Episodes

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 O…

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 …

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 edito…

Patti and I discuss Once Upon a Wardrobe, finding the source of Narnia and its inhabitants in C.S. Lewis’ life, creating such a strong sense of place, how her title and cover came about, having her book launch the new Harper Muse imprint, the beautiful letter she received from Lewis’ stepson about …

Matt and I discuss the Texas Book Festival, what his job as Literary Director entails, the festival’s origins and how it has evolved, the hybrid schedule for this year, how authors are selected, what the Texas Book Festival learned from the pandemic, some of our favorite Texas independent bookstore…

Tracey and I discuss her debut novel We Are the Brennans, her writing process, the characters she enjoyed writing the most and the least in the book, writing from multiple points of view, the Little Free Library drops coordinated by Celadon Books, and much more.

The Loves and I discuss their book The Redemption of Bobby Love, telling their story to Humans of New York and the amazing response they received, how Bobby had to get used to a new name, the importance of forgiveness, and mo...

David and I discuss his new book Food Americana, creating Diners Dives, and Drive-Ins, his attempt to define American cuisine, choosing the foods and the food outlets to include in this book, the death of regionalism, the renaissance in artisanal bagel making, how COVID revolutionized certain aspec…

Jayne and I discuss her unusual and ultimately rewarding publishing journey, her new role at Zibby Books, how her background involves working in industries at a time of significant upheaval, her trilogy, and much more.

Elizabeth and I chat about our Favorite Books of Fall 2021.

We discuss their new book Finding the Right Words, deciding on what format to use, writing together, differentiating the various diseases that cause memory loss, the importance of reading to retaining language, and much more.

Nathaniel and I discuss Travels with George, why and how Nathaniel, his wife, and his dog recreated George Washington’s travels during the first two years of his presidency, how people tend to idealize the past, wading through the myths and traditions surrounding Washington, the book’s fabulous cov…

Jane and I discuss The Sweetest Remedy, writing in the third person, being selected for Book of the Month (twice), setting a book in Nigeria, crafting her second novel, and much more.

Jo and I discuss Three Rooms, how she decided to write this story, whether working as an editor helped her when crafting this book, her writing process, why she doesn’t use speech marks, and much more.

Eden and I discuss The Bennet Women, retelling Pride & Prejudice on a contemporary college campus, how she formed her writing group and decided to tell this story, her publishing journey, writing from multiple points of view, and much more.

Elizabeth and I discuss Good Apple, how her love affair with New York City began, raising kids in Manhattan, how the term evangelical has become political, the loss of any middle ground in the United States today, her hilarious book cover story, and much more.

Julie and I discuss Eva and Eve, how she discovered her mother’s secret history, her fascination with chance encounters and the sometimes long-lasting impacts, things that did not make it into the book, following her in her parents’ footsteps as a book cover designer, and much more.

Kim and I chat about her bookstore, Intermission Bookshop, in Brownwood, Texas. During World War II, the shop was a theater known as the Queen Theater. Open all night, soldiers would find rest here when hotels were all full. Fully renovated, the store is now home to gently used and new books. It is…

Stephanie and I discuss A Most Clever Girl, how she decided to write about Elizabeth Bentley, her fascination with the time period and spy craft, the format for the story, bringing forgotten women to life, our shared love of Jane Austen, and much more.