Reader's Entertainment Radio

Erica Ferencik considers her MA in Creative Writing from Boston University just the beginning of her literary education. Her thirty-five years of writing—novels, short stories, essays, ghostwriting, ten years of standup and sketch comedy, as well as dozens of screenplays, and a brief filmmaking stint—was her boots-on-the-ground training. Her work has appeared in Salon and the Boston Globe, as well as on National Public Radio.  She says, “I was raised in the wilds of upstate New York during the era when—rightly or wrongly —you could take off after school to explore and no one worried, as long as you were home by dark. Now, I live in MetroWest Boston with my very tolerant husband and frankly enormous Maine Coon cat. I am in love with my family and friends, the startling beauty of the natural world, and the wonders that lay half hidden in everyday life.  Find out more on her website EricaFerencik.com and follow her on Twitter @EricaFerencik And for more about our host Lisa Kessler visit http://Lisa-Kessler.co

Katja Desjarlais is a music teacher by day and a paranormal romance writer by moonlight. She is an unapologetic music addict and has an obsession for bad Bach puns despite her irrational aversion to Baroque. Her favorite words include ‘plethora’ and ‘dapper’, and she is physically repulsed by the word ‘moist’. Desjarlais lives in the Okanagan valley with her husband, three children, and three cats. Her ideal summer vacation is spent driving Route 66 with her family and attending heavy metal concerts. Her newest release, Muzzled, is out now with Tule Publishing. You can find at her website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, YouTube, TikTok, and Spotify.

Joanna Vander Vlugt is an author and illustrator. Her motorcycle illustrations have been purchased world-wide and her Woman Empowered motorcycle art series has been featured in on-line art and motorcycle magazines. In 2006 her short mysteries Egyptian Queen and The Parrot and Wild Mushroom Stuffing were published in the Crime Writers of Canada mystery anthologies. Her personal essay, No Beatles Reunion was published in the Dropped Threads 3: Beyond the Small Circle anthology. The Unravelling, her debut thriller novel, was a Canadian Book Club Awards finalist. The sequel, Dealer’s Child, is set for release August/September 2021. She is proud of her podcast JCVArtStudio - From the Dressing Room and being able to promote authors and artists. You can learn more at: https://www.jcvartstudio.net/ And for more about our host Lisa Kessler visit http://Lisa-Kessler.com Book Lights - shining a light on good books!

Sam Tschida (pronounced cheetah) is a rom-com author. She lives with her gang of children, a couple of poorly behaved dogs, and one handsome man. When she’s not writing she is probably making lasagna. Just kidding. Who knows what she’s doing, least of all Sam. The only guarantee is that she is actively brainstorming her next book. And if we’re being honest, it’s pretty likely that she’s not making lasagna, unless it’s the frozen kind. Shout out to Mrs. Stouffers! Besides living the dream writing books, Sam is the head bitch at SMUT University, a school of writing she started for writers to connect, learn craft, and tell dirty jokes. She also edits other peoples’ books , but she is a Pisces so we might as well call it what it is, therapy. So boiled down, Sam is an unlicensed therapist who also writes rom-coms. Her debut novel, Siri, Who Am I? is out now and you can find it Amazon, Kobu, and Barnes and Noble. You can find Sam online, Amazon, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads.    

Deborah Falaye is a Nigerian-Canadian young adult author. She grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, where she spent her time devouring African literature, pestering her grandma for folktales, and tricking her grandfather into watching Passions every night. When she’s not writing about fierce Black girls with badass magic, she can be found obsessing over all things reality TV. Deborah currently lives in Toronto with her husband and their partner-in-crime yorkie, Major. Blood Scion is her first novel. You can find out more here: https://linktr.ee/deborahfalaye And for more about our host Lisa Kessler visit http://Lisa-Kessler.com Book Lights - shining a light on good books!

Kelly Cain is a native Northern Californian but has spent the last couple of decades in Texas, currently residing in, Austin, the live music capital of the world. Consequently, most of her books are set somewhere between those two locations. She writes multicultural romance with determined women directing their own fates and the swoon-worthy men who adore them.  She loves reading most genres but please don’t ask her to pick just one. However, she can pick her favorite book boyfriend – Will Herondale (from Shadowhunters). When she isn’t reading or writing, Kelly is most likely using a genealogy site to research her extended family, both old and new. Or cooking/baking something delightful. She has collaborated with a group of wonderful authors (and great friends), and their short story collection, Déjà You, is available. Find out more about Book Besties and their short story collection at their website. You can find Kelly at her website, Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, Pinterest & Tule Publishing. 

Eliot Parker is the author of four novels, most recently A Knife’s Edge, which was an Honorable Mention in Thriller Writing at the London Book Festival, and is the sequel to the award-winning novel Fragile Brilliance. His novel Code for Murder was named a 2018 Finalist for Genre Fiction by American Book Fest. He is a recipient of the West Virginia Literary Merit Award and Fragile Brilliance was a finalist for the Southern Book Prize in Thriller Writing. He recently received with the Thriller Writing Award by the National Association of Book Editors (NABE) for his novels. Eliot is the host of the podcast program Now, Appalachia, which profiles authors and publishers living and writing in the Appalachian region and is heard on the Authors on the Air Global Radio Network and Blog Talk Radio. A graduate of the Bluegrass Writers Studio at Eastern Kentucky University with his MFA in Creative Writing and Murray State University with his Doctorate in English, he teaches English at the University of Mississippi and l

Carina Alyce is the pen name of the Amazon Best-selling author and full-time triple board-certified physician who started writing dramatic medical romances after twenty years in the trenches of health care. She promises she never had sex in a call room – the mattresses are not comfortable – or had a fistfight with a patient – though she did work as a fight doc at the Octagon. Her stories are sexy, snarky, and real with all the romance and drama of the lives of our first responders. She writes the MetroGen Downtown series that tackles the personal and professional challenges facing our front line providers. Her stories have the drama of Grey’s Anatomy, the comedy of Scrubs, the sexiness of Outlander, and the medical details of Forensic Files. They feature fast, witty dialogue, strong women with goals, and quirky ensemble casts. When not working or writing, she is a brown belt in judo, an avid reader, and an attending surgeon in stuffed animal veterinary medicine for her six kids. (No one trusts her husband’s

J.E. McDonald was born and raised in Saskatchewan, Canada, The Land of the Living Skies. As a child, she was either searching the clouds for identifiable shapes, or star-gazing way past her bedtime. She cut her teeth watching Star Trek, James Bond movies, and reading the Harlequin novels her mother left in the bathroom—which resulted in an extremely skewed sense of sex education by age eleven. All of these factors contribute to her love of writing rom coms with a paranormal twist, romantic suspense, and far-future romance. You can find out more here: https://www.jemcdonald.net/ And for more about our host Lisa Kessler visit http://Lisa-Kessler.com Book Lights - shining a light on good books!

Mia Heintzelman is a polka-dot-wearing, horror and romance movie lover, who always has a book and a to-do list in her purse. She writes fun, unforgettable, more than just laughs romance about strong women, and men with enough heart to fall for them. When she isn’t busy writing fictional happily-ever-afters, she is likely reading, playing board games, or eating sweets.  She currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with her husband and two children. You can find Mia at her website where you can sign up for her newsletter to be the first to find out her newest news.  Reach out to her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Bookbub. Her most recent release, The Friendship Contract, is out now.

Ali Williams' inner romance reader is never quite satisfied, which is why she oscillates between writing romance, editing romance, and studying it as part of her PhD. She can be found at the foot of the South Downs in the UK, either nerding out over local mythologies, reading tarot cards, or making homemade pasta, according to her Nanna’s recipes. She believes with all of her bifurious heart that writing romance is an act of rebellion and that academia will be so much better when studying diverse HEAs is naturally part of the curriculum. ​As a freelance romance novel editor, she specialises in contemporary romance,  erotic romance, paranormal and speculative romance, and romantic suspense. Ali is a member of the International Association for the Study of Popular Romance (IASPR) and the Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA). You can learn more here: https://www.aliwilliams.org/ And for more about our host Lisa Kessler visit http://Lisa-Kessler.com Book Lights - shining a light on good books!

Christopher Rice is the recipient of the Lambda Literary Award and is the Amazon Charts and New York Times bestselling author of A Density of Souls; Bone Music, Blood Echo, and Blood Victory in the Burning Girl series; and Bram Stoker Award finalists The Heavens Rise and The Vines. He is an executive producer of The Vampire Chronicles and The Lives of the Mayfair Witches, the AMC television adaptations of the bestselling novels by his mother, Anne Rice. Christopher and Anne also penned the novels Ramses the Damned: The Passion of Cleopatra and Ramses The Damned: The Reign of Osiris. Together with his best friend and producing partner, New York Times bestselling novelist Eric Shaw Quinn, Christopher runs the production company Dinner Partners. Among other projects, they produce the podcast and video network TDPS, which can be found at www.TheDinnerPartyShow.com. He lives in West Hollywood, California, and writes tales of romance between men under the pseudonym C. Travis Rice. You can learn more at his website:

Ieshia Wiedlin grew up in Detroit Michigan, and currently resides in a Chicago suburb. She hopes that the world will enjoy her unique brand of humor and romance. She's excited to add her fun storytelling style to the exemplary Tule Publishing family.    You can find Ieshia (pronounced Eye-e-sha) at her website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.   Her debut novel, There You Are, the first of her Romancing the Doctor, series is out now. 

Author Coralie Moss likes to begin her Urban Fantasy stories with normal witches, and plunk a surprise or five into their seemingly normal lives. Coralie just happens to lives on Salt Spring Island, the site of much magical inspiration, with her husband, their son, and two rescue cats. To find out more, visit her website, https://coraliemoss.com And for more about our host Lisa Kessler visit http://Lisa-Kessler.com Book Lights - shining a light on good books!

Lara Elena Donnelly is the author of the Nebula, Lambda, and Locus-nominated trilogy The Amberlough Dossier, as well as short fiction and poetry appearing in venues including Strange Horizons, Escape Pod, Nightmare, and Uncanny. Lara has taught in the MFA program at Sarah Lawrence College, as well as the Catapult Workshop in New York. She is a graduate of the Clarion and Alpha writers’ workshops, and has served as on-site staff at the latter, mentoring amazing teens who will someday take over the world of SFF. You can learn more here: https://laradonnelly.com/ And for more about our host Lisa Kessler visit http://Lisa-Kessler.com Book Lights - shining a light on good books!

Nicole Fanning is a smitten wife and super proud dog mom to three rambunctious rescue dogs. She's an old school romantic, with a proclivity for a little mischief, and an obsession with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Her first book, Catalyst-Heart of the Inferno, is an action-romance about the terrifying and dangerous mafia lord Jaxon Pace, and Natalie Tyler, the girl who became his only exception. Follow her on Goodreads at: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21392485.Nicole_Fanning And for more about our host Lisa Kessler visit http://Lisa-Kessler.com Book Lights - shining a light on good books!

Happy Penguin Day friends! Get to know our guest, contemporary author, Michelle Dayton, lover of sexy and suspenseful novels. But that's not in her top three. Those high priorities are reserved for her family, the city of Chicago, and Mr. Darcy (both the Colin Firth and Matthew MacFadyen versions). When she's not writing, Michelle dreams of a year of world travel – as long as the trip would include weeks and weeks of beach time.  As a bourbon lover and unabashed wine snob, Michelle thinks heaven is discussing a good book over an adult beverage. Her latest book from her Tech-nically Love series, Scammer Girl is out now.  The first in the series is Disaster Girl and also available as well as her Tracy Brothers series. Stay in the know by signing up for her newsletter and following her on Twitter. _______ For those who are looking for great stickers, check out The Romancelandia Shop or follow them on Twitter and Instagram Want the recipe for the hot toddy we talked about today?  Try this one from M

Rae Shawn began writing to see more characters like her doing the hard jobs that typically were seen by male characters. She is from California and tends to write romance, suspense or mystery that occur in her home state. In her free time, she likes to binge watch reruns of Supernatural, read books of all genres or watch anime. You can learn more at her website: https://www.loveraeshawn.com/ Lisa Kessler is a Best Selling author of passionate, page-turning paranormal fiction. She's a two-time San Diego Book Award winner for Best Published Fantasy-Sci-fi-Horror and Best Published Romance. Her books have also won the PRISM award, the Award of Excellence, the National Excellence in Romantic Fiction Award, the Award of Merit from the Holt Medallion, and an International Digital Award for Best Paranormal. Her short stories have been published in print anthologies and magazines, and her vampire story, Immortal Beloved, was a finalist for a Bram Stoker award. You can learn more at her website: http://Lisa-Kessler.c

Shirley Reva Vernick writes award-winning MG and YA fiction, including ALA Best Fiction pick and Sydney Taylor honor book The Blood Lie. Her essays have appeared in Salon, Cosmopolitan, literary journals, and city newspapers. Shirley also helps run Storybee.com, a storytelling web service that is used as a literacy tool on five continents. NASA used it as a model for its Imagine Mars program, which combined storytelling and science for K-12 students. You can learn more at her website: https://www.shirleyrevavernick.com/ And for more about our host Lisa Kessler visit http://Lisa-Kessler.com Book Lights - shining a light on good books!

Author and Book Lights Podcast host, Lisa Kessler, joins me today to talk all about what helped her writing in 2021 and what her goals are for 2022.  On Lisa's 2022 to do list? To pen her 50TH book!  Lisa Kessler is a Best Selling author of dark paranormal fiction. She’s a two-time San Diego Book Award winner for Best Published Fantasy-Sci-fi-Horror and Best Published Romance. Her books have also won the PRISM award, the Award of Excellence, the National Excellence in Romantic Fiction Award, the Award of Merit from the Holt Medallion, and an International Digital Award for Best Paranormal. Her short stories have been published in print anthologies and magazines, and her vampire story, Immortal Beloved, was a finalist for a Bram Stoker award. When she’s not writing, Lisa is a professional vocalist, and has performed with San Diego Opera as well as other musical theater companies in San Diego. Stay up-to-date on new releases and giveaways by subscribing to Lisa’s newsletter here: https://goo.gl/56lDla or