Episodes

Samantha and I discuss Dovetails in Tall Grass, the U.S./Dakota War of 1862, how she decided on her format, bringing a forgotten event to life, translating history into a compelling story that will appeal to readers, the most surprising part of her publishing journey, and much more.

Elizabeth and I discuss our favorite narrative nonfiction books, our auto-buy nonfiction authors, categorizing the genre, the categories we gravitate toward, and more.

Nicola and I discuss The Show Girl, how she decided to write about the Ziegfeld Follies, the difference in drafting her first and second novels, which character was her favorite to create, the impact of the Ziegfeld Follies on subsequent Broadway shows, and much more.

Megan and I discuss The Family Plot, exploring what it is about true crime that fascinates people, what that fascination does to a person and whether it can help or hurt them, plotting a thriller with all of the twists and turns, and much more.

Julia and I discuss Better Luck Next Time, writing a novel in the second person, rewriting this story several times, how Reno became the divorce capital of the Unites States, her fascination with obituaries, and much more.

Sarah and I discuss The Other Me, constructing a new identity when an individual undergoes huge life changes, how so much of what happens in life is outside of people’s control, her favorite character and the character with whom she identifies the most, her previous life as a rock musician, and muc…

Taylor and I discuss Down Range, how Garrett became his protagonist, creating a believable main character, bringing the Texas landscape to life, crafting his exciting ending, and much more.

Charlotte and I discuss Once There Were Wolves, how she decided to write about wolves and rewilding the Scottish Highlands, her research, mirror touch synasthesia, crafting Inti’s strong character, and much more.

Suzanne and I discuss So We Meet Again, the male-dominated investment banking industry, her stint as an entrepreneur, wrapping in the craziness of 2020, her favorite character to write, and much more.

Jason and I discuss Hell of a Book, the autobiographical nature of this book, his writing process, being selected as the July "Read with Jenna" book club selection, how the book is designed to start conversations about race and identity, and much more.

Meg and I discuss her new book The Runaway Heiress, how it took her a while to realize she was a writer, her inspiration for the character Mick, reconciling her past so she could move forward with her future, writing romantic suspense, creating her "Cozy Tea Time" on YouTube, and much more.

We discuss their new book The Personal Librarian, bringing Belle de Costa Greene to life, portraying Belle’s internal struggle, using the first person POV to tell a more personal story, writing partnerships, their July GMA book club selection, and much more.

Elizabeth and I discuss The Ride of Her Life, crafting this grand adventure story, how she learned about Annie Wilkins and her incredible journey, the manner in which the automobile and interstates revolutionized the United States, what surprised her while writing this book, and much more.

Stephanie and I discuss her new book Fatal Family Ties, the complexity of researching individuals who fought in the Civil War, her favorite secondary characters to write, how her title came about, how the theme of second chance ended up winding through this book, and much more.

Danielle and I discuss her job as a Publicity Director at Harper Collins and what her role entails, her road to becoming a book publicist, how publicists at William Morrow are assigned to books, how each book campaign is unique to that book, the book she is an evangelist for, her reading recommenda…

Pamela, Mary and I discuss working as booksellers and what their roles entail, the book club event they are organizing and hosting in September called the Book Club Buffet, what surprises them the most about the book world, the genres they like to read, their reading recommendations, and more.

Adam and I discuss Committed: Dispatches from a Psychiatrist in Training, how psychiatry differs from other medical fields, imposter syndrome, how he handled the legal issues related to his book, positive changes to the medical industry resulting from the pandemic, the value of personal connection,…

Jamie and I discuss Blush, paying homage to the books that have stayed with her for decades, what Jackie Collins’ daughter thought about Blush, the unfortunate push to categorize books by women and how men’s books are not treated the same way, how art cannot be judged in the moment, and much more.

Vanessa and I discuss Island Queen, bringing Dorothy Kirwan Thomas to life, why she created her fabulous Author’s Note, how the stunning cover came about, the importance of uncovering stories hidden to history, and much more.

Riley and I discuss Survive the Night, how he enjoys making the reader scared, setting a story over the course of one evening in a car, using a screenplay format for the chapter headings, converting from a plotter to a hybrid pantser, switching up his cover, and much more.

Lyn and I discuss The Tiger Mom’s Tale, what she wants readers to take away from her book, bringing Taiwanese culture and food to life, how her Instagram blooper Reels came about, her unusual publishing journey, and much more.

Chantel and I discuss Instamom, the world of Instagram influencers and how individuals now make careers of out being influencers, the term childfree and how it better reflects not having children, her book recommendations, and much more.

Elizabeth and I discuss the books that have captivated us in 2021 so far, why we organized them by publication date, and more.

Amy and I discuss Lady Sunshine, how Woody Guthrie and Fleetwood Mac inspired her book, crafting the lyrics for the songs included in Lady Sunshine, taking someone’s art and finishing it, her unique Covid writing spot, and much more.