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  • Never lie to the reader: Megan Collins on writing a twisty thriller
    2025/04/10

    In a special book club edition of The Curious Cat Bookshop Podcast, we recently hosted thriller author Megan Collins shortly after the release of her newest thriller, Cross My Heart, about a woman who becomes obsessed with the husband of the donor of her recent heart transplant. We had a lot of fun--but beware that there is a spoiler zone at the end of the podcast!

    Buy a copy of Cross My Heart here (limited number of signed copies available upon request)

    About Cross My Heart:

    She has his wife’s heart; the one she wants is his.

    Rosie Lachlan wants nothing more than to find The One.

    A year after she was dumped in her wedding dress, she’s working at her parents’ bridal salon, anxious for a happy ending that can’t come soon enough. After receiving a life-saving heart transplant, Rosie knows her health is precious and precarious. She suspects her heart donor is Daphne Thorne, the wife of local celebrity author Morgan Thorne, who she begins messaging via an anonymous service called DonorConnect, ostensibly to learn more about Daphne. But Rosie has a secret: She’s convinced that now that she has his wife’s heart, she and Morgan are meant to be together.

    As she and Morgan correspond, the pretense of avoiding personal details soon disappears, even if Rosie’s keeping some cards close to her chest. But as she digs deeper into Morgan’s previous marriage, she discovers disturbing rumors about the man she’s falling for. Could Morgan have had something to do with his late wife’s death? And can Rosie’s heart sustain another break—or is she next?

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    49 分
  • I Want to Write a Magic System that Feels Like an Anxiety Disorder: Erin M. Evans on Epic Fantasy
    2025/03/22

    If you've ever wondered about how to create a world, the thought process that goes into getting all the moving pieces of an epic fantasy together, and how to create your own unique world, Erin M. Evans is a writer to listen to.

    Stacy and Erin discussed the writing process, how she got published, writing a murder mystery in an epic fantasy setting, writing shared-world fantasy, working at Wizards of the Coast, and more.

    Erin M. Evans is the author of the Books of the Usurper series, beginning with Empire of Exiles, and the award-winning Brimstone Angels Saga, set in the Forgotten Realms. She is a co-host of the podcast Writing about Dragons and Shit, and a cast member of the actualplay series, Dungeon Scrawlers. Erin lives in the Seattle area with her husband and sons.

    Buy her books here: https://curiouscatbookshop.com/search?type=author&q=Evans%2C%20Erin%20M.

    Find out more about Erin at https://erinmevans.com/.

    Support the show

    More about The Curious Cat Bookshop

    Shop online anytime for in-store pick-up or home delivery

    Keep track of our in-store and online events

    Become a member of The Curious Cat Bookshop! We have a subscription box or you can just add a little bit to help us become more sustainable

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    • Bluesky
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    1 時間
  • Is AI stealing your content? Lori Fena & Martha Brockenbrough on consent, control, compensation
    2025/03/10

    What does all this generative artificial intelligence mean for authors, artists, and other creators? Is anyone in the AI world paying attention to ethics or accountability? Join us for a discussion of these issues and more with acclaimed author Martha Brockenbrough, author of Future Tense: How We Made Artificial Intelligence—and How It Will Change Everything, and Lori Fena, technology policy thought leader and cofounder of Personal Digital Spaces.

    Buy the book: https://curiouscatbookshop.com/list/books-martha-brockenbrough

    About our guests:

    Martha Brockenbrough (rhymes with broken toe) is the author of more than twenty books for young readers, including YA fiction and nonfiction, picture books, a middle grade mystery, and a chapter book series.

    She founded National Grammar Day, wrote game questions for Cranium and Trivial Pursuit, and was co-chair of faculty at VCFA’s MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program.

    Martha won a Pacific Northwest Bookseller Association Award and a Washington State Book Award for her novel The Game of Love and Death. She was also a finalist for the Kirkus Prize.

    Lori Fena is a cofounder and the Head of Business Development at Personal Digital Spaces. A recognized technology policy thought-leader, entrepreneur and author, Lori works with pioneering high-tech companies to introduce new forms of technology, as well as innovative policy. Since the start of the networked computing era to the Blockchain, Big Data, AI world of today, she has combined technical curiosity, business acumen, and an activist nature to help found ground-breaking technology companies and to institute international policy.

    After receiving a B.S. in Business Information Systems from CSULA, and an Executive Certificate from Harvard Business School – Board Governance for Nonprofit Excellence, Lori began her career as a Business Manager at Applied Physics in Pasadena. She founded and sold an IP strategy company and became the VP of Business Development at Stream International, a $1.2 billion merger of Corporate Software and RR Donnelley Global Software Services.

    In addition to running her own companies, Lori is an active investor and board advisor to a number of technology companies. She was Executive Director and later the Chairman of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. She is the founder and Chairman Emeritus of TRUSTe.org, and served as the Internet Policy Program Director at the Aspen Institute.

    Support the show

    More about The Curious Cat Bookshop

    Shop online anytime for in-store pick-up or home delivery

    Keep track of our in-store and online events

    Become a member of The Curious Cat Bookshop! We have a subscription box or you can just add a little bit to help us become more sustainable

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    And always, our events locally and online can be found on our website!

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    1 時間 2 分
  • So you want to start a bookstore! Six things you need to know when starting your bookstore business
    2025/02/27

    I'm sure you've seen the meme running around bookish circles: the bookish urge to quit your job/retire, start a bookstore, and read all day. But if you go beyond the dreaming, what does it look like to start a bookstore?

    Stacy Whitman--owner of The Curious Cat Bookshop and former publisher/now editor-at-large--dives into an overview of what you need to know if you're getting serious about starting a bookstore.

    Resources mentioned:

    Small Business Administration (SBA) (be sure to look for your state's resources)

    Women's Business Development Council

    • in CT
    • nationally (or search for the one in your state)

    American Booksellers Association

    Professional Booksellers School

    High Season Co. (social media)

    More about The Curious Cat Bookshop

    Shop online anytime for in-store pick-up or home delivery

    Keep track of our in-store and online events

    Become a member of The Curious Cat Bookshop! We have a subscription box or you can just add a little bit to help us become more sustainable

    Follow us elsewhere!

    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Facebook
    • YouTube (live events stream here)
    • Threads

    And always, our events locally and online can be found on our website!

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    34 分
  • Author talk: historical fantasy author Susan J. Morris
    2025/02/03

    In our interview in October 2024 with fantasy author Susan J. Morris, we discussed her novel, Strange Beasts, which debuted last year to great acclaim, published through the new Bindery Books imprint.

    In this fresh-yet-familiar gothic tale—part historical fantasy, part puzzle-box mystery—the worlds of Dracula and Sherlock Holmes collide in a thrilling exploration of feminine power. Buy the book here: https://curiouscatbookshop.com/book/9781959411642

    Susan J. Morris is a fantasy author and editor best known for a writing-advice column featured on Amazon’s Omnivoracious blog (which TIME magazine online once called “clever,” and which she henceforth has never let anyone forget), and her work editing Forgotten Realms novels. Susan delights in running workshops for Clarion West and in moderating panels for writing symposiums. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her partner; her cats, Adora and Kitava; and entirely too many plants. Strange Beasts is her debut novel. Find her online at susanjmorris.com.

    About Strange Beasts: At the dawn of the twentieth century in Paris, Samantha Harker, daughter of Dracula’s killer, works as a researcher for the Royal Society for the Study of Abnormal Phenomena. But no one realizes how abnormal she is. Sam is a channel into the minds of monsters: a power that could help her solve the gruesome deaths plaguing turn-of-the-century Paris—or have her thrown into an asylum.

    Sam finds herself assigned to a case with Dr. Helena Moriarty, daughter of the criminal mastermind and famed nemesis of Sherlock Holmes and a notorious detective whom no one wants to work with on account of her previous partners’ mysterious murders. Ranging from the elite clubs of Paris to the dark underbelly of the catacombs, their investigation sweeps them into a race to stop a Beast from its killing rampage, as Hel and Sam are pitted against men, monsters, and even each other. But beneath their tenuous trust, an unmistakable attraction brews. Is trusting Hel the key to solving the murder, or is Sam yet another pawn in Hel’s game?

    More about The Curious Cat Bookshop

    Shop online anytime for in-store pick-up or home delivery

    Keep track of our in-store and online events

    Become a member of The Curious Cat Bookshop! We have a subscription box or you can just add a little bit to help us become more sustainable

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    And always, our events locally and online can be found on our website!

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    53 分
  • How to achieve your writing goals with editor and author Lisa Mangum
    2025/01/23

    Have you always meant to get started on writing that book? Have you been asked to write an article and you didn't know where to start? Editor and author Lisa Mangum is the expert you need to help you get started and stay on track with your writing goals. Her new book, Write Fearless. Edit Smart. Get Published., combines all her 25+ years of expertise into a guide you'll want to dive into.

    Buy Lisa's book

    More about The Curious Cat Bookshop

    Shop online anytime for in-store pick-up or home delivery

    Keep track of our in-store and online events

    Become a member of The Curious Cat Bookshop! We have a subscription box or you can just add a little bit to help us become more sustainable

    Follow us elsewhere!

    • Bluesky
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    • Facebook
    • YouTube (live events stream here)
    • Threads

    And always, our events locally and online can be found on our website!

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    57 分
  • Writing a book out of spite: New York Times bestselling author Beth Revis
    2025/01/20

    If you love books set in space, with magic, or with kissing, Beth Revis's books are for you. She's written more than 20 books for adults and young adults alike, including the Star Wars novel The Princess and the Scoundrel. What's it like to write for so many different age groups, or in so many different contexts? Find out in this podcast conversation with Beth!

    Buy Beth's books!

    Star Wars: Someone Who Loves You

    Night of the Witch with Sara Raasch

    The Fate of Magic with Sara Raasch

    Full Speed to a Crash Landing

    How to Steal a Galaxy

    Preorder Last Chance to Save the World


    Support Hurricane Helene relief: BeLoved Asheville

    Learn from Beth in her writing workshops at Wordsmith Workshops


    More about The Curious Cat Bookshop

    Shop online anytime for in-store pick-up or home delivery

    Keep track of our in-store and online events

    Become a member of The Curious Cat Bookshop! We have a subscription box or you can just add a little bit to help us become more sustainable

    Follow us elsewhere!

    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Facebook
    • YouTube (live events stream here)
    • Threads

    And always, our events locally and online can be found on our website!

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    56 分