Taming Monsters with Dirty Rotten Bill

Darlene Versak has had to endure her share of dark moments in life, but she hasn’t let the tough times dampen her spirit. She wrote about many of her trials and tribulations—and how she found a way through them to become the person she is today—in her 2022 book, WORDS: A JOURNEY TO THE LIGHT WITHIN. She and I discussed the lessons she’s learned along the way, the importance of choosing love over fear in a time when fear runs rampant, and how she creates through the chaos of daily life.

A childhood love of music led Eric Mintel to a decades-long career as a professional jazz musician. As the leader of a quartet that bears his name, Eric has taken the stage at some of the world’s most prestigious venues, and his audiences have included not one but two U.S. presidents. Considering the other, more controversial side of himself—a paranormal investigator who plumbs the depths of hauntings, cryptid sightings, and other unexplained phenomena—he seems like a character plucked from a work of fiction. He goes into each investigation with a healthy dose of skepticism, but he has...

Writer, artist, musician, and co-founder/executive editor of her own independent press—meet LCW Allingham. Her published works include MUSE, a horror novella, and LADY, a work of historical fiction, both published in 2024. Listen in to hear her discuss how the arts influenced her at an early age, the horror films that scarred her as a kid (and likely influenced her own work), and what she learned from the chaos of playing in a punk band.

Meet Daniel Sean Kaye, writer, illustrator, and professional good guy. He has written/co-written and illustrated three books starring a rather resourceful hermit crab, beginning with 2013’s NEVER UNDERESTIMATE A HERMIT CRAB. He talks about his Spider-Man aspirations, why David Bowie’s music has had such a profound effect on his life, and the surprising question he posed to William Shatner. He also speaks frankly about his struggles with anxiety and depression, and how writing, drawing, and helping others help him cope when the dark clouds gather.

Sit down with award-winning thriller writer Chris Bauer, whose many published works include the novel I HEARD YOU PAINT COWBOYS, which came out in April. He talks about the controversial nature of the topics explored in his books, how his blue-collar Philadelphia roots influence his fiction, and how a kind and mild-mannered family man is able to write deeply flawed (and, in some cases, despicable) characters so well.