Episodes

In this Behind the Scenes interview, Kristyn and I chat about her role as Contributing Books Editor at Real Simple, how she got started in the job, how many books she reads a week, how she selects the titles for Real Simple, her four novels, the favorite part of the job, and much more.

In this interview, Jaclyn and I discuss The Chateau, when the setting is a character, the inspiration for the chateau in the novel, setting the story in Provence, writing from multiple points of view, what surprised her the most when writing The Chateau, creating distinctive voices for her main characters, and much more.

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 big quote for this book, weaving the publishing industry into the novel, and much more.

In this interview, Ava and I discuss Mott Street, the Chinese Exclusion Act, her family's close connection to Mott Street and how 49 of her family members have lived in this one building on the street, the importance of oral histories, how she is a 5th generation Chinese-American, and much more.

In this interview, Lisa and I discuss Adrift, climate fiction, why she chose to set the book in 2038 and the world building she did, helping people gain an understanding of the importance of preserving and spending time in nature, how her day job informs her writing, and much more.

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 health, sibling relationships, and much more.

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 of writing together, important romance genre rules, and much more.

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 developed for her, and much more.

In this Behind the Scenes interview, Caroline and I chat about her role as an Executive Editor at Flatiron Books, how she got started in the job, what her role as a book editor entails, how book auctions work, her process for acquiring a book, how many titles she works on at a time and how often she gets pitched, and much more.

In this interview, Patti and I discuss The Secret Book of Flora Lea, the origin of Whisperwood and how much fun she had creating it, the legend of the Pied Piper, her love of fairy tales, what surprised her the most when writing this one, and much more.

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 in this, and much more.

In this special Ask Me Anything episode, Kelly Hooker asks me your questions about the podcast and my various roles in the book world.

In this interview, Elly and I discuss The Last Remains, how she chose Norfolk for the setting of the series, ending the series at least for now, creating her pseudonym years ago, her favorite books in the series, running contests for people to have their names used for characters in her books, and much more.

Mary and Pamela join me to discuss their recommended reads for Spring 2023.

In this interview, Alex and I discuss Seventy Times Seven, what constitutes justice, eliminating the death penalty for children, her title and its meaning, forgiveness, how different individuals approach a tragedy and why, and much more.

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 a character in her novel, and much more.

In this interview, Lauren and I discuss I'll Stop the World, being selected by Mindy Kaling's new imprint, time travel and how she incorporated it into her story, the 1980s, selecting character names, source of the title and how song lyrics can be used in book titles, and much more.

In this interview, Rory and I discuss There Will Be Fire, creating a roadmap regarding the history of the British/Irish conflict, how religion is really a social and political signifier in the conflict, writing true crime, how security changed in the United Kingdom after Brighton, and much more.

In this episode, Kelly and I chat about our favorite books that published in January through March 2023.

In this interview, Megan and I discuss The Only Survivors, the event that inspired this story, setting books by the water or by the woods and how both can feel comforting but also dangerous, why she chose the Outer Banks, how the number 7 factors into this book, and much more.

In this interview, Jane and I discuss The Society of Shame, how she decided to write this story, weaving in the themes of scandal, cancel culture, media influence, online shaming and politics, crafting a mother/daughter tale, why the story takes place over 28 days, and much more.

In this Behind the Scenes interview, Jane and I chat about her role as Founder and Creative Director of Emerald Audio, creating a company to produce female-produced scripted fiction for the podcast platform, launching a screenwriter competition for young voices, the creation of the term soap opera, her obsession with the 1960s, and much more.

In this interview, Rachel and I discuss The House Is On Fire, the Richmond Fire of 1811, her stunning cover, how she chose who would tell the story, her research, and much more.

In this interview, Amulya and I discuss A Death in Denmark, setting a book in Copenhagen, writing a mystery series, creating a character who fits the city of Copenhagen, her highlight of writing the book, and much more.