Tonya Abari and American Idol

We know All Too Well that you will enjoy this episode, as we talk all things Taylor Swift with our guest Melissa Leygan, who is a huge fan (or Swiftie, as they are known). Melissa is the first guest of ours to actually bring us thank you gifts (including baked goods and friendship bracelets), and this convo is as enlightening and delightful as she is. Tell all your Swiftie friends!!

You can hear a bonus conversation with us and Melissa on our Patreon page, where you get extra content from FB&C in exchange for a small monthly donation that helps keep us afloat! Sign-up here: https://www.patreon.com/FineBeatsandCheeses

Melissa's Bio below...

I've been a casual Taylor listener since I was in high school, but I became a fan as we listened to the well-crafted playlist my sister made on the drive up for the Eras tour, and it was when I saw her in May 2023 in MA that I became a real Swiftie(tm). I have so much respect for this woman and how she has navigated this world built to tear down people just like her, and she rebuilt and regrew and kept performing in spite of them all. I can't wait to share my love of her Fearless drive, Reputation, and how her Karma is the guy on the Chiefs. Truly, this bio isn't about me, it's about our Goddess and Queen, Taylor Swift. All Rise For the Queen. 👑

Put on your wind machine and wear something that billows in the breeze as we talk Romance Novels with writer Ashley Hawthorne.

Ashley Hawthorne is a soft hearted idealist who wants to live in a world where love really does conquer all. She writes stories that challenge us to believe that we can find light in the darkest places, and her goal is to make us all more grateful for love, family, and forgiveness. She is a contemporary romantic suspense author with two novels currently available, Deliver Me and Death Sentence, and a duology with installments due to be published in 2025 and 2026, all through Creative James Media. She lives in Texas with her husband, two children, and numerous rescue pets.

You can find Ashley on Instagram and her website, Ashleyhawthorne.net.

Go get your scuba gear as we talk about the iconic movie about really smart sharks, "Deep Blue Sea". with guest Stephanie Olson. Hilarious episode.

Stephanie Olson (she/her) is a writer, cosplayer, horror movie enthusiast (especially the bad ones), and Halloween-all-year person. The first story she ever wrote was the gripping tale of a haunted bog. It was created in an attempt to scare her bunkmates at summer camp, and the result was so successful she was banned from writing any more stories that week. She’s been chasing that high ever since. While horror is her first love, she also enjoys fantasy and mysteries. Stephanie has a short story published in Spontaneous Combustion Volume II, by Sic Semper Serpent, and is part of the writing team for the horror anthology podcast, Ghost Wax. Her debut fantasy novel, Still Chosen: Another Unwanted Adventure, was released in January, 2025.

You can find her on Instagram at @stephaniewritesstuff

We're going back, back, back to school again to March 2024 for this Rewind episode where we talk about the cheesy classic "Grease 2", and our guest is journalist and author, Baltimore's own Laura Lippman. We laugh, we sing, we talk about how cute Adrian Zmed is, and why this movie falls short of the first one, yet we still can belt all of the songs. Loudly.

Laura Lippman was a reporter for twenty years, including twelve years at The (Baltimore) Sun. She began writing novels while working fulltime and published seven books about “accidental PI” Tess Monaghan before leaving daily journalism in 2024. Her work has been awarded the Edgar ®, the Anthony, the Agatha, the Shamus, the Nero Wolfe, Gumshoe and Barry awards. She also has been nominated for other prizes in the crime fiction field, including the Hammett and the Macavity. She was the first-ever recipient of the Mayor’s Prize for Literary Excellence and the first genre writer recognized as Author of the Year by the Maryland Library Association.

Ms. Lippman grew up in Baltimore and attended city schools through ninth grade. After graduating from Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, Md., Ms. Lippman attended Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Her other newspaper jobs included the Waco Tribune-Herald and the San Antonio Light.

Ms. Lippman returned to Baltimore in 1989 and has lived there since. She is the daughter of Theo Lippman Jr., a Sun editorial writer who retired in 1995 but continues to freelance for several newspapers, and Madeline Mabry Lippman, a former Baltimore City school librarian. Her sister, Susan, is a local bookseller.

You can find her at:

https://lauramlippman.substack.com/ and on Instagram .

Go find a tailor and get your fabulous outfit ready as we discuss last week's Met Gala 2025! Our guest is Alexis Frank of Lexi P Coaching, who specializes in helping eldest daughters. We think that's cool. This is a timely and lively talk and we hope you like it!

Alexis says:

I stand at the intersection of power, truth, and identity, guiding the next generation of leaders, culture-shapers, and visionaries to remember who the fuck they are.

I am a prophetess and cultural philosopher — speaking not just to personal evolution, but to systemic rebirth.

My voice is a blueprint.

My presence is a reckoning.

You can find her on Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, and at thefccoach.com. You can also hear her on her podcast, F That.

In honor of Mother's Day, we are doing Christmas in May, as we Rewind to Decemeber 2023 to talk to about Hallmark Christmas movies with one of our favorite moms, friend of the show Olivia Dreizen Howell, Co-Founder and CEO of Fresh Starts Registry(and one half of the sibling duo that we call "The Sisters" around here with her sister, Genevieve Dreizen )! It's an episode full of women executives from the big city who travel to Apple Valley or Walnut Lake or something like that for Christmas and fall for their high school sweetheart or the town lumberjack who has a golden retriever and a pickup. As always, there was a lot of laughing in this episode, but also a lot of insight into how all of the characters in these movies are starting over in some way, which is Olivia's specialty. Enjoy the show, and have fun at the Christmas festival at the town gazebo.

A bit about Olivia:

When Olivia got married at 26, she didn't think she would find herself signing divorce papers a mere 8 years later. As she stood in the half-empty house, it dawned on her that we celebrate engagements, weddings and babies, but not the boldness and bravery it takes to restart your life. Plus, she wondered, how does one find a new therapist, divorce lawyer, or mortgage lender? Relying on Google, friends, and family can be overwhelming, so why isn't there one place for everything you need to begin again? Fresh Starts was founded on this premise. It's a registry for people who are staring over. If this is you, create your registry at https://www.freshstartsregistry.com/

Olivia and her sister Genevieve host several podcasts, including A Fresh Story.

You can also find Olivia at on Instagram , Threads, and LinkedIn.

Get your long ears and tails to match together for this DELIGHTFUL episode about the underrated and misunderstood cult classic film, 2001's "Josie and the Pussycats". Our guest is costume designer and podcaster, Melinda Hare, and we talk about the tragedy it is that this movie wasn't a hit when it came out, although it has a big following now. We love this movie and we loved doing this episode.

About Melinda:

"Born/raised in Northern California, I have a background in costume design and construction for theatre. BA from San Francisco state university, MFA from university of Washington. I have worked in professional and educational theatre. I co-created and co-host Haute Set Podcast, a movie podcast with a particular focus on the costume design. "

You can find her on Instagram.