The thriller genre has a new dynamic duo. In our latest episode, we sit down with Ryan Steck and Simon Gervais to discuss their debut collaboration, The Second Son.

They call it "The Vintage of Collaboration." Despite writing from a distance and having opposite backgrounds—Simon is an ex-RCMP officer, Ryan is a renowned critic—they’ve created a seamless narrative that feels like a high-proof, complex blend.

We dive into the shadows of 1970s Vietnam with author Nancy Cole Silverman and her electrifying new Kat Lawson Mystery, A Spy in Saigon. Kat’s “simple” assignment to write a travel piece and make a covert drop goes off the rails fast, thrusting her into a deadly web of secrets, double agents, and trafficked children who desperately need her help.

From the outside, Michelle Yang’s life might look like a familiar immigrant success story—but her new memoir, Phoenix Girl, reveals something far more powerful and complex. When her family left their tight-knit Chinese community in South Korea and arrived in America, the promise of freedom quickly tangled with a domineering father, a silenced mother, and the nonstop grind of running a Chinese takeout restaurant in Phoenix. By twelve, Michelle was already behind the counter, learning to juggle customers, cultures, expectations—and her own emerging sense of self.

In Phoenix Girl, Michelle traces her courageous journey from fear to freedom. She opens up about childhood instability, her path toward self-acceptance, and her honest, deeply human experience living with bipolar disorder. It’s a story of resilience, reclamation, and learning to rise from the fire instead of being consumed by it.