Tune in at 7pm ET for TONIGHT’s episode! Join us Wednesday, April 9th at 7pm Eastern on the F&F Facebook page and YouTube channel as Kristy Woodson Harvey & Ron Block welcome New York Times bestselling author Dolen Perkins-Valdez to discuss her enthralling new novel, Happy Land, in which a woman learns the incredible story of a real-life American Kingdom—and her family’s ties to it.
Dolen is the NYT-bestselling author of Take My Hand (2022), which was awarded an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, a Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association, and a Fiction award from the Black Caucus American Library Association, and was long-listed for the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award. A three-time nominee for a United States Artists Fellowship, Dolen is widely considered a preeminent chronicler of American historical life. She joins us to discuss Happy Land (April 8, Berkley) which has been called “exhilarating” by Charmaine Wilkerson and “astonishing” by Jodi Picoult, and which has been named a most anticipated book of 2025 by People, Harper's Bazaar, Reader's Digest, Woman’s World and more! Watch the video broadcast of this interview as it airs Wed 4/9 at 7pm ET on the F&F Facebook group page & YouTube channel. Catch the audio version on our podcast Fri 4/11. Order Dolen’s book on Bookshop.org! Upgrade to our PAID Subscription for bonus Q&A’s with our guest authors which include a writing tip, book recommendation, and information about their works-in-progress, plus other great material not covered on the show! Latest News from the Fab Four!
PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY had an amazing few days in California for an event with her audiobook narrator, Julia Whelan, as well as her editor Laura Brown from Simon & Schuster / Atria, and good friends like Kristin Hannah and Lian Dolan! It’s good to have pals on the road to quell the homesickness. She also spoke to an incredible 800 women at the Long Beach Literary Women’s Festival. Now onto a few stops in Alabama and headed home! So excited to start planning for Kristy and Kristin’s launches and seeing everyone there! Also so excited to start writing again. KRISTY WOODSON HARVEY had a great week last week speaking to a wonderful literary league in Greensboro, being the alumni speaker at Salisbury Academy in Salisbury, NC, and going to lots of her sons AAU games! She is officially in BEACH HOUSE RULES mode and has lots of interviews this week and is putting the finishing touches on the Masters-themed Soiree and Golf Tournament to support her son’s school. If you missed her on Talk Shop Live last night, watch the replay here! KRISTIN HARMEL spent the weekend in sunny Southern California on a family trip to Santa Monica and Anaheim (where she and her husband and son went to Disneyland and an Anaheim Ducks game)! This morning, she went in for a routine mammogram… so this is your friendly reminder to schedule yours if you are overdue! Oh, and Go Gators! Kristin is thrilled that her alma mater won the national championship in basketball! MARY KAY ANDREWS loved being part of the Books Along the Teche festival in New Iberia, La. this past weekend. She and Mr. MKA had some fabulous food and even tried their hand at Cajun dancing. (Let’s just say Dancing With The Stars prolly isn’t going to come calling . . . ) On Sunday, they toured the Tabasco experience on Avery Island, where they even tasted Tabasco-spiked ice cream. This Friday, MKA will be speaking at the Campbell County Public Library in Kentucky, and hopes to see lots of new and old friends. Find details here. Upgrade to our PAID Subscription for an ongoing series of roundtable discussions and personal essays by the Fab Four about their careers, writing processes, and all things book and publishing related! Upcoming Events
View Patti’s full 2025 book tour for The Story She Left Behind HERE. View Kristy’s full 2025 book tour for Beach House Rules HERE. Friday, May 30, 2025—Friends & Fiction Live in Myrtle Beach to celebrate the launch of Beach House Rules by Kristy Woodson Harvey. Meet all four Friends & Fiction host authors! Hosted by Litchfield Books at 21 Main Steakhouse in North Myrtle Beach, SC. The event begins at 10:45AM. Tickets are $80 and include a signed copy of Beach House Rules, a special gift, key note presentation delivered by the Fab Four (plus Meg & Ron!), author Q&A, plated lunch & dessert, meet & greet, photo opportunity, and admittance to the private restaurant. Couples of the same household may exchange one event book for another title in the bookstore. Additional books by all four authors will be available for purchase at the event. GET TICKETS! Tuesday, June 17, 2025—Friends & Fiction Live at the Jersey Shore to celebrate the launch of The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau by Kristin Harmel. Meet all four Friends & Fiction host authors! Hosted by Booktowne at the Algonquin Arts Theatre in Manasquan, NJ. Doors open at 6:00PM. The show begins at 7:00 PM. Tickets are $45 and include a signed copy of The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau, lively keynote presentation delivered by the Fab Four (plus Meg & Ron!), and live audience Q&A session—plus sips & nibbles, meet & greet, book signings, and photo opportunities in the courtyard after the show! Additional books by all four authors will be available for purchase at the event. GET TICKETS! Want to know what our F&F Live events are all about? Watch this video compilation! Did not find video In Case You Missed It
On last week’s episode of The Friends & Fiction Show, Kristin Harmel & Mary Kay Andrews welcomed #1 New York Times bestselling author, Nita Prose, to discuss her latest intriguing and heartwarming installment in her wildly popular Molly the Maid series, The Maid's Secret. You can WATCH that episode on Facebook or YouTube, or LISTEN to it on our podcast. Coming Up on The Friends & Fiction Show
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: F&F March Pick of the Month: Patti Callahan Henry, The Story She Left Behind Already aired: Emma Donoghue, The Paris Express Already aired: Emilia Hart, The Sirens Already aired: Nita Prose, The Maid’s Secret Dolen Perkins-Valdez, Happy Land F&F April Pick of the Month—Jeneva Rose, The Perfect Divorce Jasmine Guillory, Flirting Lessons Carley Fortune, One Golden Summer Mary Alice Monroe, Where the Rivers Merge Ruth Reichl, The Paris Novel F&F May Pick of the Month—Kristy Woodson Harvey, Beach House Rules Kristina McMorris, The Girls of Good Fortune Summer Kick-Off Beach Party with Mary Kay Andrews, Annabel Monaghan, Meg Mitchell Moore, Martha Hall Kelly, Wendy Francis, Amy Mason Doan & Brooke Lea Foster F&F June Pick of the Month—Kristin Harmel, The Stolen Life of Collette Marceau Julie Clark, The Ghostwriter Jess Walter, So Far Gone F&F 2025 Subscription Box with Oxford Exchange
The 2025 FRIENDS AND FICTION Subscription Box is available for purchase now, exclusively from our friends at Oxford Exchange. This subscription includes three separate shipments: *Optional add-on: A paperback, signed, first edition of SUMMERS AT THE SAINT by Mary Kay Andrews (coming in paperback June 3)! Get your subscription NOW from Oxford Exchange! F&F Merch Store
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. F&F Official Book Club & 2025 Reading Challenge
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 35,000 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 Nancy Johnson about her novel, People of Means. Mark your calendars for April 21st for their next author guest, Patti Callahan Henry, when they’ll discuss her new novel, The Story She Left Behind. The Book Club is also hosting the 2025 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 with a question as its title and for May it’s to read a book with water on the cover. Stay in Touch!Subscribe to our PODCAST. Upgrade to our PAID Subscription for bonus content from our hosts and guests.
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