Indie Reads Aloud: A Storytelling Podcast

Come, gather 'round. Grab a snack... and listen to a story.Each week, we'll feature an Indie Author with a story to tell. No long-winded interviews. No sales pitches. Just stories. Most of the stories we tell will be family-friendly, but if they're not, you'll get fair warning before the reading begins. If you want to discover more, investigate the story notes for links to the author and where to buy their books.

Indie Reads Aloud: A Storytelling Podcast is a arts podcast hosted by Diana Kathryn Penn, with 369 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 87. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Diana Kathryn Penn hosts Indie Reads Aloud: A Storytelling Podcast, a arts show with 369 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #321

  Episode #321 TK Cassidy with "Hoodah Hitchins"

  Aug 12, 202625 minS5

  The Whoodah girls are back again! Safe on the farm with the new men in tow, there is nothing left to do but get married! Not just one wedding will do. Oh, no! Not with these three characters. Think my Big Fat Greek Wedding times three. From runaway horses to a crazed barn rat, these weddings will keep you wondering what's next and giggling into your coffee! Watch for Book One: Whooda Thunkit and The Girls , Coming Soon as a feature film, produced by Wild Filly Productions, and directed by Michael Lembeck! ABOUT THE AUTHOR: TK Cassidy is the author of eight books, including Whoodah Thunket and the Girls, currently being adapted into a major motion picture. As an alumna of five universities, she holds a B.S. in English, an M.L.I.S. in Library Science, and an Ed.D. in Virtual Education. She is the recipient of the Maga Lahi Humanities Award, the Mary Anne Pfenninger National Literary Award and has several more books in the works. After forty years of traveling, she has returned home to Montana. Learn More at https://www.dkpwriter.com/indie-reads-aloud-season-5

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  Episode #320

  Episode #320 Kristoffer Gair with "Johnny Ultra"

  Aug 4, 202629 minS5

  Not all heroes are adults. Tragedy struck Gabriel Fletcher at the age of eight. Losing his parents felt catastrophic enough, but to be sent to live with his aunt and uncle who didn’t want him? Life couldn’t get much worse. Sho Tashiro only ever wanted a best friend—someone to share adventures and play video games with—and who wouldn’t make fun of his heritage or treat him like a sidekick. Little did they know their meeting and years of friendship that followed might be more than fate. What if every world in every universe had a Gabriel and a Sho? And what would happen if Earth was invaded by a creature that threatened to annihilate everything they loved? One trained in martial arts + one with self-proclaimed superior Asian genetics = a friendship and adventure that feels like they jumped right out of their favorite science fiction TV shows and movies they watched as children! The fate of the world is in the hands of two fifteen-year-old boys. What could go wrong? ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michigan-based author Kristoffer Gair wrote his first puppet play in 1st Grade and continued writing in one form or another from that point on. Much of it was crap, but there were tiny nuggets of potential mixed in with the likes of Pickle Pony Gets A Puzzle . He spent three of his years at Fraser High School performing in plays, then attended Grand Valley State University where he graduated with degrees in Film & Video and Creative Writing. The first professional piece Kristoffer completed was Honor Unbound , a historical non-fiction novel he co-wrote with retired Fraser High School teacher Diane Abbott. He then went solo, donned the pseudonym Kage Alan, wrote several comedy novels within the LGBTQ genre, and contributed to a series of comedic anthologies (affectionately known as the Butt-Thology ). Kristoffer shed his pseudonym in 2017 and has since published under his real name, starting and continuing on with the Falling Awake series, a serious departure from his previous comedic novels. When not writing and editing, Kristoffer spends his days tormenting management at his day job, shopping at ALDI, being bossed around by the dog he inherited from his mother, playing Halo, listening to music, and going to see The Motels play in concert whenever they're in the area. Learn More at https://www.dkpwriter.com/indie-reads-aloud-season-5

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  Episode #316

  Episode #316 Nora Gold with "Marrow and Other Stories"

  May 19, 202638 minS5

  LISTENER ADVISORY: Mature Situations The stories in this book are about women: passionate, intelligent, eccentric women, all of whom in their own way are struggling to find meaning, overcome grief, and become, somehow, more fully alive – whether intellectually, emotionally, or sexually. One of them is obsessed with irrigating a desert, another with a baby she has lost, a third seeks redemption and love through dangerous sex. One woman hasn't left her house in twenty years, another falls in love with her rabbi, while yet another, after a year of mourning, begins returning to the world through singing aloud a prayer. These women are memorable for their individuality, their vividness, and their emotional and psychological depth – as are these stories, all of them beautifully written, poetic, and powerful. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dr. Nora Gold is the prize-winning author of six books. Her first book, MARROW AND OTHER STORIES, won a Vine Canadian Jewish Book Award and was praised by Alice Munro. FIELDS OF EXILE won the inaugural Canadian Jewish Literary Award for best novel and was acclaimed by Ruth Wisse and Irwin Cotler. THE DEAD MAN won a translation grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. 18: JEWISH STORIES TRANSLATED FROM 18 LANGUAGES, an anthology of translated works, was praised by Publishers Weekly, Cynthia Ozick, and Dara Horn. Gold’s fifth book was comprised of two much-acclaimed novellas: IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH/YOM KIPPUR IN A GYM (two novellas). Her latest book, the novella DOUBLES, was published on May 1, 2026. In addition, Gold is the founder and editor-in-chief of the prestigious literary journal JEWISH FICTION, which has published 650 works of Jewish-themed fiction, never before published in English, that were originally written in 23 languages. WWW.JEWISHFICTION.COM Learn More at https://www.dkpwriter.com/indie-reads-aloud-season-5

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  Episode #314

  Episode #314 Nora Gold with "Doubles"

  May 19, 202628 minS5

  Doubles takes place in 1968 in an institution for troubled youth, and is told from the perspective of a brilliant, spunky, 12-year-old girl who is obsessed with math. Engagingly written and often funny, this novella explores how a sensitive young teenager changes over a six-month period from a polite, quiet “good girl” into a delinquent. Although set in the past, Doubles has direct relevance to today, with our recently heightened awareness of the harsh reality in some of our residential institutions during that era (including for Indigenous children, but not only). ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dr. Nora Gold is the prize-winning author of six books. Her first book, MARROW AND OTHER STORIES, won a Vine Canadian Jewish Book Award and was praised by Alice Munro. FIELDS OF EXILE won the inaugural Canadian Jewish Literary Award for best novel and was acclaimed by Ruth Wisse and Irwin Cotler. THE DEAD MAN won a translation grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. 18: JEWISH STORIES TRANSLATED FROM 18 LANGUAGES, an anthology of translated works, was praised by Publishers Weekly, Cynthia Ozick, and Dara Horn. Gold’s fifth book was comprised of two much-acclaimed novellas: IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH/YOM KIPPUR IN A GYM (two novellas). Her latest book, the novella DOUBLES, was published on May 1, 2026. In addition, Gold is the founder and editor-in-chief of the prestigious literary journal JEWISH FICTION, which has published 650 works of Jewish-themed fiction, never before published in English, that were originally written in 23 languages. Learn More at https://www.dkpwriter.com/indie-reads-aloud-season-5

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  Episode #318

  Episode #318 MT Lynx and "The BAllad of Inyanna Mortseoule"

  May 19, 202638 minS5

  LISTENER ADVISORY: STRONG LANGUAGE, MATURE SITUATIONS In a war-torn kingdom, love becomes a weapon, and betrayal ignites a relentless thirst for vengeance. In the battle-scarred realm of Endolia, where political intrigue coils through court and battlefield alike, loyalty is fragile, and passion can be deadly. Lady Inyanna Mortseoule has long resisted the suffocating expectations of nobility, choosing distance over duty. But when she encounters Lynksha, a brilliant and haunted war commander whose strength is rivaled only by the darkness within him, her world begins to fracture. Bound by a forbidden and consuming love, they defy honor, allegiance, and the fragile order holding Endolia together. As war looms ever closer, their connection burns brighter and more dangerous. Until betrayal shatters everything. Driven by loss and stripped of trust, Inyanna is thrust into a ruthless pursuit of vengeance. To survive, she must navigate a world of shifting alliances, treacherous power, and hidden truths, where every decision carries a cost and every ally may become an enemy. As the warfront closes in, she must decide: Will she rise to reshape Endolia, or be consumed by the very forces she unleashes? ABOUT THE AUTHOR: As a member of a deployed family, Lynx grew up in Europe and gained an appreciation for diverse cultures at an early age. A recipient of several National Library of Poetry awards, Lynx has always enjoyed writing as a creative outlet and this has led to both the Award Winning Project Agosha and the newly released Myths of Endolia series, as well as the Bleuffy comics. M.T. Lynx is a South Carolina based author and can be found playing D&D with friends or spending time with family and her two editor-cats. Learn More at https://www.dkpwriter.com/indie-reads-aloud-season-5

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