Talking Legend & Lore with SB Darkmoor

August 29, 2026

Talking Legend & Lore with SB Darkmoor

One of the fun parts of my life has been hosting Books & Brews, since 2017. Wow, nine years! It's hard to believe it's been that long! In those years, I've interviewed about 175 authors and poets--at the radio station where Michael and I started, at Barnes & Nobles cafe in Edina's Galleria where we interviewed authors live with guests sampling beer flights, on our monthly podcast since 2019, and for the past year on Books & Brews Light.

What I love about it is all the interesting people I've met -- Eugenia Fain who published her first poem in her teens; Bob Miller, who performed magic tricks for us; Michael Modjewleski who spent two years alone in the Alaskan wilderness before accidentally becoming Cosmo's Mr. November; Loren Niemi who has told stories on the Great Wall of China; we've conducted interviews at a historic St. Paul pub, a historic St. Paul club, and in a gym when we talked to a poet-boxer.

We've hosted a number of authors who don't drink for various reasons...but have nonetheless loved seeing what drinks are paired to their readings. Sometimes we do mocktails...or for children's books, chocolate milk or tang!

We've talked to writers of every genre--mystery, thriller, romance, adventure, supernatural thrillers, military, time travel, historical fiction, poetry, and non-fiction on various topics.

Moving to a podcast format has allowed us to talk with authors around the world. We've talked to Christina Courtenay from Scotland about her time travel novels; Jen Gilroy from England; author and film-maker Peter Andrew Sacco from Canada; Prophet Petrus from South Africa; and Americans Jake Needham and Alison Gieschen living respectively in Bangkok and on a sailboat in French Polynesia--and many more.

Our most recent guest is Sandra Niebuhr, writing supernatural thrillers as S.B. Darkmoor.

| The Djinn Never Sleep, Supernatural Thriller Author SB Darkmoor

Sandra grew up, until almost 20 behind the Iron Curtain in Eastern Germany. When the Wall fell, she began to travel Europe, teaching German, After many years living in the Netherlands, she took a trip to Egypt. A friend advised her to try a sushi place there. Not only did she love the sushi--she ended up loving the owner and now lives part of every year in Egypt with her husband!

Sandra has written several psychological and supernatural thrillers, at least two of them ranging from Germany to Egypt. She visits all the sites she writes about--or as in the case of the book she read from, The Djinn Never Sleep--she may visit a place and be inspired to write a story set there. During our interview, she told us about visiting Petra, where her photographs of the place showed mysterious images and where she saw strange blue glows around her daughter. The experience led to the novel.

We talked, of course, about djinn--about what they are, about how they differ in various parts of the world. We talked about the contrast of a psychologist encountering the supernatural, of how logic and our modern senses encounter the unexplainable.

Among the most interesting parts of the interview, I found Sandra's comments on mirrors. The question was why mirrors are so often used as a somewhat mystical device, often a door between worlds, in fiction. Sandra told me that there is a psychological or spiritual effect of staring into a mirror too long. I can't say I want to try. Not only do I not want to find out if she's rght, I simply don't have the time to spend seven or eight minutes in front of a mirror. But if you try it, let me know what happens!

We especially had fun with the drinks on this one! A book about DJINN--of COURSE we used GIN in every drink. A book set in Egypt? We found drinks in the colors of blue and gold like a Pharaoh's headdress. And we tied those into Sandra's readings!

Stop by and check out our interview with Sandra and while you're there, look into some of the other great authors we've talked with!

SANDRA'S INTERVIEW

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