Friends & Fiction

Annabel Monaghan + Megan Miranda

This episode will have your beach bags overflowing with sparkling summer reads as we welcome FOUR authors to the show. Meet Annabel Monaghan and Megan Miranda on the main show and the writing duo of Mary Hollis Huddleston and Asher Fogle Paul on the After Show.

Annabel Monaghan is the author of IndieNext and LibraryReads pick NORA GOES OFF SCRIPT as well as two young adult novels and a collection of humorous columns. She joins us from her home in Rye, NY, to discuss her highly anticipated follow-up novel, SAME TIME NEXT SUMMER (Putnam, June 6), which Elin Hilderbrand called “utterly charming” and Fiona Davis dubbed “the love story of the summer.”

Megan Miranda is the New York Times bestselling author of seven works of psychological suspense, including THE LAST HOUSE GUEST, which was a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick, as well as several books for young adults. She joins us from her home in North Carolina to discuss her latest instant bestseller, THE ONLY SURVIVORS (S&S / Marysue Rucci Books, April 11), which was a Book of the Month, IndieNext, and LibraryReads Hall of Fame selection.

Mary Hollis Huddleston is a high-end event planner in Nashville and runs the lifestyle platform Mrs. Southern Social. Asher Fogle Paul is a New York-based entertainment journalist who has written for Good Housekeeping, Us Weekly, and People. Together they co-wrote the 2021 rom-com about the glamorous, ruthless world of high-end Southern weddings, WITHOUT A HITCH. They’ll join us on the Aftershow to discuss their follow-up, PIECE OF CAKE (Harper Muse, June 20).

Make sure to join us every Wednesday night at 7pm EST on Facebook and YouTube for our latest episode!

SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube Channel

JOIN our Facebook Group

VIEW more of our previous episodes

Hazel Gaynor + Katherine Reay

On this episode, we welcome Hazel Gaynor and Katherine Reay—and T.I. Lowe joins us for the After Show.

Hazel Gaynor is the award-winning, New York Times, USA Today, Irish Times, and internationally bestselling author of seven historical novels including The Girl Who Came Home, When We Were Young and Brave, and The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter. Hazel has also co-written three novels with Heather Webb (Last Christmas in Paris, Meet Me In Monaco, and Three Words For Goodbye) with another (Christmas with the Queen) forthcoming in 2024. Hazel’s work has been translated into 18 languages and published in 25 territories. She joins us from her home in Ireland to discuss her new novel, THE LAST LIFEBOAT (Berkley, June 13), which was named a most anticipated book by Real Simple, SheReads, and BookBub.

Katherine Reay is the bestselling and award-winning author of ten novels including The London House, The Printed Letter Bookshop, and The Austen Escape, as well as one work of nonfiction, Awful Beautiful Life. Katherine’s lifelong affair with books and history shines through in her stories which she has referred to as “love letters to books.” She joins us from her home outside Chicago to discuss her latest novel, A SHADOW IN MOSCOW (Harper Muse, June 13), which features two courageous female spies, MI6’s best Soviet agent, and the CIA’s newest Moscow recruit in the thick of the Cold War.

T. I. Lowe is the author of nearly twenty published novels, including her recent bestselling and critically acclaimed, Under the Magnolias, and her debut breakout, Lulu’s Café. She joins us from her home in coastal South Carolina to discuss INDIGO ISLE (Tyndale House, June 6).

Make sure to join us every Wednesday night at 7pm EST on Facebook and YouTube for our latest episode!

SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube Channel

JOIN our Facebook Group

VIEW more of our previous episodes

Fiona Davis + Heather Webb

Tonight’s episode features the star power of THREE amazing author guests whose novels deliver a night of mid-20th century glitz and glamor.

Fiona Davis is the New York Times bestselling author of six historical novels set in iconic New York City buildings, including The Magnolia Palace, The Dollhouse, The Address, and The Lions of Fifth Avenue, which was a Good Morning America book club pick. Her novels have been translated into more than twenty languages and chosen as “One Book, One Community” reads, and her articles have appeared in publications like The Wall Street Journal and O Magazine. She first came to New York as an actress, but fell in love with writing after getting a master’s degree at Columbia Journalism School. She joins us from her home in New York City to discuss her latest novel, THE SPECTACULAR (Dutton, June 13), a June LibraryReads Hall of Fame selection which transports us back to 1950s Manhattan and glamorous Radio City Music Hall.

Heather Webb is the USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of nine historical novels, including The Next Ship Home, Rodin’s Lover, Last Christmas in Paris, and Meet Me in Monaco. She has won the Women’s Fiction Writers Association STAR Award, been a finalist for the Goldsboro RNA award and the Digital Book World’s Fiction prize, and been named as GoodReads Top Picks. Her books have been translated to seventeen languages. She joins us from New England to discuss her latest historical novel STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT (William Morrow, March 21), based on the tumultuous romance between Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner that scandalized the world.

Brenda Janowitz is the author of eight novels, including The Liz Taylor Ring and The Grace Kelly Dress, which has been optioned for film by Hallmark. A former lawyer who did a federal clerkship with the Eastern District of New York, Brenda is the former Books Correspondent for PopSugar whose writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and USA Today among many other outlets. She joins us to discuss her latest novel, THE AUDREY HEPBURN ESTATE (Graydon House, April 18), which was chosen as the Reader’s Choice by the CBS New York Book Club with Mary Calvi.

Make sure to join us every Wednesday night at 7pm EST on Facebook and YouTube for our latest episode!

SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube Channel

JOIN our Facebook Group

VIEW more of our previous episodes

Kristin Harmel’s THE PARIS DAUGHTER Launch

Tonight’s episode once again marks the triumphant return of “F&F Theater” as the Fab Four, podcast host Ron Block, and F&F’s Managing Director Meg Walker gather to celebrate the launch of Kristin Harmel’s THE PARIS DAUGHTER in grand style!

You won’t want to miss this show, complete with props and bad accents — but also with loads of moving insights about Kristin’s new novel and, as always, lots of laughs.

THE PARIS DAUGHTER (Gallery Books, June 6, 2023) is a gripping historical novel about two mothers who must make unthinkable choices in the face of the Nazi occupation. We agree with Lisa Scottoline who says “Harmel exemplifies the best in historical fiction.” Martha Hall Kelly raves: “THE PARIS DAUGHTER tore up my heart and put it back together again,” while Kate Quinn calls the book “a gorgeous, gut-wrenching read!” We know that Kristin’s latest is shaping up to be one of the hottest books of Summer 2023 and it’s one you most definitely do not want to miss out on! So be sure to tune in and hear all about it.

Make sure to join us every Wednesday night at 7pm EST on Facebook and YouTube for our latest episode!

SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube Channel

JOIN our Facebook Group

VIEW more of our previous episodes

Meg Mitchell Moore

This episode is a delicious confection of sweet summertime treats as we welcome four authors to the LIVE web show!

Meg Mitchell Moore is a former journalist and the USA Today bestselling author of eight novels including The Islanders, Two Truths and a Lie, and Vacationland. She joins us from the beautiful coastal town of Newburyport, MA, to discuss her shimmering new page-turner, SUMMER STAGE (William Morrow, May 23), about a family of actors grappling with fame, scandal and ambition, which Publishers Weekly called “sparkling” and “equally charming and satisfying” in a starred review.

If the name sounds familiar it’s because Victora Benton Frank is the daughter of beloved, dearly departed author Dorothea Benton Frank. A graduate of the French Culinary Institute, Victoria worked in restaurants in New York before returning home to Charleston, SC. She joins us to discuss her debut novel, MY MAGNOLIA SUMMER (William Morrow, June 6), a gripping tale of self-discovery set on the shores of Sullivan’s Island. According to Ann Patchett, with this book, Victoria “shows that she is the rightful heir to the crown of summertime storytellers. Her mother would be so proud.”

Be sure to stick around for the After Show when we welcome the writing pair of Audrey Belleza & Emily Harding to discuss their witty and romantic debut novel, EMMA OF 83rd STREET (Gallery Books, May 23), in which Jane Austen’s Emma meets the misadventures of Manhattan’s modern dating scene.

Make sure to join us every Wednesday night at 7pm EST on Facebook and YouTube for our latest episode!

SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube Channel

JOIN our Facebook Group

VIEW more of our previous episodes

Kate Morton + Lee Smith

On tonight’s episode, we are graced with the presence of two rockstar authors — Kate Morton and Lee Smith. As if that weren’t enough, F&F pal Susan Meissner joins us for the after show.

Kate Morton is the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of seven novels including THE HOUSE AT RIVERTON, THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN, THE DISTANT HOURS, THE SECRET KEEPER, THE LAKE HOUSE, and THE CLOCKMAKER’S DAUGHTER. Her books are published in 38 languages in 45 countries and have been #1 bestsellers around the world. She joins us from Australia to discuss her latest instant bestseller, the highly anticipated HOMECOMING (April 4, Mariner), which Publishers Weekly called “Morton’s best yet” in a starred review.

Lee Smith began writing stories at the age of nine and selling them for a nickel apiece. Since then, she has written seventeen works of fiction, including FAIR AND TENDER LADIES, ORAL HISTORY, GUESTS ON EARTH, THE LAST GIRLS, and DIMESTORE. She has received many awards, including the North Carolina Award for Literature, the Southern Book Critics Circle Award, and an Academy Award in Fiction. She joins us to discuss her latest novel SILVER ALERT (April 18, Algonquin) which People magazine called “as delicious as a slice of key lime pie—and gone just as fast.”

Be sure to stick around for the after show when we will sit down with USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction Susan Meissner to hear all about her latest novel, ONLY THE BEAUTIFUL (April18, Berkley) which Library Journal called “a nuanced and heartbreaking tale” in a starred review.

Make sure to join us every Wednesday night at 7pm EST on Facebook and YouTube for our latest episode!

SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube Channel

JOIN our Facebook Group

VIEW more of our previous episodes

Abby Jimenez + R.F. Kuang

On this episode, we are excited to welcome the authors of two wildly different but equally entertaining novels — Abby Jimenez and R.F. Kuang.

Abby Jimenez is a winner of Food Network’s Cupcake Wars, a TikTok sensation with a half-million followers, and a New York Times bestselling romance author of five novels including The Happy Ever After Playlist and The Friend Zone. Abby founded Nadia Cakes out of her home kitchen back in 2007 and the bakery has since gone on to win numerous Food Network competitions and has amassed an international cult following. Abby joins us to discuss her sparkling new rom-com, Yours Truly (out now from Forever Books), a novel of terrible first impressions, hilarious second chances, and the joy in finding your perfect match.

Rebecca F. Kuang is a Marshall Scholar and Chinese-English translator with degrees from Cambridge and Oxford and another in the works from Yale. She is best known as the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Poppy War trilogy and Babel: An Arcane History. For her work as a fantasy writer, Rebecca has won the Astounding Award, the Crawford Award, and the Compton Crook Award for Best First Novel, and been a nominee for the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Awards. She joins us to discuss her new contemporary literary thriller Yellowface (May 16, William Morrow), a send-up of the publishing industry which tackles issues of privilege, appropriation, tokenization, and exploitation.

Make sure to join us every Wednesday night at 7pm EST on Facebook and YouTube for our latest episode!

SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube Channel

JOIN our Facebook Group

VIEW more of our previous episodes

Jennifer Robson + Martha Hall Kelly

On this episode we welcome two masters of historical fiction, Jennifer Robson and Martha Hall Kelly.

Jennifer Robson is the Globe & Mail and Toronto Star number-one bestselling author of six novels, among them THE GOWN and SOMEWHERE IN FRANCE. She joins us to discuss her latest enthralling historical novel, CORONATION YEAR, in which the lives of three very different residents of London’s historic Blue Lion hotel converge in a potentially explosive climax on the day of Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation.

Martha Hall Kelly is the New York Times bestselling author of LILAC GIRLS, LOST ROSES, and SUNFLOWER SISTERS with more than two-million copies of her books sold, translated in fifty countries. She joins us to discuss her latest pulse-pounding novel, THE GOLDEN DOVES, inspired by true events about two former female spies, bound together by their past, who risk everything to hunt down an infamous Nazi doctor in the aftermath of World War II.

The crew also has a boisterous celebration of the good news that F&F co-host and co-founder Patti Callahan Henry hit the NYT bestseller list with her latest book, THE SECRET BOOK OF FLORA LEA.

Make sure to join us every Wednesday night at 7pm EST on Facebook and YouTube for our latest episode!

SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube Channel

JOIN our Facebook Group

VIEW more of our previous episodes

Patti Callahan Henry’s New Book Launch Party

This very special episode marks the triumphant return of “F&F Theater” as the Fab Four, podcast host Ron Block, and F&F’s Managing Director Meg Walker gather to celebrate the launch of Patti Callahan Henry’s THE SECRET BOOK OF FLORA LEA in grand style!

You won’t want to miss this show, complete with props and bad accents — but also with loads of great insights about Patti’s new novel and, as always, lots of laughs.

With incredible blurbs from an amazing array of bestselling authors, fantastic pre-pub reviews including a starred Kirkus (“magical…an enchanting tribute to the power of storytelling”), Patti’s new novel is shaping up to be one of the hottest books of Spring 2023. It has already been named a Barnes & Noble Book Club Pick, an Indie Next Pick, a Library Reads Pick, an Amazon Editors’ Pick, a Books-a-Million Summer Says Pick, and a Book of the Month Add-On Choice among many other accolades. In short, THE SECRET BOOK OF FLORA LEA is one book you do not want to miss out on! So be sure to tune in and hear all about it!

Make sure to join us every Wednesday night at 7pm EST on Facebook and YouTube for our latest episode!

SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube Channel

JOIN our Facebook Group

VIEW more of our previous episodes