Tune in at 7pm ET for TONIGHT’s episode! Join us Wednesday, October 1st at 7pm Eastern on the F&F Facebook page and YouTube channel as Kristy Woodson Harvey & Mary Kay Andrews welcome bestselling author Meagan Church to discuss The Mad Wife, an exploration of identity, motherhood, and the suffocating grip of societal expectations which will leave you questioning the lives we build—and the lies we live.
Meagan built a career as a storyteller and freelance writer for brands, blogs, and organizations. Her fiction (The Girls We Sent Away, The Last Carolina Girl) consists of emotionally-charged, thought-provoking, empathy-inducing stories that focus on overlooked and oppressed women’s voices from the past. A Midwesterner by birth, she joins us from her current home in North Carolina that she shares with her high school sweetheart, three children and a plethora of pets. We’re eager to discuss her new novel, The Mad Wife (Sourcebooks, Sept 30), which has been praised by Sarah Penner as “a gripping portrait of 1950s suburbia with a sinister undercurrent…a haunting, hopeful tale of resilience, reckoning, and the redemptive power of truth,” and by Ashley Winstead as a “one-sitting read [that] offers unforgettable characters, a beautiful window into life in the Fifties, and a stirring tribute to the strength of women.” Watch the video broadcast of this interview as it airs on Wed 10/1 at 7pm ET on the F&F Facebook group page & YouTube channel. Catch the audio version on our podcast Fri 10/3. Order Meagan’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!
MARY KAY ANDREWS has been in wind-down mode since turning in her manuscript for her summer 2026 novel, which means answering emails, getting her hair and nails tended to–and decorating for Halloween. You can see the results on her Instagram and Facebook pages. And yes, she’s waiting for that dreaded revision letter from her editor. In the meantime, she’s launched her own YouTube channel, with a series of videos to help authors break into the publishing world. She’ll be posting some of her infamous WTAF videos there too, as well as whatever strikes her fancy in the upcoming weeks and months. Check it out HERE. KRISTIN HARMEL spent the weekend with her family (and the family of her son’s best friend!) at Clearwater Beach, soaking in the sun, eating some awesome seafood, and watching speedboat races from the shore. This week, she’s back to work on some new projects for 2026 and beyond! KRISTY WOODSON HARVEY had a great weekend celebrating her son’s 14th birthday–which is today! (She had to sign him up for driver’s ed this summer! What?) She is looking forward to an upcoming event with The Savannah Book Festival to launch Nicholas Sparks’s REMAIN. Get your tickets–or watch the replay right here on F&F! In the meantime, she is writing up a storm, reading a giant stack of manuscripts and ARCs on her desk (YAY!), and generally savoring the lovely transition to fall! PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY just returned from the Aspen Literary Festival where she marveled at the golden hues of autumn and the aspen trees. She hiked and met some of her very favorite authors; it was glorious (if you want to see pictures see her INSTAGRAM). She is back at the desk and working on her next novel; her hikes in the Aspen forest inspired some new scenes. For our William Kent Krueger fans, she will be interviewing him in Atlanta next week on October 9th. 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
See Kristin’s upcoming events HERE. Want to know what our F&F Live events are all about? Watch this video compilation!  In Case You Missed It
On last week’s episode of The Friends & Fiction Show, Kristin Harmel & Ron Block welcomed acclaimed NYT-bestselling novelist Jane Hamilton to discuss her stunning new coming-of-age novel, The Phoebe Variations, about girls, mothers, and finding one’s way in the world. 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: LIVE! September Pick of the Month: Elin Hilderbrand & Shelby Cunningham, The Academy Already aired: Hank Phillippi Ryan, All This Could Be Yours Already aired: Jane Hamilton, The Phoebe Variations NEW! Fall Season Line-Up!Meagan Church, The Mad Wife Mitch Albom, Twice — October Pick of the Month! Joe Hill, King Sorrow Catherine Newman, Wreck David Baldacci, Nash Falls — November Pick of the Month! Brisa Carleton, Last Call at the Savoy Lee & Andrew Child, Exit Strategy John Irving, Queen Esther — December Pick of the Month! Ace Atkins, Everybody Wants To Rule the World Jacquelyn Mitchard, The Birdwatcher 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 (released 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. Tees in New Colors!We’ve added two fun, new colors (hot pink & turquoise!) to our Bonfire merch store in our signature Name List apparel line! 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 nearly 40,000 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 Regina Black about her novel, August Lane. Mark your calendars for October 20th for their next author guest, Morgan Ryan, when they’ll discuss her new novel, A Resistance of Witches. 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 October prompt is to read a book with “magic” in the title and for November it’s to read a book written by a celebrity. Stay in Touch!Subscribe to our PODCAST. Upgrade to our PAID Subscription for bonus content from our hosts and guests.
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