Mary Calvi talks with New York Times bestselling author Ariel Lawhon about her new historical adventure novel "The Pirate Queen," and about the compelling character Lawhon calls "ferocious."

"The Pirate Queen" is one of the most anticipated books of the year, and Lawhon's latest after her 2023 novel "The Frozen River" spent weeks on bestseller lists. "The Pirate Queen" is based on the legendary life of Grace O'Malley, an Irish chieftain and privateer who fought for her clan and who is omitted from official Irish history.

Lawhon reveals to Mary the moment, during a trip to Ireland, that she felt connected to O'Malley, and how "savage" she decided to make O'Malley as she faced violent challenges. Lawhon also explains how she lays herself bare on the page and how there's a little bit of her in her characters.

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When Harlan Coben, the New York Times bestselling author of three dozen novels, with 100 million books in print, and more than a dozen of his thrillers adapted for the screen, talks to Mary Calvi about his memoir on writing, get ready to take notes.

Coben shares with Mary his personal and professional journey, his early struggles, his creative process, and his straightforward rules for creating. He tells Mary why he doesn't accept the excuse from aspiring authors that there's no time to write, why he says research is secondary, and how he practiced "incremental ambition." He talks about why he didn't immediately give up his full-time job, the breakout book that changed everything, the questions he asks himself while writing, and how fame can mess with your head.

Coben also gives Mary a preview of what to expect on the next season of "Harlan Coben’s Final Twist," a true-crime docuseries on CBS where he compares and contrasts real-life cases to his fictional stories.

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Audio excerpted from PLOT TWIST: Life, Craft, and the Messy First Draft: A Memoir on Writing by Harlan Coben, published on September 8, 2026. Copyright © 2026 by Harlan Coben. Used by arrangement with Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group. All rights reserved. 

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Brenda Janowitz is an author very familiar to Club Calvi. Her previous novel "The Audrey Hepburn Estate" was a Club Calvi Readers' Choice in 2023. Mary Calvi talked to Janowitz about her new book, the young adult novel "The Introvert's Guide to Kissing in Europe." It's a coming of age story that may have adults remembering their first love and kisses.

The book follows Emily, a high school valedictorian from Long Island who has always worked to be perfect, and who takes a gap year to follow in the footsteps of her grandmother. Along the way, Emily learns to step out of her shell with a new best friend while meeting plenty of boys. Janowitz told Mary that she used her own gap semester in Europe, and her relationship with her grandmothers, as inspiration.

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Audio excerpted with permission of Disney Hyperion Digital from THE INTROVERT'S GUIDE TO KISSING IN EUROPE by Brenda Janowitz, excerpt read by Gilli Messer. Brenda Janowitz ℗ 2026 Melissa de la Cruz Studio. All rights reserved.

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Jean Kwok shares with Mary Calvi how an emotionally difficult time in her life led to her writing her first novel of romantic fantasy, "Dominion," and her initial struggles in crafting the book's spicy scenes.

Kwok is known for her works of literary fiction, including her previous novel "The Leftover Woman," which was a 2023 Club Calvi Top 3 FicPick, and her bestsellers "Girl in Translation" and "Searching for Sylvie Lee." "Dominion" is about a young woman with amnesia living in a land that's not her own,  who encounters a fierce warrior as demons threaten to destroy everything.

The book is the first in a planned trilogy, and Kwok reveals details about the upcoming sequel.

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Audio excerpted with permission of Penguin Random House Audio from DOMINION by Jean Kwok, excerpt read by Annie Q. Riegel. Jean Kwok ℗ 2026 Penguin Random House, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Mary Calvi talks to Charles Lachman about his latest nonfiction book that reads like a page-turning thriller. He told Mary that "They Shall Not See the Dawn" is the untold story about the greatest manhunt in history. The book follows a little-known unit of the US Army called the Counter Intelligence Corps, the so-called "G-men in khakis," in a race against time during World War II to track down Adolf Hitler's Nazi henchmen before they vanished or raised a new resistance. Lachman reveals the fascinating details about these agents, which included college students, linguists, and refugees, determined to bring the notorious war criminals to justice at the Nuremberg trials.

Lachman is the executive producer of Inside Edition, which has the same parent company as CBS New York.

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Audiobook from "They Shall Not See the Dawn" by Charles Lachman, published by Diversion Books, an division of Diversion Publishing Corps. Copyright © 2026 by Charles Lachman.

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Mary Calvi talks to Chris Bohjalian about his new novel "The Amateur," which became an instant New York Times bestseller. The book opens with golf prodigy Mira Winston hitting a shot that kills a young caddie on a golf course in Westchester County. Her life unravels after the tragedy.

Bohjalian told Mary that he uses elements of his personal life in his characters, and he shared the surprising ones he included in writing about Mira and the teen who died. In fact, Bohjalian says he didn't intend for the book to be about Mira, but two sentences changed his mind. Bohjalian has written more than two dozen books, and he says he never outlines his stories. Instead, there's one activity that helps him figure out what happens next.

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Audio excerpted with permission of Penguin Random House Audio from THE AMATEUR by Chris Bohjalian, read by Melora Hardin. Chris Bohjalian ℗ 2026 Penguin Random House, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Bestselling authors Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray talk with Mary Calvi and answer questions from readers about their latest novel "A Pair of Aces." It was voted a Readers' Choice for Club Calvi, and was Benedict and Murray's third book together and third bestseller. Their previous novels were "The Personal Librarian" and "The First Ladies."

In "A Pair of Aces," Benedict and Murray reimagine the story of how Eunice Carter, New York's first female Black prosecutor, came up with the strategy to bring down the powerful mob boss Lucky Luciano in the 1930s. In the book, she teams up with the infamous madam Polly Adler.

Mary talked with Benedict and Murray about how they discovered the story, how they split the research and writing, and whether one has veto power over the other.

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Audio excerpted with permission of Penguin Random House Audio from A PAIR OF ACES by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, excerpt read by Barrie Kreinik. Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray ℗ 2026 Penguin Random House, LLC. All rights reserved.

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John Searles is known as a bestselling author of suspenseful thrillers, but he told Mary Calvi that his new novel of dramatic fiction is one that he's wanted to write for years.

In the 1990s, Searles was hired by legendary magazine Editor-In-Chief Helen Gurley Brown to work at Cosmopolitan magazine. He stayed there for more than 20 years and became a top editor.

His new book, "Single Girls," reimagines Brown in the 1960s, fresh off the success of her book "Sex and the Single Girl," and tasked with turning around the failing Cosmopolitan. She and her female team produced a daring publication, with shocking stories for the times, that challenged society's norms for women and changed culture.

Searles told Mary that "Single Girls" is his love letter to Brown and women's magazines. He also shared the harsh note that he accidentally received after an early book was rejected, and how it propelled his writing career.

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Audio From SINGLE GIRLS by John Searles. Copyright © 2026 by John Searles. Reprinted by permission of Mariner Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

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Abigail Savitch-Lew took a long, deep dive researching the history of her family and the history of a community in Brooklyn to write her debut novel "Livonia Chow Mein." She spent a decade crafting the story of a Chinese family who owns a restaurant in Brownsville and the restaurant's impact on Black and Jewish residents over the course of 100 years.

The novel explores how the changing times impact each generation of the family and the wellbeing of the neighborhood. "Livonia Chow Mein" received starred reviews and it was voted a Club Calvi Readers' Choice.

Savitch-Lew talked with Mary and answered questions from readers about what she learned about relations among people from different cultures, prejudice, and how residents and other writers were crucial to her storytelling.

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Daniel Silva is on a publishing streak that most authors can only dream about: all of his novels have been New York Times and international bestsellers.

He talked to Mary Calvi about his latest book, "Ransom," his 29th novel and the 26th featuring Gabriel Allon, the art restorer and master spy who is pulled back into the life he thought he left behind.

In Allon, Silva created one of the most popular characters in contemporary fiction. But Silva told Mary that as he's writing, he keeps his stories secret from everyone but his wife.

"Ransom" centers on the disappearance of the wife of a British billionaire, melding kidnapping and global intrigue with security threats facing the world today. Silva talked with Mary about his rigorous writing habits to publish a new book every July and how he treasures meeting readers on his book tours.

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