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.

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. 

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.  

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. 

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.

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. 

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.

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.

Marcy Dermansky: House of Balloons (2 ounces vodka, 1 ounce Aperol, 1/2 ounce lemon juice, 1/2 ounce grapefruit juice, simple syrup, top with club soda)

Marcy talks about the struggles of a working writer including waiting in an unemployment line in New York while holding her newborn baby the week of publication of her novel, her isolating move to Germany and her return to New York where she was a more productive writer, how publishing short fiction can in some ways be more difficult than publishing a novel, and the fact that someone she is friends with on Facebook is the inspiration for a major character in her new novel though he does not know it

Gregory Maguire: Ginger Mojito Mocktail (grated ginger, grated cucumber, mint, lime juice, ginger ale, sparkling water)  

Gregory reveals the one book that he later realized had subconsciously guided his reimagining of Oz for his novel WICKED, shares his thoughts on the departures that the adaptations (both stage and film) have taken in reimagining WICKED, names the one children’s book that made him want to be a writer, names 3 books every kid should read by age 10, talks about the blurred line between YA and adult fiction, provides some insider details about Elphaba, discusses how his Catholicism influences themes in his writing, tells the story of the very unplanned first meeting of his husband, Andy.