Episodes

In this interview, I chat with Eliza Knight and Denny S. Bryce about Can't We Be Friends , how they learned about the friendship between Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe, writing a book together and how they approached it, using song titles for chapter headings, how the title and cover came about, and much more. Eliza's recommended read is The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang. Denny's recommended reads are: Lone Wolf by Gregg Hurwitz Endless Vessel by Charles Soule All the Sinners B...

In this Behind the Scenes interview, Heather Duncan and I chat about her role as Executive Director at Mountains and Plains Booksellers Association, what her job entails, FallCon and SpringCon, the states that make up the MPIBA region, Reading the West book awards, and much more. Heather's recommended reads are: Gideon the 9th by Tamsyn Muir Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie Middlegame by Seanan Maguire Want to know which new titles are publishing in January - May of 2024? Check out the new Litera...

In this interview, I chat with Clare Mackintosh about I Promise It Won't Always Hurt Like This , how grief changes your identity, structuring this memoir, how her titles and cover came about, the differences and similarities in writing crime fiction and a memoir, and much more. Clare's recommended reads are: A Manual for Heartache by Cathy Rentzenbrink The Madness of Grief by Richard Coles The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World by Laura Mai Messina Want to know which new titles are publishing ...

In this interview, I chat with Katherine Reay about The Berlin Letters , setting a story during the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall, what surprised her the most when writing this one, why the Cold War is a popular time period to write about now, how her title and cover came about, deciding on the format she used, and much more. Katherine's recommended reads are: The Matchmaker's Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell Want to know which new titles are publishing in Januar...

In this interview, I chat with Deborah Jackson Taffa about Whiskey Tender , telling an intersectional story, portraying blended backgrounds versus oversimplifying the Native experience, weaving history into her own story, what surprised her the most when she was writing her memoir. her title and cover, and much more. Deborah's recommended reads are: Shutter by Ramona Emerson The Missing Morningstar by Stacie Shannon Denetsosie The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters The Strange Beautiful by Carla Cru...

In this interview, I chat with Amanda Churchill about The Turtle House , how this story is inspired by her grandmother's life, incorporating a Minogame into the book, deciding on Lia's career path, telling an intergenerational story, Japan before and during World War 2, and much more. Amanda's recommended reads are: Chenneville by Paulette Jiles Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig A History of Burning by Janika Oza The Majority by Elizabeth Silver B.F.F . by Christie Tate Want to...

In this interview, I chat with Robin Oliveira about A Wild and Heavenly Place , how she set out to write an epic love story, creating a strong sense of place, her title and cover, understanding her characters' motivations, shipbuilding and coal mining, and much more. Robin's recommended reads are: The General and Julia by Jon Clinch The Voyage of the Narwal by Andrea Barrett On the Way to the End of the World by Adrianne Harun The Poldark series by Winston Graham Want to know which new titles ar...

In this interview, I chat with Brandy Schillace about The Framed Women of Ardemore House , writing a mystery series, creating an authentic neurodiverse character, her title and cover, how she named the house in the book, her Peculiar Book Club and why she launched it, and much more. Brandy's recommended reads are: Books by Ngaio Marsh, Louise Penny and Donna Leon Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian The Kingdom of Bones by Stephen Gallagher Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn Want to know which ne...

In this interview, I chat with Karen Outen about Dixon, Descending, how she came upon with the idea for this story, the mental component of climbing Mt. Everest, her research and the way she depicts the mountain, having to decide what to leave out, choosing the correct year to set the story, her title and cover, and much more.

In this interview, I chat with Jessica Bryant Klagmann about This Impossible Brightness, how she came up with the idea for this novel, climate change and incorporating it into the story, focusing on the idea of listening, echoes, genre mashups, and much more.

In this Behind the Scenes interview, Adam Vitcavage and I chat about Debutiful, how Debutiful got started, his First Taste Reading series, why he focuses on debuts, why he doesn't believe in spoilers, how he decides who to interview, and much more.

In this interview, I chat with ReShonda Tate about The Queen of Sugar Hill, how she became interested enough in Hattie McDaniel to write about her, how Hattie opened doors for others, the research she did for the book, how she decided what years of Hattie's life to focus on for the story, looking at historical events through the lens of the time period versus a 21st-century lens, and much more.

In this interview, I chat with Benjamin Stevenson about Everyone On This Train Is a Suspect, subverting the unreliable narrator trope, setting this book on the Ghan and his trips on the train, creating homages to Golden Age mysteries, weaving humor into his stories, his screen adaptation news, and much more.

In this interview, I chat with Laurie Frankel about Family Family, exploring adoption in a positive manner, her research, unpacking the idea of chosen family, infusing humor into her stories, cancel culture, how much the book transformed over time, and much more.

In this interview, I chat with Karl Marlantes about Cold Victory, how he came up with the idea for this story, why the Cold War enthralls people even today, his title and cover, educating people about the past because it informs the present, and much more.

In this interview, I chat with Julie Chavez about Everyone But Myself, her publishing journey including working with Zibby Books, what surprised her the most about writing a memoir, how involved the editing process can be, her title and cover, and much more.

In this interview, I chat with Amy Pease about Northwoods, writing about addiction and how her health care background helped her depict it authentically on the page, why she decided to write a mystery, getting the cover right for the book, the Facebook group Cops and Writers, her research, avoiding drug addiction stereotypes, and much more.

For today’s episode, I am running an episode of one of my favorite podcasts, Book Bumble. This is their Episode 7 of Season 2 and focuses on the theme of surprises.

In lieu of my January Behind the Scenes episode, today I am running a joint episode with Victoria Wood, founder of Bibliolifestyle and The Reader’s Couch, and Amy Allen Clark, founder of MomAdvice.com and the Book Gang podcast. We are excited to be launching this collaboration for 2024.

In this interview, I chat with Ashley Elston about First Lie Wins, how she came up with the idea for this one, switching to adult fiction from YA, focusing on identity, the screen adaptation of the book, incorporating technology into her book, and much more.

In this episode, I reminisce about some of my favorite episodes of 2023: Amanda Peters about The Berry Pickers Hugh Howey about Wool Alice Hoffman about The Invisible Hour Pip Williams about The Bookbinder Bruce Borgos about The Bitter Past Elizabeth Passarella about It Was an Ugly Couch Anyway Rory Carroll about There Will Be Fire Rachel Beanland about The House Is on Fire Shelley Read about Go as a River Sadeqa Johnson about The House of Eve  Want to know which new titles are publishing in Ja...

In this episode, Kelly Hooker and I discuss our favorite books of 2023. Kelly’s Selections: Favorite Book of the Year : Go As a River by Shelley Read Best Book To Recommend to Anyone: The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise by Colleen Oakley Most Unique Premise : Shark Heart by Emily Habeck Most Likely to Feel like a Conversation with a Friend: It Was an Ugly Couch Anyway by Elizabeth Passarella Most Tense : The Quiet Tenant by Clemence Michallon Best Time Travel Story: The Unmaking of June Far...

Mary and Pamela join me to discuss their recommended reads for Winter 2024. Mary’s Selections: Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar You Only Call When You're In Trouble by Stephen McCauley Mercury by Amy Jo Burns Family Family by Laurie Frankel The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett Splinters by Leslie Jamison Bunyan and Henry by Mark Cecil Say Hello To My Little Friend by Jennine Capo Crucet A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke Pamela’s Selections: The Storm We Made b...

In this interview, I chat with Jon Clinch about The General and Julia , how he decided to write about Ulysses S. Grant, the impact Samuel Clemens had on the publishing of Grant's memoirs, how he structured the story, preserving the Mark Twain House, and much more. Want to know which new titles are publishing in January - May of 2024? Check out the new Literary Lookbook which contains a comprehensive but not exhaustive list all in one place so you can plan ahead. Join my Patreon group to support ...