In this episode, Kelly and I chat about our favorite books that published in April through June 2023.
In this interview, Ashley and I discuss The Seven Year Slip, her love of time travel stories, creating a strong sense of place, switching from YA to adult romance, inserting Easter Eggs into this book, being selected by the GMA Book Club, and much more.
In this interview, Riley and I discuss The Only One Left, writing a gothic novel, his writing process, what surprised him the most while writing this one, creating all of the twists and turns, the emotional depth in this story, and much more.
In this interview, Ruth and I discuss A Right Worthy Woman, writing about Maggie Lena Walker and including her in all of her books, the cover process, her research, how the title came about, and much more.
In this interview, Wendy and I discuss What Remains, cold cases, her Patreon episode with Megan Miranda, how she writes and edits her books, selecting character names and running Google searches on those names, and much more.
In this interview, Matthew and I discuss Inside Threat, Raven Rock Mountain Complex, what surprised him the most while writing this one, The Night Agent's limited series on Netflix, the challenges of writing a locked room mystery, how he started writing political thrillers, and much more.
In this interview, Danielle and I discuss The Puzzle Master, how she came up with the ideas for this one, working with a puzzle constructor for this book, her research, Sudden Acquired Savant Syndrome, how she writes her first drafts by hand on legal pads, the complicated cover process, and much mo…
Cathy Berner of Blue Willow Bookshop joins me to chat about her favorite romance novels.
In this interview, Fiona and I discuss The Spectacular, how she decided to write about Radio City Music Hall and the Rockettes, the Book Club kit created for this book, taking the cover in a different direction than her previous covers, pre-orders and why they are important, her next book, and much…
In this interview, Simon and I discuss The Dark That Doesn't Sleep, when the setting is a character, Project Iceworm, setting a story in the late 1960s, crafting twists and turns, and much more. Check out my Summer Reading Gu...
In this interview, Kathleen and I discuss Crow Mary, how she learned about Crow Mary, researching the Crow culture, the use of the name Mary for Native American women, how Kevin Red Star designed the book cover, what surprised her the most when writing this book, and much more.
In this interview, Michelle and I discuss The Second Ending, the event that spurred her to write this novel, how she has played the piano since age 5 and still plays every day, including the dueling pianos, the highlight of writing the book, and much more.
In this Behind the Scenes interview, Kristyn and I chat about her role as Contributing Books Editor at Real Simple, how she got started in the job, how many books she reads a week, how she selects the titles for Real Simple, her four novels, the favorite part of the job, and much more.
In this interview, Jaclyn and I discuss The Chateau, when the setting is a character, the inspiration for the chateau in the novel, setting the story in Provence, writing from multiple points of view, what surprised her the most when writing The Chateau, creating distinctive voices for her main cha…
In this interview, Jane and I discuss On Fire Island, her connection to Fire Island and the strong sense of place in the book, infusing humor and heart into the story, grief in fiction, her cover, blurbing and Elin Hilderbrand's big quote for this book, weaving the publishing industry into the nove…
In this interview, Ava and I discuss Mott Street, the Chinese Exclusion Act, her family's close connection to Mott Street and how 49 of her family members have lived in this one building on the street, the importance of oral histories, how she is a 5th generation Chinese-American, and much more.
In this interview, Lisa and I discuss Adrift, climate fiction, why she chose to set the book in 2038 and the world building she did, helping people gain an understanding of the importance of preserving and spending time in nature, how her day job informs her writing, and much more.
In this interview, Paige and I discuss Only Love Can Hurt Like This, how she came up with the idea for this one, publishing her first book in the United States, her connection to Indianapolis, conducting research on farming, mental health, sibling relationships, and much more.
In this interview, Christina, Lauren, and I discuss The True Love Experiment, how they decided to tell Fizzy's story, deciding how much steam to include and who drafts those portions of each book, how they balance each other, the benefits of writing together, important romance genre rules, and much…
In this interview, Megan and I discuss Super Bloom, her publishing journey with Zibby Books, leaning into the romance genre, portraying grief including the grief experienced for what might have been, writing a book within a book and how that developed for her, and much more.
In this Behind the Scenes interview, Caroline and I chat about her role as an Executive Editor at Flatiron Books, how she got started in the job, what her role as a book editor entails, how book auctions work, her process for acquiring a book, how many titles she works on at a time and how often sh…
In this interview, Patti and I discuss The Secret Book of Flora Lea, the origin of Whisperwood and how much fun she had creating it, the legend of the Pied Piper, her love of fairy tales, what surprised her the most when writing this one, and much more.
In this interview, Laura and I discuss The Daydreams, her inspiration for the book, the fun research she conducted, deciding to have Kat tell the story, the stunning cover, how often young stars flame out and the role media plays in this, and much more.
In this special Ask Me Anything episode, Kelly Hooker asks me your questions about the podcast and my various roles in the book world.
