In this episode of Complicated Conversations we welcome May Cobb to discuss her new novel, The Hollywood Assistant, which follows Cassidy Foster, a fledgling novelist who moves to LA and becomes a Hollywood assistant for a power couple where their secrets and lies place her in the crosshairs of a murder investigation.

We chat with May about the personal inspiration behind the characters and setting; the smoke and mirrors of the entertainment industry; obsession, forbidden desires, deception, and murder; how she uses astrology for character development (we LOVE this!); and the surreal experience of witnessing the TV adaptation of her prior novel, The Hunting Wives.

May is a delight and The Hollywood Assistant is UN-putdownable! Buy it, read it, share it, and listen to our spoiler-free chat wherever you get your podcasts!

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On this episode of Debut Discussions, we’re chatting with Lauren Aliza Green, about her debut novel, The World After Alice, a gripping story of two families brought together to celebrate an unexpected marriage, twelve years after a devastating tragedy upended their lives. The characters are so alive in this story and the hook of having two families come together for a wedding after their last “reunion” was a funeral is so clever! 

Lauren chats with us about her love for reading as a child, her decision to pursue writing, and the development of her characters and their intricate connections. We also discuss how the book explores themes of grief, friendship, and the complexities of relationships. Lauren leaves us with a real lightbulb of thought about twins and astrology!

Listen now to Lauren’s story wherever you get your podcasts. The World After Alice is out now -- buy it, read it, and share it (in other words, make a debut author’s dreams come true!).

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In this episode of Complicated Conversations we chat with Liz Moore, the author of the New York Times bestselling novel Long Bright River, which was a Good Morning America Book Club pick and one of Barack Obama’s favorite books of 2020. Her beautiful and complex new novel, The God Of The Woods, follows a wealthy American family who build an estate in the Adirondack Mountains. Their daughter, Barbara, goes missing from the summer camp they built, and the mystery of her disappearance is intertwined with the disappearance of their son years earlier. 

We chat with Liz about the ambitious structure of the novel, which is told from multiple perspectives and written in dual timelines; her exploration of the themes of self-reliance, power dynamics, gender, class, and duality in the novel; the use of words with multiple meanings; the interconnectedness of characters and the power of belief; her process of finding the title; and, of course, her very fitting astrological sign.  

The God Of The Woods is out now and you should believe all the hype! Buy it, read it, share it, and listen to our spoiler-free chat wherever you get your podcasts.

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On today’s episode of Complicated Conversations, we chat with New York Times bestselling author Ashley Poston about her new magical book, A Novel Love Story, in which her protagonist Elsy finds herself trapped in the town of her favorite romance series and must learn to become the main character of her own life.

Ashley discusses happy endings, writing a fictional hero to act as a foil for Elsy, why she loves a magical twist, her fanfiction roots and unironically loving what you love, as well as astrology, tarot, and a very prophetic palm reading she received!

A Novel Love Story is out now!

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On this episode of Complicated Conversations we welcome Flynn Berry, New York Times bestselling author of Northern Spy, a 2021 Reese’s Book Club pick, to discuss her riveting new thriller, Trust Her, which brings back sisters Tessa and Marian Daly three years after they narrowly escaped the IRA’s worst punishment for informing.

We chat with Flynn about why she ended up coming back to tell Tessa’s story; her interest in The Troubles in Ireland; exploring sisterhood, trust and forgiveness; motherhood and the passing down of experiences and emotions through generations; and the astrological sign that many Reese Book Club pick authors all share!

Listen now!

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On today’s episode, we’re back to discuss the rest of Hacks season 3 (episodes 3-9), a show that continues to shine with the stellar writing of Lucia Aniello, Paul Downs, and Jen Statsky and the incredible cast lead by Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder (complemented by this season’s standout guest actors like J. Smith Cameron, Christina Hendricks, Helen Hunt, Tony Goldwyn, Deidre Hall, and Christopher Lloyd). 

Everything in this show is layered and never just one thing - from Deborah’s quest to fulfill her lifelong dream of hosting late night TV to Ava’s pursuit to gain respect as she rises in the ranks while trying not to lose her own beliefs. We discuss that (surprising!?) ending and what it says about where Deborah and Ava are in their own journeys, our favorite moments from the season, and what we’re looking forward to next season. We know we will definitely be back!

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On this episode of Complicated Conversations, we chat with the incomparable Adriana Trigiani. Beloved by millions of readers around the world, Adriana is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty books of fiction and nonfiction, including her latest, The Good Left Undone - an instant New York Times bestseller, Book of the Month pick and People's Book of the Week. She is also an award-winning playwright, television writer/producer and filmmaker, as well as the host of the hit podcast “You Are What You Read,” in which she interviews the great authors and luminaries of our time about the books that built their souls.

Talking to Adriana is inspiring, informative, and thoroughly entertaining. We talked about the transportive, life changing power of reading, motherhood, being a woman in the publishing industry, career advice, her most recent novel, The Good Left Undone, and her amazing podcast. Adriana blew us away with her ability to read faces and left us with important wisdom on everything from life to the best long-wearing lipstick. We absolutely LOVED this conversation. 

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We are one month to the launch of The Astrology House, Carinn's debut thriller! Listen now and come along on the rollercoaster ride of emotions this journey brings!

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On this episode of Debut Discussions we’re chatting with Fiona McPhillips about her debut novel, When We Were Silent, an unputdownable, thrilling story of exploitation, privilege, and retribution about an outsider who threatens to expose the secrets at an elite private school.

Fiona shares with us the moment she knew it was time to follow her long-held dream of writing a novel; how she wove together elements of literary fiction and thrillers to create a compelling and unflinching story that explores the silence and denial surrounding abuse; the inspiration she drew from personal stories, those of others, and the realities of the world; why she wanted to explore the complicated dynamics of mother-daughter relationships; and her journey to finding an agent and securing a book deal.

Listen now to Fiona’s story wherever you get your podcasts. When We Were Silent is out now – buy it, read it, and share it (in other words, make a debut author’s dreams come true!).

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On this episode of Debut Discussions we’re chatting with Sarah Crouch about her debut novel, Middletide, a gripping and intensely atmospheric literary thriller about the suspicious death of a beautiful young doctor in a small town and the prime suspect, a reclusive young man who abandoned the community in chase of big city dreams but returned for the first love he left behind.

Sarah shares the challenges of her path to publication and how she and Carinn have personally bonded over it; writing flawed and complex characters; the importance of accurate representation of indigenous culture in fiction; the meta book within a book concept of her novel; how she trusted herself to fight for this title; and how she’s juggling the launch of her debut novel while on submission for her second. 

Listen now to Sarah’s story wherever you get your podcasts. Middletide is out now and it’s a Book of the Month and Indie Next Pick -- buy it, read it, and share it (in other words, make a debut author’s dreams come true!).

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