On this episode of Complicated Conversations, we welcome Avery Carpenter Forrey to discuss her debut novel, SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT, a novel that explores millennial wedding culture, class, and relationships, all filtered through the ever-present lens of social media.

We chat with Avery about the development of Callie and her perfect narrator status as an insider/outsider; complicated female friendship; the connection between memory and social media; the thin line between the one that got away and a toxic ex you should probably stop thinking about; the good, bad and ugly of wedding culture today; her path to publication; and our shared obsessions like Taylor Swift and astrology.

This conversation is a FUN one you don’t want to miss, just like Social Engagement. Buy it, read it, share it, and listen to your spoiler-free chat with Avery wherever you get your podcasts!

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On this episode of Complicated Conversations we welcome Christina Lauren, the combined pen name of long-time writing partners and best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. The #1 international bestselling coauthor duo have produced eighteen New York Times bestselling novels and we talk with them about their wildly fun and smart summer romance, The True Love Experiment. 

We chat with them about taking Fizzy - a fan favorite side character from their last novel, The Soulmate Equation - to leading lady; their development of swoon-worthy leading man, Connor, and the hero archetype; the ways contemporary romance novels elevate stories of joy; reality TV and how they balanced the dating show aspect of the novel; their “fan”tastic origin story; and the ways their astrological signs make them a perfect writing match!

The True Love Experiment is literal JOY on the page - you don’t want to miss this one! 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 Complicated Conversations we welcome JJ Elliott to discuss her debut novel, There Are No Rules For This, a deeply affecting story of four women, friendship, loss, guilt, healing and forgiveness.

JJ chats with us about having one of the world’s best writing partners (who happens to be our very own Carinn!); how female friendship can provide as much (or more) connection and love than romantic partners; the ways her own mother’s suicide impacted the writing of this novel; how we want to copy her characters’ idea and start a viral trend of throwing our own funerals while we’re still living; the visceral affects of grief; and the question her therapist asked her that sent her on her path to becoming a writer.  

'There Are No Rules For This' will have you laughing, crying, and calling your best friends and people you love to tell them how you feel! It is out now - buy it, read it, share it, and listen to your spoiler-free chat wherever you get your podcasts!

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This show continues to expand and blow our minds.

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On this episode of Complicated Conversations, we welcome back Emily Henry to discuss her new novel, HAPPY PLACE. 

In this unforgettable conversation, we ask Emily how it felt to hit multiple NYT bestseller lists; we get “on the couch” with Emily (which may be our “happy place”!) and analyze what parts of herself she is exploring through her heroine, Harriet; the ways love and relationships can transcend time and universes; how our parents’ marriages affect our views on conflict and care; and what happens when new doors open in our hearts

Happy Place is out now! Buy it, read it, share it and listen to our spoiler-free interview wherever you get your podcasts.  

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On this episode of Complicated Conversations, we welcome Anna Bogutskaya to discuss her non-fiction debut, UNLIKEABLE FEMALE CHARACTERS: The Women Pop Culture Wants You To Hate. The book traces the evolution of highly memorable female characters, examining what exactly makes them popular, how audiences have reacted to them, and the ways in which pop culture is finally allowing us to celebrate the complexities of being a woman. Sounds right up our alley here at PFW!

We chat with Anna about our shared mission of examining women as three-dimensional, fully-fledged human beings and discuss some of our favorite, ie most relatable, of the “unlikeable” female archetypes: the bitch, the angry woman, the trainwreck, and the shrew. We discuss some fan favorite characters like Shiv Roy, Fleabag, Skyler White and Amy Dunne!

Unlikeable Female Characters is out now! Buy it, read it, share it, and listen to our fascinating discussion wherever you get your podcasts.

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On this episode of Complicated Conversations, we welcome Cesca Major. Cesca is a prolific writer who has penned one of Carinn's favorite novels of the year, MAYBE NEXT TIME. And we're not alone in that love: Apple Studios acquired the rights to this novel to be developed as an Apple Original Film, with Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine producing! Listen to our spoiler-free chat with Cesca before you buy, borrow and share this special novel!

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On this episode of Complicated Conversations we welcome Carley Fortune, the New York Times and #1 Globe and Mail bestselling author of Every Summer After. Carley spoke candidly with us about the struggles she faced writing this book, she cried with Carinn about a very personal postpartum experience they both endured, and she swooned with Kate about their mutual love of all things Anne of Green Gables and L.M. Montgomery. We also talked about second chance love stories, those people you meet in life that just “stick to your ribs,” being seen, mothers and daughters, and how Carley and astrology go way back. 

Meet Me At The Lake is out now! Buy it, read it, share it and listen to our spoiler-free interview wherever you get your podcasts.  

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This show is perfection, and we have a lot to say about it.

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