Meet the LITERARY LOOKBOOK, a comprehensive but not exhaustive collection of 182 upcoming 2024 releases curated by Kelly Hooker and me. The Lookbook includes titles from January-May 2024 from a variety of genres and features cover designs organized by publication date. Buy it here: Literary Lookbook

Contemporary Fiction Episodes

Feb. 6, 2024

Karen Outen - DIXON, DESCENDING

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 …

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Jan. 23, 2024

Laurie Frankel - FAMILY FAMILY

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 …

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Dec. 5, 2023

Katie Cotugno - MEET THE BENEDETTOS

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...

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Sept. 29, 2023

Interview with Denene Millner - ONE BLOOD

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 …

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Sept. 15, 2023

Interview with Tracey Lange - THE CONNELLYS OF COUNTY DOWN

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 …

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Aug. 28, 2023

Interview with Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu - LUCKY GIRL

In this interview, Irene and I discuss Lucky Girl, religion in the novel, mother-daughter relationships, what is resonating with readers the most, how much of her own experience she incorporated into Soila's story, the hardest part about writing this one, …

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July 12, 2023

Interview with Kristy Woodson Harvey - THE SUMMER OF SONGBIRDS

In this interview, Kristy and I discuss The Summer of Songbirds, how she came up with the idea for this book, Friends and Fiction, deciding which characters would tell the story, including an independent bookseller, and much more.

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June 30, 2023

Interview with Ashley Poston - THE SEVEN YEAR SLIP

In this interview, Ashley and I discuss The Seven Year Slip, her love of time travel stories, creating a strong sense of place, switching from YA to adult romance, inserting Easter Eggs into this book, being selected by the GMA …

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June 3, 2023

Interview with Michelle Hoffman - THE SECOND ENDING

In this interview, Michelle and I discuss The Second Ending, the event that spurred her to write this novel, how she has played the piano since age 5 and still plays every day, including the dueling pianos, the highlight of …

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May 24, 2023

Interview with Jane L. Rosen - ON FIRE ISLAND

In this interview, Jane and I discuss On Fire Island, her connection to Fire Island and the strong sense of place in the book, infusing humor and heart into the story, grief in fiction, her cover, blurbing and Elin Hilderbrand's …

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May 17, 2023

Interview with Paige Toon - ONLY LOVE CAN HURT LIKE THIS

In this interview, Paige and I discuss Only Love Can Hurt Like This, how she came up with the idea for this one, publishing her first book in the United States, her connection to Indianapolis, conducting research on farming, mental …

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May 16, 2023

Interview with Christina Lauren - THE TRUE LOVE EXPERIMENT

In this interview, Christina, Lauren, and I discuss The True Love Experiment, how they decided to tell Fizzy's story, deciding how much steam to include and who drafts those portions of each book, how they balance each other, the benefits …

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May 15, 2023

Interview with Megan Tady - SUPER BLOOM

In this interview, Megan and I discuss Super Bloom, her publishing journey with Zibby Books, leaning into the romance genre, portraying grief including the grief experienced for what might have been, writing a book within a book and how that …

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May 2, 2023

Interview with Laura Hankin - THE DAYDREAMS

In this interview, Laura and I discuss The Daydreams, her inspiration for the book, the fun research she conducted, deciding to have Kat tell the story, the stunning cover, how often young stars flame out and the role media plays …

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April 18, 2023

Interview with Brenda Janowitz - THE AUDREY HEPBURN ESTATE

In this interview, Brenda and I discuss The Audrey Hepburn Estate, the concept of home, writing about starlets and an heirloom item of theirs, indulging a list of Easter eggs at the back of her books, creating the estate as …

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