On Journey of the Art, we discuss the artist, unravel the art, and explore the road between, celebrating the highs of artistic achievement and pondering the lows of the artist's sacrifice. This is our biggest question: what is the secret to staying on the journey of the art?
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Find out more about the show: https://journeyoftheart.com/
Ep 49: A Christmas crime novel with the most unreliable character
In this episode, I’m joined by Tom Halford to discuss the most curious book I’ve read this year, Over the Lights and Over the Houses. The book is a Christmas story, a comedic crime novel brimming with the absurd, suspense, and narrated by the most unreliable character.
In keeping with the spirit of Christmas, this is a happy conversation. Tom shares family stories, traditions, dishes, and some fun facts about Atlantic Canada. Yet, we interlace the joy with serious conversations around truth telling, dark pasts, diversity, and betrayal.
My biggest takeaway from this conversation is the importance of maintaining curiosity and wonder, especially as I get older and life demands much more from me. Over the Lights and Over the Houses reminds me that we create honestly and carefully when we maintain our joy and wonder.
Show highlights
1:13 – How The Trailer Park Boys and a family tradition of telling tales inspired the main character
4:23 – A structural choice that keeps the reader going
8:21 – How not to become a husk of a person
12:13 – Does life make us liars, or do we choose our own paths to truth telling?
17:47 – Preserving authenticity in Atlantic Canada
24:21 – Thoughts on writing about interracial friendships
31:35 – How to stop writing boring poems
36:50 – Writing as a parent
42:10 – The secret to staying on the journey of the art
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Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4m5KYfRF-ms (https://youtu.be/4m5KYfRF-ms)
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Guest’s links
Buy Over the Lights and Over the Houses: https://ghp-pql.com/products/over-the-lights-and-over-the-houses (https://ghp-pql.com/products/over-the-lights-and-over-the-houses)
Read “The Blockbuster Manifesto: How to Stop Writing Boring Poems”: https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the-blockbuster-manifesto-how-to-stop-writing-boring-poems (https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the-blockbuster-manifesto-how-to-stop-writing-boring-poems)
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Host’s links
Find out more about the show: https://www.journeyoftheart.com/ (https://www.journeyoftheart.com/)
Follow Journey of the Art on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/journeyoftheartpod/ (https://www.instagram.com/journeyoftheartpod/)
Book a one-on-one with Lola: https://wordcaps.com/coaching/ (https://wordcaps.com/coaching/)
26 Sept 2026
Ep 48: Jollof wars: What our food says about us
In this joyful episode with Yewande Daniel-Ayoade, we reflect on food and what it says about our identity and tolerance for others. Yewande tells me about how #jollofgate inspired her latest work, Dele and Aminata’s Jollof War, and how she wanted to create a book that opens up conversations about the beauty of traditional meals.
We also talk about territorialism and how it shows up in culinary wars, why we feel the need to compare culinary choices, and what it means to grow in tolerance for others who may not understand our food and its importance to us.
As we bring things to a close, Yewande shares a summary of her writing journey, and how the support of friends and sheer determination to make her dreams come true resulted in her first book and the subsequent ones.
There is laughter and joy in this episode, and I hope you enjoy listening/watching as much as we enjoyed making it.
FYI to parents or adults with children in their lives: Yewande’s book is a conversation starter. I hope you purchase it, read it to the child/children in your life, and reflect on your own interactions with food.
Show highlights
00:00 – Introduction
2:48 – Why are we so territorial about food?
4:47 – Why does the existence of Ghanian jollof rattle Nigerians so much?
6:28 – Is there a connection between what we eat and what we think of ourselves?
7:37 – Do we ever achieve tolerance?
9:33 – Thoughts on the recipe in the book?
10:54 – What should readers take away from the book?
12:19 – Choosing what to write about when she can feel other's pain
13:23 – The one thing Yewande has learned from being a children’s book writer
14:54 – What is Yewande Daniel-Ayoade’s writing journey?
18:24 – A shift to the whimsical and understanding seasons of change
20:31 – Which jollof is the best jollof?
21:39 – What is the secret to staying on the journey of the art?
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Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_CZLt9bkUeg (https://youtu.be/_CZLt9bkUeg)
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Guest’s links
Buy Dele and Aminata’s Jollof War: https://shop.owlkids.com/products/dele-and-aminata-s-jollof-war (https://shop.owlkids.com/products/dele-and-aminata-s-jollof-war)
Connect with Yewande: https://www.ydaniel-ayoade.com (https://www.ydaniel-ayoade.com/)
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Host’s links
Find out more about the show: https://www.journeyoftheart.com/ (https://www.journeyoftheart.com/)
Follow Journey of the Art on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/journeyoftheartpod/ (https://www.instagram.com/journeyoftheartpod/)
Book a one-on-one with Lola: https://wordcaps.com/coaching/ (https://wordcaps.com/coaching/)
12 Sept 2026
Ep 47: The fall down effect of climate change | Liz Johnston
In this episode, I’m joined by Liz Johnston, author of The Fall Down Effect, a novel about fractured family relationships, environmental activism, and how personal ambition can test the bonds of family ties.
The novel follows the journeys of Sylvia, Fern, and River, after their mother leaves them to pursue her own path of environmental activism. Inspired by their mother’s activism, Fern commits an act of ecoterrorism, blowing up a mill at 19 and going on the run, leaving her family to try and make sense of her actions and cover up her crime. Years later, a forest fire forces their mother to return to the home she left and to confront her past.
Chapters
0:00 - Introduction
2:47 - The haze that sparked the book
5:18 - First borns, middle borns, and last borns
8:54 - When radically begets radicality
14:06 - The weight of blame when loved ones make terrible decisions
17:47 - A glimpse into activist groups
21:55 - How to silence the editor brain as a writer/editor
25:40 - How does an editor manage being edited?
27:28 - How can writers know when they've achieved their goal?
30:07 - The secret to staying on the journey of the art
_____________________
Watch on YouTube
https://youtu.be/i36erZ2xG1o
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Guest’s links
Buy The Fall Down Effect: https://bookhugpress.ca/shop/books/fiction/the-fall-down-effect-by-liz-johnston/
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Host’s links
Find out more about the show: https://www.journeyoftheart.com/ (https://www.journeyoftheart.com/)
Follow Journey of the Art on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/journeyoftheartpod/ (https://www.instagram.com/journeyoftheartpod/)
Book a one-on-one with Lola: https://wordcaps.com/coaching/ (https://wordcaps.com/coaching/)
Who has been a guest on Journey of the Art
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
James Cairns
Elizabeth Rynecki
Martha Batiz
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
19,840
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 62 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
72
Social presence
91
YouTube
85
Engagement
0
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