Tune in at 7pm ET for TONIGHT’s episode! Join us Wednesday, August 13th at 7pm Eastern on the F&F Facebook page and YouTube channel as Ron Block & Patti Callahan Henry welcome author Victoria Benton Frank to discuss The Violet Hour, her heartwarming and empowering new novel about thriving after tragedy.
Victoria Benton Frank was born in New York City and raised in Montclair, New Jersey, but considers herself to have dual residency in the Lowcountry. A graduate of the College of Charleston and the French Culinary Institute, Victoria worked in restaurants in New York before returning to Charleston, South Carolina, which she now calls home. According to Ann Patchett, Victoria’s 2023 debut novel My Magnolia Summer cemented her as “the rightful heir to the crown of summertime storytellers.” Victoria joins us to discuss her second novel, The Violet Hour, out August 12th from Gallery Books, which our own Patti Callahan Henry praises as “enchanting, hilarious, and insightful.” Watch the video broadcast of this interview as it airs on Wed 8/13 at 7pm ET on the F&F Facebook group page & YouTube channel. Catch the audio version on our podcast Fri 8/15. Order Victoria’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 loved being a part of the Friends & Fiction Official Book Club 5th anniversary party weekend in Atlanta. From the Friday night cocktail party to the Saturday evening author talk with Kimberly Brock, Vanessa Riley and Colleen Oakley at the Margaret Mitchell House it was great putting faces to so many F&F faithful. On Sunday, MKA was in conversation with NYT-bestselling author Karin Slaughter at FoxTale Book Shoppe to help launch Karin’s new release We Are All Guilty Here. The icing on the cake was hosting Meg Walker and her mom Kathy Ahl, and Ron Block at her home. Martinis were mixed and laughs were had, and there was even a field trip to the Atlanta Botanical Garden on Saturday. Now MKA is hiding out in the North Georgia mountains working on her next book. But, in the meantime, until Monday 9/1 (Labor Day!) the e-book of MKA’s first NYT-bestseller Hissy Fit (considered the gateway drug to MKA’s novels) is currently FREE for Kindle Unlimited members and just $1.99 to download for everyone else. KRISTIN HARMEL can’t believe that her son Noah–who was in his last year of preschool when Friends & Fiction started in April 2020–has started fourth grade! The first day of school was this Monday, and Kristin’s trying to figure out where the time has gone! She already misses lazy summer days with him, but she’s excited to tackle the last of her revisions to her 2026 novel while he’s in school; she’s hoping to turn it into her editor next week! KRISTY WOODSON HARVEY spent her Saturday at the Beaufort Farmer’s Market and it was a SMASH! She was supposed to sign from 9:30-11 and… had a line until almost 1 pm! Will and Salt kept running home to get her more books! Talk about a perfect National Book Lovers Day! She is excited to let you know that The Summer of Songbirds is $1.99 in ebook for all of August! PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY spent the week in the NC mountains — just a girl in the mountains trying to find the ending of a story about a girl in the mountains! Her college besties joined her for three days of pure laughter. She hiked, ate fresh peaches, and is now back at the page. Have you signed up for her newsletter? She sent one out this week and you can subscribe right HERE. Oh, and Audible is having a one-day deal TODAY ONLY where the audiobook for The Secret Book of Flora Lea is marked down to just $3.99. This deal ends Wed 8/13 at 11:59pm Eastern. Patti is excited for you to watch tonight’s show with Victoria Benton Frank! Enjoy! 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, Patti Callahan Henry & Kristy Woodson Harvey welcomed TWO debut novelists! We love the discovery of new voices on F&F, so last week we were thrilled to bring you two first-time authors—Laura Dickerman whose Hot Desk will hit stores on September 2nd and Morgan Pager whose The Art of Vanishing came out on July 1st. 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 Already aired: Susan Wiggs, Wayward Girls Already aired: 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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