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.

Episodes

Aug. 4, 2022

Interview with Tess Day - Director of Publicity, Zibby Books

In this Behind the Scenes interview, Tess provides an inside look at working as a publicist at a start-up publishing company, her path to publicity, what a typical workday looks like, how her role differs at Zibby Books from her role at previous publishing companies, and much more.

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Aug. 2, 2022

Interview with Gillian McAllister - WRONG PLACE WRONG TIME

In this interview, Gillian and I discuss Wrong Place Wrong Time, plotting this one out, creating the right pacing for the story, finding the right title, the difficulty of building in twists, her podcast, not feeling constrained by the thriller genre, ruminating on how much time changes people, and…

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Aug. 1, 2022

Interview with Hayley Scrivenor - DIRT CREEK

For this special episode, Carol Ann Tack of Top Shelf at Merrick Library and I interview Hayley Scrivenor together. We talk about her debut novel Dirt Creek , how the different titles and covers came about for the U.S., UK, a...

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July 31, 2022

Interview with Zibby Owens - BOOKENDS

In this interview, Zibby and I discuss Bookends, how her podcast influences her writing, writing to process the events in her life, how important it is to find your passion, how she decided which book would open each chapter, and much more.

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July 31, 2022

Interview with Leigh Newman - NOBODY GETS OUT ALIVE

In this interview, Leigh and I discuss Nobody gets Out Alive, her focus in these short stories on the real Alaska, the isolation and loneliness experienced when living some place so remote, baring her soul in this collection, her personal connection to the title, and much more.

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July 29, 2022

Interview with Vanessa Riley - SISTER MOTHER WARRIOR

In this interview, Vanessa and I discuss Sister Mother Warrior, providing the historical context for her book. which character was the hardest to write, having 2 books publishing so close in time to each other, the lasting implications from the Haitian Revolution, and much more.

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July 27, 2022

Interview with Sarah Pearse - THE RETREAT

In this interview, Sarah and I discuss The Retreat, her fascination with local history and time's relentless march forward, making the island a central character of this novel, using a consultant to make sure the police procedural aspects of the story ring true, how sibling dynamics are set early a…

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July 27, 2022

Interview with Carley Fortune - EVERY SUMMER AFTER

In this interview, Carley and I discuss Every Summer After, setting a book in Canada, choosing Barry's Bay as the book's locale and the response by residents, what surprised her the most writing this book, tackling her sophomore novel, why this book is resonating with so many people, and much more.

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July 25, 2022

Interview with Jamie Brenner - GILT

In this interview, Jamie and I discuss Gilt, the way guilt permeates the story, the inspiration for this book and for Pavlin and Company, the hardest character for her to write, the relevance of the green cover, how book covers mark a particular moment in time, and much more.

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July 21, 2022

Interview with Ellen Jovin - REBEL WITH A CLAUSE

In this interview, Ellen and I discuss Rebel with a Clause, her grammar table and how it all began, how grammar appeals to people from all walks of life, creating a documentary about the grammar table, organizing the topics in her book, what surprised her the most about her adventure, and much more.

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July 19, 2022

Interview with George Dawes Green - THE KINGDOMS OF SAVANNAH

In this interview, George and I discuss The Kingdoms of Savannah, his stunning book cover and how it came into being, the 25th anniversary of The Moth, his writing process, the number one thing he likes to hear from readers, his ties to Savannah, the unique inspiration for Morgana, and much more.

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July 18, 2022

Interview with Jane Rosen - A SHOE STORY

In this interview, Jane and I discuss A Shoe Story, her writing process, choosing the shoes for each chapter of this novel, how her book was selected by Elin Hilderbrand for her July Literati Book Club selection, getting thrown out of an Upper East Side Mom's group, looking forward versus focusing …

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July 13, 2022

Interview with Lucy Clarke - ONE OF THE GIRLS

In this interview, Lucy and I discuss One of the Girls, exploring the dynamics of a bachelorette party, creating her own fictional Greek island, the easiest and hardest characters to write, including periodic Greek chorus interludes, the difficulty in getting her UK cover correct, and much more.

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July 12, 2022

Interview with Eleanor Brown - ANY OTHER FAMILY

In this interview, Eleanor and I discuss Any Other Family, writing a book centered around adoption and the issues the process raises, crafting character-driven stories focused on why people act the way they do, using the Enneagram types to help flesh out characters, weaving humor into her novels, w…

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July 8, 2022

Interview with Anna Ford, Founder and CEO of Bookclubs

In this interview, Anna and I discuss Bookclubs and how the company was launched, the company's various resources available for book clubs and individual readers, how the pandemic led to the growth of online book clubs, how Bookclubs' business model works and keeping the site free for users, keepin…

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July 7, 2022

Interview with Jon Baker - President, Baker Literary Scouting

In this Behind the Scenes interview, Jon provides an inside look at his job as a literary scout, how he got started and why he launched his own company, celebrity book club selection, the way the streaming industry has changed his job, the impact of Netflix on foreign markets, and much more.

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July 6, 2022

Kelly Hooker - Our Favorite Books of April-June 2022

In this episode, Kelly and I chat about our favorite books that published in April through June of 2022.

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July 5, 2022

Interview with Margarita Montimore - ACTS OF VIOLET

In this interview, Margarita and I discuss Acts of Violet, melding her love of stories about unresolved disappearances and those set in the showbiz world, exploring why the world of magic is so male-dominated, writing in a multi-media format and helping design the interior of the book, how the titl…

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June 28, 2022

Interview with Piper Huguley - BY HER OWN DESIGN

In this interview, Piper and I discuss By Her Own Design, telling Ann Lowe's little-known story, how she went about filling in the gaps of Ann's life, writing biographical historical fiction, why Jackie Kennedy Onassis remains so popular, how historical fiction teaches while also telling a story, a…

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June 26, 2022

Interview with Geraldine Brooks - HORSE

In this interview, Geraldine and I discuss Horse, how she learned about the horse Lexington, her research and visiting the Smithsonian's Museum Support Center, how popular horse racing was in the 1800s, tackling 3 timelines, the significance of the title, and much more.

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June 22, 2022

Interview with Julie Clark - THE LIES I TELL

In this interview, Julie and I discuss The Lies I Tell, why con artist stories are so popular right now and creating a female con artist who uses gender stereotypes to her advantage, writing dual timeline stories, the nod to her characters from The Last Flight, the hardest character to write in thi…

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June 21, 2022

Interview with Joey Hartstone - THE LOCAL

In this interview, Joey and I discuss The Local, how Marshall, Texas came to be the patent lawsuit capital of the U.S., how he learned about Marshall and decided to write this book, writing a book versus writing for the screen, his fabulous book cover, and much more.

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June 14, 2022

Interview with Ali Brady - THE BEACH TRAP

In this interview, Alison, Bradeigh and I discuss The Beach Trap, how they came up with the name Ali Brady and why they chose to write under a pen name versus their own names, creating their own take on The Parent Trap, the way they approach writing together, their great cover, what's next for them…

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June 10, 2022

Interview with Annabel Monaghan - NORA GOES OFF SCRIPT

In this interview, Annabel and I discuss Nora Goes Off Script, how Nora is resonating with so many readers, the great reception the book is getting on Bookstagram, how titles send signals to readers about a book's genre, the difference in writing YA and nonfiction verses adult fiction, and much mor…

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