We recently connected with Renee Cummings and have shared our conversation below.

Renee, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later?

I began creating book reviews in 2022 when I left my radio job to become a stay at home mom and I wish I would have thought of doing it sooner. I have always been a book worm and I joke in my opening of the podcast by saying I wouldn’t be where I am without Scholastic Book Fairs and the Pizza Hut Book It! club. If I would have started it sooner, I could have been able to get into podcasting before everyone was into podcasting. It’s an easy thing to start, but with so many people doing it these days, it’s difficult to get the exposure you want right away. While I’m happy with where I’m at right now with the podcast and content creation surrounding it, I’ll always wonder “What if I started 3 years sooner?”

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hi there! My name is Renee and I am a Podcaster, specializing in Book Reviews and content! I was a radio host for 10 years and during that time, I left the job, started the podcast, went back to hosting the radio show for 2.5 years and then was let go in March of 2025. Now my main focus has been creating episodes and content for social media based on book trends, what I’m reading, and reviews of books I have read. The podcast has made it really easy to connect with others who love the same books/authors that I do and the community is a fantastic one to be a part of! It has also helped me to branch out with genres that I never thought I would read. My husband also loves reading and has helped me out with this journey and I can’t thank him enough for his support with it all!

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

When you think of books and a book podcast, you would think it was as simple as reading a book and talking about it, but that’s not the case. There are so many different things you can do within that space and I had no idea about it until I started everything up. There are a ton of apps and websites that you can join to log your reading, reading programs with local businesses and libraries, along with book clubs that you can join! I didn’t realize just how easy joining those things were, so I would lose track of the books I was reading or I’d forget something having to do with a specific book, and those resources helped out a ton! I am extremely happy to know about them now!

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I think the main thing that I’m working toward with The Tequila Mockingbird Podcast is to let myself branch out, while also raising awareness of how important it is to read! The literacy rates in the world are declining and it’s so hard to see. I have two kids and we make sure to read with them at minimum 20 minutes a day because we know just how important it is. I would love to work with a bar or an alcohol company to create a drink based off of the podcast and the name. How fun would that be!?

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tequilamockingbirdpodcast/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/renee-wilkins-442323122/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@tequilamockingbirdpod

  https://open.spotify.com/episode/7K4FFCqXpCc6PTK1HbCN75?si=eUhfCmWvS_GsiU5g3nvu-g