Club Calvi

Emma Straub turned her love for a boy band into her latest New York Times bestselling book "American Fantasy." It's about a 50-year-old woman who is recently divorced, empty-nested, and having problems at work, and who travels solo on a boy-band cruise. As Straub told Mary, the character discovers "transcendence."

Straub wrote the book after she went on a similar cruise to bring her joy as she healed after the death of her father, author Peter Straub. Emma Straub talks about her love of New Kids on the Block, finding bravery moving through middle age, and her love of books.

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New York Times Bestselling author Mary Kay Andrews says her books are about women reclaiming their power, discovering who they are, and who they can become.

Her latest novel, "Road Trip" takes readers on a journey with two sisters, both broke, who haven't spoken in years and who are now forced together after their mother's death. A painting in their mother's home might be worth millions, and they take a trip to Ireland to solve the mystery.

Andrews told Mary how she used her family history and the true-crime story of stolen paintings from a grand estate in Ireland as springboards for the book. Andrews also sprinkled in "some kissing and some killing." 

She also shared that even after 34 published novels she still suffers from imposter-syndrome, believing that she will fail every time. She has trick a to overcome the self-doubt.

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Fiona Davis brings the forgotten histories and dramatic stories of iconic New York City buildings to life in her historical fiction novels. Among her books, she's written about Radio City Music hall in "The Spectacular," the Frick mansion in "The Magnolia Palace," and the New York Public Library in "The Lions of Fifth Avenue."

Her latest book "The Stolen Queen," a dual timeline set in the Metropolitan Museum as it readies for a Met Gala in the 1970s, and in Egypt in the 1930s, was a 2025 Club Calvi Readers' Choice. Now, the New York Times bestseller is out in paperback.

Mary talked to Davis about her road to becoming a published author, with stops along the way working as an actress and a journalist, and why New York City is an enduring inspiration.

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Eloisa James has been called a "Reigning Queen of Romance," and she certainly has had one of the most interesting day jobs in the industry. James is the author of dozens of historical romances, many of them hitting bestseller lists. She told Mary that she wrote her books on the weekends because on weekdays she was a professor teaching Shakespeare at Fordham University in New York City.

James talked to Mary about tough sessions with her editor, the romances she likes to read, and why her latest book, "The Last Lady B," is a big change from her previous works. 

Copyright © 2026 by Eloisa James, Inc.. Audio excerpt courtesy of Simon & Schuster Audio from the audiobook The Last Lady B, read by Mary Jane Wells, published by Simon & Schuster Audio, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Used with permission of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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Daria Lavelle's debut novel "Aftertaste," a Club Calvi Readers' Choice in the summer of 2025, is a haunting story of a New York City chef whose foods can bring ghosts back from the afterlife for one last meal with their loved ones. The chef opens a restaurant serving closure, but it causes chaos.

If you missed reading the book in hardcover, it's now out in paperback. Daria talked to Mary about how her Ukrainian heritage is sprinkled throughout the book and how she landed her book contract.

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Bestselling author Lisa Unger has an opinion about authors and social media that she admits might generate pushback. She has a rare background for a published author.

Before her first book contract, Unger spent years working in publishing, in publicity, helping authors spread the word about their books. She shared with Mary her advice for aspiring authors, how she discovers her characters as she's writing them on the page, being an introvert, and the inspiration for her latest book, the instant bestseller, "Served Him Right."

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New York Times bestselling author Laurie Gilmore says she never dreamed of becoming an author. The first thought of writing a story came to her while she was pushing her children on a swing. While that story was not published, Gilmore's first book in her small-town Dream Harbor series, "The Pumpkin Spice Cafe," became a social media sensation.

Gilmore talked to Mary about the latest book in the series "The Daisy Chain Flower Shop," and how behind the sweet and cozy covers of her books she sprinkles spice in the pages.

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Tiffany L. Warren is bringing to light the little-known story of love, scandal, and coming of age for the woman who was the most famous Black debutante of the Harlem Renaissance in a new novel "A Harlem Wedding." As the daughter of civil rights icon W.E.B. Du Bois, Yolande Du Bois was at the top of Harlem's elite. The local newspapers tracked her movements. Her father dictated every aspect of her life, but they clashed about her love life. While Yolande loved one man, she married the man her father chose for her.

Warren told Mary that while Yolande's wedding to famous poet Countee Cullen was a social event of the year, the marriage was doomed from the start. Warren also talked about the surprising finds in her research.

Audio excerpt courtesy of William Morrow.

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Club Calvi is celebrating the paperback publication of "The View from Lake Como" by Adriana Trigiani, a Club Calvi 2025 Readers' Choice.

The hardcover edition was an instant New York Times bestseller. The novel is about Giuseppina, a dutiful daughter in Lake Como, New Jersey, who is recently divorced and living in her parents' basement. When her family suffers an unexpected loss, she moves to Italy to carve a new life and possible love for herself.

Mary and Adriana met up at Patsy's Italian Restaurant, a New York culinary institution, to talk about their shared experiences growing up in an Italian family, and how Giuseppina came to life on the pages of the book.

Audio excerpted with permission of Penguin Random House Audio from THE VIEW FROM LAKE COMO by Adriana Trigiani, read by Mira Sorvino. © Adriana Trigiani ℗ 2025 Penguin Random House, LLC. All rights reserved.

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James Patterson is perhaps the most popular author of our time with more than 300 million books sold worldwide. He includes Dolly Parton and Viola Davis among his co-authors, but Susan Patterson holds a special place.

After nearly 30 years of marriage, James and Susan have released their new novel "The Mother-Daughter Book Club." It's about the reunion of four friends and their daughters in Italy to talk about books, life, and secrets.

Susan told Mary how she and James came up with the story, and their trip to Lake Como to live the experiences in the book. James shared the motto that's been driving him for the last few years and how writing with his wife is a beautiful thing.

Audiobook used with permission from James and Susan Patterson and Hachette Audio, all rights reserved.

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