Unlocking Ancient Remedies in Modern Times with Teri M. Brown

In this episode of Conversations with Rich Bennett, sponsored by Maryland Pickers, Rich welcomes back author Teri M. Brown. Teri discusses her latest book, "Daughters of Green Mountain Gap," set in the 1890s Appalachian Mountains. She delves into the intriguing world of granny women—mountain healers using roots, herbs, and mountain magic—and the generational clash between traditional and modern medicine. Teri also shares her journey of research, writing challenges, and the importance of marketing for authors, offering listeners a captivating glimpse into her unique storytelling process.

Teri M Brown, Author

Sponsor Message:

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Transcript

Rich Bennett 0:00
She's back. I am thrilled to have you. It's almost like. Like a sister. This is her third time on. She sent people to me. I talk about her all the time to other authors because she's the one that I tell authors all the time. Make the podcast circuit. She's been doing that. It's because of her, too. Her first book that she did that somebody, when I put the post out, found it offensive and that was sunflowers beneath the snow because of a hashtag I put on there. Something about bicycle built for two in the Ukraine war. But she's written Sunflowers Beneath the Snow, an Enemy like Me. And we're going to learn about her new book, Daughters of Green Mountain Gap. I have my long lost sister, Terry and Brownback on again. How you doing, Terry? 

Teri M Brown 0:59
I'm doing wonderfully. Thank you so much for having me on, Rich. 

Rich Bennett 1:03
Oh, my pleasure. So this one, this new book is a lot different than your other two, isn't it? 

Teri M Brown 1:11
In a way, but not as much different as you would think because it is historical, which 

Rich Bennett 1:16
Okay. 

Teri M Brown 1:16
my my other have been. Unlike my others, there's no war involved. So, you know, Daughters of Green Mountain Gap is set in the 1890s in the North Carolina mountains, whereas an enemy like me is World War Two. And sunflowers beneath the snow is during the fall of the Soviet Union. So we have kind of those war things. So this one doesn't have war, but it does have three generations. And so it's still a generational story and we still it's still multiple points of view. So there's a lot of things that are the same. 

Rich Bennett 1:49
Right? 

Teri M Brown 1:50
But but yeah, no war. And that's what someone had brought up with me. They said there's no war in this one. It's like, No, no, there's not 

Rich Bennett 1:57
Well, 

Teri M Brown 1:57
history. 

Rich Bennett 1:57
I guess. 

Teri M Brown 1:58
History isn't all war. You know, there's there's other things out there, right? 

Rich Bennett 2:01
It's like a war between the different generations in 

Teri M Brown 2:05
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 2:05
Tibet, their beliefs, in medicine, in all. 

Teri M Brown 2:07
It is. It is. 

Rich Bennett 2:08
Right. 

Teri M Brown 2:08
Right. And so what it really is, is it's a look at like what happens when we have a traditional something and a modern something bumps up against it. And like like what happens And in this case, it's medicine. So we have. 

Rich Bennett 2:23
Right. 

Teri M Brown 2:23
We have a granny woman and that is a healer in the mountains of the Appalachian, of the Appalachian Mountains. They're called granny women. They use like roots 

Rich Bennett 2:33
Oh. 

Teri M Brown 2:34
herbs and what I call a little bit of mountain magic. They have that ability to kind of like talk to a baby who is breech and get that baby to flip just by, like rubbing on the stomach and talking. They can do things like literally talk a wart off. They can talk to your wart. And within a week your wart falls off and you don't have a wart anymore. There's they have these. 

Rich Bennett 2:58
Wow. 

Teri M Brown 2:59
These things that they do. And then she has a daughter named Kerry and and Kerry and thinks her mother's cracked and like. You know, this is crazy medicine. And she's learned a lot about this modern idea of medicine. And she goes on, moves to Boston, becomes a nurse, and then comes back to her community with every intention of bringing modern medicine to her community. But the community doesn't necessarily like go with the program. Right. So some people are okay with the modern medicine and some people want granny and then Kerry and has a daughter and her daughter, Josie may spent a lot of time growing up at Grandma's because mom was off getting an education and doing these things. Her dad died when she was an infant. And she looks at both of these and she makes this realization that granny has a lot of really good things that she does. So does Mom. And yet both of them lose people. There isn't a perfect medicine. 

Rich Bennett 4:04
Right. 

Teri M Brown 4:05
Right. And so she's kind of caught like, well, where do I go? Because she feels like she's called to be a healer, but she doesn't know. What is she supposed to do? Who is she? 

Rich Bennett 4:16
Herbs 

Teri M Brown 4:16
Follow. 

Rich Bennett 4:16
are. 

Teri M Brown 4:17
Yeah. Yeah. Like. Like, which is it going to be? And so that's kind of the setup of this story. 

Rich Bennett 4:23
So with the granny is. Is there some like Indian in there or some. 

Teri M Brown 4:30
So she actually. She's not Indian, but she. 

Rich Bennett 4:34
Okay. 

Teri M Brown 4:34
She meets a Cherokee. 

Rich Bennett 4:37
Are. 

Teri M Brown 4:38
And she actually meets a Cherokee trader who, as they're talking, she finds out that his father is the medicine man. And she ends up going to visit and meet with him and learns a lot of things. But when she comes back to her community and they find out that some of what she is doing is considered, you know, this this heathen type medicine, she gets a lot of pushback. So we get to talk a little bit about this idea of like racism and not accepting other people's beliefs. And despite the good in something, you know, do we do we say, oh, well, we can't we can't have any of that. We can't look at that because, you know, that came from Cherokee or whatever. So we look at that as well. And I loved being able to do that because the North Carolina mountains, we do have a tribe of Cherokee that never left. They didn't go on the Trail of Tears. 

Rich Bennett 5:32
Oh, really? 

Teri M Brown 5:32
No. And so there there still to this day there they have a reservation there in the mountains of North Carolina. And yeah. And so to be able to bring in some of that history as well was really exciting for me. So I'm north. I don't know what to say. I am. I've lived in North Korea. I've lived in North Carolina for 45 years. But that doesn't count as North Carolinian. But in my heart, I'm North Carolinian. I've been 

Rich Bennett 5:59
Right. 

Teri M Brown 5:59
in North Carolina longer than I've been anywhere else. And. 

Rich Bennett 6:02
You're a Tar Heel no matter what, Right? 

Teri M Brown 6:04
I am. And and so to be able to pull in some of the culture and some of the history of the North Carolina mountains was really exciting for me. 

Rich Bennett 6:15
I have to ask, because of the other two books, how in the world did you come up with the idea for this one? 

Teri M Brown 6:20
You're not. You're not going to believe it. It's the craziest story I. 

Rich Bennett 6:23
Well, look, since I've met you, you have blown me away with some of the things you've talked about. Anyways. Riding a bike. I'm sorry it had to be. 

Teri M Brown 6:33
And a bicycle, right? 

Rich Bennett 6:34
Road at our cross 

Teri M Brown 6:36
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 6:36
country and God knows what else. 

Teri M Brown 6:39
Yeah, I am a little crazy. I actually, believe it or not, I had a wart. Okay. 

Rich Bennett 6:44
Don't tell me you talked that thing off. 

Teri M Brown 6:46
No, I didn't, but I had never heard of that before. So I was at my primary care doctor just for a regular checkup. And I had this wart and I said, Hey, while I'm in the office, can you go ahead and just burn that thing off for me? Right? Because it's it's not a big deal. I mean. 

Rich Bennett 7:01
Oh, I know. 

Teri M Brown 7:02
Like, freeze it off. It's like it's not even like there's like, this thing that's gone. So what she says to me, though, is, Oh, now I'd have to send you to a specialist. I thought, Oh my gosh, I'm not going to go to a specialist over a wart. So I went to see the. 

Rich Bennett 7:17
Stuff over the calendar. 

Teri M Brown 7:18
Seriously. So I just went to. Yeah, I did. I went to CVS and I got one of those little patches and eventually it came off. Well, now I'm talking to my brother and I was complaining about primary care medicine and about how it used to be. You could go in and they would do 90% of what you needed right in the office. And now they pretty much take your temperature and your blood pressure and send you to a specialist. And it makes me nuts. And I told him about my wart and he said, Why didn't you have someone talk it off? 

Rich Bennett 7:48
Your brother said this. 

Teri M Brown 7:49
Yeah. And I said, What? Never been. What are you talking about? And he said, Yeah, I got a buddy that talks off words. 

Rich Bennett 7:57
I thought he was nuts, right? 

Teri M Brown 7:58
Well. So I'm the gullible person in my family. Okay? And so they often tell me stories. So at Christmas time, they can say, You remember that time we told Terry and then everybody laughs. So I didn't fall for it. I was just like, I'm just not going there. But when we got off the phone, the research junkie in me could not let it go. Right. And so I thought, Well, I'm going to look it up. No one will know. No one will ever know. I looked it up. And darn it, if there aren't people who talk off warts. So. 

Rich Bennett 8:28
Wow. 

Teri M Brown 8:29
So they actually talk to it. Some people will buy it. They'll give you a penny. And now that word is theirs. And within a week, your work is gone. It's so weird. So I start doing more research because, like, that's just too cool. I have to know what this is. Then I find out about people who can blow in your mouth and get rid of thrush. 

Rich Bennett 8:49
What is thrush? 

Teri M Brown 8:50
So. THRUSH A lot of babies will get it. It's like it it's like a some kind of a bacteria. And it causes that white on their tongue and up in their mouth. And it's painful. Okay. 

Rich Bennett 9:01
Yeah. 

Teri M Brown 9:02
Okay. So they can just blow and it just disappears. There are people who can smell strep throat. 

Rich Bennett 9:10
Oh, come on. 

Teri M Brown 9:12
Yep, yep. They get you can breathe and they can go. You have strep and they're always right. Okay, so 

Rich Bennett 9:18
Wow. 

Teri M Brown 9:19
now I'm really diving. And then I come across this this group known as Granny Women in the Appalachian Mountains. And as soon as I hit Appalachian Mountains in my research, Maggie was literally born in my head. And she started talking to me and she said, I have a story. I have a story I want to tell. And it was like, okay, well, let's go. Let's write this story. So. 

Rich Bennett 9:43
So how long did the research for this take you on this book? 

Teri M Brown 9:47
This one is. I did it so differently than my others because in the past I've always been able to go to a writer's retreat, and I usually spend two weeks at a writer's retreat and come out of there with 50 to 60000 words and a first draft. But my husband is ill and I can't leave for two weeks right now. It's not 

Rich Bennett 10:05
Right. 

Teri M Brown 10:05
it's not possible for me. So it's harder for me to tell you how long it took because I did things like over time and in little spurts of time. I think that I did most of this research while I was writing. I would be writing and I would get to a place and it would be like, I need certain things to happen now, can this what of these these many things that I could have happened next could have actually happened, And then I would start doing research into herbs and what herbs are known to cure what diseases. And then once you know that, where are they grown? Would it have been possible for a granny woman in the 1890s in the North Carolina mountains to get her hands on that? You know, So I did a lot of research both beforehand just finding out like what a granny woman was, because I'd never heard of one all the way through to, you know, what different herbs do. And like I said, in today's world, a granny woman and they still have granny women. By the way, there are still people who do this kind of thing there they have access to. Things from China and India. Right. I mean, there's the Internet. You can just and have it at your door. Well, that's not true of Maggie in the 1890s. Pretty much if she couldn't find it right around her or it wasn't something that made sense for it to have been imported into the area. Like like oregano. Oregano was imported into the area because there was a large population of Italian people and they brought the plant. And so now it's possible to get there. But if if there wasn't a reason for it, she's not getting some obscure Chinese herb. You know, And so I had to do a lot of research to figure out, like, was it possible for her to even have her hands on this? 

Rich Bennett 11:59
It's amazing, though, because if you look at the Appalachian Mountains and the trails, all a lot of people don't even think about this. But all the wildflowers, bears and herbs that grow around and the things that they do. Look at me. I mean, I'm going to forget the name of it. We just. We just actually went. My wife and I just went to a place and we did a haiku. And they were telling us about all these flowers and some type of garlic that was growing there. Oh, my God. It's a good. 

Teri M Brown 12:32
It's amazing. The other thing that I found really interesting was let's just look like a dandelion. Well, what you. 

Rich Bennett 12:38
Oh, yeah. 

Teri M Brown 12:38
What you use a dandelion flower for would be different than what you use its leaves for, which would be different than what 

Rich Bennett 12:44
Mm. 

Teri M Brown 12:44
you use the roots for. So just because you have this one plant, it might it might help in three or four or even five different types of of cures, depending on what part of that plant you use and how you use it. Are you boiling it up in a tea or are you using it as a paste? Are you? There's all of these things I also. 

Rich Bennett 13:04
Make it dandelion wine. 

Teri M Brown 13:05
Yeah. Seriously. I mean, it could help you there, too, right? Well. The other thing is, is some of the plants are actually harmful to people if you pick them at the wrong time. You have to pick them, like in the winter before the sap starts to rise. And that's when you can use this plant and otherwise it would be harmful to you. So these granny women, despite often not being educated in terms of like a lot of school, a lot of schooling, they have immense amounts of knowledge about these, their what grows around them and how to use it to help people. I also think that they have kind of an intuition and I also believe that they will look at the person, something that our medical system tends to not to do. They look at the disease and they say, Well, this is what we do for this disease. Granny, women look at the people and they say, well, given that this person is active and did a DA and the and the power of their skin and I'm going to use this instead of this. So they have that kind of knowledge that they do that I think is lost in Western medicine. 

Rich Bennett 14:16
All right. So because I've always been a big fan of herbs and 

Teri M Brown 14:21
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 14:21
everything and the different things that it does. 

Teri M Brown 14:25
Right. 

Rich Bennett 14:26
I should say they do. 

Teri M Brown 14:27
Right. 

Rich Bennett 14:28
When you were doing your research, what's one of the herbs or wildflowers or whatever that surprised you the most and what it actually can do for. 

Teri M Brown 14:40
So. So did you know that the sap from poison ivy can reduce the fever? 

Rich Bennett 14:47
No, I did not. 

Teri M Brown 14:48
Yeah, I would. 

Rich Bennett 14:49
The women. First of all, who the hell was the big that? 

Teri M Brown 14:51
I don't know. Like, can you imagine? But yeah, the sap from poison ivy can help reduce fever. Now, I would be. 

Rich Bennett 14:58
Wow. 

Teri M Brown 14:58
I would be loathe to do that. I am so allergic to poison ivy, but it has something to do with when you pick it. It's one of those also. That's when you pick it and you wouldn't give it for just any fever. There's certain fevers and it has it depends on like, is it a fever that also has and then it has these things. 

Rich Bennett 15:16
Right. 

Teri M Brown 15:16
I do want to do want to say and I try to say this out loud, I am not an herbalist, I am not a doctor, and I don't play one on TV. Do not use this book as as I'm going to go and now cure myself. Like, I don't believe that that anything I put in there is incorrect in terms of what I found on the Internet. 

Rich Bennett 15:35
Right. 

Teri M Brown 15:36
But I'm not a doctor. So like, if you choose to use something you find in the book, that's all on you. And I want you know, I. I put it 

Rich Bennett 15:45
It's 

Teri M Brown 15:45
up. 

Rich Bennett 15:45
called fiction. And 

Teri M Brown 15:46
Yes, 

Rich Bennett 15:46
I 

Teri M Brown 15:48
exactly. Exactly. And so, like, if it if this book makes you think, gee, I'd like to look more into, you know, herbal remedies and things, then then, then great. I'm glad that worked for you. But now go get an actual reference book or go speak to someone who actually has learned and understands all of this. I went with a lot of the remedies that are in mine are remedies that I found that they used back in the 1890s. 

Rich Bennett 16:15
write. 

Teri M Brown 16:15
So we may have moved well beyond that by now. There may now be other things that would be better. So yeah, I always try to let people know like, it's not a reference book. Fiction. It's fiction. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 16:26
So with the book, what's one of your favorite that's not necessarily chapter, but favorite parts of the book. That you wrote that you can share with us. 

Teri M Brown 16:39
Yes. So that's the part that gets there's one part that that. Well, let me there's there's an issue that happens and I'm not going to tell you what it is, but I could not write it. Because I didn't want it to happen. And so in my mind, I thought, okay, well, I'll come up with another way to fix this problem. I had gotten to a point and I, I felt like I knew what needed to happen next, but I didn't really like it. So I kept waiting, hoping that soon I would have a new idea. Six weeks goes by. Six weeks and I can't write a thing. And I finally said, okay, I'm going to write this down. And if I don't like it, I can throw it away. 

Rich Bennett 17:24
Right. 

Teri M Brown 17:24
Wrote this really difficult scene, went to bed. It was just like, oh, just like, just tore me up. And the next day when I woke up, the rest of the book opened up. I knew exactly how everything was going to end, how everything was going to wrap up. My characters knew that this needed to happen, and they absolutely refused to talk to me until I finished this difficult scene. And as soon as I wrote it, I wrote I wrote nonstop for three days after that and finished because I knew where it was going. I couldn't I couldn't not write like I had to get it out because I knew 

Rich Bennett 17:56
Right. 

Teri M Brown 17:57
exactly where everything was going at that point. 

Rich Bennett 17:59
Wow. And this book is already in the charts, too. I know. Yawn. You look on Amazon. Thank you, people. You're leaving reviews. 

Teri M Brown 18:09
Yes. Oh, my gosh. Do you know how hard it is to get reviews, Rich? 

Rich Bennett 18:14
I know for anything lately. 

Teri M Brown 18:17
Well, you know, I know and I have a podcast now and trying to get reviews on my podcast is just as difficult. It's like, Oh my gosh, I put out a meme. The other day on my social media and it was a raccoon who looked like they were, you know, praying up to the. 

Rich Bennett 18:32
Praying. 

Teri M Brown 18:33
And I wrote. This is me begging for reviews. You know. 

Rich Bennett 18:38
I am 

Teri M Brown 18:40
I think that 

Rich Bennett 18:40
a. 

Teri M Brown 18:40
people have there's several things. People believe that if they didn't buy the book on Amazon, for instance, they bought it through me or they borrowed it from the library that that they can't review it. And that's not true. 

Rich Bennett 18:51
Yes, you can. 

Teri M Brown 18:52
You can. 

Rich Bennett 18:53
And 

Teri M Brown 18:54
They also believe that they have to review it as though they were a professional reviewer, like it needs to be eight paragraphs long and have, you know, know 

Rich Bennett 19:03
one. 

Teri M Brown 19:04
it. One sentence. 

Rich Bennett 19:05
Science perfect or even 

Teri M Brown 19:07
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 19:07
one. 

Teri M Brown 19:07
I mean, if you can put the number of stars you think the book is five, just in case you wonder. The number of stars and you put a title in. It can even just be something like enjoyed it, like it doesn't 

Rich Bennett 19:20
Yeah. 

Teri M Brown 19:20
have to be anything and then you can write. I enjoyed this book. Liked characters, period. That's it. Like you don't. 

Rich Bennett 19:28
Yeah, 

Teri M Brown 19:28
It doesn't have to be. Doesn't even have to be grammatically correct. Nothing. It's about numbers. You know, 

Rich Bennett 19:36
exactly. 

Teri M Brown 19:36
for for Amazon, it's about numbers. And so, yeah, I just tell people, you know, please, please, please review the book. 

Rich Bennett 19:44
Oh, it's important. I mean, yeah, it definitely helps you sell books, but. And even on good reads. 

Teri M Brown 19:49
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 19:50
The reviews there, too, because a lot of people will go to good reads to find out more about a book. 

Teri M Brown 19:56
Just to see, is this even going to be worth it for me? 

Rich Bennett 19:58
Yeah. 

Teri M Brown 19:59
And if there's a review or two or eight or 50, then they then they get a better feel. If there's if there's no reviews, there's only one or two reviews, then they wonder, is it any good? Has anyone even read this book? Right? 

Rich Bennett 20:14
Actually for for you for reviews. I know one of the things that has helped me with. The park is, of course, out. Yeah, well, you see, now I've sent you to email asking for reviews, but for the listeners, I'll hold a contest every once in a while. 

Teri M Brown 20:29
Yeah. Now I've done the same thing. I've done the same thing. I've done the same thing for getting people to like, one of my social media is that I'm trying to build up. 

Rich Bennett 20:38
Yeah. 

Teri M Brown 20:38
You know. Yeah. I'm big into. 

Rich Bennett 20:40
It is. 

Teri M Brown 20:41
Anything that that gets people excited. 

Rich Bennett 20:45
Mm hmm. 

Teri M Brown 20:46
Like like, hey, I have a $25 Amazon gift card that you can buy any book you want with it. All I want is for a review you to use. You send me a snap of the review you sent and I'll put you in a drawing for $25 gift card and then yeah, then you do get a little a little flurry. But even then. Even then, people. I will stand up in front of a group. So I was at a book club the other day. All of these women, there were 21 women in the room. All of them had read the book, 

apparently based on what they were saying to me. All of them liked the book. I told all of them, please. And all of them agreed. While in the room with me that they would do it. 

It's not that they're bad people, but they go home and they forget and it's no longer. Mind for them. Yeah, I got to figure. 

Rich Bennett 21:37
On the other. 

Teri M Brown 21:38
System. 

Rich Bennett 21:39
The other thing is, too, when you get people that love to read books once they finish wine, well, there are some. 

Teri M Brown 21:45
They're already on to the next one. 

Rich Bennett 21:46
Sure. Yeah. Some of them are reading more than one book at a time. 

Teri M Brown 21:50
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. 

Rich Bennett 21:51
It's like hell in the world, which I can't even do that with. With your book. 

Teri M Brown 21:57
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 21:58
Is it in audio form as well? 

Teri M Brown 22:00
So exciting news, Rich. 

Rich Bennett 22:03
Oh. 

Teri M Brown 22:04
Audio book is going to come out in July. 

Rich Bennett 22:06
Yes, 

Teri M Brown 22:07
So this will be my first one on audio. I have I've wanted to do it. It's a little expensive and you kind of go back and forth with like, where are you going to put your money? You know, and I talked with a narrator who reached out to me. And normally, I don't I don't talk with people who reach out to me that way just because there's a lot of scammy stuff going on. 

Rich Bennett 22:32
right. 

Teri M Brown 22:32
But I asked her a few questions and she answered and I asked a few more questions. And she seemed to be one of those people who genuinely wanted to talk with me and help. So I said, Hey, could we just have a conversation? I would love to talk with you more about like, what are the ins and outs? What does it take? What am I looking at? That kind of thing. And she was more than willing to chat with me. And we had an immediate connection when we spoke face to face. And so she's she's doing this for me. So I am thrilled to pieces that I am going to have it come out. And so it's going to come out at the six month mark. So at at daughter's half birthday. 

Rich Bennett 23:10
Oh. 

Now, this is the second time I've heard that term half birthday. 

Teri M Brown 23:16
It's a six month thing. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 23:19
Yeah. I never heard. So what about the other two? Are they going to be in audio form as well? 

Teri M Brown 23:25
I would like them to be. So my narrator is Tracey Odom Odom And she recommended because I asked her, I've got three books. I can't do all three at once. 

Rich Bennett 23:39
Now 

Teri M Brown 23:39
I can't. Financially, 

Rich Bennett 23:41
due to 

Teri M Brown 23:41
that's. 

Rich Bennett 23:41
first. 

Teri M Brown 23:42
Yeah. And she said do the newest one first. And I said, okay. So will the other two be done? I hope so. I would like to think so, but I'm going to have to figure out like the timing and the finance part 

Rich Bennett 23:55
Yeah. 

Teri M Brown 23:55
of it and said the best way for that to happen is anyone who's listening. If you know Oprah or, you know, someone akin to her and can get my book on one of her lists, then money will no longer be an issue. And I can put all of them on audio. So let's keep that in mind. 

She. 

Rich Bennett 24:14
Oh, God. Okay. Before I want to ask you some other questions about writing, but tell everybody why they need to buy the latest book, Daughters of Green. Was it Daughters of Green Mountain Gap? 

Teri M Brown 24:29
Yeah. So. 

Rich Bennett 24:30
Green Mountain Top. I got Rocky Mountain top 

Teri M Brown 24:32
Pop 

Rich Bennett 24:32
on 

Teri M Brown 24:32
in your head. Yeah. Because, well, I mean, you know, it has that vibe, right? 

Rich Bennett 24:36
it all. 

Teri M Brown 24:36
I think if you like, if you like historical fiction, if you like generational stories, if you like well-written characters that you see go from one place to another place, real growth in these characters, then this is a book you want to buy. I tell everyone that I write books that have characters in them that you would love to invite to lunch. These are people that are going to become your friends. And if that's the kind of story that really, like, drives you, like you like a good story where the characters are rich and full and you can learn a little something, then this is the book for you. 

Rich Bennett 25:17
And also when you get it again, don't forget to leave a full review. Not just five stars put on. 

Teri M Brown 25:24
No. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 25:25
Five stars. 

Teri M Brown 25:26
Yeah. I mean, the five stars is is better than nothing. Like, I'll take it, but I would rather know why. I want to know why. Why did you like it? And if it's. It can be. Like I said, as simple as I enjoyed the characters or fun story in old time mountains, I mean, it doesn't even have to be like you don't even have to have a full sentence. It just need to help people who are looking know, like, is this something that I think I might enjoy? You know, I do my best buy by providing a cover and a title and a blurb on the back, But having other people who've read it and can say, yes, I enjoyed this story is the next thing that they look at. So. 

Rich Bennett 26:10
All right. So we've talked before about how important it is for authors to get on pack as many podcasts as possible. 

Teri M Brown 26:19
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 26:20
Even if the book's already been out for two years. Still, 

Teri M Brown 26:22
Book books 

Rich Bennett 26:23
because. 

Teri M Brown 26:23
don't have it. They don't have an expiration date on them. They're not like they're not like milk. You know, they don't they don't go sour and you throw them out. And the thing is, is that if you have a book from two years ago and you've got a new book out, both of those books are going to help sell the other book. Because if someone reads your first book, first, they're going to then come and say, Well, what else has this author written? If they read your third book first, they're going to say, What else has this author written? And they go back. So yeah, you never run out like you should. I believe you probably should spend more time marketing your newest book, but you never stop marketing your old ones. 

Rich Bennett 27:01
Now. Yeah, exactly. That's like saying that. Let's say you're you. You have a business that offers different services, and then all of a sudden you, you know, launch a new service. 

Teri M Brown 27:15
And now we don't ever talk about those other ones, Right? That doesn't make any sense. 

Rich Bennett 27:18
I'm going to advertise them. 

Teri M Brown 27:20
Right. 

Rich Bennett 27:21
It's. Yeah. It just doesn't make sense. And tell everybody how this is you get on podcast has really helped you with the book sales. 

Teri M Brown 27:29
So I live in a small town on the coast of North Carolina and in my small town I am now actually getting to be well known people. I have to make sure I look decent at the grocery store because inevitably someone says. You are that author, right? And it's like, Oh my gosh, look at how I'm dressed. So but this is a tiny little town. And this little town, it's called Calabash. Most people never heard of it. And it doesn't mean anything on the map of the world, right? 

Rich Bennett 28:00
Right. 

Teri M Brown 28:01
I cannot possibly get out to every place in the world. I can't do that. Where are you located, Rich? 

Rich Bennett 28:10
I'm in Maryland right on the Chesapeake Bay. 

Teri M Brown 28:12
Okay, so I am now reaching people that know you. Right. I don't know who these people are that are listening. I only know you. But now, because I'm talking to you, I'm reaching this group of people who's not necessarily calabash. Well, then I can go and speak to someone who's from Oregon tomorrow, and I can speak to someone in Canada, and then I can go speak to someone in the UK. And I can't do all of that travelling financially. It's crazy. And then just logistically with my my ill husband, it's not like I can say, Oh, I'm going to go meet with crowds and crowds of people in the UK. That's not going to happen. But I can get on a podcast and now it gets out there. And then then just to make that even better, it's evergreen material. It stays out. 

Rich Bennett 29:02
Yes. 

Teri M Brown 29:03
Right. It's not like you you put the podcast up in two days later you take it down. It's there forever. My first podcast with you is still there. My second podcast with you is still there. My third podcast is going to be there, right? And, and, and when I have my fourth book and you invite me back, my fourth podcast, 

Rich Bennett 29:22
Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Hold up. Back, 

Teri M Brown 29:24
you 

Rich Bennett 29:24
up, 

Teri M Brown 29:24
know. 

Rich Bennett 29:24
back. No, Terry, you don't need an invitation. You. All eyes open, 

Teri M Brown 29:29
Okay. Okay. So when I write my fourth book, can I invite myself back? 

It'll still be there. And so these are things that, as an author, you can point to. You can even go take like a little snip and use it for for a quick reel on Instagram. You can you can say, Hey, there was this thing that happened at 3 minutes and 42 seconds. You should go check it out. Or if you always wanted to know what I thought about X, Y, Z, find the 

Rich Bennett 29:58
right? 

Teri M Brown 29:58
answer on. I mean, you can use podcasts in so many ways that it's crazy not to get on them. 

Rich Bennett 30:08
How much does it cost you to get on a podcast like mine? 

Teri M Brown 30:13
Big zeros. It doesn't. I mean, my time. 

Rich Bennett 30:16
It's free. 

Teri M Brown 30:17
It's my time. It's the 

Rich Bennett 30:18
You mean 

Teri M Brown 30:18
time. 

Rich Bennett 30:19
free marketing? 

Teri M Brown 30:20
Three marketing like can you believe? 

Rich Bennett 30:21
Oh, come on. No way. 

Teri M Brown 30:24
In fact, I actually I've had a few people that want money to be on a podcast. They try to charge their guests. I usually say no to that. I have paid as much as $25. That helps them defray some of their studio costs or whatever. 

Rich Bennett 30:41
Right. 

Teri M Brown 30:41
I will go that much. I had one guy try to tell me that, oh, he was going to. He was the best thing since peanut butter and it was going to cost me 1500 dollars to be on his show. And it was. Don't need it. I don't need it. And for 1500 dollars, you're going to have to guarantee me a lot. 

Rich Bennett 30:58
Yeah. 

Teri M Brown 30:59
Like you're going to have to guarantee me 1500 dollars in sales. 

Rich Bennett 31:02
Exactly. 

Teri M Brown 31:04
And if you can do that. Yeah. If you can do that and guarantee it. And when I don't see it happen, you give me my money back. Well, then we'll talk. But. 

Rich Bennett 31:15
I found Terry, and I found the best way to shut those people up. Because sometimes you just keep getting emails. 

Teri M Brown 31:21
Yeah. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 31:22
I'll ask them, you know, can I have the information from some of your guests? I if usually so I can find out what kind of I'll say it like this. I'll say what kind of RR why they got. 

Teri M Brown 31:34
Right. 

Rich Bennett 31:34
I can't tell you how I may respond to beg. I said, What's the R0? I. 

Teri M Brown 31:38
They don't even know what that is. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 31:40
You got to have a good return on investment. 

Teri M Brown 31:41
Yeah, because if you don't, it's not worth it. But see, to me, a podcast, it's an it's a wonderful way for me to market who I am, what I do. You know, we've talked about my three books. Right. And, and this is me. I've, I brought up my website. I've brought up several things. I brought up the fact that I do social media. Now, people are starting to know these things about me. So if they want to find me now, they they know where they can go and how they can do that and. Yeah, I mean, it's it's time you and I are going to spend about an hour here together today. And even if you are an hourly wage, that's outrageous. You can't find marketing that will do what the podcast will do for you for that price. You just can't do it. And so, yeah, I think that it's not only that I enjoy chatting with people about my books and I enjoy chatting about writing and I enjoy chatting about the things that I'm doing, etc. So it's a really good fit for me, 

Rich Bennett 32:42
And the other thing is, too. So, like you, when you're like, with me, you've this is your third time on. So the other two episodes that you were on will be linked 

Teri M Brown 32:51
right? 

Rich Bennett 32:51
in the show notes so people can listen to them to find out about them, book those books. But the other thing is to especially if being an author preneur, let's face it, sometimes people retire. But if those books are still available for sale. 

Teri M Brown 33:07
Yeah. A. 

Rich Bennett 33:07
Just more income coming in when your 

Teri M Brown 33:10
Like I said, it's books. Don't 

Rich Bennett 33:12
debit. 

Teri M Brown 33:13
book. Yeah, books don't expire. And podcasts, even podcasts that quit. 

Like, let's say that you said, I'm not doing this one anymore. 

Rich Bennett 33:25
Right. 

Teri M Brown 33:26
Right. The likelihood is, is those ones that are out there, they're still there. They're they're up on these different. They're not going anywhere. 

Rich Bennett 33:35
Provided they do. Yeah. It all depends on the housing plan. I just. 

Teri M Brown 33:39
I guess so. I guess. 

Rich Bennett 33:40
Yeah, 

Teri M Brown 33:41
But but a lot of them but a lot of them stick out there at some in some place, in some form somewhere. 

Rich Bennett 33:47
exactly. 

Teri M Brown 33:47
You're going to be able to find it. And so. So even even one that you think, well, I'm not even sure that that one is going to be around long. Doesn't matter. Do it and use it while it's there. You know, I'm I tend not to be someone who sits and looks at the numbers and says, oh, well, this podcast doesn't have a broad enough audience. My thought is, is does this podcast talk to ten people that I would not reach in another way? 

Rich Bennett 34:14
Exactly. 

Teri M Brown 34:14
Worth my time. 

Rich Bennett 34:16
Exactly. 

Teri M Brown 34:16
Worth my time. 

Rich Bennett 34:18
A numbers you really can't picture. She still cannot give you true numbers. 

Teri M Brown 34:22
No, they guess I mean, there's there's things that they can do. But even then I was looking at. So I have a podcast now and it's I mean, we're we're still at the low the low end of numbers, and I'm still working on getting it to do what needs to be done. But when they give the numbers, they don't give the numbers for the number of looks that it's had on YouTube. And so it's kind of like, okay, so it didn't count that. What else is it? Not counting. 

Rich Bennett 34:50
Well, that's something I've always told people because I do podcast consulting as well. I always tell people I want to start a podcast, remember? And even those that are doing it, downloads don't equal lessons and they don't equal plays or downloads don't equal lessons. Don't equal plays. 

Teri M Brown 35:04
Right. 

Rich Bennett 35:05
Cause you some. I could download an episode of your podcast and never. 

Teri M Brown 35:09
Never listened to it and other people listened to it without actually downloading it, because there 

Rich Bennett 35:14
Exactly. 

Teri M Brown 35:14
are a lot of there are a lot of platforms out there that you don't actually have to download it to anything. You can just listen to it streaming. And so sometimes and it depends on how did these different platforms report? Do they only report downloads to the report? The number of people who streamed it, do they report it only after they've listened to a certain amount, or did they start reporting it when they only listened to 3 seconds and don't listen to more like all of those things? And it isn't it isn't across the board done one. 

Rich Bennett 35:45
Now. 

Teri M Brown 35:46
And so. 

Rich Bennett 35:47
Yeah. And the thing is, too, because you can and I've already proved this, where a group of us would sit around and listen to a podcast. Well, that chooses one. Listen. 

Teri M Brown 35:58
But there's. There's. 

Rich Bennett 35:59
People listening? 

Teri M Brown 36:00
When people were listening to it. Hey, you should listen to this with me. And then 

Rich Bennett 36:03
Yeah. 

Teri M Brown 36:04
that changes the numbers. Yeah. So I try not to get too stuck on as a guest on the numbers. You know, if if someone listens to it and that someone is not someone who has listened to me somewhere else, I'm. I win. 

Rich Bennett 36:22
Yeah. 

Teri M Brown 36:23
And I feel the same thing when I do in-person events. I did this sale not too long ago. It was a group of authors and we all had our books for sale. And I did not expect to sell very many because when people come into a big room with, you know, 27 authors, they only have so much money to spend, they're not going to buy from every author. Right. And so, you know that sales are going to be limited. And several of the authors walked away, very disgruntled, feeling like, you know, I only sold four books today. And my thought. 

Rich Bennett 36:54
More to. 

Teri M Brown 36:55
My thought was is, wow. I sold four books today. I got six people to sign up for my newsletter, and I had a conversation with 20 readers. 

20 

Rich Bennett 37:07
Oh, yeah. 

Teri M Brown 37:07
readers. You know what a fantastic day that was. I have a very different way of looking at it than a lot of people, I think. 

Rich Bennett 37:15
Yeah. And the other thing is, do you think about it because a lot of a lot of those authors, if they have business cards or something with their 

Teri M Brown 37:23
Right. 

Rich Bennett 37:23
QR code, how many business cards did you give out with your website on it? 

Teri M Brown 37:27
Right. 

Rich Bennett 37:28
How many people scanned your QR code? 

Teri M Brown 37:30
Exactly. 

Rich Bennett 37:30
Because they didn't buy right then and there doesn't mean the. 

Teri M Brown 37:33
So I actually was I was actually at one of these like craft festival things, and I sat out there all day in the heat and I think I sold two books and I really did think this may have been a waste of my time. This one really didn't didn't seem to go real well. About two weeks later, I get a phone call and it was from one of the two people that had bought my book. And she said, I loved Sunflowers Beneath the Snow. I have a book club that is extremely active and there's 11 of us. I'd like to purchase 11 books. 

Rich Bennett 38:10
Wow. 

Teri M Brown 38:11
So that particular event on that day wasn't terribly fruitful, but it was fruitful two weeks later. 

Rich Bennett 38:20
Yeah. 

Teri M Brown 38:21
You know. And so it's sometimes it's hard to know, like you get all of a sudden you get this bump and you don't know where it came from. Like, where did that come from? It could have been someone listen to your show. It could have been any number of things. You don't know necessarily where it comes. 

Rich Bennett 38:36
Yeah. 

Teri M Brown 38:37
So. 

Rich Bennett 38:38
That's one of the things that baffles me about about doing this, about podcasting, because I see people are still going back, listening to my first episodes from, well, when I started doing it audio and not YouTube back in 2016, people are going back and listening to them as I. Wow. Really? 

Teri M Brown 39:00
Well. And so 

Rich Bennett 39:01
It's. 

Teri M Brown 39:01
they they listen to something of yours recently. They liked 

Rich Bennett 39:04
Yeah, 

Teri M Brown 39:05
they liked it. And then they say, well, what else does he have out there? And then they go through and maybe they're not listening to all of them, but they're picking and choosing. And they'll go, Ooh, this looks 

Rich Bennett 39:13
yeah, 

Teri M Brown 39:13
like a cool topic, you know? And now 

Rich Bennett 39:15
yeah. 

Teri M Brown 39:15
that you know that they like you and your style, it's like they're now going back in there picking topics and things that that are appealing. So yeah, I think that that as an author, you need to like readjust. It's not just about the number of books you sell at any given point. It's more about the connections that you make, your ability to get marketing, your name, to be out there more 

Rich Bennett 39:42
We. 

Teri M Brown 39:42
so that when someone is finally ready to buy for whatever reason and they look, they can find you, They see that you're out there, they see that you're real. You know, if you look up Terry and Brown and Google me, I'm everywhere now. I'm. 

Rich Bennett 39:57
Yeah. 

Teri M Brown 39:58
And it's because I've been willing to be on I've been on probably not different podcasts because I offered them and I'm a repeat guest, but I've been on over 150 episodes, I'm sure, in the last. 

Rich Bennett 40:10
Oh, yeah. 

Teri M Brown 40:11
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 40:12
It's something you mentioned earlier, just a little while ago, too, about that book club they bought 1111 of your books. 

Teri M Brown 40:18
right. 

Rich Bennett 40:19
And I had a young lady on Marlene. She's known as the signing grandma. She writes children's books. And each one has, you know, drawings of people. 

Teri M Brown 40:31
Sign language. 

Rich Bennett 40:31
The sign language. 

Teri M Brown 40:32
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 40:33
And it's like, okay, these are these aren't for me. However, the daycare down the road might like them. I bought all of her books and donate them to the daycare. 

Teri M Brown 40:46
Right. 

Rich Bennett 40:47
So you never know. I mean, yeah, even if you don't sell any at a festival, somebody gives you information. Guess. 

Teri M Brown 40:55
Well, if I can get somebody to sign up for my newsletter, I now have more chances to market to them. 

Rich Bennett 41:00
Oh, yeah. Well, and actually, with your newsletter and people, you can easily sign up for the newsletter. Just go to Terry and Brown 

Teri M Brown 41:09
Brown 

Rich Bennett 41:09
dot com. 

Teri M Brown 41:09
com. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 41:10
It's Terry with one. Ah and it's and I. TR i. 

Teri M Brown 41:14
That's correct. 

Rich Bennett 41:15
And Bram. 

Teri M Brown 41:15
M brown dot com. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 41:18
So you go there. Sign up for her newsletter. You're going to get updated on all the great things that she's doing because you even update the blog on your website. 

Teri M Brown 41:27
I do. I do. So one of the so I put out two newsletters a month. I try not to like I don't I don't want to fill people's email. 

Rich Bennett 41:35
Right. 

Teri M Brown 41:36
But one of the newsletters is almost exclusively book reviews. So it's books that I've read in the past month. And here's my 

Rich Bennett 41:45
Okay. 

Teri M Brown 41:45
quick little review on it. You know, so if you're looking for, Hey, what should be my next read? And I read a wide range of genres. I read everything. And so you can see like, Oh, this sounds good to me, or oh, that, that, that kind of tweaks my interest. So that goes out. And then the other newsletter is primarily about stuff happening with me. You know, the fact that that daughter's is going to come out isn't audio or the fact that I've got a short story coming out in an anthology or whatever. And I and you know, a daughter's won an award or whatever those things. And so I'll put those kinds of things down. And 

Rich Bennett 42:21
Right. 

Teri M Brown 42:21
so one is, is primarily writing stuff about me and then one is primarily stuff about the books that I've read. So. 

Rich Bennett 42:30
Something else you do for your books, which I don't see a lot of authors doing, and I think they're missing the boat on this. 

Teri M Brown 42:37
Ooh, What am I doing? 

Rich Bennett 42:39
The trailers. 

Teri M Brown 42:40
Oh, yeah. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 42:43
Where? Who? Who gave you the idea about doing trailers for a book, first of all. 

Teri M Brown 42:48
So I listened to a podcast. It was it was one season and then it went away and I was so sad it went away. But I listen to every one of them and his name was Tim Groll g. R h l. He is a book marketer. He did a podcast where he was working with an author and they just podcast did their coaching sessions together so he would record their coaching sessions together and then you could listen to them. And so I believe he was the first person that said something about a book trailer. And I thought, Hmm. So I create my own. I just I go in and I figured out clip champ. And between clip Champ and Canva, I. 

Rich Bennett 43:33
Very good video. 

Teri M Brown 43:33
Thank you. And I just put them together. I knew nothing about either one of those. Like, I'm not. I'm not a techie person, but clip champ is pretty straight forward, you know? And you can just add things. Yeah. It's called Clip Champion. It's free. You can get a paid version. But I just used the free version. And then I find graphics that are free on Canva or you can also find graphics on. 

Rich Bennett 44:01
Pixels. 

Teri M Brown 44:02
Pixabay. It's the one that I've. 

Rich Bennett 44:04
Pixabay. Yeah, 

Teri M Brown 44:05
I used. But. But I just make sure that whatever I'm using is free. So, like, as an author, don't get, don't, don't go copyright, Get yourself in copyright trouble. Like, don't pull things just off the Internet. Make sure that what you're using allows you to use it. And then I kind of think to myself, okay, so these are the things I was able to find. How can I put them together? Let me find some music I'm allowed to use. I usually record my voice at one point where I'm, you know, maybe reading the back cover or reading something 

Rich Bennett 44:33
right. 

Teri M Brown 44:34
and. Ted, it's done. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 44:37
I love them. I wish all authors would do that. And put them on their website, which every author should also have a website. 

Teri M Brown 44:45
Website. I put them on my website, I put them, I put them wherever I can. Sometimes people will do an interview with me, 

Rich Bennett 44:54
Yeah. 

Teri M Brown 44:54
maybe like I'd like just a written interview, and they'll ask like, you know, do you have any like social media or whatever? And I'll give them my social media, but I also give them the link to my my book trailer. Sometimes they'll use it and sometimes they won't. But I always give it because you never know. They might put it up, right. 

Rich Bennett 45:14
It's okay to include the trailer in the show notes of this. 

Teri M Brown 45:16
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. 

Rich Bennett 45:19
I just want to make sure I mean, even though it's on YouTube, I. 

Teri M Brown 45:22
Yes, it's everywhere. I put it out there and and so so my feeling is, is anything that I can do to spark interest, Like I take my I take my trailer and once it's done, I put it on YouTube, but it's also on Tik Tok. I put it everywhere. You just go ahead and put it out there because you never know where someone might find it. 

Rich Bennett 45:41
So with the podcast. Well, first of all, tell everybody the name of the party. 

Teri M Brown 45:46
The podcast is online for authors. 

Rich Bennett 45:49
We know it's online and it's for authors, but what's the name of the podcast? 

Teri M Brown 45:52
Yes. Online for 

Rich Bennett 45:53
I'm 

Teri M Brown 45:53
authors. 

Rich Bennett 45:53
sorry. I just had to go. I just had to. 

Teri M Brown 45:56
So this is a this is a podcast that someone else had. I was a guest on it twice, maybe three times. She contacted me back in May and said, I'm having to pull back a little. Would you like to guest host some? And I said, Sure. She continued doing all the hard stuff, and I just got on there as a guest and as a guest host, and I loved it. And then she contacted me in September and said, I've got to stop. I can't I can't continue. I want to know if you would like the podcast. 

Rich Bennett 46:30
Wow. 

Teri M Brown 46:30
So I inherited the podcast, which is really great. I've changed it a little in terms of like what the main focus is. She was a little more involved with helping authors market, so the discussions were often a little more aimed at marketing. I do more about their book and let them use that as their marketing. And although we might talk a little bit about marketing and how are you doing it, etc., it's less about a teaching moment with the author and more about letting them shine. So. 

Rich Bennett 47:05
So she. So she gave you the package? She did sell it to you. 

Teri M Brown 47:10
No, I'm I'm blessed. 

Rich Bennett 47:11
Wow. 

Teri M Brown 47:11
She has she has two others that she's selling, but she gave this one to me, so. 

Rich Bennett 47:15
That is awesome. 

Teri M Brown 47:17
Yeah, I couldn't. I couldn't turn it. In fact, I told her. I really don't think I can. I don't think I have the time. But I enjoyed being the guest host so much that I said, But give me some numbers. Let me just see a little bit about it. And I kept telling her, No, I don't think I'm going to do it, but let me know this. But I don't think I'm going to do it. But let me know this. And then I got an amazing email from a author. And when I was the guest host about about what a great job I had done and how comfortable he felt. He wrote a memoir about his family, both of its parents survived the Holocaust and both survived being in concentration camps. And I was very terrified to do that interview because it's very sensitive and I didn't want to. Say something wrong or, you know, like I just was. There's so many landmines. I was just a little bit afraid. And when we were done, I felt really good about it. And he wrote back. Oh, it was so touching all that. He said that by the time I got done reading it, I contacted Jen and I said, I'm taking it. 

Rich Bennett 48:33
Wow. 

Teri M Brown 48:33
I'm taking it. I feel like I have to do this. I have to do this because it gives me this. It's awesome because it's authors like me who who have great books, but they're new and they don't know what they're doing and they don't know where to go and they don't know how to get their word out. And, you know, the big authors that have a name and a brand and and and every publishing house wants them. They don't need someone like me. But there are a lot of authors out there and there are a lot of excellent books that you're not going to see on the New York Times bestseller list, but it doesn't make them any less awesome. 

Rich Bennett 49:11
I'm telling you, I think in all honesty, I think the independent authors. 

Teri M Brown 49:17
Often have better. 

Rich Bennett 49:18
Yes. Yes. 

Teri M Brown 49:20
Part of it. Part of the problem that goes on to me, the New York Times bestseller list, and I'm not knocking it. If I was on it, I would be thrilled. I mean, don't get me wrong. 

Rich Bennett 49:27
Right. 

Teri M Brown 49:28
But they they their feels like there's kind of an agenda in all of the books or similar whatever the flavor of the year is. So like if if everybody's focused on this particular issue, most of those books that make the bestseller list are focused on that issue. Next year's issue will be something different. We don't know what it is yet. And if you happen to write a book that happened upon that issue, you'll probably find yourself in the New York Times bestseller list. I don't I think it's and that's fine. But if you only read the New York Times bestseller list books, you only read what everyone else is reading, you're going to be like everyone else. You're not going to learn anything new. 

Rich Bennett 50:11
No, No, you won't. 

Teri M Brown 50:12
So. 

Rich Bennett 50:13
It's. Yeah, it's. And I don't know if this is true or not, but somebody told me with the New York Times best selling list that the reason the reason books are, like, at the very top is because when the books come out. Those, I guess the authors company or whatever, which most of them are companies and publishers will buy like pallet fulls of books. 

Teri M Brown 50:36
Yes, 

Rich Bennett 50:36
That's how they get up there. 

Teri M Brown 50:38
that's. 

Rich Bennett 50:38
Look it. 

Teri M Brown 50:39
So one of the reasons. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 50:40
Yeah. 

Teri M Brown 50:41
And then and then they also how they count books sold is different. For instance, the hardbacks count for more than paper. 

Rich Bennett 50:50
Huh? 

Teri M Brown 50:51
Hardbacks count for more. They can actually exclude a book. There have been people who can prove that they sold more than someone on the bestseller list, but they were excluded. 

Rich Bennett 51:04
Yeah. There's a record chart like that, too. 

Teri M Brown 51:07
Yeah. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 51:08
I ain't going to mention the name 

Teri M Brown 51:08
No, 

Rich Bennett 51:09
of. 

Teri M Brown 51:09
no. And like I said, it it's it is what it is. And so as an author to recognize that I like having this platform, that I can allow authors who aren't going to get on the bestseller list but are are amazingly good books that have amazingly good things to learn about. So, yeah, I'm enjoying it. I'm having a good time with it. 

Rich Bennett 51:31
And I'm going to say probably 90%, maybe even 99% of them are better than your New York Times best selling authors. 

Teri M Brown 51:38
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 51:38
Just saying. 

Teri M Brown 51:39
And I just like I said, I love I love meeting authors. I love talking. I love talking about writing and the craft. I love talking about books. So it's a really natural fit for me, which is crazy because two years ago, just a little over two years ago, I had never been on a podcast. I was terrified. The first podcast I was on, I thought I was going to throw up all day knowing that I was going to. Just a complete wreck. And here it is, just a little over two years later, I've been on 150 plus episodes and I now have my own show. So you never know what life is going to do with you. 

Rich Bennett 52:12
Okay. So with your podcast. Because I know a lot of podcasters will have a dream list of guests they want to get on. I used to have one and I threw it out the window because I found out that the better guests are people like you, and it's not the people that you're like your top celebrities or anything. 

Teri M Brown 52:32
Now I don't have a dream list. I, I read the book and if I believe that the book is a good fit for my audience, 

Rich Bennett 52:40
Yeah. 

Teri M Brown 52:40
my, my listeners, General Lee are are like me. They're probably mostly women. Though I think I may have some listeners, but I think they're mostly women, they're readers and they're readers of fiction. And then I also will talk with people who have a good memoir, because I think a memoir 

Rich Bennett 53:00
Right. 

Teri M Brown 53:00
is a good it's a good book out there. And if I feel that what I've read is something that's going to appeal to those people that I that I know are listening, I'm going to have you on the show. And so I don't know. I don't have any kind of dream list. I just I think that my dream is is I want to talk to other authors like me. 

Rich Bennett 53:19
So since you took over the show, do you know how many people you've talked to? 

Teri M Brown 53:24
Well, I started in January and I talked to I have once a week. So I've 

Rich Bennett 53:28
Okay. 

Teri M Brown 53:28
I've had episodes at once a week since the 1st of January. And I actually have episode scheduled through April of next year. 

Rich Bennett 53:36
That already record it. 

Teri M Brown 53:38
No, no, no, no, no. 

Rich Bennett 53:39
You have three. 

Teri M Brown 53:39
That I. That I. That I haven't recorded. No, I record. 

Rich Bennett 53:42
Wow. 

Teri M Brown 53:43
I record two months in advance. 

Rich Bennett 53:44
Okay. 

Teri M Brown 53:46
And the reason that I chose to record two months in advance is because of my husband's illness. 

Rich Bennett 53:51
Right. 

Teri M Brown 53:51
Sometimes my life goes crazy and I might have a week or two that I can't do anything and I won't be behind. I mean, I'll be behind, 

Rich Bennett 53:59
It's nice 

Teri M Brown 53:59
but 

Rich Bennett 53:59
to have a. 

Teri M Brown 54:00
Behind. 

Rich Bennett 54:01
It's always nice to have stuff in 

Teri M Brown 54:02
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 54:02
the. 

Teri M Brown 54:03
Yeah. I just. I can't. There are a lot of people who record today and put it out three days from now, and I can't be that person. Not if I want to be consistent. So. 

Rich Bennett 54:14
And because there were some people they asked me to do, you know, do do it live, and it's like not a shot, because you you never know what'll happen. 

Teri M Brown 54:24
Well, so I'm actually doing a live one on Tuesday. So on the fifth Tuesdays I type, mine comes out on Tuesday and on the fifth Tuesdays I've decided I will do a live show. So I'm going to see 

Rich Bennett 54:36
All. 

Teri M Brown 54:36
we'll see what it's like I was going to do. 

Rich Bennett 54:38
This will be your first one. 

Teri M Brown 54:39
I was going to do one in January and it cancelled because the person I was doing it with got a migraine and couldn't do it. And I thought, maybe this is why we don't do live. 

Rich Bennett 54:48
Yeah. 

Teri M Brown 54:49
Because I. This one is about names. It'll be about pen names. And I'm going to have I'm going to have four authors who use pen names. And we're going to talk about like, why did you choose to do that? How hard is it to market? What were you like? What was your reasoning behind it? Would you do it again? You know, Do you have 

Rich Bennett 55:08
It 

Teri M Brown 55:08
more? 

Rich Bennett 55:08
would be a good. 

Teri M Brown 55:09
Yeah, I'm. I'm just interested in that. It was just, you know, something different. So I thought I would. Well. 

Rich Bennett 55:15
What are you. What are you using when you do it? Live 

Teri M Brown 55:18
Extremely. 

Rich Bennett 55:18
hard. 

Teri M Brown 55:19
Mm 

Rich Bennett 55:19
Okay. 

Teri M Brown 55:19
hmm. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 55:20
I knew that I was just touching. 

Teri M Brown 55:21
You. 

Rich Bennett 55:24
Well, Terry, before I get to my last question, which. 

Teri M Brown 55:28
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 55:28
You already know what it is. Is there anything you would like to add? 

Teri M Brown 55:32
No, really, I think just, you know, like if if this sounds interesting or any of my books sound interesting to you, you know. 

Rich Bennett 55:39
And they are. 

Teri M Brown 55:40
Reach out to me if you want a signed copy. You can buy it from my website and I'll send it to you. Signed. So, you know, that's always an incentive. Yeah, just. And if you've read the book and liked the book, you know, review the book, please. For the love of God and 

and and listen to listen to my podcast. I mean, you know, especially if you're interested in books and you're wondering, like, what should I read or what's this author like? You know, it's a great way to learn about more authors. 

Rich Bennett 56:10
And actually, if an author wants to come on your podcast 

Teri M Brown 56:14
Contact 

Rich Bennett 56:14
if. 

Teri M Brown 56:14
me. So just go to my website and there's a contact page and just reach out to me and say, Hey, I want to be on your website or on your podcast, and I will send you This is the process and this is what you need to do, and you'll find out all the information that way. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 56:30
And while you're there, you can subscribe to the newsletter. 

Teri M Brown 56:32
Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, definitely if you subscribe to the newsletter, you get to find out ahead of time all the different books that I'm reading, and those are usually the authors that I'm going to have on my podcast at a later time. So. 

Rich Bennett 56:45
All right. So you know the routine. Out of all the podcasts that you've been on, all the homes you've talked to, is there anything I Hirsch has never asked you that you wish? What do they ask you? And if so, what would be the question? What would be your answer? 

Teri M Brown 56:58
Oh, what have they not 

Rich Bennett 57:00
That 

Teri M Brown 57:00
asked? 

Rich Bennett 57:00
could change over time. 

Teri M Brown 57:01
Yeah. You know. I think they've asked me just about everything I've been asked some very crazy questions to. 

Rich Bennett 57:10
No. 

Teri M Brown 57:11
Yeah, it's crazy. I was actually at one point they were quizzing me about essentially the politics of Ukraine as though somehow I would have any clue. 

No, I think I think that the only thing that I would really want people to know about me is something that I find really interesting. A lot of times people think authors aren't like real people. 

Rich Bennett 57:37
Yeah. 

Teri M Brown 57:38
You know, like you hear I'm an author and immediately I people are like, Oh, you're an author? And it's like, yeah, it's what I it's what I do, but it's not who I am. I'm so many things, you know, and I love. I love surrounding myself with things that I enjoy. And that includes, you know, collecting shells on the beach, playing with my grandkids, you know, going and finding thrift store finds. I mean, there's a lot of things. 

Rich Bennett 58:08
All. 

Teri M Brown 58:09
There are a lot of things that I really, really enjoy doing, and I enjoy being an author and I enjoy research and I enjoyed, you know, talking with people. And so, you know, keep in mind, I've had a number of people say to me, Oh, if I had known that you would zoom into my book club, I would have asked you. But I was afraid to. Oh, heavens, don't be afraid if you're talking to me like. Ask me, because if I can find a way to zoom in to your book club, I'm going to make it happen. So, yeah. 

Rich Bennett 58:39
I love that. Well, Terry, I want to thank you so much. And when is the fourth book coming out? 

Teri M Brown 58:45
You know that I don't have a date, but I am writing a fourth book. It's about. 

Rich Bennett 58:49
I figured you were. 

Teri M Brown 58:50
So it's. So do you want me to tell you about it real fast? Do you have time? 

Rich Bennett 58:53
Absolutely. 

Teri M Brown 58:54
Okay, So there was a book that I read as a little girl, a teenager, young teen called Are You There? God, It's Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume. And all the girls my age read it, and we probably read it 500 times apiece. I mean, it was just that book. And of course, it was turned into a movie this past summer, and before it was turned into movie, I think I must have read an article or something about it happening. And my thought was, I wonder what ever happened to Margaret. And my answer was her name is now Peg, and she's going through menopause. And so I'm writing her story. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 59:33
Oh, I can't wait to talk to you about. 

Teri M Brown 59:35
Yeah, Yeah. And it's a it's a humorous look. It's a very different book than what I've written before. It's one point of view. It's modern. It is humorous. It's just very tongue in cheek. Funny. You know, she's she's got this this young chick lit of a girl working at the office with her that she just wants to wring her little neck. And and she's got the hot flashes and all of the things. And it's just it's funny. So, yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:04
So what you're trying to tell me is that an author can write different types of genres, right? 

Teri M Brown 1:00:11
Yeah. And, you know, I don't like to be pigeonholed. I really don't. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:15
Right. 

Teri M Brown 1:00:16
So in addition to that, I'm also writing a children's book right now, and. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:20
Oh, nice. 

Teri M Brown 1:00:20
Yeah. And I'm getting it illustrated right now, so we'll see how that's going. So, yeah, I'm I spent 14 years in an emotionally abusive relationship, and when I got out of that, I, I told myself that I first of all, that will never happen to me again. And I'm never going to live in a situation in which I am not happy. Now, I don't mean that there aren't unhappy days, but I mean that overall that this is not, you know, attributing to my happiness. And one of the things that doesn't make me happy is having someone put me in a box and tell me that this is what you are. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:59
Yeah. 

Teri M Brown 1:01:00
This is who you are. Terry, you are a historical fiction author. No, I am not. I am a character driven fiction author. And if you like good characters, you're going to read them. Whether they're history, they're present, they're in the future. They're fantastical. Shouldn't matter. If you like a good character, you're going to like my book. And so, yeah, I don't like being pigeonholed. 

Rich Bennett 1:01:21
That's good, though. 

Teri M Brown 1:01:22
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:01:23
Mean. 

Teri M Brown 1:01:24
We'll see. I may be committing author suicide. We'll find out. 

Rich Bennett 1:01:29
Hey, look, the way the other books are as good as they are. I know that the children's book and the one about Pig are going to be just as good or even better. 

Teri M Brown 1:01:38
Thank you so much. Thank. 

Rich Bennett 1:01:40
You're fine, Terry. Thanks a lot. 

Teri M Brown 1:01:42
Thank you so much.