Allison Larkin’s novel The People We Keep takes readers back to the early 1990s, with teenage April lives mostly alone in a motorhome in a rundown town in rural New York. The People We Keep is the coming-of-age story of a talented young woman who seems to always go without- without a mom, often without a dad, without opportunity, without understanding, without stability, without much of a safety net. Larkin joined the podcast to talk about about writing the story of a traveling musician who spends life on the road, a character that first came to mind fifteen years ago. She shared the journey of the book, the work she put in to hone her own musical skills, and her passion for encouraging other writers.

In a Moment with Margaret, Margaret and Olivia discuss how Instagram-worthy the gorgeous cover of The People We Keep is, and their affection for all things 90s. Margaret recommends The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Olivia admits to having binged (and loved) Freeform’s Cruel Summer, also set in the 90s and streaming on Hulu.

In “The Husbands,” Chandler Baker takes readers to a suburban, Stepford-inspired, impossibly idyllic Texas community of Dynasty Ranch, which seems to offer Nora Spangler everything she needs. The New York Times bestselling author of “The Whisper Network” joins the podcast to talk about her new novel, her career as an attorney that inspired the character, the sexism women face in the corporate world, and how she feels about her legal colleagues reading her work.

Margaret and Olivia talk about other novels that revolve around planned communities or notable neighbors, including “The Therapist” by BA Paris and Megan Miranda’s “Such a Quiet Place.”

As a former journalist, novelist Kristin Harmel fully embraces the research required to craft accurate and immersive historical fiction. Harmel became more deeply immersed in World War II Poland and the Jews who her protagonist, Yona, helps to hide and keep alive in the forest against the odds. Along the way, Harmel discovered that she is directly descended from the Polish Jews.  Sharing personal and historical revelations, along with telling Olivia about founding Friends and Fiction, and how she started a professional career as a journalist as a teenager, her passion for writing is contagious.

In a Moment With Margaret, we discuss the Most Read Books so far on the Goodreads 2021 Reading Challenge, including “The Forest of Vanishing Stars” and our other favorites, “The Guest List” by Lucy Foley, and Rachel Hawkins’ “The Wife Upstairs.”  

One of the most talked about books of 2021, Zakiya Dalila Harris’ debut novel is a genre-bending, searing look at race, office politics, and the micro-aggressions that people of color endure when working in a predominantly white industry. Harris’ “The Other Black Girl” is the story of Nella, a publishing assistant who is used to being the only black voice in the room. When Hazel arrives, dynamics change dramatically, but not at all in ways Nella would expect or desire. 

A thriller that is full of surprises, “The Other Black Girl” gives a dramatic look at how easily a young professional can lose her footing when she’s the target of gaslighting. Harris talks to Olivia about writing a debut novel that earned so much buzz, the Spotify playlist she crafted to accompany the book, and working on the adaptation for Hulu.

Margaret and Olivia discuss other books they’ve recently read and loved, including “We Are the Brennans” by Tracy Lange, and “Fault Lines” by Emily Itami.

Witnessing a suicide of a married lover, while at dinner with another married lover, is the moment that sends Lisa Taddeo’s “Animal” narrator, Joan, out of New York and headed to California.

A dive into grief, rage, and sexual power, the novel is powerfully written and in moments deeply moving and even disturbing. Taddeo reveals she’s far from the darkly intense author many expect is behind her work, shares how she juggled the novel while parenting her six-year-old, and how the pandemic didn’t change her. Listen for the hilarious comment her daughter had for her at a book-signing, and what Olivia said that Lisa jokingly called “the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

“Animal” is published by Avid Reader Press and has been optioned by MGM and Plan B Entertainment.

In a Moment with Margaret, Margaret recommends two other novels with complicated characters: “Pretty Girl” by Karin Slaughter and Jodi Picoult’s “Spark of Light.”

Jennifer Deibel spent nearly a decade living in Ireland and Austria, building a family and a deep love for all things Irish.

That passion for the Emerald Isle and the Gaelic tongue is still with the Arizona schoolteacher, and fueled her passion for writing her debut novel, “A Dance in Donegal” from Revell Books.

Jennifer talks to Olivia about making a “perfect cuppa”, life in the desert as compared to a land of green, and how she identifies with her protagonist, Moira. “A Dance in Donegal” follows Moira from Boston to Ireland in 1920, following through on her mother’s dying wish for her daughter to teach in the village where she once lived. There, Moira finds a missing piece of herself, and discovers mysteries surrounding her family’s past.

In a Moment With Margaret, they talk about books where the setting is as important as the characters. Margaret recommends “Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens, Olivia recommends Elena Ferrante’s “My Brilliant Friend.”

Be honest, it IS all exhausting! Over the years, Sophia Benoit has sharpened her fierce wit as a means for survival: dealing in with life as a woman in a sexist world, finding love in the age of apps, accepting yourself even when society considers you fat, the push and pull of life as a child of divorce… Benoit, a relationship and sex columnist discusses her collection of essays with Olivia, reflecting on the value of telling her unfiltered truth, and her hope that after readers laugh out loud (and maybe shed a tear or two) at Benoit’s expense, they’ll feel a little less alone and exhausted.

In a Moment With Margaret, Margaret makes the most of having the Bustle advice columnist’s expertise available and gets her beneficial dating advice (a can’t miss for anyone currently on the apps!)

Christina Baker Kline talks about the research and writing of her powerful work of historical fiction, THE EXILES. The novel tells the story of Evangeline, Hazel, and Matthina, three women who must tap into incredible resilience in the face of oppression and injustice. The setting is “the land beyond the seas,” Van Diemen’s Island, a penal colony established by the British, where 25,000 British women were exiled, by way of a former slave ship, The Medea. The ORPHAN TRAIN author shares with Olivia the parallels with modern day, and her interest in telling stories that focus on the power of female friendship. She shares which famous authors she’s friends with, and recommends mixing up a Dark & Stormy for THE EXILES book club night.

Margaret recommends two books she loved this year: THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE by V.E. Schwab, and GREENLIGHTS by Matthew McConaughey. In addition to THE EXILES, Olivia recommends both novels by Brit Bennett, THE VANISHING HALF and THE MOTHERS.

Falling in love and getting engaged without ever looking at each other? That’s the premise of the Netflix hit reality show, Love Is Blind. The unique dating show was a huge hit and launched not only a marriage but new careers for Lauren and Cameron.

Fans follow their video content and now they can read about their relationship. Olivia talked with the duo about their book, “Leap of Faith” which is part memoir, but also a useful guide for couples navigating new dynamics, who will take inspiration from the familiar pair as role models in how to define their paths as a couple.

Olivia & Margaret both LOVE reality TV as much as they love their books, so they chat about other enjoyable reads from Tan France, Andy Cohen, Jonathan Van Ness, Margaret Josephs and Stassi Schroeder.  

Can you fall in love with a stranger? Is anything a mystery anymore? “To Sir, With Love” is a romantic comedy written by Lauren Layne who serves up a satisfying look at modern love in Manhattan. Part “Love Is Blind” meets “You’ve Got Mail,” the novel’s protagonist Gracie Cooper is holding down the fort of her champagne shop/ family business, while falling for anonymous stranger on a dating app she only knows as “sir.” Lauren talks to Olivia about delivering a feel-good story when readers need it the most, and why her own life in Manhattan is so important to her writing.

For a reader who loves “To Sir, With Love” Margaret recommends other easy, breezy romantic comedies: “Yes & I Love You” by Roni Loren, “The Real Deal” by Lauren Blakely, and two books by Katharine McGee, “American Royals” and “Majesty.”

All pair nicely with a chilled glass of Cava.