Bubbles and Books

We are excited to welcome Dog-Eared Books' best-selling author to the Bubbles & Books podcast! Amanda & Ellyn have popped the bubbles and are chatting all about Kristen's adult cozy mystery How to Solve Your Own Murder and its sequel How to Seal Your Own Fate.

Her books are full of twisty plots and eclectic characters, and she's sharing how she crafts a mystery that's both page-turning and comforting. We chat about the appeal of the cozy crime genre, what it's like writing in an English village setting from abroad, and a few hints about what’s next in her literary world. 

 

Books recommended by Kristen Perrin:

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

Voyage of the Damned by Frances White

All the Colors of the Dark by Christ Whitaker

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

 

Kristen will be at Boucher Con! Learn more about it HERE

Order your copy of How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin HERE

Order your copy of How to Seal Your Own Fate by Kristen Perrin HERE

Discover other books by Kristen Perrin HERE

Follow Kristen Perrin on Instagram HERE

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Make sure to subscribe and rate the Bubbles & Books Podcast. And don't forget to share it with your friends.

Learn more about a Dog-Eared Books book subscription HERE.

Follow us on Instagram: @bubblesandbookspodcast

Follow Dog-Eared Books on Instagram: @dogearedbooksames

Interested in audiobooks? Listen while supporting Dog-Eared Books HERE.

Visit us! www.dogearedbooksames.com

In today's episode Amanda & Ellyn are breaking down the data from Indie Bookstore Day and giving you the best-sellers, how many passports we gave out, and special anecdotes we noticed throughout the day. Thank you to our listeners who came out to Dog-Eared Books and those who also participated in the Central Iowa Indie Bookstore Day passport. And especially to those who said "Chambong me b*tch." We love you.

As hear on the podcast: 

Follow Annie B. Jones on Instagram

Listen to From the Front Porch Podcast

 

What we're drinking | French Blue Rose Brut

Ellyn's Currently Reading | Mystery Royale by Kaitlyn Cavalancia, Ordinary Times by Annie B. Jones, & Murder in the Dollhouse by Rich Cohen

Amanda's Currently Reading | The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson & The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett

Books coming out this week | Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (now in paperback) & The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner 

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Make sure to subscribe and rate the Bubbles & Books Podcast. And don't forget to share it with your friends.

Learn more about a Dog-Eared Books book subscription HERE.

Follow us on Instagram: @bubblesandbookspodcast

Follow Dog-Eared Books on Instagram: @dogearedbooksames

Interested in audiobooks? Listen while supporting Dog-Eared Books HERE.

Visit us! www.dogearedbooksames.com

We put it out there and asked everyone who follows us on social media to ask us anything. From bookish to random, Ellyn and Amanda are sharing everything.

This Saturday, April 26, 2025 spend your day visiting Indie Bookstores for Indie Bookstore Day! The Central Iowa Indie Bookstores have brought back the passport challenge. Visit all the indies in two days to win a grand prize!

What we're drinking | Cocktails from Della Viti

Ellyn's Currently Reading | Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry & The Greatest Possible Good by Ben Brooks

Amanda's Currently Reading | How to Seal Your Own Fate by Kristen Perrin & The Island of Last Things by Emma Sloley

Rachel's Currently Reading | The Underground Girls of Kabul by Jenny Nordberg

Books coming out this week | Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

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Make sure to subscribe and rate the Bubbles & Books Podcast. And don't forget to share it with your friends.

Learn more about a Dog-Eared Books book subscription HERE.

Follow us on Instagram: @bubblesandbookspodcast

Follow Dog-Eared Books on Instagram: @dogearedbooksames

Interested in audiobooks? Listen while supporting Dog-Eared Books HERE.

Visit us! www.dogearedbooksames.com

Ellyn has a game for Amanda & Rachel... and they're not very good at it. This episode is a fun one of chatting current reads and testing our bookish knowledge.

Get tickets for Kevin Wilson at Dog-Eared Books HERE

What we're drinking | Cocktails from Della Viti

Ellyn's Currently Reading | Vera, or Faith by Gary Shteyngart & Say You'll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez

Amanda's Currently Reading | Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry & The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson

Rachel's Currently Reading | The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar & The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei

Books coming out this week | Wild and Wrangle by Lyla Sage

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Make sure to subscribe and rate the Bubbles & Books Podcast. And don't forget to share it with your friends.

Learn more about a Dog-Eared Books book subscription HERE.

Follow us on Instagram: @bubblesandbookspodcast

Follow Dog-Eared Books on Instagram: @dogearedbooksames

Interested in audiobooks? Listen while supporting Dog-Eared Books HERE.

Visit us! www.dogearedbooksames.com

It's a very exciting episode, because Amanda and Ellyn are joined by fellow indie bookstore owner Abbey Paxton. Abbey owns Storyhouse Bookpub, located in the East Village of Des Moines. Today Amanda, Ellyn, and Abbey chat about the indie bookstore industry, the good and bad parts of owning a indie bookstore, and the exciting things we have coming up for Indie Bookstore Day 2025. 

Mark you calendars for the last weekend in April because the Central Iowa Indie Bookstore Day Passport is back! Visit all nine indie bookstores on the passport to celebrate and have the chance to win a $100 gift card to the last bookstore you visit. 

Order a Raygun t-shirt to wear on Indie Bookstore Day and to support Annie's Foundation: ORDER HERE

Follow Storyhouse Bookpub on Instagram: FOLLOW HERE

Ellyn's Currently Reading | Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green, Say You'll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez & Horse by Geraldine Brooks

Amanda's Currently Reading | The Greatest Possible Good by Ben Brooks & Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall

Abbey's Currently Reading | The Mushroom at the End of the World by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing

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Make sure to subscribe and rate the Bubbles & Books Podcast. And don't forget to share it with your friends.

Learn more about a Dog-Eared Books book subscription HERE.

Follow us on Instagram: @bubblesandbookspodcast

Follow Dog-Eared Books on Instagram: @dogearedbooksames

Interested in audiobooks? Listen while supporting Dog-Eared Books HERE.

Visit us! www.dogearedbooksames.com

If you listen to Bubbles & Books, you should know how excited we are about today's guest's upcoming book, "Sky Daddy." Iowa Native Kate Folk joins us to chat about how she came up with the genius novel about a woman who is attracted to planes and hopes to one day be wed to an actual plane in a very tragic way.

What may seem like a ridiculous and hilarious novel is a beautiful one about friendship and what it means to be human. We can't wait to see "Sky Daddy" hit shelves on April 8, but in the meantime, listen to this great Bubbles & Books episode with Kate. As Ellyn says, "Sky Daddy" has the secret sauce to a great book. 

Order your copy of "Sky Daddy" by Kate Folk HERE

Follow Kate Folk on Instagram HERE

Follow Sky Daddy Linda on Instagram HERE

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Make sure to subscribe and rate the Bubbles & Books Podcast. And don't forget to share it with your friends.

Learn more about a Dog-Eared Books book subscription HERE.

Follow us on Instagram: @bubblesandbookspodcast

Follow Dog-Eared Books on Instagram: @dogearedbooksames

Interested in audiobooks? Listen while supporting Dog-Eared Books HERE.

Visit us! www.dogearedbooksames.com

We have indie bookstore supporter, our friend, and Dog-Eared best-selling author Denise Williams on today's episode of Bubbles & Books. She joins Ellyn and Amanda to chat all about her upcoming book Just Our Luck, the romance genre, and donuts (duh.) Denise has published nine novels including Technically Yours and her debut novel How to Fail at Flirting which just so happens to be the first book to ever grace the shelves of Dog-Eared Books.

Her next book Just Our Luck comes out March 25, and we can't wait to host Denise on pub day in conversation with author Ali Hazelwood. Get your tickets today!

Follow Denise on Instagram HERE

Ellyn's Currently Reading | So Far Gone by Jess Walter & Tilt by Emma Pattee

Amanda's Currently Reading |  Just Our Luck by Denise Williams, Deep End by Ali Hazelwood, & So Far Gone by Jess Walter

Denise's Currently Reading | In A Jam by Kate Canterbary, Unead and Unwed by Sam Tschida, & When Javi Dumped Mari by Mia Sosa

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Make sure to subscribe and rate the Bubbles & Books Podcast. And don't forget to share it with your friends.

Learn more about a Dog-Eared Books book subscription HERE.

Follow us on Instagram: @bubblesandbookspodcast

Follow Dog-Eared Books on Instagram: @dogearedbooksames

Interested in audiobooks? Listen while supporting Dog-Eared Books HERE.

Visit us! www.dogearedbooksames.com

We have THE Nicole Cuffy on today's episode. Her upcoming novel O Sinners!, our March 18, 2025 needs to be on your TBR asap. In O Sinners! a young journalist, reeling from loss, investigates a mysterious cult in the California redwoods, only to be drawn in by its charismatic leader—an addictive novel that asks why people give up control and what it takes, ultimately, to find your place in the world.

Cuffy is the author of Dances, longlisted for the Carol Shields prize for fiction and the Pen/Hemingway award. Cuffy has a MFA from The New School. She is a lecturer at the University of Maryland and American University. Her work can be found in Mason’s Road, The Master’s Review Volume VI (curated by Roxane Gay), Chautauqua, and Blue Mesa Review, and her chapbook, Atlas of the Body, won the Chautauqua Janus Prize and was a finalist for the Black River Chapbook Competition.

Follow Nicole on instagram: @nikk2cole

Songs recommended by Nicole when working on O Sinners!

Fortunate Son by Credence Clearwater Revival

Marvin Gaye

A Change is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke

Blowin' in the Wind by Bob Dylan

Watch on Netflix: Wild Wild Country

Books Nicole recommends:

Lone Women by Victor Lavalle

Model Home by River Solomon

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Make sure to subscribe and rate the Bubbles & Books Podcast. And don't forget to share it with your friends.

Learn more about a Dog-Eared Books book subscription HERE.

Follow us on Instagram: @bubblesandbookspodcast

Follow Dog-Eared Books on Instagram: @dogearedbooksames

Interested in audiobooks? Listen while supporting Dog-Eared Books HERE.

Visit us! www.dogearedbooksames.com

 

Amanda & Ellyn are yapping. And as much as they like to think they're in the know with the youths, they sometimes are a little behind on the times. Hence, teaching them all about yapping. Rachel gave them a list of different topics and yap they did.

 

Ellyn's Currently Reading | American Mythology by Gino Cromely

Amanda's Currently Reading |  The Favorites by Layne Fargo 

Books coming out this week | Deep End by Ali Hazelwood & The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune

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Make sure to subscribe and rate the Bubbles & Books Podcast. And don't forget to share it with your friends.

Learn more about a Dog-Eared Books book subscription HERE.

Follow us on Instagram: @bubblesandbookspodcast

Follow Dog-Eared Books on Instagram: @dogearedbooksames

Interested in audiobooks? Listen while supporting Dog-Eared Books HERE.

Visit us! www.dogearedbooksames.com

What is happening in our country feels very scary and very dark. But if there's one thing Timothy Snyder taught us, it's "Don't obey in advance." We hope today's episode can offer you a bright moment in these chaotic times. 

Books on authoritarian governments |

Autocracy, Inc by Anne Applebaum

The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon

Prophet Song by Paul Lynch

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

As Mentioned in the podcast |

1. Des Moines Register Data Base on Banned Books in Iowa School

2. Follow Bess Kalb

Ellyn's Currently Reading | The Women by Kristin Hannah & The Secret History of the Rape Kit by Pagan Kennedy

Amanda's Currently Reading |  The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan 

Books coming out this week | Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson, Tartufo by Kira Jane Buxton, & The Crash by Freida McFadden

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Make sure to subscribe and rate the Bubbles & Books Podcast. And don't forget to share it with your friends.

Learn more about a Dog-Eared Books book subscription HERE.

Follow us on Instagram: @bubblesandbookspodcast

Follow Dog-Eared Books on Instagram: @dogearedbooksames

Interested in audiobooks? Listen while supporting Dog-Eared Books HERE.

Visit us! www.dogearedbooksames.com