In this special episode of Book Talk with Cara, host Cara Putman sits down with author, former Hollywood media executive, and producer D. J. Williams! D. J. drops in to discuss his transformative new book, Art of the Margins: A Countercultural Manifesto—a cinematic, memoir-driven guide for anyone navigating creative burnout, wilderness waiting, and the pressure of modern platform-building.

D. J. reflects on his eclectic creative journey—from growing up as a missionary kid in Hong Kong playing street basketball to building Christian record labels, managing a commercial entertainment firm in Los Angeles, and hearing God's voice in a tent on Africa’s Zambezi River. He and Cara explore the hidden gift of "fallow seasons", why referring to God as "the Presence" offers an accessible open door for seekers, and how everyday acts—from coaching little league to managing corporate teams—are profound expressions of creativity.

Plus, D. J. shares his practical blueprint for avoiding burnout using scheduled four-day blackouts and batching six months of social media in just three days so you can chase creativity instead of clicks!

⏱️ Welcome & Intro: Cara welcomes creative catalyst D. J. Williams to explore Art of the Margins.

⏱️ From Hong Kong to Hollywood: D. J.’s unconventional path through music label leadership, commercial media management, and keeping rock artists out of trouble.

⏱️ The Zambezi River Calling: How a documentary shoot in the African wilderness planted the seed to leave corporate entertainment and start writing.

⏱️ The Secret Novelist: Launching an independent production company and keeping his first novel hidden until author copies arrived in the mail.

⏱️ The Pivot to Art of the Margins: Why D. J. rejected the rigid "10-step how-to" model to write an honest, relationship-driven guide for creatives.

⏱️ Encountering God as "The Presence": Reframing faith without heavy theological jargon to create an open door for spiritual exploration.

⏱️ Delay vs. Depth: Learning to see delay as depth, disappointment as maturity, and silence as strengthening roots.

⏱️ The Power of Fallow Seasons: Cara and D. J. discuss why resting and letting projects breathe is essential for long-term endurance.

⏱️ Surrendering the Outcome: The 10-year journey behind the Beacon Hill YA series and trusting God to open doors rather than kicking them down.

⏱️ Everyday Creativity Outside the Spotlight: Why making dinner in an air fryer, managing teams, or coaching kids is just as creative as fine art in a gallery.

⏱️ Beating Creative Burnout: How scheduling quarterly 4-day blackout blocks and running work in "sprints" protects creative flow.

⏱️ Chase Creativity, Not Platform: D. J.’s strategy for batching 6 months of Instagram content in 3 days to free up brain space for deep writing.

📚 About Art of the Margins: A Countercultural Manifesto (Available Now)

The moment we exchange our soul’s call to create for our culture’s demand to be seen, joy gives way to exhaustion. Art of the Margins calls creatives to embrace obscurity as the sacred birthplace of purpose. Across thirty cinematic chapters, former Hollywood executive and novelist D. J. Williams blends personal story and biblical wisdom to reframe hidden seasons as holy ground. This countercultural guide propels us to create from conviction, live from calling, and have lasting spiritual influence—especially when our work feels unseen.

🔗 Connect & Resources

Guest Website: DJWilliamsBooks.com (Access series details and exclusive Art of the Margins content!)

Instagram: @DJWilliamsBooks

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

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

Twenty years after his groundbreaking global bestseller The Shack redefined conversations around pain, grief, and God’s relentless love, Wm. Paul Young returns to the story of Mackenzie Phillips in his long-awaited sequel, Return to the Shack.

In this episode of Book Talk, I'm delighted to sit down with Paul for a deeply vulnerable and raw conversation on what happens after an encounter with God. Set ten years after the tragic loss of his daughter Missy, Mack is faced with an unthinkable journey: entering death row to look into the eyes of the man who took her. Paul explores the slow, messy reality of healing, the real-world friendships on death row that shaped the narrative, the silent grief that tests a marriage, and what to do when God feels quiet. This bonus episode is for you if you are walking through a season of grief, wrestling with hard questions, or longing to understand the depths of redemption. If you are, I encourage you to pick up a copy of Return to the Shack.

Key Discussion

• Healing Beyond the Breakthrough: Why healing is not a neat, linear finish line and how deep trauma continues to ripple through faith, marriage, and family years later.
• Stepping onto Death Row: Crafting Mack’s encounter with a serial killer, Paul’s real-life ministry with friends on Nashville's Unit 2 death row, and humanizing people society labels irredeemable.
• Navigating Divine Silence: What to cling to when God feels quiet, moving from the paralyzing "Why?" to "What now?", and trusting God’s goodness without relying solely on emotional feelings.
• Fury, Grief, and Compassion: Why raw fury is a natural, righteous response to evil, and how honesty with God opens the door to genuine compassion.
• Forgiveness vs. Reconciliation: Clarifying why forgiveness is for the victim’s freedom rather than excusing the wrong, and why trust must be earned through repentance.
• The "Wastefulness of Grace": Discovering God’s overwhelming, everyday beauty in the middle of our deepest shacks.

About: Wm. Paul Young is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Shack, which has sold over 25 million copies worldwide and was adapted into a major motion picture. Born in Canada and raised by missionary parents among a Stone Age tribe in the highlands of Netherlands New Guinea, Paul's life was shaped by diverse cultures, profound personal loss, and deep spiritual restoration. His writing explores the boundless nature of grace, the healing of trauma, and the relentless love of God. Paul lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife, Kim, surrounded by their children and grandchildren.

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

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

In this episode of Book Talk with Cara, host Cara Putman sits down with Christie Award–winning author and former journalist Patricia Raybon! Patricia drops in to talk about her thrilling new World War II historical mystery, The Sedalia Code.

Patricia shares her shift from news reporting to feature writing—moving "from writing about facts to writing about feelings"—and how her parents’ wartime romance inspired her latest book. She dives into the shocking history of German and Italian POW camps in North Carolina, why female math teachers were the secret codebreakers of WWII, and how a physical trip to North Carolina transformed her manuscript. She and Cara also discuss navigating the complex, painful realities of Jim Crow in fiction and the power of communal singing to lift the spirit through grief.

Plus, stay tuned for our signature Lightning Round, where Patricia breaks down her favorite murder mysteries, her favorite three-word book description, and her upcoming leap onto TikTok!

• From News Desk to Novels: Patricia shares her career at The Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News, and how writing human interest features prepared her for fiction.
• Uncovering Colorado's Klan History: The real-life history behind her 1920s Annalee Spain mystery series.
• The "What-If" Behind The Sedalia Code: Merging her parents' WWII romance with female math codebreakers, Nazi U-boats, and US-based POW camps.
• Hidden WWII History on American Soil: Exploring Camp Butner in North Carolina, which housed 35,000 troops alongside thousands of German and Italian POWs.
• The Power of Site Visits: Why flying to North Carolina to walk the grounds made Patricia rewrite the opening chapters of her book.
• Writing Jim Crow with Purpose: Framing historical racism as a story complication while creating a heroine who refuses to be stopped by it.
• #1 Advice for Aspiring Authors: "Don't go it alone"—why attending annual conferences and finding your writing community is essential.
• Book Club Debate Question: Is The Sedalia Code a suspense-romance or a romance-suspense?