Read Between the Lines

Molly Southgate interviews authors about their latest books, favorite book series, and more.

Veronica Roth | When Among Crows 04/17/2024

Veronica Roth | When Among Crows Molly talks with Veronica Roth about her book, "When Among Crows". About "When Among Crows" Step into a city where monsters feast on human emotions, knights split their souls to make their weapons, and witches always take more than they give. Pain is Dymitr’s calling. To slay the monsters he’s been raised to kill, he had to split his soul in half to make a sword from his own spine. Every time he draws it, he gets blood on his hands. Pain is Ala’s inheritance. When her mother died, a family curse to witness horrors committed by the Holy Order was passed onto her. The curse will claim her life, as it did her mother’s, unless she can find a cure. One fateful night in Chicago, Dymitr comes to Ala with a bargain: her help in finding the legendary witch Baba Jaga in exchange for an enchanted flower that just might cure her. Desperate, and unaware of what Dymitr really is, Ala agrees. But they only have one day before the flower dies . . . and Ala's hopes of breaking the curse along with it. VERONICA ROTH is the New York Times best-selling author of Arch Conspirator, Poster Girl, Chosen Ones, the short story collection The End and Other Beginnings, the Divergent series, and the Carve the Mark duology. Her Divergent trilogy has been adapted into a blockbuster movie series. Veronica is also the guest editor of the most recent The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. She lives in Chicago, Illinois. _________________________________________________________________________ One easy way to support this show is to rate and review Read Between the Lines wherever you listen to our podcast. Those ratings really help us and help others find our show. Read Between the Lines is hosted by Molly Southgate and is produced/edited by Rob Southgate for Southgate Media Group. Follow this show on Facebook Follow our parent network on Twitter at Make sure to follow SMG on Facebook too at Learn more, subscribe, or contact Southgate Media Group at . Check out our webpage at /episode/index/show/readbetweenthelines/id/30867533

Stacy Stokes | The Darkness Rises 04/10/2024

Stacy Stokes | The Darkness Rises Molly talks with Stacy Stokes about her book, "The Darkness Rises". About Stacy Stacy Stokes is a lifelong lover of stories, a former improv comedy geek, and a marketing professional by trade. She graduated with a BBA from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business. Her debut novel, Remember Me Gone, was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection, an ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers Nominee and nominated for the Colorado Blue Spruce award. Her sophomore novel, THE DARKESS RISES, will release in April 2024 with Penguin/Viking. Stacy lives with her family in the Bay Area. Follow her on Twitter @stacyastokes. About The Darkness Rises SOMEONE WANTS REVENGE… Whitney knows what death looks like. Since she was seven, she’s seen it hover over strangers’ heads in dark, rippling clouds. Sometimes she can save people from the darkness. Sometimes she can’t. But she’s never questioned if she should try. Until the unthinkable happens—and a person she saves becomes the perpetrator of a horrific school shooting. Now Whitney will do anything to escape the memory of last year’s tragedy and the guilt that gnaws at her for her role in it. Even if that means quitting dance—the thing she loves most—and hiding her ability from her family and friends. But most importantly, no one can know what really happened last year. Then Whitney finds an ominous message in her locker and realizes someone knows her secret. As the threats pile up, one thing becomes clear—someone wants payback for what she did. And if she’s going to survive the year, she must track down whoever is after her before it’s too late. _________________________________________________________________________ One easy way to support this show is to rate and review Read Between the Lines wherever you listen to our podcast. Those ratings really help us and help others find our show. Read Between the Lines is hosted by Molly Southgate and is produced/edited by Rob Southgate for Southgate Media Group. Follow this show on Facebook Follow our parent network on Twitter at Make sure to follow SMG on Facebook too at Learn more, subscribe, or contact Southgate Media Group at . Check out our webpage at /episode/index/show/readbetweenthelines/id/30769218

Jody Hobbs Hesler | What Makes You Think You're Supposed to Feel Better: Stories 02/28/2024

Maria Devivo | Dawn of the Blood Witch and The Aestrangel Trinity 02/06/2024

Patrick McDonough and R.J. Joseph | Hot Iron and Cold Blood: An Anthology of the Weird West 12/07/2023

Patrick McDonough and R.J. Joseph | Hot Iron and Cold Blood: An Anthology of the Weird West Molly talks with Patrick McDonough and R.J. Joseph about their anotholgy, "Hot Iron and Cold Blood: An Anthology of the Weird West". About "Hot Iron and Cold Blood" Desperados and yellow-bellies be warned: These ain’ t your typical westerns… Herein find legendary masters of anomalous Western and Horror stories— along with a posse of budding word-slingers— who all bring you an electrifying and frightening collection of extraordinary tales set in the Old West and beyond... Within these pages, the improbable is made real: cowboys encounter a chimeric critter of the night; dinosaurs return as massive poltergeists; Chinese railroad workers are haunted by invisible frights; outlaws experience Cronenbergian body-horror; fallen-light stalks mother and daughter upon a wintry prairie; a headless horseman roams the badlands; otherworldly creatures hunt within our domain; screaming spectral birds nest within the damned; and gunslinging women with murderous skills annihilate foolish notions of a man’ s world. These are just a handful of the offerings in this body of macabre lore. So, mount your saddle-horse and join this gang of rogue authors for a ride down dark trails of terror and unsettling thoroughfares that lead deep into strange, nightmarish territory. ABOUT RJ Joseph Rhonda Jackson Garcia, AKA RJ Joseph, is an award winning, Stoker Award™ nominated, Texas based academic and creative writer/professor whose writing regularly focuses on the intersections of gender and race in the horror and romance genres and popular culture. She has had works published in various applauded venues, including the 2020 Halloween issue of Southwest Review and The Streaming of Hill House: Essays on the Haunting Netflix Series. Her debut horror collection, Hell Hath No Sorrow Like a Woman Haunted was released in August 2022 by The Seventh Terrace. ABOUT Patrick R. McDonough Patrick R. McDonough is a writer, reviewer, and podcaster. He is the producer and one of the hosts of the Dead Headspace podcast. /episode/index/show/readbetweenthelines/id/28973383

BettyJoyce Nash | "Everybody Here Is Kin" 11/21/2023

Sariah Wilson | "The Paid Bridesmaid" 11/16/2023

Sariah Wilson | "The Paid Bridesmaid" Molly talks with author Sariah Wilson about her book, "The Paid Bridesmaid". Order "The Paid Bridesmaid" from an independent bookseller at this link: or at Amazon right here About The Paid Bridesmaid Rachel Vinson is a bridesmaid for hire: part confidante, part wedding planner, and one hundred percent pretend BFF. Discretion guaranteed. Her next gig is a destination wedding—livestreamed and sponsored—for an Instagram influencer. That means a paradise of new contacts, which could be a boon to her already booming business. If Rachel can keep the very handsome and slightly too interested best man at bay, that is. High-tech entrepreneur Camden Lewis must know: Who is this gorgeous, intelligent, and mysterious woman? Too good to be real. Convinced she’s a corporate spy out to tank his company, Camden’s not letting her out of his sight. But the constant surveillance is also opening his eyes to things about Rachel that he likes. If she’s a spy, she’s certainly the cutest one he’s ever seen. As the week’s worth of wedding events march along, Rachel and Camden are learning almost everything there is to know about each other. Rachel’s made a career out of always a bridesmaid…but perhaps there’s a chance for her own trip down the aisle? About the author Sariah Wilson is the USA Today bestselling author of The Chemistry of Love, The Paid Bridesmaid, The Seat Filler, Roommaid, Just a Boyfriend, the Royals of Monterra series, and the #Lovestruck novels. She happens to be madly, passionately in love with her soul mate and is a fervent believer in happily ever afters—which is why she writes romance. She currently lives with her family and various pets in Utah, and harbors a lifelong devotion to ice cream. For more information, visit her website at www.sariahwilson.com. One easy way to support this show is to rate and review Read Between the Lines wherever you listen to our podcast. Those ratings really help us and help others find our show. Read Between the Lines is hosted by Molly Southgate and is produced/edited by Rob Southgate for Southgate Media Group. Follow this show on Facebook Follow our parent network on Twitter at Make sure to follow SMG on Facebook too at Learn more, subscribe, or contact Southgate Media Group at . Check out our webpage at /episode/index/show/readbetweenthelines/id/25149279

Kimberly Giarratano | Death of A Dancing Queen: A Billie Levine Mystery 11/14/2023

Kimberly Giarratano | Death of A Dancing Queen: A Billie Levine Mystery Molly talks with author Kimberly Giarratano about her book "Death of A Dancing Queen: A Billie Levine Mystery" About Death of A Dancing Queen After her mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, Billie Levine revamped her grandfather’s private investigation firm and set up shop in the corner booth of her favorite North Jersey deli hoping the free pickles and flexible hours would allow her to take care of her mom and pay the bills. So when Tommy Russo, a rich kid with a nasty drug habit, offers her a stack of cash to find his missing girlfriend, how can she refuse? At first, Billie thinks this will be easy earnings, but then her missing person's case turns into a murder investigation and Russo is the detective bureau’s number one suspect. Suddenly Billie is embroiled in a deadly gang war that’s connected to the decades-old disappearance of a famous cabaret dancer with ties to both an infamous Jewish mob and a skinhead group. Toss in the reappearance of Billie’s hunky ex-boyfriend with his own rap sheet, and she is regretting every decision that got her to this point. Becoming a P.I. was supposed to solve her problems. But if Billie doesn’t crack this case, the next body the police dredge out of the Hudson River will be hers. About the author Kimberly G. Giarratano lives in the woods of northeastern Pennsylvania with her husband and small children. She loves politics, podcasts, and British crime dramas. Stay current with Kimberly's writing projects at her website: http://kimberlyggiarratano.com/ and sign up for her newsletter: eepurl.com/bn21-X One easy way to support this show is to rate and review Read Between the Lines wherever you listen to our podcast. Those ratings really help us and help others find our show. Read Between the Lines is hosted by Molly Southgate and is produced/edited by Rob Southgate for Southgate Media Group. Follow this show on Facebook Follow our parent network on Twitter at Make sure to follow SMG on Facebook too at Learn more, subscribe, or contact Southgate Media Group at . Check out our webpage at /episode/index/show/readbetweenthelines/id/28341200

Justin O. Rose | Hammer of Gath: A Tale of Rehavan 11/09/2023

Justin O. Rose | Hammer of Gath: A Tale of Rehavan About Hammer of Gath: A Tale of Rehavan In a time millennia before the Golden Iris reigned supreme, before Salinor and the race of men ever dreamed of nationhood, the elven empire of Elisidor stands as Rehavan’s greatest power. To their east lies the ocean, to their west lies Gath, the sprawling democracy of the minotaurs, their only option for expansion. As both nations grow and swell, one lusting for mineral wealth, the other for fertile land, differences in belief and custom become divisive. Factions rise desirous of conquest. A chance misfortune sparks bloodshed, and as this bloodshed increases, two blacksmiths from opposing cultures find themselves thrust into prominence, living out their personal grudge on the stage of international war. The war ravages Rehavan, casting doubt upon ancient customs, religious teachings, and ideals, and ultimately posing the question: What is the nature of power? About the author There is no way to bridge the gap between souls, to make the experience of one become the experience of another. What we see and hear and feel as "life" is unique to us, flavored by our innate soul and the moments that touch us. We have no perfect way to translate what moves within our mind for others. But, by all that is beautiful or grand, that doesn't make the pursuit any less meaningful. That doesn't mean we can't try. Stories are how I try. So, please, read one. Here's my soul. One easy way to support this show is to rate and review Read Between the Lines wherever you listen to our podcast. Those ratings really help us and help others find our show. Read Between the Lines is hosted by Molly Southgate and is produced/edited by Rob Southgate for Southgate Media Group. Follow this show on Facebook Follow our parent network on Twitter at Make sure to follow SMG on Facebook too at Learn more, subscribe, or contact Southgate Media Group at . Check out our webpage at /episode/index/show/readbetweenthelines/id/28341191

Henriette Lazaridis | Terra Nova 11/07/2023

Henriette Lazaridis | Terra Nova Molly talks with author Henriette Lazaridis about her book "Terra Nova". About Terra Nova The year is 1910, and two Antarctic explorers, Watts and Heywoud, are racing to the South Pole. Back in London, Viola, a photo-journalist, harbors love for them both. In Terra Nova, Henriette Lazaridis seamlessly ushers the reader back and forth between the austere, forbidding, yet intoxicating polar landscape of Antarctica to the bustle of early twentieth century London. Though anxious for both men, Viola has little time to pine. She is photographing hunger strikers in the suffrage movement, capturing the female nude in challenging and politically powerful ways. As she comes into her own as an artist, she's eager for recognition and to fulfill her ambitions. And then the men return, eager to share news of their triumph. But in her darkroom, Viola discovers a lie. Watts and Heywoud have doctored their photos of the Pole to fake their success. Viola must now decide whether to betray her husband and her lover, or keep their secret and use their fame to help her pursue her artistic ambitions. Rich and moving, Terra Nova is a novel that challenges us to consider how love and lies, adventure and art, can intersect. About the author Henriette Lazaridis' novel TERRA NOVA was published by Pegasus Books in December, 2022 and was called "ingenious" and "provocative" by the New York Times. She is the author of the best-selling novel THE CLOVER HOUSE. Her short work has appeared in publications including Elle, Forge, Narrative Magazine, The New York Times, New England Review, The Millions, and has earned her a Massachusetts Cultural Council Artists Grant. Henriette grew up in the Boston area as the only child of Greek expats, speaking Greek as her first language. Devoted to storytelling since her childhood bedtime stories from the Odyssey, Henriette earned degrees in English literature from Middlebury College, Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar, and the University of Pennsylvania. Having taught English at Harvard, she now teaches at GrubStreet in Boston and runs the Krouna Writing Workshop in northern Greece. She writes the Substack newsletter The Entropy Hotel, about athletic and creative challenges at henriettelazaridis.substack.com. For more, visit henriettelazaridis.com. One easy way to support this show is to rate and review Read Between the Lines wherever you listen to our podcast. Those ratings really help us and help others find our show. Read Between the Lines is hosted by Molly Southgate and is produced/edited by Rob Southgate for Southgate Media Group. Follow this show on Facebook Follow our parent network on Twitter at Make sure to follow SMG on Facebook too at Learn more, subscribe, or contact Southgate Media Group at . Check out our webpage at /episode/index/show/readbetweenthelines/id/28341179

Elizabeth Winthrop Alsop | Daughter of Spies: Wartime Secrets, Family Lies 11/02/2023

Elizabeth Winthrop Alsop | Daughter of Spies: Wartime Secrets, Family Lies Molly talks with author Elizabeth Winthrop Alsop about her book "Daughter of Spies: Wartime Secrets, Family Lies". About Daughter of Spies: Wartime Secrets, Family Lies As a child, Elizabeth Winthrop Alsop, along with her five brothers, was raised to revere the tribal legends of the Alsop and Roosevelt families. Her parents' marriage, lived in the spotlight of 1950s Washington where the author's father, journalist Stewart Alsop, grew increasingly famous, was not what either of her parents had imagined it would be. Her mother's strict Catholicism and her father's restless ambition collided to create a strangely muted and ominous world, one that mirrored the whispered conversations in the living room as the power brokers of Washington came and went through their side door. Through it all, her mother, trained to keep secrets as a decoding agent with MI5, said very little. In this brave memoir, the author explores who her mother was, why alcohol played such an important role in her mother's life, and why her mother held herself apart from all her children, especially her only daughter. In the author's journey to understand her parents, particularly her mother, she comes to realize that the secrets parents keep are the ones that reverberate most powerfully in the lives of their children. About the author Elizabeth Winthrop Alsop is the author of more than 60 works of fiction for all ages. She is the winner of the , the . Elizabeth has written books for children of all ages (, , ), novels for adults ( and ), short stories (Bad News and The Golden Darters anthologized in Best American Short Stories), and poetry (published in anthologies and literary reviews).You can get in touch with Elizabeth Winthrop by . Click for a great interview with Elizabeth about all facets of her writing career. In the fall of 2022, Regal House published Winthrop’s memoir, about her parents’ love affair in England during the war and the complications of their marriage in the politically charged atmosphere of 1950s Washington. One easy way to support this show is to rate and review Read Between the Lines wherever you listen to our podcast. Those ratings really help us and help others find our show. Read Between the Lines is hosted by Molly Southgate and is produced/edited by Rob Southgate for Southgate Media Group. Follow this show on Facebook Follow our parent network on Twitter at Make sure to follow SMG on Facebook too at Learn more, subscribe, or contact Southgate Media Group at . Check out our webpage at /episode/index/show/readbetweenthelines/id/28341164

Nuzo Onoh Discusses Her Book "A Dance of the Dead" and African Horror 10/31/2023

Enrica Jang: Director of Poe House 10/31/2023

Argita and Detina Zalli discuss their book, "Good Morning, Hope" 10/27/2023

Argita and Detina Zalli discuss their book, "Good Morning, Hope" About "Good Morning, Hope" The inspiring true story of the Zalli family, forced to rebuild their lives in a new, uncertain land. Born in poverty-stricken Albania, twin sisters Argita and Detina Zalli always dreamed of becoming doctors. But when the government collapsed, plunging the country into anarchy and civil war, the twins’ dream unraveled along with their homeland. Their parents were determined to find a way to leave and save their daughters’ futures—not to mention their very lives. After several dangerous attempts, they finally escaped, only to be thrust into a new nightmare as refugees. With grit and determination, they fought their way forward. When tragedy struck yet again, threatening what they held most dear, the girls had to come to terms with the high price they had all paid to survive. In Good Morning, Hope, Argita and Detina share their harrowing story of courage and resilience. It was the strength of their family, particularly the sisters' unbreakable bond as twins, that nurtured and sustained them throughout their perilous ordeal. About the authors Born in Albania, twin sisters Argita and Detina Zalli were eleven years old when the government collapsed and civil war broke out. Two years later, after several failed attempts to flee the violence and poverty, they escaped with their parents to England. Overcoming the formidable challenges of being refugees, both young women achieved academic success and went on to become highly accomplished PhD research scientists and lecturers. Influenced by Barack Obama and eager to help others, they founded We Speak Science, a nonprofit organization that supports disadvantaged students throughout the world, particularly immigrants, whose circumstances hinder their ability to learn at school. Subsequently, in collaboration with world-class oncologists and scientists, Argita and Detina cofounded Aferdita Ime, a nonprofit initiative that seeks to help cancer patients through psychosocial support and counseling. https://www.sandrajonaspublishing.com/good-morning-hope/ /episode/index/show/readbetweenthelines/id/28341149

Andrew Hiller discusses his book Pitter Patty Finds Another Day 10/25/2023

Ananda Lima discusses her book, "Mother/land" 10/19/2023

Tommy and Charlie Greenwald | "The Rescues Finding Home" 10/17/2023

Christopher Paolini Discusses His Books "Murtagh: The World of Eragon" and "Fractal Noise: A Fractalverse Novel" 10/10/2023

Christopher Paolini Discusses His Books "Murtagh: The World of Eragon" and "Fractal Noise: A Fractalverse Novel" About the author Christopher Paolini is the creator of the World of Eragon and the Fractalverse. Holder of the Guinness World Record for youngest author of a bestselling series. Qualified for marksman in the Australian army. Scottish laird. Dodged gunfire . . . more than once. As a child was chased by a moose in Alaska. Has his name inscribed on Mars. Firstborn of Kenneth and Talita. Husband. Father. Asker of questions and teller of stories. About Murtagh: The world is no longer safe for the Dragon Rider Murtagh and his dragon, Thorn. An evil king has been toppled, and they are left to face the consequences of the reluctant role they played in his reign of terror. Now they are hated and alone, exiled to the outskirts of society. Throughout the land, hushed voices whisper of brittle ground and a faint scent of brimstone in the air—and Murtagh senses that something wicked lurks in the shadows of Alagaësia. So begins an epic journey into lands both familiar and untraveled, where Murtagh and Thorn must use every weapon in their arsenal, from brains to brawn, to find and outwit a mysterious witch. A witch who is much more than she seems. In this gripping novel starring one of the most popular characters from Christopher Paolini’s blockbuster Inheritance Cycle, a Dragon Rider must discover what he stands for in a world that has abandoned him. Murtagh is the perfect book to enter the World of Eragon for the first time . . . or to joyfully return. About Fractal Noise: July 25, 2234: The crew of the Adamura discovers the Anomaly. On the seemingly uninhabited planet Talos VII:a circular pit, 50 kilometers wide. Its curve not of nature, but design. Now, a small team must land and journey on foot across the surface to learn who built the hole and why. But they all carry the burdens of lives carved out on disparate colonies in the cruel cold of space. For some the mission is the dream of the lifetime, for others a risk not worth taking, and for one it is a desperate attempt to find meaning in an uncaring universe. Each step they take toward the mysterious abyss is more punishing than the last. And the ghosts of their past follow. /episode/index/show/readbetweenthelines/id/28281641

Vanessa Riley discusses her book, "Murder in Westminster" 10/05/2023

Vanessa Riley discusses her book, "Murder in Westminster" Molly talks with author Vanessa Riley about her book, "Murder in Westminster". About Murder in Wesminster Discovering a body on her property presents Lady Abigail Worthing with more than one pressing problem. The victim is Juliet, the wife of her neighbor, Stapleton Henderson. Although Abigail has little connection with the lady in question, she expects to be under suspicion. Abigail’s skin color and her mother’s notorious past have earned her a certain reputation among the ton, and no amount of wealth or status will eclipse it. Abigail can’t divulge that she was attending a secret pro-abolition meeting at the time of the murder. To her surprise, Henderson offers her an alibi. Though he and Juliet were long estranged, he feels a certain loyalty to his late wife. Perhaps together, he and Abigail can learn the truth. . . . Abigail, whose marriage was not a love match, knows well how appearances can deceive—and how treacherous London’s high society can be. Yet who would have killed Juliet, and why? Taking the reins of her life in a way she never has before, Abby intends to find out—but she may uncover more danger than she ever imagined . . . Order "Murder in Westminster" from Amazon right here About the author Vanessa Riley writes Regency Romances and Historical Fiction of dazzling multi-culture communities with powerful persons of color. Vanessa writes for historical romance readers who admire and acquire books that showcase women who find joy in sweeping kisses and strong sisterhoods. Even in the darkness, she promises to give you laughs and to show you how light always prevails and how love always, always wins. Vanessa juggles mothering a teen, cooking for her military-man husband, and speaking at women's and STEM events. She loves baking her Trinidadian grandma's cake recipes and collecting Irish crochet lace. She’s known for her sweeping romances and humorous delivery of poignant truths. You can catch her writing from the comfort of her southern porch with a cup of Earl Grey tea. You can find her at: www.vanessariley.com https://www.facebook.com/VanessaRileyAuthor http://www.twitter.com/VanessaRiley https://www.youtube.com/regencymaid https://www.instagram.com/vanessarileyauthor Sign up for her newsletter to get access to free stories, giveaways, and more at: www.VanessaRiley.com /episode/index/show/readbetweenthelines/id/25149360