Bookcast Episode 119: Barely-Made-It-To-The-Mic

So I almost didn't make it to the mic due to burnout and a hectic schedule, but I pushed through knowing (105 of) my listeners expect the BookCast on Mondays. I share my current reading progress (now at 67 books toward my 175-book goal for 2025), updates on my recent publishing activities, and the latest chapter of my *NSYNC fan fiction serial. 

I also open up about finding balance during politically challenging times, discussing how I'm creating a protective bubble around myself —not to remain uninformed, but to preserve my mental health and creative energy. 

Find full show notes, transcript and all the good stuff at my website- booksbydlwhite.com/bookcast/119.

Transcript

DL White [00:00:15]:
Well, hello everybody. Greetings and salutations to everyone within the sound of my voice. I hope this finds you well, wherever you might be. Welcome back to the book cast. This is my platform for sharing short fiction and updates on life as a self published author of romantic fiction that centers black love. I am your host. I am DL White. I'm an Atlanta based author of numerous novels, short stories, fan fiction works, all of them.

DL White [00:00:48]:
They all in there. So let's be real. I considered not doing an episode today because I am tired. I'm a little bit burnt out. It's been a really busy week, but I'm an avid podcast listener and I know what it's like to know what's coming up in your podcast feed on a particular day, like Monday, Wednesday, Friday. I always know the podcasts that are going to pop up and I am off. If there is a podcast that regularly updates that does not have an update in my feed on the day I expect it. And so then I get really ticked off and then I threatened to stop listening to said podcast and I never do, but I do threaten because it really ticks me off.

DL White [00:01:34]:
And so I'm trying not to be that podcast host. So I got up out of the bed. I did not take a nap as I, I was want to do. I got up and I planned for today's podcast episode. You are welcome. Today's Shorty McShorts short update is for you. Hi. Hello there.

DL White [00:01:54]:
Thanks for listening. If you enjoy this podcast and you are the type of person that's like, it's Monday. So I know there's a new book cast episode. Let me go find it and put it into my ears. I would love your support. The best way to help is to buy books directly from booksbydlwhite.com/shop. I offer ebooks and audiobooks at really great prices. It also means that I get paid tomorrow and not two months from now.

DL White [00:02:22]:
You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying? That's a good thing. That's a good thing. You can also get print editions of my books through my bookshop.org page, which supports both indie bookshops and me. And I really like that part. You can find the link to my bookshop page at booksbydlwhite.com/links. Let's get her going because I do wanna talk about the books and a little bit about the writing. Today is Sunday, 05/04/2025. It's a sunny, sunny day in Atlanta.

DL White [00:02:53]:
The temperature is actually not hot. Like, it's not cold, but it's not hot either. It's a perfect perfect spring day. I have a mic, and I'm ready to dig in. But first, would you like to join me for a beverage? Alright. I hope that was refreshing for you. The beverage this week is pretty much the same thing I've been drinking for a while now. Since I stopped doing my podcast in the morning, I'm no longer having coffee because coffee at 05:30PM would be disastrous.

DL White [00:03:51]:
Well, not really, actually. I can drink coffee at night and go right to sleep, but I don't drink coffee in the afternoon usually, unless I really, really have a taste for it. But I did have a Minute Maid zero sugar fruit punch with some Sprite Zero for a little razzle dazzle and fizz over ice. It's delicious. You should try it. Moving on to the book report. I am at 67 books read in 2025. That puts me eight books ahead of my schedule to read 175 books in the month.

DL White [00:04:24]:
I'm just gonna say the month of 2025. Yes. In the year of 2025, I'm very comfortable right there. I'm eight books ahead. And so I am, I'm not scrambling. I'm not in a hurry. I have like some time to like pick out books I really want to read. I don't have a ton coming up on my, my arcs list, so I can really just chill and, read stuff I want to read.

DL White [00:04:51]:
I got through four books this week. Fuck With Your Boy by Nicole Falls. That's, Friends and Lovers book three, People of Means by Nancy Johnson. I got that in an audiobook. That was okay. I don't know why I wanted to read it, but it was on my Libby list, and it came up. And I was like, yep. Let's do it.

DL White [00:05:15]:
So I did it. I do not have to review this book, so I am not going to. Mhmm. Yeah. A Dead Draw by Robert Dugoni. This is, Tracy Cross Cross White. I have a hard time with those r's and w's. Cross White, number 11.

DL White [00:05:36]:
And that book comes out, I think, later in May at some point, like maybe May 15 or something like that. So obviously, it's an advanced listener copy. Really happy to get that. I love me some Robert Dugoni, but I feel like the Tracy Cross White series might be on the downhill trend. I don't know. Maybe it just didn't hit me the way a cross white usually hits me. But it's like some of the conversation in the book when Tracy and her husband are talking about her job and, her kids and the danger she puts herself in. And I just feel some I feel some foreshadowing coming along.

DL White [00:06:14]:
She's already moved from one department to cold cases, And those cases are supposed to be safer with no danger, but she still always ends up in danger. And this book kind of hearkens back to the murder of her sister, which sort of brings the whole series full circle. It sort of makes me feel like Robert is trying to bring this series to an end, which, you know, it's we're at 11 books in, and if there's more, I will read them. Certainly. The very good thing is that Dugoni always also writes really great standalone novels. And so it's not like I'm, you know, never gonna read Dugoni again. I just I I love a police procedural, and I love the cross white series, and I was so happy to get this in audio. So it's excellent.

DL White [00:07:07]:
If I can get the next Kendra Elliott and the next Melinda Lee in audio also, that would make me very happy. If anybody at NetGalley happens to be listening to this very small, podcast. Yeah. So a dead draw is out in May sometime by Robert Dugoni. And, I I am worried about Dugoni the same way I'm worried about Grisham. I yes. Grisham has been off for a very long time. Am I still going to get the book? Yes.

DL White [00:07:36]:
Am I still gonna try to read it? Yes. Sometimes it's tolerable. Sometimes not often, but sometimes it's really good. I really like the judge's list. I did not like, Bayou Boys or whatever that book was. It was long and boring. I'm still gonna buy the next Grisham, which I think is coming in October. Yeah.

DL White [00:07:56]:
I am the kind of fan you want, whether I know I will like it or not. I will buy that book. And then I listened to Night Wherever We Go by Tracy Rose Payton. Again, no idea why I borrowed this book from Libby, but it popped up and I said, yeah, let's do it. I listened to this today. Most of the day was okay, but also, I think I'm really ready for a happy book now. I've read two kind of sad stories and, I pulled down a bunch of romances to read because I want something happy now. I'm currently in my currently reading list.

DL White [00:08:30]:
I have Ignacio by Delaney diamond. This is family ties, book five. Have you ever looked at the covers of these books? They're just so luxurious and decadent. They're all like, like high end jewels and they're just perfect. Love them. So I'm about 60% in to this book. I should have had it finished by now, but I forgot I was reading it, which is not a slam against the book. I'm just I'm page reading it because it's not in audio.

DL White [00:08:59]:
And, I will I will listen to an audio book in a hot second, over a page read book. I'm also page reading August Lane by Regina Black. It's not out until July. So I truthfully haven't opened it in a minute, but, I'm gonna get to it. It's just, you know, it's an arc and page reads are difficult, especially when you have a document and you send it to Kendall and we used to be able to listen to those be read aloud and Kendall turned that off. And so now I can't listen to them aloud. So I have to actually, like, read the words with my eyes, my special eyes. And, my eyes just bounce all over the page.

DL White [00:09:37]:
And so that's why audio is best for me. So, but I'm trying. I'm trying to get it in. Super briefly on the writing and publishing update, I ain't done nothing. I ain't done much of nothing. I'm taking a much needed break this week. Feeling a little bit burnt out. I have been going at it kinda hard.

DL White [00:09:57]:
I didn't release anything in January, but in February I did grumpy Valentine ebook print audio in March. I did Clover, which is, an ebook exclusive. And then I have been working on calculated risk really since last fall, and I had to get that ready for the, oh, what is that called? It's a exclusive book bay, book bays and HEAs. That's what it is, through prolific works. And so I had to get that ready by the February so they would have it in March so it could be released April 1. And I had to get the paperback ready for that. So I do have paperback, no ebook yet. It won't be out in ebook until September.

DL White [00:10:50]:
I was trying to work on the audio for that, but I just I don't I don't I don't have the spoons. I don't have the energy. And I have to, record either, like, late at night, early morning, or at a time when there's not a neighbor speed racing up and down the street, and there's not a city bus rolling, and there's not a ambulance, with all the lights and sirens going past my street, and that's never. So I'm gonna try to have audio to calculated risk by about the time the ebook can come out. So that way that book will be an ebook print and audio. And then in April, I did baking bad, which is an ebook exclusive. And that one is, across all platforms. That's everywhere, including my site.

DL White [00:11:37]:
So I have been busy and actually I hadn't put it all together until right now that I've been doing a lot. I've been doing a lot plus like work is busy and travel and my mom's coming to visit in June. And so planning for that and, lots of like personal good stuff happening, but I writing has been on the back seat for a minute and, I need to put it back in the front, in the passenger seat because I have books. I have books I need to get out. But I'm kind of taking a break because I've been, I've been going at it kind of hard. I can get back to writing probably possibly Thursday evening, and then I'll have a good couple of weeks of no activity, just like e meetings and, you know, whatever. I don't have any travel meetings until mid to late June. So, I have a little bit of time to, like, chill, but I I have a three day meeting coming up in early June.

DL White [00:12:43]:
So lots of stuff going on. Hoping though Thursday, I can, like, dig deep and, like, get into something, and I can have something out this summer or work on the book I'm trying to pitch. What what have you. I did download a template from IngramSpark so that I could try to upload brunch at Ruby's in the hardcover format because I did see that Ingram allows you to have the printed case, which is the actual book cover as well as the printed dust jacket. So if I can figure out how to do that template, then I can have the version that I like for sale at Bookshop, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etcetera. And so that'll be fun. So my goal is to try to get that probably not this week unless I, like, come home. I we have a three day conference Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday at work, and I just I'm just gonna be running around all day, and I just don't see how I'm gonna have the energy to come home and, like, stare at an Ingram template, but we'll see.

DL White [00:13:43]:
Maybe next weekend, that will be my goal to get that figured out and submitted. I did order books for look at me talking about, I don't have any updates, but here I am like five minutes later talking about all the updates I have. I did order books for the black romance book, fast preorders and table sales. I feel like I might need more of the hardcover special edition. I'm gonna look through what I've got and see. Because I don't wanna order a ton and be stuck with them. If I feel like I could get away with what I got, but I feel, I feel already like I can't, I I'm just, I just need to go ahead and order some and what I don't sell at the book fest, I can sell at indie love. And then what I don't sell at indie love, I can sell on my website.

DL White [00:14:31]:
I cannot have a lot of books hanging around in this room. I just don't, I don't have the space. You should see this room. I'm packed. I'm packed in here. And, like I mentioned, I am preparing to pitch a book to a publisher. I signed up for a slot at Black Romance Book Fest to speak to a publisher. I don't know anything about pitching a book.

DL White [00:14:51]:
So, amongst all the other things I'm gonna be doing before the May, I need to figure out what what what's what entails pitching a book? What what's that about? Yeah. I'm gonna be busy. I do like a project though. So on the fan fiction front, I did manage to, squeak out a chapter of the music of my heart. Before I get to that, though, I have to say happy gosh, darn birthday to my personal favorite member of NSYNC, James Lance Bass. He turns 46 today. Have the happiest, happiest birthday ever. If you happen to be listening to this very little podcast, which he's not.

DL White [00:15:31]:
He's in Vegas right now having the time of his life, and I love that for him. Anyway, chapter 19 of the music of my heart is up at the archive, as well as my short fiction substack, that short fiction by dlwhite.substack.com. It is very double, triple, not safe for work. It is not safe for it's not safe for most people. It's not like they're swinging from the chandeliers or anything, but I was like, I wanna write some sex. And so I I wrote some sex. This chapter explores Zoe and JC's weekend together at Kelly's Montana ranch. After a really intimate morning, they collaborate on a troublesome bridge in Zoe's song and JC provides creative input as as he does.

DL White [00:16:19]:
Those of us that quote unquote know JC knows he probably can't help but add his opinion and, like, jump in. And he's kind of the bossy one. And he would say, I'm not bossy. I just like order. So, he's providing a lot of creative input while respecting Zoe's need to focus on her career, be in the driver's seat, retain control of what's happening. The chapter to me is starting to balance their growing relationship with Zoe's artistic development. And it ends with them savoring their limited time together before JC has to return home to Los Angeles. So I'm still, like, trying to figure out, like, what the next chapters entail.

DL White [00:17:03]:
I don't wanna do too many scenes without JC in them, even on the story is really about Zoe and her development and, you know, how how she goes about, creating a career for herself with the help of these people she has surrounded herself with. But I think it's very important for her to remain autonomous, and to make her own decisions and, you know, to do the things that she feels is right to do. And I also, I like, I was wavering back and forth on if she should fire her manager or if I should make Alec, like, kinda, you know, buck up and do the work. And I feel like Alec is kind of he's he got the memo. He is not doing it the way it needs to be done. He's got the memo. And so now I feel like he is working toward the goal that Zoe wants him to work toward, but he is still got a little bit of animosity toward JC because so much got done in the month that she was in that retreat that Alec had been trying to get working for eight years. And so he's feeling a little bit left out and feeling like he's being called to the table, called to the carpet, whatever that phrase is.

DL White [00:18:16]:
And so I'm, I'm still gotta work through that. There's a lot of interpersonal issues going through Zoe's life. But I also like this is a kind of thing that fascinates me about celebrity, that fascinates me about any kind of business where you have so many fingers in the pot and, so much to lose and so many people with vested interest in how well you do, what you do, people that wanna make money off of you. And, it it's important to me to bring in the challenges and the struggles, and it's not all private jets and, you know, lobster steak dinners and red carpets. It's also, you know, being up at 3AM because you can't finish this song. It's also being in the studio and really struggling and having like a task mask or equipment, like, you know, get that bridge, right? These lyrics don't work and you need to work on this and you're doing this and you need to do that. And it's also work. I could not, I could not.

DL White [00:19:15]:
So that's where we are with the fan fiction. I'm obviously enamored with it very much in love with the story and the and the week by week, chapter by chapter. I'm getting people regularly commenting now, so, I'm very happy about that. And so, really, honestly, to pay back people that have been really paying attention and really making comments and encouraging, I had to go back and read the past four or five stories that have been updated because I've been so deep in my stories. I haven't been paying attention to other people that are writing stories and updating them. And since I run the archive, I feel like I should be their biggest fans. So I was doing some of that today as well, going through catching up, making comments, all that, that kind of thing. So good times.

DL White [00:20:03]:
So I normally have a main topic here and, I was going to talk a little bit, like, just do a little bit of a check-in like a midyear. It's not quite midyear check-in about really trying to find this balance in these perilous times. I'm very tired of living through perilous times. We're in month five of what's been a really politically challenging year. And I wanted to check-in with the hundred and five people that listen to this podcast. Hi, how are you? Let's just chitchat about where we're at, how we're doing, how are we making it through? I have been working hard to keep my head above water and not sink into a depression. And that is really what the past five months months have been about and being able to take a break now because I decided I was just gonna jump into writing with both feet and not worry about, is this good enough? Is this gonna sell? Are the girl is gonna like this? Who cares? Put it out. Write it.

DL White [00:21:04]:
Put it out. Write it. Send it to the editor. Put it out. I just writing and writing and writing. I have two things. Do I have two things? I have one thing that's done that needs severe editing, and I've been, I haven't been lately, but I have I still have still arise that's coming in the fall. I have this three book series that I'm I'm planning.

DL White [00:21:24]:
So I've just I have to keep my brain busy, occupied. Otherwise, I fall into this pit of despair and depression. It's getting really hard to maintain my head above water. My neck is getting tired and my eyes wanna close, especially when I'm around people who express a lot of hopelessness about what's happening in politics and what comes in our future. I don't share an extreme view that we'll never have elections again. I'm just, I am not the type of person that can let my brain go there. But I do worry about the fairness of the electoral processes moving forward. I think there's a lot we don't see.

DL White [00:22:06]:
There's a lot we're not meant to see. And, as much as we can pay attention to that kind of thing without driving ourselves mad, it only behooves us to be knowledgeable about that because there's a whole faction of people that aren't paying attention to anything. They're just blindly voting what ever the guy says vote, whatever the church says vote. And I I'm just not I'm not that kind of voter. Anyway, it it just creates a constant background noise, a buzz, a attention that it's I find it difficult to shake. I can either shove my head into the sand and do whatever it is I'm doing over here, or I can be up and out and loud and screaming and, you know, posting all these angry memes to my Instagram all day, which is probably annoying to the people who follow me. I mean, not on my writer Instagram, because that's my escape. That's that's my escape, but like my regular Instagram.

DL White [00:23:06]:
Is a lot, and I'm trying not to be that person, but also, are you see this? Do you see this stuff? Are you guys looking at this stuff? You stood in line to vote for that? Anyway, I've been intentionally creating a protective bubble around myself, not to remain uninformed, but because of constant exposure to the news cycle makes me physically ill. Like, my ulcers will come back. I can't I can't do it, which directly impacts my work, directly impacts my, my personal relationships. And it directly impacts my ability to write. And mama needs to be writing. I need these books to be booking. You hear me? These books got a book. You know what I'm saying? So some might judge this approach, but I've learned it's a really necessary act of self preservation for me.

DL White [00:23:56]:
That is the self care that I extend to myself. I don't watch the news. I don't read the news. I go look up what I need to look up. I see stuff might pop up. I might, you know, look through something real quick at the beginning of the day or the end of the day, but like things will happen. And then like the next day, it's like, no, just kidding. He he was just kidding.

DL White [00:24:16]:
Like he, you know, whatever. So I just I just, I can't get wrapped up in that. Let me know what stuck this week. I also saw recently that Aaron Parnas, who is like this TikTok star, he's just been reporting the news, like, like hard for the last year ever since I don't I don't even know when he started, but he's like the TikTok newscaster. He's been recently, like, just taking a break. He's like, I'm just gonna take the night off. I need a night off. I am burnt out, but, like, the news isn't gonna stop coming.

DL White [00:24:47]:
You have to stop going to it. So you have to take care of yourself that way. There's really good things happening in my personal life. Honestly, things are good. Things are personally very good. And I'm really trying to focus on those bright spots to keep my head above water and stay in the sun and be able to smile and celebrate and find the joy in life. I did a a episode earlier in the year called live anyway, and that is what I'm doing. I am living anyway.

DL White [00:25:16]:
I am effing mad. I am livid. I am upset. I am distraught. I am depressed about all the stuff that's going on, but I'm gonna live anyway. I'm gonna live my life anyway because I am sure there are people out there that want nothing more than for me to be miserable. And for me to lay in my bed and be weeping and gnashing my teeth and woe is me all over the Internet, I'm not gonna be that. I'm just not gonna be that.

DL White [00:25:45]:
I can't. No. No. So I am curious how you all are managing all a hundred and five people that listen to this podcast. Shout me out a holler. Make a a a a reply to this, a comment to this. You can respond back via podcast, via voice note, via email, authordl@booksbydlwhite.com, or you can comment on this podcast wherever you may find it on my website, booksbydealewhite.com/bookcast/119 is where you can find this episode recording transcript and the show notes. Shout shout me out a holler.

DL White [00:26:24]:
Let me know how you're doing. How are you staying informed? How are you protecting your mental health? How are you living anyway? How are you keeping your joy? How do you find your creative energy during really difficult times? If you feel comfortable sharing, I would love to hear what is happening with you over there. That's gonna do it for me today. I did, go to brunch today with my, good friend, Tina, and we ate at this wonderful spot in Smyrna, Georgia. Did you guys know that's where Julia Roberts is from? I think about her every time I go to Smyrna. Really lovely restaurant called Auntie's. I had, fish and grits, and, I could not eat it all. And so for dinner, I'm gonna go warm up the second half of my lunch.

DL White [00:27:17]:
And, you know what? I forgot to mention that I skipped the TV portion of today's episode, but streaming wise, season two of surface is up. And I don't know if you guys have ever heard of surface, but I watched season one. I feel like it was, like, maybe 2021, so it's been a minute. And I thought that they weren't going to do another season, but it's on Apple TV, and season one was so, so good. It's about a woman who, in the midst of a suicide attempt, like, bangs her head and loses her memory. And when she comes back home, her boyfriend is just desperate to undo something she's done, but she can't remember what it is she has done or how to undo it. And, I was so stressed out during season one. I just learned that season two is up, and so I'm gonna warm up my dinner and refresh my beverage, put some more ice in there because, you know, I like it ice cold, and, edit this podcast and get it up, and I'm just gonna enjoy my evening.

DL White [00:28:25]:
It's a Sunday night. I'm just gonna, like, kinda coast into Sunday evening where we don't believe in Sunday scaries here. We don't do Sunday scaries here because I don't mind a Monday. Tuesday can get out of here, but I don't mind a Monday. I get to work from home on Mondays. So, anyhow, thank you so much for joining me for today's show. I really, really, super duper enjoy having a hundred and five of you here. It really is a joy to sit at this desk, turn on the laptop, plug in the mic, put on the headphones, and yap at you for, like, thirty, forty minutes, however long it lasts.

DL White [00:29:02]:
I welcome any comments or feedback you may have at books by d l white dot com slash book cast slash one one nine or on my Substack at authordlwhite.substack.com. Now this podcast publishes on Sunday night on my Substack, but then not to the regular feed until Monday. So if you want it a day early because you are just about that life, go to my Substack, authordlwhite.substack.com. There's a little tip for you. You'll also find full show notes and the links to all other things I talk about if they are relevant in a transcript for today's show at both places. Please share the podcast if you enjoyed it. I would like to have 106 listeners. And if you listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or YouTube or Substack, give a girl a rating, leave a comment, let a sister know you are listening.

DL White [00:29:56]:
I would really appreciate it. Do not forget you can support this podcast with your book purchases at booksbydlwhite.com/shop. I think that's the link. It's somewhere around there. Or payhip.com/booksbydlwhite. Or you can also spread the good word to your friends and your family, join the newsletter, or subscribe to my Substack. Links are all on my website at booksbydlwhite.com/linkinbio. You can also throw some coins in the hat, book cast@buzzsprout.com or buymeacoffee.com, which is a whole lot of blanks, but they will all be in the show notes.

DL White [00:30:33]:
So do not worry a bit. Thank you so much to my monthly supporters. Your gift is immensely useful for keeping this podcast going. I do really support your monthly gift. I so appreciate you. The book cast by Dale White is written, produced, and edited by me. Our theme music and any sound effects are provided by Pixabay. I will, in theory, be back next week.

DL White [00:30:59]:
I'm just saying in theory every week because some weeks, I'm just tired. And some weeks, I'm able to pull myself out of the bed and plan this podcast episode and bring it to you. It is my pleasure and my joy. Until then, have a superlative week. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, however short it may be. We'll chat again soon. Bye bye.