Contemporary Fiction Episodes

In this interview, I chat with Renée Ahdieh about Park Avenue , crafting the Park siblings, exploring the Korean American immigrant experience, writing her first adult novel and how it differed from writing YA, the symbolism...

In this interview, I chat with Ali Brady about Battle of the Bookstores , the You've Got Mail inspiration, writing the steamy scenes, creating a guy who loves romance novels, using Beta readers and how that impacted the origi...

In this interview, I chat with Kristy Woodson Harvey about ⁠⁠⁠⁠Beach House Rules , deciding on a format for telling the story, finding the right title for this one, what surprised her the most about writing this one, why she...

In this interview, I chat with Annabel Monaghan about ⁠⁠⁠ It's a Love Story , her inspiration for this book, writing sex scenes, creating Jane's character, reader response to Jane, what surprised her the most when writing th...

In this interview, I chat with Mary Alice Monroe about ⁠⁠⁠ Where the Rivers Merge , setting the book in the ACE Basin, writing a duology, her love of the land and its ecosystems, crafting a strong sense of place, writing her...

In this interview, I chat with Elisabeth Dini about ⁠⁠Bearer of Bad News, the idea of a bearer of bad news, what surprised her the most when writing this one, how she settled on the format, honoring real women through her character names, her job at the International Criminal Court and how it infor…

In this interview, I chat with Virginia Evans about ⁠The Correspondent , how her blurbs helped her encapsulate the book's description, the role Ann Patchett has played in her life, Sybil's story arc, her lengthy cover story, ...

In this interview, I chat with Kristin Koval about Penitence , why she decided to write about forgiveness, choosing who would tell the story, tackling such a difficult topic, her stunning cover, how the book's title was chose...

In this interview, I chat with Marianne Cronin about Eddie Winston Is Looking for Love , her interesting inspiration for the book, intergenerational friendships, writing her sophomore novel, what surprised her the most about ...

In this interview, I chat with Callan Wink about Beartooth , his inspiration for this story, Hazen's name and how he chose it, Hazen's character, his process for writing this book, creating a strong sense of place, his though...

In this interview, I chat with Tracey Lange about What Happened to the McCray's? , her personal inspiration for this story, reader response to her books, the book's release date, how guilt can overtake us, forgiveness, her ti...

In this interview, I chat with Marybeth about Every Moment Since , the inspiration for this book, her book dedication, society's current obsession with true crime, changing agents due to writing this book, how she chose who w...

In this interview, I chat with Marissa Stapley about The Lightning Bottles , her musical muses for Jane and Elijah, including a road trip component in her story, how she approached writing about the drug use of the era, deter...

In this interview, I chat with Laura Hankin about One-Star Romance , setting the book over a longer period of time than most rom-coms, the publishing world as a backdrop, writing a rom-com versus women's fiction, and much mor...

In this interview, I chat with Clare Pooley about How to Age Disgracefully , including a memorable dog in this book, how readers do not like dogs to die in books, Iona Iverson's various covers and titles, the easiest and hard...

In this interview, I chat with Susie Orman Schnall about Anna Bright Is Hiding Something , how her marketing background helps her as an author, the research she conducted for this one, the Elizabeth Holmes effect, how she dec...

In this interview, I chat with Annabel Monaghan about Summer Romance , the term "hard pants", exploring grief as well as what it means to be a mother, multi-tasking, skateboarding, her book title, and much more. Annabel's rec...

In this interview, I chat with Jesse Q. Sutanto about The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties, creating and now ending this series, the screen adaptation and its status, the highlight of writing this book, her writing process and how she shares it on Instagram, incorporating the Chinese new Year, infusi…

In this interview, I chat with Rebecca Serle about Expiration Dates, incorporating magic into her books, how magic opens up the world she is creating, how she chooses her characters' names, how her title and cover came about, what surprised her the most when writing this one, and much more.

In this interview, I chat with Karen Outen about Dixon, Descending, how she came upon with the idea for this story, the mental component of climbing Mt. Everest, her research and the way she depicts the mountain, having to decide what to leave out, choosing the correct year to set the story, her ti…

In this interview, I chat with Laurie Frankel about Family Family, exploring adoption in a positive manner, her research, unpacking the idea of chosen family, infusing humor into her stories, cancel culture, how much the book transformed over time, and much more.

In this interview, I chat with Katie Cotugno about Meet the Benedettos , her love of Pride and Prejudice, taking on the challenge of a reimagining of a classic, choosing character names, reality TV and its cultural impact tod...

In this interview, Denene Millner and I discuss One Blood, her own adoption story and why she wanted to write about adoption, her children's book imprint and why she created it, the character she identifies with the most, her stunning cover, and much more.

In this interview, Tracey Lange and I discuss The Connellys of County Down, her interest in reading and writing about family dynamics, the hardest character to write in this book, reader reactions, the title and cover, the fairy tale woven into the story, Geraldine's character, and much more.