Episodes

David and I discuss What's So Funny? A Cartoonist's Memoir, how he started creating cartoons for The New Yorker, using cartoons to process his emotions, how writing this book was cathartic and helped him better understand his parents, trying to …

Simone and I discuss The Book of Cold Cases, creating an accused female serial killer, how swapping the gender roles changes every aspect of the story, the true crime phenomenon, the recent discovery by a reader of the actual motel …

Peng and I discuss The Cartographers, the true story about an event with a gas station map in the early 1900s that inspired a portion of this story, phantom settlements and how they have fallen out of favor now that …

Peter and I discuss Nine Lives, writing his take on Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, why Agatha Christie has stayed so popular and relevant, his writing process, pacing in thrillers, and much more.

Libbie and I discuss The Prophet's Wife, working with two publishers simultaneously, basing her book on the true events surrounding the creation and early years of the Mormon church, the Broadway musical "The Book of Mormon", the difficulty in creating …

Elise and I discuss Angels of the Pacific, writing about the Pacific arena during World War 2, her research trip and snorkeling around a World War 2 war ship, how different the war in the Pacific was from what was …

Rebecca and I discuss One Italian Summer, exploring the dialogue between fate and free will, including a bit of magical realism in her stories, how the inspiration for her stories comes from what she is personally working through at the …

Caroline and I discuss her role as an audiobook narrator, how she got started, the process for getting hired to narrate a particular book, the way she prepares to record, the biggest challenges she faces as a narrator, protecting her …

Erika and I discuss Sisters of Night and Fog, how one of her characters appeared in her dreams asking for Erika to tell her story, creating a poll so readers could help select the book's title, her Author's Note, writing …

Louise and I discuss The Heights, including her own phobia in the novel, how she created the format for this one including writing a book within a book, building a story based on the lengths parents will go to for …

Jennifer and I discuss The Unsinkable Greta James, writing a love story about Greta and her music, exploring what it is like to live a creative life, the effects of living in such a connected and public world, how working …

Adele and I discuss The Tobacco Wives, the dangers the tobacco companies knowingly ignored and covered up, her stunning cover, the role marketing and advertising plays in shaping public perception, her favorite character to write in the book, and much …

Brit and I discuss The Vanishing Half, why writing her sophomore novel was more difficult, what she loves to hear from her readers, balancing research and writing, her paperback release, and much more.

Lisa and I discuss Woman on Fire, the 2013 event that inspire this book, how the ownership of certain pieces of art is one of the only remaining issues left from World War 2, her favorite and least favorite characters …

Lyn and I discuss Red Thread of Fate, how this book is a more personal story for her, wanting to make sure she had the adoption details exactly right, the difficulty of writing a shy/reserved character, found families, and much …

Deanna and I discuss The Impossible Imposter, the inspiration for Veronica and Stoker, crowdsourcing information about her previous books on her Twitter feed, how much fun it is to create this series, her beautiful covers and the Easter eggs hidden …

Kim and I discuss Love & Saffron, her personal inspiration for the book, drafting an epistolary novel, writing letters on a typewriter, capturing the way food brings people together, how working at a bookstore impacted her writing. and much more.

Elena and I discuss The Spanish Love Deception, her unusual and very cool publishing journey, winning the Goodreads Choice Best Debut Novel Award and what the selection process was like, her favorite romance trope, how being a romance blogger and …

Bryn and I discuss The Last Grand Duchess, why she decided to focus on Olga's story, telling the family's personal story, how the Romanovs are the most documented family in history, why the Romanovs were ill-suited to rule of Russia, …

Kristin and I discuss her role as a literary agent, tips for how to find a literary agent, the process for pitching a book to an agent, exclusive submissions and pre-empt deals, the step-by-step process for how a book gets …

Ruta and I discuss I Must Betray You, life in Romania under Nicolae Ceausescu, conveying what it was like to live under constant surveillance, the incident that kickstarted the book, using fiction to cumulate many people's stories, and much more.

Lizzie and I discuss Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband?, her personal inspiration for this book, her belief that self love is the most important kind of love, creating an immersive story format, the television show that inspired her, the process …

In this crossover episode, I join Diana and Michele on Wine, Women, and Words to chat podcasts, books and Diana's new book, Antoinette's Sister.

Fiona and I discuss The Magnolia Palace, choosing the Frick Collection for this book, why and how she created the scavenger hunt in the book, what surprised her most during her research, writing about Henry and Helen Frick, the magnolia …