Cara welcomes author Nancy Naigle to Book Talk to discuss her upcoming novel Home No Matter Where, the third of the Shell Collector books that can be read as standalones. Nancy shares how her career as a Bank of America senior vice president and a difficult season inspired her to write uplifting small-town love stories designed to help readers through hard days. She explains how The Shell Collector was born from grief after losing her husband in 2014 and a real story about shells with scripture found on a North Carolina beach, later becoming a Fox Nation movie and a Bible App devotional. Nancy previews Home No Matter Where as a coastal community story about Nina, a divorced mom dealing with her daughter Kendra’s difficult teen struggles, found family, and a gentle friends-to-lovers romance with Fisher, and she highlights themes of trust, belonging, and healing.

You can learn more about Nancy and her books at her website: https://www.nancynaigle.com/

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On Book Talk with Cara, Cara interviews author T.I. Lowe about her new novel South of Somewhere, a redemption story following Juniper as she starts over and takes small, realistic steps through addiction recovery and rehabilitation. Lowe discusses the responsibility of researching addiction, including reading memoirs and working through a 12-step-based study, to honor real experiences and build empathy. She explains how the Southern setting—Sullivan’s Island and a grandmother’s beach house—functions as a character while challenging stereotypes about who addiction affects. They explore the importance of recovery community and “found family,” Juniper’s search for the right group, and Henry’s role as a model of healthy, consistent connection. Lowe also shares how she keeps faith elements organic rather than preachy, and previews her upcoming grief-focused novel A Southern Goodbye (planned for fall 2027).

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If you enjoyed this conversation, I would be thrilled if you left a rating and review on your favorite podcast app and leave me a note below letting me know who you would love to see on the show!

Rachel Hauck guest-hosts Book Talk to interview regular host Cara Putman about her May release, The Targeted, book three in the Secrets to Keep series, available for pre-order. They read the back-cover blurb and discuss the story of Chloe Ainsworth, a gymnastics coach whose estranged sister returns after 14 years with news that Chloe’s abuser is back, prompting Chloe and law student Dare Shepherd to pursue help through a legal clinic while the stakes escalate. Putman explains the book’s blend of legal suspense and romance, its “ripped from the headlines” focus on abuse in youth sports, and the fractured sister relationship shaped by silence and trauma. She describes using Dare’s law-student limitations to balance legal tension with character-driven emotional stakes, explores truth-telling and its cost, and weaves a lighter faith thread centered on endurance, God’s presence in suffering, and forgiveness, aiming to leave readers with hope and greater empathy.

Want to watch this interview? You can see this episode as well as multiple others on YouTube! Enjoy!

If you enjoyed this conversation, I would be thrilled if you left a rating and review on your favorite podcast app and leave me a note below letting me know who you would love to see on the show!