Tune in LIVE at 7pm ET for TONIGHT’s episode!
Join us Wednesday, April 17th LIVE at 7pm Eastern on the F&F Facebook page and YouTube channel as as the Fab Four gather to welcome this month’s F&F Featured Author, the #1 New York Times bestselling author and titan of romantic comedy, Emily Henry, to discuss her forthcoming book, our April 2024 Pick of the Month, FUNNY STORY, a shimmering, joyful novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common.
Emily Henry is the #1 NYT and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of HAPPY PLACE, BOOK LOVERS, PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION, and BEACH READ. Known as much for her witty banter, steamy love scenes, and happy endings as she is for her sheer dominance over the bestseller lists and her millions of copies sold, Emily joins us to discuss her soon-to-be blockbuster summer hit novel, FUNNY STORY (coming 4/23 from Berkley), which has been named a most-anticipated book of the year by TIME, The New York Times, Goodreads, Entertainment Weekly, and Today.com among others. “This sumptuous novel is Henry at her very best,” according to Bustle, and we are so excited to welcome Emily and get the full scoop just before this book hits shelves everywhere!
Watch the LIVE video broadcast of this interview Wed 4/17 at 7pm ET on the F&F Facebook group page & YouTube channel. Catch the audio version on our podcast Fri 4/19.
Pre-order Emily’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 Emily which includes a writing tip, book recommendation, and information about her work-in-progress, plus other great material not covered on the show!
MARY KAY ANDREWS was the only one of the F&F flock staying close to home last week! She spent time finishing the zillionth draft of her secret project—details coming soon—hacked away at the never-ending spring cleaning list, and managed to do some online shopping for the book tour for Summers at The Saint. Catch her this Saturday, April 20, at the Conyers Book Festival. The ticketed event will be at the BookCellar Bookshop at noon, followed by a signing.
What MKA is reading and why she’s loving it: One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware. When a struggling actor talks his scientist girlfriend into signing up for a new Survivor-type reality television show, things go off the rails in Ruth Ware’s newest thriller. Watch for MKA’s behind-the-book chat with this New York Times bestseller coming soon to F&F.
KRISTY WOODSON HARVEY had the best time in NYC hanging out with her publishing team and celebrating 100 years of Simon & Schuster! That’s a lot of books, friends! She also had the best weekend at her first ever Zibby Retreat in Asheville, the setting of both THE WEDDING VEIL and where Kristy attended summer camp, which served as a lot of the inspiration for THE SUMMER OF SONGBIRDS. She is looking forward to being in Raleigh on April 24 with WALTER Magazine at the City Club and hopes to see some of you there for the very first celebration of A HAPPIER LIFE!
What Kristy is reading and why she’s loving it: Funny Story by Emily Henry. Kristy is so excited about having Emily on the show this week and absolutely loves her latest fun, frothy, feel-good novel!
KRISTIN HARMEL spent the weekend in Ft. Lauderdale with her husband and son at the Broward County Literary Feast, which included a dinner at the Capital Grille at the Galleria Mall, hosted by her in-laws! A big highlight of the weekend was spending time with Friends & Fiction fave Lisa Unger, who was also one of the authors at the festival, and Lisa’s husband, Jeff. Also at the festival were authors James R. Benn, Alex DeMille, Leah Lax, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, Thomas Mallon, Aida Rodriguez, Jonathan Santlofer, and Michelle Wildgen, and Kristin loved meeting them all. She also enjoyed chatting with David Baldacci this week in Orlando for the launch of his new novel, A Calamity of Souls, which Kristin loved. This week, she’s off to Avon, Connecticut to speak at the Friends of the Avon Library 12th Author Luncheon, which she’s particularly excited about because her aunt and uncle live nearby and plan to attend. This Thursday also marks one year since the end of Kristin’s cancer treatments, and she’s thrilled to be celebrating that milestone.
What Kristin is reading and why she’s loving it: Clare Mackintosh’s The Last Party. I mentioned last week that I’ll be in conversation with Clare at an event for Writer’s Block Bookstore (in the Orlando area) next week for her new book, A GAME OF LIES, which I thoroughly enjoyed. But many of Claire’s characters are Welsh, with names I wasn’t familiar with, and I thought, “I’ll just listen to a few chapters of the previous novel in the series on audiobook so that I can get the pronunciations down.” I intended to listen for 30 minutes, tops, but I got completely sucked in, and I downloaded the book on my Kindle, too, so that I could finish it more quickly. I couldn’t wait to find out who killed the man who’s found floating in a lake on New Year’s Day! It’s a deliciously well-plotted, fast-paced thriller, and I honestly couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.
PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY had the best time finishing up her paperback tour for The Secret Book of Flora Lea. She is so grateful to everyone who showed up at events and online. Now she is incredibly grateful to be home and in her own bed. She’s polishing off the edits for next year’s novel (so close to a title!). She wrote an article for Shepherd Books about Five Books That Transport You To Another Land – check it out HERE.
What Patti is reading and why she’s loving it: Best Life Book Club by Sheila Roberts. It started out as a book club but became a way to build a better life – sounds like something else I know (Hello Friends and Fiction!) MKA and I will be talking to Sheila about this fun novel for a Behind the Book episode. I loved the fun and witty women who fill these pages!
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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.
Friday, April 19, 11:30am ET — Kristin Harmel in Avon, CT at the Friends of the Avon Library 12th Author Luncheon at the Farmington Polo Club, 162 Town Farm Road, Farmington, CT. Tickets are $50 and include lunch, author talk and book signing with books available for purchase. Get tickets HERE.
Sunday, May 5, 3pm ET — See all four founders and hosts of Friends & Fiction—along with Managing Director Meg Walker, podcast host extraordinaire Ron Block & producer Shaun Hettinger—together in-person for a launch celebration for MKA’s Summers at the Saint hosted by The BookMark in Neptune Beach, FL. Get tickets HERE.
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.
Last week on The Friends & Fiction Show, Patti & Ron welcomed bestselling author, podcast creator, and award-winning journalist, Jo Piazza, to discuss THE SICILIAN INHERITANCE, her transporting novel rooted in the author's own family history about a long-awaited trip to Sicily, a disputed inheritance, and a family secret that some will kill to protect. Order Jo’s book (out now!) 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!
F&F April Pick of the Month: Emily Henry, Funny Story
Watch LIVE: April 17 | Listen: April 19
Sally Hepworth, Darling Girls
Watch: April 24 | Listen: 26
Janet Skeslien Charles, Miss Morgan's Book Brigade
Watch: May 1 | Listen: May 3
Ruth Ware, One Perfect Couple
Watch: May 8 | Listen: May 10
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 MKA & Meg’s interview with Sara Paretsky, NYT-bestselling mystery author, winner of both the Mystery Writers of America’s Grand Master Award and the Crime Writers’ Association’s Cartier Diamond Dagger, and the creator of Sisters in Crime, about her latest installment in her fan-favorite V.I. Warshawski series, PAY DIRT.
WATCH MKA & Ron’s interview with Lian Dolan, about her new novel, The Marriage Sabbatical.
WATCH Patti & Kristin’s interview with Alisyn Camerota about her memoir, Combat Love.
WATCH Patti & MKA’s interview with Tamron Hall about her newest Jordan Manning novel, Watch Where They Hide!
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 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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