The Bookshop Podcast

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In this episode, I’m joined by Cecile Pin, the acclaimed author of Wandering Souls, to discuss her latest novel, Celestial Lights, and the deeper questions it raises about identity, ambition, and what we sacrifice when we decide who we want to become.

Cecile takes us from her multicultural upbringing in Paris and New York City to her study of philosophy in London. We dig into how living between cultures can give a writer real creative range. We also get specific about craft: what it means to write in English as a second language, why rhythm matters, and how she thinks about “show, don’t tell” when emotional truth demands something sharper.

Cecile and I chat about moving from publishing to writing her own fiction, the vulnerability of touring a deeply personal debut, and why she started Celestial Lights, hoping for distance, only to find that the heart always shows up. 
From Europa research and NASA details to astronaut memoirs, mission constraints, and the novel’s alternating space logs, Cecile shares how she built a believable world without turning the book into a textbook. If you love literary fiction, speculative sci-fi, and character-driven novels that stay grounded in relationships, you’ll find plenty to take with you. 

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Cecile Pin
Celestial Lights, Cecile Pin
Wandering Souls, Cecile Pin
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The Bookshop Podcast
Mandy Jackson-Beverly
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A teenage girl grows up in a Montana cabin with no school, no neighbors, and one constant lesson from her father: modern life is a trap and authority is the enemy. Then she finds a photograph that doesn’t fit the story she’s been told, and the only way to learn the truth is to run straight toward the world he fears most: 1990s San Francisco at the birth of the internet boom.

In this episode, I’m joined by New York Times bestselling author Janelle Brown to talk about her novel What Kind of Paradise and the real-life early tech era that shaped it, from Wired to the first wave of digital optimism. We get into why writing about technology in the present tense is so hard, and what it means to look back on the web’s “revolutionary” promise after decades of addiction, distorted discourse, and an always-on life.

We also go deep on craft, character, and point of view. Janelle explains why she wrote the father’s backstory in second person—the "you" voice—making it a psychological shield and a subtle manipulation. For this novel, Janelle researched extremism, including works on Ted Kaczynski, while still making a complicated father feel frighteningly human. Along the way, we unpack legacy, parenting, identity, and her sharp question for all of us: how much are we letting technology dictate who we become, and what guardrails do we actually want for AI and platforms?

If you like literary thrillers, author interviews, and big conversations about technology and society, hit play, then subscribe, share the episode, and leave a review wherever you listen.
THE NARRATIVE EXCHANGE
JANELLE BROWN
WHAT KIND OF PARADISE
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In this episode, I chat with Andrea and Jordan Minter, third-generation managers of Russell Books in Victoria, British Columbia. Ww trace how a packed Montreal dining room helped spark a business that grew into one of Canada’s most beloved independent bookstores.

We talk about what it’s really like to manage a high-volume shop that carries new books, used books, antiquarian and rare books, remainders, and signed copies. Andrea and Jordan explain how daily trade-ins and estate buying shape the shelves in unpredictable waves, why regulars keep coming back to browse, and how modern systems make it possible to shelve new and used editions side by side without losing track of inventory. If you care about book curation, bookselling instincts, and the quiet craft behind a great browsing experience, you’ll leave with a clearer picture of what keeps an indie bookshop thriving.

Then we get into the fun: the surprising items found inside secondhand books and the behind-the-scenes story of Russell Books’ Guinness World Record book tower built for their grand opening in 2019. We close with what they’re reading right now and a few Victoria travel tips for hiking trails, coffee shops, bakeries, and the local food scene. Subscribe, share this with a fellow book lover, and leave a review wherever you listen.
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In this episode, I chat with Nikky Dunne from Heywood Hill in Mayfair, London.
Step behind the door of a London landmark and discover why a great independent bookshop still beats like a human heart. I chat with Nikky Dunne, bookseller-in-chief at Heywood Hill in Mayfair, to unpack ninety years of tailored bookselling, a wartime chapter powered by Nancy Mitford’s wit, and a present-day practice built on listening first and recommending second. From brown-paper parcels to rare firsts, Nikky shows how curation, not scale, creates lasting value for readers who crave depth, surprise, and beauty.

Across two floors of a Georgian townhouse, Heywood Hill blends new, old, and antiquarian books into a living catalogue where literature, history, architecture, biography, travel, and children’s titles coexist. Nikky explains how the shop sustains its mission with three pillars: research-led library building for homes and offices worldwide, a bespoke subscription service that interviews readers to match their tastes, and a rare book program that partners with passionate collectors. It’s a portrait of bookselling as craftsmanship; intimate, precise, and often delightfully demanding.

We also celebrate the publishers who keep literature adventurous. Independent presses like Fitzcarraldo and Pushkin bring bold voices and translations to younger readers hungry for challenging ideas, proving that serious books have a vibrant audience. The theme is consistent: human rhythms, not algorithms. When a bookseller listens well, a reader’s world widens.

If you believe bookstores are more than retail, places of serendipity, memory, and conversation, this story will feel like home. Subscribe, share with a book-loving friend, and leave a review to help others find the show. What book shifted your reading life? Tell us.
Heywood Hill
Fitzcaraldo Editions
Pushkin Press
Héloïse Press
Charco Press

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A coastal drive, a hard pivot, and a bookstore built on happy endings. 
In this episode, I chat with Mae Tingstrom, founder and owner of Smitten Books in Ventura. Mae explains how a former tech professional learned to say no, embraced a niche, and turned a retail space into a community hub. From digging trenches and pulling drywall to stocking shelves with books written by women and non-binary authors, her journey is equal parts grit and heart.

We trace the moment she left the Bay Area for a smaller town, why construction took twice the time and three times the budget, and how boundaries saved both her energy and her mission. Mae shares how coffee retail led to a bigger idea: a bookstore that online shopping can’t replicate, because the value isn’t just the book—it’s the community. Think six free book clubs across genres, writing and tarot circles, live music, and workshops that give adults a place to meet outside bars and school pickup lines. Purchases don’t just stay local; they fund the programming that keeps neighbors connected.

Romance is the store’s backbone for a reason: it sells, it heals, and it promises a satisfying ending when the world feels unstable. But listening to readers broadened the catalog—fantasy, general fiction, and a women-authored horror and suspense club now thrive alongside rom-coms and self-care. We also get into Main Street dynamics, from parking advocacy with neighboring shops to the serendipity of foot traffic that still discovers Smitten daily. To cap it off, Mae walks us through a jam-packed Valentine’s Day and two-year anniversary lineup—sales, raffles, live music, hands-on workshops—and a used book fundraiser for a local dog rescue.

If you care about independent bookshops, community building, and the business realities behind feel-good spaces, you’ll find practical insight and plenty of heart here. Subscribe, share this episode with a friend who loves indie bookshops, and leave a review to help more listeners discover these stories.
Smitten Bookstore
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