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 Intro

00:10 Retreat Goals Tradeoffs

02:14 Readings Libraries Events

03:45 Networking Author Lessons

05:54 Artsy Southern Pines Vibe

07:53 Greece Roots Dreams

09:15 Netflix Scam Emails

12:12 Audience Feedback New Book

13:53 Herbal Remedies Disclaimer

16:04 Who Reads Today

19:56 Kids Reading Habits

21:58 Books vs Movies Debate

23:28 Is Reading Coming Back

25:36 Instant Gratification Worries

30:18 Why Reading Matters

36:55 Phones Attention Spans

38:15 Text Speak and Vocabulary Loss

39:32 Reading Builds Young Minds

42:01 Phones Replace Conversation

44:09 Reading and Math Foundations

46:58 Stories Over Screens

50:43 Why AI Narration Falls Flat

55:02 Future of Reading and Patience

01:00:08 Book Talk and Recommendations

01:05:21 World War I and Learning History

01:11:04 Read and Write Goodbye

Music: artlist.io

Teri shares feeling overwhelmed by multiple upcoming projects and events, including a book launch in April, an anthology short story release in May, a recent short story collection printing delay, a two-week writers’ retreat, becoming a grandmother again, and a July residency in Greece with travel through Barcelona and Rome. Teri and Edith discuss Teri’s humorous contemporary novel Unhinged, scheduled for April 7, and the challenges of writing sustained humor and maintaining a consistent narrative voice. Edith describes using strict word-count flash fiction prompts with 13-year-old ESL students and a school collaboration with a nearby retirement home, prompting talk about compiling student work into a booklet. They also cover author feedback and reviews, the “characters talking” writing process, scheduling challenges, Amazon pricing differences across markets, and how publishers and designers affect pricing, covers, and interior formatting, including Teri’s work on the Carolina Tides local-author anthology.

00:00 Welcome Back

00:25 Launch Season Chaos

01:34 Travel Plans and Meetups

03:57 Unhinged Release Talk

06:23 Writing Humor and Voice

08:34 Women of a Certain Age

11:02 Teaching Flash Fiction

15:09 Prompts and Student Stories

19:52 Publishing Kids Work

23:24 Reviews and Creative Flow

28:53 Writing Life and Workspace

33:34 Book Pricing Sticker Shock

38:28 Pricing Books Right

39:45 Amazon Market Differences

42:55 Tracking and Shipping Costs

46:02 Author Control and Covers

48:10 Cover Trends and Branding

53:56 Designers and Interiors

59:01 Anthology Teamwork Challenges

01:04:55 Editors and Reader Clarity

01:12:35 Book Recommendations Wrap

Music: artlist.io

In this episode of the Teri and Edith Show, Teri and Edith share their struggles and stories about surviving the harsh winter weather across different locations, Vienna and North Carolina. They discuss their personal experiences with snowstorms, freezing rains, and finding alternative heat sources. They also dive deeply into book recommendations that span historical fiction, crime mysteries, and poignant memoirs. Exciting updates about meetups with other authors and upcoming novels are shared, alongside amusing and frustrating experiences with book cover design. The episode is sprinkled with humor and insightful conversations about human nature, the importance of reading, and reflections on teaching students. Join Teri and Edith for an engaging discussion packed with storytelling, book recommendations, and a peek into the lives of authors.

00:00 Welcome to the Teri and Edith Show

00:18 Winter Woes: Weather Updates from Vienna and North Carolina

04:28 Exciting News: Kimberly's Visit to Vienna

06:01 Feisty Deeds and Short Stories

13:08 Book Recommendations and Literary Discussions

16:19 The Impact of Historical Events on Literature

28:15 The Art of Reading: Personal Preferences and Recommendations

22:44 Analyzing the Craft of Writing

37:25 The Joys and Challenges of Reading Nonfiction

38:39 The Temptation of Buying Books

39:21 Podcasting and Book Consumption

43:59 The Reality of Teaching

48:19 Encouraging Children to Read

57:11 The Frustrations of Book Cover Design

01:13:45 The Importance of Reading

Music:artlist.io