how she injured herself while writing it, and how fantasy worlds are so effective for social commentary. Queen of Faces Synopsis Anabelle Gage is trapped in a male body, and it’s rotting from the inside out. In Caimor, where the magical elite buy and swap designer bodies like clothes, Ana can’t afford to escape her tattered form. When she fails the entrance exam to the prestigious Paragon Academy, her last hope of earning a new body implodes. As the clock ticks down to her last breath, she’s forced to use her illusion magic to steal a healthy chassis—before her own kills her. But Ana is caught by none other than the headmaster of Paragon Academy, who poses a brutal ultimatum: face execution for her crime or become a mercenary at his command. Revolt brews in Caimor's smog-choked underworld, and the wealthy and powerful will stop at nothing to take down the rebels and the infamous dark witch at their helm, the Black Wraith. With no choice but to accept, Ana will steal, fight, and kill her way to salvation. But her survival depends on a dangerous band of an impulsive assassin, a brooding bombmaker, and an alluring exile who might just spell her ruin. As Ana is drawn into a tangled web of secrets, the line between villain and hero shatters—and Ana must decide which side is worth dying for. Check Out Author Social Media Packages Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack Get Bookwild Merch Follow @imbookwild on Instagram Other Co-hosts On Instagram: Gare Billings @gareindeedreads Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland Halley Sutton @halleysutton25 Brian Watson @readingwithbrian MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba

    49 min
  6. Motherhood, Memory, and Murder: The Water Lies by Amy Meyerson

    FEB 1

    Motherhood, Memory, and Murder: The Water Lies by Amy Meyerson

    This week, I talk with Amy Meyerson about her new mystery thriller The Water Lies. We dive into her inspiration for the book, how audiobooks changed her approach to pacing, and how she grappled with intuition, pregnancy and motherhood. *This was supposed to be released on January 1, but I put it in my release calendar for February 1, so some of our conversation may seem dated!* The Water Lies Synopsis Heavily pregnant with her second child, Tessa Irons has enough on her mind without her toddler throwing tantrums at the local coffee shop. The boy is inconsolable, shouting “Gigi!” to a woman Tessa’s never seen before—and never will again. The next morning, the woman’s body is dredged up from the canal outside the Ironses’ posh Venice Beach home, and Tessa’s gut tells her it’s no coincidence. Barb Geller refuses to believe that her daughter’s death was just some drunken accident. She heads to California for answers, where she crosses paths with Tessa. Together they hunt for the truth, certain they’ll find a connection between their children. But the police don’t believe them. Tessa’s husband dismisses her worries as pregnancy jitters, and even though people are always watching along the canals, no one saw a thing. Tessa and Barb only have each other, their intuition, and the creeping sense of danger that grows with every shocking revelation. Check Out Author Social Media Packages Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack Get Bookwild Merch Follow @imbookwild on Instagram Other Co-hosts On Instagram: Gare Billings @gareindeedreads Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland Halley Sutton @halleysutton25 Brian Watson @readingwithbrian MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba

    45 min

  7. JAN 30

    Predicting Our 2026 Favorite Books with Gare and Steph

    This week, Gare and Steph and I attempt to predict which books will be some of our favorite books in 2026! Kate’s Books Dead Beat Alex Stern Leigh Bardugo Hot Girl Murder Club by Ashley Winstead The Caretaker Marcus Kliewer Honey by Imani Thompson Queen of Faces Gare’s Books The Secret Lives of Murderers Wives by Elizabeth Arnott This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum Helpless by Jessica Knoll Heather by Caitlin Mullen Heart of Glass Jennifer Hillier Steph’s Books It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead by Mai Nguyen Forget You Saw Her by Noelle W. Ihli Good Joy, Bad Joy by Mikki Brammer Let’s Not Go Overboard Here by Erica Hendry Check Out Author Social Media Packages Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack Get Bookwild Merch Follow @imbookwild on Instagram Other Co-hosts On Instagram: Gare Billings @gareindeedreads Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland Halley Sutton @halleysutton25 Brian Watson @readingwithbrian MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba

    1h 21m
  8. History, Horror, and Identity: L.S. Stratton's Sundown Girls

    JAN 27

    History, Horror, and Identity: L.S. Stratton's Sundown Girls

    This week, I talk with L.S. Stratton about the her new YA mystery thriller Sundown Girls. Stratton discusses how the story began as an adult novel and transformed into YA once she shifted the perspective to a sixteen-year-old protagonist, allowing the narrative to flow more naturally. She shares the real-world inspiration behind the book, including historical sundown towns, racial violence, and real kidnapping cases, and how these histories shaped both the setting and Naomi’s identity as a formerly missing girl. We discuss her use of themes of belonging, family reunification, generational trauma, and racism—particularly how uncertainty, gaslighting, and “is this real or am I imagining it?” in the book mirror lived experiences of racism. She also dive into blending supernatural elements with psychological tension, the challenges of writing historical horror, the importance of family dynamics and emotional pacing in thrillers, and the decision to leave some questions—especially around Naomi’s kidnapped childhood—unresolved as part of her growth. Follow L.S. Stratton here Sundown Girls Synopsis When sixteen-year-old Naomi Stoakes and her family head to a secluded cabin in the Shenandoah Valley for summer vacation they don’t know the small, mountainous town of Sparksburg, Virginia has a dark and twisted past. But when they arrive, Naomi can’t shake the feeling that something about Sparksburg just isn’t right. When she learns Sparksburg had once been a Sundown Town—a town where Blacks weren’t allowed after sunset lest they be murdered—well Naomi’s unease starts to make sense. As Naomi digs more into Sparksburg’s violent origins, she finds herself haunted by the ghost of a girl, appearing nightly outside her window. Then she learns of two girls who’ve recently gone missing and suspects the past may still be present in Sparksburg and beneath the quaint façade of this tourist town is a palpable danger. When Naomi decides to track the disappearance of the two girls herself and confronts the ghost of another, she become suspicious of a local man who has kindled fear in Naomi more than once. When she learns he has a connection to one of the missing girls, Naomi is certain he’s responsible for the disappearances. When no one believes her, Naomi takes matters into her own hands. But to save the missing girls, she’ll have to finally face her own past trauma as a “missing girl”, and risk losing everything she loves. Check Out Author Social Media Packages Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack Get Bookwild Merch Follow @imbookwild on Instagram Other Co-hosts On Instagram: Gare Billings @gareindeedreads Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland Halley Sutton @halleysutton25 Brian Watson @readingwithbrian MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba

    43 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

On Tuesdays, Kate Hergott talks with authors about their books and writing processes. On Fridays, Kate talks with multiple co-host Bookstagrammers and BookTubers about a variety of bookish topics.

Information

  • Creator
    Kate Hergott, Bookwild Collective
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    354
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2024 Bookwild Collective
  • Show Website
    Bookwild

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