AK25-48. Dr. Sheldon Greaves, The Guerrilla Scholar’s Handbook

December 1, 2025November 28, 2025Self Discovery Wisdom Podcast

Authors Kiss with Sara Troy and her guest Dr. Sheldon Greaves, on air from December 2nd

The Guerrilla Scholar’s Handbook: A guide to the pursuit of learning for pleasure, empowerment, and changing the world.

How to join the ranks of independent scholars, citizen scientists, recovering academics, makers, artists, activists, and other intellectual ne’er-do-wells pursuing a life of the mind—and changing the world.

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Sheldon Greaves completed a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in ancient Near Eastern Studies on a shoestring while living and working in Silicon Valley during the dot.com boom. Facing a sparse academic job market after graduating, he developed an unconventional approach to a life of the mind, what he calls “guerrilla scholarship”. Among his adventures was starting an educational software business, promoting science literacy in the nonprofit sector, publishing in his field, and co-founding the first private university designed to offer degree programs to members of the intelligence community. “The Guerrilla Scholar’s Handbook” is about how regular people can enjoy a life of the mind outside of academia and enrich their communities along the way.

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Book page on Spines:

https://book.spines.com/books/the-guerrilla-scholars-handbook

https://www.facebook.com/sheldon.greaves

https://www.facebook.com/guerrillascholar

https://guerrillascholar.substack.com

https://bsky.app/profile/guerrillascholar.bsky.social

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheldongreaves

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AK25-47. A Complete Fiction by R.L. Maizes

November 24, 2025November 22, 2025Self Discovery Wisdom Podcast

An Author’s Kiss with Sara Troy and her guest R.L. Maizes, on air from November 25th

A Complete Fiction Told in a humorous vein, R.L. examines the very serious questions of who has a right to tell a story, and has cancel-culture gone too far in our social media–drenched world?

With little evidence, would-be author P.J. Larkin serves a “nibble” on the trendy new social media app Crave, accusing editor George Dunn of stealing the novel she submitted to him for publication. The nibble shoots to the top of the site’s Popular Menu Items, and before you can say “unpaid literary labor,” George is embroiled in a scandal, his job and book deal in jeopardy. P.J. ‘s novel is snapped up amid the publicity, but has she revealed her sister Mia’s secrets in the book? Some diners on Crave think so, and now it’s P.J.’s turn to feel the public’s scorn.

Fiction can give us a breather from the relentless churn of the news, and A Complete Fiction does just that—offering a thoughtful look at serious issues while keeping readers laughing along the way. Its very creation carries a touch of irony: a book critiquing the intrusiveness of social media must still rely on those same platforms for promotion. The author explores what makes social media so objectionable to her, from its noise to its pressure, while also touching on the quieter indignities of the writing life—like receiving the dreaded “remaindered” letter for earlier books.

Why she had her husband block her social media accounts for her while she wrote the book

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R.L. Maizes’s debut novel, Other People’s Pets, won the 2021 Colorado Book Award in Fiction and was a Library Journal Best Debut of Summer/Fall 2020. She also is the author of the short story collection, We Love Anderson Cooper. Her short stories have aired on National Public Radio and can be found in Electric Literature’s Recommended Reading and in The Best Small Fictions 2020. Maizes’s essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, O Magazine, and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, and have aired on NPR. She is a Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Fellow and the recipient of a Fellowship Grant from the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture for 2024–2025 for her novel-in-progress. Maizes was born in Queens, New York, and lives in Boulder County, Colorado, with her husband, Steve, and her muses: Rosie, a dog who spent her first year homeless in South Dakota and thinks Colorado is downright balmy, and the ghost of Arie the Cat.

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Www.rlmaizes.comes.com

https://www.facebook.com/rachel.maizes

https://www.instagram.com/r.l._maizes

https://bsky.app/profile/rlmaizes.bsky.social

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17595826.R_L_Maizes

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All of our shows/interviews are done by donation; if you enjoyed this show, please support us here with either a one-time donation or subscription and support. Thank you. Please support Our Forgotten Seniors anthology and help to bring this book to awareness.

IG25-47. Leigh Manzer’s Essence Wellness

November 24, 2025November 22, 2025Self Discovery Wisdom Podcast

Ignite your heart and soul with Sara Troy and her guest Leigh Manzer, on air from November 25th

My intention is to inspire others to step past the veil and belief of limitation in any form.
I want to show people that it is possible to heal all aspects of our lives, mentally, emotionally and physically, by becoming aware of what it means to be human, how it is we find the path within,
through meditation that can be achieved in countless ways that will bring you to a state of mind-Heart coherence, at the same time understanding how to raise one’s vibration that will open the path to our higher timeline as we call in New Earth, The work of a Lightworker.

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This all started when I became so unfulfilled and depressed in my day to day life, the continuous
hampster wheel.
I had spent 27 years in Residential construction, in charge of Large scale projects and many
guys working under me. I always climbed the ladder even though I Had no tickets in my field.
I was so tired of it all and one day decided to start selling ALL of my Construction stuff, tools,
truck, tool trailer, so that I had to say no to anymore construction jobs.
In that time I became an Artist on 11-22-2022 and began doing scroll saw work and in 3 years I
have pieces east to west coast USA and Canada
My interest in tarot flourished and have done reading for people around the globe and now offer
other healing modalities such as Soundbath Healing ceremonies with my Partner Angela.
Our mission is to help others find the power within Themselves to transform.
To redefine Impossible to I’m-Possible.

https://www.earthessencewellness.ca

Agápé Studios

https://www.facebook.com/share
Earth&Essence Wellness
https://www.facebook.com/share/1AR7rdjNjv
https://www.instagram.com/agape_studiosqb
https://www.instagram.com/earthessencewellness

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AK25-47. Age of Consent by Mark Thompson

November 24, 2025November 22, 2025Self Discovery Wisdom Podcast

Authors Kiss with Sara Troy and her guest Mark Thomson, on air from November 25th

Age of Consent is a daring, tender novel that challenges assumptions about romance, power, and the boundaries of first love—its risks, its sweetness, and its lingering imprint. Mark Thompson delivers a story that resists easy judgment and stays with you. As Sonia Pilcer notes, the book moves not through scandal but through humanity—where desire, conscience, and vulnerability collide.

M.J. Moore adds that this is no “Mrs. Robinson” trope but an unorthodox, mythic love story set in the experimental seventies, where kindred spirits meet beyond stereotype.

A provocative coming-of-age romance, Age of Consent follows fifteen-year-old Rusty Rasmussen and 24-year-old Carla Levy, whose bond over music and social justice evolves into a clandestine relationship once Rusty turns sixteen—the legal age of consent. Their connection raises enduring questions about responsibility, authenticity, and the rules we impose on love.

Reminiscent of One Day and Call Me By Your Name, Thompson offers a raw male perspective on taboo love and asks:
– Can infatuation grow into something real?
– Can such a relationship survive judgment?
– How do we recognize a first love that lasts?
– What role should age differences play—then or now?

Bold and emotionally honest, Age of Consent explores how love defies boundaries. “When love carries a power imbalance, we are playing with fire,” Thompson says. “That fire can destroy or illuminate.” Drawing from his own experience loving an older woman, he notes, “True romantic love can overcome any boundary or obstacle.”

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Mark Thompson is the author of two novels, Age of Consent and What Makes A Man Run. He is a triathlete who began competing in high school in the late 1970s while growing up in Connecticut. Formerly a competitor for Team USA Intermediate, Thompson has participated in more than 20 marathons and triathlons, winning age group awards in many.He also plays accordion with The Zydeco Hogs, a nationally-recognized band that brings the music of southwest Louisiana across the United States. He has performed with artists including the Grammy-nominated Basin Brothers and the late, legendary D.L. Menard.Thompson, 63, is retired after working for two decades as a physical therapist assistant. He graduated from Keene State University, studying business management. Born in Chicago, his family moved to Weston, CT, where he grew up. Thompson now lives in Mamaroneck, NY and Sag Harbor, NY with his wife, author Catherine Hiller.

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www.markthompsonauthor.net

https://www.facebook.com/mark.thompson.9828456

https://www.instagram.com/mark_thompson_runs

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TSM25-47. The Brushy Ridge Militia by Roger Chiocchi

November 24, 2025November 22, 2025Self Discovery Wisdom Podcast

Their Story Matters with Sara Troy and her guest Roger Chiocchi, on air from November 25th

“If you’re drawn to politically charged thrillers that reveal the human cost of policy decisions, this is a must-read.” — Literary Titan.
In this wrenching political novel, a school shooting turns suburban parents into federal criminals, raising the urgent question: How long can grieving parents be ignored? — BookLife, Editors Pick
The Brushy Ridge Militia is about how the intersection of grief and helplessness leads a group of parents to become so enraged after a mass shooting to conclude that enough’s enough, compelling them to commit a major act of civil disobedience. It’s the fictional version “A Civil Action” meets “The Trial of the Catonsville Nine.’

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Roger Chiocchi graduated from Ithaca College and then the Wharton School (MBA) with distinction. He spent over 25 years as a senior executive on Madison Avenue as a Senior Vice President at Young & Rubicam and then as President of Y&R subsidiary, The Lord Group where he worked on advertising campaigns for Advil, ATT, Verizon, Bell Atlantic, USAA, Kraft Foods and many others. Throughout his life, Chiocchi has had a passion for writing. In his spare time, he wrote the fictional ghost story Mean Spirits, which rose to number one in its genre on Amazon and Baby Boomer Bust? How the generation of promise became the generation of panic, which addresses the impact of the 2008/2009 recession on that generation. In 2019, he published Time Framed, a sci-fi paranormal thriller to critical acclaim. Chiocchi regards himself as a perpetual student, constantly scouring YouTube for lectures on astrophysics, quantum mechanics, human consciousness, politics and whatever else suits his fancy. The Brushy Ridge Militia is his latest novel.