The Teri and Edith Show

Edith and Teri discuss summer plans and share book recommendations, including Heather Walter’s Malice and Misrule, a duology retelling the Maleficent–Aurora story from Alice/Malice’s first-person perspective with romantic elements and multiple twists. They talk about how strong writing helps readers “become” a character regardless of narration style and how state of mind affects immersion. Edith describes teaching One Of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus, its shifting viewpoints, and creative student assignments such as a funeral letter from the deceased and a school newspaper article, plus flash fiction work in English as a foreign language. The conversation shifts to publishing advice: revising multiple times, letting manuscripts rest, using tools like Autocrit, and the value of editors. They also cover author visibility and marketing—podcasting, consistency, avoiding overwhelm, marketing the author brand rather than a single book, and starting platforms early in a saturated market.00:00 Welcome and Summer Plans00:47 Fantasy Duology Pick03:49 Becoming the Character04:51 First vs Third Person08:52 Teaching a Mystery Novel10:58 Creative Test Assignments14:00 Flash Fiction in ESL16:03 Learning Languages and Dreaming21:27 Editing Before Publishing26:29 Editors Make Books Better31:48 Description vs Story Pace41:26 Interview for Story Impact43:32 Visibility Book Origins44:44 Podcasting For Exposure47:19 Avoid Marketing Overwhelm51:25 Market Yourself Not Books53:39 Start Early Stay Consistent55:14 Branding With Thumbnails01:00:23 Podcast Guest Confidence01:06:21 Finding Readers In Saturation01:12:45 Reading Like A Writer01:18:38 Writing Reality And AI01:21:15 Closing Thoughts FarewellMusic: artlist.io

On the Teri and Edith Show, Teri recaps a Weymouth, North Carolina writers’ retreat where she chose activities beyond writing, including library visits, a retirement village book club, an author talk, a craft fair book table, a poetry group, a bookstore event, and a local podcast, gaining networking and submission tips and selling books. She discusses feedback on Daughters of Green Mountain Gap (noting it won a major North Carolina award) and her new, funnier book Pagan Hinged, and warns listeners about Netflix scam emails, especially those from Gmail addresses. The conversation shifts to reading: library audiences skew older; many young people prefer fantasy or avoid reading, influenced by phones, instant gratification, and shrinking attention spans. They argue reading builds vocabulary, imagination, critical thinking, and cultural understanding, praise reading aloud and audiobooks for kids, criticize flat AI narration, and share current book recommendations.00:00 Welcome Back Intro00:10 Retreat Goals Tradeoffs02:14 Readings Libraries Events03:45 Networking Author Lessons05:54 Artsy Southern Pines Vibe07:53 Greece Roots Dreams09:15 Netflix Scam Emails12:12 Audience Feedback New Book13:53 Herbal Remedies Disclaimer16:04 Who Reads Today19:56 Kids Reading Habits21:58 Books vs Movies Debate23:28 Is Reading Coming Back25:36 Instant Gratification Worries30:18 Why Reading Matters36:55 Phones Attention Spans38:15 Text Speak and Vocabulary Loss39:32 Reading Builds Young Minds42:01 Phones Replace Conversation44:09 Reading and Math Foundations46:58 Stories Over Screens50:43 Why AI Narration Falls Flat55:02 Future of Reading and Patience01:00:08 Book Talk and Recommendations01:05:21 World War I and Learning History01:11:04 Read and Write GoodbyeMusic: artlist.io