Friends & Fiction

On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry and Kristy Woodson Harvey welcome #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Giffin to discuss her new novel THE SUMMER PACT in which a group of friends, in the wake of tragedy, make a pact that will cause them to reunite a decade later and embark on a life-changing adventure together. Emily is the author of twelve internationally bestselling novels, including All We Ever Wanted, The Lies That Bind, and Meant to Be. A Chicago native, Emily is a graduate of Wake Forest University and the University of Virginia School of Law. She practiced litigation at a large Manhattan firm for several years while dreaming of becoming a writer. When her 2004 debut novel Something Borrowed (which was adapted as the 2011 feature film starring Kate Hudson & John Krasinski) became a sensation, Emily vowed never to practice law again. With books translated into 31 languages and more than 12-million copies sold worldwide, Emily has been dubbed a “modern-day Jane Austen” by Vanity Fair and a “dependly down-to-earth storyteller” by the New York Times. She joins us to discuss her latest instant NYT-bestseller, THE SUMMER PACT, which Booklist called “a triumph” in a starred review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, the Fab Four gather to welcome this month’s F&F Featured Author, Jamie Brenner, to discuss her brand-new book, our July 2024 Pick of the Month, A NOVEL SUMMER, in which a bestselling author finds love and second chances in the stacks of a quaint beach town bookshop. Jamie Brenner is the bestselling author of eight novels including The Forever Summer and Blush. She grew up in suburban Philadelphia on a steady diet of fiction and soap operas, then moved to New York City where she worked in book publishing and fashion. After raising two daughters in Manhattan, Jamie has returned to her hometown and spends her summers visiting the beaches that inspire her novels. Her compulsively readable new book, A NOVEL SUMMER, has been praised as “a rich, satisfying and surprising summer read” by Adriana Trigiani and this “summer’s BIG book that everyone will be raving about” by Kristy Woodson Harvey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews & Ron Block welcome NYT-bestselling author Christina Dodd to discuss her brand-new book A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA, a humorous historical update on the Romeo and Juliet story which Susan Mallery has called “a tour de force,” and Kirsitin Hannah has praised as “fun, funny, charming, and absolutely delightful.” Christina Dodd is a perennially bestselling author whose suspense, paranormal, mystery, regency and contemporary romance novels have been translated into 30 languages, have sold more than 15-million copies, and have won numerous awards including the Romance Writers of America RITA and Golden Heart Awards. She joins us from her home in the Pacific Northwest to discuss her new novel, A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA, which has been described as "Knives Out meets Bridgerton." This book kicks off a frothy, irreverent, witty new series with an irresistible premise—Romeo and Juliet’s daughter as a clever, rebellious, fiercely independent woman in fair Verona—told from the delightfully engaging point of view of the captivating Rosie Montague herself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry, Kristin Harmel & Mary Kay Andrews welcome the three bestselling authors—Heather Gudenkauf, Kimberly Belle & Kaira Rouda—who make up the Killer Author Club, a unique platform for suspense and mystery fans to hear from their favorite authors as they chat about killing—of the fictional kind, of course. Kimberly Belle is a USA Today and internationally bestselling author with over one-million copies sold worldwide whose The Paris Widow came out on June 11th. Kaira Rouda is an award-winning, USA Today, Amazon charts, and internationally bestselling contemporary fiction author whose Under the Palms was released on May 21st. Heather Gudenkauf is the Edgar-nominated, NYT-bestselling author of 10 novels whose Everyone is Watching was released on March 26th. Together they started the Killer Author Club in 2022. Each bi-monthly, half-hour show, airing on Facebook, YouTube & Instagram, features a Killer Author, a Killer Cocktail, and a Killer Giveaway—all in a fun and fast-paced setting. We are excited for this cross-over episode where we deliberately collide our two worlds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Ron Block welcome the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Chris Whitaker to discuss his newly announced Read with Jenna pick, All the Colors of the Dark, an epic novel about a man fixated on finding a missing woman―and the FBI agent on his tail, who might be even more obsessed than he is. Chris Whitaker is the author of five novels including Tall Oaks, All the Wicked Girls, and The Forevers, as well as the instant New York Times bestselling phenomenon We Begin at the End which was optioned by Disney’s 20th Television and was named a No.1 Indie Next Pick, a Waterstones Thriller of the Month, a Barnes & Noble Book Club Pick, and a GMA Buzz Pick. Chris joins us to discuss his highly-anticipated and super buzz-worthy new novel which Kristin Hannah said kept her “frantically turning the pages and somehow made me cry at the end” and which Bonnie Garmus called “impeccably crafted, deeply emotional, entirely shattering.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, the Fab Four gather to celebrate this month’s F&F Featured Author, the NYT-bestselling author of The Summer of Songbirds and the Peachtree Bluff series, our very own Kristy Woodson Harvey, to discuss her brand-new book, our June 2024 Pick of the Month A HAPPIER LIFE, a tender and touching novel about a young woman who discovers the family she has always longed for when she spends a life-changing summer in North Carolina. Kristy is the NYT-bestselling author of ten novels, including The Wedding Veil, Under the Southern Sky, and the Peachtree Bluff series, which is in development for television with NBC. Her writing has appeared in numerous online and print publications including Southern Living, Traditional Home, USA TODAY, Domino, and O. Henry. Her latest novel, A HAPPIER LIFE, is imbued with “her signature warmth and Southern charm” (E! Online), and has been called “a family mystery wrapped in a love story and a gracious nod to tradition and the people who came before us” by bestselling novelist Annabel Monaghan, and labeled “women’s fiction at its best” in a rave review from Publishers Weekly. The full Fab Four plus Meg & Ron are on-hand to launch this beautiful book in grand F&F fashion on a LIVE show with all the laughs and shenanigans you’ve come to expect. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Kristin Harmel welcome the #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Wingate to discuss SHELTERWOOD, her sweeping new novel inspired by the untold history of women pioneers who fought to protect children caught in the storm of land barons hungry for power and oil wealth. Lisa Wingate is the author of the #1 NYT-bestseller BEFORE WE WERE YOURS, which remained on bestseller lists for more than two years, has sold more than 3-million copies, and been translated into more than 40 languages worldwide. The author of more than 30 novels and the co-author (with Judy Christie) of the non-fiction book BEFORE AND AFTER, Wingate is an Oklahoma Book Award finalist, a Southern Book Prize winner, and a Goodreads Choice Award winner. According to a recent starred review in Publishers Weekly, “Wingate is at the top of her game.” We are thrilled to hear from her about SHELTERWOOD, which Adriana Trigiani calls “an instant American classic,” and Marie Benedict calls “Wingate’s best book yet!” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews & Kristy Woodson Harvey welcome national bestselling author Annabel Monaghan to discuss her brand-new, highly-anticipated rom-com, SUMMER ROMANCE, the humorous and heartwarming story of a professional organizer whose life is a mess, and the summer she gets unstuck with the help of someone unexpected from her past. Annabel Monaghan is the author of LibraryReads pick and national bestseller SAME TIME NEXT SUMMER and IndieNext and LibraryReads pick NORA GOES OFF SCRIPT, as well as two young adult novels and DOES THIS VOLVO MAKE MY BUTT LOOK BIG?, a selection of laugh-out-loud columns that appeared in the Huffington Post, The Week, and the Rye Record. She joins us from her home in Rye, New York before departing on book tour to talk to us about SUMMER ROMANCE, the book Publishers Weekly has called “the ideal beach read” in a starred review, and which Abby Jimenez has called “a bingeable five-star read.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Kristy Woodson Harvey welcome four-time Emmy Award winning co-host of ABC’s The View, Sunny Hostin, to discuss the captivating third novel in her New York Times bestselling Summer Beach series, Summer on Highland Beach. Sunny Hostin is an attorney, a multi-platform journalist, an ABC News Legal Analyst, a co-host of ABC Daytime’s The View, and the author of SUMMER ON THE BLUFFS and SUMMER ON SAG HARBOR as well as the memoir I AM THESE TRUTHS. In the third installment in her NYT-bestselling series, Sunny transports readers to the gleaming shores of Maryland’s Highland Beach in a story that celebrates family, friendship, and community and reminds us of the importance of the legacies of our collective past and of finding one’s way in the world. According to Booklist, “Hostin has penned another deliciously soapy beach read about elite Black beach communities” and we are so excited to talk to her about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews & Kristy Woodson Harvey welcome the bestselling, award-winning novelist Steven Rowley to discuss THE GUNCLE ABROAD, the long-awaited sequel to a beloved story, all about the complicated bonds of family, love, and what it takes to rediscover yourself, even at the ripe age of fifty. Steven Rowley is the New York Times bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus, a Washington Post Notable Book; The Editor, an NPR Best Book of the Year; The Guncle, winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor and Goodreads Choice Awards finalist for Novel of the Year; and The Celebrants, a Today Show Read with Jenna book club pick. His fiction has been translated into twenty languages. He joins us from his home in Palm Springs before departing on book tour to tell us all about his highly-anticipated follow-up to his beloved novel in which Patrick O'Hara is called back to his guncle duties, this time for a big family wedding in Italy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, the Fab Four gather to celebrate this month’s F&F Featured Author, the NYT bestselling novelist and Queen of the Beach Reads herself, our very own Mary Kay Andrews, to discuss her brand-new novel, our May 2024 Pick of the Month, SUMMERS AT THE SAINT, a fresh new summer mystery full of romance, betrayal, and long-buried secrets. With 32 novels and one cookbook under her belt, Mary Kay has been a staple on the bestseller lists every single year for two decades running. She takes a break from her whirlwind book tour to join us LIVE from Dallas, Texas, to celebrate SUMMERS AT THE SAINT in grand F&F style. Our whole community more will learn more about the novel Publishers Weekly calls “a mesmerizing mix of mystery and romance,” and which has been named an IndieNext and LibraryReads pick. It wouldn't be an F&F launch party without some fun games and lots of other shenanigans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews & Ron Block welcome the international No.1 bestselling author of psychological crime thrillers, Ruth Ware, to discuss her latest gripping beach read, ONE PERFECT COUPLE, a high-tension and ingenious thriller which follows five couples trapped on a storm-swept island as a killer stalks among them. Ruth’s thrillers (In a Dark, Dark Wood; The Woman in Cabin 10; The Lying Game; The Death of Mrs. Westaway; The Turn of the Key; One by One; The It Girl; and Zero Days) have appeared on bestseller lists around the world, including the Sunday Times and New York Times, and have sold more than six-million copies. Her books have been optioned for both film and TV, and she is published in more than 40 languages. Ruth joins us from her home on the coast of England to discuss ONE PERFECT COUPLE, her latest fast-paced, spellbinding thriller coming from Gallery Books on May 21. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Kristin Harmel welcome the New York Times and internationally bestselling author, Janet Skeslien Charles, to discuss her brilliant new novel, MISS MORGAN’S BOOK BRIGADE, based on the true story of Jessie Carson, the American librarian who changed the literary landscape of France. Janet has spent the past decade researching Jessie Carson at The Morgan Library, the NYPL, and archives across France for her latest novel MISS MORGAN’S BOOK BRIGADE. The result is a “compelling ode to the astonishing power of libraries and librarians” (Marie Benedict) which our own Patti Callahan Henry calls “an astonishing novel…and a moving tale of sacrifice, heroism, and inspired storytelling.” Janet’s previous novel The Paris Library, was an instant New York Times, Washington Post, and USA TODAY bestseller and named an Amazon Best Book of 2021. We are so looking forward to discussing this latest installment in her library trilogy with Janet as she heads back to the States from her home in Paris to embark on a US book tour. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, Kristin Harmel & Kristy Woodson Harvey welcome the New York Times bestselling master of suspense, Sally Hepworth, to discuss her forthcoming book, DARLING GIRLS, a thrilling page-turner of sisterhood, secrets, love, and murder. Sally's nine novels (including The Good Sister and The Soulmate) are available around the globe in English and have been translated into more than 20 languages. Several of her novels have been optioned for TV and film and she has sold more than one-million books worldwide. She joins us from Melbourne, Australia, to discuss DARLING GIRLS (just out from St. Martin’s Press), which has been dubbed “a rollercoaster of a novel” by Bookpage and an “unnerving thriller” by Booklist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, the Fab Four—Kristy Woodson Harvey, Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harme & Patti Callahan Herny—gather to welcome this month’s F&F Featured Author, the #1 New York Times bestselling author and titan of romantic comedy, Emily Henry, to discuss her forthcoming book, our April 2024 Pick of the Month, FUNNY STORY, a shimmering, joyful novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common. Emily Henry is the #1 NYT and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of HAPPY PLACE, BOOK LOVERS, PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION, and BEACH READ. Known as much for her witty banter, steamy love scenes, and happy endings as she is for her sheer dominance over the bestseller lists and her millions of copies sold, Emily joins us to discuss her soon-to-be blockbuster summer hit novel, FUNNY STORY (coming 4/23 from Berkley), which has been named a most-anticipated book of the year by TIME, The New York Times, Goodreads, Entertainment Weekly, and Today.com among others. “This sumptuous novel is Henry at her very best,” according to Bustle, and we are so excited to welcome Emily and get the full scoop just before this book hits shelves everywhere! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Ron Block welcome bestselling author, podcast creator, and award-winning journalist, Jo Piazza, to discuss THE SICILIAN INHERITANCE, her transporting novel rooted in the author's own family history about a long-awaited trip to Sicily, a disputed inheritance, and a family secret that some will kill to protect. Jo Piazza is the national and international bestselling author of We Are Not Like Them, You Were Always Mine, Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win, The Knockoff, and How to Be Married. Her work has been published in 10 languages in 12 countries, and 4 of her books have been optioned for film and television. Jo's podcasts have garnered more than 25-million downloads and regularly top podcast charts. An editor, columnist, and travel writer, her work has also appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, New York magazine, Marie Claire, Glamour, and many other publications. She joins us to discuss her brand-new historical novel, THE SICILIAN INHERITANCE (out now from Dutton Books), which has been called “a page-turning family chronicle,” by The Washington Post, “a joy to read,” by the New York Times, and “packed with wit and wicked twists,” by Town & Country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews & Kristin Harmel welcome #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline to discuss THE TRUTH ABOUT THE DEVLINS, her latest pulse-pounding domestic thriller about family and justice, the ties that bind us, and the lies that tear us apart. A former President of Mystery Writers of America, Lisa Scottoline is the #1 bestselling and Edgar Award-winning author of 36 novels, with 30-million books in print, published in 35 countries. Her books have been optioned for film and TV, and she has also co-authored a series of humorous memoirs with her daughter, novelist Francesca Serritella. A former lawyer, Scottoline taught a course she developed, "Justice & Fiction," at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, her alma mater. She and her array of disobedient pets join us from her home outside Philadelphia to discuss THE TRUTH ABOUT THE DEVLINS, a LibraryReads Hall of Fame Pick which People Magazine hails as “her most emotionally intense nail-biter to date.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, Kristin Harmel & Ron Block welcome former news writer and producer turned NYT bestselling author Allison Pataki to discuss her highly-anticipated latest novel FINDING MARGARET FULLER — a sweeping story about America’s forgotten leading lady, an inspiring trailblazer and fierce adventurer who transcended the rigid roles ascribed to women and changed history, all on her own terms. Allison Pataki is the NYT bestselling author of ten books including The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post, The Traitor’s Wife, and The Accidental Empress. She joins us to discuss the inspiration for, research, and lasting messages in her high-anticipated latest novel FINDING MARGARET FULLER which has already been featured on the Today Show and gotten starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Booklist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews and Kristy Woodson Harvey welcome #1 New York Times bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Anna Quindlen to discuss her latest instant bestseller AFTER ANNIE, a hopeful novel about how adversity can change us in profound ways. Anna Quindlen is a novelist and journalist whose work has appeared on fiction, non-fiction, and self-help bestseller lists. She is the author of ten novels including, Object Lessons, One True Thing, and Black and Blue. Her memoir, Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, which was published in 2012, was a #1 New York Times bestseller. Her book, A Short Guide to a Happy Life, has sold more than a million copies. While a columnist at the New York Times, she won the Pulitzer Prize and published two collections, Living Out Loud and Thinking Out Loud. Anna’s new novel, AFTER ANNIE, was released earlier this month and instantly landed on both the NYT and USA Today bestseller lists. Called “luminous with life, hope and the power of love” by People Magazine (who also named it their Book of the Week), AFTER ANNIE is the Barnes & Noble National Book Club selection for March, an IndieNext pick, a LibraryReads pick, and an Amazon Best of the Month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, the Fab Four — Patti Callahan Henry, Kristy Woodson Harvey, Kristin Harmel & Mary Kay Andrews — gather to welcome this month’s F&F Featured Author, the No.1 NYT bestselling novelist, screenwriter and playwright, Chris Bohjalian, to discuss his forthcoming novel, our March 2024 Pick of the Month, THE PRINCESS OF LAS VEGAS, in which a Princess Diana impersonator and her estranged sister find themselves drawn into a dangerous game of money and murder on the Las Vegas strip. Chris Bohjalian is the No.1 NYT bestselling author of 24 books, including THE LIONESS, HOUR OF THE WITCH, and THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT, which was made into a MAX limited series starring Kaley Cuoco. His novels SECRETS OF EDEN, MIDWIVES, and PAST THE BLEACHERS were made into movies, and his work has been translated into more than 35 languages. His new play, “The Club,” premiered at New Jersey's George Street Playhouse in February. He joins us from his home in Vermont to discuss his new twisting tale of organized crime and family secrets, THE PRINCESS OF LAS VEGAS (3/19, Doubleday), which has been called “a well-calibrated satire of cryptocurrency culture” by Publishers Weekly and a “lively romp” by Kirkus. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices