Join the conversation, text us now. Happy New Years Eve, My Happy People, Today we are replaying Dianne's amazing chat with the multi-talented Doug Williams. Doug is an award-winning screenwriter, playwright, filmmaker, and the author of the FBI thriller, Failure Point. Doug is a former journalist who once served as a press secretary in the US Senate. He has worked in communications in public and private sectors and created a successful career as a freelance writer which has spanned mo...

Join the conversation, text us now. Happy Holidays, People, We are thrilled to replay this amazing author for you today in our holiday hiatus episodes. Get ready to meet the remarkable mind behind some of Canada’s most beloved books for young readers! In this episode of Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt – Book Talk Podcast, Dianne had the privilege to chat with Valerie Sherrard. Valerie is the award-winning author of A Bend in the Breeze, The Glory Wind, Counting Back from Nine, and t...

Join the conversation, text us now. Bleeped words in today's episode: Drüg$, Hüm@n Traff!c!ng Happy Holidays People, We are kicking off our Holiday Hiatus episodes with the incredible writing team of Breakfield and Burkey. Dianne specifically chose this show as part of our memorial tribute to Rox Burkey who we lost in 2025. She was an incredible woman, as you will hear in this episode, and a real loss to the writing community. Charles Breakfield, as the CTO of the Enigma Series, leverages hi...

Join the conversation, text us now. Bleeped words: Serial K!ller x3 Hello Happy People, It’s the season finale, and we’re wrapping up the year with bestselling author Melissa Payne, whose stories of redemption, love, and second chances have captured readers’ hearts. Her latest novel takes us to Sunny Pines Retirement Community, where secrets, spirits, and a determined grandmother named Birdie Allen prove that adventure doesn’t end at sixty-two. Melissa and I talk about finding hope in unexpe...

Join the conversation, text us now. Hello My Happy People, This week on Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt – Book Talk Podcast, Dianne welcomes back Dr. David Weill. We first spoke in Season 3, Episode 135 when his fiction book All That Really Matters was coming out. Dr. Weill is the Principal of the Weill Consulting Group, which focuses on improving the level of transplant care. Before founding his consulting firm, he served as Director of the Center for Advanced Lung Diseases and the Lung ...

Join the conversation, text us now. Hello My Happy People, Dr. David Gibson is back on the show, and this time he’s traded forensic botany for a dystopian adventure. The longtime scientist and professor known for Planting Clues: How Plants Solve Crimes returns to chat about his bold new novel Elite Memories, a futuristic story where memory transfers, sentient animals, and survival all collide. We talk about what inspired this unexpected leap from nonfiction to sci-fi, how real science sneaks...

Join the conversation, text us now. Hello My Happy People, Imagine waking up in your childhood home, with your ten-year-old self still living there. How different would look past be when seen though your adult eyes? That’s the wild premise at the heart of You Cannot Mess This Up: A True Story That Never Happened by award-winning author Amy Weinland Daughters. In this week’s episode, Amy joins me to talk about memory, forgiveness, and what really happens when you face the ghosts of your own p...

Join the conversation, text us now. Hello My Happy People, This week on Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt, we’re heading back to the wild, wonderful 1990s. A Time before smartphones, Google Maps, or Instagram-worthy selfies. Author Candace MacPhie joins us to talk about her Back in a Year travel series, a hilarious and heartfelt chronicle of one woman’s global backpacking adventures. Her debut, Finding Color, took home the Silver in the 2024 Global Book Awards for Humor and Satire, and it’s...

Join the conversation, text us now. Hello My Happy People, I hope you all survived the Halloween Season and are ready to join us as we move into the final stretch of Season 4 of Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt – Book Talk Podcast. As the holiday shopping season draws near we are going to bring even more great books to help you check off every avid reader you will need a gift for. Today I welcome YA fantasy author Heather Ogden, whose writing blends magical realism with the emotional de...

Join the conversation, text us now. Hello My Happy Fiends, This is my favorite time of year. Today on Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt I celebrate with a hauntingly good discussion with award-winning author K.T. Anglehart, creator of The Scottish Scrolls trilogy. Her stories weave Celtic folklore, reincarnation, and the pull of destiny into modern-day magic that feels just right for seasonal reading in October. K.T.’s debut, The Wise One, won the Chanticleer Paranormal Book Award and earne...

Join the conversation, text us now. Hello My Happy Fiends, Halloween is quickly approaching and the nights are growing darker, a perfect time to read a great thriller. Which is why I'm sharing my chat with award-winning author Chad Boudreaux with you all today. We discussed his latest thriller, Homecoming Queen, and all of his incredible work. His latest book delivers the perfect amount of chills in the form of a dangerous storm, long buried secrets, and struggles for survival. What more cou...

Join the conversation, text us now. Hello My Happy Halloween Fiends, We are just spiriting away though this Halloween season. Today is another hauntingly good episode with award-winning, best-selling author, and podcaster, Tricia Copeland. Tricia joins me for a magical episode of Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt–Book Talk Podcast. Tricia believes magic infuses every part of life and love, aided by the stories that transport us to new worlds. Her Realm Chronicles series begins with To Be a ...

Join the conversation, text us now. Bleeped words: Murd3r/Su!c!de, K!ller Hello My Happy Fiends, My favorite time of year is in full swing. In this hauntingly good episode of Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt – Book Talk Podcast, I sit down with J.E. Weiner, the author who’s turning heads and raising goosebumps with her Southern Gothic debut, The Wretched and Undone. Set in the mist-shrouded hills of Texas on the eve of the Civil War, this novel is a genre-bending tale of ghosts, grief, and...

Join the conversation, text us now. Bleeped words: Murd3r, k!ller (x2) Hello My Happy People, This week on Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt – Book Talk Podcast, we kick off our Hauntingly Good Reads for Halloween with debut middle grade author Carol Williams. We talked about her new book The Supernatural Files of CJ Delaney. CJ Delaney is a spirited and curious kid reporter whose summer vacation takes a wild turn with ghost dogs, mysterious symbols, and plenty of small-town secrets. Blen...

Join the conversation, text us now. Bleeped Words: Murd3r, s3xual (2x), rap3, k!llers, hum@n traff!ck!ng (5x), dr*gs (3x), dr*g Hello My Happy People, This week on Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt – Book Talk Podcast, Dianne welcomes retired Air Force Special Agent Derrick Jackson, author of the military thriller Shadow One: Based on a True Story. Drawing on his 21 years of experience in the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Jackson delivers a gripping story that blen...

Join the conversation, text us now. Bleeped word: Murd3rbot Hello Happy People, In this week’s episode of Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt – Book Talk Podcast, I share my chat with award-winning science fiction author and microbiologist Joan Slonczewski. Known for weaving real science into imaginative worlds, Joan’s novels explore everything from microbial intelligence to feminist futures. Her latest book, Minds in Transit, takes listeners into the dazzling city of Iridis, where huma...

Join the conversation, text us now. Bleeped words: murd3rbot (twice), k!lled Hello My Happy People, This week on Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt, I talk with author, journalist, and martial artist Jason Brick about his mission to make families safer. With decades of martial arts training, work as a bodyguard, and experience as a dad, Jason brings unique insight into personal safety and violence prevention. In our chat, we highlight his book There I Was…When Nothing Happened: True Tales of...

Join the conversation, text us now. Bleeped words: S3x, S3xuality (Twice) Hello My Happy People, Judy Blume transformed how young readers understood themselves and the world around them. In this episode of Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt – Book Talk Podcast, bestselling author and cultural writer Rachelle Bergstein joins me to talk about her book, The Genius of Judy: How Judy Blume Rewrote Childhood for All of Us. Her book explores Blume’s life, groundbreaking novels, and enduring influen...

Join the conversation, text us now. Bleeped words: k!lled (twice), d!ed Hello My Happy People, This week on Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt – Book Talk Podcast, I sit down with Qin (“Ching”) Sun Stubis, award-winning author of Once Our Lives. Her memoir shares the unforgettable story of four generations of Chinese women who endured war, revolution, superstition, and persecution, yet still found strength, hope, and resilience. Born in a Shanghai shantytown during the Great Chinese Famine, ...

Join the conversation, text us now. Hello My Happy People, This week on Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt – Book Talk Podcast, I am joined by Marcia Peck, an award-winning author and lifelong musician who has spent over 50 years as a cellist with the Minnesota Orchestra. Marcia brings her love of rhythm, melody, and storytelling together in her debut novel, Water Music: A Cape Cod Story. Her novel has been celebrated with multiple honors, including the Literary Titan Gold Award, National In...