On this episode, Kristy Woodson Harvey & Ron Block welcome New York Times bestselling author Dolen Perkins-Valdez to discuss her enthralling new novel, HAPPY LAND, in which a woman learns the incredible story of a real-life American Kingdom—and her family’s ties to it. Dolen is the NYT-bestselling author of TAKE MY HAND (2022), which was awarded an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, a Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association, and a Fiction award from the Black Caucus American Library Association, and was long-listed for the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award. A three-time nominee for a United States Artists Fellowship, Dolen is widely considered a preeminent chronicler of American historical life. She joins us to discuss HAPPY LAND (April 8, Berkley) which has been called “exhilarating” by Charmaine Wilkerson and “astonishing” by Jodi Picoult, and which has been named a most anticipated book of 2025 by People, Harper's Bazaar, Reader's Digest, Woman’s World and more!

On this episode, Kristin Harmel & Mary Kay Andrews welcome #1 New York Times bestselling author, Nita Prose, to discuss her latest intriguing and heartwarming installment in her wildly popular Molly the Maid series, THE MAID'S SECRET. Nita is the author of THE MAID, which has sold more than two-million copies worldwide, THE MYSTERY GUEST, and THEN MISTLETOE MYSTERY. A Good Morning America Book Club pick, THE MAID won the Ned Kelly Award for International Crime Fiction, the Fingerprint Award for Debut Novel of the Year, the Anthony Award for Best First Novel, and the Barry Award for Best First Mystery. THE MAID was also an Edgar Award finalist for Best Novel. In THE MAID'S SECRET(April 8, Ballantine Books), Molly’s life is threatened when a daring art heist takes place at the Regency Grand and we wonder who’s out to get her as long-buried secrets are revealed.

On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Kristy Woodson Harvey welcome New York Times bestselling author Emilia Hart to discuss her latest spellbinding novel, The Sirens, about sisters separated by centuries, but bound together by the sea. An Australia native now living in England, Emilia has worked as a lawyer in Sydney and London. She is the author of the runaway NYT-bestselling debut novel, Weyward. She joins us to discuss her highly anticipated second novel, The Sirens. It’s a breathtaking tale of female resilience and the bonds of sisterhood across time and space, which captures the power of dreams, and the mystery and magic of the sea.

On this episode, Ron Block and Kristin Harmel welcome internationally bestselling author of contemporary and historical fiction, Emma Donoghue, to discuss her latest book, The Paris Express, a sweeping historical novel about an infamous 1895 railway disaster at the Paris Montparnasse train station. Emma Donoghue is the author of sixteen novels, including the award-winning national bestseller Room, the basis for the Academy Award-winning film of the same name starring Brie Larson. Emma’s fiction has been translated into more than forty languages and she has written the screenplays for her novels Room and The Wonder, and nine stage plays. Her next film is the adaptation of Helen Macdonald’s NYT-bestselling memoir, H Is for Hawk. Emma joins us to discuss The Paris Express which has gotten starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist and been named a most anticipated book of the year by the Los Angeles Times and Oprah Daily.

On this episode, the full F&F family—Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey, plus Ron & Meg—gather with Patti Callahan Henry for a celebration of her new historical novel, The Story She Left Behind. These live launch episodes are always a great time, so you don’t want to miss it. We hear there may even be a reprise of Friends & Fiction Theater! Patti is the New York Times bestselling author of eighteen novels, including The Secret Book of Flora Lea, Surviving Savannah, and Becoming Mrs. Lewis. She has received numerous awards including the Harper Lee Award for Alabama’s Distinguished Writer of the Year and the Alabama Library Association Book of the Year. She joins us to celebrate the launch of her latest which has already been named an IndieNext pick, a LibraryReads pick, one of B&N’s Best Books of March, a Heather’s Pick for Canada’s Indigo bookstore chain, and a SIBA Read This Next pick, among other accolades. With raves from Louise Penny (“brilliant, riveting, so beautifully written, impossible to put down”) and Shelley Read (“a celebration of family, hope, forgiveness, and the tender generosity of abiding love”), we just know The Story She Left Behind is ready to soar and we are so excited to focus an episode around Patti and her captivating new novel tonight before she embarks on her massive book tour.

On this episode, Kristin Harmel & Mary Kay Andrews welcome bestselling author Colleen Oakley to discuss her new novel, Jane and Dan at the End of the World, a hilariously insightful take on midlife and marriage in which date night goes off the rails when one unhappy couple find themselves at the heart of a crime in progress. Colleen Oakley is the USA Today bestselling author of six novels including The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise and The Invisible Husband of Frick Island. Her books have been translated into more than twenty languages, have been optioned for film, and have won multiple awards including Georgia Author of the Year and the French Reader’s Prize. A former magazine editor for Women’s Health & Fitness and Marie Claire, Colleen’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, Ladies’ Home Journal, Redbook, Parade, and Woman’s Day. She joins us from her home in Atlanta to discuss Jane and Dan at the End of the World, about which People magazine says, “this sharply original romp is entirely too much fun.”

On this episode, Ron Block and Mary Kay Andrews welcome #1 New York Times bestselling author C. J. Box to discuss the riveting 25th installment in his fan-favorite Joe Pickett series, BATTLE MOUNTAIN, in which outlaw falconer Nate Romanowski is off the grid and out for revenge. C. J. Box is the author of 25 Joe Pickett novels, 8 stand-alone novels, and a story collection. He has won the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, Gumshoe, and two Barry awards, as well as the French Prix Calibre .38, the Western Heritage Award for Literature, and two Spur Awards. An avid outdoorsman, Box has hunted, fished, hiked, ridden, and skied throughout Wyoming and the Mountain West. He has served as executive producer on television series based on his books, including ABC TV’s "Big Sky" and "Joe Pickett" on Paramount+. He joins us to discuss BATTLE MOUNTAIN, which Mystery & Suspense calls “an explosive, highly atmospheric masterpiece of tautly woven plot lines, insane pacing, and relentless suspense.”

On this episode, the Fab Four (Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodsdon Harvey & Patti Callahan Henry) gather to welcome this month’s F&F Featured Author, Pam Jenoff, to discuss our February 2025 Pick of the Month, her brand-new instant New York Times bestseller, Last Twilight in Paris, a riveting novel of love and survival about a Parisian department store, a mysterious necklace, and a woman's quest to unlock a decade-old mystery. Pam Jenoff is the author of several books of historical fiction, including the NYT bestsellers The Lost Girls of Paris and The Woman with the Blue Star. She holds a degree in international affairs from George Washington University and a degree in history from Cambridge, and she earned her J.D. from UPenn. She lives with her husband and three children near Philadelphia, where, in addition to writing, she teaches law school. She joins us to discuss Last Twilight in Paris, “a compelling novel that illuminates a shocking and little-known piece of WWII history—a Parisian store where Jews were imprisoned and forced to sell plunder from Jewish homes” (Lisa Scottoline) — which just debuted on the NYT list at #9 in its first week out.

On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews and Kristy Woodson Harvey welcome author Christina Clancy to discuss The Snowbirds, her latest page-turning story of a couple who flee winter in the Midwest for Palm Springs, where they find their relationship at a crossroads. Christina Clancy is the author of two previous novels, The Second Home and Shoulder Season, which have been featured on Good Morning America, CNN, and Travel & Leisure. Her writing has also appeared in the New York Times, The Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, The Sun magazine, and in various literary journals. A former college English professor with a PhD in creative writing, she splits her time between Madison, Wisconsin, and Palm Springs. Described as The Last Thing He Told Me meets Fleishman Is in Trouble, The Snowbirds has gotten raves from Annabel Monaghan (“emotionally wise and beautifully written”) and Fiona Davis (“an absolute treat”) and has been called “a riveting exploration of midlife yearning,” by People magazine.

On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Ron Block welcome New York Times bestselling author Victoria Christopher Murray to discuss her gripping new historical novel, Harlem Rhapsody, about Jessie Redmon Fauset, the powerhouse civil rights activist and literary sensation who ignited the Harlem Renaissance. Victoria Christopher Murray is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than thirty novels, including The Personal Librarian (a Good Morning America book club pick), and The First Ladies, (Target’s Book of the Year), both of which she co-authored with Marie Benedict. Victoria won the NAACP Image Award for her social commentary novel, Stand Your Ground, which was also a Library Journal Best Book of the Year. Four of her novels, Lust, Envy, Wrath and Greed have been made into TV movies for Lifetime. She joins us to discuss her new novel, Harlem Rhapsody, which Sadeqa Johnson calls “powerful” and “simply stunning,” and Tayari Jones calls, “a page turner and history lesson at once.”