Episodes

In this Behind the Scenes interview, Jon provides an inside look at his job as a literary scout, how he got started and why he launched his own company, celebrity book club selection, the way the streaming industry has changed his job, the impact of Netflix on foreign markets, and much more.

In this episode, Kelly and I chat about our favorite books that published in April through June of 2022.

In this interview, Margarita and I discuss Acts of Violet, melding her love of stories about unresolved disappearances and those set in the showbiz world, exploring why the world of magic is so male-dominated, writing in a multi-media format and helping design the interior of the book, how the title and cover came about, and much more.

In this interview, Piper and I discuss By Her Own Design, telling Ann Lowe's little-known story, how she went about filling in the gaps of Ann's life, writing biographical historical fiction, why Jackie Kennedy Onassis remains so popular, how historical fiction teaches while also telling a story, and much more.

In this interview, Geraldine and I discuss Horse, how she learned about the horse Lexington, her research and visiting the Smithsonian's Museum Support Center, how popular horse racing was in the 1800s, tackling 3 timelines, the significance of the title, and much more.

In this interview, Julie and I discuss The Lies I Tell, why con artist stories are so popular right now and creating a female con artist who uses gender stereotypes to her advantage, writing dual timeline stories, the nod to her characters from The Last Flight, the hardest character to write in this book, how to get an additional chapter for The Last Flight when purchasing The Lies I Tell, and much more.

In this interview, Joey and I discuss The Local, how Marshall, Texas came to be the patent lawsuit capital of the U.S., how he learned about Marshall and decided to write this book, writing a book versus writing for the screen, his fabulous book cover, and much more.

In this interview, Alison, Bradeigh and I discuss The Beach Trap, how they came up with the name Ali Brady and why they chose to write under a pen name versus their own names, creating their own take on The Parent Trap, the way they approach writing together, their great cover, what's next for them, and much more.

In this interview, Annabel and I discuss Nora Goes Off Script, how Nora is resonating with so many readers, the great reception the book is getting on Bookstagram, how titles send signals to readers about a book's genre, the difference in writing YA and nonfiction verses adult fiction, and much more.

In this interview, Clare and I discuss Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting, the inspiration for the story and Iona, her fascination with intergenerational relationships, designing the plot around the train stops on the Waterloo/Hampton Court line, how both the cover and title are different for the U.S. and the U.K. editions, and much more.

In this interview, Elina provides an inside look at designing a book's interior including the fonts, spacing, title page, spine dye, formatting, endpapers, and more, what the job entails and how she got started, juggling the page count with everything that has to be included, and much more.

In this interview, Marie and I discuss The Evening Hero, humanizing her main character, her trip to North Korea that rounded out details for the book, what surprised her the most when writing this book, the complicated process of finding a title,, and much more.

In this interview, Amy and I discuss The Honeybee Emeralds, the inspiration for the fictional necklace in the book, avoiding information dumps, the unique situation of living as an expat in a foreign country, her favorite and least favorite characters to write, and much more.

In this interview, Chanel and I discuss Our Last Days in Barcelona, writing a dual timeline story, how readers wanted to learn Isabel's story, why writing historical fiction starts with research, the connection between all of her book titles, and much more.

In this interview, Joy and I discuss The Grand Design, why she decided to write about the Greenbrier and Dorothy Draper, the Greenbrier's rich history and political connections, understanding how Dorothy Draper went from heiress to interior designer, her gorgeous cover and recently recreating it, and much more.

In this interview, we discuss The Surgeon's Daughter, writing together as a duo and what that process is like for them, setting their books in the real scientific world with fictional characters, how surgery used to be a man's world, the advent of the caesarean section and anesthesia, and much more.

In this interview, Natalie and I discuss Bloomsbury Girls, why she chose to set her novel in a bookstore, the bookstores that inspired her fictional Bloomsbury Books, how the 51 Rules for the bookstore came about, her legal background and how it informs her writing, including famous literary figures as cameos in the story, and much more.

In this episode, Elizabeth and I chat about some great titles for book clubs.

In this interview, David and I discuss The Movement Made Us, his father's role in the Civil Rights Movement, getting his father's story down and how the format of the book came about, the hardest part of writing the book, what surprised him the most about it, how the cover came about, and much more.

Mary and Pamela join me to discuss their recommended reads for Summer 2022.

In this interview, Heather provides an inside look at the editorial process and how she got started, what the job entails, the Northern California Writers' Retreat, her favorite and least favorite aspects of the job, writing a good query letter, and much more.

In this interview, Erica and I discuss Girl in Ice, how she likes to "follow her fascinations," writing an arctic setting, hovering on the cusp of what is real and what is imaginary, her incredible research trip, the incident that inspired this story, and much more.

In this interview, Adriana and I discuss The Good Left Undone, writing an epic family saga, taking a jewelry-making class at Christie's and how it inspired portions of the book, her title's origin, creating Adriana Ink,, and much more.

In this interview, Delia and I discuss Left on Tenth, how she decided to write this book, her work with The Empathy Project which works to teach doctors empathy, combing through thousands of pages of her own medical records, the relevance of the book's title, and much more.