CBB News….a new venture?

It has been four years since I have launched The Catholic Book Blogger. A lot has transpired in that time. I started blogging on a self-published blog and did that for two years until the day Elizabeth Scalia asked if I wanted to come join the crew at Patheos. To say I was humbled and honored is the best way I can describe that conversation. Since then I have read and reviewed a ton of fantastic books and conducted many, many author interviews.

In November of 2015, Editor Emeritus of Catholic Stand, Diane McKelva reached out to inquire if I would be interested in writing for them. This opportunity afforded me the chance to write on any topic I wanted outside of books. It was something I had a desire to do but it did not fit The Catholic Book Blogger theme here on this blog. I said yes…and soon after in addition to writing Diane asked if I would be willing to take on a few writers and become a Managing Editor for the site. I agreed and what a fun and challenging job that has been.

Earlier this year I came to realize that the influx of books from the various publishers I had made such great working relationships with was become unmanageable for one person. To keep up and provide even more reviews I brought on two writers to help. Michele Craig and Julie Abell have been fantastic and I applaud them for their efforts. Both devour books and each of us produce reviews from different angles as our faith journeys have each been different; cradle catholic, convert and revert.

About two years Allison Gingras came calling. She was a reader of the Catholic Book Blogger and wanted to know if I would like to join her as a guest on her internet radio show A Seeking Heart on Breadbox Media. We were soon recording a show once a month and I enjoyed every minute of it. I learned a lot from Allison in regards to back and forth banter and what makes a show tick. She has become a good friend and sounding board. If you are reading this Allison…thank you for your guidance. In fact we had an opportunity to finally meet in Stuebenville at the 2015 Defending the Faith conference…..and neither of us was smart enough to take a picture. Such is life!

All of this leads me to what I am about to announce. I am pleased to let you know that I am officially becoming a show host at Breadbox Media. The name of my show will be “Off the Shelf.” This one hour show will focus on books (of course), current Catholic news and whatever else might strike my fancy. The show will currently airs Saturdays at 2pm and Sundays at 1pm. They will also be available via podcast sometime after the weekly air date. The show will be weekly with plans being worked out for a larger scale show in the future. I am truly excited about this new venue. As I am writing this I just wrapped up two shows yesterday with author Jay Toups and Brian Kizcek. As soon as I finish writing this I’ll be preparing show notes for three more shows today with guests Jimmy Akin, Kevin Lowry and Mike Aquilina. I hope you will enjoy the show as much as I will creating it. If you have any authors you would like me to have as guests or questions you would like me to ask them feel free to comment below.

Remember to tune in to Breadbox Media Saturday’s at 2pm and Sundays at 1pm to listen to Off the Shelf.