Life & Work with Tiffany Petri and Lita Stetler of Cottonwood Heights

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tiffany Petri and Lita Stetler

Hi Bookmates Book Club Podcast, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Our story began when we were twelve years old. Both of our families had moved to North Carolina. Tiffany’s from Utah, Lita’s from Indiana, and our parents happened to choose the same church to attend. Lita had been there for over a year at that point, then we were introduced on Tiffany’s first time there. We just had that magic, movie “click” moment, and we instantaneously became best friends.

Since we were both home-schooled at the time, we were able to spend an inordinate amount of time together; sometimes sleepovers that lasted two weeks! Lita would pack a bag with clothes and school work for the week, and stay at Tiffany’s house until we went to church again.

We bonded over our love of reading, books, films/tv shows, writing…anything creative or performative. This was before the internet really existed as it does now, so naturally we spent most of our time trying some new, creative way to entertain ourselves. From writing parodies to our favorite songs and recording them, writing little screenplays, (then roping in whoever we could convince to film them), improvising soap operas with barbies, making music videos or re-enacting movie scenes with the camcorder, to spending days learning the choreography to our favorite numbers from musicals. We even recorded radio shows, including the commercial breaks with made up ads and jingles.

Now here we are, 25 years later and still finding ways to do creative projects together, despite the long distance; since Tiffany is back in Utah, and Lita is back in Indiana. So this feels like a full circle moment for us.

We actually had not planned to, or even talked about starting a podcast when we recorded what would become our first episode. It was the beginning of the year, and we were re-establishing our little book club duo, and Lita took first pick. Once we were finished, we planned to have our book club meeting via Skype, which we hadn’t done before. We usually just talk over the phone, but we wanted something that felt more akin to being together in person.

A few hours before we hopped on, Lita threw out the idea of recording it podcast style. Though with the notion that only the two of us would ever listen to it, just like the other million times throughout our lives we’d done that, so it felt on brand for us to do.

It wasn’t until afterwards and we listened back, that we realized that maybe we actually had something here, that we could actually do this. So we kind of made the podcast by accident!

We had begun to notice that most of the book content we were seeing was spoiler free, or more “review/synopsis” oriented versus a book club style discussion, which is the kind of content that we ourselves craved. So we decided to structure it as a virtual book club, so that listeners could read along with us and participate in the conversation.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Anything but smooth! Both of us have been through some really tough times, together and separately. Especially in our later teens/early twenties. Through the years we’ve leaned and relied on each other a lot. Even when our paths led us away from each other, we always found a way to stay connected.

We have not lived near one another since we were 19 years old. Maintaining a long distance friendship and staying involved in each other’s lives takes a lot of commitment and active effort. It’s so easy to get busy in our lives, jobs, routines, and families that things slip to the back burner without even realizing it.

This podcast not only gives us reasons to be in constant contact with each other, but also feels like recapturing a part of our childhood. We’re both in places in our lives now where we have the time to take on something like this, and really sink our teeth into a project we’re both passionate about in a medium that finally allows us to find that creative outlet together even while being two thousand miles away from each other.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
When we aren’t podcasting, Lita is a professional cat breeder, and also started an online business on Etsy making and selling slimes that has been thriving. She has always been entrepreneurial, and has her fingers in many creative pies!

Tiffany has been a nanny/house manager for an amazing family here in SLC for the past ten years. It’s very rare to find that kind of longevity in a career like this, so she feels so lucky to have found such a fulfilling and rewarding job that never feels like job, but like family.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Tiffany loves books by Yung Pueblo and Yoga With Adrienne to feel centered. A favorite that Lita always goes back to is the Wideacre trilogy by Phillipa Gregory. But really, as book addicts, we survive on book apps! Libby, Everand, and Audible are must have’s. Since we both essentially work from home, audiobooks are a large part of our days and keep us sane. And of course Goodreads. Where the TBR only grows, and it’s another great way to connect with our listeners and keep them up to date with our past, current and future book selections, and allows us to continue the conversation in the comments!

Podcasts like And That’s Why We Drink and Bad Friends that also feature best friends being their authentic selves helped us to feel like there was a place for us too.

We’d also be remiss if we didn’t mention our mutual obsession over the A Court of Thorns & Roses series by Sarah J. Maas. It single-handedly reignited our love of reading, which had become dormant in recent years. We can safely say that without these books, our podcast would not exist.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bookmatespodcast.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bookmatesbookclubpodcast/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Bookmates-Book-Club/61558968336489/?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bookmatespodcast
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BookmatesPodcast
• Other: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/179834367-bookmates-book-club-podcast