Hey Y’all, Come on in to Chat with Ms. Rat! Southern Humor in Episode #82

Posted on February 27, 2026 by beerlit

Books and Brews: the place where beer and literature meet!

Marlene and her family have experienced a number of tragedies and frightening experiences. Any one of which could have been their undoing. If she could find one little spark of humor in that tangle of fears she could make life better. She is a southern humorist who enjoys a bit of the dark-side.

After nearly 35 years of teaching and counseling adolescents and their parents, she retired, only to begin writing the Hey Y’all column for Gwinnett Citizen Newspaper and for Anything Goes for Inspirations for a better World online magazine.

In 2020 she received the Georgia Independent Author of the Year Award and the Christian Women Writers Award for Life is Hard. Soften it with Laughter. A Place with a Past received the award in 2021. Ladies of All Nations, International presented her the Global Woman of Courage Award.

We talked about rings, family history, the importance of humor, her father’s experiences in world war II and how he acquired part of Hitler’s tea set…and more! You won’t want to miss her reading about Tasteful Native Costumes!

00:00 START
07:15 Drink 1: Butterbean Cocktail
9:22 Reading 1: Take Cover! We at War!
13:46 Becoming Ms. Rat
22:01 Hope, Faith & Medical Experts
27:54 Drink 2: 5 Gold Rings
31:31 Reading 2: 5 Gold Rings
38:58 Sentiment even without knowing whose the rings were
40:04 Dad and Hitler’s tea set
46:15 Drink 3: Skip and Go Naked
49:33 Reading 3: Tasteful Native Costumes
54:10 Boys’ and parents’ reaction!
55:31 What does being southern mean to you?

Find the full interview in the link above. Check our channel www.youtube.com/@booksandbrews for more interviews with authors on Books & Brews Light

Visit our PATREON for our extended AFTER HOURS

Www.booksandbrews.net
www.lauravosika.com
www.gabrielshornpress.com
www.glenmirrilfarms.wordpress.com
Www.msratwrites.com

~ ~

If you enjoy our interviews or have benefited from them, we invite you to help us continue our work. It takes a great deal of time and money to produce Books and Brews. We’ve been doing interviews since January 2017 as a free service to authors. We continue to promote those authors on our social media for years after their interviews. Subscribing, following, liking, commenting and sharing all help us to keep doing what we do.

A $5 tip helps us pay for our many expenses: Libsyn hosting, web hosting, Google meets, providing the drinks for the interview and the many hours of preparation and editing that go into each episode.
Patreon: patreon.com/BooksandBrewswithLauraVosika
Tip Jar: paypal.me/booksandbrewsMN * Books and Brews products:
https://www.zazzle.com/store/books_an… (more to come)
Sponsor an episode to promote your product or service: contact us booksandbrewslive@gmail.com

COMING UP:

Juliet Cutler — travels to Africa and girls’ education
Laura Creedle — horror
JK Divia — dark fantasy, mythological horror & paranormal
Barry Black — former FBI master bomb technician
Randy Lerch — memoir, former MBL player

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Gabriel’s Horn is accepting submissions for its anthology NEW THEMES: CHILDREN and AMERICA.
See Laura’s interview at Central Valley Talk
Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to get notifications of all our new videos. We have now interviewed more than 115 authors! Would you like to be featured? Leave a comment.

https://www.youtube.com/@booksandbrews

Books & Brews Light: More Great Authors!

Posted on January 30, 2026 by beerlit

We typically post here about our guests on the full podcast that features three readings and three drinks and goes out to all the podcast sites. However, we have only about an hour’s worth of interview we can post there each month, so we also do Books & Brews Light, which goes up on YouTube. With the running of our farm, my publishing house, and my own writing, there just aren’t enough hours in the day to do a write-up about each of these great guests. Here are some of our recent guests on Books & Brews Light:

#61A and #61B: Joining me from South Africa, Prophet Petrus and Prophet Kajal talked with me about their book The Rapture & the Tribulation and why Petrus believes the events of the Tribulation will start this year. Whether you’re in the 40% who believe we’re in the End Times or in the other 60%, this was a very interesting conversation, including Petrus’s comment that he didn’t want to write or publish this book.

#60: I talked with David Goldberg, voice-over actor and vocal coach to over 10,000 celebrities and politicians, including many household names. He talked about the vocal traits and tendencies that tend to give men an advantage in business and elections–and how women can counteract that.

#59: Comedian Deece Casillas, an internationally touring comedian who has been on LMAO TV, Amazon Prime, and more, talked about his graphic novels, Kill Stan–and about comedy!

#58: Do More, Live more with Kam Knight, an international best-selling author who in the course of studying to become a CPA, first studied learning and study techniques, which he passes on to others.

#57: Elisha Lee is a credentialed pastoral counselor who wrote the Mental Health Handbook, a workbook to help guide people toward healing. We talked about the role of faith in mental health. [I’ve also spoken on her podcast.]

#56: BG Howard--the second author I’ve spoken with after he died! No kidding! After a serious car accident changed his life, he turned to writing. His thriller laced with romance delves into the misfortune of a man who saves the life…of a Mafia boss. What could go wrong?

#55: Sheri Miter left Mary Kay at the height of her career, realizing that ‘success’ without alignment wasn’t enough. She now works with mid-career women looking for more fulfillment. I was short on time to change out of my field clothes, so you can see where I am mid-career!

#54: Nicholas Tana on Corporate Zombie Survival. He is an award-winning writer, director, and musician. Tune in to learn about his many other accomlishments!

#53: AK Karos talks about her children’s book, The Brave Coin, written after she left her two-decade career in television and radio as an award-winning journalist and on-air personality specializing in sports.

#52: Thrillers and Counterterrorism with Marc Liebman: Marc has lived many lives–as a naval captain, a CEO and entrepreneur, and now as an author of many series, involving international thrillers and espionage! Check in for an exciting discussion involving publishing what you know. When you have knowledge.

Check the Books & Brews YouTube channel for much ore: Stacy Schaffer on child therapy, Lynne B. Stone on planning for the worst, Family Drama & Forgiveness with Karin Thompson, the children’s book Milo’s Superpower with Mark & Justine Perloe (which you can also hear on the world-famous reading series Reading with Sheep), Chicken Nugget Girl with Kate Torode, and more.

There are plenty more! Come on over and check out the many authors we’ve interviewed on our full podcast and Books & Brews Light. It has been a really fun journey for me, meeting so many accomplished and interesting people and I hope you’ll enjoy hearing their stories as much as I have.

If you have authors you’d love to hear interviewed…or if you’re an author who would love to be featured…contact me at booksandbrewslive@gmail.com

If you’d like to learn more about our farm animals and our homesteading journey, see:

Our Website or Our Facebook Page

In addition to managing our farm, I’m at work on the IV Leake Mystery series about a young, widowed mystery writer and her 16-year-old son traveling the country getting inadvertently involved in mysteries, and also on my three-part memoir about our change from suburban convenience to self-sufficiency. For updates, subscribe to my newsletter or my blog.

Surviving a Terrorist Bombing: Episode #81 with Christiane Scarpino

Posted on January 29, 2026 by beerlit

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Books and Brews: the place where beer and literature meet!
In 1977 at the age of 21, Christiane Scarpino miraculously survived a terrorist bombing when she left her desk, just 10 feet from the bomb, to go get her morning donut and coffee from a co-worker. Missing Pieces tells the story of the bombing, the aftermath of dealing with the FBI’s interrogations, and the long-term PTSD impacts.

We talked about Christiane’s name-change that resulted from the trauma of the bombing, what PTSD is as compared to how it’s casually used today, her duck tolling retrievers, EMDR therapy, long=term memory issues and impact of PTSD and advice on healing and moving forward from trauma.

We covered the group behind the bombing and the question of why they were eventually given clemency for an act that killed the man visiting Christiane’s office that day.

00:00 START
04:49 Drink 1: Lavender Lullaby: a mocktail
06:36 Reading 1: The Explosion
13:10 Purpose after Near Death
15:12 Clemency for Murder
17:22 Drink 2: The Laser Beam
18:47 Reading 2: The Lineup
24:59 Dogs and Duck Tollers
30:334 Relaxation Techniques
32:52 Why Can’t You Just be Grateful?
34:36 Drink 3: Lady Jane
37:12 Reading 3: The Importance of Names
40:26 On Changing a Name
42:51 EMDR
43:42 Functioning without memory
50:34 Best Advice for Those Dealing with PTSD

Visit our PATREON for our extended AFTER HOURS with Ashley and Andrea
Www.booksandbrews.net
www.lauravosika.com
www.gabrielshornpress.com
www.glenmirrilfarms.wordpress.com
Www.christianescarpino.net
~ ~
If you enjoy our interviews or have benefited from them, we invite you to help us continue our work. It takes a great deal of time and money to produce Books and Brews. We’ve been doing interviews since January 2017 as a free service to authors. We continue to promote those authors on our social media for years after their interviews. Subscribing, following, liking, commenting and sharing all help us to keep doing what we do.
A $5 tip helps us pay for our many expenses: Libsyn hosting, web hosting, Google meets, providing the drinks for the interview and the many hours of preparation and editing that go into each episode.
Patreon: patreon.com/BooksandBrewswithLauraVosika
Tip Jar: paypal.me/booksandbrewsMN * Books and Brews products:
https://www.zazzle.com/store/books_an… (more to come)
Sponsor an episode to promote your product or service: contact us booksandbrewslive@gmail.com
COMING NEXT MONTH:
Marlene Ratledge, humor and education
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Gabriel’s Horn is accepting submissions for its anthology NEW THEMES: CHILDREN and AMERICA
See Laura’s interview at Central Valley Talk
Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to get notifications of all our new videos. We have now interviewed more than 115 authors! Would you like to be featured? Leave a comment.

https://www.youtube.com/@booksandbrews

Romance & Military Thrillers with Kristie Wolf

Posted on December 19, 2025 by beerlit

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Books and Brews: the place where beer and literature meet!

Kristie Wolf weaves tales about fearless heroes and badass heroines who fight for justice and love while burning up the pages. Kristie’s passion for writing romance ignited during her teenage years when she told her mom she was going to write a novel someday. She did, and now she can’t stop. As the daughter of a Vietnam Veteran, wife of a Marine, and Navy mom, she enjoys writing happily ever afters for not just military heroes, but for all the brave, loyal, and selfless men and women who serve and protect our country in every capacity.

We talked about why people do or don’t, can or can’t, fall in love, military sci-fi vs reality, PTSD, cowboys, horses and boots…and more!

00:00 START
05:04 Drink 1: Strawberry Buttercream Martini
08:19 Reading 1: The Stolen Cake
16:30 Does the technology exist for VIPER’s amputees’ new limbs?
17:30 Ethics, Experimentation and Improving Quality of Life
25:59 Drink 2: Empress and Tonic
25:13 Reading 2: Kane to the Rescue
34:41 PTSD and Stalkers
37:41 Men as Protectors, Trust
40:25 Tropes in Romance
43:22 Drink 3: Grogg or Mulled Spiced Wine
46:51 Reading 3: Christmas with a Cowboy
51:00 The Naked Cowboy of Gooseberry Falls
52:51 Our Experiences with Horses

Visit our PATREON for our extended AFTER HOURS with Ashley and Andrea
Www.booksandbrews.net
www.lauravosika.com
www.gabrielshornpress.com
www.glenmirrilfarms.wordpress.com
Www.kristiewolf.com

~ ~
If you enjoy our interviews or have benefited from them, we invite you to help us continue our work. It takes a great deal of time and money to produce Books and Brews. We’ve been doing interviews since January 2017 as a free service to authors. We continue to promote those authors on our social media for years after their interviews. Subscribing, following, liking, commenting and sharing all help us to keep doing what we do.

A $5 tip helps us pay for our many expenses: Libsyn hosting, web hosting, Google meets, providing the drinks for the interview and the many hours of preparation and editing that go into each episode.

Patreon: patreon.com/BooksandBrewswithLauraVosika

Tip Jar: paypal.me/booksandbrewsMN * Books and Brews products:
https://www.zazzle.com/store/books_an… (more to come)

Sponsor an episode to promote your product or service: contact us booksandbrewslive@gmail.com

COMING NEXT MONTH:
Christianne Scarpino on surviving a terrorist bombing

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Gabriel’s Horn is accepting submissions for its anthology NEW THEMES: CHILDREN
See Laura’s interview at Central Valley Talk
Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to get notifications of all our new videos. We have now interviewed more than 115 authors! Would you like to be featured? Leave a comment.

https://www.youtube.com/@booksandbrews

Episode #79: Writing in Bangkok: crime and character with Jake Needham

Posted on November 18, 2025 by beerlit

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Books and Brews: the place where beer and literature meet!

Jake Needham is an American lawyer who became a screen and television writer through a series of coincidences too ridiculous for anyone to believe. When he realized how little he actually liked movies and television, he started writing crime novels.

Jake has lived in Asia and Australia since 1980, first in Sydney, then in Hong Kong, and from 1992, in Bangkok. He and his wife, an Oxford graduate and prematurely retired concert pianist, have been married for thirty-two years and have two adult sons. Jake has published seventeen novels that have collectively sold over a million copies. You see? The great tradition of the American expat novelist isn’t entirely dead yet.

We talked among other things about cultural differences.

00:00 START
05:30 Drink 1: Mango Cinnamon Margarita
08:11 Reading 1: Charlie and the Dogs
13:48 From law to writing for film & TV
24:27 Character-driven fiction
25:05 Drink 2: Singapore Sling
28:24 Reading 2: A Hot Day in Singapore
33:31 Misbehaving Characters: Plotting and Pantsing
41:20 Cultural differences and life in Singapore
44:40 Drink 3: The Zombie
48:18 Reading 3: Charlie Trust
56:16 Living next door to Farrah Fawcett
58:01 Law, the legal system, and justice

Visit our PATREON for our extended AFTER HOURS with Ashley and Andrea
Www.booksandbrews.net
www.lauravosika.com
www.gabrielshornpress.com
www.glenmirrilfarms.wordpress.com
Www.jakeneedhamnovels.com
~ ~
If you enjoy our interviews or have benefitted from them, we invite you to help us continue our work. It takes a great deal of time and money to produce Books and Brews. We’ve been doing interviews since January 2017 as a free service to authors. We continue to promote those authors on our social media for years after their interviews. Subscribing, following, liking, commenting and sharing all help us to keep doing what we do.

A $5 tip helps us pay for our many expenses: Libsyn hosting, web hosting, Google meets, providing the drinks for the interview and the many hours of preparation and editing that go into each episode.

Patreon: patreon.com/BooksandBrewswithLauraVosika

Tip Jar: paypal.me/booksandbrewsMN * Books and Brews products:
https://www.zazzle.com/store/books_an… (more to come)
Sponsor an episode to promote your product or service: contact us booksandbrewslive@gmail.com

COMING NEXT MONTH:
Kristie Wolf, thrillers

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Gabriel’s Horn is accepting submissions for its anthology NEW THEMES: CHILDREN
See Laura’s interview at Central Valley Talk
Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to get notifications of all our new videos. We have now interviewed more than 115 authors! Would you like to be featured? Leave a comment.

https://www.youtube.com/@booksandbrews

#78: Technology & Truth & a Paranormal Thriller with Ashley Fontainne & Andrea Emmes

Posted on October 28, 2025 by beerlit

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Books and Brews: the place where beer and literature meet!

Ashley Fontainne writes in multiple genres ranging from mystery/thrillers to suspenseful paranormal to dark comedy. The recipient of numerous awards for her gritty, no-holds barred style of writing, her stories will captivate and pull you inside the lives of her characters and intricate plot lines.

Award-winning audiobook narrator/VO actor, Andrea Emmes, started her performance journey in musical theater. She’s enjoyed an eclectic career as a singer, dancer, Vegas Headliner, magician’s assistant, recording artist, and videogame designer.

She steps into writing for the first time with their co-authored paranormal and psychological thriller, ETERNAL BEAUTY.

We talked about masks (psychological, not covid), childhood trauma, plastic surgery…and Aquanet wiggling into tight pants in the 80! (And more!)

00:00 START
06:26 Drink 1: The Exorcist
09:35 Reading 1: Bridget
16:17 Technology & Truth: how much of what we see isn’t real?
23:45 Ashley’s most meaningful book
25:51 Drink 2: Witch’s Brew
30:30 Reading 2: Claire
37:29 Abused children, trauma & the brain
39:03 Claire & plastic surgery
44:25 Drink 3: The Bulge in My Pants
46:58 Reading 3: Barbara
52:35 Why the story is set in the near future
55:14 Women & other women; women & men & love & sex

Visit our PATREON for our extended AFTER HOURS with Ashley and Andrea
Www.booksandbrews.net
www.lauravosika.com
www.gabrielshornpress.com
www.glenmirrilfarms.wordpress.com
Www.ashleyfontainne.net
Www.andreaemmes.com

GET THE BOOK: https://bit.ly/42AqEF3

AUDIO: https://www.audible.com/pd/Eternal-Beauty-Audiobook/B0FV4W68M5

~ ~ ~

If you enjoy our interviews or have benefitted from them, we invite you to help us continue our work. It takes a great deal of time and money to produce Books and Brews. We’ve been doing interviews since January 2017 as a free service to authors. We continue to promote those authors on our social media for years after their interviews. Subscribing, following, liking, commenting and sharing all help us to keep doing what we do.
A $5 tip helps us pay for our many expenses: Libsyn hosting, web hosting, Google meets, providing the drinks for the interview and the many hours of preparation and editing that go into each episode.
Patreon: patreon.com/BooksandBrewswithLauraVosika
Tip Jar: paypal.me/booksandbrewsMN
Books and Brews products:
https://www.zazzle.com/store/books_an… (more to come)
Sponsor an episode to promote your product or service: contact us booksandbrewslive@gmail.com

COMING NEXT MONTH:

Jake Needham, counter-terrorism and action thriller

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Gabriel’s Horn is accepting submissions for its anthology NEW THEMES: CHILDREN
See Laura’s interview at Central Valley Talk

Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to get notifications of all our new videos. We have now interviewed more than 115 authors! Would you like to be featured? Leave a comment.

If you liked this episode, you might also like these Books and Brews episodes:

https://www.youtube.com/@booksandbrews

One Famliy’s Story of Jack the Ripper, with Robert Gereb

Posted on September 30, 2025 by beerlit

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Books and Brews: the place where beer and literature meet!

Róbert Geréb is a boundary-pushing author and accomplished AI developer. As co-author of Jack the Ripper’s Assassins—the cornerstone of The Dighton Chronicles, built on multigenerational oral history from a Romani-Viking lineage—he melds immersive storytelling with rigorous historical research.

He also penned two nonfiction guides through Aspect Books: EASY MILLIONAIRE MATH, a practical blueprint for building scalable, passive-income businesses; and Declutter Your Life, Enrich Your Soul, an emotionally holistic program for simplifying your surroundings, finances, and relationships for deeper personal growth.

We had a great talk about the book he co-authored with the Dighton family, telling the story handed down to them of their ancestors Caroline and Andrew Dighton who knew Jack the Ripper personally–and name who he was.

00:00 START
09:35 Drink 1: the Ripper’s Fog
13:38 Reading 1: Game Shooting with Prince Albert Victor
20:20 How a Transylvanian got involved with an English Romani family’s history
24:50 What did you know about Jack the Ripper before meeting the Dightons?
26:16 Drink 2: Mary’s Last Night
29:41 Reading 2: When Caroline First Met the Prince
36:03 Some stories are too strange to be anything but true
40:38 Why he let her live
42:44 Drink 3: Autumn Ripper
45:53 Reading 3: What Started it All
52:13 Other theories on who Jack the Ripper was
55:15 Why do some stories capture our imagination for centuries?

Visit our PATREON for our extended AFTER HOURS with Robert Gereb and other authors

LINKS:

Https://jacktherippersassassins.com

www.booksandbrews.net

www.lauravosika.com

www.gabrielshornpress.com

www.glenmirrilfarms.wordpress.com

~ ~

If you enjoy our interviews or have benefitted from them, we invite you to help us continue our work. It takes a great deal of time and money to produce Books and Brews. We’ve been doing interviews since January 2017 as a free service to authors. We continue to promote those authors on our social media for years after their interviews. Subscribing, following, liking, commenting and sharing all help us to keep doing what we do.

A $5 tip helps us pay for our many expenses: Libsyn hosting, web hosting, Google meets, providing the drinks for the interview and the many hours of preparation and editing that go into each episode.
Patreon: patreon.com/BooksandBrewswithLauraVosika
Tip Jar: paypal.me/booksandbrewsMN
Books and Brews products:
https://www.zazzle.com/store/books_an… (more to come)
Sponsor an episode to promote your product or service: contact us booksandbrewslive@gmail.com

COMING NEXT MONTH:

Ashley Fontaine and Andrea Emmes, supernatural thriller

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Gabriel’s Horn is accepting submissions for its anthology NEW THEMES: CHILDREN
See Laura’s interview at Central Valley Talk

Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to get notifications of all our new videos. We have now interviewed more than 115 authors! Would you like to be featured? Leave a comment.

If you liked this episode, you might also like these Books and Brews episodes:

Books & Brews #76: Family Secrets Exposed! with Hiram Johnson

Posted on August 7, 2025 by beerlit

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Books and Brews: the place where beer and literature meet!

Hiram Johnson is retired law enforcement officer, currently teaching criminal justice as an adjunct, a father, author and creator. His book Reason to Fight: a search or truth is a surprising tale of a family mystery.

We talked about the event that landed his grandmother in prison for murder, prison conditions for women in the 1920s, his search for his shrouded family history and the connection he developed with a previously unknown relative in the search for his grandfather’s identity.

Find Hiram’s books at Xulonpress.com

00:00 START
06:26 Drink 1: the Blank Slate
8:14 Reading 1: Asking Daddy for the Truth
12:41 A quest leads to murder and miscegenation,
20:56 Creative non-fiction: fact vs conjecture
26:07 Drink 2: the Pot of Gold
28:50 Reading 2: My Mother Bernice
33:30 the need to know our family history
37:20 Did Fred’s father ever know the truth?
39:31 Drink 3: The Last Word
42:55 Reading 3: What Started it All
47:50 Convicted…for self-defense?
51:30 How Bernice faced the injustice

Visit our PATREON for our extended AFTER HOURS with Hiram Johnson

LINKS

Www.xulonpress.com
www.lauravosika.com
www.gabrielshornpress.com
www.booksandbrews.net

IF YOU ENJOY OUR INTERVIEWS…

…or have benefitted from them, we invite you to help us continue our work. It takes a great deal of time and money to produce Books and Brews. We’ve been doing interviews since January 2017 as a free service to authors. We continue to promote those authors on our social media for years after their interviews.

Subscribing, following, liking, commenting and sharing all help us to keep doing what we do.
A $5 tip helps us pay for our many expenses: Libsyn hosting, web hosting, Google meets, providing the drinks for the interview and the many hours of preparation and editing that go into each episode.
Patreon: patreon.com/BooksandBrewswithLauraVosika
Tip Jar: paypal.me/booksandbrewsMN
Books and Brews products:
https://www.zazzle.com/store/books_an… (more to come)
Sponsor an episode to promote your product or service: contact us booksandbrewslive@gmail.com

COMING NEXT MONTH:
Sam Ritchie…if walls could talk! To her, they do!

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Gabriel’s Horn is accepting submissions for its anthology NEW THEMES: CHILDREN
See Laura’s interview at Central Valley Talk on YouTube

Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to get notifications of all our new videos. We have now interviewed 115 authors! Would you like to be featured? Leave a comment.

If you liked this episode, you might also like these Books and Brews episodes:

Episode #75: UFOs in a Northern Land with Dona Masi

Posted on July 24, 2025 by beerlit

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Dona Masi is a writer and editor whose short fiction and articles are used in reading and writing assessments throughout the United States.
Her articles on several subjects have appeared in several newspapers. She is also a playwright, and two of her plays were performed at the Provincetown Theater Company.

In her writing she loves bringing relatable characters to life and depicting them in all their heroic and flawed humanity. Her debut novel, The Taking, was inspired by her interest in UFO folklore and reports of alien encounters. She lives with her husband in Dover, New Hampshire.

00:00 START
03:54 Drink 1: The Iron Stove
07:19 Reading 1: John is Late from Work as 7-Year-Old Vera Waits
13:45 What inspired Dona’s interest in UFOs
14:20 Dona’s personal experience
23:24 Physical evidence of UFO experiences
26:47 Drink 2: The Hockey Puck
29:53 Reading 2: RJ Playing Hockey on the Lake
32:26 ALL…THAT…SNOW! Reactions from other parts of the country?
39:38 Inspiration for the novel & psychology of alien abductees
41:13 Drink 3: The Artist’s Shack
42:54 Reading 3: Peter’s Choice
47:48 Endings with no clear answer
51:27 Different types of aliens

Visit our PATREON for AFTER HOURS with many of our authors
www.donamasi.com
www.lauravosika.com
www.gabrielshornpress.com
www.booksandbrews.net
~ ~

A $5 tip helps us pay for our many expenses: Libsyn hosting, web hosting, Google meets, providing the drinks for the interview and the many hours of preparation and editing that go into each episode.
Patreon: patreon.com/BooksandBrewswithLauraVosika
Tip Jar: paypal.me/booksandbrewsMN * Books and Brews products:
https://www.zazzle.com/store/books_an… (more to come)
Sponsor an episode to promote your product or service: contact us booksandbrewslive@gmail.com

COMING NEXT MONTH:

Hiram Johnson tells the story of is grandmother, sentenced almost 100 years ago, for murdering another woman—why she did it, life in a women’s prison in Mississippi, and the impact for generations to come.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Gabriel’s Horn is accepting submissions for its anthology NEW THEMES: CHILDREN.
See Laura’s interview at Central Valley Talk
See Laura’s interview with Rob & Joan Carter at INDIE NOVEL SOURCE

Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

If you liked this episode, you might also like these Books and Brews episodes:

Introducing Books & Brews LIGHT with More Guests

Posted on June 20, 2025 by beerlit

Yes, I really should spell it LITE as in LITE beer. But I didn’t and I’m not changing it now. Since 2019, we’ve been doing our full podcast interviews with authors once a month. But there are lots of authors out there. So we’ve started Books & Brews Light in which Laura interviews authors one on one, with a greater focus on the interview rather than on pairing drinks, and one reading instead of three. This also allows us to do more of the interview segment.

We have now interviewed about 40 authors on our LIGHT version of the program. These interviews go up only at YouTube. Subscribe (it’s free!) to help us out and meet a great variety of interesting authors.

We’ve talked with a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction authors, starting with Alani Bankhead, spy hunter and Ben Stimpson on Folklore. We’ve talked with authors about finance, autism, micro-preemies, succeeding in business, helping kids excel in school, historical fiction, dogs, American history, world travel, sailing, hiking, overcoming life’s trials, raising boys, sci-fi, poetry, fantasy, end times, superheroes, and more.

We’ve talked with authors from the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Stop by our channel and look for Books & Brews Light.