Tune in at 7pm ET for TONIGHT’s episode! Join us Wednesday, July 30th at 7pm Eastern on the F&F Facebook page and YouTube channel as Patti Callahan Henry & Mary Kay Andrews welcome #1 NYT-bestselling author Susan Wiggs to discuss her wrenching but life-affirming new novel, Wayward Girls, based on a true story of survival, friendship, and redemption set in the turbulent Vietnam era in Buffalo, New York.
Susan Wiggs is the author of more than fifty novels, including the beloved Lakeshore Chronicles series and the recent New York Times bestsellers The Lost and Found Bookshop, The Oysterville Sewing Circle, and Family Tree. Her award-winning books have been translated into two dozen languages. She joins us from her home in Washington State’s Puget Sound to discuss Wayward Girls, her haunting and thrilling new tale of six teens condemned to forced labor in the dark and secretive Good Shepherd Catholic reform school controlled by Sisters of Charity nuns. Called “a gut-wrenching story of survival, friendship, and justice,” by Robert Dugoni, and “a page-turner, replete with mystery and suspense,” by Adriana Trigiani, this novel is a bold leap in a new direction for Susan and we are so excited to talk to her all about it. Watch the video broadcast of this interview as it airs on Wed 7/30 at 7pm ET on the F&F Facebook group page & YouTube channel. Catch the audio version on our podcast Fri 8/1. Order Susan’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 celebrated her birthday weekend in style–hit up two estate sales, fancy dinner out with Mr. MKA, and a family birthday dinner featuring Mr. MKA’s beef tenderloin, and a birthday cake baked by her granddaughter Molly. Now she’s back to work on next summer’s book. KRISTIN HARMEL is heading to St. Louis this week for the 70th anniversary celebration of her husband Jason’s grandparents…. Congratulations, Grandma and Grandpa Trouba! After four days in New York (including a fabulous happy hour with her Gallery Books publishing team, a fancy dinner with her husband, the best-ever pancakes at Bubby’s, and two Broadway shows), she flew home and then jetted out the next day for a quick business trip to Los Angeles, so she’s looking forward to being at home (and finishing edits to her 2026 book!) after a whirlwind travel schedule over the last two weeks! Kristin also sends belated happy birthday wishes to our Mary Kay! KRISTY WOODSON HARVEY spent a long weekend in Myrtle Beach for her son’s final AAU basketball tournament of the summer—and had a fabulous event with Bookends and the Little River Chamber of Commerce and signed tons of stock at the Barnes & Noble in Myrtle Beach Commons while she was there! This week, she heads to Palmetto Bluff for a few fun-filled days and a great event with Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC. In the meantime, she is savoring every moment of summer with her family and friends! PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY spent a week writing, reading, and catching up with friends and family after being gone so long. She wants to tell EVERYONE about something really exciting this fall – THE VERY FIRST ASPEN LITERARY FESTIVAL – you’ve got to see this lineup (including Patti and Elin Hilderbrand). If you’re wondering – what bookish thing should I do this fall? THIS IS IT! She loved seeing her novel in the Woman’s World list of Ten Gripping Historical Fiction, along with her pal, Kristin Harmel. On Sunday she taught an online class for Kauai Writer’s Conference with Paula McLain about research in historical fiction and is counting the days until the actual conference in Hawaii. CHECK OUT details here and join us for an incredible lineup of teachers and panels. This week she heads to the mountains to write like mad because the book is set in the deep woods of NC and…well, more on that later. 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, the full F&F family gathered to welcome this month’s F&F Featured Author, #1 bestselling novelist Lisa Scottoline to discuss our July 2025 Pick of the Month, her new twisty gothic thriller with dashes of romance, The Unraveling of Julia, in which a young widow inherits a Tuscan estate from a mysterious benefactor and finds herself thrust into the crosshairs of a dangerous conspiracy. 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 June Pick of the Month—Kristin Harmel, The Stolen Life of Collette Marceau Already aired: Julie Clark, The Ghostwriter Already aired: Jess Walter, So Far Gone Already aired: Fourth of July “Best-of” Kristin Hannah, The Women Already aired: Meg Waite Clayton, Typewriter Beach Already aired: Adriana Trigiani, The View from Lake Como Already aired: LIVE! July Pick of the Month: Lisa Scottoline, The Unraveling of Julia Susan Wiggs, Wayward Girls Celebrating Debuts! Morgan Pager, The Art of Vanishing & Laura Dickerman, Hot Desk Victoria Benton Frank, The Violet Hour LIVE! August Pick of the Month: Francesca Serritella, Full Bloom Christina Baker Kline & Anne Burt, Please Don't Lie Sarah McCoy, Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely? LIVE! September Pick of the Month: Elin Hilderbrand & Shelby Cunningham, The Academy Hank Phillippi Ryan, All This Could Be Yours Jane Hamilton, The Phoebe Variations 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. Tees in New Summer Colors!
We’ve added two fun, new summer colors to our Bonfire merch store in our signature Name List apparel line. These are perfect for attending Kristy & Kristin’s upcoming events. How fun to dress to match the books?! 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 more than 38,000 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 Kristin Harmel about her novel, The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau. Mark your calendars for August 18th for their next author guest, Eliza Knight, when they’ll discuss her new novel, Confessions of a Grammar Queen. 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 July prompt is to read a book set in France and for August it’s to read an author’s sophomore book. Stay in Touch!Subscribe to our PODCAST. Upgrade to our PAID Subscription for bonus content from our hosts and guests.
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