Episodes

Bob and I chat about Nailing It, his desire to inspire and encourage the younger generations to see the many opportunities available to them, how hard it was to narrow it down to 25 people, the people he wished he could have included, and much more.

Mary and Pamela join me to discuss their recommended reads for January through April of 2022.

Kerri and I discuss The Paris Bookseller, writing about the iconic Shakespeare and Company. in Paris, the fabulous book club kit created for this book, Princeton's Shakespeare and Company Project, the magic of 1920's Paris, the 5 authors she would choose to host at her (imaginary) bookstore, her 5 @ 5 author events on Instagram Live, and much more.

Julia and I discuss The Last Dance of the Debutante, the last year Queen Elizabeth II received debutantes at court, how she enjoys focusing on time periods right before radical change, writing secondary characters, her Ask an Author series on Facebook, and much more.

In this episode, Elizabeth and I chat about some of our favorite books in the historical-fiction genre.

In this episode, Kelly and I chat about our favorite books of 2021.

Olga and I chat about book cover designing, what the process looks like from start to finish, all of the parties that must sign off on a book cover, trends in book cover design, her fabulous Instagram book cover showcase account, and much more.

Wiley and I chat about When Ghosts Come Home, why he chose to set the book in 1984, how good stories come from tension, why he is comfortable writing female characters, how the title came about, and much more.

Karen and I chat about her new book The Lightmaker's Manifesto, her studying and writing about the intersection of joy and activism, her own claiming of the term activism, how stories provide an amazingly resonant way to connect with people, performance activism, and much more.

Mark and I chat about Libro.fm, how the company began, how audiobooks are the fastest growing segment of publishing, the way the relationship between Libro.fm and bookstores works, the importance of local bookstores, curated audiobook lists on the platform, and much more.

Anne and I chat about her latest cookbook A New Take on Cake, why she decided to do this cookbook, how cake mix baking is more common today than when she first started out with this concept, updating some of her favorite recipes, how she approached this project, and much more.

Nicole and I discuss Everything We Didn't Say, researching cold cases for inspiration, rewriting this book three times, setting books in her home state, being selected as one of the October Book of the Month selections, what she has learned while writing ten books, and much more.

Jenna and I discuss Woodrow on the Bench, what Woodrow taught her and others that interacted with him, how each chapter of the book contains a lesson from Woodrow, writing a memoir versus fiction, the book that inspired her cover, A Mighty Blaze and what's on tap for it in 2022, and much more.

For this special episode, Carol Ann Tack of Top Shelf at Merrick Library and I interview Kimmery Martin together. We talk about her new book Doctors and Friends, writing the book pre-pandemic, how it changed post-pandemic, her wonderful website, and so much more.

Kimi and I discuss These Silent Woods, living off the grid, the book's original title, her tweak to the cover design, how writers need to have both the thickest and the thinnest skin, her writing process and how it has changed, and much more.

Laurence and I discuss Capote's Women, the illusion these women created for the world and how happiness was elusive for them, what surprised him the most while writing this book, the carefully chosen cover photo, his favorite of the books he has written, and much more.

Deborah and I discuss her book The Tell-All Guide to Airbnb Hosting, her encore career, serving as an Airbnb Superhost by renting rooms in her home, some crazy Airbnb stories, tips for being a great host and a fabulous guest, her podcast Calm the Chaos, and much more.

Alice and I discuss A Blizzard of Polar Bears, working as a wildlife researcher and bioacoustician, how she believes strongly in including accurate science in her novels, the animal she is focusing on in her third book in the series, Barnes and Noble's selection of A Solitude of Wolverines as its October mystery pick, and much more.

Tabitha and I discuss Paper Airplanes, telling this very personal story, how 9/11 transformed the United States, the chapter she found the most difficult to write, participating in Pitch Wars, her publishing journey, and much more.

Laura and I discuss The Stolen Lady, her decades-long fascination with the Mona Lisa, how the Nazis sought to steal all of Leonardo da Vinci's paintings and drawings during World War 2, that the Mona Lisa was never delivered to its patron and instead how da Vinci brought it to France with him, and much more.

Todd and I chat about his book Little Pieces of Hope, celebrating all of the things that bring us joy in life, how and why he started these lists the day WHO declared a global pandemic, looking to his daily life for inspiration, the bright and sunny cover, working in book publicity, and much more.

We discuss their new book The Anxiety Sisters' Survival Guide, how they became Anxiety Sisters, living with anxiety in today's world, the questions they are most frequently asked, how they want to provide a comprehensive understanding of what anxiety is, and much more.

Kristy and I discuss Christmas in Peachtree Bluff, writing a holiday story versus a non-holiday story, returning to Peachtree Bluff after a hiatus and whether she will write more in the series, Friends and Fiction, and much more.

We discuss We Are Not Like Them, how they started writing the book together and what their writing process looked like, encouraging people to have more in-depth conversations on race, why storytelling induces empathy, being selected as the October Good Morning America book club selection, the editorial process, and much more.