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

June 4, 2021

Laura Hankin - A SPECIAL PLACE FOR WOMEN

Laura and I discuss A Special Place for Women, how she loves the fake dating trope, exploring what happens when activism becomes performative instead of genuine, what her writing process look like, her COVID-19 book release video, and much more.

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June 2, 2021

Steven Rowley - THE GUNCLE

Steven and I discuss his new book The Guncle, including humor in his stories, how Auntie Mame and other magical caregivers inspired this story, the special message in his Acknowledgments, how The Editor came about, and much more.

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May 18, 2021

Emiko Jean - TOKYO EVER AFTER

Emiko and I discuss her latest book Tokyo Ever After, how drafting this book helped her reconcile her own identity, her writing process and how it has evolved, why it took her a while to write this book, what a privilege it is to blend in, how her stunning cover came about, viewing stories as “wind…

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May 10, 2021

Katherine St. John - THE SIREN

Katherine and I discuss her new book The Siren, using three points of view to slowly disseminate information to the reader, how she enjoys writing about the messiness of life, taking unexpected life paths, how lives are lived in chapters, and much more.

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May 6, 2021

Georgia Clark - IT HAD TO BE YOU

Georgia and I discuss her new rom-com It Had to Be You, why she switched to the rom-com genre, how her own wedding inspired her to write this story, her fascination with weddings, teasing out a balance between tradition versus modernity, and much more.

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April 23, 2021

Sanjena Sathian - GOLD DIGGERS

Sanjena and I discuss her debut novel Gold Diggers, the responsibilities that come with assimilation, conceptual orphans, writing the research problem she encountered into Gold Diggers, her background as a journalist, Mindy Kaling optioning her story for a TV series, and much more.

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March 29, 2021

Kathleen West - ARE WE THERE YET?

Kathleen and I discuss Are We There Yet?, how social media and cell phones play such major roles in teens’ lives today, parents who believe their self-worth and social standing are tied to their children’s, parenting in 2021, balancing oversight and privacy as a parent, and more.

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March 26, 2021

Bianca Marais - IF YOU WANT TO MAKE GOD LAUGH

Bianca and I discuss If You Want to Make God Laugh, creating cultural context and awareness in her writing, her podcast and why she launched it, how to become a more responsible traveler, the importance of Own Voices stories, the advent of writing partnerships, and more.

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March 22, 2021

Kim Neville - THE MEMORY COLLECTORS

Kim and I discuss The Memory Collectors, the way inanimate objects hold power over us because of the memories tied to them, her favorite character to create in this book, her fascination with witches and magic, connecting with readers, and more.

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March 22, 2021

Jill Santopolo - EVERYTHING AFTER

Jill and I discuss Everything After, how a Counting Crows song helped spark the title of this book, encouraging open conversations about miscarriage, maintaining individuality and identity after getting married, the one thing that Jill wanted for her recent birthday and more.

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March 18, 2021

Hala Alyan - THE ARSONISTS' CITY

Hala and I discuss The Arsonists’ City, the character she enjoyed writing the most, wanting to provide a deeper understanding of Lebanon to her readers, how and why intergenerational conflict and secrets provide great fodder for writers, and more.

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March 12, 2021

Jennifer Dupee - THE LITTLE FRENCH BRIDAL SHOP

Jennifer and I discuss her debut The Little French Bridal Shop, the inspiration for both her story and the bridal shop in the book, how small falsehoods can easily turn into a web of lies, how she balances her day job and writing, reading recommendations, and more.

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Feb. 12, 2021

Madeleine Henry - THE LOVE PROOF

Madeleine and I discuss her latest novel The Love Proof, what inspired her to write this book, her love of yoga, her writing process, what she likes to do in her free time, and more.The Love Proof can be purchased at Murder by the Book.Madeleine’s 2 re...

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Feb. 3, 2021

Te-Ping Chen - LAND OF BIG NUMBERS

Te-Ping and I discuss her short story collection Land of Big Numbers, how the people she met as a journalist in Beijing inspired some of these stories, what it is like for people who live in a society where many circumstances are outside their control, the universality of intergenerational family s…

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Feb. 1, 2021

Nancy Johnson - THE KINDEST LIE

Nancy and I discuss her debut novel The Kindest Lie, the issue of identity in the United States today, her title’s dual meaning, how important it is for aspiring authors to write the story they want to write versus following publishing trends, her own publishing journey and more.

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