My 17-page 2025 Winter Reading Guide is live! The guide contains 45 recent and upcoming releases plus new titles in book series, fiction/nonfiction pairings, stellar mystery series and some anticipated spring and summer releases. All of these will make great reads for this winter and many are books you won’t see many other places; I strive to find those under-the-radar gems. If you are interested, fill out the Google form and submit a tip of your choosing.

Contemporary Fiction Episodes

Sept. 15, 2023

Interview with Tracey Lange - THE CONNELLYS OF COUNTY DOWN

In this interview, Tracey Lange and I discuss The Connellys of County Down, her interest in reading and writing about family dynamics, the hardest character to write in this book, reader reactions, the title and cover, the fairy tale woven into the story, Geraldine's character, and much more.

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Aug. 28, 2023

Interview with Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu - LUCKY GIRL

In this interview, Irene and I discuss Lucky Girl, religion in the novel, mother-daughter relationships, what is resonating with readers the most, how much of her own experience she incorporated into Soila's story, the hardest part about writing this one, and much more.

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July 12, 2023

Interview with Kristy Woodson Harvey - THE SUMMER OF SONGBIRDS

In this interview, Kristy and I discuss The Summer of Songbirds, how she came up with the idea for this book, Friends and Fiction, deciding which characters would tell the story, including an independent bookseller, and much more.

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June 30, 2023

Interview with Ashley Poston - THE SEVEN YEAR SLIP

In this interview, Ashley and I discuss The Seven Year Slip, her love of time travel stories, creating a strong sense of place, switching from YA to adult romance, inserting Easter Eggs into this book, being selected by the GMA Book Club, and much more.

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June 3, 2023

Interview with Michelle Hoffman - THE SECOND ENDING

In this interview, Michelle and I discuss The Second Ending, the event that spurred her to write this novel, how she has played the piano since age 5 and still plays every day, including the dueling pianos, the highlight of writing the book, and much more.

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May 24, 2023

Interview with Jane L. Rosen - ON FIRE ISLAND

In this interview, Jane and I discuss On Fire Island, her connection to Fire Island and the strong sense of place in the book, infusing humor and heart into the story, grief in fiction, her cover, blurbing and Elin Hilderbrand's big quote for this book, weaving the publishing industry into the nove…

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May 17, 2023

Interview with Paige Toon - ONLY LOVE CAN HURT LIKE THIS

In this interview, Paige and I discuss Only Love Can Hurt Like This, how she came up with the idea for this one, publishing her first book in the United States, her connection to Indianapolis, conducting research on farming, mental health, sibling relationships, and much more.

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May 16, 2023

Interview with Christina Lauren - THE TRUE LOVE EXPERIMENT

In this interview, Christina, Lauren, and I discuss The True Love Experiment, how they decided to tell Fizzy's story, deciding how much steam to include and who drafts those portions of each book, how they balance each other, the benefits of writing together, important romance genre rules, and much…

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May 15, 2023

Interview with Megan Tady - SUPER BLOOM

In this interview, Megan and I discuss Super Bloom, her publishing journey with Zibby Books, leaning into the romance genre, portraying grief including the grief experienced for what might have been, writing a book within a book and how that developed for her, and much more.

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May 2, 2023

Interview with Laura Hankin - THE DAYDREAMS

In this interview, Laura and I discuss The Daydreams, her inspiration for the book, the fun research she conducted, deciding to have Kat tell the story, the stunning cover, how often young stars flame out and the role media plays in this, and much more.

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April 18, 2023

Interview with Brenda Janowitz - THE AUDREY HEPBURN ESTATE

In this interview, Brenda and I discuss The Audrey Hepburn Estate, the concept of home, writing about starlets and an heirloom item of theirs, indulging a list of Easter eggs at the back of her books, creating the estate as a character in her novel, and much more.

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April 17, 2023

Interview with Lauren Thoman - I'LL STOP THE WORLD

In this interview, Lauren and I discuss I'll Stop the World, being selected by Mindy Kaling's new imprint, time travel and how she incorporated it into her story, the 1980s, selecting character names, source of the title and how song lyrics can be used in book titles, and much more.

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April 7, 2023

Interview with Jane Roper - THE SOCIETY OF SHAME

In this interview, Jane and I discuss The Society of Shame, how she decided to write this story, weaving in the themes of scandal, cancel culture, media influence, online shaming and politics, crafting a mother/daughter tale, why the story takes place over 28 days, and much more.

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March 28, 2023

Interview with Colleen Oakley - THE MOSTLY TRUE STORY OF TANNER AND L…

In this interview, Colleen and I discuss The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise, how her grandmother and "Thelma and Louise" inspired this story, the value of connecting with older generations, what it means to be a woman in today's world, Parkinson's, and much more.

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Feb. 3, 2023

Interview with Sally Page - THE KEEPER OF STORIES

In this interview, Sally and I discuss The Keeper of Stories, how she collected the stories for the book, why she started writing fiction, the importance of intergenerational relationships, how truth is stranger than fiction, and much more.

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