On this episode, hosts Patti Callahan Henry and Ron Block welcome critically-acclaimed author Amy Jo Burns who previously penned the memoir CINDERLAND and the novel SHINER, which was a Barnes & Noble Discover Pick and an NPR Best Book of the Year. We will hear all about Amy Jo's new novel, MERCURY, in which a roofing family's bonds of loyalty are tested when they uncover a long-hidden secret at the heart of their blue-collar town. Tune in and learn about the inspiration for the mystery at the heart of the novel, how she crafted the blue-collar setting and strong female characters, her path to publication, and lots more.
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Friends & Fiction with Amy Jo Burns

We're four bestselling novelists and friends whose common love of reading, writing and independent bookstores bound us together. Now we want to share and celebrate stories—of the books we’ve written, the ones we’re reading now, and the art of writing—with each other and the guest authors we invite to join us. If you love books and are curious about the writing world, you’re in the right place.

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Fiction

Leisure

On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Kristy Woodson Harvey welcome four-time Emmy Award winning co-host of ABC’s The View, Sunny Hostin, to discuss the captivating third novel in her New York Times bestselling Summer Beach series, Summer on Highland Beach. Sunny Hostin is an attorney, a multi-platform journalist, an ABC News Legal Analyst, a co-host of ABC Daytime’s The View, and the author of SUMMER ON THE BLUFFS and SUMMER ON SAG HARBOR as well as the memoir I AM THESE TRUTHS. In the third installment in her NYT-bestselling series, Sunny transports readers to the gleaming shores of Maryland’s Highland Beach in a story that celebrates family, friendship, and community and reminds us of the importance of the legacies of our collective past and of finding one’s way in the world. According to Booklist, “Hostin has penned another deliciously soapy beach read about elite Black beach communities” and we are so excited to talk to her about it.
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Friends & Fiction with Sunny Hostin

On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews & Kristy Woodson Harvey welcome the bestselling, award-winning novelist Steven Rowley to discuss THE GUNCLE ABROAD, the long-awaited sequel to a beloved story, all about the complicated bonds of family, love, and what it takes to rediscover yourself, even at the ripe age of fifty. Steven Rowley is the New York Times bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus, a Washington Post Notable Book; The Editor, an NPR Best Book of the Year; The Guncle, winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor and Goodreads Choice Awards finalist for Novel of the Year; and The Celebrants, a Today Show Read with Jenna book club pick. His fiction has been translated into twenty languages. He joins us from his home in Palm Springs before departing on book tour to tell us all about his highly-anticipated follow-up to his beloved novel in which Patrick O'Hara is called back to his guncle duties, this time for a big family wedding in Italy.
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Friends & Fiction with Steven Rowley

On this episode, the Fab Four gather to celebrate this month’s F&F Featured Author, the NYT bestselling novelist and Queen of the Beach Reads herself, our very own Mary Kay Andrews, to discuss her brand-new novel, our May 2024 Pick of the Month, SUMMERS AT THE SAINT, a fresh new summer mystery full of romance, betrayal, and long-buried secrets. With 32 novels and one cookbook under her belt, Mary Kay has been a staple on the bestseller lists every single year for two decades running. She takes a break from her whirlwind book tour to join us LIVE from Dallas, Texas, to celebrate SUMMERS AT THE SAINT in grand F&F style. Our whole community more will learn more about the novel Publishers Weekly calls “a mesmerizing mix of mystery and romance,” and which has been named an IndieNext and LibraryReads pick. It wouldn't be an F&F launch party without some fun games and lots of other shenanigans.
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Friends & Fiction Celebrates the Launch of Mary Kay Andrews's Summers at the Saint

On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews & Ron Block welcome the international No.1 bestselling author of psychological crime thrillers, Ruth Ware, to discuss her latest gripping beach read, ONE PERFECT COUPLE, a high-tension and ingenious thriller which follows five couples trapped on a storm-swept island as a killer stalks among them. Ruth’s thrillers (In a Dark, Dark Wood; The Woman in Cabin 10; The Lying Game; The Death of Mrs. Westaway; The Turn of the Key; One by One; The It Girl; and Zero Days) have appeared on bestseller lists around the world, including the Sunday Times and New York Times, and have sold more than six-million copies. Her books have been optioned for both film and TV, and she is published in more than 40 languages. Ruth joins us from her home on the coast of England to discuss ONE PERFECT COUPLE, her latest fast-paced, spellbinding thriller coming from Gallery Books on May 21.
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Friends & Fiction with Ruth Ware

On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Kristin Harmel welcome the New York Times and internationally bestselling author, Janet Skeslien Charles, to discuss her brilliant new novel, MISS MORGAN’S BOOK BRIGADE, based on the true story of Jessie Carson, the American librarian who changed the literary landscape of France. Janet has spent the past decade researching Jessie Carson at The Morgan Library, the NYPL, and archives across France for her latest novel MISS MORGAN’S BOOK BRIGADE. The result is a “compelling ode to the astonishing power of libraries and librarians” (Marie Benedict) which our own Patti Callahan Henry calls “an astonishing novel…and a moving tale of sacrifice, heroism, and inspired storytelling.” Janet’s previous novel The Paris Library, was an instant New York Times, Washington Post, and USA TODAY bestseller and named an Amazon Best Book of 2021. We are so looking forward to discussing this latest installment in her library trilogy with Janet as she heads back to the States from her home in Paris to embark on a US book tour.
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Friends & Fiction with Amy Jo Burns

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