Tune in LIVE at 7pm ET for TONIGHT’s episode!
Join us Wednesday, May 15th LIVE at 7pm Eastern on the F&F Facebook page and YouTube channel as as the Fab Four gather to celebrate this month’s F&F Featured Author, the NYT bestselling novelist and Queen of the Beach Reads herself, our very own Mary Kay Andrews, to discuss her brand-new novel, our May 2024 Pick of the Month, SUMMERS AT THE SAINT, a fresh new summer mystery full of romance, betrayal, and long-buried secrets.
With 32 novels and one cookbook under her belt, Mary Kay has been a staple on the bestseller lists every single year for two decades running. On Wednesday night, she will be taking a break from her whirlwind book tour and joining us LIVE from Dallas, Texas, to celebrate SUMMERS AT THE SAINT in grand F&F style. We can’t wait for her to tell our whole community more about the novel Publishers Weekly calls “a mesmerizing mix of mystery and romance,” and which has been named an IndieNext and LibraryReads pick. Of course, we’ve got a fun game up our sleeves along with lots of other shenanigans. It’s sure to be a blast and you won’t want to miss it.
Watch the LIVE video broadcast of this show Wed 5/15 at 7pm ET on the F&F Facebook group page & YouTube channel. Catch the audio version on our podcast Fri 5/17.
Pre-order MKA’s book on Bookshop.org!
Shop all of our guests’ & hosts’ books in our F&F Shop on Bookshop.org!
Upgrade to our PAID Subscription for a bonus Q&A with MKA plus other great material not covered on the show!
MARY KAY ANDREWS enjoyed a fabulous book launch party for Summers At The Saint at Huff Harrington Home in Atlanta, where she was joined by family, friends, and fans, along with her New York publishing team from St. Martins Press and literary agent Stuart Krichevsky. The next day our Friends and Fiction crew, including managing director Meg Walker, librarian/bartender Ron Block and even our beloved AV nerd/Cabana Boy Shaun Hettinger gathered for a Cinco de Mayo-themed F&F live show down in Neptune Beach, Florida, hosted by The BookMark. She spent the first week of tour criss-crossing the South, along with steadfast road warrior Meg, meeting loads of fans, hugging necks and outrunning tornadoes. Stops included St. Simons Island, Ga. (the inspiration for the book’s setting) and Savannah, where Kristy joined her in conversation, plus Raleigh, Southern Pines and Mt. Holly, NC, Greenville and Pawley’s Island, SC, Fairhope, AL, and Seaside, Florida. Check here to join MKA on tour for the rest of May–and even part of June.
What MKA is reading and why she’s loving it: Listening to the audiobook of Annabel Monaghan’s Summer Romance (out June 4) is the perfect antidote to long days on the road. It’s a fizzy, delicious rom-com about newly single mom Ali who decides a commitment-free summer fling–with her best friend’s “unreliable” younger brother is just what she needs to get herself unstuck.
KRISTY WOODSON HARVEY had the best Mother’s Day celebrating with her family on the most perfect day at Cape Lookout. She is looking forward to a fun event with Joy Callaway at Pig City Books in Lexington, NC tomorrow, May 16 from 4:30-6, so come stop by and say hi if you’re in the area!
What Kristy is reading and why she’s loving it: I just started Emily Giffin’s The Summer Pact, and I am already hooked! I absolutely love books about college friends–probably because I love mine so much–and the premise of this one was instantly relatable to me, for reasons happy and sad. I can’t wait to get back to it!
KRISTIN HARMEL is so excited to be out on tour this week, celebrating the paperback launch of THE PARIS DAUGHTER! After stops in Winter Park (Orlando), Sarasota, Tampa, and St. Pete (Yesterday was a VERY long day!), she’s off to Raleigh, NC today for a 5pm event, followed by Southern Pines, NC; Ocean Isle Beach, NC; Doylestown, PA; and Bethany Beach, DE in the coming days! Come see her on the road, and pick up THE PARIS DAUGHTER in paperback wherever books are sold.
What Kristin is reading and why she’s loving it: An Israeli reader (born during World War II) emailed me last week to tell me about a new book written by his wife of 58 years, Zipora Klein Jakob, that he thought I might enjoy – and he was right! Published just a few weeks ago in the States, The Forbidden Daughter is the true story of Zipora’s cousin, Elida Friedman, born in secret in the Kovno Ghetto in Lithuania during World War II. To protect her, Elida’s parents, Jonah and Tzila, smuggled the baby out of the ghetto and into the arms of a non-Jewish farm family when Elida was only three months old, but then tragically, Jonah and Tzila were killed when the Nazis razed the ghetto, leaving their young daughter orphaned. The book traces Elida’s journey of changing families, countries, continents, and even names, countless times – but ultimately, it’s a tale of hope and of one woman’s incredible will to survive. Kirkus Reviews calls it “an engrossing tale with heart-rending details of its subject’s difficult life at each trying stage.” A fascinating and moving true story.
PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY had the best time at her son’s wedding in the North Carolina mountains. There is nothing like seeing your child fall in love, and decide to build a life with such an incredible woman. The weather was perfect – blue skies and beautiful green forest all made for an ethereal weekend of love. Patti is worn out in all the best ways and looks forward to spending some time with her little grandgirls and daughter this week in South Carolina! And maybe a nap or two. She is thinking about MKA, Kristin, and Meg on the road for their fabulous books and sending big love and loads of energy!
What Patti is reading and why she’s loving it: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. This is an oldie but goodie – a true accounting of a walk in the Appalachian Trail. It is funny, wild, and such a fun read as I am up in the NC mountains right now where the Appalachian Trail comes right through!
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Click HERE to see Mary Kay Andrews’s full book tour for the May 7th release of her new hardcover, Summers at the Saint.
Click HERE to see Kristin Harmel’s full book tour for the May 14th release of the trade paperback edition of The Paris Daughter
Click HERE to see Kristy Woodson Harvey’s full book tour for the June 25th release of her new hardcover, A Happier Life.
Patti will be in Abermarle, North Carolina at the Stanly Library on Thursday, May 16th. Click HERE for details.
Kristy will be in Lexington, North Carolina at Pig City Books with Joy Callaway Thursday, May 16, 4:30-6. Click HERE for details.
Friday, June 28, 7pm ET —Join all four founders and hosts of Friends & Fiction—along with Meg Walker & Ron Block—together in-person in St. Louis for a launch celebration and garden party for Kristy’s A Happier Life hosted by The Novel Neighbor at the St. Louis County Library Post Event Space, 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd., Ladue, MO. Get tickets HERE.
Want to know what these F&F Live events are all about? Watch this video compilation! And then grab your tickets to meet up with us in St. Louis in June!
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On last week’s LIVE episode of The Friends & Fiction Show, Mary Kay Andrews & Ron Block welcomed the international No.1 bestselling author of psychological crime thrillers, Ruth Ware, to discuss her latest gripping beach read, ONE PERFECT COUPLE, a high-tension and ingenious thriller which follows five couples trapped on a storm-swept island as a killer stalks among them. Order Ruth’s book from the F&F Shop on Bookshop.org, where you’ll also find books by all our hosts and guests, all at a discount—and where all your purchases support our show and our beloved indie bookstores nationwide!
You can WATCH that episode on Facebook or YouTube, or LISTEN to it on our podcast.
All shows can be watched on Facebook & YouTube each Wednesday evening at 7pm ET, and listened to on our podcast each Friday, all year long.
Already aired: Lisa Scottoline, The Truth About the Devlins
WATCH now! | LISTEN now!
Already aired: Jo Piazza, The Sicilian Inheritance
WATCH now! | LISTEN now!
Already aired: F&F April Pick of the Month: Emily Henry, Funny Story
WATCH now! | LISTEN now!
Already aired: Sally Hepworth, Darling Girls
WATCH now! | LISTEN now!
Already aired: Janet Skeslien Charles, Miss Morgan's Book Brigade
WATCH now! | LISTEN now!
Already aired: Ruth Ware, One Perfect Couple
WATCH now! | LISTEN now!
F&F May Pick of the Month: Mary Kay Andrews, Summers at the Saint
Watch LIVE: May 15 | Listen: May 17
Steven Rowley, The Guncle Abroad
Watch: May 22 | Listen: May 24
Sunny Hostin, Summer on Highland Beach
Watch: May 29 | Listen: May 31
Annabel Monaghan, Summer Romance
Watch: June 5 | Listen: June 7
Lisa Wingate, Shelterwood
Watch: June 12 | Listen: June 14
F&F June Pick of the Month: Kristy Woodson Harvey, A Happier Life
Watch LIVE: June 19 | Listen: June 21
Chris Whitaker, All the Colors of the Dark
Watch: June 26 | Listen: June 28
The Fab Four (along with Meg & Ron) are taking turns interviewing some additional authors in short video segments we are calling “Behind the Book.” Check out a few recent bonus interviews that we’ve run on the F&F YouTube channel!
WATCH Kristin & Kristy’s interview with New York Times bestselling author Lisa Barr (Woman On Fire) about her highly-anticipated new novel The Goddess of Warsaw, the harrowing and ultimately triumphant tale of a Jewish WWII assassin turned Hollywood star.
WATCH Patti & MKA’s interview with Sheila Roberts about her newest The Best Life Book Club.
WATCH Meg & Ron’s interview with Caroline Leavitt about her new novel Days of Wonder.
We have a Friends & Fiction merch store with t-shirts, sweatshirts, coffee mugs and a book bag on Bonfire. We also have other items like wine tumblers, reading journals, and our original white v-neck logo tees available through Oxford Exchange. You can also order the F&F 2024 SUBSCRIPTION BOX exclusively through our friends at Oxford Exchange. You get the two first-edition autographed hardcover books (and the adorable pouch!) shown below, plus the option to add Patti’s & Kristin’s 2024 paperback editions of last year’s books. All details HERE!
Join Brenda Gardner & Lisa Harrison for monthly book club picks and live online author chats on the Facebook page for the F&F Official Book Club with Brenda & Lisa, where they’ve amassed more than 30k of their own members. You can also follow the Book Club on Instagram and subscribe to their YouTube channel where you can catch past discussions, including their most recent chat with Zibby Owens about her novel, Blank. Mark your calendars for May 20th for their next author guest Brenda Novak when they’ll discuss her novel Tourist Season. With the help of Annissa Armstrong, the Book Club is also hosting the 2024 F&F Reading Challenge. Join them for a different category prompt each month to read outside your comfort zone. The April prompt is to read a book by an author who uses a pen name and, for May, it’s to read a book set in a place you’d like to visit.
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Shop our guests’ & hosts’ books in our shop on BOOKSHOP.
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