Johann Trotter, a researcher in Northern Ireland, loves, loves, LOVES horror and talks to us all about it in Episode 109.

David Domine is known around Louisville for his eclectic pursuits: writing cookbooks and ghost story compilations, providing historic and spooky tours of Old Louisville, and teaching at Bellarmine University. His latest book is his foray into true crime in which he tells about a sensational murder that shocked the city in 2010.

Our guest this week is Kendra Winchester, a Book Riot contributing editor, the founder of Reading Women podcast, and the brain behind @Read Appalachia on Instagram. She is also a disability rights activist who wants to ensure individuals of all stripes (chronic illness, mental health conditions, disfigurements, etc.) are included in decision-making and conversations.

You can find Kendra Winchester on various instagram pages including at @readappalachia, @thebookcorgi and @thereadingwomen.

Our guest this week is Grace Sammon, author of The Eves, a novel about older women, friendship, and finding yourself again. Grace spent years in an education career but has found that growing older opened up new and exciting opportunities, including her own radio show, The Storytellers.

You can find Grace Sammon on Instagram at @gracesammonwrites and on Facebook on the group "Bookish Road Trip". You can find links to her radio show at her website www.gracesammon.net.

St. Clair Derrick-Jules is a Brown University graduate whose debut book lands in just a couple weeks at the end of September. My Beautiful Black Hair: 101 Natural Hair Stories from the Sisterhood is chock full of photos and essays about chemical treatments, mothers and daughters, and what going natural means to Black women.

You can find St. Clair on social media at @stclairdetrickjules or at her website www.mybeautifulblackhair.com.

Our guests this week are Amber Share and Suzanne Roberts.

Amber is a graphic designer/illustrator who created her book Subpar Parks: America’s Most Extraordinary National Parks and Their Least Impressed Visitors after reading people’s 1-star reviews of national parks’ vistas and natural features.

Suzanne is a long-time travel writer whose most recent collection of essays is titled Bad Tourist: Misadventures in Love & Travel. Her book blends the funny and serious in a ways that women can relate to.

You can find Amber Share on social media at @subparparks or at her website www.ambersharedesign.com. And Suzanne Roberts can be found on instqgram @suzanneroberts28 or on her website at www.suzanneroberts.net

This week’s guest, Melissa Hart, is from Eugene, Oregon. She is the author of two memoirs, a middle grade book, and most recently a great resource for teachers, librarians, and parents called Better with Books: 500 Diverse Books to Ignite Empathy and Encourage Self-Acceptance in Tweens and Teens.

When Melissa’s tween daughter was in elementary school, she dealt with anxiety and depression, and Melissa found a way to help her through reading targeted books together, a practice called bibliotherapy which some studies suggest is effective in the treatment of some forms of depression. But the list of books in Better With Books can also help a young person develop empathy and be more accepting of others who have different experiences from their own such as individuals with physical disabilities, mental health struggles, body image issues, and students from different religious backgrounds.

You can find find Melissa on instagram @wildmelissahart or at her website at www.melissahart.com.

He is a ballet dancer with the Louisville Ballet and a choreographer who grew up in South Florida. Sanjay attended college at Stanford and studied Biology but decided dance was really his passion. His other passion is reading and he is the leader of the Louisvile LGBTQ book group sponsored by the Louisville Pride Foundation.

Sanjay talks about how important it was for the Pride book club to provide a safe space for its members that had nothing to do with meeting people at bars or on apps. Sanjay says this small group of readers feels like family.

You can find find Sanjay on instagram @thesanj or his website at www.sanjaysaverimuttu.com.

Heather Lennon, the Sales and Marketing Director at Arctis Books, a new publisher of books in translation for middle grade and young adult audiences. Heather has been in publishing for 20 years, with Random House, North/South Books, and is now helping Arctis Books take off. The company’s first book, The End by Swedish author Mats Strandberg, came out in October 2020. It is described by Publisher’s Weekly as Nordic noir meets YA in a part whodunit, part romance, part end of the world narrative. The book received a Kirkus starred review and was listed as one of their Best Young Adult Books of 2020. This recognition really gave Arctis the push it needed.