Season 3

Oct. 26, 2024

Barbara Barrett

To avoid a midlife crisis, Barbara Barrett wrote fiction at night while still employed in human resources for Iowa State Government. After releasing eleven full-length romance novels and two novellas, she turned to the cozy …
Oct. 26, 2024

5-Minute Drill: Set Pieces

What is a set piece and where can I get one?
Oct. 26, 2024

5-Minute Drill: Setting

What do writers need to consider about Setting for their story?
Oct. 26, 2024

Tart Bites: Affogato

Two ingredients that make magic together.
Oct. 26, 2024

Tart Bites: Cherry Clafoutis

Easy French dessert for cherry season or any time.
Oct. 26, 2024

Hannah Dennison

British-born, Hannah Dennison originally moved to Los Angeles to pursue screenwriting. She has been an obituary reporter, antique dealer, private jet flight attendant, and Hollywood story analyst. These jobs have inspired he…
Oct. 26, 2024

Tart Bites: Puff Pancake

Fast, easy any-time meal.
Oct. 26, 2024

Russia Week - Tart Bites: Pryaniki (Russian Spice Cookies)

Settle in for a good read, a hot cuppa, and these delicious Russian spice cookies!
Oct. 26, 2024

Amy Vansant

In this episode, Linda Hengerer talks with Amy Vansant about her two upcoming releases. Find out what "Meat Bingo" is and what it has to do with Pineapple Cruise, and how Pineapple Circus came to have a circus setting.
Guest: Amy Vansant
Oct. 26, 2024

Mary Stewart's The Ivy Tree

Suzanne Fox and Linda Hengerer are discussing Mary Stewart’s book The Ivy Tree and how she uses Brat Farrar, Josephine Tey’s fictional take on a real-life situation, to guide the reader in one direction before taking them so…
Guest: Suzanne Fox
Oct. 26, 2024

Tart Bites: Honey for Cheese (and Crackers)

Honey for Cheese? Yes, please!
Oct. 26, 2024

Russia Week - Encore: Emilya Naymark

Join me for the first themed Tart Words podcast week. It begins Monday with an encore presentation of Emilya Naymark's episode.
Oct. 26, 2024

Russia Week - Dick Francis's Trial Run

Linda Hengerer talks about Dick Francis’s book Trial Run, and how he uses setting to emphasize the story, shows how societal expectations affect actions, and how to build characters for story.
Oct. 25, 2024

Alan Orloff

Linda Hengerer talks with Alan Orloff, whose latest YA thriller I Play One on TV came out from Down & Out Books on July 19, 2021. Alan Orloff won an ITW Thriller Award for his novel, PRAY FOR THE INNOCENT, and he won a Derri…
Guest: Alan Orloff
Oct. 25, 2024

Mary Stewart's Thunder on the Right

Suzanne Fox and Linda Hengerer are discussing Mary Stewart’s book Thunder on the Right and how she uses omniscient point of view, how her protagonist differs from her usual protagonist, and why we think this might have been …
Guest: Suzanne Fox
Oct. 25, 2024

S'mores Coffee Break

No grill? No problem! Learn how to make s'mores any time.
Oct. 25, 2024

Neil S. Plakcy

Neil S. Plakcy is the author of over fifty gay romance, gay mystery and adventure, and cozy mystery novels. His eclectic work career includes stints in shopping mall construction, web development, and computer game producing.
Oct. 25, 2024

Tart Bites: Rolled Cherry Sandwiches

What goes into a versatile cherry cream cheese filling or spread?
Oct. 25, 2024

Raquel V. Reyes

Raquel V. Reyes is the author of Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking, the second book in the Caribbean Kitchen Mystery series and available now. Mango, Mambo, and Murder, the first book in the series featuring Cuban-American cooki…
Aug. 29, 2021

Tart Bites: Rolled Cherry Sandwiches

What goes into a versatile cherry cream cheese filling or spread?
Aug. 26, 2021

5-Minute Drill: Set Pieces

What is a set piece, and how do I use it in a story?
Aug. 25, 2021

Barbara Barrett

What was the inspiration for Barbara Barrett's cozy mystery series?
Aug. 22, 2021

Tart Bites: Affogato

How is it that only two ingredients are so delicious?
Aug. 21, 2021

5-Minute Drill: Setting

What elements of setting do writers need to consider for their story?