Desideratum

In her debut novel A DAY LIKE THIS, author Kelley McNeil explores intuition, memory, motherhood, science, the mystery of creativity and the magic of place. Her main character Annie is an artist who is haunted by visions and memories of things she can not explain. The novel follows Annie far from home as she tries to reconcile her memories with her reality.  Our conversation is full of wit and wisdom.  Kelley's essential thing m...

This week's Episode features author Colleen Cambridge aka Colleen Gleason. Her latest novel MURDER AT MALLOWAN HALL from Kensington Publishing Corp. is a gem for anyone who enjoys a good old fashioned English manor murder mystery.  Her heroine Phyllida Bright is self assured, knows her worth, pays attention to detail, is friends with THE Agatha Christie, and becomes a smashing good amateur sleuth in this - Book 1 - of Colleen&#...

This week's featured novel is the latest thriller from the imagination of author Charlie Donlea.  Twenty Years Later kept me puzzling and guessing until the very end. You will meet characters who work to uncover the truth behind a 20 year old murder case while they also confront and face things they are hiding from.  It's a story about memory, betrayal and reinvention. 

Listen to a scene from the audiobook performed by Vivi...

Author Rebecca Copeland understands the power of words - and the many meanings behind them. She explores the idea of home and identity while unwrapping a multilayered mystery in her debut novel The Kimono Tattoo.  The character she has created to walk you through this story within a story is an American woman living in Japan and working as a translator.  Listen to why Rebecca feels so connected to Japan, and hear the scene that rev...

Our conversation with author Kim Taylor Blakemore  begins and ends with how her stories come to her - sometimes it's dark.  We talk about gothic tropes, Gettysburg Battlefield ghosts, and the drive to find the voice of a lost loved one.  There are also some big ideas about sibling relationships and mercy.  Kim uses mercy - both how we show it and how we deny it. What you will not find here are spoilers. This historical thriller...

Our featured story is author Kerry Anne King's new novel Other People's Things.  We talk about how the main character Nickel sparks change and creates a ripple effect of consequences in her own life and in the lives of others with her unusual compulsion to move objects that don't belong to her (it sounds like stealing - but it's not that simple).  The story plays with the concepts of fate and destiny, in an entertai...

10 Days : Dee Rommel Mystery #1 is just the beginning for novelist Jule Selbo.  Her plans for Dee Rommel - the justice seeking cop who was injured on the job - include a countdown style series starting with 10 Days, then 9 Days, then 8 Days... each book's action set in that specific time frame.  Jule has worn several career hats preparing her for this work - playwright, screenwriter, and professor. She shares WHY the mystery an...

Desideratum is a Latin word meaning 'things that are desired as essential'. The Desideratum Podcast celebrates storytelling as an essential thing - the art of telling and the journey of listening. I am Theresa Bakken - an audiobook narrator. Join me and my wordsmith friends for new episodes every Friday showcasing the talents of authors and narrators. Listen to conversations with writers and scenes from their audiobooks. I ...

The real story of The Second Mrs. Astor is told with rich detail and a romantic's touch.  When Madeleine Force fell in love she was a teenager. Who she fell in love with fascinated the press and the public. How the love ended is revealed on the very first page. But, then there is so much more to her story.  New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly & Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author Shana Abé shares how she envisio...

Our featured story comes from freelance photographer and writer Jeannee Sacken.  In her debut novel, Behind the Lens, Sacken honors strong women. She champions their education and freedom to follow their hearts and passions.  Her characters are courageous and complicated.  She takes us to a war zone with a photographer who focuses on truth and witnesses cruelty, love, cultural beauty and betrayal. It's a riveting, multifaceted ...

Our featured story is a harrowing tale, a heart wrenching story about a journey through compassion and cruelty.  Author Debra Thomas spent years writing the novel Luz and more years finding just the right publisher for the story - She Writes Press.  In our conversation, she shares personal insight into the life lessons about perseverance and living with regrets that she wove into the characters. She talks about real life experience...

Our featured story comes from Marjorie Herrera Lewis. Marjorie is a career sports writer covering football at all levels in Texas. In fact, she was the first female sports writer to cover the Dallas Cowboys. So when, through a happy set of coincidences, she found out about another female sports enthusiast who stepped up during WWII and coached high school football in Texas,  she knew it was a story she had to tell. Tylene Wilson...

Our featured story is from Claire Fullerton, a storyteller who visits the past and studies how it shapes us over and over again in her writing.  We talk about how being an outsider and an observer sparked her study and love for the south. She shares her unplanned writing style - you won't find it in any writing class. And, she describes her first trip to Como, Mississippi, where she set part of the novel Little Tea. You will he...