You know Sam (SD) Smith as the author of the Green Ember series–#RabbitsWithSwords. Sam and his son Josiah (JC) Smith have joined forces as the co-authors of the Jack Zulu series–Jack Zulu and the Waylander’s Key and Jack Zulu and the Girl with the Golden Wings (so far). In this episode, Jonathan Rogers speaks with the the Smiths about what it’s like to co-write a book and, more to the point, what it’s like to co-write a book with your offspring…or with your parent, as the case may be.

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Besides being a novelist, Pete Peterson is a playwright and the head of Rabbit Room Theater. He is also the publisher at Rabbit Room Press. Matt Logan is the director, set designer, and costume designer who has brought all of Pete’s plays to vivid life. Matt and Pete are putting the finishing touches on a new stage adaptation of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. Its inaugural run will be December 7-December 22 in Franklin, Tennessee. You can get your tickets at RabbitRoom.com

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Leslie Eiler Thompson is a podcast producer and writer. Her work has been featured on Apple Podcasts, The Guardian, Nashville Public Radio, Christianity Today, Rabbit Room, and beyond. Her newest audio project, Niche to Meet You, is an investigative storytelling podcast about little-known niche interests and hobbies where we make and find meaning. One of the niche interests she has investigated is wild turkey conservation. Since it’s Thanksgiving Week in the United States, Jonathan Rogers is talking to Leslie about turkeys, podcasting, and her creative process.

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Willie Pearl is an Americana/Southern rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. Their new album is called Willie Pearl. In this special bonus episode, singer-songwriter Henry Rogers of Willie Pearl speaks with Jonathan Rogers about songwriting, perfectionism, and letting go.

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Caroline Cobb is a singer-songwriter known for her deep engagement with Scripture. Her first foray into book-writing is Advent for Exiles: 25 Devotions to Awaken Gospel Hope in Every Longing Heart. In this episode, Caroline and Jonathan Rogers discuss the idea of exile, a pervasive theme in the Bible, as well as the artist’s role of planting seeds for the new Eden.

The Habit Podcast is sponsored by The Habit Membership, a library of resources by me, Jonathan Rogers. More importantly, The Habit Membership is a hub of community, where like-minded writers gather to share their work and give one another a little more courage. Find out more at TheHabit.co.

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Lanier Ivester sees hospitality as a primary way she expresses her creativity. All of her creative endeavors are shaped by the belief that the most quotidian things are charged with eternal meaning, if only we have eyes to see. Her new book, illustrated by Jennifer Trafton, is Glad and Golden Hours: A Companion for Advent and Christmastide. In this episode, Lanier and Jonathan Rogers talk about the difference between hospitality and entertaining; we discuss ways to make the holidays a season of rest. And Lanier makes the case that “matter matters.”

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This week's guest is Kathleen Norris. Her best known books include Acedia and Me, The Cloister Walk, Dakota: A Spiritual Geography, and Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith. A Benedictine oblate, she practices the Benedictines’ commitment to good order and deep hospitality her writing. Kathleen Norris’s new book she co-authored with Gareth Higgins. It’s called A Whole Life in Twelve Movies: a Cinematic Journey to a Deeper Spirituality.

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You may know Randall Goodgame as a purveyor of children’s music. His new project is for people of all ages. In the Scripture Hymnal, Randall has written and arranged music for 106 word-for-word Bible passages, for congregational singing. In addition to the hymnal, Randall and friends have recorded all 106 hymns with full instrumentation and rich production, to be released as ten albums over the next year. The first of those albums is available now on all your favorite platforms. In this episode Jonathan Rogers speaks with Randall Goodgame and record producer Kyle Schonewill about congregational singing, and how the Scripture Hymnal and the Scripture Hymnal albums came to life.

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Russ Ramsey is a gifted storyteller and a trusted guide in the world of art. His new book is Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart: What Art Teaches Us About The Wonder and Struggle of Being Alive. In this episode, Russ and Jonathan Rogers talk about sunflowers, the sublime, and the connection between suffering and wonder.

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Stephanie Duncan Smith is a senior editor for HarperOne. She has spent her career developing award-winning and bestselling authors. She is the creator of Slant Letter, a Substack email newsletter for writers who want to deepen their craft and do it in style. She is also the author of Even After Everything: The Spiritual Practice of Knowing the Risks and Loving Anyway.

In this episode, Stephanie Duncan Smith and Jonathan Rogers talk about creative risk as a way of "going first" for the reader—and giving the reader a little more courage.

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Steven James has written and published about twenty books in the last couple of decades. Most of his novels and been thrillers. But with his new novel, Rift, he’s doing something completely new: young adult Appalachian folktale horror. Steven has lived in the southern Appalachians since the 1990s.

The part of East Tennessee where Rift is set was hit really hard by Hurricane Helene a couple of weeks ago. Steven’s publisher, Rebecca Reynolds of Sky Turtle Books, also lives in the region. She is putting together a project to collect old stories from Appalachia, creating an anthology that can be used to raise funds for the area. 

She needs help finding the storytellers and their stories. Part 2 of this episode is a short conversation with Rebecca Reynholds about the Old Stories project.

Here's a video about The Old Stories: An Appalachian Anthology.

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