Welcome to the Story Impact author interview podcast.

Cozy mystery author Carmela Dutra joins host Lisa Towles to explore the art of writing entertaining, character-driven crime fiction. Author of the Food Truck Mystery series, including A Murder Most Fowl and Hot Wings and Homicide, Carmela traded ten years as a wedding photographer for a full-time writing career.

Together they talk about what makes a great cozy mystery, why a food truck makes such a fun setting for suspense, and how lighter fiction can still be smart, surprising, and deeply satisfying. Essential listening for cozy mystery readers, aspiring authors, and anyone who loves a little humor with their murder.

In this in-depth conversation, Lisa Towles and Carmela Dutra discuss:

• Why humor, food, and murder make such a good combination
• The appeal of the cozy mystery and the comfort it gives readers
• How a food truck opens up setting, suspense, and character
• How photography and visual storytelling show up in her fiction
• Her writing routine and the editing process

Watch the full YouTube video interview: https://youtu.be/N1H_aLTFuUk?si=RiAcv85679V2Z623

Learn more about Carmela Dutra: carmeladutra.com

The Story Impact Podcast is hosted by Lisa Towles—award-winning crime novelist and founder of the Story Impact multimedia platform. This literary podcast features authors and creative voices exploring books, creativity, storytelling, and the deeper purpose behind the stories that shape our lives.

Learn more about the Story Impact platform: storyimpactconsulting.com

Follow Story Impact with Lisa Towles on Podbean, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and iHeartRadio to stay connected to powerful conversations exploring books, meaning, purpose, and the ideas that shape our lives. Subscribe on YouTube for full-length video interviews with today's most compelling authors.

Stories hold the world together.

Welcome to the Story Impact author interview podcast.

What if the path to peace begins not at a negotiating table, but with a story?

In this episode, host Lisa Towles welcomes Somia Sadiq—award-winning novelist, entrepreneur, and peacebuilder whose extraordinary career explores the power of storytelling to bridge cultural divides, transform conflict, and create meaningful change.

Through thoughtful questions, personal reflections, and a shared passion for storytelling, Lisa draws connections between Somia's international peacebuilding work, her cultural heritage, and her creative life. Together, they explore how stories shape our fears and beliefs, the humanity connecting different cultures, and why learning to listen may be one of our most powerful tools for healing a divided world.

Somia also discusses her American Fiction Award-winning novel Gajarah, shares a beautiful reading of her poem “Lahore,” and introduces her forthcoming prequel, Daughters Are Rivers, anticipated in summer 2027.

In this conversation:

• How ancestral storytelling traditions shape our identities, beliefs, and understanding of others.

• Why peacebuilding begins in everyday conversations and the importance of listening across differences.

• The universal human experiences connecting cultures, communities, and generations.

• The inspiration behind Gajarah, Somia's poetry, and the unpredictable creative process.

• How individual responsibility and collective healing can help transform a divided world.

About Somia Sadiq

Somia Sadiq is an award-winning author, entrepreneur, professional planner, and peacebuilding strategist whose work bridges storytelling, cultural identity, community development, and conflict transformation.

She is the founder of Narratives, a planning and design firm; Kahanee, a Canadian nonprofit dedicated to storytelling and peacebuilding; and Ravayat, an organization exploring ancestral approaches to conflict transformation in Pakistan.

Her debut novel, Gajarah, won the 2026 American Fiction Award for Multicultural Fiction. Her forthcoming novel, Daughters Are Rivers, explores the life of Nanojan, the beloved grandmother of Gajarah's protagonist.

Learn more: https://www.somiasadiq.com/

About Host Lisa Towles

Lisa Towles is an award-winning, Amazon bestselling crime novelist, book coach, and founder of Story Impact Consulting. Through her books, podcast, magazine, and consulting work, she champions the power of storytelling to connect people, amplify voices, and create meaningful impact.

Website: https://lisatowles.com

About the Story Impact Podcast

Books, Meaning, and Purpose.

The Story Impact Podcast features conversations with authors about the stories behind their books, their creative journeys, and the experiences and ideas that drive their work.

Listen on Podbean, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and YouTube.

https://storyimpactconsulting.com/podcast

Stories hold the world together.

History, Place & the California Story with Billie Hanson-Dupree

What happens when personal history, place, music, and memory become fiction?

Author Billie Hanson-Dupree joins Lisa Towles for a conversation about the California stories that shaped her life and her writing—from her father’s experience as a World War II veteran to growing up in California’s Central Valley, the juke joints and blues music that inspired Still Kickin’, and the 1950s Oakland setting of her next novel, Some Greens for My Blues.

Billie shares how her father inspired the character of Bill Reeves; what it was like growing up in a Central Valley community; and how her lifelong love of blues found their way into her fiction.

The conversation also moves into creativity and craft: why Billie doesn’t outline, how characters sometimes arrive before she knows where they’re taking her, why she believes writers need community, and the creative philosophy she’s learning to trust—sometimes you have to simply “relax and wait.”

Billie Hanson-Dupree is an author, educator, literacy coach, world traveler, and lifelong learner. Her novel Still Kickin’ follows an African American World War II veteran returning to California’s Central Valley and confronting trauma, racism, love, and the difficult work of finding his way home. She co-authored a biography of her grandmother, A Little Piece of Leather Well Put Together. Her poetry has appeared in Spectrum 18, and her essay on racism aired on KQED Public Radio’s Perspectives. Her next novel, Some Greens for My Blues, takes readers to 1950s Oakland.

Learn more about Billie Hanson-Dupree: billiehansondupree.net

Learn more about the Story Impact multimedia platform: storyimpactconsulting.com

Follow Story Impact on Podbean, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and subscribe on YouTube for full-length video interviews.

Stories hold the world together.