Speaking Volumes - The Podcast (presented by The Crowded Bookshelf)

The Crowded Bookshelf presents another episode of Speaking Volumes: Books, Writing, and the World of Publishing.   

In this episode, Renee speaks with Colorado authors Brian Naslund and Carrie Vaughn to celebrate the release of FURY OF A DEMON, the third and final book in the Dragons of Terra series.   

A fast-paced adventure perfect for comic readers and fans of heroic fantasy.  Things are very grim for Bershad and Ashlyn. Pinned in the Deepwood by monsterous alchemical creations and a relentless army of mercenaries, they are running out of options and allies. With every wound Bershad gets closer to losing his humanity forever, and as the fight continues, the exile turned assassin turned hero isn't even sure if being human is something he wants.

The Crowded Bookshelf presents another episode of Speaking Volumes: Books, Writing, and the World of Publishing. 

In this episode, Renee speaks with authors Janna MacGregor and Melonie Johnson to celebrate Bookstore Romance Day 2021!   What is Bookstore Romance Day? Bookstore Romance Day is a day designed to give independent bookstores an opportunity to celebrate Romance fiction—its books, readers, and writers—and to strengthen the relationships between bookstores and the Romance community.

The Crowded Bookshelf presents another episode of its virtual event series Speaking Volumes: Books, Writing, and the World of Publishing. In this episode, Renee speaks with author Nora Zelevansky about her new book Competitive Grieving.  

Wren's closest friend, her anchor since childhood, is dead. Stewart Beasley. Gone. She can't quite believe it and she definitely can't bring herself to look up the symptoms of an aneurysm. Instead of weeping, Wren's been dreaming up the perfect funeral plans, memorial buffets, and processional songs for everyone from the corner bodega owner to her parents (none of whom show any signs of imminent demise).  

Stewart was a rising television star, who-for reasons Wren struggles to comprehend-often surrounded himself with sycophantic and questionable characters, amusing in his life, but intolerable in his death. When his icy mother assigns Wren the task of sorting through and disseminating his possessions alongside George (Stewart's maddening, but oddly charming lawyer), she finds herself at the epicenter of a world in which she wants no part, a world where everyone wants to own a piece of Stewart's memory and claim a stake in both his life and his death. Remembering the boy Stewart was and investigating the man he became, Wren finds herself wondering, did she even know this person who she once considered an extension of herself? Can you ever really know anyone? Will the real Stewart Beasley please stand up?  

Ultimately, in pursuit of acceptance, Wren discovers that her own true identity may be just as obscure as her friend's. How did she land here? How much of her own reality has she been walking through blind?  

The Crowded Bookshelf presents another episode of its virtual event series Speaking Volumes: Books, Writing, and the World of Publishing. In this episode, Renee speaks with author and comedian Rosie Wilby about her new book The Breakup Monologues.   

In 2011, comedian Rosie Wilby was dumped by email . . . though she did feel a little better about it after correcting her ex’s spelling and punctuation. Obsessing about breakups ever since, she embarked on a quest to investigate, understand and conquer the psychology of heartbreak. This book is a love letter to her breakups, a celebration of what they have taught her peppered with anecdotes from illustrious friends and interviews with relationship therapists, scientists and sociologists about separating in the modern age of ghosting, breadcrumbing, and conscious uncoupling.   

The Crowded Bookshelf presents another episode of its virtual event series Speaking Volumes: Books, Writing, and the World of Publishing. In this episode, Renee speaks with authors Mary Clare, PhD. and Gary Ferguson about their new book Full Ecology.   

Climate anxiety is on the rise. Rather than propose a ten-step plan to save the earth, Full Ecology encourages a more elemental rethinking of our connections to nature. True change, the authors argue, begins with understanding ourselves not as isolated individuals, but as being in harmony with our human and nonhuman worlds. From this process of mindfulness and reflection, they offer an alternative strategy for acting in ecologically healthy ways, and for inspiring others to do the same. Practical and poetic, scientific and spiritual, Full Ecology presents a strong, nourishing foundation for climate action.  

The Crowded Bookshelf presents another episode of its virtual event series Speaking Volumes: Books, Writing, and the World of Publishing. In this episode, Renee speaks with author Madeline Martin about her debut historical fiction novel The Last Bookshop in London.   

August 1939: London prepares for war as Hitler’s forces sweep across Europe. Grace Bennett has always dreamed of moving to the city, but the bunkers and drawn curtains that she finds on her arrival are not what she expected. And she certainly never imagined she’d wind up working at Primrose Hill, a dusty old bookshop nestled in the heart of London.  

Through blackouts and air raids as the Blitz intensifies, Grace discovers the power of storytelling to unite her community in ways she never dreamed—a force that triumphs over even the darkest nights of the war.  

The Crowded Bookshelf presents another episode of its virtual event series Speaking Volumes: Books, Writing, and the World of Publishing. In this episode, Renee speaks with author and illustrator Julie Rowan-Zoch about her debut author/illustrator picture book I'm A Hare, So There!  

When a chipmunk mistakes Hare for a rabbit, Hare puts him in his place. But actually, the chipmunk is a SQUIRREL. Or so he says.  

Ever wondered about the difference between a turtle and a tortoise? Or a sheep and goat? So have Rabbit and Chipmunk—er, I mean, Hare and Squirrel! This hilarious look at dynamic duos in the animal kingdom pokes fun at the lookalike animals we all love, while delivering a gentle lesson on appreciating differences and standing up for what you know to be true about yourself.  

The Crowded Bookshelf presents the first episode of its virtual event series Speaking Volumes: Books, Writing, and the World of Publishing. In this episode, Renee speaks with authors Amalie Howard and Janna MacGregor about their forthcoming Regency Romance titles, The Princess Stakes and A Duke in Time.  

Described as The Princess Bride meets Master and Commander,  Howard's The Princess Stakes follows Princess Sarani Rao, who is forced to flee to England after her father is murdered. In a cruel twist of fate, her only hope of making it to safety is the reluctant Duke of Embry, one Rhystan Huntley, the boy she once loved...and spurned.   

Filled with broody dukes and scorching hot kisses all over London, MacGregor's A Duke in Time tells the story of Katherine Vareck, who receives the shock of her life when she learns her husband married two other women before his untimely end. With the help of her late husband's half brother, the Duke of Ranford, Katherine and the other wives begin to put their lives back together. Meanwhile, the duke is busy not falling for Katherine because he's emotionally closed of and all that nonsense. Or is he?