In this episode,
Mark and Sam have Jordan back on the GE to talk about her new book, "This Is Not A Novel". It is a collection of short stories. Think Roald Dahl meets Steven King. We talk about where ideas come from. We discuss how she developed her characters. And what may be next for her.

In this episode, Mark and Sam talk with Tom Lincoln.
Tom Lincoln was born in Pasadena, California, in 1950 and was raised in Glendale. He graduated high school and attended the College of Idaho until 1971 when he enlisted in the U.S. Army. He completed army basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and then received advance training at the Defense Information School at Fort Benjamin Harris near Indianapolis. Upon graduation he was assigned to the military newspaper, Pacific Stars and Stripes, in Tokyo in November of 1971. While there he became a special assignment reporter and traveled throughout Asia for most of his time at the paper. He worked as the paper’s South Korea bureau chief and did additional reporting from the Philippines, Thailand and Okinawa.

After leaving the army in 1974, Tom moved to San Francisco and worked as a freight delivery driver. In July of 1975 he moved to Lake County and took a job as reporter/photographer for the Lake County Record-Bee. In November of 1977 he was invited into the insurance business and made a 42-year career, retiring in February of 2019. Along the way he also spent several years as an on-call fixed wing air ambulance pilot and charter pilot. He and his wife Ruth live in Lakeport and now enjoy watching their nine grandchildren and two great grandchildren grow and enjoy life.

Mark and Sam talk with author Pattie Diener about the craft of writing a novel and getting it publishing. She has a new book out called, "Wild Flower".

Here is what Amazon has to say about it.

A captivating story about a young woman's tenacious journey on finding love, acceptance, and a sense of home, in a world that constantly tries to tear her down.

She’s smart, talented, and remarkably beautiful…but utterly alone.

Charlie Kane desperately wants to leave her turbulent home. An intellectual outcast, her only outlet is creating illegal street art, when she’s not busy cleaning up her drunken mother’s messes. With dreams of freedom, and painting, she’s tough, but wants to feel safe, to belong, and maybe even loved. But hope is a dangerous thing.

Jack Connors left a dead-end job working for a tabloid magazine in Los Angeles. While housesitting in Northern California, he’s deciding on his next career move, dreaming of writing. Before taking a short-term job, Jack is acquainting himself with the small town, and meets a beautiful girl on the coastal streets.

When Charlie and Jack meet, they have instant chemistry, but Charlie is spooked by how much she likes him, and bolts before they exchange names. When they later discover a disheartening truth— that she’s a high school senior, and he’s her substitute teacher— they are crushed. They can’t be together. Forging through heartbreaks, loneliness, and her mother’s bad choices, Charlie struggles to find her worth. And through years of bad timing, career aspirations, and geographical distance, Charlie and Jack share a powerful, but often strenuous relationship.

In this coming-of-age story, about mothers and daughters, about addiction and redemption, and forbidden love and romance, is the evolution of a girl blossoming into a woman, who will stop at nothing to build a better life

In this episode, we have a returning guest. Jackie Balestra was on the 5th episode of GoodEnough. At that time she shared with us her adventures in RVing during COVID. This time Jackie is talking about her wonderful new book, "The Rockaway Chronicles". This is a year by year collections of memories and the characters she encountered as a child and teenager during her families' summer vacations. Maybe this ends up as a TV series?

This week Mark and Sam talk with journalist and author, David Rosenfeld. We talk about the craft and process of writing. Is it pen or keyboard? Where inspirations come from. Who are his journalistic/literary heroes. David teases his his new novel he is working.

In this episode, Mark and Sam discuss AJ Humpreys' new novel, "Trip" and his new publishing company, Dark Journeys Press. This one is not for the squeamish. And the word "fuck" is used liberally.

AJ Humphreys is an emerging author of thrillers, horrors, and mysteries and a 2024 addition to the Horror Writer's Association. The four-part Season of The Monster saga has served as his debut within the publishing world.

​​​​​​​Not one to fear going against the grain, Humphreys ditched the corporate world in 2021 for the food service industry, permitting him more time to focus on the haunting tales his mind conjures.

​​​​​​​When AJ isn't writing, it’s a safe bet he’s outdoors and his best pal, Kobe The Husky, is somewhere nearby.

In this episode, Mark and Sam talk with author Chris Lawler about his new book, "The Strand Between Us". The discussion cover the art and craft of writing a novel with some local South Bay stories thrown in.
From Amazon:
Kel Robinson graduated from High School without a clue of what comes next. His parents have sold the house he grew up in and are moving to Idaho. Kel is determined to stay in the beach towns he loves. All he has to work with is a small financial stake from his father, a best friend to mooch from and the lingering agnst for a girl he loved but never spoke to for all four years of school. The quest to connect to this high school crush takes him on the ride of a lifetime through the streets of the South Bay and the underbelly of a reality show production. If you ever lived in the South Bay you will know every street and landmark. All your memories will be stirred with emotion as you follow Kel to his destiny. Peppered with characters you will never forget and situations that will have you in stiches, The Strand Between Us will keep you up at night turning pages.

In this episode, Mark and Sam talk with Julie Kavickas about what it takes to write a romance novel.

Julie Navickas is a best-selling and award-winning, nationally recognized contemporary romance novelist, known for her keen ability to tell heart-wrenching, second-chance love stories through relatable characters with humility, humor, and heroism. She is also an award-winning university instructor in the School of Communication at Illinois State University and serves as the executive director of The Writing Champions Project. Julie earned master’s degrees in both organizational communication and English studies with an emphasis in book history, as well as a bachelor’s degree in public relations, graduating cum laude from Illinois State University. She is a mom of three, a dog mom of two, and has been happily married to her high school sweetheart for eleven years.