Bookcast Episode 143: Two Captains, One Boat

This is a shorter one (and yet still over 20 minutes...), keeping mostly to books, writing, and appearances. I recap what I've read in August, give the full rundown on my new Labor Day novella REGATTA including the blurb and release schedule, talk through my fall and 2027 event lineup, and close out with an update on my NSYNC fanfiction entry for this year's Awesome August challenge.Reading Challenge Update I'm at 98 of 150 books for the year, 65% of the way there and five books ahead of schedule. I don't think hitting 150 is going to be a problem.Recently Read  Calling All Blessings, Beverly JenkinsNever the Right Time, Reese RyanOne Split Second, Robert DugoniPrairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Caroline Fraser Currently Reading:You'll Be Sorry, Lisa GardnerUp Next / On My List:All My Sisters and Me, Sheryl ListerSavvy Summers and the Po' Boy Perils, Sandra Jackson-OpokuThe Death Row Club, V.A. VasquezIt Could Have Been Her, Lisa JewellThere's Only One Sin in Hollywood, Rasheed NewsomeTrust Me, Alexandria HouseThe Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglas, Leslye Penelope72 Hours, Rae ShawnWriting and Publishing  Main writing on REGATTA is done. It's a steamy standalone Labor Day novella about Des Calloway and Silas Corbin, two racing captains at the same yacht club who end up on the same boat for the Labor Day regatta on the Chesapeake Bay after years of competing against each other. Des is hired to captain Windfall, the boat Silas expected to run himself, and the two of them have to figure out how to work together on the water while everything else builds between them off it. Tropes include forced proximity, he falls first, woman in charge, forced to work together, and close quarters, with explicit sexual content.Two samples posted to Substack:1. Should I have brought my trophies? 2. Try telling yourself I don't like youRelease plan: August 24th: live at Booksbydlwhite and Noir Pages (newsletter subscribers get the link late on the 23rd)August 28th: live on retail sites. This gives direct readers a week's head start. I'm holding off on Goodreads until it's live on Amazon since the two platforms pull different versions of my name.AppearancesPetersburg Book Festival - September 12, 2026Atlanta Book Festival - October 17, 2026, Plywood PlaceConyers Book Fest - April 2027 (applied, no decision yet)Black Romance Book Festival - June 2027Kinfolk Lit - July 2027, Indianapolis (link coming before registration opens!)Behind the Ink Book Fest - September 2027, BirminghamFan Fiction Update:  I Want You Back, my entry for this year's Awesome August challenge over on the NSYNC Fiction Archive, is complete and posted under my pen name Miss M. It's a JC Chasez story, written for his birthday like I do every year.  Links & ResourcesShop my books: booksbydlwhite.com/shopSupport the podcast: buymeacoffee.com/booksbydlwhiteEpisode page: booksbydlwhite.com/bookcast/143 Support the showStay connected:Visit my website–Booksbydlwhite.comJoin my newsletter – booksbydlwhite.com/newsletterFollow me on Substack–Main Substack | Short Fiction SubstackBuy books & merch – booksbydlwhite.com/shopSupport this show with a recurring gift at bookcast.buzzsprout.com or Buymeacoffee.com/booksbydlwhite.If you enjoyed this episode, please rate & review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And if you really liked it, tell a friend.