May 2026
In this month’s newsletter, scroll down to find:
- Podcast: author talk with Kim Wilkins
- Captain’s Log: Peruvian Flat (not so flat)
- Review Corner
Podcast: Kim Wilkins
Welcome to my Author Nook, a monthly podcast I created where I chat with authors about their literary brain children, and bibliophiles about their niche areas of obsession. Find it on Spotify here, and Youtube here.
As you know, I release episodes once a month with no set date so the best way to stay in the loop is to follow and subscribe on either Youtube or Spotify.
This month I had the honour and privilege to sit down with a childhood hero of mine, Kim Wilkins, author of over 30 books spanning genres, demographics, and both fiction and non-fiction. Nearest to my heart is her Gina Champion series that I could not get enough of as a teenager and which is still incredible to read again as an adult. She is also a professor of writing and publishing at Queensland University in Australia.
So pour yourself a cuppa tea, settle in, and listen in as we talk about teenage psychics, creating a small town setting the you feel you’ve fallen into, and how to craft true terror that spans a series.
We mentioned a few things to read today that I’ll list and link below:
- Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene
- Trixie Belden series by Julie Campbell
- Lord of the Rings (Fellowship of the Rings) by J.R.R. Tolkien
- The Owl Service by Alan Garner
- The Uncanny by Sigmund Freud
- Wild Geese by Mary Oliver
- Giants of the Frost by Kim Wilkins
- The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Kim Wilkins
(Kimberley Freeman)
Kim Wilkins was born in London, and grew up at the seaside north of Brisbane, Australia. She is a Professor of writing at the University of Queensland. She has enduring obsessions with Viking-age England, misty landscapes, pagan mythology, Led Zeppelin, and ginger cats.
She writes her spooky novels under Kim Wilkins and her women’s fiction (non-spooky) novels under the pen name, Kimberley Freeman.
Find more information:
Website for Kim Wilkins
Website for Kimberley Freeman
Goodreads
Instagram
Captain’s Log: Peruvian Flats (not so flat)
Peru: a bucket list dream
I don’t think I can really put into words what my two weeks in Peru gave my heart and soul. I have always wanted to hike the Inca trail into Machu Picchu and couldn’t have imagined how profound it was to walk the path humans have walked for centuries, how moving it was to round the corner and pass through the sun gate to get my first glimpse of the ancient city (after summiting the stairs lovingly named the “Gringo Killers”), and how indescribably beautiful it was. No feat of imagination could compare to the real thing.
We also hiked up the surreal Rainbow Mountain which is the same elevation as the base camp at Mount Everest. It’s wild what altitude does to the body and I felt like such a champion making it to the top.
It wouldn’t have been a complete Peru tour if I hadn’t found my boy Paddington, and luckily for me, he was waiting for me on day one of my trip to welcome me into his homeland. What a thoughtful wee bear he is.
Review Corner
Reviews are so helpful in getting word of Contest of Queens, Queen’s Catacombs , and Queendom Come out there. If you have time, and if you’ve read the book, I would be eternally grateful if you could leave a star rating and/or a written review on Goodreads or Amazon.
Thank you to all the wonderful people who have left a star rating or review!
Here are just a taste of some Amazon reviews I missed and am so so grateful for!
x live magically
featured image: https://i.pinimg.com/webp/1200x/24/0d/8a/240d8ad75e9c27b198a49f0b0457d66e.webp
Discover more from Jordan H. Bartlett
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Jordan H. Bartlett 
