FIRST CHAPTER FUN

First Chapter Fun - Episode 320 - JUST THE NICEST COUPLE by Mary Kubica

Listen to powerhouse, multi award-winning, nationally bestselling author Hank Phillippi Ryan read the description and opening pages of the instant New York Times bestseller Just The Nicest Couple by Mary Kubica, which is available now!

About Just The Nicest Couple: Jake Hayes is missing. This much is certain. At first, his wife, Nina, thinks he is blowing off steam at a friend’s house after their heated fight the night before. But then a day goes by. Two days. Five. And Jake is still nowhere to be found.

About the author: Mary Kubica is a New York Times bestselling author of suspense thrillers including The Good Girl, Local Woman Missing and her latest, Just The Nicest Couple. Her books have been translated into over thirty languages and have sold over two million copies worldwide. She’s been described as “a helluva storyteller” (Kirkus) and “a writer of vice-like control” (Chicago Tribune), and her novels have been praised as “hypnotic” (People) and “thrilling and illuminating” (L.A. Times). She lives outside of Chicago with her husband and children.

Connect with Mary:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/MaryKubicaAuthor

Instagram: www.instagram.com/marykubica

Twitter: www.twitter.com/marykubica

Website: www.marykubica.com

Join Hannah Mary and Hank for First Chapter Fun, live, every Tuesday at 12.30pm ET for the opening pages of a new book on Facebook and/or Instagram. First Chapter Funsters can interact with the authors on the posts during the live readings, enter giveaways and be the first to know about special events.

Please follow your First Chapter Fun hosts on Facebook and Instagram for their latest updates:

www.facebook.com/HankPhillippiRyanAuthor / www.instagram.com/hankpryan

www.facebook.com/HannahMaryMcKinnon / www.instagram.com/hannahmarymckinnon

Happy reading everyone.

Stay safe. Stay kind. See you next time on First Chapter Fun!

Hank & Hannah x

Note: read with the author’s and publisher’s kind permission

First Chapter Fun – Episode 319 – CODE NAME SAPPHIRE by Pam Jenoff

Listen to Hannah Mary McKinnon read the description and opening pages of Code Name Sapphire by Pam Jenoff, which is available February 7, 2023!

About Code Name Sapphire: 1942. Hannah Martel has narrowly escaped Nazi Germany. Fearful for her life, Hannah is desperate to get out of occupied Europe. But with no safe way to leave, she must return to the dangerous underground work she thought she had left behind.

About the author: Pam Jenoff is the author of several books of historical fiction. She holds a degree in international affairs from George Washington University and a degree in history from Cambridge, and she received her JD from UPenn. Her novels are inspired by her experiences working at the Pentagon and as a diplomat for the State Department handling Holocaust issues in Poland. She lives with her husband and 3 children near Philadelphia, where she teaches law.

Connect with Pam:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/PamJenoffAuthor

Instagram: www.instagram.com/pamjenoff

Twitter: www.twitter.com/PamJenoff

Website: www.pamjenoff.com

Join Hannah Mary and Hank for First Chapter Fun, live, every Tuesday at 12.30pm ET for the opening pages of a new book on Facebook and/or Instagram. First Chapter Funsters can interact with the authors on the posts during the live readings, enter giveaways and be the first to know about special events.

Please follow your First Chapter Fun hosts on Facebook and Instagram for their latest updates:

www.facebook.com/HankPhillippiRyanAuthor / www.instagram.com/hankpryan

www.facebook.com/HannahMaryMcKinnon / www.instagram.com/hannahmarymckinnon

Happy reading everyone.

Stay safe. Stay kind. See you next time on First Chapter Fun!

Hank & Hannah x

Note: read with the author’s and publisher’s kind permission

First Chapter Fun – Episode 318 – THE WIDOW by Kaira Rouda

Listen to bestselling author Hank Phillippi Ryan read the description and opening pages of The Widow by Kaira Rouda, which is available now!

About The Widow: Jody Asher had a plan. Her charismatic husband, Martin, would be a political icon. She, the charming wife, would fuel his success. For fifteen congressional terms, they were the golden couple on the Hill. Life was good. Until he wasn’t.

Martin’s secret affair with a young staffer doesn’t bother Jody personally. But professionally? It’s a legacy killer. Soon a reporter gets word of this scandal in the making, and Martin’s indiscretions threaten to ruin everything Jody has accomplished.

When Martin suddenly dies, it’s a chance to change the narrative—but the reporter won’t let go of his lead. As the balance of power shifts in the Asher house and on the Hill, it’s time for Jody to take control. And there’s nothing the ruthless widow won’t do to secure the future she’s entitled to. Even if she has a secret of her own.

About the author: Kaira Rouda is a USA TODAY, Amazon charts, and international bestselling, multiple award-winning author of contemporary fiction that explores what goes on beneath the surface of seemingly perfect lives. Her domestic suspense novels include BEST DAY EVER, THE FAVORITE DAUGHTER, ALL THE DIFFERENCE, THE NEXT WIFE, and SOMEBODY'S HOME. Her latest novel is THE WIDOW. BENEATH THE SURFACE will be out in September, 2023. To date, Kaira's novels have been translated into more than ten languages.

She lives in Southern California with her family and is at work on her next novel.

Connect with Kaira:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/KairaRoudaBooks

Instagram: www.instagram.com/kairarouda

Twitter: www.twitter.com/kairarouda

Website: www.kairarouda.com

Join Hannah Mary and Hank for First Chapter Fun, live, every Tuesday at 12.30pm ET for the opening pages of a new book on Facebook and/or Instagram. First Chapter Funsters can interact with the authors on the posts during the live readings, enter giveaways and be the first to know about special events.

Please follow your First Chapter Fun hosts on Facebook and Instagram for their latest updates:

www.facebook.com/HankPhillippiRyanAuthor / www.instagram.com/hankpryan

www.facebook.com/HannahMaryMcKinnon / www.instagram.com/hannahmarymckinnon

Happy reading everyone.

Stay safe. Stay kind. See you next time on First Chapter Fun!

Hank & Hannah x

Note: read with the author’s and publisher’s kind permission

First Chapter Fun – Episode 317 – THE BLUE BAR by Damyanti Biswas

Listen to bestselling author Hank Phillippi Ryan read the description and opening pages of The Blue Bar by Damyanti Biswas, which is available now!

About The Blue Bar: After years of dancing in Mumbai’s bars, Tara Mondal was desperate for a new start. So when a client offered her a life-changing payout to indulge a harmless, if odd, fantasy, she accepted. The setup was simple: wear a blue-sequined saree, enter a crowded railway station, and escape from view in less than three minutes. It was the last time anyone saw Tara.

About the author: Damyanti's Indian debut literary crime novel You Beneath Your Skin was an Amazon bestseller, and optioned for the screens by Endemol Shine. Her work has been published in Smokelong Quarterly, Ambit, Pembroke Review, Griffith review among many others in the US, UK, and Australia. She also serves as one of the editors of The Forge literary magazine.

She’s a fan of listening to audiobooks while pottering about with her plants or her aquariums, or baking up a storm.

Connect with Damyanti:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/DamyantiWrites

Instagram: www.instagram.com/damyantig

Twitter: www.twitter.com/damyantig

Website: www.damyantiwrites.com

Join Hannah Mary and Hank for First Chapter Fun, live, every Tuesday at 12.30pm ET for the opening pages of a new book on Facebook and/or Instagram. First Chapter Funsters can interact with the authors on the posts during the live readings, enter giveaways and be the first to know about special events.

Please follow your First Chapter Fun hosts on Facebook and Instagram for their latest updates:

www.facebook.com/HankPhillippiRyanAuthor / www.instagram.com/hankpryan

www.facebook.com/HannahMaryMcKinnon / www.instagram.com/hannahmarymckinnon

Happy reading everyone.

Stay safe. Stay kind. See you next time on First Chapter Fun!

Hannah & Hank x

Note: read with the author’s and publisher’s kind permission

Hurray! It's Hannah and Hank's annual Holiday Celebration!

Tune in to hear some holiday banter with bestselling authors Hank Phillippi Ryan and Hannah Mary McKinnon. Includes a special reading of the poem 'Twas The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore.

Join Hannah Mary and Hank for First Chapter Fun, live, every Tuesday at 12.30pm ET for the opening pages of a new book on Facebook and/or Instagram. First Chapter Funsters can interact with the authors on the posts during the live readings, enter giveaways and be the first to know about special events.

Please follow your First Chapter Fun hosts on Facebook and Instagram for their latest updates:

www.facebook.com/HankPhillippiRyanAuthor / www.instagram.com/hankpryan

www.facebook.com/HannahMaryMcKinnon / www.instagram.com/hannahmarymckinnon

Happy reading everyone.  Stay safe. Stay kind. See you next time on First Chapter Fun!

Hank & Hannah x

First Chapter Fun – Episode 315 – THE COLOR OF ICE by Barbara Linn Probst

Listen to bestselling author Hannah Mary McKinnon read the description and opening pages of The Color of Ice by Barbara Linn Probst, which is available now!

About The Color of Ice: Cathryn McAllister, a freelance photographer, travels to Iceland for a photo shoot with an enigmatic artist who wants to capture the country’s iconic blue icebergs in glass. Her plan is to head out, when the job is done, on a carefully curated “best of Iceland” solo vacation.

Cathryn abandons her itinerary to remain with Mack, the glassblower, who awakens all the things she’s told herself she doesn’t need anymore. Passion. Vulnerability. Risk. Cathryn finds herself torn between the life—and self—she’s come to know, and the new world Mack offers.

About the Author: Barbara Linn Probst is an award-winning author of contemporary women’s fiction living on an historic dirt road in New York’s Hudson Valley. Her work has been featured in places such as Ms. Magazine, Hollywood Reporter, Pop Sugar, Bustle, Parade, Entertainment Weekly, and Working Mother. Barbara has also published nearly sixty essays on the craft of writing for sites such as Jane Friedman and Writer Unboxed.

Connect with Barbara:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/BarbaraLinnProbst

Instagram: www.instagram.com/barbara_linn_probst

Website: www.BarbaraLinnProbst.com

Join Hannah Mary and Hank for First Chapter Fun, live, every Tuesday at 12.30pm ET for the opening pages of a new book on Facebook and/or Instagram. First Chapter Funsters can interact with the authors on the posts during the live readings, enter giveaways and be the first to know about special events.

While you're here, please follow your First Chapter Fun hosts on Facebook and Instagram for their latest updates:

www.facebook.com/HannahMaryMcKinnon / www.instagram.com/hannahmarymckinnon 

www.facebook.com/HankPhillippiRyanAuthor / www.instagram.com/hankpryan

Happy reading everyone.

Stay safe. Stay kind. See you next time on First Chapter Fun!

Hannah & Hank x

Note: read with the author’s and publisher’s kind permission

First Chapter Fun – Episode 314 – DARK RIVERS TO CROSS by Lynne Reeves

Listen to bestselling author Hank Phillippi Ryan read the description and opening pages of Dark Rivers To Cross by Lynne Reeves, which is available now!

About Dark Rivers To Cross: Lena Blackwell has kept her sons sheltered and close by her side for over two decades, working and living at their successful Maine river lodge. She’s raised them to be kind, hard-working, and caring young men—and she’s determined that they never learn of their true origin story, even though that’s meant erasing every connection she has to her own past. When Lena’s son Jonah insists on searching for his biological family, she’s resolved to stop him from discovering what is certain to shatter the peaceful life she’s built for him and his brother. Luke wants nothing to do with the search, but he recognizes that his brother will never give up and feels caught between the devastating secret his mother is desperate to hide and the hard truths his brother is determined to expose. When friends from their mother’s past unexpectedly arrive at the lodge, a series of events is put into motion that Lena is unable to halt, jeopardizing the very relationships she’s lied to protect and forcing her to sacrifice everything, perhaps even her life, to protect her sons.

About the author: Lynne Reeves Griffin is an internationally recognized family counselor, public speaker, teacher and writer of fiction and non-fiction. Her work has appeared in Parents, Psychology Today, Solstice Literary Magazine, Chautauqua Journal, Craft Literary, Fiction Writers Review, Brain, Child and more.

Lynne regularly appears as a media guest expert to discuss contemporary family life and preventive mental health.

Writing as Lynne Griffin, she is the author of the family-focused novels, Life Without Summer (St. Martin’s Press), Sea Escape (Simon & Schuster), and Girl Sent Away (SixOneSeven Books).

She writes novels of domestic suspense as Lynne Reeves, with The Dangers of an Ordinary Night published by Crooked Lane Books last year and Dark Rivers to Cross.

Connect with Lynne:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/LynneGriffin

Instagram: www.instagram.com/LynneReevesGriffin

Twitter: www.twitter.com/Lynne_Griffin

Website: www.lynnegriffin.com

Join Hannah Mary and Hank for First Chapter Fun, live, every Tuesday at 12.30pm ET for the opening pages of a new book on Facebook and/or Instagram. First Chapter Funsters can interact with the authors on the posts during the live readings, enter giveaways and be the first to know about special events.

While you're here, please follow your First Chapter Fun hosts on Facebook and Instagram for their latest updates:

www.facebook.com/HankPhillippiRyanAuthor / www.instagram.com/hankpryan

www.facebook.com/HannahMaryMcKinnon / www.instagram.com/hannahmarymckinnon

Happy reading everyone.

Stay safe. Stay kind. See you next time on First Chapter Fun!

Hank & Hannah x

Note: read with the author’s and publisher’s kind permission

First Chapter Fun – Episode 313 – THE SUNSHINE GIRLS by Molly Fader

Listen to bestselling author Hannah Mary McKinnon read the description and opening pages of The Sunshine Girls by Molly Fader, which is available now!

About The Sunshine Girls: 1967 Iowa. Nursing school roommates BettyKay and Kitty don’t have much in common. BettyKay has risked her family’s disapproval to pursue her dreams away from her small town. Cosmopolitan Kitty has always relied on her beauty and smarts to get by and to hide a painful secret. Yet the two share a determination to prove themselves in a changing world, forging an unlikely bond on a campus unkind to women.

About the author: Molly Fader is the USA Today Bestselling author of page-turning women’s fiction, her latest The Sunshine Girls has been given a starred review from Booklist and Kristy Woodson Harvey calls it "a breathtaking story of extraordinary friendship.”  Under the name Molly O'Keefe she is the award-winning and USA Today Bestselling author of over 70 sexy contemporary romance novels. Her novel Indecent Proposal was featured in the blockbuster move Suicide Squad. She lives in Toronto Canada with her family, rescue dog and the largest heap of dirty laundry in North America

Connect with Molly:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/mollyfader

Instagram: www.instagram.com/mokeefeauthor

Twitter: www.twitter.com/mokwrites

Website: www.molly-okeefe.com

Join Hannah Mary and Hank for First Chapter Fun, live, every Tuesday at 12.30pm ET for the opening pages of a new book on Facebook and/or Instagram. First Chapter Funsters can interact with the authors on the posts during the live readings, enter giveaways and be the first to know about special events.

While you're here, please follow your First Chapter Fun hosts on Facebook and Instagram for their latest updates:

www.facebook.com/HannahMaryMcKinnon / www.instagram.com/hannahmarymckinnon

www.facebook.com/HankPhillippiRyanAuthor / www.instagram.com/hankpryan

Happy reading everyone.

Stay safe. Stay kind. See you next time on First Chapter Fun!

Hannah & Hank x

Note: read with the author’s and publisher’s kind permission

First Chapter Fun – Episode 312 – ASHTON HALL by Lauren Belfer

Listen to bestselling author Hank Phillippi Ryan read the description and opening pages of Ashton Hall by Lauren Belfer, which is available now!

About Ashton Hall: “How many lives can you imagine yourself living?”

Or so Hannah Larson wonders. When an uncle falls ill, Hannah and her young, neurodivergent son, Nicky, decide to join him for the summer at Ashton Hall, a historic manor house outside Cambridge, England. Hannah gave up her academic career to raise her beloved child, and she's grateful to escape her life in New York City, where her marriage has been upended by a devastating betrayal.

Soon after their arrival, ever-curious Nicky finds the skeletal remains of a woman who had been walled into a forgotten part of the manor, and Hannah is pulled into an all-consuming quest for answers, with Nicky close by her side. Working from clues in centuries-old ledgers and the personal papers of the long-departed family, Hannah begins to recreate the Ashton Hall of the Elizabethan era in all its color and conflict. As the secrets of her own life begin to unravel, and the rewards and heartrending complications of being Nicky's mother come into focus, Hannah realizes that Ashton Hall’s women had lives not so different from her own. She confronts what women throughout history have had to do to control their own destinies and protect their children.

About the author: Lauren Belfer is the New York Times bestselling author of four novels – CITY OF LIGHT, A FIERCE RADIANCE, AND AFTER THE FIRE, and her latest, ASHTON HALL. She’s the winner of the National Jewish Book Award. Lauren lives in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City, where the palpable sense of history inspires her every day.

Connect with Lauren:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorlaurenbelfer 

Instagram: www.instagram.com/laurenbelfer1

Twitter: www.twitter.com/laurenbelfer

Website: www.laurenbelfer.com

Join Hannah Mary and Hank for First Chapter Fun, live, every Tuesday at 12.30pm ET for the opening pages of a new book on Facebook and/or Instagram. First Chapter Funsters can interact with the authors on the posts during the live readings, enter giveaways and be the first to know about special events.

Please follow your First Chapter Fun hosts on Facebook and Instagram for their latest updates:

www.facebook.com/HankPhillippiRyanAuthor / www.instagram.com/hankpryan

www.facebook.com/HannahMaryMcKinnon / www.instagram.com/hannahmarymckinnon

Happy reading everyone.

Hank & Hannah x

Note: read with the author’s and publisher’s kind permission