The Hallowed Hearth Podcast - Catching Up with A.G. Mock and Aja DePizzol

The episode opens with a specific and memorable detail: author A.G. Mock, appearing on The Hallowed Hearth podcast just days before his new thriller What Big Lies You Have hits shelves, is battling a pollen-induced sore throat in Nashville. He jokes about surviving on lozenges and herbal tea, but the real energy of the night is about shedding old skins—a theme the hosts pull from their Crow Wisdom Oracle card, "The Molting," which they interpret as a call to embrace discomfort and trust divine redirection. This sets the tone for a conversation that is part book-launch celebration, part paranormal community catch-up, and part introduction to a new manager who will guide the show's talent into 2027.

The Craft of the Unreliable Narrator

The core of the episode is a deep dive into Mock's writing process and the mechanics of his new novel. Mock describes himself as a "pantser"—someone who writes by the seat of his pants, beginning with only a vague idea, a title, and a self-designed cover image. He puts the cover on his laptop screensaver to "condition" himself into the book's emotional state. Once he starts writing, he says the characters "take over," and he is merely "listening to what they're doing and saying and recording it as best I can."