Do you love to be in the know about upcoming books? The LITERARY LOOKBOOK is for you! We include 686 upcoming 2025 releases curated by @kellyhook.readsbooks & @thoughtsfromapage. This 37-page PDF includes titles from June-Oct 2025 with Bonus May, Nov, and Dec titles! $13 gets you access. Fill out the request form and send your $13 payment.. Our Literary Lookbook is a passion project that we enjoyed putting together over countless hours. Thank you for your support!

Contemporary Fiction Episodes

March 28, 2023

Interview with Colleen Oakley - THE MOSTLY TRUE STORY OF TANNER AND L…

In this interview, Colleen and I discuss The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise, how her grandmother and "Thelma and Louise" inspired this story, the value of connecting with older generations, what it means to be a woman in today's world, Parkinson's, and much more.

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Feb. 3, 2023

Interview with Sally Page - THE KEEPER OF STORIES

In this interview, Sally and I discuss The Keeper of Stories, how she collected the stories for the book, why she started writing fiction, the importance of intergenerational relationships, how truth is stranger than fiction, and much more.

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Feb. 1, 2023

Interview with Alison Wisdom - THE BURNING SEASON

In this interview, Alison and I discuss The Burning Season, her inspiration for this book, her fascination with cults as well as the wider world's fascination with them, infertility, writing from a first person point of view, and much more.

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Jan. 24, 2023

Interview with Audrey Burges - THE MINUSCULE MANSION OF MYRA MALONE

In this interview, Audrey and I discuss The Minuscule Mansion of Myra Malone, how she came up with the idea for the story, the fascination with miniatures, how her fabulous cover came about, choosing the book's locales, the Thorne Miniature Rooms at The Art Institute of Chicago, her inspiration for…

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Oct. 28, 2022

Interview with Louise Kennedy - TRESPASSES

In this interview, Louise and I discuss Trespasses, living through The Troubles in the 1970s and setting her book during that time period, how a high level of violence impacts a population, tit-for-tat killings, why she does not use quotation marks, the stunning cover, and much more.

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Oct. 18, 2022

Interview with Toya Wolfe - LAST SUMMER ON STATE STREET

In this interview, Toya and I discuss Last Summer on State Street, having her book selected by Steph Curry's Literati book club, how she ended up crafting Fifi as an adult reflecting back on the events happening in the book, the way the title and cover came about, what surprised her most when writi…

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Oct. 11, 2022

Interview with Nora Zelevansky - COMPETITIVE GRIEVING

In this interview, Nora and I discuss Competitive Grieving, her own experience with competitive grieving, how writing the book was cathartic, the format for the book, how the beauty of writing a novel is being able to create an entirely fictional world, the universal experience of what happens in t…

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Sept. 28, 2022

Interview with Elyssa Friedland - THE MOST LIKELY CLUB

In this interview, Elyssa and I discuss The Most Likely Club, her inspiration for this book, incorporating 90s nostalgia, how she tackled drafting four distinct women, the highlight of writing this book, which character she identifies with the most, and much more.

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Sept. 13, 2022

Interview with Angie Cruz - HOW NOT TO DROWN IN A GLASS OF WATER

In this interview, Angie and I discuss How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water, how humor can help a difficult situation, the importance of storytelling, how she decided on the book's unique format, visiting a psychic as part of her research, and much more.

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Aug. 26, 2022

Interview with Chris Cander - A GRACIOUS NEIGHBOR

In this interview, Chris and I discuss A Gracious Neighbor, the short story that inspired her novel, how we never really know what goes on behind closed doors, why she created her own definition of gracious for the book, her writing process, mean girls and how some never grow out of that phase, and…

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July 31, 2022

Interview with Leigh Newman - NOBODY GETS OUT ALIVE

In this interview, Leigh and I discuss Nobody gets Out Alive, her focus in these short stories on the real Alaska, the isolation and loneliness experienced when living some place so remote, baring her soul in this collection, her personal connection to the title, and much more.

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July 27, 2022

Interview with Carley Fortune - EVERY SUMMER AFTER

In this interview, Carley and I discuss Every Summer After, setting a book in Canada, choosing Barry's Bay as the book's locale and the response by residents, what surprised her the most writing this book, tackling her sophomore novel, why this book is resonating with so many people, and much more.

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July 25, 2022

Interview with Jamie Brenner - GILT

In this interview, Jamie and I discuss Gilt, the way guilt permeates the story, the inspiration for this book and for Pavlin and Company, the hardest character for her to write, the relevance of the green cover, how book covers mark a particular moment in time, and much more.

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July 18, 2022

Interview with Jane Rosen - A SHOE STORY

In this interview, Jane and I discuss A Shoe Story, her writing process, choosing the shoes for each chapter of this novel, how her book was selected by Elin Hilderbrand for her July Literati Book Club selection, getting thrown out of an Upper East Side Mom's group, looking forward versus focusing …

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July 12, 2022

Interview with Eleanor Brown - ANY OTHER FAMILY

In this interview, Eleanor and I discuss Any Other Family, writing a book centered around adoption and the issues the process raises, crafting character-driven stories focused on why people act the way they do, using the Enneagram types to help flesh out characters, weaving humor into her novels, w…

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