Summertime is road trip season, and this week’s podcast guest is the perfect guide to inspire our sense of adventure. Daniel Seddiqui joins Olivia to talk about his new book, “Piecing Together America: Serving the Best Features and Craftsmanship of Every Major City,” and the original book that put him on the map,”50 Jobs in 50 States.”

Daniel reflects on some of his most rewarding moments, encourages consumers to buy American, and shares some of his strategies for connecting with people anywhere, anytime, to find common ground and make friends of strangers.

For more on his epic adventures, visit https://www.livingthemap.com/

When Meg Chernoff moves from LA to NYC and becomes friends with Instagram influencer Daphne, everything changes, including her own priorities.

Jenny Mollen, the New York Times bestselling author of I LIKE YOU JUST THE WAY I AM and LIVE FAST, DIE HOT joins the podcast to talk with Olivia about her first novel. Celebrity status and the feeling of being celebrity adjacent is a concept that Jenny knows well, as daughter to Arizona TV favorite, Dr. Art Mollen, and wife to actor Jason Biggs. In the way only Jenny has, she describes the motivation and drive that she mines from these relationships.

CITY OF LIKES is available now from Nacelle Books.

Moment With Margaret:

Margaret & Olivia discuss two other books that touch on the power or influence of social media that Margaret recently enjoyed. First SMILE AND LOOK PRETTY by Amanda Pellegrino, and Alex Finlay’s THE NIGHT SHIFT.

A very modern, NYC retelling of the Jane Austen classic, “Emma,” Taylor Hahn’s “The Lifestyle” is a beach read that will make you blush! The lawyer turned novelist joins Olivia in the podcast studio of her Arizona hometown to talk about the research she did- and didn’t do- to learn the swinger lifestyle for her sexy story.

The married attorney turned novelist talked about the eye-opening research that went into writing the story of Georgina Wagman (think Cher from Clueless, but smart and grown up,) and her sex-positive solution to saving her marriage after catching her husband with another woman. From a seemingly perfect life to complicated chaos, Hahn’s protagonist is funny and endearing and the cast of characters go through change that the writer found not just entertaining but meaningful. Taylor talks about her love for Peloton instructor Robin Arzon, and how one of her playlists played a key role in inspiring THE LIFESTYLE.

THE LIFESTYLE, published by Anchor Books, is out now. For more on the author, visit:

https://www.taylorhahn.com/

Moment With Margaret: Considering the Jane Austen inspiration for THE LIFESTYLE, Margaret recommends PRIDE, PREJUDICE AND OTHER FLAVORS BY Sonali Dev, and ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD by Tom Stoppard.

Relaxing lakeside is not an option while reading Riley Sager’s latest, THE HOUSE ACROSS THE LAKE. His latest twisty, creepy, suspenseful novel takes readers away to a family vacation home in Vermont where actress Casey Fletcher can hide out after the loss of her husband and a very public meltdown. The arrival of a high-profile couple who bought the house across the lake, Katherine and Tom Royce, changes things for Casey in ways she’d never expect.

Riley returns to the podcast to talk about the lake view that inspired the novel, heading out on tour for the first time since the pandemic, and why as the writer of scary stories he prefers his entertainment on the funny side. Olivia and Riley find they have something deep in common: a love for the Peacock series Girls5eva. 

THE HOUSE ACROSS THE LAKE is released June 21, 2022 by Dutton Books, and the author will be at Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale at 7pm that night. For more on the event: https://calendar.time.ly/9plshfqx/posterboard

For more on the author: https://www.rileysagerbooks.com/

A Moment With Margaret:

Margaret shares two books that have made a big impression recently, one a nonfiction leadership book, the other a psychological thriller. PERMISSION TO SCREW UP: HOW I LEARNED TO LEAD BY DOING (ALMOST) EVERYTHING WRONG by Kristen Hadeed is worth a read and discussion, according to Margaret. She also recommends JUST LIKE MOTHER from Anne Heltzel, that she describes as creepy and impossible to step away from!

CAN’T LOOK AWAY is a romantic suspense novel from Carola Lovering, that follows the 2013 romance between Molly Diamond and Jake Danner, and the love that inspires the hit, “Molly’s Song.”

Carola joins the podcast to chat with Olivia about the story, plot surprises, and the thrill of visiting the set of TELL ME LIES, her 2018 novel that’s headed to Hulu as an original series.

CAN’T LOOK AWAY is published by St. Martin’s Press and is available on audio from Macmillan Audio June 14, 2022 .

A Moment With Margaret:

Margaret recommends audiobooks that are good enough to share this summer on your road trips. First,  THE HOUSE ON THE CERULEAN SEA, by TJ Klune, and Eva Jrczyk’s THE DEPARTMENT OF RARE BOOKS AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS.

Why would a bestselling novelist put a stick of butter in her bra—and who notices when she does? These questions and more are answered when the Queen of the Beach read Jennifer Weiner returns to the podcast.

Her latest novel, THE SUMMER PLACE takes readers back to Cape Cod and delivers what we always expect in the pages of her novels: complex, intriguing characters who you care about and root for, and a plot that will deliver surprises.

THE SUMMER PLACE is a family drama that plays out through the pandemic- where relationships are shared by the pressure cooker environment of living and working together all the time all the days. Jennifer talks to Olivia about the personal moments which inspired some of the story, reflecting on the following year since the loss of her mother, and the female characters who bear her incredible characteristics.

THE SUMMER PLACE is available in hardcover from Atria Books. The Simon & Schuster audiobook is narrated by Sutton Foster. For more on the author visit http://www.jenniferweiner.com/

With many YA novels to her credit already, Nina LaCour releases YERBA BUENA, her first adult novel. YERBA BUENA is a moving story of overcoming loss, learning to love, and what it means to find a place to call home. Nina talks with Olivia in this episode about crafting the love story of Sara and Emilie, the necessary research (mixing and drinking cocktails) required for writing mixologist Sara, and her book’s Los Angeles setting. Nina LaCour is also the author of a children’s book, MAMA AND MOMMY AND ME IN THE MIDDLE, a passion project inspired by her own daughter. YERBA BUENA is published by Flatiron Books.

A Moment With Margaret: Books on Grief

Margaret recommends NOTES ON YOUR SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCE by Alison Espach and Kristen Bailey’s HOW MUCH WINE WILL FIX A BROKEN HEART?

Olivia’s Book Club Podcast has survived its first year! The podcast launched on May 17, 2021 with three episodes featuring novelists Kristin Hannah, Donna Freitas, and Jennifer Weiner, and book recommendations from Margaret Stewart.

This week, the podcast looks back at a few past conversations with writers whose books are now beach-bag ready in paperback. Don’t pack for your Memorial Day weekend without listening to these book recommendations!

Debut novelists Zakiya Dalila Harris (THE OTHER BLACK GIRL,) Ashley Audrain (THE PUSH,) and T.J. Newman (FALLING) share their journeys to publishing a buzz-worthy book.

Boss of the bestseller list Colleen Hoover (REMINDERS OF HIM, IT ENDS WITH US) talks to Olivia about her previous career in social work and her non-profit The Bookworm Box.

Historical fiction favorites Kristin Harmel (THE FOREST OF VANISHING STARS,) JoJo Moyes (THE GIVER OF STARS) and Kristin Hannah (THE FOUR WINDS) talk about the research that goes into these novels, and the ways plot and characters can transform from draft to draft.

If these authors have piqued your interest, there is much more to each conversation. Just search for the author by name in the Olivia’s Book Club podcast library for more book talk.

Lovingly known as the “reigning romance queens” (PopSugar), the writing duo known as Christina Lauren are as lovable as a pair of friends as they are successful as a writing team. Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings join the podcast to talk with Olivia about their new book, SOMETHING WILDER, a wildly exciting romantic adventure set in Utah involving a treasure hunt and a second chance romance.

Christina and Lauren talk about the way they collaborate (and why they were already prepped for pandemic life), their love for BTS, putting Lauren’s PhD in neuroscience to use in THE SOULMATE EQUATION, and not being remotely outdoorsy.

A Moment With Margaret: Liked This? Read That!

For fans of Lisa Jewell’s THEN SHE WAS GONE, Margaret recommends LOCAL WOMAN MISSING by Mary Kubica. If you enjoyed reading the heartwarming and humorous THE GUNCLE by Steven Rowley, Margaret says you’d enjoy WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD by Lisa Roe. Margaret also shares her love for former Pump Rules star Stassi Schroeder’s follow up to NEXT LEVEL BASIC, this memoir titled OFF WITH MY HEAD.

“Sometimes friendship can be deadly.”

In ONE OF US IS DEAD, Jeneva Rose delivers a deliciously dramatic thriller written from the perspectives of four women in the posh Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta, where Southern civility and hospitality is for show only. Jeneva Rose joins the podcast to talk about her approach to writing the novel, and how she uses her previous career in social media marketing to promote THE PERFECT MARRIAGE on #booktok, and the hilariously awkward (and successful) outcome. She talks to Olivia about her unique approach to writing the book blurb before the book, and the creative ways she made the most of an IRL book tour.

A Moment With Margaret: “BookTok Made Me Do It!”

Like Jeneva Rose’s viral videos from her husband, Margaret found Kiersten Modglin on TikTok, and discusses why she loves her books.

Likewise, THE FRIEND ZONE by Abby Jimenez, and THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS by Ali Hazelwood remain a #Booktok sensations, and Margaret shares her thoughts on both (one of them just might not live up to the hype!)