Happy Wednesday!

For this episode, I chat with Brooks Whitney Phillips about The Grove, a coming-of-age set in a Florida orange grove that charts the tumultuous relationship between two sisters in the 1960s. We dive into why and how Brooks chose this place and period for the setting, how she developed our central sisters Pip and Sissy and what has lead her to write YA.

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Books and Books

Green Apple Books

Lake Forest Bookstore

Odyssey Books

Quail Ridge Books

Happy Sunday! This week on OTS I chat with YA author and psychologist Jodie Benveniste about her first novel, Never, Not Ever. In the book we join 16-year-old Tilly as she ventures into her worst birthday yet, grieving her grandmother and longing for the father she’s never known while attempting to figure our her feelings for the boy-next-door, Zack. Jodie and I dive into the novel, how and what her experience as a psychologist brought new insight when it came to creating characters and Jodie’s road as an author

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Shakespeare’s Books 

Mostly Books

Matilda Bookshop

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Happy Wednesday! For this edition we dive into the new YA novel-in-verse I Am The Swarm with author Hayley Chewins. At the age of 15, every woman in Nell’s family has received a magical gift. The magic finds Nell in the form of her emotions manifesting as insects, from ladybugs landing on the piano to a swarm of wasps threatening to burst out of her throat. Nell’s life is more complicated now but certainly not less interesting. 

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Welcome back to OTS!

For this Sunday installment we’re chatting with Julia Drake who is returning to our shelves with yet another Shakespeare retelling, Lovesick Falls. In this queer, YA take on the original play we find a coming of age story following Celia, Ros, and Touchstone a trio of childhood best friends. As with the original chaos and adventure quickly descend upon our characters, crushes are revealed and relationships are tested.

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A Novel Idea

The Briar Patch

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And if you’re in the mood for another YA Shakespeare retelling, consider checking out this interview I did with Alexene Farol Follmuth about Twelfth Knight!

Welcome back to On The Shelf!

For this Wednesday edition we dive into Time After Time the first solo novel by Mikki Daughtry. Told across two storylines and four protagonists, this novel is a century spanning sapphic love story set within an Old Victorian house under reconstruction. Mikki and I dive into the learning curve of switching to writing prose after year writing for the screen, the journey of this book and the love story of Libby and Tish.

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Diesel: A Bookstore Santa Monica/Brentwood

Chevalier's Larchmont Village

Booksoup

Skylight Bookstore

The Last Bookstore

Books on the Boulevard 

Odyssey Books

Quail Ridge Books 

Happy August!

We are starting the month off strong with an interview with Hannah Nicole Maehrer author of the NYT Bestselling Assistant and the Villain series. Book 3, Accomplice to the Villain is out this Tuesday (August 5th!!) and whether you’ve been following along with this series back when it was just a creative concept on TikTok or just happened to stumble across this interview you’re not going to want to miss out! Hannah and I dive into her unique publishing journey, her love of fantasy, and what readers have in store for this new installment of the series.

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Reads & Company

Looker Books

Park Books

The New Romantics

Will Kleman Wrote The Epic Fantasy... and The Soundtrack To Accompany It

Happy Wednesday! I’m happy to share this interview with Will Kleman, author of Bygones vol. 1 Jome’s Secret, an epic fantasy journey with soundtrack also crafted by Kleman to accompany the adventure.

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The End of The World Was Just The Beginning...

Happy Sunday! 

I am SO delighted to share this interview with debut author Kalla Harris. The Ground That Devours Us is a YA dystopian/fantasy following Ruby, a vampire slayer in training who is forced to team up with X, one of the deadliest vampires of all. We dove into the fascinating lore of this book (what other monster the vampires were initially meant to be) the journey of Ruby and X and SO. MUCH. MORE. 

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M.Judson Booksellers 

Hub City Bookshop 

Sweeter Than Fiction

Odyssey Books

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Happy Sunday! I’m so excited to share this interview with debut author E.L. Starling about Bound By Stars. It’s a space set, sci-fi spin on Titanic complete with the drama and heartbreak. We had a blast so I really hope you enjoy. 

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Grand Gesture 

Annie Blooms

White Oak Books

Powell’s City of Books

Odyssey Books

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The Past and Present Collide In Sara Winokur’s Ivory Bones: The Lewis Chessmen Murders

Happy Wednesday!

For this installment I got to chat with genetics researcher turned thriller novelist Sara Winokur about her sophomore novel, Ivory Bones: The Lewis Chessmen Murders. Within the pages and this interview we explore the dual timelines, one following a present day forensic geneticist and in the other a woman’s diary from the 1600s mixed in with the chaos of a modern day killer on the loose. It was a delight!

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Laguna Beach Books

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