Laura Dickerman: Last Word (1 1/2 ounces gin, 3/4 ounce green chartreuse, 3/4 ounce maraschino liqueur, 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice, Luxardo cherry)

Laura tells some George Plimpton stories from her days as an intern at the Paris Review that inspired, in part, her debut novel HOT DESK, discusses some of the important differences in the publishing world during the 1980s and present day, reveals that the idea for her novel was a sentence in an email from her editor/publisher brother, identifies her favorite books to teach her high school English classes, and shares 3 pieces of advice for anyone trying to write their debut novel.

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Ken Follett (champagne)

Ken names the #1 event in history that he wishes he could witness (hint: it occurred in 16th century London), declares the worst century in history to be alive, describes the secret door to his home library/office and the reason he uses three computer screens concurrently in his writing process, lists his favorite writers, and makes the offer to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce that he and his rock band will play their wedding for free.

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Megan Abbott: gimlet (2 1/2 ounces gin, 1/2 ounce lime juice, dash simple syrup, garnish with lime wheel)

Megan names Detroit’s best quality, shares her love and analysis of the hard boiled crime fiction of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, discusses the differences between writing for film and writing a novel, describes her first encounter with novelist James Ellroy, reveals her fandom of Dateline and Keith Morrison, and hints at some upcoming projects.

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Megan Marshall: Caipirinha (lime, sugar, cachaca)

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for biography, Megan discusses the distinctions between biography and narrative history, her frustration with historical fiction that is irresponsible and inconsistent with the historical record, her own transition from poetry to biography and the mentors who helped along the way, the evolving notion of feminism, and her favorite book from childhood that she often rereads. 

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Jennifer Egan, Jay McInerney, David Grann: (Crystal)

Jenny, Jay and David create the Best List of the best books, discuss the stylistic and structural reasons why they love these books, and tell insider stories connected to the books on the list and the authors who wrote them.  

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Montel Williams: sparkling water with cranberry juice  

Montel reveals the worst thing about being deployed on a submarine, explains how Tom Clancy angered the US Navy with his book THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, describes some of the riveting naval scenes in his book that involve the aircraft carrier INTREPID as well as the much earlier US Navy ship INTREPID (1798) that fought Barbary pirates, recounts the guest he finds most memorable from the Montel Williams Show. 

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Carl Hiaasen: gin & tonic (Barr Hill gin, tonic, lime wedge)

Carl discusses the talented Vince Vaughn and how he will forever more inhabit the character Yancy, tells how his surroundings in Florida have changed so much since the time of his youth and why that has inspired him to make Florida a recurring ‘character’ in his novels, reveals a time that he was nearly eaten by an alligator while floating on an inner tube, shares incredible personal stories with Jimmy Buffett and Warren Zevon, names the book that expanded for him what can be possible to do in a novel, and offers an important piece of advice especially if you live in Florida.

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Chris Pavone: Americano (Campari, sweet vermouth, club soda, orange twist)

Chris discusses his early career experiences in publishing meetings with Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis and what her work meant to him and other colleagues, the gifts his wife possesses that made her a great CEO for Penguin Random House and that also guided him to a writing career upon recognizing he did not possess those gifts, how his life as an expat inspired his debut novel THE EXPAT, how the first drafts of his novels might end personal friendships unless his wife makes some edits, the importance of writing down the flap copy of your life. 

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J.D. Barker: White Russian (2 ounces vodka, 1 ounce Kahlua, 1 ounce heavy cream)

J.D. talks about how he stalked and then connected with Stephen King, how his partnership with James Patterson has changed his writing method, the way he has turned his Asperger Syndrome into his secret weapon for writing novels, the landmark publishing imprint of his own within Simon & Schuster and how he worked with CEO Jonathan Karp and the private equity firm KKR to establish the business model for it, the pros and cons of independent publishing and traditional publishing, the remote island that is the setting for his latest ‘Chiller’ novel as well as is the setting for his real life.

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David Baldacci: sparkling water

David names the two most underrated thriller writers, describes the way that planning-then-writing a novel can be similar to Tom Brady practicing-then-playing a football game, reveals the mystery books from his childhood that made him love reading, tells of a peak moment of dejection when he doubted he could ever become a writer, shares the story of a bizarre book signing event, talks about the fragile ‘ecosystem of literature’ and offers a terrific piece of advice.

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