Unshod with D. Firth Griffith

In this second episode of Indie Publishing, Angie and Daniel discuss a world where algorithms pick what books are published and what books are not, how riding market trends determines more of what agents and publishers see as "good" than the quality of writing, the strength of the story, and even the purpose of story itself. It is stories that make us human, and the stories are many. Angie and Daniel open up about why they chose indie publishing, what they have learned from rejections and near-closes with agents, and how sales and marketing teams boisterously shape which books make it to shelves and which do not. From audiobook production shock to royalty splits that pale to pay authors what they deserve, Angie and Daniel also break down the real math of storytelling and the practical realities that every author faces.If you’ve ever wondered whether Amazon's Kindle Unlimited helps or hurts, why preorders feel invisible, or how much a book's cover actually costs, you may enjoy this yarn! They also get candid about craft, discussing how hook-first culture, originated by Agents and queries, can warp a novel, forcing fireworks into page one while the middle goes slack, while the storyline tanks and even falls limp. Daniel argues for protecting slow openings, layered worlds, and voices that don’t mirror the algorithm’s taste. Then, Angie and Daniel discuss how fantasy as a genre, a genre originally constructed to explore the weird and off-shoot worlds and stories, has developed strangely into a linear story-ground: trend waves demand dragon rider and romantasy, but the new mythologies, gothic whispers, and odd structures that breathe weird breaths go missing.Toward the end, Angie and Daniel discuss the role of Indie publishing in keeping the storytelling doors open. That intimacy and living stories turn commerce into conversation: signing paperbacks, tucking art prints into packages, and hearing what resonates directly with readers help keep the oral-storytelling human alive and healthy.If this episode helps you on your journey, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review to help more humans find us.Daniel Firth Griffith is markâko and seanchaí, a participant citizen of Earth Mother, a father, horse-friend, sacred butcher, magikal storyteller, and award-winning indie author of six books on kincentric ecology, mythology, and horror. Learn more about Daniel's work and books HERE!Angelina Kelly is an indie author and biologist who was born and raised in Alaska and has an inherent love for nature. She now lives in British Columbia where she works as a biologist and writes epic fantasy books that weave in her reverence for wilderness and the natural world. Learn more about Angie's work and books HERE!Watch this episode on YouTubeListen to this episode inside our Community

In this episode of God Is Red, we walk through Chapter 6 of Taylor's book, Rediscovering Turtle Island. Taylor (Omaha / Cherokee) traces the thread from language migrations and the “overkill hypothesis” to Omaha corn medicine and the Calumet peace rite, asking how ceremony restores balance between sacred feminine and sacred masculine.Learn more about Taylor's work HERE.Purchase Rediscovering Turtle Island HERE.Learn more about Daniel's work HERE.

What does it take to make human art today? Is worth it? We kick off a new series on Indie Publishing with my dear friend and found-sister Angie Kelly today! Welcome to Episode 1. On this episode, Angie and I work to pull back the curtain on the emotional and economic substrate behind a book: the thousands of quiet hours, the minimum‑wage calculus, the edits that cost more than many tired authors even earn, and the launch-day silence that can follow years of work.From there, Angie and I dive into the attention economy bent on reshaping how readers discover books, and all art, from BookTok and Bookstagram to other strange realities that can crown a title overnight, and we highlight how trend saturation squeezes nuance and human-ness, leaving quieter and highly crafted novels invisible. Angie speaks well on why publishers chase velocity, why flashy debuts can fizzle just as fast, and how fan-fiction-to-film pipelines and algorithm-friendly marketing pathways distort realities of art.If you care about books built by human hearts, you’ll find both something here. Join us, subscribe, and share this episode with a reader or writer who needs it!Angelina Kelly is an indie author and biologist who was born and raised in Alaska and has an inherent love for nature. She now lives in British Columbia where she works as a biologist and writes epic fantasy books that weave in her reverence for wilderness and the natural world. Learn more about Angie's work and books HERE!Learn more about Daniel's work and books HERE!

In this episode of God Is Red, we walk through Chapter 5 of Taylor's book, Rediscovering Turtle Island. Taylor (Omaha / Cherokee) guides us through the sacred site of Pahuk—known to the Pawnee as an "animal lodge" and to neighboring nations as a holy hill. We trace how a place becomes a teacher: a river crossing near a mound that echoes an earthen-lodge, a spring tied to underworld passages, an oak savanna forming a threshold. The landscape isn’t backdrop; it’s scripture, sanctuary, and archive.Learn more about Taylor's work HERE.Purchase Rediscovering Turtle Island HERE.Learn more about Daniel's work HERE.

In this 9th installment of the God is Red series, Taylor Keen (Omaha / Cherokee) takes us deep into his book, Rediscovering Turtle Island. We look straight at the American habit of loving the “passing Indian” while resisting Indigenous knowledge when it asks us to change how we farm, worship, and govern. The reckoning hurts. It also heals.Learn more about Taylor's work HERE.Purchase Rediscovering Turtle Island HERE.Learn more about Daniel's work HERE.

In this yarn, Indie author Kyle McLindsey and Daniel pull back the curtain on how taste gets manufactured, how attention gets priced, and why so many “hot” reads feel the same.If you care about indie publishing, authentic storytelling, and writing that resists the consensus, this is a conversation to sit with. Listen, share it with a friend who reads slowly, and tell us in a review where you draw your own line between voice and virality. Then subscribe because the algorithm told you to...Learn more about Kyle's book HERE.Visit our community HERE.

In this 8th installment of the God is Red series, Taylor Keen (Omaha / Cherokee) takes us deep into his book, Rediscovering Turtle Island. We discuss the idea of an Indigenous Atlantis, diving into the sacred and ancient migration myths about "an Island in the east," and finish the dialogue on a study of the American Founding Fathers.Learn more about Taylor's work HERE.Purchase Rediscovering Turtle Island HERE.Learn more about Daniel's work HERE.

In this 7th installment of the God is Red series, Taylor Keen (Omaha / Cherokee) takes us deep into his book, Rediscovering Turtle Island. We discuss the idea of Indigenous civilization, Alexis De Tocqueville's view of the "pride of the native american," and why an Indigenous Cosmogenesis is so important for our world today--that the divine lives in all of us. Whether you're indigenous to the Land below your feet or not, these ancient stories offer profound perspective on what it means to live in right relationship with land, community, and Spirit. They remind us that mythology isn't just about preserving the past—it's about creating possibilities for a more beautiful future.Learn more about Taylor's work HERE.Purchase Rediscovering Turtle Island HERE.Learn more about Daniel's work HERE.

In this 6th installment of the God is Red series, Taylor Keen (Omaha / Cherokee) takes us deep into the womb of Earth Mother to explore the ancient and living stories preserved in Picture Cave, a sacred site containing Siouan rock art dating back 1,000 years. The first half of the episode is a passionate storytelling that bridges millennia, where Taylor unveils the cosmology of his ancestors through vivid tales of First Man, First Woman, Morning Star, and the Thunder Twins.As Taylor explains, these aren't distant myths but encoded memories that continue to resonate in the blood and spirit of indigenous peoples today. The conversation then unfurls into why ancient peoples sought to document oral traditions in rock...Whether you're indigenous to the Land below your feet or not, these ancient stories offer profound perspective on what it means to live in right relationship with land, community, and Spirit. They remind us that mythology isn't just about preserving the past—it's about creating possibilities for a more beautiful future.Learn more about Taylor's work HERE.Learn more about Daniel's work HERE.

In this Unshod yarn, Veronica Stanwell of RootedHealing and Daniel explore the themes of community, intentional/slow living, and the importance of stories and ceremonies in our lives. We dialogue about the challenges of modernity, the impact of technology in our little and mammal lives, and the need to reclaim our roots.Veronica shares her experiences living in community in the Southwest of the British Isle, while she also emphasizes the significance of slowing down and participating in embodied practices, from story to ceremony. The conversation centers on the interplay between storytelling and ceremony, and the potential for these embodied memberings to foster healing and transformation in such a modern, fast-paced world. Toward the end, we also get to explore the themes of interconnectivity and language, and the importance of reciprocal relationships with nature using our syllabaries. Touching on animism and ancient languages as a deepening to our connection to the land and our ancestors, while also reflecting on the limitations of modern language.About Veronica: As a multidisciplinary healing + creative arts practitioner, Veronica weaves her love for embodied ecology, land lore, ceremony and song into intimate explorations for connection, healing and growth.  MSc studentship in Consciousness + Transpersonal Psychology with the Alef Trust, alongside work with Rooted Healing (as founder + director), are driven by her fascination with the fabric of life and our belonging within it.  Veronica's background in professional theatre continues to guide her work, carrying reverence for the power of story, music, expression, catharsis and playfulness. Her longing for a collective intimate relationship with life is apparent and contagious. She serves to remind you that we belong and that the mystery of life is worth falling in love with, again and again.Learn more about RootedHealing HERE.Learn more about Daniel's work HERE.