Jason Blitman: 1:20

Hello, and welcome back to Gays Reading. I'm your host, Jason. Blitman. And your podcast platform or your ears are not deceiving. You I'm back. This week. Uh, surprise. We have an all new series for you. That is happening biweekly. And I just learned that biweekly is interchangeable for both twice a week or every other week. And I can confirm that there, this is twofold. we will have bi-weekly episodes. Every other week. So every other week there will be two episodes in a week. because every other Thursday you're getting this new, what's the T series where we'll get an inside scoop. from an author about their book. And they have to tell me the T. About their book. In three words, using the letters T E and A. So today is our first one. And just like our regular episodes, we are on YouTube. So if you want to subscribe over on our YouTube channel, the link to that is in the show notes. Um, and if you could leave us a five-star review, wherever you get your podcasts, that is super helpful for the algorithm. You could follow us on social media at gaze reading on Instagram. And so. Every Thursday, there will be some sort of giveaway. So if it's an, if it's a, what's the T episode, we're going to give away the book that is featured on what's the T. And on the opposite week, we're going to give away another book that will be, super exciting. So make sure to follow us on Instagram, to be aware of every single giveaway that happens. I cannot wait to share them with you. And for this very first T episode, we have the delightful Shannon Bowering, who wrote the book, the road to Dalton and the second book in the series where the forest meets the river. Uh, has just come out and that's the buck that we are talking to her about. I'm stoked. For this new series and also the ideas that they're going to be shorter. So Thursdays, every other Thursday will be a nice super-duper digestible episode. Um, even though I'm a little long-winded at the moment, I'm going to get to the point right now and pass you along to my conversation with Shannon. Her bio will be in the show notes. Any other pertinent information will be in the show notes and also check out the bookshop.org page because both of her books will be available. On that page. And, uh, again, check out Instagram for the giveaway. All right, please enjoy my tea time with Shannon Bowering. Here we are, our very first episode of GA's Reading. What's the t? And I am here with the lovely Shannon Bowing. Who just last week came out with her second novel where the forest Meets the river, which I will say is a follow up. I won't call it a sequel to the road, to Dalton, even though it is sequentially a sequel, but it can exist on its own and is more of a, we're back in the world than cliffhanger and then we learn more. Welcome Shannon. Thank you for joining me for tea. I'm drinking, I'm double fisting coffee and water. So I also don't have tea, but I was thinking for this new series, I should get like a fun Tea cup.

Shannon Bowring: 4:49

Definitely.

Jason Blitman: 4:50

But now I have my gay reader mug instead. But I need like a fancy tea cup. That's just way too

Shannon Bowring: 4:58

Like fancy gay reading. Something like

Jason Blitman: 5:00

Yes.

Shannon Bowring: 5:01

There you go.

Jason Blitman: 5:02

With some like flowers on it because that's what tea cups are

Shannon Bowring: 5:04

Definitely. Yeah.

Jason Blitman: 5:06

Okay. Shannon, where the forest meets the river. What's the T? Fill us in. This new series. Give us the T. Give us the E. Give us the A.

Shannon Bowring: 5:15

Okay. The tea. It's textured.

Jason Blitman: 5:18

Textured.

Shannon Bowring: 5:20

letter or just okay.

Jason Blitman: 5:21

Tell me a little bit more about the texture. What's happening?

Shannon Bowring: 5:24

And by that, it has a layered narrative structure, but you're also looking at the interwoven stories and lives of all these people in this small town. So you also have the texture of the fabric of the community. And then you have the actual texture of the physical landscape of Northern rural Maine. So lots of texture. Between, in that

Jason Blitman: 5:46

Emotional. Physical. All the texture. And I gotta say, this is such a weird in addition, the literal. way the book is bound. It is a very smooth, very lovely book.

Shannon Bowring: 6:01

Yeah. Europa makes great

Jason Blitman: 6:02

like the texture of the Europa printing is like actually quite lovely. So there's a lot of texture going on.

Shannon Bowring: 6:08

texture. Yeah.

Jason Blitman: 6:09

All right, what's your E?

Shannon Bowring: 6:10

E. Empathetic. There's a lot of empathy in the books for myself as an author towards the characters, for the characters toward each other and towards themselves, and hopefully the readers will find some empathy within the characters too. That's always the hope that an author has, that the reader will empathize with the character. So that's E. Yeah.

Jason Blitman: 6:33

that's so lovely about these books, You're like plopped into It's not a village, but there's a like, village feeling? Does that make sense?

Shannon Bowring: 6:43

a serious village there's 1, 300 people, so that could be village ish.

Jason Blitman: 6:48

There's a gazebo in the middle of the town, right?

Shannon Bowring: 6:52

No.

Jason Blitman: 6:52

no, but emotionally. No.

Shannon Bowring: 6:54

emotional gazebo. Yeah.

Jason Blitman: 6:57

One could think that there's a gazebo.

Shannon Bowring: 6:59

Yes. Yeah. That's fair.

Jason Blitman: 7:00

I don't I did not mean literally.

Shannon Bowring: 7:03

No, that's okay. That's the one thing that Dalton doesn't have is a gazebo.

Jason Blitman: 7:06

oh. Well, storytelling is not done.

Shannon Bowring: 7:10

That's true. That's very true.

Jason Blitman: 7:12

Alright, what is your A?

Shannon Bowring: 7:14

Atmospheric. And by that within the book, it's a, I'm surrounding you in the time, which is 1995, the summer of 1995, in

Jason Blitman: 7:23

five years later than the first

Shannon Bowring: 7:25

five years later than the first, yep, the place, which is Dalton, Maine, which is in Aroostook County, the most northern county you can go before you hit Canada, so it's very far away from the coast. The culture of the county, which is in an it's its own unique thing for good or for bad in the mid nineties and rural Maine. Weather, which this book takes place in the summer. So it's beautiful Maine weather. But in the first book, it's throughout the whole year. So you get the snow, you get the mud, you get the rain, you get everything. And the landscape itself. So the landscape is its own character in both of these books. The town is very much it's own, it is it's own character. Because it's inspired and shaped all of the people who live within it. For better or for worse. Um, lending the atmosphere.

Jason Blitman: 8:14

Immediately said it is not Stars Hollow.

Shannon Bowring: 8:17

because Stars Hollow is cute, and fun, and quirky. And Dalton is It's a mill town, it's a hard, it's a hard working class town, it's gritty. So I don't think of it as like a cute, fun place. Yeah.

Jason Blitman: 8:33

For sure. And it's interesting because maybe the Gazebo has mold. Do you know what I mean? Really, when I think Gazebo, I think small town, tight knit, everyone's all up in everyone's business, everyone knows the tea.

Shannon Bowring: 8:44

True.

Jason Blitman: 8:45

And I think that's what it is, but you're right I'm, I, when you said Not Stars Hollow, which for anyone who is unfamiliar, that is the town, the fictional town that Gilmore Girls takes place,

Shannon Bowring: 8:56

Who doesn't know that at this point though?

Jason Blitman: 8:57

You never know.

Shannon Bowring: 8:58

Yeah, that's

Jason Blitman: 8:59

But there's a, there's definitely a grittier ness maybe it's a town that longs to be a

Shannon Bowring: 9:06

Yeah. Maybe

Jason Blitman: 9:07

not fair to them, though.

Shannon Bowring: 9:08

no it's not. It's, Dalton is a very complicated place. Like it, on the surface, it's this little mill town where nothing changes. Yeah. But then you have all these people who live there and they have all these inner lives, these textured, layered narratives within, they have the persona they give to the town, but they also have a lot of things going on. Bev and Trudy are hiding their lesbian love affair and Nate's hiding his grief and in the first book, Bridget is hiding some pretty serious, obviously mental health issues.

Jason Blitman: 9:40

Yeah, I would say, since I didn't ask you the like log line of the books it's fun to share with the readers and our listeners that it's really this like beautiful slice of life story and you drop in, it's almost like you're peeking through the windows. Of all of these little houses and you go house by house and look in the window and watch a little story and then you keep going and then you circle back around. And it's, uh, it's a book that you'd want to read like under a blanket while drinking a cup of tea.

Shannon Bowring: 10:11

definitely. Definitely. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I like the idea that you're just dropping into these people's lives. The thing where the second book is a follow up, not necessarily a sequel. Because I wrote each one intentionally thinking, you can keep returning to Dalton or this could be your first trip there. Because I want it to stand as a place where you feel at home, no matter when you're joining in, where you're, or where you're coming from. If that makes sense.

Jason Blitman: 10:38

absolutely. And I think that. really is true when you read the book. For anyone who follows you on social media knows that you are at work at a third book, a third Dalton book. Is

Shannon Bowring: 10:50

I have news.

Jason Blitman: 10:51

you have news?

Shannon Bowring: 10:53

that's the real tea. Um,

Jason Blitman: 10:55

On,

Shannon Bowring: 10:55

of

Jason Blitman: 10:56

you've been holding out on me.

Shannon Bowring: 10:57

this week, I have sold the third book in

Jason Blitman: 11:01

Congrats.

Shannon Bowring: 11:02

Again to Europa, very excited for you. Thank you. Yeah. Very exciting.

Jason Blitman: 11:08

Yeah. Oh, fantastic. And is there, so the book has been sold. That's going to happen. That's all we know right now.

Shannon Bowring: 11:14

Yes. Very early stages.

Jason Blitman: 11:17

Do you see this as a you're gonna go forever? Or book three is like your last dip into Dalton?

Shannon Bowring: 11:23

I see book three as the final book in this series of these characters, it wraps up where we started in 1990 with the road to Dalton. I try to put not really a neat little bow on everything because I don't think that fiction should have a neat little bow because life doesn't but as much as I could I've tried, I think I've resolved all the narratives that started in the road to Dalton. But that said, I've always imagined this fictional town as a place I'll keep going and Back to can see stories that in, in the second book, Nate's daughter is five and I can imagine her as a 25 year old and I'm just checking in with her, seeing what's going on. And I can, I also like the idea of exploring, dalton in the 1960s. What, that was probably, that's an interesting time and culture to see this little town at the top of Maine. So I want it to be like this whole universe that I'm building, that I just continually can go back to. And it's ironic because Dalton is based on the town where I grew up, which I was desperate to get out of. And now I can't get away from it.

Jason Blitman: 12:31

They say, write what you know, and you, that is a vibe that you know. Anyone who has listened to this podcast knows that I'm a big fan of the small town family drama. And so if you're a fan of Tracy Lang, if you're a fan of Amy Jo Burns, this is such a fantastic series for you to dip into. While we're talking about tea, is there anything that is not your cup of tea? That you're like, that you need to get off your chest?

Shannon Bowring: 12:55

Honestly, tea. I'm not a tea drinker.

Jason Blitman: 12:59

As I'm sitting here drinking coffee,

Shannon Bowring: 13:01

But not very often.

Jason Blitman: 13:03

I have to say, I, and I'm sure this is the first of this series, this is going to come up probably every single time, but I get kidney stones and tea is a terrible thing for kid Really? You can't drink tea because of kidney stones?

Shannon Bowring: 13:15

didn't realize that. Okay.

Jason Blitman: 13:17

You clearly don't like it anyway, but you don't need another reason.

Shannon Bowring: 13:20

No, I don't

Jason Blitman: 13:21

But now you like absolutely shouldn't be drinking tea.

Shannon Bowring: 13:24

Yeah, that's good to know. My, my husband is listening and he also gets kidney stones. So now he's taking note too.

Jason Blitman: 13:31

Terrible!

Shannon Bowring: 13:32

Yeah. Awful. They're the worst.

Jason Blitman: 13:34

Anyway, don't drink tea. Husband, don't drink tea either.

Shannon Bowring: 13:36

Yeah.

Jason Blitman: 13:37

The book is out. So everyone go buy it.

Shannon Bowring: 13:39

So buy it. I encourage you, obviously, to shop at your local indie bookstore. If you can't do that, use bookshop. org because all the proceeds go to indie bookstores. Or

Jason Blitman: 13:49

and Gay's Reading has a bookshop. org page, so this will be on the bookshop. org page, and you can pick the indie bookstore of your choice that you want to support, and buy the book through there. And, oh no, you go ahead.

Shannon Bowring: 14:00

I thought that you wanted to ask me who I would have a tea party with.

Jason Blitman: 14:04

Oh,

Shannon Bowring: 14:04

You didn't ask

Jason Blitman: 14:05

I forgot to ask that, this is my first one, so I

Shannon Bowring: 14:07

I know I'm keeping you on track.

Jason Blitman: 14:09

Ugh, Shannon, I knew this was the right first person to talk to. Who would you want to have a tea party with?

Shannon Bowring: 14:14

So even though I don't like tea,

Jason Blitman: 14:15

I was just

Shannon Bowring: 14:16

I thought about this a lot. Bilbo Baggins, because he knows how to put on a spread. He would give me tea that maybe I would there would be honey cakes. We could just sit in his hobbit hole with the afternoon light streaming in. I think it would be lovely.

Jason Blitman: 14:30

When I think about Bilbo Baggins, I have some PTSD

Shannon Bowring: 14:36

Oh no.

Jason Blitman: 14:37

because my freshman year of high school, I get into my honors English class and I was not a reader. And I basically only just become a reader. I was not a reader in high school. And the, my freshman year English teacher opens up a cabinet. Everyone get a copy of The Hobbit? You have a test a week from today. That's literally the only thing she said the first day of class. She did not say another word.

Shannon Bowring: 15:09

Oh wow. That's my husband in the background.

Jason Blitman: 15:13

that. And I literally couldn't even finish. The book is like a slip of a book. I couldn't finish it in a week. And of course, the night before the test, I go to Blockbuster Video and they didn't even have the movie, the

Shannon Bowring: 15:27

Like the old school cartoon one. Oh my gosh. Yeah.

Jason Blitman: 15:30

Because clearly other people were in my shoes and had already checked it out. And I've never read any of the other Lord of the Rings books. And so when I think Bilbo Baggins, I just think ninth grade trauma. I've since become very good friends with that English teacher. We love her. Shout out Susie Margolin. She's fine.

Shannon Bowring: 15:48

That's really funny.

Jason Blitman: 15:49

yeah, that's my Bilbo Baggins story. But yes, what a good idea. He'd have a good spread.

Shannon Bowring: 15:54

Very good spread. He knows how to put some delicious food out. But if it couldn't be him, if we were going like real people, it would be Georgia Hart Stark and Karen Kilgariff. Because I'm a murderino. Hardcore.

Jason Blitman: 16:06

Totally fair.

Shannon Bowring: 16:07

be so much fun to have sit down and talk with.

Jason Blitman: 16:11

Seriously, but I did not specify that they had to be real.

Shannon Bowring: 16:14

I Went with both. I wanted to have options.

Jason Blitman: 16:16

makes total sense to me. Shannon, your delight, your books are so lovely and they're like, they are. There are almost like mini short stories too, so if you ever were like in the mood to, if you missed the worlds a little bit, you could open it up and read a chapter and feel warm and fuzzy inside. Sometimes warm and fuzzy inside.

Shannon Bowring: 16:35

There's some heavy, there's, there,

Jason Blitman: 16:38

by warm and, yeah, seriously, by warm and fuzzy I think If you want the feeling of sitting by the fire reading a book, that's the feeling. It might not be a happy feeling in the moment of the story. But also, so important for our listeners, this week, live now on our Instagram, at Gay's Reading, you can enter a giveaway to win both books. So enter that giveaway like, follow, share. And you could have a chance to win both books. Shannon, you're a delight.

Shannon Bowring: 17:10

So are you.

Jason Blitman: 17:11

Thank you.

Shannon Bowring: 17:11

You're welcome.

Jason Blitman: 17:13

Thank you for being at my first tea party. Oh god, I just got coffee all over me.

Shannon Bowring: 17:17

Oh no. Is there

Jason Blitman: 17:18

Only a little bit. A couple drops. No, there's not. It's a little bit of oat milk. That's it.

Shannon Bowring: 17:23

okay.

Jason Blitman: 17:24

And I'm on the west coast, so it's only 11. 52 for me.

Shannon Bowring: 17:27

thought of that as I said, to each their own.

Jason Blitman: 17:29

That's true. That's true. I have a bunch of things to get done. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day.

Shannon Bowring: 17:34

Thank you so much.

Jason Blitman: 17:35

Thank you for doing this.

Shannon Bowring: 17:36

course. Thank you for inviting me.

Jason Blitman: 17:38

Avoid kidney stones. Husband, avoid kidney stones. Don't drink any tea.

Shannon Bowring: 17:44

He's got a nice chuckle. Yeah.

Jason Blitman: 17:47

Thanks, Shannon. Shannon. Thank you so much for joining me for my very first what's the T episode. and I will be back on Tuesday with our regularly scheduled Gays Reading episode. And then the following Thursday, after that with a brand new. What's the TEA?. So I'm excited to share this new series. And thanks for joining everyone. Have a great rest of your day. Bye.