In celebration of it's paperback release join us for a special look at the journey of Jennifer K. Morita toward publication of her debut novel, "Ghosts of Waikīkī,"

What happens when an unemployed newspaper reporter returns to Hawaii to ghostwrite for a controversial developer? In Jennifer’s debut, the answer is a cocktail of mystery, family secrets, and a murder investigation led by the protagonist's ex.

Now officially available in paperback, Jennifer sat down with Terry Shepherd to pull back the curtain on her writing process. From "sheltering in place" during the 2020 pandemic to sneaking in chapters during lunch breaks and finding plot breakthroughs in Zumba class, Jennifer’s story is a masterclass in persistence and passion.

Whether you're an aspiring author or a fan of island noir, you won’t want to miss this conversation about how one woman turned a "writer's dream" into a gripping reality.

We all inevitably become the brand. And that's why I wrote, "How to Become a Dynamic Podcast Guest and Sell Stuff." It's a sweet and short primer that teaches you about the gear, the appearance and the messaging that can grab and hold today's micro-attention spans and motivate your listeners to take action. It's Just a dollar ninety nine at Amazon. Grab your copy today and sell mo

How well do we truly know the people we love?
In the latest episode, I sit down with Danielle Girard to discuss her haunting new thriller, "Pinky Swear." This isn't a story of cartoon villains or "moral origami." Instead, it’s a dive into the "slanted middle"—the messy, gray area where devotion slides into delusion.
Born from the "ashes of a collapsed marriage" and the quiet, wintry silence of Montana, Danielle’s 17th novel is a work of emotional archaeology. We dig into:

• The Ultimate Betrayal: What happens when a surrogate vanishes just days before the birth?
• The Reality of Evil: Why the most terrifying threats aren't monsters, but the ordinary betrayals that erode our safety.
• Professional Reinvention: Danielle’s journey of starting over mid-career and finding a new voice in the "fog."

Don't Miss This Conversation

Whether you’re a longtime fan of her procedurals or looking for a story that captures the "suffocating dread of waiting for a door that doesn't open," this is a conversation—and a book—you won’t be able to put down.

Join us as we explore the space between events where life actually happens.

We all inevitably become the brand. And that's why I wrote, "How to Become a Dynamic Podcast Guest and Sell Stuff." It's a sweet and short primer that teaches you about the gear, the appearance and the messaging that can grab and hold today's micro-attention spans and motivate your listeners to take action. It's Just a dollar ninety nine at Amazon. Grab your copy today and sell mo

What happens when thirty-four years of corporate finance meets a lifelong passion for animal rescue? You get the Lily Dreyfus mystery series—where the puzzles are intricate, the stakes are high, and the four-legged characters have just as much personality as the humans.

In this episode, we sit down with Darlene Dziomba, the "Dog Whisperer of the Garden State," to discuss her journey from the University of Pennsylvania to the top of the cozy mystery charts. We’re diving deep into her latest release, Tail of Deception, a gripping tale that turns a charitable 5K fundraiser into a crime scene.

Inside This Episode:

• The Catalyst: How a single panel at a mystery conference inspired Darlene to ditch the "dog-groomer" tropes for the authentic, complex world of animal shelter operations.
• Tail of Deception: A former Marine collapses at the finish line of a fundraiser for the Forever Friends Animal Shelter. Was it overexertion, or something far more sinister?
• Dogs as Characters: Why Boone and Crockett aren't just mascots, but fully realized characters with their own moods and "independent judgment."
• The Cozy Balance: How Darlene manages the "darkness" of a mystery while maintaining the warmth and comfort her readers crave (and the physical "barometer" she uses to know when a scene is getting too intense).
• Real-Life Villains: Darlene reveals the secret satisfaction of modeling her fictional antagonists after people she’s encountered in real life.

Whether you're a devoted "cozy" reader, an animal advocate, or an aspiring author looking for inspiration on your second act, this conversation is packed with insight, wit, and plenty of wagging tails.

We all inevitably become the brand. And that's why I wrote, "How to Become a Dynamic Podcast Guest and Sell Stuff." It's a sweet and short primer that teaches you about the gear, the appearance and the messaging that can grab and hold today's micro-attention spans and motivate your listeners to take action. It's Just a dollar ninety nine at Amazon. Grab your copy today and sell mo

What happens when a life built on discipline, survival, and excellence finally makes room for joy?

In this episode, we explore Steeped, the powerful memoir of retired neurosurgeon Dr. Craig Yorke, whose journey stretches from the charged streets of Boston’s Roxbury to the operating rooms of America’s heartland, and ultimately back to the music that first shaped him.

Raised by parents determined to shield their son from the brutal realities of racism through achievement, Yorke grew up under relentless expectations. By sixteen, he was performing as a violin soloist with the Boston Pops, but the passion that opened doors also became a burden. Seeking purpose beyond obligation, he traded concert halls for surgical theaters, embarking on a decades-long career in neurosurgery where precision, endurance, and responsibility carried life-or-death stakes.

Steeped is more than a medical memoir. It is a deeply human story about identity, ambition, family, and the courage it takes to separate who we are from who we were told we must become.

Now retired and once again performing violin, Yorke reflects on the question that anchors his story. Not what he told his children to do, but what he himself had done to find freedom beyond fear and expectation.

A moving conversation about pressure, purpose, race, medicine, music, and the lifelong search for authenticity. This episode reminds us that sometimes the most delicate operation is learning how to live on our own terms.

We all inevitably become the brand. And that's why I wrote, "How to Become a Dynamic Podcast Guest and Sell Stuff." It's a sweet and short primer that teaches you about the gear, the appearance and the messaging that can grab and hold today's micro-attention spans and motivate your listeners to take action. It's Just a dollar ninety nine at Amazon. Grab your copy today and sell mo

What does it actually take to bring that dash of vanilla extract to your kitchen counter?

This week, we’re journeying deep into the "dim green hush" of the Madagascar forest canopy with Emmanuel LeRoche, author of A Taste of Madagascar: Culinary Riches of the Red Island. Emmanuel spent years seeing Madagascar as a set of procurement numbers on a spreadsheet—until a life-changing trip with American chefs transformed his understanding of commerce into something far more intimate.

In this episode, we explore:

• The Marriage of Orchids: Why every single vanilla bean from Madagascar requires a human hand to "marry" the plant in the absence of its native bee.
• Beyond the Brochure: Emmanuel moves past the glossy tourist images to find the real Madagascar—where livelihoods hang in a delicate balance between tradition and survival.
• The Golden Reward: How the shift from wild honey raiding to sustainable beekeeping is saving both the forests and the bees.
• Fragrance in the Dark: A dusk walk through the ylang-ylang trees of Nosy Be to find the humid, floral origins of iconic scents like Chanel No. 5.
• The Shadow of History: A candid look at the lingering imprint of colonial rule and the uneasy harmony between ancient tribal traditions and the modern dining rooms of Antananarivo.

Emmanuel insists that Madagascar cannot be reduced to its exports. It’s found in the smoke of cooking fires, the soil beneath fingernails, and the silent, steady work of the people behind the flavors we often consume without a second thought.

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We all inevitably become the brand. And that's why I wrote, "How to Become a Dynamic Podcast Guest and Sell Stuff." It's a sweet and short primer that teaches you about the gear, the appearance and the messaging that can grab and hold today's micro-attention spans and motivate your listeners to take action. It's Just a dollar ninety nine at Amazon. Grab your copy today and sell mo

What happens when a master planner tries to out-strategize heartbreak? Corey Seemiller's "The Soulmate Strategy," explores her honest, funny, and deeply relatable journey from trying to control the pain of a very public breakup to discovering the freedom that comes with letting go.

We all inevitably become the brand. And that's why I wrote, "How to Become a Dynamic Podcast Guest and Sell Stuff." It's a sweet and short primer that teaches you about the gear, the appearance and the messaging that can grab and hold today's micro-attention spans and motivate your listeners to take action. It's Just a dollar ninety nine at Amazon. Grab your copy today and sell mo

Dr. Angela Petersen joins me to discuss her radical new book, "The Wellness Glitch," and why tracking every step and heartbeat might be the very thing keeping us unwell.

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We all inevitably become the brand. And that's why I wrote, "How to Become a Dynamic Podcast Guest and Sell Stuff." It's a sweet and short primer that teaches you about the gear, the appearance and the messaging that can grab and hold today's micro-attention spans and motivate your listeners to take action. It's Just a dollar ninety nine at Amazon. Grab your copy today and sell mo

In the coal-dusted world of Ghost Town, the haunting new novel from James R. Gregory, we travel to Sulphur Creek, a late-19th-century mining town where ambition, isolation, and buried secrets collide. At the heart of the story are two men on opposite paths, a young outsider searching for connection and a rising industrial titan facing the cost of power.

We all inevitably become the brand. And that's why I wrote, "How to Become a Dynamic Podcast Guest and Sell Stuff." It's a sweet and short primer that teaches you about the gear, the appearance and the messaging that can grab and hold today's micro-attention spans and motivate your listeners to take action. It's Just a dollar ninety nine at Amazon. Grab your copy today and sell mo