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Today’s episode features Gordon Jack, author of Poppy Montgomery Gets Even. After 30 years as a high school librarian and writing two young adult novels, Gordon is turning his attention to adult fiction with a cozy mystery featuring an unforgettable octogenarian crime fighter. He talks about how his years surrounded by books shaped him as a writer, finding humor in complicated characters, and bringing two generations experiencing loneliness together on the page. His Book Flight features funny books that influenced his own writing and sense of humor.

Episode Highlights

• On the natural pairing of librarians and writers: “You are in a world of books and surrounded by them.”
• How rereading taught Gordon to notice “the craft of a sentence and word choice”
• Why “the most important thing about being a writer is that you are interesting to yourself”
• Finding humor in the fact that “people are complicated and have faults”
• Why Gordon considers himself “more a tinkerer than a creator”
• Exploring loneliness among young men and older adults and bringing those generations together through fiction

Connect with Gordon:

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Some links are affiliate links, which are no extra cost to you but do help to support the show.

Books and authors mentioned in the episode:

• The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
• Hercule Poirot series by Agatha Christie
• Sheila Grau books
• Transcription by Ben Lerner
• Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
• Country People by Daniel Mason
• Nest of Tongues by Randy Ribay

Book Flight

• Joy in the Morning by P.G. Wodehouse
• Today Will Be Different by Marie Semple
• CivilWarland in Bad Decline by George Saunders

Dessert Pairing

• Birds of America by Lorrie Moore

Episode Sponsor - The Future Lab with Lee Schneider

✨ Find Your Next Great Read! We just hit 175 episodes of Bookish Flights, and to celebrate, I created the Bookish Flights Roadmap — a guide to all 175 podcast episodes, sorted by genre to help you find your next great read faster.

Explore it here → www.bookishflights.com/read/roadmap

Support the show

Be sure to join the Bookish Flights community on social media. Happy listening!

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New York Times bestselling author Penn Cole joins me to celebrate Burn of the Everflame, the fourth book in her Kindred’s Curse Saga. We talk about her journey from self-publishing to hybrid publishing, building her community one reader at a time, and the growing influence readers have on the publishing landscape. Penn also shares what it takes to write both sides of romantasy well, how fantasy creates space for political and social commentary, and why she stood behind her work when traditional publishing came calling.

Episode Highlights:

• Penn’s lifelong love of reading and writing
• Building a community one reader at a time
• How readers are influencing the publishing landscape
• Penn’s journey from indie to hybrid publishing
• Writing both the romance and fantasy sides of romantasy well
• Finding fresh ways to approach the romance formula
• Using fantasy to explore political and social issues
• Why writers should take their time before publishing
• Her Book Flight includes books that gave her “lightbulb moments” in her own writing

Connect with Penn:

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Some links are affiliate links, which are no extra cost to you but do help to support the show.

Books and authors mentioned in the episode:

• Lore of the Wilds / Heir of the Prophecy by Analeigh Sbrana

Book Flight

• Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey
• Children of the Star by Sylvia Engdahl
• Zodiac Academy by Caroline Peckham and Suzanne Valenti

✨ Find Your Next Great Read! We just hit 175 episodes of Bookish Flights, and to celebrate, I created the Bookish Flights Roadmap — a guide to all 175 podcast episodes, sorted by genre to help you find your next great read faster.

Explore it here → www.bookishflights.com/read/roadmap

Support the show

Be sure to join the Bookish Flights community on social media. Happy listening!

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Today’s guest is Hank Phillipi Ryan, the USA Today bestselling author of seventeen thrillers, including the Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning All This Could Be Yours. A true powerhouse in the mystery and suspense world, she won every major award in the genre and has captivated readers around the globe with her twist-filled novels. Before becoming one of today’s most celebrated thriller writers, Hank spent decades as an award-winning investigative reporter in Boston, earning an incredible 37 Emmy Awards for journalists that changed lives and even helped shaped new laws. Today, we’re celebrating her latest thriller, Mother Daughter Sister Stranger. Her book flight includes timeless novels she has re-read many times in the crime genre.

Episode Highlights:

• Hank’s 40-year career as a reporter and investigative journalist—and how it shaped her as a storyteller
• Making the career leap from reporting true crime to writing fictional crime
• Why learning to make something up was one of the biggest challenges of becoming a novelist
• The idea of a “you never know day”and staying open to the unexpected
• What Hank has learned from years of interviewing other writers
• How different people can experience the exact same family history and remember it completely differently
• The family secrets, perspectives and questions of truth at the heart of Mother, Daughter, Sister, Stranger
• Why Hank says she still learns something every single day she writes
• The power of watching fictional characters triumph—and how their victories can give readers hope, too

Connect with Hank:

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Some links are affiliate links, which are no extra cost to you but do help to support the show.

Books and authors mentioned in the episode:

• Prime Time by Hank Phillipi Ryan
• Nancy Drew novels by Carolyn Keene 
• Sherlock Holmes novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Ngiao Marsh books
• Josephine Tey books
• Dorothy Sayers books
• Bookish Flights Narrative Non-Fiction List
• Winter’s Tale by Mark Halprin
• You’ll Be Sorry by Lisa Gardner
• The Unknown by Riley Sager

Book Flight

• The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
• In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
• The Stand by Stephen King

✨ Find Your Next Great Read! We just hit 175 episodes of Bookish Flights, and to celebrate, I created the Bookish Flights Roadmap — a guide to all 175 podcast episodes, sorted by genre to help you find your next great read faster.

Explore it here → www.bookishflights.com/read/roadmap

Support the show

Be sure to join the Bookish Flights community on social media. Happy listening!

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In today’s episode, I’m chatting with Andre Hardy, a former NFL player turned writer and author of the debut crime novel Tear the City Down. Set in San Diego against the high-stakes world of professional football, the novel draws on Andre’s own experiences in the NFL while exploring the darker sides of the sport and the city. We also talk about his path to writing, the role of jazz throughout the Coltrane series, and the experiences that shaped his storytelling.

Episode Highlights

• Andre’s journey from professional football to writing and what led him to put his own NFL experiences on the page
• Looking beyond the glitz & glamour of professional football to the physical toll on players, particularly their bodies and brains
• Exploring the contrasts of San Diego and what lies beneath the beautiful version of the city most people see
• Why Andre believes writing about books challenges us to slow down, think more deeply, and examine what we believe
• The influence of John Coltrane & how pairing the novels with Coltrane’s music creates a bigger, broader experience for readers
• Andre’s book flight of atmospheric mysteries and thrillers, including stories featuring male protagonists navigating fatherhood and relationships with their daughters

Connect with Andre:

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Some links are affiliate links, which are no extra cost to you but do help to support the show.

Books and authors mentioned in the episode:

• Edgar Allen Poe books
• The Blue Flame by George Pelecanos
• Record Lows by CJ Green
• James McBride books
• Percival Everett books
• Middle Passage by Charles Johnson
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Darktown by Thomas Mullen
• Ghalen by Walter Mosley

Book Flight

• Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley
• Pegasus Descending by James Lee Burke
• She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper

✨ Find Your Next Great Read! We just hit 175 episodes of Bookish Flights, and to celebrate, I created the Bookish Flights Roadmap — a guide to all 175 podcast episodes, sorted by genre to help you find your next great read faster.

Explore it here → www.bookishflights.com/read/roadmap

Support the show

Be sure to join the Bookish Flights community on social media. Happy listening!

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In today’s BFF Book Club episode, I’m chatting with romantic suspense author Natalie Walters about our August pick, Spies, Lies, and Alibis. Natalie takes us behind the scenes of this Mr. & Mrs. Smith-inspired story and shares how she found her way to romantic suspense, what makes an idea worthy of becoming a novel, and why authenticity matters even in a story filled with spies, secrets, and high-stakes situations.

Episode Highlights:

• How Natalie found her way into writing romantic suspense and the inspiration behind Spies, Lies, and Alibis.
• Why “not every idea is a story and not every story idea works,” and how she determines which ideas are worth pursuing.
• Her desire to create stories that feel authentic and believable, even when the circumstances are larger than life.
• Why “there has to be a cost to the decisions a character makes, one way or the other.”
• Balancing suspense, romance, and humor to create the kind of escape that makes readers think, “That was so fun, let’s do it again.”
• Trusting readers to fill in the“Not every idea is a story and not every story idea works.”

Connect with Natalie:

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📚 Next Meet the Author Book Club - Brighter Than Before with Courtney Walsh

🗓️ Sep 29th | 🕓 5 pm PST / 7 pm CST / 8 pm EST

After her seemingly perfect life falls apart, Claire takes a leap of faith into a fresh start in Chicago, discovering friendship, purpose, and the possibility of a brighter future along the way. Register Here.

Books and authors mentioned in the episode:

• For the Write Reasons by Marybeth Whelan
• Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
• The Shadow Friends by Tess Gerritsen

Book Flight

• The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman
• The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen
• The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter

✨ Find Your Next Great Read! We just hit 175 episodes of Bookish Flights, and to celebrate, I created the Bookish Flights Roadmap — a guide to all 175 podcast episodes, sorted by genre to help you find your next great read faster.

Explore it here → www.bookishflights.com/read/roadmap

Support the show

Be sure to join the Bookish Flights community on social media. Happy listening!

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In today’s episode, I am chatting with Jessica Guerrieri, an award-winning novelist and essayist whose literary fiction explores the complexities of motherhood, identity, family, and the ways our past continues to shape us. She is the author of Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, winner of the 2023 Maurice Prize for Fiction, and her newest novel, Both Can Be True. Beyond her fiction, Jessica is a passionate voice in essays on sobriety and mental health communities. Her book flight includes books that explore alcoholism and addiction. 

Episode Highlights:

• How writing became a form of escapism for Jessica as a new mom and in early sobriety
• Giving ourselves permission to have an identity outside of motherhood
• Sobriety, identity, and figuring out what comes next in recovery
• How alcohol can numb both the difficult and joyful parts of life
• Why reaching for our phones and doomscrolling doesn't actually give us the recharge we're looking for
• Writing complex women and allowing two conflicting truths to exist at once
• Why Jessica wants to write book club fiction that creates feelings, opinions, and conversations
• The intimacy of reading and how books allow us to experience someone else's life from the safety of our own
• A book flight exploring alcoholism, addiction, motherhood, and family dynamics

Connect with Jessica:

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Some links are affiliate links, which are no extra cost to you but do help to support the show.

Books and authors mentioned in the episode:

• Dare to Lead by Brene Brown
• Nothing Hurt and Everything Was Beautiful by Ben Reeves

Book Flight

• Both Can Be True by Jessica Guerrieri
• The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff (also The Burning Side)
• The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett

✨ Find Your Next Great Read! We just hit 175 episodes of Bookish Flights, and to celebrate, I created the Bookish Flights Roadmap — a guide to all 175 podcast episodes, sorted by genre to help you find your next great read faster.

Explore it here → www.bookishflights.com/read/roadmap

Support the show

Be sure to join the Bookish Flights community on social media. Happy listening!

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In today’s episode, I am chatting with Alli Dyer. Alli was born in Tennessee and raised in the mountains of Virginia. Alli is the author of Strange Folk and her latest novel, Night Songs. For the last decade, she worked in the entertainment and book publishing, bringing a unique perspective to the stories she tells. 

We dive into Night Songs and the inspiration behind its story of family legacy, music, and discovering where we come from. Alli shares how growing up in the mountains of Virginia shaped her writing and why sensory details are so important when bringing a setting to life. We also talk about the stories that expand our understanding of the world and the special place audiobooks hold in Alli’s reading and writing life.

Episode Highlights:

• The childhood fantasy of discovering there is something special hidden in your family history
• How place, memory, and sensory details find their way into fiction
• Writing about family legacy and the stories we inherit
• Alli’s love of audiobooks and how listening influences her storytelling
• The books that have expanded her understanding of the world
• Her book flight includes audiobooks that have influenced her writing and storytelling

Connect with Alli:

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Some links are affiliate links, which are no extra cost to you but do help to support the show.

Books and authors mentioned in the episode:

• The Coal Miner’s Daughter by Loretta Lynn & George Vescey
• The Real Americans by Rachel Kuong
• Heart Food album - Judee Sill
• Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
• The Witches by Roald Dahl
• The Children by Melissa Albert
• Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

Book Flight

• Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood
• The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe
• All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

✨ Find Your Next Great Read! We just hit 175 episodes of Bookish Flights, and to celebrate, I created the Bookish Flights Roadmap — a guide to all 175 podcast episodes, sorted by genre to help you find your next great read faster.

Explore it here → www.bookishflights.com/read/roadmap

Support the show

Be sure to join the Bookish Flights community on social media. Happy listening!

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Today's episode features Thao Thai, bestselling author of Banyan Moon. She joins us to discuss her latest novel, The Seekers of Deer Creek, a captivating story of two estranged sisters whose search for a lost painting uncovers long-buried family secrets stretching across generations and continents.

In our conversation, we explore the many ways art preserves history and memory, the fascinating world of art conservation, and what it truly means to be an artist. Thao shares how her travels inspired the settings in the novel, why creativity is essential even in the busiest seasons of life, and how motherhood has shaped her writing. We also discuss the joy of reading physical books, the importance of making space for creativity, and why everyone has an inner artist waiting to be discovered.

Episode Highlights

• The inspiration behind The Seekers of Deer Creek
• Why art is one of history's greatest storytellers
• The unseen work of preserving paintings and cultural artifacts
• Vietnamese identity and artistic legacy
• Balancing motherhood and a creative career
• The value of reading physical books
• Why everyone should embrace their inner artist
• Thao's book flight includes books about art and artists

Connect with Thao:

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Some links are affiliate links, which are no extra cost to you but do help to support the show.

Books and authors mentioned in the episode:

• The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
• All the Beauty in the World by Patrick Bringley
• Sula by Toni Morrison
• Clutch by Emily Nemens

Book Flight

• Almost Life by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
• Sirens & Muses by Antonia Angress
• Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez

✨ Find Your Next Great Read! We just hit 175 episodes of Bookish Flights, and to celebrate, I created the Bookish Flights Roadmap — a guide to all 175 podcast episodes, sorted by genre to help you find your next great read faster.

Explore it here → www.bookishflights.com/read/roadmap

Support the show

Be sure to join the Bookish Flights community on social media. Happy listening!

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This week on Bookish Flights, I'm joined by New York Times bestselling author Rhys Bowen to discuss her latest novel, The Castle in the Glen. We explore the inspiration behind the story, why the Isle of Skye was the perfect setting, and how Rhys layers mysteries "like peeling away the layers of an onion."

Rhys also shares why she always travels to every location she writes about, how switching between her beloved mystery series and standalone novels keeps her creatively energized, and why returning to longtime characters feels like attending a high school reunion with old friends. Rhys’ book flight includes dual-timeline novels.

Episode Highlights:

• The inspiration behind The Castle in the Glen and writing a novel in another author's voice
• Why the Isle of Skye became the perfect setting
• How traveling to each setting shapes her storytelling
• The differences between writing standalone novels and a long-running series
• Why revisiting recurring characters feels like reconnecting with old friends
• Why she believes she'll always have more stories than she can write

Connect with Rhys:

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Some links are affiliate links, which are no extra cost to you but do help to support the show.

Books and authors mentioned in the episode:

• Tony Hillerman books
• Agatha Christie books
• The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
• Molly Murphy series by Rhys Bowen
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• The Chateau on Sunset by Natasha Lester

Book Flight

• The Book of Lost and Found by Lucy Foley
• The Restoration Garden by Sara Blaydes
• Homecoming by Kate Morton

✨ Find Your Next Great Read! We just hit 175 episodes of Bookish Flights, and to celebrate, I created the Bookish Flights Roadmap — a guide to all 175 podcast episodes, sorted by genre to help you find your next great read faster.

Explore it here → www.bookishflights.com/read/roadmap

Support the show

Be sure to join the Bookish Flights community on social media. Happy listening!

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This week on Bookish Flights, internationally bestselling author Anna Johnston of The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife and she  returns to discuss her heartfelt new novel, When Lemons Give You Life. Inspired by her years working in aged care, Anna shares why she loves writing older characters who remind us that every stage of life still has purpose, dignity, and the capacity for joy. 

Episode Highlights:

• The inspiration behind When Lemons Give You Life and why she calls it "an antidote to despair"
• Writing Lisa's character from her own experience of receiving an adult ADHD diagnosis
• The misconceptions surrounding ADHD in women and why she hopes readers feel seen
• Researching the unique challenges older LGBTQ+ adults can face in aged care
• Why cooking can become its own love language and a powerful way to care for others
• How stories help us build empathy and compassion—especially for older generations
• Anna's book flight features 3 memoirs

Connect with Anna:

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Books and authors mentioned in the episode:

• Maureen Fry and the Angel of the North / The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
• My Friends by Fredrik Backman

Book Flight

• Don’t Buy What I’m Selling by Lu Chekowsky
• Imogen in Waiting by Lindsay Bartels
• The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku

This episode is sponsored by Baker Book House, they brought a sweet, summer contemporary book flight. Enjoy 30% off and free shipping on any books ordered directly through their website.

• Bookmarked for Love by Sarah Monzon
• In a Word, Yes by Kit Tosello
• Almost by Design by Jenny Erlingsson

✨ Find Your Next Great Read! We just hit 175 episodes of Bookish Flights, and to celebrate, I created the Bookish Flights Roadmap — a guide to all 175 podcast episodes, sorted by genre to help you find your next great read faster.

Explore it here → www.bookishflights.com/read/roadmap

Support the show

Be sure to join the Bookish Flights community on social media. Happy listening!

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