We’re back with our first Sidebar of 2025 and we’re discussing our renewed commitment to our podcast mission, how we spent our holiday break, and where we stand on our personal vision, goals and directions for the new year…a cocoon and a butterfly! Listen now to hear more!

The PFW Sidebar is now in session!

On this episode of Complicated Conversations we welcome Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction novels, to discuss her latest, The Stolen Queen, which she describes as Thelma and Louise meets Indiana Jones!

Fiona discusses her journey from actress to journalist to novelist, the viral Met Gala picture (involving Kim Kardashian!) that inspired the novel, and the complexities of writing historical fiction. She shares insights on character development, the importance of research, and the ethical considerations surrounding art repatriation. The conversation also touches on the serendipitous nature of writing, which we love!

The Stolen Queen is out now!

On this episode of Debut Discussions, we welcome Raz Tal Schenirer to discuss her novel, Where Love Lies, a story about the longings and lies of falling in love, the slippery slope of controlling relationships, and the strength it takes to find your own voice.

Raz shares her journey as a writer and the personal inspiration behind her debut novel; her love for reading and the escapism it provides; the challenges of creating relatable characters, the importance of addressing toxic relationships in fiction, and the complexities of societal expectations for women. We also talk reality TV and the dating advice that inspired her main character’s “Goddess Rules”!

Where Love Lies is out now -- buy it, read it, and share it (in other words, make a debut author’s dreams come true!).

We’re back with Part 2 of our Sidebar conversation on goals and we’re reflecting on the past while looking ahead to the future. What should our direction or theme be for 2025? What is calling us? We are waiting on some major inspiration here! Will Carinn finally pull Kate to the dark side of reality TV? Stay tuned!

The PFW Sidebar is now in session!

We’re back with another Sidebar conversation and since we are closing out another year and looking ahead to 2025 we return to a topic that always gets us talking (debating? disagreeing?)...GOALS. Listen to hear Kate discuss her hesitant feelings about goal setting, but then how she gets led down the dark path by goals-fanatic Carinn by the end!

We’re back with another Sidebar conversation where we let you in on our lives and what we’re obsessing over in pop culture. In this episode, we chat about the world of holiday movies (helllooo Hot Frosty and the resurgence of Chad Michael Murray and Linsday Lohan!), what makes a book “good” or “bad”, how we feel about those year-end “best of” aggregate lists, and a reality TV roundup.

The PFW Sidebar is now in session!

On this episode of Debut Discussions, we welcome Katie Holt to discuss her novel, Not In My Book, an enemies-to-lovers story that’s described as The Hating Game meets Beach Read! 

Katie shares her journey from avid reader to writer. She passionately defends the romance genre against common misconceptions and explores the complexities of the enemies to lovers trope, while also revealing the unique structure of her novel that includes a book within a book. We delve into the influence of iconic figures like Nora Ephron and Taylor Swift on the romance genre and on Katie’s writing specifically, discuss the challenges and triumphs of the publishing journey, and chat about Katie’s bookstagrammer account @readinromance! 

Listen now to Katie’s story wherever you get your podcasts. Not In My Book is out now -- buy it, read it, and share it (in other words, make a debut author’s dreams come true!).

On today’s Complicated Conversations, we welcome Catherine Steadman, an author, screenwriter, and actress often recognized for playing Mabel Lane Fox in Downton Abbey. Catherine’s new novel, Look In The Mirror, is a psychological thriller with a propulsive plot that will have you turning pages through every heart-pounding twist and turn. 

We chat with Catherine about her exploration of themes of secrets, identity, and the complexities of familial relationships. She delves into the character development of Nina and Maria, the narrative structure of her book, and the inspirations drawn from escape room/game theory stories and literary influences like T.S. Eliot's poem, The Wasteland. Catherine writes like an actor, thinking first of character and theme and it clearly shows! Finally, she shares details about writing the screenplay for the forthcoming adaptation of Lisa Jewel’s bestselling novel, Then She Was Gone.

Look In The Mirror is out now!

On today’s episode we’re recapping the pilot episode of High Potential, a crime dramedy on ABC starring Kaitlin Olson, about a single mother with three kids who is a cleaning lady for the Los Angeles Police Department and who also happens to be a high potential intellectual the cops realize they need to solve crime. We chat about the ways this feels elevated for network TV, the genre and tone mash-up of the show, the complexities and layers of Olson’s character, and why this show really stands out to us.

Side Bar on good books and Goodreads, how we move on from burnout, whether there can ever be nuance in the Trad Wives conversation, and of course, there's a little bit of astrology