Podcast!

Carson City, Nevada

Cassidy Carson and JT Hume podcasts the “CC and JT Amateur Hour” from their home in Carson City. As self-published authors, their podcast mission is to “help writers write.” In over 200 episodes since its inception, the Amateur Hour has covered all aspects of independent writing and publishing, from simple tasks like grammar and formatting to complex tasks like marketing and meeting with fans.  “The CC and JT Amateur Hour” won the international “2024 Women in Podcasting” award in the “Authors and Books Podcast” category.

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May 3, 2026The many stages of producing a self-published book.
Apr 19, 2026Scams directed at writers.
Apr 5, 2026We speak to the strength of kindness.
Mar 22, 2026Disappointment again, but we carry on.
Mar 8, 2026Hopping off on and on the Hamster Wheel
Feb 22, 2026Time to KISS, people
Feb 8, 2026Be nice to Betas and Cubs Baseball (of course).
Jan 25, 2026Typewriters and Artificial Intelligence
Jan 11, 2026Fun with Fans and a free novella.
Dec 28, 2025Farewell to 2025 and maybe a live podcast.
Dec 7, 2025Intimate Writer: How far do CC & I go any why.
Nov 30, 2025Writers Vibes
Nov 16, 2025Reviews and Awards
Nov 9, 2025The strengths and weakness of writing a book series.
Nov 2, 2025Yet another outdoor event, Guy, and Baseball
Oct 19, 2025The Great Outdoors!
Oct 5, 2025An explainer of our two podcasts
Sep 21, 2025“A Sheriff in Nevada: Corona” and 99¢ Books
Sep 7, 2025Working Hard and Still Failing
Aug 24, 2025The Fear of Success
Aug 10, 2025Preparing for Book Signings
Jul 27, 2025Just Write, People (and our July 2025 wrap-up).
Jul 13, 2025The Book Release Roller Coaster: Not For Wimps!
Jun 29, 2025June 2025: What a Ride it was!
Jun 15, 2025Highway 50, the NNRy, and adventure!
Jun 1, 2025Rebranding the podcast and 60yo indie writers.
May 25, 2025Adjusting our schedules due to other people’s success
May 18, 2025Independent Writers & Three-Star Reviews
May 11, 2025Editing, editing, editing, and the deep dish Pope.
May 4, 2025How writers can access national & local archives
Apr 27, 2025Meta and their supposed “License to Steal.”
Apr 20, 2025Happy Easter & 420 Day. It was a week!
Apr 12, 2025We Believe in You, the Independent Writer
Apr 6, 2025Baseball, West Sac, and Upcoming Book Signing
Mar 30, 2025We visit Sparks, Nevada
Mar 23, 2025Trying to take a vacation from our brain.
Mar 16, 2025It’s the economy, silly.
Mar 9, 2025The power of reviews, Book Sirens, and Thistle & Nightshade
Mar 2, 2025A wrap up of a busy February 2025.
Feb 23, 2025Using Draft2Digital and a little public humiliation.
Feb 16, 2025Inserting real-life people in your books: the good and bad.
Feb 9, 2025Time to Edit your book: the details of how, who, and why.
Feb 2, 2025Finishing a manuscript, picking ZOEY, and our bookstore!
Jan 27, 2025Writing in the Young Adult genre.
Jan 19, 2025We were buzzed, baby!
Jan 12, 2025Pushing back against those headwinds
Jan 5, 2025Looking forward to the Year 2025.
Dec 29, 2024Rewinding 2024. What did we do?
Dec 22, 2024Christmas 1981 and Six Christmas Movies
Dec 14, 2024Bad Habits
Dec 7, 20242001: A Space Odyssey
Dec 1, 2024Episode 200 with Uncle Steve, Elmore, and more fun stuff!
Nov 24, 2024Sources of Inspiration
Nov 17, 2024Our super, duper busy week!
Nov 10, 2024Our “secret menu” of writing.
Nov 3, 2024How to prepare press releases and live interviews.
Oct 27, 2024“Home Means Nevada” in a literary sense.
Oct 23, 2024What happened to ZOEY?
Oct 20, 2024The Women in Podcasting Award
Oct 13, 2024Marketing and “Building Local before Going Global.”
Oct 6, 2024Stardew Valley, Chess, and mental escapism.
Sep 29. 2024Meeting with the public and two contests.
Sep 22, 2024Catching up with cover and COVID.
Sep 8, 2024Three Truths and A Lie
Sep 1, 2024How small wins fill our sails.
Aug 28, 2024Serving Salvation will be out in a week!
Aug 25, 2024Ep 186: CC goes back to writers school so you don’t have to.
Aug 18, 2024Ep 185: What movies translated to the big screen well
and which didn’t.
Aug 11, 2024Ep 184: What genres of writing will we not tackle?
One might surprise you.
Aug 4, 2024Ep 183: Pep Talk for our colleagues.
Jul 28, 2024Ep 182: Back from Canada
Jul 21, 2024Ep 181: Portland Again, and a cover reveal.
Jul 14, 2024Ep 180: The Joys and Stress of being a FT Writer
Jul 7, 2024Ep 179: Science Fiction & Science Fact
Jun 30, 2024Ep 178: Are we weird or normal writers?
Jun 23, 2024Ep 177: What we do to escape from these crazy days.
Jun 15, 2024Ep 176: What do writers love about writing?
Jun 9, 2024Ep 175: Writing about old love and relationships.
Jun 2, 2024Ep 174: How to use nature in your writing. Plus: deer.
May 26, 2024Ep 173: The California Train & historical research.
May 19, 2024Ep 172: We tie the Snow Squall to writing.
May 16, 2024Ep 171: Quick hits about our trip from home base.
May 12, 2024Ep 170: Happy Mother’s Day from Oak Grove, Missouri
May 4, 2024Ep 169: Maine! Portland, Bath, and all points in-between.
May 1, 2024Ep 168: Day Six of the BAT
Apr 29, 2024Ep 167: Day Three of the BAT
Apr 21, 2024Ep 166: We announce The Big A** Trip!
Apr 14, 2024Ep 165: Interviewed by CC about my writing style.
Apr 7, 2024Ep 164: Travel as a metaphor for change and aging.
Mar 31, 2024Ep 163: CC is retired! Sort of.
Mar 24, 2024Ep 162: The touchy topic of Religion in Writing
Mar 17, 2024Ep 161: Memories of Ireland
Mar 10, 2024Ep 160: “If your life was a book title, what would it be?”
Mar 3, 2024Ep 159: We outline our editing process.
Feb 25, 2024Ep 158: Feeling a little ennui, are we?
Feb 18, 2024Ep 157: Stay in your writing lane or not? Dichotomy vs. Genre.
Feb 11, 2024Ep 156: Taylor and Travis; We pander to the masses.
Feb 4, 2024Ep 155: CC has some pretty big changes in her life.
Jan 28, 2024Ep 154: How we romance our writing.
Jan 21, 2024Ep 153: Book selling and the line between hobby/business.
Jan 11, 2024Ep 152: Snow Day and the challenge of being successful.
Jan 7, 2024Ep 151: The joy of running a small publishing house.
Jan 1, 2024Ep 150: The Dungeon of Doom, our 2024 dreams, and
what happened 42 years ago.
Dec 31, 2023Ep 149: CY2023 Recap with Road Trips & Two Moore Books.
Dec 24, 2023Ep 148: Gremlins, Elf, Scrooged, & writing comedy.
Dec 17, 2023Ep 147: Writing Sequels, and Science in Science Fiction
Dec 10, 2023Ep 146: Three movies, UNLV, and a free book offer.
Dec 3, 2023Episode 145: Our internet presence.
Nov 26, 2023Episode 144: Unboxing Tucci & Multiple Publishing
Book Sites
Nov 19, 2023Episode 143: Technobabble & a cover reveal!
Nov 12, 2023Episode 142: The Yin Yang of the Writer’s Mind
Nov 5, 2023Episode 141: Our four writing projects
Oct 29, 2023Episode 140: Formatting Your Book w Word & Atticus
Oct 22, 2023Episode 139: Unboxing From Tundra to Tiara
Oct 15, 2023Episode 138: Lots of things, mostly video and
being persistent
Oct 8, 2023Episode 137: Procrastinate and Paralysis
Oct 1, 2023Episode 136: More video & getting ready for Nanowrimo!
Sep 30, 2023Episode 135: Video Test and a Jam-packed Saturday
Sep 24, 2023Episode 134: Life After X and the State of Social Media
Sep 17. 2023Episode 133: The language of love and communication
in a relationship.
Sep 10, 2023Ep 132: Divine inspiration or the hand of Man?
Sep 4, 2024Ep 131: Nostalgia, Entertainment, and Indiana Jones
Aug 26, 2023Ep 130: How we feel (Flooded Basement, Part 20).
Aug 20, 2023Ep 129: Women writers who molded us.
Aug 13, 2023Ep 128: The complex & interesting craft of screenwriting.
Aug 6, 2023Ep 127: George Lucas and “American Graffiti.”
Jul 30, 2023Ep 126: How to use an epiphany. How long should
it take to write a book?
Jul 23, 2023Ep 125: We went there: Barbenheimer. We have no excuse.
Jul 16, 2023Ep 124: Shakespeare and the derivative use of other
published works
Jul 9, 2023Ep 123: Baby Dear and Anthropomorphism
Jul 2, 2023Ep 122: Vegas and Magic Mike
Jun 25, 2023Ep 121: COVID and our silly mailbox
Jun 18, 2023Ep 120: Dashing Along and Visiting Old Ghosts
Jun 11, 2023Ep 119: Writing about places you’ve never been.
Jun 4, 2023Ep 118: JT’s cross country adventures.
May 14, 2023Ep 117: Finding the time to write. Good luck!
May 7, 2023Ep 116: Paris, Paris, Paris!
Apr 23, 2023Ep 115: Writers’ Workshop on Nevada & more Mark Twain!
Apr 16, 2023Ep 114: What we would say to our ourselves as writers.
Apr 9, 2023Ep 113: Words are hard. We discuss the creative process.
Apr 2, 2023Ep 112: Spring cleaning for writers. Also: Mark Twain!
Mar 26, 2023Ep 111: Reality versus memory: why do they differ?
Mar 19, 2023Ep 110: Dialogue, context, and social media. We have
quite the chat today!
Mar 11, 2023Ep 109: Our flooded basement and getting into a
writing bubble.
Mar 5, 2023Ep 108: Snow and taxes. That’s it. That’s enough.
Feb 26, 2023Ep 107: That which we leave behind. We talk about how
the past is always present and how we can use that
in our writing. Also: deer.
Feb 20, 2023Ep 106: More discombobulation as we start the podcast
talking about comfort zones and end up talking
about the importance of fan fiction.
Feb 12, 2023Ep 105: CC and I meander all over the map in this
podcast about the Disharmony of Love.
Feb 5. 2023Ep 104: We discuss “the doldrums,” which we define as
a normal interruption in the creative writing process.
Jan 29, 2023Ep 103: We struggled with “the big reveal”: the completely
out-of-the-blue plot twist.
Jan 22, 2023Ep 102: Confidence. Takes a lot of moxie to write and
publish a book. We have ideas.
Jan 15, 2023Ep 101: Books that transitioned us to adult reading.
Jan 9, 2023Episode 100: Our favorite podcasts & Kindle Fraud.
Jan 8, 2023Episode 99; The lessons we learned on writing a book
together, plus that huge rock called Marketing.
Jan 1, 2023Episode 98: Happy New Year! Here’s Chapter Two!
Dec 23, 2022Episode 97: Reading Chapter One of “From Tundra to Tiara”
and picking our favorite Netflix Christmas movie.
Dec 17, 2022Episode 96: Writing about the emotions and memories of
Christmas.
Dec 10, 2022Episode 95: Writing your own space epic. Lots of ideas!
Dec 4, 2022Episode 94: Writing mojo and posture among a dozen
of topics. We talked about a lot.
Nov 27, 2022Episode 93: Successful ideas on writing believable dialogue.
Nov 20, 2022Episode 92: Book Marketing Kickoff! Our plans and goals!
Nov 13, 2022Episode 91: Writing about the holidays: what to keep
in mind, what to play around with, and what can be fun.
Nov 6, 2022Episode 90: Some ideas about writing in politics.
Go for the West Wing. Stay for the capybaras!
Oct 30, 2022Episode 89: We use Alien to talk about avoiding clichés
in horror movies and writing. Also: Graphic Arts.
Oct 23, 2022Episode 88: A short one on our updated marketing plan,
retirement, our WIPs, & the importance of routine.
Oct 16, 2022Episode 87: What does a writer do when the setting
overwhelms the characters?
Oct 2, 2022Episode 86: We go to Lone Pine CA to discuss settings.
Sep 25, 2022Episode 85: Our personal “roads not taken.”
Sep 18, 2022Episode 84: We had a minor freak out while recording this.
Sep 11, 2022Episode 83: “May you live in interesting times.”
Sep 4, 2022Episode 82: Imposter Syndrome is real, especially
for independent writers.
Aug 28, 2022Episode 81: Marketing is a cruel, cruel beast.
Aug 21, 2022Episode 80: Our book is more “rom” than “com.” Oops!
Aug 14, 2022Episode 79: Storytelling Rules and Status of our Books.
Aug 7, 2022Episode 78: What hooks a reader into a book?
Jul 31, 2022Episode 77: CC takes her turn at plotting to prompts.
Jul 24, 2022Episode 76: The strengths and weaknesses of Team Editing.
Jul 17, 2022Episode 75: Pantsing on the fly and on the air!
Jul 9, 2022Episode 74: “Happy Ever After” or “Happy For Now”?
Jul 3, 2022Episode 73: Summer Reading Fun!
Jun 25, 2022Episode 72: Ghosts are real and they appear without warning.
Jun 19, 2022Episode 71: We chat about our personal writer’s retreat
and about writers retreats in general.
Jun 12, 2022Episode 70: Literary Couple of English Literature.
Jun 5, 2022Episode 68: Our 40th Anniversary. Memories, laughs,
and a few tears. And Khhhhaaannnn!
May 29, 2022Episode 67: The Multiverse and “Are we truly writing fiction?”.
May 22, 2022Episode 66: Purple Porkchops, Couple Therapy, and building
relationships into your writing.
May 15, 2022Episode 65: Romance is a Bonus Book and other fun stuff!
May 8, 2022Episode 64: Mother’s Day Therapy. Heavy, man, heavy.
May 1, 2022Episode 63: Editing. That’s it. Calm down.
Apr 25, 2022Episode 62: the brick wall called “grammar.” (Ugh.)
Apr 17, 2022Episode 61: Implicit Bias, Stupid Romance, and Easter!
Apr 10, 2022Episode 60: Hell Week. A lot to unpack.
Mar 27, 2022Episode 59: FanFic! That’s it. Fan Fiction. Enjoy.
Mar 20, 2022Episode 58: The Seasons as themes in Writing
Mar 13, 2022Episode 57: We watch six films set in Ireland to discuss
themes in writing.
Mar 6, 2022Episode 56: The verbal postcard from our adventures
in Ireland.
Feb 27, 2022Episode 55: Why don’t people write?
Feb 20, 2022Episode 54: The sensitive subject of spending money
to be a writer.
Feb 17, 2022Episode 53: Upgrading our podcast equipment, our works
in progress, and going out on Patreon.
Feb 13, 2022Episode 52: “Romance is What You Make of It” and “The
Elements of Romance in Writing.”
Feb 6, 2022Episode 51: The challenges and dangers of using “power
words” and “trigger words” in general communication
and in writing.
Jan 31, 2022Episode 50: The one where we chat about banning books
in school districts: the reasons, the possible motivations,
and the downstream dangers.
Jan 23, 2022Episode 49: We discuss how baseball lends itself to writing.
Jan 16, 2022Episode 48: Elmore Leonard’s “10 Rules for Good Writing,”
and we loop in Hemingway and a Marvel movie.
Jan 9, 2022Episode 47: The blessings and challenges of creative energy
with ideas on working through writer’s block.
Jan 2, 2022Episode 46: The routines & habits of writers and
people in general.
Dec 31, 2021Episode 45: Happy New Year 2022!
Dec 25, 2021Episode 44: The Christmas Day podcast, and we eviscerate
“Love Actually”!
Dec 19, 2021Episode 43: The Christmas Movies and TV Shows Special!
Dec 11, 2021Episode 42: We spoil Big, Harry Potter, and the Hunger Games.
Dec 5, 2021Episode 41: We talked and talked. Click on the link. 🙂
Nov 28, 2021Episode 40: The one where we welcome a real editor!
Nov 25, 2021Episode 39: The one where CC and I talk about our favorite
and sad Thanksgiving childhood memories.
Nov 21, 2021Episode 38: Lots of meat on this bone, from Stephen King
to “Carrie” to “The Shining” to the complex issue of
the writer and creative control.
Nov 14, 2021Episode 37: The one where we talk about Stephen King’s
books at length. We discuss our favorites and how Mr.
King influences us as writers. Major King book spoilers
Nov 6, 2021Episode 36: Nonstop Nonsense:
-Nanowrimo
-The Shining
-Surgery
-Time Change
-Veterans Day
-“Read” & “Write”
-Indiana Jones
Oct 31, 2021Episode 35: We blabbed and blabbed:
– Our 6:30 writers project.
– Lots about Nanowrimo.
– Halloween & Nevada Day in Carson City NV.
– My cochlear implant surgery.
Oct 23, 2021Episode 34: How random acts of kindness can change lives,
and kindness can make your characters richer and
three-dimensional.
Oct 17, 2021Episode 33: Maintaining perspective & providing context
in our writing and real life, the value of taking risks,
and some serious couples counseling.
Oct 10, 2021Episode 32: The one where we give tips on how to handle
disappointment and similar emotional challenges.
Oct 3, 2021Episode 31: The one where we sing & laugh & drink coffee,
& talk about comfort zones and current works in progress.
Sept 26, 2021Episode 30 (already!): We spoil Little Women for all the
good reasons.
Sept 19, 2021Episode 29: A Hero’s Journey and why we writers love
it so much. Lots of spoilers.
Sept 11, 2021Episode 28: The one where we remember. Please read
the triggers.
Sept 6, 2021Episode 27: Bonus podcast! We unpack a lot, so check out
the triggers on this page before listening.
Sept. 5, 2021Episode 26: The one where we talk about using my
“Four S’s” tools to fill and enhance a book: Sounds,
Sights, Smell, Sex. Writers will hears the pros and
cons of each.
August 29, 2021Episode 25: The one where we talk about perhaps
the most iconic, romantic form of transportation:
the train!
August 22, 2021Episode 24: The one where we talk about JT’s cochlear
implant and how deafness affected his writing. We discuss
how CC was JT’s beard during his deaf years, and we talk
about the deaf culture.
August 15, 2021Episode 23: The one where we discuss writer engagement
in social media debates. Does the writer have the
responsibility and duty to engage. What are the
risks and benefits?
August 8, 2021Episode 22: The one where we were totally unprepared
to do a podcast and it showed. We discuss lots of things
including concerts, politics, and Nanowrimo.
We had fun!
August 1, 2021Episode 21:
-Two diehard #Cubs fans weep in each other’s arms.
-#Amwriting. Finally!
-James Lipton’s quiz from “Inside the Actors Studio.”
July 25, 2021Episode 20: The one where we take the Proust
Questionnaire found on the Vanity Fair website.
If you’re nosy and want to learn more about us,
this podcast is for you!
July 23, 2021Episode 19: The one where we record near the shores
of Monterey Bay, invoking John Steinbeck and the
history of Cannery Row. We spend some time discussing
how writers can use words to illustrate scenes
and characters to their full richness.
July 18, 2021Episode 18: The one where we talk about some
misconceptions of being a writer, especially
independent writers. CC and I picked three
specific myths that we felt affected us as writers.
July 11, 2021Episode 17: The one where we talk about jumping
in media res (“in the middle”) of the action in your
favorite books and movies.
July 4, 2021Episode 16: We talk about the three real-life philosophies
we apply to our writing.
CC: Love Conquers All, Nobody’s Perfect,
We’re Only Human.
JT: Perception Forms Reality, Be Honest, Be Kind.
June 27, 2021Episode 15: The one where we discuss hardcore sex in
writing and popular media. Like so many people, we struggle
between “porn for porn’s sake” and “porn for art’s sake.”
Jacobellis v. Ohio comes up. And, hey, FREE BOOK!
June 20, 2021Episode 14: The one where we venture into the middle
ground of sexual relations in your writing (PG, PG-13, R),
and how writers can express tension and climax.
June 13, 2021Episode 13: We delve into s-e-x in the G-rated literature
and media environment. We discuss the history of
s-e-x in books, the use of innuendoes, cultural shifts,
Harlequin romances, and gender roles.
June 6, 2021Episode 12: The one where we talk about the most
dangerous thing: True Love. We discuss the many
challenges and rewards of bringing personal romantic
experiences to our novels and other works.
May 30, 2021Episode 11: The one where we get personal about
Death, along with the challenges of presenting the
great equalizer in fiction. This episode is our
most intimate podcast to date.
May 23, 2021Episode 10: The one where we don’t talk about
much at all, other than old casinos, being kind,
and developing characters through watching people.
May 16, 2021Episode 9: The one where CC and I talk about our
personal writing inspirations as we grew up and
matured into professional writers.
May 9, 2021Episode 8: The one where CC discusses how Frank
McCourt and his most famous book, “Angela’s Ashes,”
parallels her own mother’s upbringing, and how they
influence CC’s life and writing.
May 1, 2021Episode 7: The one where we talk about traveling the
tried and true path of formula fiction. Special shout-out
to Ronald B. Tobias’s book, “20 Master Plots,”
for guiding our discussion.
April 27, 2021Episode 6: We traveled to beautiful Lake Tahoe for an
on-site broadcast. We talked about our memories, Mark
Twain, Godfather II, and all sorts of things.
April 25, 2021Episode 5: We had an earthquake while we discussed
the “nature vs. nurture” complexity of the “Flawed
Protagonist,” and we draw parallels between Darth
Vader, Superman, Batman, and the main character in my
personal favorite of the ones I’ve written.
April 18, 2021Episode 4: “Sunshine on the Matrix”: Reality and writing
about Reality through “The Matrix” and
“The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.”
April 15, 2021Episode 3: Surprise Podcast!
– The local wildlife.
– Fur-babies.
– Bedtimes.
– Two icons from the 1970s Soft Rock Era.
April 4, 2021Episode 2:
– Writing spaces.
– Public service.
– NV Outdoors.
– 50% Vaccinated.
March 28, 2021Episode 1:
– Our website.
– Photography and visual arts.
– Lovelock, Nevada, and a great burger.
March 21, 2021Introductions and such. We’re adorable.

We’re winging it here, so be patient as we work out the technical stuff. Thanks!
As promised: our podspace in the Tower of Doom.