Words and Nerds: Authors, books and literature.

Dear kid lit lovers,

This week I chat to Allison about her new book inspired by the stories she was told by her highly respected Elder grandparents.

If you love publishing stories, you will not believe this one!

We chat about:
🩷 The importance of storytelling and nostalgia
🩷 A very interesting publishing journey
🩷 How teaching informed her writing
🩷 The importance of kids seeing themselves
🩷 Challenges of writing humour

Support Aussie creatives and hit play or read a book!

Dani 💋

⭐️ Episode 825 - Dani Vee and Bryony McGuiness - Violet Town, romance and the classics published by Bakers Lane Books ⭐️

Dear historical fiction lovers,

Don’t miss this sweeping historical debut about ambition, forbidden love and the choices that shape us forever.

We chat about:
🩷 Developing her writing from a young age
🩷 How fan fic helped her write Violet Town
🩷 The influence of romance and history
🩷 The representation of women over time
🩷 Reading the classics

Don’t miss this episode if you love romance, historical fiction and watching the Titanic!

Support Aussie books and creatives, hit play and read a book!

Dani 💋

Date with a Debut is a podcast hosted by writer Nick Wasiliev: shining a light on debut authors, their incredible books, and their journeys to publication.

In our 14th episode of series four, Nick chats with Whitney Fitzsimmons, discussing her thrilling debut rural noir, The Rising.

Enjoy the show? Drop us a review; it really helps the show out!

You can also subscribe to our new monthly newsletter, and get access to exclusive show Second Date: https://nickwasiliev.substack.com/

Sign up to the free Instagram Date with a Debut Writing/Reading Crew: https://bit.ly/4pyCx9u

Check out our brand new podcast website: https://dwad.podpixels.com/

Check out the 2026 sponsor of the podcast, Pod Pixels: https://bit.ly/4cbG1Zt

Subscribe on Podbean to never miss an episode: https://www.podbean.com/site/podcatcher/index/blog/3mRME5IMoSJx
Date with a Debut is featured as part of the Australian literary platform Words & Nerds. Check out all shows on the platform here: https://danivee.com.au/podcasts/
BOOKS:
Debut:
The Rising / Whitney Fitzsimmons: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/qWBXqj

Additional books mentioned:
Where The Wild Things Are / Maurice Sendak: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/9Vra30
The Picasso Ransom / A.T. Prewett: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/rEBox5
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine / Gail Honeyman: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/5kxP39
The Pillars of the Earth / Ken Follett: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/enbPGD

PRODUCTION NOTES:
Host: Nick Wasiliev
Guest: Whitney Fitzsimmons
Editing & Production: Nick Wasiliev
Podcast Theme: ‘Chill’ by Sakura Hz
Production Code: 4.14
Episode Number: #72
Additional Credits: Dani Vee (Words & Nerds), Ventura Press, Nicole Webb (Nicole Webb Book Publicity)
FOLLOW NICK WASILIEV (+ DATE WITH A DEBUT):
A LITTLE IDEA PODCAST: Feed
NEWSLETTER: nickwasiliev.substack.com
WEBSITE: www.nicholaswasiliev.com
YOUTUBE: @NickWasiliev_Official
INSTAGRAM: @nickwasiliev
TWITTER/X: @Nick_Wasiliev
FACEBOOK: Nick Wasiliev
TIKTOK: @nickwasiliev
© 2026 Nick Wasiliev and Breathe Art Holdings
‘Date With A Debut’ is a Words and Nerds and Breathe Art Podcasts co-production recorded and edited on Awabakal Country, and we pay our respects to all elders past and present.

⭐️ Episode 824 - Dani Vee and Megan Jacobson - The Waiting Place ⭐️

Dear gorgeous listeners

In this episode Dani and Megan chat about her new novel The Waiting Place, a novel she has been writing since she was a teenager.

We also chat about:
❤️ How to solve writing knots
❤️ Learning how to live and asking teens big questions
❤️ The fiction of being a Trad Wife
❤️ How to find yourself
❤️ Writing process and publishing journey
❤️ How to teach our kids consent

Support Aussie creatives and play an episode today!
Dani 💋

Dani and Vee and Mary Anastasiou, with their multiple hats in the publishing industry share their experiences about Marketing, Publicity and Social Media.

When should promotion of your book begin?
What is your personal brand and why is it important?
How to grow your social media page using hashtags and other tools.
Why we need to support one another.
How to deal with rejection and when it feels personal.
Common mistakes made by. aspiring authors and self-published authors

LISTEN NOW!