Bookwild

Kate Hergott, Bookwild Collective
  • 4,8 (26)
  • Drama
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On Tuesdays, Kate Hergott talks with authors about their books and writing processes. On Fridays, Kate talks with different co-host Bookstagrammers and BookTubers about a variety of bookish topics.

  1. há 1 dia

    Sci-Fi, Philip K. Dick & the Birth of Pink Beam Press

    This week, I talk with Keith Giles, David Agranoff, Brian Evenson, Gordon Bonnet, and Andrew Turck about Pink Beam Press, a new speculative-fiction imprint inspired by Philip K. Dick and the strange, reality-bending possibilities of science fiction. Listen to hear about: The origins of Pink Beam Press and how Philip K. Dick’s legendary “pink beam” experience helped inspire its identity and mission. Why speculative fiction is such a powerful way to explore reality, consciousness, identity, technology, privacy, and other big philosophical questions. How the authors behind Pink Beam’s novellas transform wildly different concepts—from digital replicas and mind reading to cyberpunk technology and artificial realities—into deeply human stories.  Why writing shorter doesn’t necessarily mean easier, and how the novella forces writers to crystallize their ideas while still leaving room for complex characters and themes. How research, personal experiences, literary influences, and unexpected discoveries during the writing process shape stories—and why sometimes the best fiction teaches the writer something, too. All the Bookwild Links: Check Out the Bookwild Substack Subscribe to Bookwild on YouTube Get Bookwild Merch Follow @imbookwild on Instagram Check Out Author Social Media Packages Follow Co-hosts On Instagram: Gare Billings @gareindeedreads Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland Halley Sutton @halleysutton25 Brian Watson @readingwithbrian MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

  2. há 6 dias

    Fall Hopefuls on Our TBRs with Gare

    This week, Gare and I share fall book releases we are excited about! Kate’s Books The Occidental Book of the Dead by T. Geronimo Johnson  Have You Seen Romit? By Chital Mehta It Looks Like You in the Dark by Mathilda Zeller The Turning of Sally Mae by Nuzo Onoh Lethal Kiss by Taylor Grothe Gare’s Books The Little Red House Liv Andersson Killing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar The Witch by Freida McFadden This B Just Won’t Die by Tanya Pell All the Little Secrets by May Cobb All the Bookwild Links: Check Out the Bookwild Substack Subscribe to Bookwild on YouTube Get Bookwild Merch Follow @imbookwild on Instagram Check Out Author Social Media Packages Follow Co-hosts On Instagram: Gare Billings @gareindeedreads Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland Halley Sutton @halleysutton25 Brian Watson @readingwithbrian MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

  3. 18 de ago.

    The Multi-Hyphenate Marie Laveau: Kayla Hardy's The Quarter Queen

    This week, I talk with Kayla Hardy about her dark fantasy The Quarter Queen! How The Quarter Queen began as a television pilot. Kayla Hardy’s screenwriting background shaped the novel’s cinematic pacing, visual set pieces, ensemble cast, and meticulous plotting.  Why Marie Laveau is both historical inspiration and a personal connection.  Hardy draws on her Louisiana Creole roots, academic background in African American literature and folklore, and fascination with Marie to humanize a woman often reduced to legend.  Crafting the mother-daughter relationship is the emotional heart of the novel.  Marie and Ree represent different sides of the same coin, allowing Hardy to explore generational pain, privilege, protection, and what happens when the past refuses to stay buried.  How fantasy becomes a way to confront real American history.  The book explores conflicting approaches to oppression and liberation while using Southern Gothic and supernatural elements to make the consequences of historical violence impossible to ignore.  How Hardy reclaims Black and Creole folklore from pop-culture mythology,  Through Voodoo and zonbi, Hardy grounds the supernatural elements in traditions that have often been appropriated or stripped of their origins. All the Bookwild Links: Check Out the Bookwild Substack Subscribe to Bookwild on YouTube Get Bookwild Merch Follow @imbookwild on Instagram Check Out Author Social Media Packages Follow Co-hosts On Instagram: Gare Billings @gareindeedreads Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland Halley Sutton @halleysutton25 Brian Watson @readingwithbrian MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

    The Multi-Hyphenate Marie Laveau: Kayla Hardy's The Quarter Queen

  4. 14 de ago.

    ARCs We Are Excited About with Emma West

    In this episode, Emma West and I share ARCs we are excited about! Kate's Books Hive Mind — Allison Gunn Accidents Never Happened — Penny Zang Scream City — Hannah Morrissey Our Cut of Salt — Dina Nayeri Helm The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman — Deesha Philyaw Emama's Books Kiss Slay Replay — Rachel Harrison She’s a Doll — Barbara Truglove Public Access Afterworld — Jane Schoenbrun Mother Dearest — Claire Bird Bad Words - Rioghnach Robinson All the Bookwild Links: Check Out the Bookwild Substack Subscribe to Bookwild on YouTube Get Bookwild Merch Follow @imbookwild on Instagram Check Out Author Social Media Packages Follow Co-hosts On Instagram: Gare Billings @gareindeedreads Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland Halley Sutton @halleysutton25 Brian Watson @readingwithbrian MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

  5. 11 de ago.

    Friendship, Grief and Second (and Third, and Fourth) Chances: Paige Harbison's Destination Funeral

    In this episode, I talk with Paige Harbison about her new time loop novel Destination Funeral! Listen to our whole conversation to hear about: How Destination Funeral uses being literally stuck in time to explore being emotionally stuck. The characters are trapped with unresolved relationships, old resentments, and versions of themselves they haven’t fully escaped. Why “What if?” is Paige’s favorite starting point for storytelling. Rather than setting out to write magical realism or a particular genre, she follows a compelling premise and lets the story dictate where it needs to go. How grief and humor can exist in the exact same moment. Paige explains that the combination of heartbreak and comedy in her books isn’t a carefully calculated tonal balance—it reflects the way she experiences real life, where devastating and hilarious moments often coexist.  Why writers sometimes discover what their books are about only after writing them. Paige talks about allowing characters, themes, and even her own unresolved feelings to emerge unconsciously rather than trying to engineer every meaning from the beginning. Why friendship breakups deserve the same emotional weight as romantic ones. Paige talks about how friendships can be some of our longest and most defining relationships—yet we have almost no cultural roadmap for grieving them when they end.  All the Bookwild Links: Check Out the Bookwild Substack Subscribe to Bookwild on YouTube Get Bookwild Merch Follow @imbookwild on Instagram Check Out Author Social Media Packages Follow Co-hosts On Instagram: Gare Billings @gareindeedreads Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland Halley Sutton @halleysutton25 Brian Watson @readingwithbrian MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

    Friendship, Grief and Second (and Third, and Fourth) Chances: Paige Harbison's Destination Funeral

  6. 7 de ago.

    The Best & Rest of Summer Books with Gare Billings

    This week, Gare and I share some of our best reads of the summer, and forecast ones we think we will love for the rest of summer! Kate’s Best of Summer Killer Vibes by Jack Friday Sublimation by Isabel J. Kim The Great Game by Arvind Ethan David Kate’s Rest of Summer Our Cut of Salt by Deena Helm Mazywood by Tananarive Due The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman by Deesha Philyaw Gare’s Best of Summer Heather by Caitlin Mullen The Shark by Emma Styles Heart of Glass by Jennifer Hillier Gare’s Rest of Summer Saint Delilah by Isabelle Spotts The Crying Killer by Jess Lourey Fruit Fly by Josh Silver All the Bookwild Links: Check Out the Bookwild Substack Subscribe to Bookwild on YouTube Get Bookwild Merch Follow @imbookwild on Instagram Check Out Author Social Media Packages Follow Co-hosts On Instagram: Gare Billings @gareindeedreads Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland Halley Sutton @halleysutton25 Brian Watson @readingwithbrian MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

  7. 4 de ago.

    Manifestation, Murder, and the Cults of the 1920s: Olesya Lyuzna's Liars in Paradise

    In this episode, I talk with Olesya Lyuzna about the second book in her Ginny Dugan series Liars in Paradise. Listen to hear all about: The roots of modern self-help, manifestation, and MLM-style thinking stretch back to the 1920s. Olesya shares how historical figures like Napoleon Hill and the era's get-rich-quick culture inspired the novel's sinister organization, Echelon.  Sometimes throwing away an entire draft is the best writing decision. Olesya discusses scrapping a nearly finished manuscript, rebuilding the story from the ground up, and how the rewrite created a much stronger mystery centered on Jack being framed. Historical fiction can feel incredibly relevant because human behavior doesn't change. We discuss how periods of uncertainty—after war, during economic booms, or amid social upheaval—create fertile ground for cults, scams, conspiracy thinking, and charismatic leaders. Real places often make the best fictional settings. Olesya shares how a supposedly haunted Long Island mansion, Winfield Hall, became the inspiration for Echelon's headquarters, complete with strange history, ghost stories, and Gilded Age excess. Great mystery series let their characters carry emotional scars. Rather than resetting Ginny after each case, Olesya discusses intentionally letting previous losses and evolving relationships shape every investigation, making the series feel more emotionally authentic. All the Bookwild Links: Check Out the Bookwild Substack Subscribe to Bookwild on YouTube Get Bookwild Merch Follow @imbookwild on Instagram Check Out Author Social Media Packages Follow Co-hosts On Instagram: Gare Billings @gareindeedreads Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland Halley Sutton @halleysutton25 Brian Watson @readingwithbrian MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

    Manifestation, Murder, and the Cults of the 1920s: Olesya Lyuzna's Liars in Paradise

  8. 31 de jul.

    An Eldest Daughter Pastor’s Kid Unpacks Her Father's Arrest and Shares the Books That Changed Everything with Kate Johnson

    This week, I talk with Kate Johnson about her deconstruction journey and healing from religious trauma. Listen to hear all about: How growing up in evangelical culture created an information bubble. We reflect on how strict media restrictions, homeschooling, and Christian-only entertainment reinforced the belief that avoiding certain books, movies, and ideas would keep families spiritually and physically safe. How trauma exposed the cracks in that worldview. Kate Johnson shares how her father's arrest for child sexual abuse material shattered the promise that following every rule would guarantee safety, leading to a painful reevaluation of the community and beliefs she trusted. Why forgiveness without accountability can deepen harm. We discuss how teachings about immediate forgiveness sometimes minimize abuse, shift responsibility onto victims, and allow perpetrators to avoid meaningful accountability. When books became a path toward healing and perspective. Kate Johnson shares how fantasy novels initially provided escape during childhood, while later works by authors like Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Rachel Held Evans, and Tia Levings helped her understand her experiences within the larger context of evangelical culture rather than seeing them as isolated events. How deconstruction ultimately led to connection instead of fear. Rather than abandoning spirituality altogether, we discuss moving toward a spirituality rooted in curiosity, community, nature, joy, and authentic human connection instead of shame, perfectionism, and control. Links: Kate Johnson's Substack Kate Johnson's List of Books for Healing from Religious Trauma Kate Johnson's List of Books on Purity Culture All the Bookwild Links: Check Out the Bookwild Substack Subscribe to Bookwild on YouTube Get Bookwild Merch Follow @imbookwild on Instagram Check Out Author Social Media Packages Follow Co-hosts On Instagram: Gare Billings @gareindeedreads Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland Halley Sutton @halleysutton25 Brian Watson @readingwithbrian MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

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Sobre

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

Informações

  • Criado por
    Kate Hergott, Bookwild Collective
  • Anos de atividade
    2022 - 2026
  • Episódios
    419
  • Classificação
    Explícito
  • Copyright
    © 2024 Bookwild Collective
  • Site do podcast
    Bookwild

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