This week in The Literary Lounge, Jennifer welcomes Katie Clapham, author of Receipts from a Bookshop and co-owner of Storytellers, Inc., an independent bookshop in a seaside town in England. Katie shares how her weekly Substack documenting the everyday happenings of her bookshop became a published book, the joys and challenges of life as an independent bookseller, and how she finds humor, inspiration, and stories in the most ordinary moments.

In this episode:

• The inspiration behind Receipts from a Bookshop and its journey from Substack to a published book
• How Katie and her mother opened Storytellers, Inc.
• The realities, rewards, and challenges of owning an independent bookshop
• The importance of supporting local bookstores and the communities that sustain them
• Finding humor, beauty, and inspiration in everyday observations
• Discovering and staying true to your authentic writing voice
• Katie's unique perspective on publishing as both an author and bookseller

Meet Katie Clapham

Katie Clapham is the co-founder, with her mother, of independent bookshop Storytellers, Inc. in a small seaside town in northwest England. She writes the popular Substack ‘Receipt from the Bookshop’, and is the author of several books for children and young adults. Katie lives with her husband, daughter and dog in Lytham St. Annes.

Connect with Katie

Substack: Receipts from a Bookshop

Follow on Instagram:

@katieclaphamwriting

@storytellers.inc

Purchase a copy of Receipts from a Bookshop

STAY CONNECTED

Subscribe to The Literary Lounge wherever you listen to podcasts for weekly conversations with authors, booksellers, and other voices from the literary world.

Continue the conversation on Substack for independent bookstore features, reading recommendations, and more from The Literary Lounge.

Instagram: @theliterarylounge.co

Substack: jennifercash.substack.com

ABOUT THE HOST

Jennifer Cash is the creator and host of The Literary Lounge. A writer and lifelong reader based in North Carolina, she also shares books, bookstores, literary travel, and the writing life at @readwithjennifer.

Life doesn't always unfold the way we imagine, but sometimes the most unexpected chapters lead us toward a new sense of purpose. This week, Jennifer welcomes author, speaker, and breast cancer survivor Dara Kurtz to The Literary Lounge. From losing her mother at a young age to navigating a breast cancer diagnosis and leaving a successful career in finance to pursue writing, Dara shares how life's challenges reshaped her priorities and inspired her to help others through her words.

Jennifer and Dara discuss the transformative power of gratitude, the lasting significance of handwritten letters, finding courage in vulnerability, and the unexpected paths that have shaped Dara's writing journey.

In This Episode

• Facing breast cancer: A life-changing diagnosis and finding purpose beyond treatment
• Navigating the ups and downs of publishing
• Gratitude: A transformative daily practice
• Prioritizing health, wellness, and intentional living
• The lost art of handwritten letters and the connections they preserve
• Passing down generational wisdom through letters, stories, and family traditions
• The power of vulnerability and writing through life's difficult experiences
• Transitioning from nonfiction to fiction: A new chapter in Dara's writing journey
• Building literary community and connecting readers and writers through Books & Banter

Meet Dara Kurtz

Dara Kurtz is the author of I am My Mother’s Daughter: Wisdom on Life, Loss, and Love (Mandel Vilar Press), Crush Cancer, and the daily tool Living with Gratitude. She contributed to On Being Jewish Now, edited by Zibby Owens. Dara created Crazy Perfect Life, which has over 200,000 social media followers; hosts the author series Books & Banter: Conversations with Dara Kurtz; and has appeared on more than eighty podcasts and TV shows.

Connect with Dara

crazyperfectlife.com

darakurtzauthor.substack.com

Follow on Instagram: @crazyperflife

Follow on Facebook

Purchase a copy of Dara’s Books:

• Crush Cancer: Personal Enlightenment From A Cancer Survivor
• I Am My Mother’s Daughter: Wisdom on Life, Loss, and Love
• Living With Gratitude: Count Your Blessings, Connect With Your Heart, and Nurture Your Soul

Books & Authors mentioned in this episode:

• On Being Jewish Now edited by Zibby Owens
• Rochelle B. Weinstein
• Zibby Owens
• Between Chapters by Zibby Owens

STAY CONNECTED

Subscribe to The Literary Lounge wherever you listen to podcasts for weekly conversations with authors, booksellers, and other voices from the literary world.

Continue the conversation on Substack for independent bookstore features, reading recommendations, and more from The Literary Lounge.

Instagram: @theliterarylounge.co

Substack: jennifercash.substack.com

ABOUT THE HOST

Jennifer Cash is the creator and host of The Literary Lounge. A writer and lifelong reader based in North Carolina, she also shares books, bookstores, literary travel, and the writing life at @readwithjennifer.

This week in The Literary Lounge, Jennifer welcomes author Emily Stone to chat about her newest festive romance, Counting Down to You, and why she’s drawn to exploring love, loss, and hope against the backdrop of the holiday season. Emily also takes us behind the scenes of her writing life, from writing speculative romance under her real name, Becky Hunter, and fantasy as one half of Ellis Hunter, to her road to publication, creative process, and what she’s working on next.

In This Episode

• The inspiration behind Counting Down to You and its Advent calendar challenges
• Writing about friendship, grief, and finding joy after loss
• Balancing the warmth and magic of Christmas with the heavier emotions woven throughout Emily's festive romances
• Emily’s approach to romance tropes
• Why she rewrote Counting Down to You from third person to first person
• The story behind the Emily Stone pen name and writing speculative romance under her real name, Becky Hunter
• Co-writing the bestselling fantasy romance Blood Bound as one half of Ellis Hunter
• Her writing process and how she juggles writing across multiple genres
• The long road from writing her first manuscript to publishing her first novel
• How her rescue ponies and dog help her step away from the writing desk

Meet Emily Stone

Emily Stone is the author of six festive romance novels, the latest of which is Counting Down to You. Emily has lived in many places over the years, including London, Wales, Cornwall, Germany and Mozambique. She has finally settled down in Bristol, in the UK, and spends most of her free time with her two little rescue ponies and rescue dog. Emily Stone is the pen name for Becky Hunter. In addition to her Christmas novels, she writes speculative romance under her own name and is also one half of Ellis Hunter, the co-author duo behind BLOOD BOUND, a fantasy romance which was a New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller earlier this year.

Connect with Emily

@emstonewrites

@beckyhunterbooks

Purchase a copy of Counting Down to You

Books mentioned in this episode:

Always, in December by Emily Stone

One Last Gift by Emily Stone

One Moment by Becky Hunter

Over and Over by Becky Hunter

Blood Bound by Ellis Hunter

You Make My Heart Stop by Becky Hunter

A Winter Wish by Emily Stone

STAY CONNECTED

Subscribe to The Literary Lounge wherever you listen to podcasts for weekly conversations with authors, booksellers, and other voices from the literary world.

Continue the conversation on Substack for independent bookstore features, reading recommendations, and more from The Literary Lounge.

Instagram: @theliterarylounge.co

Substack: jennifercash.substack.com

ABOUT THE HOST

Jennifer Cash is the creator and host of The Literary Lounge. A writer and lifelong reader based in North Carolina, she also shares books, bookstores, literary travel, and the writing life at @readwithjennifer.