Two Hearts and One Braincell: Cassidy Carson & JT Hume Amateur Hour
Cassidy Carson and JT Hume
Cassidy Carson and JT Hume are longtime partners, readers, and independent writers who bring their decades of experience to the podcast world. We start with writing tips, techniques, and challenges, and goes on to explore the interesting world and universe around us.
Draft2Digital
Know a writer or someone who wants to be a writer? Then forward this post to them and invite them to listen to our writers podcast. Thank you!In Episode 212 of our lovely award-winning podcast, we talk about Draft2Digital and how we’re using it to expand our books to libraries and book sellers around the world. I was also publicly embarrassed about three of my books.[Important: Two Moore Books, LLC is not compensated by vendors when we discuss their products and websites. We are discussing our
Careless Whisper
Know a writer or someone who wants to be a writer? Then forward this post to them and invite them to listen to our writers podcast. Thank you!In Episode 211 of our lovely award-winning podcast, we salute Wham! and the fortieth anniversary of their mega-hit Careless Whisper. Where has the time gone?Aside from George and Andrew, the main topic is inserting real life (RL) characters and events in your books. As writers, the temptation is strong to include someone from RL into our books because the
Editing
Know a writer or someone who wants to be a writer? Then forward this post to them and invite them to listen to our writers podcast. Thank you!In Episode 210 ofour lovely award-winning podcast, we dive into the most critical phase of your book aside from its creation: the editing.After weeks (or months or years) of writing your Great American Novel, it’s time to hand your baby to another set of eyes and hands. But who should you hand it to and what are they going to do?For our podcast, we useLou
Company Store
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In Episode 209 of our lovely award-winning podcast, we welcomed everyone to Groundhog Day, and we rolled back to the fun we had in January.
Finding Salvation Part One was released, CC finished her Virginia City Ghost manuscript and sent it to her main beta reader, and we began the process of setting up ZOEY for pre-sale. So many hours and sweat expende
Young Adult
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Welcome to Episode 208 of our lovely award-winning podcast. Being a Monday, we were a day late and several brain cells short, but hey, we survived a sleepover with our young grandchild and we think we made an interesting episode.
Business first: Finding Salvation Part One is still on pre-sale for 99 cents and will be released this Friday, January 31 (y
Caffinated
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We’re caffeinated for Episode 207 of our lovely award-winning podcast. Seriously, we are buzzed. We changed our coffee habits for reasons, but had a big cup during this episode. We brought a lot of energy to this podcast:
Happy Birthday to our kid (tomorrow), my grandmother, Dolly Parton, and Edgar Allen Poe!
Many thanks to Jacci Turner for her half-
Headwinds
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Our last podcast audio track got corrupted, so this is the real Episode 206 of our lovely award-winning podcast.
I made the mistake of reading a popular piece of fiction that sold millions of copies and was made into a movie, earning hundreds of millions.
The mistake was thinking, “Why am I writing what I’m writing and not what this writer is writing
In The Year 2025
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For Episode 205 of our lovely award-winning podcast, we look forward to 2025 and how we had to hit the ground running!
We were retired slackers for much of December 2024, though we did get organized and got Finding Salvation Part One out the door. Our plan was to relax in December 2024 and get to work in January 2025.
January must have heard us because
Rewind 2024
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For Episode 204 of our lovely award-winning podcast, we do our 2024 rewind and hit these high points:
CC received international recognition from the Women in Podcasting team by winning the best podcast in the Books and Writing category. That was a fantastic accomplishment!
We traveled the breadth and width of the United States by car, along with trips
Christmas 1981
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For Episode 202 of our lovely award-winning podcast, we dive into our holiday tradition of watching Christmas movies. We did our regular rotation of Christmas Vacation, Love Actually, and Die Hard. We auditioned three movies for possible inclusion: Scrooged, Batman Returns, and Red One.
Minor spoilage on all of these movies.
We ended the podcast with o
Bad Habits
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For Episode 202 of our lovely award-winning podcast, we chat about our mistakes and bad habits. Every writer has them, which is why we have awesome editors and beta readers. For CC and me, we hold our writing challenges up to the light, and we provide some solutions.
As always, we talk about our current works in progress and about how excited we are for
"My God, It's Full of Stars."
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It’s Episode 201 of our silly little podcast, so we discuss a significant movie from our youth: 2001: A Space Odyssey.
We thoroughly spoil this fifty-six year old movie, but it’s for a good cause because it is one of the greatest movies of our lifetime. This Clarke/Kubrick masterpiece is complex, visual, mind bending, and hopeful. From the opening seque
Episode 200
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It’s Episode 200 of our silly little podcast to “help writers write.”
We look back fondly on our little endeavor we created during the pandemic, and we’ve touched on a wide range of subjects. Today we discussed:
Elmore Leonard’s “10 rules for Good Writing,”
Screenwriting: Adapting books to movies,
Wrestling with Creative Control,
And starting in our To
Inspiration
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Episode 199 of our podcast “To Help Writers Write” is about Inspiration and what to do with it. We get ideas for our books in different places and from different sources: dreams, the shower, movies, or a random website.
We discuss our own experiences, and we have thoughts on what to do with those ideas when lightning strikes.
Also discussed: the holida
Busy Week
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Busy week here at the World-Wide Headquarters. So busy, if fact, that we didn’t get to today’s chosen topic. We'll do that next week.
We touched on a lot:
We talk about the fun of being fan-owners of the Oakland Ballers, a pro baseball team that proudly represents the East Bay. We flash our Ballers colors! We also talk about our favorite MLB American L
Secret Menu of Writing
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Ep 197 of our writer’s podcast for writers is “Weird Reasons We Write.”
Our award-winning podcast lately has been stuck at the end of the writing process, like dealing with the public after we publish books. This week, we do a rewind and go back to the beginning to talk about why we write. Not the main reason, maybe, but the secondary or “secret menu”
Press Release
Ep 196 of our writer’s podcast for writers is “Press Releases.”
With CC’s International podcast award, we found ourselves unprepared to take immediate advantage of the good news. We had to sit down and develop a press release on the fly. This led to entries in our local news papers and a live appearance on KOLO TV in Reno, Nevada.
Why do you need a press release, you may ask, if all you’re doing is publishing an independent book to Amazon? Because that little extra bit of attention that you man
Nevada Brown
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“Home Means Nevada.” While neither of us are natives, CC’s and my Silver State roots run very deep to the point that between us, we have seven published and in-progress Nevada-centric books.
What literary quality about our home draws us to write about our home? Is it our familiarity with our state’s rich history, landscape, and political structure? We t
What Happened to Zoey?
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What happened to ZOEY? We had a book release schedule that included a calendar with cover reveal, pre-sale, and the actual release date.
Then that all disappeared.
We discuss what happened and give writers a few ideas on how to avoid a similar train wreck. Learn from us (smile).
We also briefly talk about our podcast award from the last weekend.
CC
Big News
We are so happy and honored to announce that our little podcast to help writers write was recognized by the Women Podcaster’s Network. The “CC and JT Amateur Hour” received the 2024 Women in Podcasting Award in the “Best Authors and Books Podcast” category.
Our award sponsor, Alex Sanfilippo from Podmatch, said the following at Friday’s virtual award ceremony:
“Both of you are really funny. And I’ve been listening to your podcast leading up to this. I love that you two innovate and change and
Build Local
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Marketing is a humongous lift for us, and with a hundred different social media platforms, perhaps an impossible lift. We’re finding some success by “building local before going global.”
We’re getting our books into libraries and small book stories, and we’ve become members of the Sierra Arts Foundation and the Sierra Arts Literary Community to improve
Stardew Valley
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Episode 191 of our writers podcast has us sitting down with hot coffee on a brisk autumn morning and talking about a little escapism. Being writers and small business owners, we find ourselves consumed with everything related to our books and company processes. What do we do to get away from ourselves, and how do they apply to our writing?
(Spoiler: CC
Meeting the Public
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Episode 190 is a low-powered affair as we emerge from our COVID saga.
September 29 and September 30 are the last days to vote for CC in the Women’s in Podcasting Award, and we ask for your vote. https://womeninpodcasting.net/awards/
We also ask for your vote in picking the cover for “ZOEY,” my next Nevada-centric book. https://carsonhume.com/2024/09/27
Two-Week Update
Episode 189 of our writers podcast for writers is “a book is judged by its cover.” Like it or not, potential readers will pay attention to your book for barely a second unless something from the cover grabs their attention. We talked about those challenges and two book cover contests today: Serving Salvation and Zoey.
We had good news on the writing front: Teri from Fallon asked the Churchill County Library to buy A Sheriff in Nevada, and they did! Go check it out.
And speaking of Zoey, it is
Three Truths and A Lie
Episode 188 of our podcast for writers is a fun one for us and we hope for you.
Like everyone, we’ve lived some interesting times, so we use those days to play “Three Truths and A Lie.” The twist on our game is how the truths helped make us into the writers we are today.
Here’s CC’s list:
She was a mistress in high school.
She fondled another man’s Oscar.
She was in an adult move.
She was a reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper.
My list:
My first published story was about a cat.
I spen
Race to Wrigley 2024
CC and I did our annual “Race to Wrigley” 5K this morning, and we’re happy and proud to support the chosen charity of our Chicago Cubs.
As noted on their website, “Proceeds from the race will benefit Cubs Charities and its mission is to mobilize the power of sport to champion youth, families and communities. Cubs Charities will donate proceeds from personal fundraising to support Advocate Children's Hospital.”
If you would like to contribute, here is our fundraising page:
https://www.race-
Small Wins
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Episode 187 of our writers podcast for writers is about small wins.
Independent, self-published writers understand the feeling of being in a dark room and looking for that light switch labeled “success.” We’re right there with you. Today, we’re reminding ourselves that we did have small victories this week.
We talk about the process of getting our book
One Week
One week from today (September 4), Serving Salvation Book One will be available in e-book on the five platforms. It will also be in paperback on. Amazon.
We’re excited about this big day, so not only did we do a short podcast and YouTube, we experimented with two cameras. That’s a big step for us.
CC interviews me about my inspirations, homages, writing processes (spreadsheets), and how I’d like to see the inevitable movie.
We’re having a great week here at Two Moore Books, and that excitemen
Writers School
Episode 186 of our writers podcast for writers is all about CC going back to school, so to speak. She attended two writing summits in August where she learned how to thrive as an author amid distractions, and how to write romances in the Twenty-First Century.
She shares many of the valuable lessons she learned, with the most important of those being that we as independent writers are not alone in our marketing and production challenges, and that we all struggle with imposter syndrome at some ti
Books & Movies
Episode 185 of our long adventure as writers/podcasters takes us on a journey through books and movies, two of our favorite subjects. This time we talk about the books that we feel translated well to the big screen, as well as some that did not transfer as well.
We discuss why turning books into movies is such an incredibly difficult and expensive lift.
Discussed with minimal spoilers: Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Godfather, The Martian, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, the MCU movies, the
Verboten?
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Episode 184 of writers’ podcast for writers is a self-examination of the genres that CC and I won’t write about. From our library and Works in Progress (WIPs), you might assume that we’ll tackle any subject, anytime. You wouldn’t be far wrong, but we each manage to pick a genre that we’re not interested in, plus there's one genre we agree we won’t tak
Pep Talk
Episode 183 of writers podcast for writers is a pep talk for our colleagues. We know there are days when you feel like the rock you’re pushing is the biggest, heaviest boulder in the world, but you are not alone. We’re pushing, too. Hopefully our words and experience will give your strength.
CC is still nominated for a Women’s in Podcasting Award, and we ask for your vote.
Serving Salvation Book One is still on presale on the five platforms for your ordering pleasure.
Our website is www.carsonhu
O Canada
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It’s already episode 182 of our writers podcast for writers. We’re back from the Mini-Me Big *** Trip to Canada, and we have experiences and swag. We chat about the highs and lows, with the biggest high being the natural (almost overwhelming) beauty of Vancouver Island and the Butchart Gardens.
We would be remiss if we did not say that Serving Salvation B
Portland Again
Hello from Portland, Oregon, our second Portland this year after our trip to Maine.
Episode 181 is a shorter podcast (with no video) as we are on yet another road trip, this time up the northern leg of Interstate 5 with the ultimate destination of someplace in British Columbia, Canada.
Our destinations today include the Portland Art Museum and Powell’s City of Books.
Today's podcast touches on some fun things we’ve seen on this trip so far (like Nature’s Kitchen in Yreka), and our individua
Full-Time Writer
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Here we are, living the dream. Be careful what you wish for.
Episode 180 is busy! CC is nominated in the inaugural “Women in Podcasting” awards in the “Authors and Books” category (so proud!), and we’re are prepping for another road trip and a book release at the same time.
Which is a good transition to our topic of full-time writing. We weren’t naive
The Future is Now
Episode 179 of our writers’ podcast for writers is about the evolution from science fiction to science fact in our lifetimes. CC and I grew up in what some may call a “golden age” when we watched how technologies dreamt about on TV and in books became reality. We only have to look at our phones and watches as proof.
We discuss how the technological evolution affected our own books, notably my in-progress manuscripts lovingly called The Space Epic.
We also chat about our other works in progress
Are We Weird?
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Episode 178 is another look in the sausage-making art of writing a book. This podcast touches on the things that writers do to get words on a page, tasks that “normal” people might find weird or at least a tad abnormal. The key words spoken are “plotter” and “pantser.”
We dive into our current projects and we look back at the first half of 2024. What a
Escapism
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What’s fun about Episode 177? Escapism and Free Stuff!
For the escapism part, CC goes back in time with her two favorite movies that take her out of the moment and into a time where she felt younger and free.
For JT, the old rule about being a writer is true: you have to read and write every day. JT talks about how the Martha Well’s “Murderbot Diaries” r
Writer's Love
If you’re a writer, what do you love about being a writer?
We get it. Many of us play the role of being a victim to our literary art, yet somehow, the books manage to get written and published. In this podcast, CC and I express why we do the thing we love so much.
We also talk about getting our business off the ground, and we chat about the writers’ seminar we’re attending and our current projects, plus we’re planning our next trips which may start in July.
Our home is www.carsonhume.com
Have a
42
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We recently celebrated our 42nd anniversary, so Episode 175 of our podcast for writers is about the challenge of familiarity. We love to watch and read about new romances, and as writers, those books are relatively easy to write. Think Romeo and Juliet and The Taming of the Shrew (or 10 Things I Hate About You).
The steeper climb is writing a book about t
Force of Nature
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Episode 174 of our writers’ podcast for writers is all about using nature as a character or background for your work. We’ve all encountered nature on some level of our existence, and it serves as a point of commonality around the world, be it a heavy rainstorm, the sound of the ocean, or a sunny day.
Nature is a convenient tool in our toolbox because we
The California Trail
Episode 173 of our writers podcast has us talking about ingenuity and grit of travelers along the 19th Century road known as the California Trail.
CC is writing a historical novel, and it was our good luck when we stumbled upon the California Trail Interpretive Center on the first day of our Big A** Trip across America. This Harry Reid project sits along Interstate 80 (exit 292, to be exact) west of Elko, Nevada, and it provides visitors the in-depth historical look at the mass exodus to Califor
Snow Squall
Episode 172 takes us back to our Big A** Trip and what we learned from having our “boots on the ground.” For this podcast, we talk about the surviving remnants of an American-built extreme clipper ship, the Snow Squall. Clippers were cargo ships built for speed over capacity, and extreme clipper ships were especially fast, though their construction era in America was relatively short (1845 to 1855).
There is only one surviving piece of an American extreme clipper, and the Maine Maritime Museum
Home Again
Episode 171 has us home after twenty days and 7500+ miles on the road. We’re doing a bonus podcast to give our quick impressions of our writers research trip:
-What we expected versus what we saw.
-What we saw on each side of the Continental Divide.
-The number of states we traveled through (plus one province).
-What we learned in Green River, Utah.
Really, there’s too much here to unpack in a thirty-minute podcast, so we hit the high points. We’ll be organizing our brains for weeks.
We’ll be
Day 17 of the BAT
Episode 170: Yes, you read that right. This is both Episode 170 of our writers podcast and Day 17 of the Big A** Trip.
Happy Mother's Day from Oak Grove, Missouri to all who celebrate. This is a quick and short podcast because we're getting on the road. Again.
We share some quick impressions about how different and common things are across America, and we talk about the people we are versus those kids from 40+ years ago. Since this is a writers podcast, we also talk about doing in-person
Day Nine of the BAT
Episode 169 of our writers’ podcast has us bouncing between the Maine cities of Bath and Portland to do boots-on-the-ground research for future books.
We did stops at the Maine Maritime Museum, the Maine Historical Society, the Golden Lotus restaurant (yum!), and my paternal grandparents’ house. We traveled 3300 miles to do this research and we were not disappointed.
A reminder that you can follow along on our Big A** Trip with the hashtags #ccandjt and #bat2024
The daily updates are on my
BAT Day 6
This is the Day 6 update of the #ccandjt #bat2024. You can access the rest of the updates at https://jthume.tumblr.com/
Episode 168: Hello from Canada, and the CC and JT Amateur Hour is now an international podcast. Woo. We're giving our loyal listeners an update from the ninth floor of the Holiday Inn in London, Ontario, Canada.
We talk about our journey and, because this is a writers podcast, our takeaways from almost 3,000 road miles so far. This is quite the adventure as we travel fro
BAT Day 3
This is the Day Three update of the CC and JT BAT. Here are the Day One and Day Two updates.
Episode 167 is from our hotel room in Fort Pierre, South Dakota, and we are bushed. Day Three of the BAT was yesterday, all eleven hours, and we started north from Casper, Wyoming. When we lived in Nebraska in the Stone Age, the phrase was “nothing between here and Canada except for barbed wire.” They were right. Long stretches of road in both WY and SD where there is nothing but bushes. Not even trees.
The BAT
Episode 166 of the Amateur Hour is filled with fun as we announce the “CC and JT 2024 Big Ass Trip” (BAT). Before the end of April, we’re heading to all points east, with stops across two countries, with our destination being the State of Maine.
We’ll swing by my sister’s place in Delaware, the Baseball Hall of Fame, and the historic battlefield of Gettysburg (not in that order, obviously).
The usual caveats apply when it comes to a BAT like this, especially one for the road, because real lif
Interview
Episode 165:
At some point, writers will be asked to explain their books, so CC and I do a little on-air practicing with her interviewing me. The main questions:
How do I write strong female characters?
Where do I get my ideas?
First book I remember reading?
What is my daily writing process and where is my favorite place to write?
What would I tell non-writers about writing?
Being interviewed is an interesting process and its own art. Have a listen and let us know what you think through our w
California
We’re back from our first trip as a retired couple, and we use the podcast to talk about travel as a metaphor for change, maturity, and aging. Often, we’re made uncomfortable by traveling to familiar places only to find they’ve changed a lot. That happens when you get to a certain age.
We also discuss some big plans and announce our next adventure which is codenamed “The BAT.”
Have a listen and check us out at www.carsonhume.com TIA LYL!
Retired
The big day came and CC is retired. Woo! Raise the Roof!
Understandably, today’s podcast is about what happened during CC’s week, her feelings, and our next great adventure. Spoilers: traveling and writing books.
Have a listen and check us out at www.carsonhume.com. TIA LYL!
"No Religion, Too"
I feel Episode 162 should have gigantic Trigger Warning: “Religion is mentioned.”
We wade into the minefield as we discuss the influence of religion on how we were raised, how that upbringing influences our writing, and how we as writers choose whether or not to include organized religion in our books.
It’s a complicated subject and I don’t know if we did it justice. We may do a Part Two next week, depending on feedback and our ongoing conversations. And folks of a certain age will recognize t
Memory
We could say Episode 161 is an exercise in applying strong memories to the craft of writing. After all, “we write what we know.” In reality, it’s an excuse for CC and me to reminisce about our strongest memories from our trips to Ireland. That’s what we people of a certain age like to do.
Discussed: Blarney Castle, Ross Castle, Christchurch, Dublin tourism, the color green, and a rabbit.
Check out the other 160 podcast episodes on our website at www.carsonhume.com, and may ye be halfway to Hea
Squirrel!
Episode 160 is another hodgepodge of writing updates, opinions and predictions.
The key center answers the question, “If your life had a book title, what would it be?” You will be surprised to learn that people married for 40+ years came up with the same answer. Shocking!
We also discuss the Cubs, Cinema Therapy, current projects, the time change, retirement, routines, and our furniture.
Have a listen. I promise it’s more interesting than it sounds. And check us out at www.carsonhume.com TIA
Process
Episode 159 is a deep dive into our editing process. The first draft of my three-book Space Epic is done, and the Author (me) and Editor-in Chief (CC) of Two Moore Books describe the editing process.
Have a listen and enjoy! TIA! LYL!
www.carsonhume.com
Ennui
Episode 158
Our “word of the day” podcast theme continues with one of CC’s favorites: “ennui.” Everybody deals with it at sometime in their lives, but creative artists seem to wrestle with ennui like Heracles beating down Antaeus (google it, kids). We talk about our own struggles and come up with some hopefully helpful ideas.
We do a shout out to our family and all families who are struggling with challenges this week.
Have a listen and check us out at www.carsonhume.com TIA LYL!
Dichotomy vs. Genre
Episode 157: There are writers who can stay in their lane, and there are writers who jump from murder thrillers to space epics. The surest path to success for independent writers seems to be write and publish “predictable” books, so why can’t every author stick to this tried and true formula?
We naturally use Uncle Steve, Aunt Barbara, and John Grisham as examples.
Have a listen and check us out at www.carsonhume.com TIA LYL!
Implausible
It’s Super Bowl Sunday and Valentine’s Day week. For episode 156, we finally give in and hopelessly (or hopefully) pander for clicks by diving head first into the Taylor-Travis romance of the century (we obviously have no self respect).
But we do things a little different here. We debate on the plausibility of their relationship, and how as writers, if we would go there and create a story like theirs.
We spoil Somewhere in Time, Marry Me, and (again) the MCU.
Check us out at www.carsonhume.co
Ch-ch-changes
Episode 155 is one of Life’s Big Changes hitting home here at Two Moore Books. We’re talking graduation, marriage, children, and buying a house level of change. We’re both excited and feeling a deep sense of dread, but we’re also anxious to get going.
The funny part of this story is how the hiring practices of the State of Nevada played an important role.
Have a listen and check us out on www.carsonhume.com. TIA LYL!
Romancing Your Writing
Episode 154 is about the passion in writing a romance book…or writing romance in your book. What's the difference? We discuss how we were "programmed" from an early age and by society to write our respective flavors of romantic novels.
We spoil "Romancing the Stone," "The Lost City," and the Marvel Universe movies.
Also: short business updates and the saga of our poor basement.
Have a listen and check us out at www.carsonhume.com. TIA! LYL!
Love You Ten Thousand
The podcast/broadcast is back after a one week hiatus due to technical issues (now resolved), and we have a funny bookselling story. Not only did it make us laugh, but it confirmed that we are book nerds.
We touched on one of the world's most solitary professions that sits squarely in the public eye, and we ask you (the indy writer) about running a business. At what point do you go from being a hobbyist to a "real" business (LLC or something else)?
We continue to be super-excited a
Snow Day
Episode 152 is a bonus podcast from the Dungeon of Doom studio where we briefly (for us) discuss the challenges of success.
Since our expansion across e-pub sites. one of our series is seeing financial success, which begs for a sequel:
-Good news: Kind of working on that third book.
-Bad news: Working much harder on a different series.
What do we do? Shift gears to the book series gaining traction or keep working on our main project?
We exchange ideas and come up with a solution which we'
Vent Session II
Episode 151 is another vent session about our book publishing company Two Moore Books. We had a good week when we were rewarded by our hard work, but we were also reminded of how far we have to go as a small book publishing company:
Overthinking:
-We salute David Soul, an icon of our youth.
-A Sheriff in Nevada: selling it and creating the paperback for Amazon and B&N.
-We plugged the Nevada Writer's Group on FB, and appreciate the the Sierra Arts Foundation for their support of Nevada
Here Comes 2024
Episode 150 comes to you from our brand new studio which we lovingly call the Dungeon of Doom. We talk about our dreams and aspirations for the new year, plus we reminisce about something that happened 42 years ago.
In case you missed it, we recorded Episode 149 which was our CY2023 recap with Two Moore Books, Paris, road trip, and our future books.
Have a listen and check us out at www.carsonhume.com TIA LYL!
Recap 2023
Let's keep this short and sweet.
Episode 149 is our end-of-year wrap-up for calendar year 2023:
-Two Moore Books
-Paris
-Road Trip
-Six books in the queue!
And we lay the groundwork for an exciting 2024. We can hardly wait to get things started. Woo!
Check us out at www.carsonhume.com TIA LYL!
Gremlins
A couple of weeks ago, we talked about the three movies that our part of our Christmas tradition (Love Actually, Die Hard, Christmas Vacation). For Episode 148, we watched three movies that were homages (or parodies) of traditional Christmas movies: Elf, Gremlins, and Scrooged. We talked about what worked and didn't work, and why they didn't appeal to us as "traditional" movies as they may for other people. We agree that comedy is the hardest art form for writers.
Just for fu
The Science in Science Fiction
For Episode 147, we reveal the winner of the annual ugly Christmas sweater contest (hint: I win every year with the same sweater).
More importantly, we dive into the the technical details behind writing sequels. I've written three series, and I've started a fourth, and I wish I knew now what I didn't know when I did the first three. We cite "Star Wars" and "The Matrix."
For the second part of the podcast/broadcast, we talk about the "science" part of
Three Movies
"Tradition is peer pressure from your ancestors" is how we framed Episode 146. We go down down tradition's path by discussing some of our family traditions this time of year, which now requires we watch three holiday movies: Die Hard, Christmas Vacation, and Love Actually. We talk about these movies appeal to us.
As promised, here's the link when we eviscerated "Love Actually" (check out the beard!).
We wore red this week for our family at the University of Nevada L
Two Moore Books
It's Episode 145, and the book writing/publishing company known as Two Moore Books is fully engaged in developing its literary, audio, and aural presence on the internet.
Literary: As we discuss in this podcast/broadcast, our full catalog is published on three platforms and in progress on two more (Apple and Barnes & Noble). Our catalog should be fully published on all five platforms by the end of January 2024:
Amazon
Kobo
Google
Audiobooks: Much of this podcast/broadcast discusses
Unboxing Tucci
This week's podcast/broadcast featured a live unboxing of "The Tucci Chronicles," and we compare the Amazon and Barnes & Noble paperback copies.
We have another in-depth discussion of the meat-and-potatoes side of writing. We've expanding our publishing inventory to include Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, and Google. We chat about the strengths of each publisher.
We are also excited to say we'll be trying out the auto-narration function in Google Play, and we'll
Writing Technobabble
We dive into the "sausage making" portion of self-publishing a book. Writing a book itself is a complex process, but that's only the beginning, so there's a lot to unpack in this week's podcast/broadcast:
- Cover reveal of "The Tucci Chronicles"!
- Update on CC's writing projects and her YouTube bio.
- My plan to sell my books on on Kobo and Barnes & Noble
-Technical difference in uploading to Amazon, B&N, and Kobo.
- Creating and formatting books wit
The Yin Yang of a Writer's Mind
What goes through a writer’s mind, and how do their thoughts, dreams, and experiences translate to the written word? How do they choose to go light or dark in their writing? We use our two most recent releases to discuss the yin and yang of a writer’s mind.
(Yes, we just released a book on November 10 and we're releasing another one on December 1. Details in the podcast.)
This podcast/broadcast started with this from the internet: "Our thoughts reflect how we were raised, but our word
Four Projects
This week's podcast/broadcast is about our four projects:
-CC finished formatting "From Tundra to Tiara"! We'll release it Friday, November 10, for $9.99
-I finished formatting "The Tucci Chronicles"! That will be released soon.
-CC's is deep into Nano and writing Book 2 of a brand new series.
-My Nano project is the third book of the "Sheriff in Nevada" series.
Back to "From Tundra to Tiara": We released the e-book in January 2023, but some r
Formatting Your Book
This week is all about formatting your self-published book through Word and Atticus. CC and I spent a lot of time this week in those apps getting "From Tundra to Tiara" and "The Tucci Chronicles" ready for you.
If you're getting ready to self-publish a book, or even thinking about it, we have ideas to help you avoid the challenges and minefields every indy writer encounters.
We also talk about Nevada Day and Nanowrimo.
Have a listen and check us out at www.carsonhume.com
Unboxing From Tundra to Tiara
Unboxing From Tundra to Tiara - CC and I have a hardcopy of our first book which will be out on #Amazon #Kindle soon! Check us out at www.carsonhume.com. TIA LYL #writers
Winging It
Hello from the CC and JT Amateur Hour, “where production values go to die,” and we talked a lot about a few things as we continue to wrestle with our video presence.
Topics:
-Nanowrimo
-Our personal writing projects
-Overnight success
-The public face of our private endeavors
-Meeting the public
Here's the YouTube of the podcast.
CC is reading Edgar Allen Poe for October!
I did a commercial for Nevada.
Please let us know what you think of all of this and check us out at www.cars
Procrastinate and Paralysis
Procrastinate. Overthink. Long walks. All are frustrating forms of writer's block.
In this week's episode, we talk about our personal forms of writer's block and what we do to overcome them.
TikTok Teaser! And here's the YouTube.
Have a listen and check us out at www.carsonhume.com. TIA LYL!
Preptober!
Another videocast & podcast for our fellow writers: it's Preptober!
CC & and chat about getting ready for #nanowrimo and how it's a time of joy, not stress, if you let it.
We also talk about our poor Cubs.
If you're on TikTok, you can catch us here, but there's a ten-minute limit (we didn't know).
The entire video is here on YouTube.
Have a listen and let us know what you think. TIA! LYL!
Life After X
Episode 134: Twitter/X is implementing new and onerous terms of service, so CC and I have "that" talk about social media. As very small business owners, we have concerns because we no longer believe in the reach and reliability of Twitter/X.
We have an active conversation about social media in general, which gives you a peek inside on how CC and I talk things over.
We also discuss Free Speech and the First Amendment, which is sometimes not the same thing.
We're going to try out ne
Love Language
After a few "doom and gloom" episodes with the related drop-off in listenership, we announce the end of the podcast because we each discover a hill we will die on (kidding).
But seriously, folks, we dive into the Language of Love and the culture of a relationship, and how we as writers bring all of this to our works in progress. We're talking about communication, gestures, and habits that are unique to each relationship.
We use real-life examples of our parents' marriages as
Divine
CC watched TED Talks by author Elizabeth Gilbert of "Eat, Pray, Love" fame as a means to break through her writer's block, and her videos inspired us to talk about the source of a writer's inspiration. We knocked down a series of dominos and ended up with the question: Are some writers divinely inspired by God to write their works, or is creativity the result of the happenstance of physiological neurons and flashes of genius?
We included a "Philosophy of Religion" cl
Raiders
Episode 131 is more free form than usual since we start with Labor Day, muddle around Burning Man, and end up talking at length about the Indiana Jones franchise.
Throughout this podcast was the sense and idea of nostalgia. The movie-going experience has changed much in our lifetimes, though we wouldn't say it necessarily has evolved. We also acknowledge that we are not the target audience we used to be. Even so, we feel the impact of entertainment was lost as movies were moved from a dark
How We Feel
The endless saga of our flooded basement gives us fodder for this week's podcast. Long story short: we're sore.
We talk about how the natural process of aging and Life takes a physical toll on our quality of life, and how we as writers can use these experiences to shape our characters. We also discuss how we can learn more about conditions where we have no firsthand experience. Notable examples would be the use of scooters in supermarkets and childbirth.
We also touch on how the quali
They Molded Us
Episode 129 is about the authors who inspired and shaped us as adults and writers, and who happen to be women.
How's this for a murderer's row:
Agatha Christie (left)
Louisa May Alcott (right)
Jane Austen
Georgette Heyer
Carolyn Keene
Anne McCaffery
Ann Rice
JK Rowling
Alice Walker
Harper Lee
Margaret Mitchelle
Madeline L'Engle
Diana Gabaldon
Amy Tan
Audrey Niffenegger
So many more we could have mentioned.
We spoil "Murder on the Orient Express" and "Clue" (the
Screenwriting
Episode 128 is about that great beast called "screenwriting" and how it is a different, yet similar craft to writing a book. There's the external visual representation versus the internal written word, but there's also the complex collaboration, visuals, and the outside influences (re: the studios) that change the original product into what you see on the big and small screen. It's a fascinating process.
We spoil:
Angels and Demons
Star Wars
Spider-Man
Batman
We update o
Lightning in a Bottle
Is George Lucas good or lucky?
Episode 127 of our writers podcast is about writers who capture lightning in a bottle. They submit books and screenplays at just the right time which capture the imagination and take the country by storm. There’s lots of examples, starting with Mr. Lucas. Some folks would point to his pop cultural phenomenon of "Star Wars," but we go to the 1973 classic called "American Graffiti." This movie almost singlehandedly brought the 1950s nostalgia cra
Using an Epiphany
What's going on with Episode 126 of our writers' podcast? The better question is what isn't going on with this podcast.
We start off with the premise that an epiphany is part of the writer's toolchest, but it's an unreliable tool. Yes, the initial idea of a book can be classified as one, but what happens after you start writing and developing characters and plot? We have ideas on how to create and use epiphanies in your writing.
There's also a discussion on how long you s
Yeah, We Went There, Too
Yeah, we joined mainstream and social media in debating Barbie in our podcast, but we went in a different direction with the history of gender-based books and roles.
We start in the mass market publishing in the beginning of the 20th Century ("dime store novels") through the "Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew" type books of the Fifties. We work our way into Women's Lib and ERA, and we talk about how the Barbie movie is portrayed in social media.
Also:
-Our WIPs
-Happy Birthday
-
Shakespeare, Baby!
Episode 124 is about the writer's derivative use of other published works in their own works in progress. Where is the gray area of originality when using William Shakespeare's classic works, for example?
Modern literature is full of examples of those who boldly took it upon themselves to "copy" the Bard's great works or at least use them as inspiration for their books. Where do we writers draw the line? What is plagiarism?
Also:
-Updates on the weather, our basement and th
Maternity Ward
Episode 123 is all about the our new furry friends. More specifically, we talk at length about how we can't help but assign human emotions and actions to those in the animal kingdom (the word I can't say or spell to save my life is "anthropomorphism").
Also:
- Our current WIPs & Boring Characters
- Nanowrimo & Camp Nano
- Setting writing goals and boundaries
- Run the dishwasher twice!
- Our maternity ward
We're packing a lot of good writing stuff in this one, not
Vegas and Magic Mike
Writers are always told to "write what they know," but what if you don't know? This week, CC got the opportunity to fill out her life experience by going to Las Vegas' famous male revue: "Magic Mike Live."
She takes our listeners through each step of the show: from hair-and-makeup to the dancing and athleticism of the show to the post-show meet-and-greet with some of the dancers. CC then spends some time outlining how she's going to apply this experience to her c
COVID
Episode 121 is started slow, but evolved into something interesting and complex.
We talked about about our minimal efforts on our works in progress. The challenges for CC is finding the time to hit the keyboard. My challenge is I'm making things up as I go along, so I think I created a readable adventure, but not a viable ending. If you're in a similar situation, we have ideas.
We put togethere a mailbox yesterday. Gently speaking, it was our usual comedy of errors.
The main gist of the
Dashing
Happy Father's Day and Juneteenth to all who celebrate!
Episode 120 is all about:
- Our works in progress,
- JT's new part-time job,
- Visiting places from our youth and feeling the ghosts walking through us,
- Readers' reading habits, and
- Tighter plots for the shorter attentions spans of the 21st Century.
Have a listen and check us out at www.carsonhume.com TIA! LYL!
Locations
Episode 119 is our examination about setting fiction in places where the writer has never traveled. CC uses a great example of space to illustrate the challenge. We talk about the tools we use to overcome this barrier.
Also discussed is the Wrath of God hail storm from June 10 and our usual flailing at the keyboards on our current WIPs.
Have a listen and check us out www.carsonhume.com TIA LYL!
Going Cross Country
The podcast is back after a two-week hiatus due to JT driving to the East Coast and back to see his sister. Today's episode is all about that eleven-state tour (NV, UT, WY, NE, IA, IL, IN, OH, PA, MD, DE, and back). For those scoring at home, JT drove over 5,500 miles.
Also:
Visiting the Gettysburg National Military Park
What's the one color you'll see from coast to coast?
Happy 41st Anniversary!
Gettyburg is a must-see for the history nerd (guilty). If you can't get there, Jus
Finding Time
Happy Mother's Day to all who celebrate and should be celebrated! This week, we spent most of the podcast bragging about our kids, but we also debated a fair amount trying to crack the tough nut of Time.
Question: how do you find the time to write? Even as empty nesters, CC and I struggle to set aside time to work on our WIP. We bounce around some ideas and plans.
Have a listen, check us out at www.carsonhume.com, and send us your suggestions. TIA! LYL!
Paris
Bonjour! Today's writer's podcast is all about the City of Lights: Paris, France. We were lucky to spend more than a week discovering the wonders of Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Champs-Élysées, and a thousand places in between. From the Paris Metro to a famous graveyard. We walked along the Seine and took a long boat ride on the Seine, yet we barely scratch the surface of this wonderous city.
From a writer's POV, we learned about communication gaps, French culture and history, a
Writers' Workshop
For Carson City's Mark Twain Days, we went to a writers' workshop on Nevada and came away with interesting perspectives and ideas. CC might even have a new story to tell.
Our thanks to the Nevada Arts Council for sponsoring the workshop.
We discuss our own works in progress and our upcoming trip to Europe.
Here's a plug for CC's past colleague Rich Moreno who wrote a timely piece on "Frontier Fake News," available through the University of Nevada Press. Good guy and
Messages to Us
Episode 114 of the "helping writers write" podcast touches on messages to our younger selves. What we have learned and what would we say to ourselves if we could go back in time. "Never give up" is the obvious advice, but the rest is not so obvious.
Also discussed:
-Paris (France)
-Mark Twain
-Our Basement
-Retirement
-Significant Birthdays
-Going to College
-Our current WIPs
And the real reason they made you take algebra in high school. It wasn't a waste of time!
List
Words are Hard
Been a low and slow day at the CC and JT Amateur Hour where "we help writers write" because Spring has finally sprung. Woo!
We talked about the craft of writing last week, which is the technical aspect of grammar, editing, and publishing. These are universal to all books.
What is not universal is the creative process or the art of writing, so today's podcast is all about pulling words from our brains and getting them on the screen. CC and I compare and contrast our respective style
Spring Cleaning
Episode 112 of our writer's podcast tackles Spring Cleaning, the ritual of opening the windows, letting in the fresh air, and getting your house organized.
For writers, it's about the craft of writing: organizing your manuscripts, filing documents in their proper folders, and reorganizing your brain for the next manuscript.
Also discussed: our basement (sigh), France, Mark Twain in Nevada, and the artist's right to change their work.
Lots of good stuff here. Lots more on our website
Reality vs. Memory
For those of us at certain age, we recall when Rod Serling spoke of the dimension of mind. Episode 111 of our "writer's podcast for writers" dives into the mind as we discuss "reality vs. memory." They're often not the same thing.
We use a fender bender that CC and I saw firsthand this week. Even though it happens a few feet from us, we took away different perceptions of the event.
We also provide updates on our individual works in progress which we hope to publish t
Dialogue and SM
Another polyglot of a podcast from the Worldwide Headquarters where "we like to help writers write."
We discussed writing comfort zones, and how writers like to stick to familiar troupes and character because they over a rich source of inspiration. John Grisham and his love for the Deep South is specifically mentioned, as is my books of Nevada.
We push our own buttons (again) of the complex subject of social media and the increasing amount of overhead dedicated to advertise our works,
Flooded Basement
Another podcast, another joint therapy session.
Northern Nevada is being pummeled by waves of rain and snow, and some of it overflowed into our basement. CC and I talk it out to get perspective and context, and as a means to reduce our stress.
Also discussed:
-Writing as an escape
-Getting yourself into writing mode.
-Memories and context.
-Word games with kids.
-Cochlear implants.
-Rain and snow and rain and snow.
-How we'd love to hear back from you.
Trigger: I use a naughty word (a naughty Ir
Snow and Taxes
We clearly had things on our minds in this week's writers podcast:
-Snow.
-So much snow.
-The Northern Nevada Floods of 1997.
-Heated sidewalks at the Nevada Legislature.
-Our respective works in progress.
-Staying focused on the story at hand and not getting sidetracked.
-So much respect for veterinarians and their teams.
We wrap it up with a dive into the taxes that writers must consider every year. We're not experts and do not mean to imply we have the answers, but we do share some thoughts o
That Which We Leave Behind
Time for another CC and JT Amateur Hour "where production values go to die." We like to help writers write.
The past is always present and grips us all in more ways than one. CC and I discuss how to fold the past into your writing.
We talk about the Hume Museum. Peggy the doll there has been handed down through generations, and her wooden friends come from overseas.
We also chat about the Hume Clock (TikTok link) and my deer video with over ten thousand views (TikTok link).
Have a listen and che
Comfort Zones and FanFic
"The podcast where production values go to die" is more discombobulated than usual in this episode. We started talking about the value of developing routines and habits to establish comfort zones for writing. That's valuable stuff, but we somehow segued into the importance of fan fiction.
We have a lot of respect for these artists, especially for middle and high schoolers who write and put themselves out there for (sometimes) very harsh criticism.
Not much to reports on our personal works
The Disharmony of Love
CC and I meander all over the map in this week's podcast about Love. We agree, and we agree to disagree, but we're fairly safe in saying there are no absolutes other than "Love is Love."
We hope you have it all figured out for yourself because listening to this podcast, you can tell we are clearly clueless.
Have a listen and let us know what we got right or wrong. And check us out at www.carsonhume.com TIA! LYL!
Doldrums
We discuss "the doldrums," which we define as a normal interruption in the creative writing process. You have a story, but you don't what to with it or which direction to take it.
We're going through this ourselves. We have some ideas on what got us there and what it will take to get us moving again.
We also chat about our gift to you on Valentines Day and current events.
Have a listen and check us out on www.carsonhume.com. TIA! LYL!
Surprise
We struggled this week with "the big reveal": the completely out-of-the-blue plot twist. Does it take the reader out of the story? Does it improve the plot? Does it change a "routine" experience into a memorable one for all the right reasons?
Thoroughly spoiled: "The Crying Game" and "Murder on the Orient Express."
We also discuss our personal works in progress. This and other goodies on our website at www.carsonhume.com
Have a listen and take care. LYL!
Confidence
CC and I chat about what may be the most important emotional tool for a writer. We need a lot of moxie to get a book from a random idea floating in the ether to a real live book.
We talk about the challenges of believing in yourself, plus we give some ideas in how to keep believing in yourself.
There's the usual updates about our works in progress, and we make a big announcement about our next book.
Check us out at www.carsonhume.com and thanks for listening! LYL!
Adult Books
In today's Amateur Hour, CC and I discuss the books that took us from childhood reading to adult fiction, and the impact they continue to have on us as adults.
We chat about sump pumps, our works in progress, and "From Tundra to Tiara," as well as our plans for the future.
Have a listen and check us out at www.carsonhume.com. TIA! LYL!
Episode 100
Twenty-two months since we started in isolation, and here is our 100th episode of the CC and JT Amateur Hour ("where production values go to die"). This episode coincides with the debut of "From Tundra to Tiara," so honestly, how could we not do this today?
Not all is sunshine as real life taught us a valuable lesson about perspective (trigger: COVID). We're also thankful that small businesses survive and thrive, like Hoffman Plumbing who helped us not have a flooded basement.
We chatted about o
Almost Over
Our 99th podcast, and we're almost done with another cycle of writing-editing-publishing a book with "From Tundra to Tiara" being released tomorrow, Monday, January 9.
We talk at length about what we learned from our collaborative effort in writing a book, along with the challenges of contrasting writing styles and the English language itself.
We segue over to the biggest roadblock for independent writers: getting the word about our new book. Marketing is pushing that big rock up the mount
FTTT: Chapter Two
We started 2023 with a power and internet outage from a humungous storm that knocked out services for a hundred-plus square miles in Northern Nevada. We're finally back on line, so here is the delayed second chapter of your future favorite Netflix/Hallmark cozy romantic movie.
The first two chapters of "From Tundra to Tiara" are posted on our website, so feel free to follow along.
It will be released in a week and it's still 99¢. Always free on Kindle Unlimited.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/p
FTTT: Chapter One
As promised, here we are, reading the first chapter of your future favorite Netflix/Hallmark cozy romantic movie. Well, we can hope, anyway. The first two chapters of "From Tundra to Tiara" are posted on our website, so feel free to follow along as we read.
We also chat about good and bad holiday movies, and we pick our favorite of the season: "A New York Christmas Wedding" on Netflix. And there's the usual talk about the holidays along with the hope and prayer that you're having the best season
Christmas Memories
Ah, "the horror of the holidays are upon us," as my grandfather used to say. One common theme, no matter your culture or beliefs, are the strong emotions we feel during these days. CC and I remember two of our strongest Christmas memories, and we use them to illustrate how to transcribe those memories into prose.
There's the usual chat about the plans for our current works in progress, and there's the YouTube thing I'm doing.
We also talk about our plans for our current book scheduled for
Writing Your Space Epic
Jam-packed podcast where we talked about my completed space epic and how it differs from the three modern eponymous sci-fi adventures. Lots of talks about techno-babble and characters. If you're writing one, or considering writing one, here are some great ideas.
Also: Two free chapters from our latest release, "From Tundra to Tiara," hitting the shelves on January 9, 2023! Go to our website at www.carsonhume.com
Speaking of which, a reminder that FTTT is 99¢ until January 9, so preorder while it
Posture and Mojo
Our single brain is on display in this podcast because we wandered all over the writer's landscape today, starting with writing posture, segueing to mojo and frame of mind, and ending with a chat about writers spending money. We did learn that CC and I had different elementary school experiences. Have a listen!
Related: the podcast on Money got a lot of love this week, per the analytics.
We're at the end of our first graphic arts class. Hope you enjoy the logo!
We also did the usual
What Did You Say?
Writing believable dialogue is one of the biggest challenges in prose because "dialogue is character," and characters are what drive our books. We discuss dialogue at length with examples from famous movies, and we provide ideas on how to improve your own written dialogue (spoiler: "listen").
We bring you up to speed on our own writing projects and the progress of our marketing plan for "From Tundra to Tiara." (Preorder now for 99¢ before the price jumps to $2.99.)
Learn more about us at www.car
We Did This To Ourselves
A little bit longer post for this week's podcast.
Tomorrow starts the presale of our new book on Amazon. This week, we discuss kicking off our marketing campaign tomorrow (Monday, November 21) with all sorts of plans and incentives. We're doing the title reveal this week and the cover reveal next week.
The biggest challenge will be navigating through the uncertainty of social media, which may disappear without warning. Here's our plans to push this book:
1. We will be offering free books f
Writing for the Holidays
We chat about writing about the holidays, why Hollywood keep making holiday movies, and why people keep watching them. Themes include family, winter, and love.
Minor spoilers of Love Hard, Die Hard, and others.
We're over at www.carsonhume.com if you want to leave a comment or subscribe via WordPress.
Have a listen! TIA & LYL!
(Flickr image made available from Steve McFarland via Creative Commons.)
Writing About Politics
Writing about politics can be rewarding and challenging, but it's easy to get lost in the weeds. CC and I give you ideas about how to focus on the story at hand without going too far off track.
We talk about our current works in progress, Nanowrimo, graphic design, and the upcoming holidays. Pretty good podcast this week, if I do say so myself.
Have a listen and check us out at www.carsonhume.com TIA! LYL!
Also:
Here's the link if you want to join CC on Nano: https://nanowrimo.org/particip
Alien
Welcome to Halloween 2022, and we pick what we feel is the iconic horror film of the genre: Alien! We thoroughly spoil this 1979 classic that pushes back on all (well, most) of the clichés, and we explain why we feel this is mandatory viewing for writers dabbling in the horror and/or sci-fi genres.
We also chat (or kvetch, if you will) about our Graphic Arts class, and we touch on Nanowrimo and our ongoing works in progress.
As always, stop by our website at www.carsonhume.com and let us k
Marketing Part 2
A short one this week on our updated marketing plan, changing of the seasons, retirement, our WIPs, and the importance of routine.
We came to the conclusion we use podcasting as an excuse to drink coffee.
Have a listen and y'all take care of yourselves, you hear? TIA LYL
(Check us out at www.carsonhume.com when you get a sec.)
Settings Part Two
We got around to rerecording Settings Part 2, the one where we define how a setting can overwhelm the characters in your book. We're talking about an event that obliterates the routines and comfort zones of your characters. We give thoughts on this genre, starting with highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of your characters as they are changed by the setting.
Trigger Warning: we use Manzanar as an example.
We bring you up to speed on our works in progress (three!) and our prep for Nanowrimo
Settings Part One
This week's podcast has us on the road to Lone Pine, California, home to many movie settings, some of which you've seen. We use a visit to the Museum of Western Film History and the Alabama Hills as background for a chat about Settings.
They can be a challenge to writers as we try to strike a balance between adding a colorful dimension versus overwhelming the reader with details and extrapolation.
We thoroughly spoil Pleasantville and Blade Runner (1982) as examples.
Next week, we talk about how
Road Not Taken
This week we chat about Robert Frost's "Road Not Taken" (apologies to Mr. Frost for mangling the quote in the podcast). With CC and I being of a certain age, we have a better perspective of our interests and skills. What careers would we have picked had we the chance to do things over again? And what were our childhood choices for jobs?
We go down this path because we're engaging our imaginations and "what if's," both being essential writers' tools. Are you in your chosen career path? What would
Anxiety Attack
We gave ourselves an on-air (and mutual) anxiety attack in this week's podcast as we talked out our plans for the rest of the year. We didn't know how much we have going on until we turned on the microphone!
The big part of the podcast was Content Editing. We got the draft back from our editors on our joint project, and we learned that we did indeed have plot holes that need smoothing over before we can return the draft for their next deep dive. We talk about how we created those holes and how w
Interesting Times
"May you live in interesting times."
JT's awesome aunt says this is an ancient Chinese curse. The world has been living through them here in the 21st Century, but what does that mean for the writer who engages in historical fiction?
We discuss the challenges facing authors who use real-life events in their books, including sources of information, writer's biases, and the challenge of seeing into the future. Historical fiction might be the difficult form of fiction to get right.
Have a listen. Ar
Imposter Syndrome
We always say we have a jampacked podcast and we're usually right. Today's fun started at Oh-dark-thirty when JT photographed a hot air ballon over Carson City, only to learn later that a friend and colleague was aboard. We ended up taking pictures over each other without knowing we were taking pictures of each other. We dedicated this podcast to that brave, brave soul.
We take a dive into "Imposter Syndrome," loosely defined as someone who doubts their skills, talents, or accomplishments fearin
Marketing is Cruel
Episode 81 is all about making a plan to market our book and sticking to it. We say "Marketing is Cruel" because we are not the kind of people to rush out and beg people to read our books. We talk about the baby steps we're taking to get over that hump and why we're taking those steps.
We spent the first part of the podcast talking about our experience with the Van Gogh Immersive Experience, from the 3D exhibitions to the moving galleries to the virtual reality walk.
We segued into a discussion
Comedy is Hard
Welcome to the podcast where we misquote actor Edwin Guinn and others when we say, "Life is easy. Comedy is hard."
We discuss our mutual WIP, and we agree that while we got the "Rom" part right, we misfired on the "Com" part. How did that happen? And what can we do together to improve our future works? We analyze two of our favorite rom-com movies along the way.
We also update our individual WIPs and what we're reading this summer. And we signed up for a college class!
Read and listen all
Storytelling
Busy episode, so let's dive in:
- Book covers w @99designs
- Editing with @RAPublishing
- Lessons learned from writing together
- The status of our individual WIPs
- Pixar Storytelling rules via @lawnrocket
- Karma. Be kind. Always.
The source of the Pixar storytelling rules: https://writingworkshops.com/blogs/news/22-creative-storytelling-rules-from-pixar
Take a wander through our website at www.carsonhume.com and let us know what you think!
TIA! LYL!
Chapter One
What hooks a reader into buying and reading a book? Heck if we know, but we try to examine that "hook" that pulls readers into our books. I read the first chapter of my latest book as an example. (Adult content warning)
We also talk about finishing the first draft of our latest book, and we go into the fun and challenges of writing a joint book. Lots of lessons learned!
We say this a lot, but this podcast is packed! If you're a writer or a reader, there's good things here for you!
Check us out a
Plot Prompts
Two weeks ago, CC gave me random prompts and had me make up a story on the fly, testing me as a pantser. CC took her turn as a plotter with these three prompts:
Dropped into an alien world
High school romance
Teenage girl superhero
(Giving credit, the prompts came from https://www.servicescape.com/writing-prompt-generator)
We had an interesting conversation about the strengths and weaknesses of being a plotter, and we narrow it down to one four-letter word.
We give you an update on the book we'r
Team Editing
CC and I are writing a book together, and today we talk about the intense editing session we're doing this weekend. We're learning a lot about collaboration, writing styles, sentence structures, and editing in general.
Happy Birthday to Ruth Buzzi, Lynda Carter, and to all July 24 babies!
As always, you can learn more about us at our website: www.carsonhume.com
TIA! LYL!
Pantsing
Pantsing (also known as winging it) is the term Wrimos use refer to writing without a fixed outline (an outline that the writer will force themselves to follow). A Wrimo who adopts the pantsing approach to writing is called a pantser. (source)
Today was a fun podcast on Pantsing with CC challenging me with surprise writer's prompts:
Dropped into an alien world
High school romance
Teenage girl superhero
Next week, CC is going to do the same prompts, but from a plotter's point of view. (Giving cre
HEA and HFN
We chat about our current WIP and whether we should do a "Happily Ever After" versus "Happy For Now" kind of ending.
Readers want both, often at the same time, which can lead to "interesting" sequels.
Spoilers: Star Wars, The Godfather, The Matrix, and The Mummy (Brenden Frasier version, obv).
We also announce a big deal happening on July 24th. More details soon on our website at www.carsonhume.com
Have a listen and let us know what you think! TIA! LYL!
PS: Thank you for the hugely success
Summer Reading
We chat about our summer reading experiences from younger days, plus we talk about our current projects and our thoughts about "assigned reading."
You can find links to our books at carsonhume.com
Have a listen and leave comments. TIA! LYL!
Ghosts and Books
In a very special Saturday episode of the Amateur Hour, CC and I chat about the real-life ghosts in our lives, the people we see in random places who look like loved ones and friends who've passed away. For that millisecond before we remember they're gone, we can be hit with a ton of strong feelings, including the echoes of the love and affection for someone we don't get to see anymore. A difficult and very personal subject for a podcast, but as writers, we talk about how we can use these import
Writers Retreat
CC and I chat about our personal writer's retreat this week and about writers retreats in general. CC talks about her good and bad experiences at big-time retreats.
We also give updates on our three books in the pipeline.
You can learn all about us at www.carsonhume.com TIA! LYL!
Partners
We take a dive into the shallow end of the pool to discuss famous and no-so-famous literary couples. Writing is a tough chore to begin with, so lots of respect for these (and any) couples who write together.
We used this article as a foundation: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/13--literary-couples_n_5104412
You can hear our podcasts and read our blogposts at www.carsonhume.com
TIA! LYL!
40th Anniversary
Please join us as we celebrate our 40th anniversary with memories, laughs, and a few tears. CC and I chat about the good old days and what's kept us together so far. There's a little bit of writing stuff, too.
Check out our web site at www.carsonhume.com
TIA! LYL!
Multiverse
We attack the multiverse in this week's podcast to answer the question: "Are we truly writing fiction?"
Covered w Spoilers:
The MCU
Batman
Star Trek
Pleasantville
Back to the Future
Quantum Leap
Sliding Doors
Stranger Than Fiction
Carol Burnett
Have a listen and send feedback through our website at www.carsonhume.com TIA! LYL!
Purple Porkchops
Couples Therapy this week with incorporating our experiences and minefields into our writing, plus the most and least important parts of a relationship and how to use them to create tension.
Many more podcasts and blog posts on our website at www.carsonhume.com
Let us know what you think via our Contacts page or leave a comment. TIA! LYL!
Epiphany
This week's writers' podcast is a deep dive into "Romance is a Bonus Book," and how this excellent series got us thinking about the choices we've made. We chat about the power you have over your life and the key question: "Who am I?".
We may have shotgunned a gallon of coffee before recording. Not kidding.
Big-time spoilers.
Lots of good stuff on our website at www.carsonhume.com
TIA! LYL!
Mother's Day Therapy
CC and I do online therapy in talking about our mothers and our upbringing, and we discuss how writers can use their parental relationships in their writing.
Possible triggers in this one.
Check out our website for more podcasts and blog posts: www.carsonhume.com
TIA! LYL!
Editing
This week is our fav subject: editing. (#sarcasm)
We discuss the strengths and weakness of self-editing vs. hiring professionals, using beta readers, and being responsible for your book.
Big shout-out to my professional editors at Red Adept Editing!
This and many more writers podcasts at www.carsonhume.com
Have a listen and let us know what you think. TIA! LYL!
Grammar
This week's writers podcast is a deep dive into the brick wall called "grammar." Ugh, we get it: everyone hates the rules. We talk about why writers should learn and follow the rules, anyway.
The deep dive:
The history of English grammar.
Moby Dick versus The Old Man of the Sea.
What did I do 450 times?
Ideas on improving your writing grammar.
Turn on the closed captioning!
Grammarly may not be your friend.
Have a listen and let us know what you think.
Over on my Patreon, I finished the the Tucc
Implied Bias and Stupid Romance
This week focuses on two important writers subjects:
-The challenges and benefits of implicit bias in fiction.
-CC's and my favorite formula in fiction: stupid romance.
We pull in Love Actually, Star Wars, the weather, and coming of age stories.
You can find links to our other podcasts at www.carsonhume.com. TIA! LYL!
Hell Week
We return from our podcast hiatus to talk about our emotional roller-coaster Hell Week, and the associated life changes happening in and around The Worldwide Headquarters:
Our daughter's surgery.
Saying goodbye to Mia.
Verbal Tics.
Retirement.
My next book (good news!).
Book sale success.
Patreon.
Spring in Nevada.
"Our Flag Means Death".
The Beatles and "Get Back".
Recurring themes in Korean dramas and rom-coms.
Common traits in the human experience.
Putting together my second and third draft
FanFic
We take on passion and energy of Fan Fiction this week:
-The history of fan fiction with a nod to the Bard, Dickens, and the modern age.
-The challenges and minefields about writing in the Internet Age.
-And the strengths and weaknesses of being a FanFic writer.
We recognize this is a sensitive subject for many people, and we look forward to your feedback at www.carsonhume.com
TIA! LYL!
Seasons
Happy Spring! CC and I discuss how Seasons can form themes in your books:
Spring = Rebirth
Summer = Lust & Love
Fall = The Best Season?
Winter = Family and Coming of Age
(Bonus: Hear me forget our anniversary!)
You can find links to our other podcasts at www.carsonhume.com. TIA! LYL!
Irish Themes
Last week, we sent you a verbal postcard of Ireland. This week, we watched six productions from The Auld County of Ireland, and we discuss the use of common themes through these films:
Darby O'Gill and the Little People
The Quiet Man
Derry Girls
Brooklyn
Dancing at Lughnasa
The Boxer
Have a listen and feel free to push back on our thoughts and assumptions at our website: www.carsonhume.com. TIA! LYL!
Postcard from Ireland
Writers draw pictures with words, but what if your protagonist is Irish and you've never been to Ireland?
You're in luck! Here's a verbal postcard from Dublin, Cork, & Killarney with castles, pubs, museums, and much more. And we snuck in Scotland, too!
Have a listen and let us know what you think: www.carsonhume.com
TIA! LYL!
Why Don't People Write?
No two ways to slice this bread: writing is hard for many reasons. People may have trouble put words to paper (or screen) because they feel they have a weak grasp on language skills, or they're nervous about revealing themselves. After all, writing in a private endeavor in the public spotlight. Criticism could be a good reason not to write, even though criticism can be both positive or negative. Some people have trouble simply finding the time to write, and other may worry about originality.
CC
Money
This week's writers' podcast is about spending money to be a writer (or as I call it, "death by thousand cuts"). All professions require out-of-pocket expenses because the cliché is we have to spend money to earn money. But as independent writers, we may not ever see a full return on our investment. We talk about those challenges.
You can learn more about us at our website at www.carsonhume.com
If you're interested in learning how a book is created, then check out https://www.patreon.com/jthume
Production Values
A bonus podcast where we talk about upgrading our podcast equipment, our works in progress, and going out on Patreon. This one is short and sweet.
Our main website: www.carsonhume.com
Patreon: www.patreon.com/jthume
Thanks for listening!
Mish-Mish
Today was a "stream of unconsciousness" podcast from CC and me. Most of it is "Romance is What You Make of It," and "The Elements of Romance in Writing."
Also:
-Podcasting Equipment
-Galentine's & Valentine's Day
-Hallmark Holidays & Greeting Cards
-SB LVI
-Masks
Spoilers: Romancing the Stone and Pride and Prejudice
CC's Instagram is @authorcassidycarson
You can hear this and other podcasts at our wonderous website at www.carsonhume.com TIA! LYL!
Trigger Words
We talk about the challenges and dangers of using “power words” and “trigger words” in this week’s writer’s podcast.
Our definitions: “Power Words” can be used to develop an emotional connection between the reader and writer, where “Trigger Words” exist to illicit an emotional response, often a knee-jerk negative emotional response. Candidly, we struggle to draw the line between the two.
We talk about both in general communication, and we use the vaccination argument as an example. For writing,
Banning Books
The one where we chat about banning books in school districts: the reasons, the possible motivations, and the downstream dangers. We start with Art Spiegelman's Maus and other classics in American literature including To Kill A Mockingbird, Lolita, and 1984. We have passionate opinions and that energy comes through.
Links to this and our other podcasts can be found on our website at https://carsonhume.com
Let us know what you think. TIA! LYL!
Play Ball!
The one where we discuss baseball writing, and how the enclosed universe of the game lends itself to writing. We start with the golden age of baseball and end in the modern era. We use these writers and their works:
Jim Bouton
W. P. Kinsella
Ron Luciano
Ernest Thayer
Spoilers: Field of Dreams
You can learn more about us at www.carsonhume.com
Have a listen and let us know what you think. LYL! TIA!
Elmore Leonard's Rules
The one where CC and I chat about Elmore Leonard's "10 Rules for Good Writing:"
1. Never open a book with weather.
2. Avoid prologues.
3. Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue.
4. Never use an adverb to modify the verb "said"…he admonished gravely.
5. Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose.
6. Never use the words "suddenly" or "all hell broke loose."
7. Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly.
8. Avoid detai
Creativity and Writer's Block
The one where we talk about the ebbs and flow of creative energy with ideas on working through writer's block.
Also:
-Coffee
-Diabetes
-CGM
-Cyclothymia
-Wheel of Time dresses
-Texas Turtle!
Links to this and other podcasts can be found at https://carsonhume.com/ LYL TIA!
Writers and Routines
The one where we talk about the positives and negatives of having routines and habits. We focus on writers and writing, and we start small by explaining our Sunday patterns, and we go big with the national economy and labor workforce.
No spoilers.
Check us out on https://carsonhume.com TIA! LYL!
New Year's Eve 2021
The one where we wrap up our year in Podcasting by discussing our most listened to podcasts, plus:
-Betty White, of course
-Pandemic & Diabetes (fun stuff!)
-WIPs and writing
-Tool Time!
-40 years ago today
-A great burrito
Podcasts discussed:
Our first podcast
Writers and Reality
The Flawed Protagonist
In Media Res
Have a listen and let us know what you think through www.carsonhume.com LYL! TIA!
The Christmas Episode
The one where we discuss the most important parts of Christmas while adding three movies to our holiday list.
We absolutely eviscerate "Love Actually." (spoilers, duh)
Please check us out at carsonhume.com
Merry Christmas, everyone!
The Christmas Movie Episode
The one where we talk about our Top Ten Christmas movies and shows and:
(Spoilers Galore!)
December Holidays
Science Fiction
Star Trek
Friends
My WIP & Amazon Vella
Free Books!
Is our Top Ten is full of crap? Have a listen and let us know! TIA! LYL!
http://www.carsonhume.com
Underneath Big and Harry Potter
#writers #podcast
The one where we critique the intentional & unintentional undertones of these entertainment classics.
(SPOILERS!)
Big (@TomHanks)
Harry Potter (@jk_rowling)
Hunger Games (@HungerGames)
Let us know what you think! TIA! LYL! http://www.carsonhume.com
Laundry List
The one where we unloaded a laundry list!
-Our Podcast with a Professional Editor
-Thanksgiving
-The Crocker Museum and the Museum of Science and Curiosity
-Monet and Rodin
-Eppie's, Carol's, and Taqueria Ay Jalisco
-Cochlear Implant
-Invading Personal Space
-Booster shots
-WIP, Fan Fiction, and Serialized Writing
-Sir Patrick Stewart
-Upcoming December Holidays
And Charley!
Check out our podcasts at http://www.carsonhume.com
Hope y'all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!
A Real Editor
#writers #podcast
The one where we welcome a retired production editor for one of *the* big-time publishing houses. She talks about her editorial experiences and gives advice to all writers. Really good stuff!
No spoilers.
Check us out on http://www.carsonhume.com and let us know what you think! TIA! LYL!
Thanksgiving Day Memories
The one where CC and I talk about our favorite and sad Thanksgiving Day childhood memories. Possibly a downer for most folks, but there's could be fodder here for some writers.
No spoilers.
You can find more podcasts on our website at https://www.carsonhume.com
Enjoy!
Stephen King Films and Creative Control
We chat about @stephenking movies and the complex problem of creative control. Also said:
-Dan Brown, JK Rowling, and Alan Moore
-Kubrick & Nicholson
-Stand by Me, Shawshank, Carrie
-What is a movie?
-Orson Wells
-Furbabies
-Thanksgiving
Major spoilers for Kubrick's "The Shining."
Check us out at http://www.carsonhume.com and let us know what you think. TIA! LYL!
Stephen King Books
The one where we talk about Stephen King's books at length. We discuss our favorites and how Mr. King influences us as writers.
Major King book spoilers.
Feedback appreciated at www.carsonhume.com. TIA! LYL!
Nonsense
We should have skipped the podcast this week. Why? We were all over the place:
-Nanowrimo
-The Shining
-Surgery
-Time Change
-Veterans Day
-"Read" & "Write"
-Indiana Jones
Yeah, it was that kind of podcast. If you're brave, have a listen and let us know what you think at www.carsonhume.com TIA! LYL!
Happy Nevada Day!
On the real NV Day, we blabbed about:
- Our 6:30 #writers project
- Lots about @Nanowrimo
- Halloween & #NevadaDay in #carsoncity #nevada
- My #cochlearimplant Surgery
All this and more! Feedback always welcome on our website at http://www.carsonhume.com
Enjoy!
Kindness
The one where we talk how random acts of kindness can change lives, and kindness can make your characters richer and three-dimensional. We pull out a couple of examples from our own lives.
No spoilers.
Have a listen and let us know what you think http://carsonhume.com. Take care of you. LYL!
Context & Perspective
We chatted about maintaining perspective & providing context in our #writing and real life. We also talked about the value of taking risks in writing. And we did some serious couples counseling.
Spoilers: Muppets Haunted Mansion.
As always, we'd love to hear from you! www.carsonhume.com
TY! LYL!
Disappointment
The one where we discuss Success's more common sibling: Disappointment. We offer our experiences and some ideas that may help #writers manage their response to rejection.
No spoilers.
Please let us know what you think at our website: www.carsonhume.com
Thank you! LYL!
Comfort Zones and Singing
The one where we sing and laugh and drink coffee, and we do an actual podcast! We chat about our comfort zones before before, during, and after the pandemic. We also talk about our current works in progress.
We hope we put a smile on your face.
Leave feedback at http://www.carsonhume.com and thank you! LYL!
("Happy Birthday" is in the public domain.)
Little Women
The one where CC explains how Little Women by Louisa May Alcott helped shape her as a person and writer. JT gives his impression of the book through viewing the 1994 version of the book.
We thoroughly spoil the novel from cover to cover, but considering it was released in 1868, we're okay with that.
We hope you enjoy our thirtieth episode. Let us know what you think at carsonhume.com. Thank you!
A Writer's Journey
The one where we talk "A Hero's journey" as outlined by Joseph Campbell, but has been used in literature for hundreds of years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_journey
A lot of serious spoilers in this podcast: Star Wars, Treasure Island, Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, Spaceballs, King Arthur, Hunger Games, The 300, Harry Potter, Flash Gordon. And the one I couldn't remember: Divergent.
As always, we'd love to hear from you. TIA! LYL!
http://www.carsonhume.com
A Writer's Trauma
The one where we remember.
We all carry trauma in some way, whether it's 9-11, the sudden death of a loved one, or growing up in a difficult home. We talk what writers should consider when using traumatic event in their books, or even if writers should use those event.
Triggers:
9-11
Pearl Harbor
Death
Love
COVID
Trauma
Please be thoughtful before listening. Thank you and LYL.
http://carsonhume.com
14,339 Days of Marriage
The one where we go way off script and talk about the successes and challenges of our 39-year marriage.
Triggers:
Toothpaste Caps
Domestic Abuse
Death
Money
Children
We'd love to hear your feedback at http://carsonhume.com
TY! LYL!
Writer's Magic
The one where we talk about using my "Four S's" tools to fill and enhance a book: Sounds, Sights, Smell, Sex.
Writers will hears the pros and cons of each.
Mentioned: The Grapes of Wrath, The Old Man and The Sea, Cannery Row, Emperor's New Groove, Dune, Moonlighting
All this and more on http://carsonhume.com
Let us know what you think! Thank you! LYL!
Mind the Gap
We recorded this episode on the shores of the Pacific Ocean in beautiful Fort Bragg, California. So what did we talk about? Perhaps the most iconic, romantic form of transportation: the train!
Send feedback to carsonhume.com and take care of yourself! LYL!
A Writer's Ear
The one where we talk about JT's cochlear implant and how deafness affected his writing. We discuss how CC was JT's beard during his deaf years, and we talk about the deaf culture. We update our respective WIP's (spoiler: they're crap) and give the weekly smoke report.
Send feedback to us via http://carsonhume.com TIA and LYL!
A Writer's Voice
The one where we discuss writer engagement in social media debates. Does the writer have the responsibility and duty to engage. CC and I are at opposite ends of this discussion, and we explain why we do and do not get involved in social media conversations. Related: what are the risks and benefits?
Shorter: any podcast that mentions Shrek is a good podcast.
Let us know what you think at carsonhume.com. Thank you and love you all!
Totally Unprepared
The one where we were totally unprepared to do a podcast and it showed. Discussed:
Our current #WIP after two weeks of writing thirty minutes every day.
Memorable concerts:
@duranduran
@shaunpcassidy
@hudsonbros
@JanetJackson and her family
@onedirection
And we talked about the challenges of balancing how we enjoy an artist's work versus their politics. We'll talk about that more next week.
One correction: I said "Alan Dean Moore" when I meant "Alan Moore."
Have a listen and send feed
Writer's Tears
The one where two diehard fans discuss their love for the Chicago Cubs. We also talk about our current works in progress, and we take the famous quiz from "Inside the Actors Studio."
No spoilers. Listen up, and send your feedback via http://carsonhume.com. Thank you! Love you all!
Proust Speed Round
Episode 20 already!
The one where we take the Proust Questionnaire found on the Vanity Fair website. If you're nosy and want to learn more about us, this podcast is for you!
https://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/2000/01/proust-questionnaire
As always, we crave your feedback at http://www.carsonhume.com
Speaking Steinbeck
The one where we record near the shores of Monterey Bay, invoking John Steinbeck and the history of Cannery Row. We spend some time discussing how writers can use words to illustrate scenes and characters to their full richness.
No real spoilers. Send us feedback at http://www.carsonhume.com
Thank you!
Writer's Myths
The one where we talk about the legends and misconceptions of being a writer, especially an independent writer. CC and I picked three specific myths that we felt affected us as writers.
No real spoilers, though we chat about one of my favorite TV shows: "Kolchak: The Night Stalker."
As always, send feedback through our website at carsonhume.com. Take care!
In Media Res
The one where we talk about jumping in media res ("in the middle") of the action in your favorite books and movies. Prime examples discussed include Georgette Heyer's Friday's Child, Dumas' The Three Musketeers, and basically every James Bond movie. No real spoilers in this one. Feedback welcome at carsonhume.com.
Enjoy!
We're Only Human
The one where we talk about the three real-life philosophies we apply to our writing.
CC: Love Conquers All, Nobody's Perfect, We're Only Human.
JT: Perception Forms Reality, Be Honest, Be Kind.
No spoilers this week. http://www.carsonhume.com
Podcast: Jacobellis v. Ohio
The one where we discussed hardcore sex in writing and popular media. Like so many people, we struggled between "porn for porn's sake" and "porn for art's sake." Jacobellis v. Ohio comes up. And, hey, FREE BOOK!
Midnight Cowboy, Clockwork Orange, Pretty Woman, Basic Instinct, Fatal Attraction, Doom Patrol, American Gigolo, Jacobellis v. Ohio.
From Rhett to Ahnold
The one where we venture into the middle ground of sexual relations in writing (PG, PG-13, R), and how writers can express tension and climax.
Spoilers: True Lies, Aliens, Gone with the Wind, Moonlighting, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, 10 Things I think About You
The Elephant in the Room
The one where we delve into sex in the G-rated literature and media environment. We discuss the history of sex in books, the use innuendoes, cultural shifts, growing up on Harlequin romances, and gender roles.
Triggers: Sex, Domestic Violence
No spoilers
All You Need Is Love
The one where we talk about the most dangerous thing: True Love. We discuss the many challenges and rewards of bringing personal romantic experiences to our novels and other works. We quote Thomas Mann and we sing for a few seconds (sorry about that).
Triggers: Relationship Violence, Death, Divorce, Love
Spoiler: Lucifer (Netflix), Empire Strikes Back, Ghost
Thy Dying of the Light
The one where we get personal about Death, along with the challenges of presenting this great equalizer in fiction. This episode is our most intimate podcast to date.
Triggers: Death.
Spoilers: Harry Potter, Twilight, Supernatural, Avengers, Sherlock Holmes, Dracula.
The Seinfeld Episode
The one where we don't talk about much at all, other than old casinos, being kind, and developing characters through watching people. No spoilers in this one, folks.
Inspiration
The one where CC and I talk about our personal writing inspirations as we grew up and matured into professional writers. We go from childhood to the Air Force to our college professors. Lots of stories and lots of fun for the two of us. Our tenth episode already!
Erin go Bragh!
The one where we talk about Ireland's literary and historical heritage. CC goes in depth on how Frank McCourt's life and his most famous book, "Angela's Ashes," parallels her own mother's upbringing, and how they influence CC's life and writing.
Fantastic Formula Fiction
The one where we talk about gaining possible writing success by traveling the tried and true path of formula fiction. Special shout-out to Ronald B. Tobias, writer of "20 Master Plots," for guiding our discussion.
*this week's spoilers* When Harry Met Sally. Star Wars, and Harry Potter
Fantastic Formula Fiction
The one where we talk about gaining possible writing success by traveling the tried and true path of formula fiction. Special shout-out to Ronald B. Tobias, writer of "20 Master Plots," for guiding our discussion.
*this week's spoilers* When Harry Met Sally. Star Wars, and Harry Potter
Tahoe
The one where CC and I visit beautiful Lake Tahoe, and talk about our separate and mutual connections to one of the most beautiful places on Earth. We even talk about Mark Twain and Mario Puzo.
Darth, Batman, Superman and...Tucci?
The world literally moved while we were discussing my favorite book and its flawed protagonist, Tucci. A 4.0 earthquake couldn't stop this podcast!
Sunshine of the Matrix
The one where CC and I discuss Reality and writing about Reality through "The Matrix" and "The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."
For The Birds
We chat about the local wildlife, fur-babies, bedtimes, and we salute two icons from the 1970s Soft Rock Era.
Tower of Doom!
The one where we chat about...
- Writing spaces.
- Public service.
- NV Outdoors.
- 50% Vaccinated.
And we shout out to coffee, Carson City Parks and Rec, and the University of Nevada Cross Country Track Team!
The Road To Lovelock
CC and JT chat about our new website and the lessons learned, photography and artistic expression, our trip to Lovelock, and our thoughts and impressions about Nevada overall.
Welcome to the CC and JT Amateur Hour
The one where we introduce ourselves, talk about inspirations, and blather about plans.