Karen Swan is a favorite with binge reading listeners. Her appearance on the show at Christmas time last year was one of the most listened to episodes of 2022.

So it's great to have her back on our Encore program. That's the one where people who've already been on the show, come back to talk about their latest book and for Karen it's her latest holiday special, The Christmas Postcards.

In case you're asking yourself why a show that ran in December, 2021 is in the 2022 best of lineup, it's because we have to take the stats from December 1 of each year, December 1st, 2021 to December 1st, 2022, to give us time to produce a show by January one.

Next week, we'll start posting the top 15 for 2022 and we're dividing it over two weeks, so there's not too much to listen to in one show each week. You're getting excerpts from a great range of genres from romance to thriller, women’s fiction to historicals. So don't miss it. That's just the way it all came together. I didn't do any tweaking

Books Giveaway - Enter the Draw

Giveaway with 40 romances that make for great holiday reading, including my three holiday novellas pack.

Enter the giveaway by clicking here 👉 https://www.booksweeps.com/giveaway/december22-win-a-bundle-of-sweet-mild-romance/

Plus a new E reader to be won, in total, $450 in value. Links for how you enter that plus anything else that you might want to find out and link to, in the show notes for this episode on the joys of binge reading.com.

Enter the giveaway by clicking here 👉 https://www.booksweeps.com/giveaway/december22-win-a-bundle-of-sweet-mild-romance/

And don't forget if you enjoy the show, leave us a review so others will hear about us too.

Links to things mentioned in the episode:

Links to things mentioned in this episode

Nicole Kidman film: Before I Go To Sleep, from a novel by S. J. Watson.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1726592/

S. J. Watson novel of same name: https://www.sjwatson-books.com/

The Hard Way: Chris Bonington – Documentary on climbing the south face of Annapurna.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASs95G49OjIhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASs95G49OjI.

Chris Bonington: https://www.bonington.com/

Where to find Karen Swan online

Website: https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/karen-swan/6006

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1112862.Karen_Swan

Instagram: @Swannywrites

But now here's our show.

Introducing international author Karen Swan

Karen Swan international best selling author - books for Christmas and summer..

Jenny Wheeler: Karen, you were last with us in December, 2021, talking about your very successful international career and last year's Christmas book. You've made a real, terrific story of doing two books a year, one for summer, and one for Christmas.

Could you just recap for us, before we get into The Christmas Postcards, tell us how that pattern got established.

Karen Swan: It all really happened because of me majorly messing up, it wasn't ever anything on my horizon at all, but Christmas at Tiffany's, which was my third book, had just come out and done amazingly well all over the world. This book was a bestseller. It was so unexpected to me.

It was amazing experience and it meant that there was quite a lot of pressure to follow up strongly.

At that point it was taking me a year to write a book. Christmas at Tiffany's had come out in November. I was handing my book into them for the following year in January.

And as I handed it in in January, my editor starts reading it and she said, ‘We have a problem.’

And I was like, ‘oh no,’ no writer wants to hear that. There's a problem with the manuscript, especially when you've just had a really big hit. And it wasn't even the main thrust of the story that was the issue.

Going head to head with Nicole Kidman

It was that in writing my book, which became known as The Perfect Present, I was writing about a woman originally with am...

Faith Hogan is an award-winning and best-selling Irish author of nine contemporary novels, the latest of which is The Gin Sisters Promise.

Her books are for grownups, feel good woman's fiction which is unashamedly uplifting, and inspiring, but doesn't dodge the hard questions,

Hi there. I'm your host, Jenny Wheeler and today on Binge Reading Faith talks not only about The Gin Sisters Promise, her latest heartfelt family story, but also because her new Christmas book, On The First Day Of Christmas.

Booksweeps Draw, Sales and Free Book Offers

We've got our usual book giveaways this week, a special book offer of 40 Sweet and Mild romances in our latest Booksweeps Draw, many of them Christmas or holiday themed. Plus, you get with it a free reader, total value, $450. (Includes my Three Holiday Novellas Book Bundle)

ENTER BOOKSWEEPS DRAW - 40 BOOKS + e-READER

Three Holiday Novellas - Kobo Romance Pick

Three Holiday Novellas free on Kobo until December 25...

Do you love sweet romance and twisty family secrets? Looking For An Enjoyable Holiday Escape?

From Elanora’s New York Christmas, to Josefa’s dilemma on a California ranch and Leilani’s Hawaiian adventure; three heart-warming novellas for escapist holiday reading.

Three previously published novellas in one delicious bundle.

FREE ROMANCE ON KOBO

Susannah's Secret - Launch Special

And we've got a special launch offer on my latest book. Susanna’s Secret, which was published just last week. Check it out now.

Susannah's Secret is on launch special - Normal Price $5.99 On sale until Christmas Day at $2.99 buy direct from website.

LAUNCH SPECIAL - SUSANNAH'S SECRET

And if you enjoy the show, please leave us a comment online, so others can find us too, but that's it for the housekeeping he has faith.

Links mentioned in this episode

Geraldine Hogan: https://www.geraldine-hogan.com/

Bookouture Publishing:https://bookouture.com/

Trish Ashley: https://www.trishaworld.com/

Penelope Ftizgerald: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penelope_Fitzgerald

The Reader On the 6:27: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25267912-the-reader-on-the-6-27

Jean-Paul Didierlaurent:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Paul_Didierlaurent

Joanna Cannon: https://www.joannacannon.co.uk/

A Tidy Ending: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59366243-a-tidy-ending

Robert Galbraith. The Ink Black Heart: https://www.amazon.com/Black-Heart-Cormoran-Strike-Novel-ebook/dp/B09QKTCYVB

Maeve Binchy: maevebinchy.com

Deirdre Purcell: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deirdre_Purcell

Where to find Faith Hogan online

Website: Faithhogan.com

Twitter: @gerhogan

Facebook: @Faithhoganauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/faithhoganauthor/

Introducing inspirational women's fiction author Faith Hogan

Jenny Wheeler: Hello there. Faith and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.

Faith Hogan best selling Irish author of women's fiction

Faith Hogan: Oh, Jenny, it's lovely to be here. Thank you for having me.

Jenny Wheeler: You've been described as writing women's fiction, which is unashamedly uplifting and feel good, and you are an award-winning, best-selling Irish author of nine contemporary fiction books.

The ones that we are focusing are the last most recent ones you've done, particularly, there's a Christmas one that you're going to talk about, but also The Gin Sisters Promise, which was published earlier this year. You've said you particularly enjoyed writing this book. Now why was that?

Faith Hogan: It's like all of my books. They're all based around where I live, so very much with the women's fiction, it's about sitting in the chair and losing yourself in the characters. Characters tend to bring me into a story.  I also have written crime and it's a very different process.

I hate to say, but it's a joy to write them. And I think that comes across in the books,

Melody Carson is an award-winning author of inspirational romance with more than 200 books and 6.5 million copies sold.

She certainly knows what she's doing. Included in that backlist is a goodly number of Christmas novellas.

Hi there. I'm your host, Jenny Wheeler and to celebrate the season we featuring authors who've made Christmas books one of their specialties like Melody.

Her latest book for Christmas is called A Quilt For Christmas, and it's out now.

Melody talks about starting on Christmas stories twenty-three years ago. She's written one practically every year since, creating stories for people who may not expect a fabulous family time in the festive season, as well as about her project to develop more of her books into screenplays.

This week's free Giveaway

This week's giveaway is my little Christmas gift to you. Three holiday novellas, Tangled Destiny, Hope Redeemed, and Captive Heart.

The link to the free download is here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/1z2rd1zjlx

Two of the three have Christmas themes to put you in a festive mood. That's a Book Bundle in the Of Gold & Blood historical mystery series

Download link: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/1z2rd1zjlx

Details for that link and for other things that we've discussed in this show can be found on the website show notes for this episode, at www.thejoysofbingereading.com reading.

And remember if you like what you hear, then rate us or leave a review of the show so others hear about us too.

Links for this episode:

Links for info in this episode

Rosamunde Pilcher: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosamunde_Pilcher

Maeve Binchy: https://maevebinchy.com/

Pure Flix.com (one company making Melody’s TV teen series)

Melody Carlson: Mulligan Sisters series: https://www.goodreads.com/series/193395-the-mulligan-sisters

Westward To Home series: https://www.goodreads.com/series/161531-westward-to-home

Hallmark movie from Melody book: All Summer Long: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10720816/

Brian Bird: When Calls The Heart: https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/when-calls-the-heart

Brain Bird and Michael Landon: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0083349/?ref_=tt_ov_wr

Marlena de Blasi: 1000 days in Venice and 1000 Days in Tuscany: Says Melody, "I’d love to meet this woman!"

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/authorpage/marlena-de-blasi.html

For Melody's binge watching: Classic Reel Channel:  https://www.classicmoviereel.com/

Where to find Melody Carlson online

Website: MelodyCarlson.com

Facebook: @melodycarlsonauthor

Email: [email protected]

Introducing author Melody Carlson

Melody Carlson - acclaimed inspirational fiction author with 6.5 million copies sold

But now, here's Melody. Hello there, Melody and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.

Melody Carlson: Thank you for having me.

Jenny Wheeler: You are an award-winning author of inspirational romance and quite a number of other genres, which we'll get to. I'm really impressed you've got 200 books published 6.5 million in sales. That's mind boggling.

How, does it feel to have got that far with it all?

Melody Carlson: It kind of boggles my mind too, and I try not to think too hard about it.

Jenny Wheeler: It's a remarkable achievement. Now, included in that as we've mentioned, is a good number of other genres, and particularly Christmas novellas, which you've made a specialty of, and we're planning to run this show in early December. So, we're focusing on the Christmas novels to start with, and then moving on to some of the other books.

This year's Christmas story is titled A Quilt for Christmas. Tell us about the appeal of Christmas stories for readers.

Melody Carlson: I think Christmas is a time when people have high expectations and there's hard things going on. You want to make it all ‘holly and jolly’ and it's not always like that.

A pioneer in Christmas novellas

Douglas Skeleton is one of Scotland's most celebrated crime writers with dark stories that meld history and contemporary life stretching from the tough streets of his hometown of Glasgow to the wildness of the Scottish Highlands.

We're talking Where Demons Hide, Douglas's latest thriller with a supernatural edge, featuring crime reporter, Rebecca Connolly.

Hi there. I'm your host, Jenny Wheeler. And in today's Binge Reading, Rebecca’s skepticism is challenged after a body is found on a lonely moor in the center of a pentagram.  A woman has been frightened to death.

But was she killed by supernatural means or is there a more down to earth explanation?

This Week's Giveaway

Our giveaway this week is a preview of my new mystery. Susannah's Secret the second book in the Home At Last series set in 1870s, California,

Get the first four chapters of Susannah’s Secret – download here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/t7i1brbmtt

As usual links for downloading the first four chapters of that book, plus all the links to this episode can be found in the show notes on the website www.thejoysof bingereading.com

And remember if you enjoy what you hear, add a review of the show to your favorite podcast site, so others will hear about us too.

Links to this episode

The Ice Cream Wars: Douglas Skelton and Lisa Brownlie:  https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/1648791

BBC Documentary on the Ice Cream Wars:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001d3jv

Culloden and the Jacobite Defeat:  https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/culloden

James Stewart: James of the Glen:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Stewart_of_the_Glen

Kidnapped, Robert Louis Stevenson; https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/325128.Kidnapped

Alan Breck Stewart: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Breck_Stewart

Hebrides:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrides

Peter Williamson and Indian Peter: https://www.amazon.com/Indian-Peter-Extraordinary-Adventures-Williamson/dp/1845960327

The Earl of Mar and the Mar Rebellion:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_of_Mar

On Douglas Skelton's reading list

Ed McBain: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evan_Hunter

Denzil Myrick: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/denzil-myrick

Caro Ramsay: https://www.caroramsay.com/

Michael J Malone: https://booksfromscotland.com/bfs-author/michael-j-malone/

Neil Broadfoot: https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/authors/neil-broadfoot

Gordon Brown: https://gordonjbrown.com/about/

Robert Crais: https://www.robertcrais.com/

Dennis Lehane: http://dennislehane.com/

S. G. MacLean: https://www.amazon.com/Bookseller-Inverness-S-G-MacLean-ebook/dp/B093VP2QXW

Lin Anderson: http://www.lin-anderson.com/about.htm

John Prebble Scottish histories – The Lion In The North:  https://www.amazon.com/Lion-North-Personal-Scotlands-History/dp/0140056459

Where to find Douglas online

Website: https://www.douglasskelton.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/douglasskeltonauthor

Twitter: @DouglasSkelton1

Instagram: @dougskelton1

Introducing author Douglas Skelton

Scottish thriller author Douglas Skelton

Jenny Wheeler: But now here's Douglas. Hello there Douglas, and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.

Douglas Skelton: Thanks very much. It's great to be here.

Jenny Wheeler: I'm in Auckland, New Zealand and it's 8:30 pm and you are near to Glasgow and just starting your day. Have you had breakfast?

Douglas Skelton: Yes, I had a very quick something to eat before we came on.

Jenny Wheeler: That's great.

Douglas Skelton: And now I'm now drinking a coffee, so if you hear me slurping, you'll know that's what I'm doing.

Jenny Wheeler: Oh, that's wonderful. And we've already had a conversation about how we might be interrupted by your rescue dog, so we don't mind if she or he joins the show a little bit later on.

Douglas, you started out writing nonfiction true crime stories,

Avanti Centrae is an international best-selling author who blends history, science and suspense into pulse pounding action thrillers. And she's here today talking about her latest book, Cleopatra’s Vendetta.

‘Born a goddess Cleopatra died a prisoner, but the cobra’s deadly kiss was just the beginning.’

Hi, I'm your host, Jenny Wheeler. And today on binge reading, Avanti talks about how she melds ancient history with contemporary politics, how history is told by the winners and why she wants to restore Cleopatra's reputation as a world changing woman.

Book Giveaway This Week

But before we get to that, just let's talk about our giveaway for this week. Sadie's Vow Book One in the Home At Last series by myself, Jenny Wheeler, free this week. We're preparing for the launch of Susannah’s Secret, Book Two in the series, next month. This gives you a chance to read Book One before Book Two gets published.

All the books can be read as standalone stories. The offer is limited to 50 copies. And it’s for a limited time, only for one week or until all the copies are taken up.

GET SADIE'S VOW HERE

You'll find all the links for this episode plus the links for the giveaway in the show notes for this episode on www.thejoysofbingereading.com and remember, if you enjoy what you hear, post a review of the show on your favorite podcast host so that others get to hear about us as well.

Things you’ll hear about in the episode:

How the story combines Cleopatra’s legacy with a contemporary thriller involving Think Tank Special Ops leader Timothy Stryker and his wife Angie during an Italian holiday.

How Avanti was influenced by popular fiction heroes like James Rollins, Steve Berry, Dan Brown, and Clive Cussler.

Books Avanti recommends for thriller readers. (think Steve Berry and Gregg Hurwitz among others.)

The power of propaganda down the centuries

The party Cleopatra threw for Mark Anthony

Was Cleopatra particularly beautiful?

How Avanti made the change from Silicon Valley IY expert to best-selling international author.

Links in the episode

Steve Berry:  The Columbus Affair, https://steveberry.org/books/the-columbus-affair/synopsis/

James Rollins: https://jamesrollins.com/

Clive Cussler: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clive_Cussler

Dan Brown: https://danbrown.com/

Andy McDermott: http://www.andy-mcdermott.com/

Gregg Hurwitz: https://gregghurwitz.net/

JF Penn: https://jfpenn.com/

David Wood:  https://www.davidwoodweb.com/

Dan Brown: https://danbrown.com/

Octavian:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus

Stacy Schiff: Clepatra, A Life; https://www.amazon.com/Cleopatra-Life-Stacy-Schiff/dp/0316001945

Deep Fake – Just how good is it?  https://www.creativebloq.com/features/deepfake-examples

 Gal Gadot - May be doing a Cleopatra Bio pic; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gal_Gadot

Where to find Avanti Online

Website: https://www.avanticentrae.com/

On Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Avanti-Centrae/e/B07TJVDLM4/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/avanticentrae/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avanti.centrae.author/

Note: What follows is only a partial transcript... hear the full episode on your favorite podcast provider.

Introducing thriller author Avanti Centrae

Jenny Wheeler: But now here's Avanti. Hello there, Avanti, and welcome to the show. It's so good to have you with us.

Avanti Centrae - international best selling thriller author

Avanti Centrae: Hey Jenny, thank you so much for having me. I love your podcast and recently got to listen to one with Lee Goldberg and I just couldn't be happier to be here with you.

Jenny Wheeler: Thank you so much. Look, you are a number one international best-selling author who blends history, science, and suspense into pulse pounding action thrillers, rather similar to what Lee does.

But today we are talking about your latest work, which is Cleopatra’s Vendetta.

Welcome to Encore our binge reading episode, where we chat to previous guests of the show about their latest releases. And today we're talking to Jillian Cantor about Beautiful Little Fools her re-imagining of an American classic from the viewpoint of the female characters.

Hi there. I'm your host, Jenny Wheeler. Jillian last appeared on the show in July, 2021, talking about Half Life the Marie Curie story, the fictionalized story of the famous physicist who won the Nobel Peace Prize twice.

You can find that in our backlist at the link below.

Today's book, Beautiful Little Fools is rather different. It takes F Scott Fitzgerald's jazz age classic, The Great Gatsby and tells of the critical events in that story through the eyes of the three main women characters, Catherine, Daisy and Jordan.

Our free book offer this week is More Historical Mysteries: Top Up on Your Holiday Reading

Historical mystery authors have joined together to offer you a great range of choices for free download.

https://books.bookfunnel.com/historicalfictionfreebienovember2022/eitpht3ua8

DOWNLOAD FREE HISTORICAL MYSTERIES

Links mentioned in this episode:

Jillian Cantor on The Joys of Binge Reading, July 2021: https://thejoysofbingereading.com/jillian-cantor-marie-curie-re-imagined/

The Great Gatsby: F Scott Fitzgerald https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4671.The_Great_Gatsby

Beautiful Little Fools: The Book Club Guide  https://tinyurl.com/eu4caf3e

Cliff’s Notes for The Great Gatsby: https://tinyurl.com/mr3ah9p2

Gatsby Movies:

Paul Rudd version: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0748620/

Leonardo Di Caprio Baz Luhrmann: version: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1343092/

Daphne de Maurier: Rebecca https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/feb/23/olivia-laing-on-daphne-du-mauriers-rebecca-80-years-on

Where to find Jillian Cantor online:

Website: www.jilliancantor.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jilliancantor/

Facebook: @authorjilliancantor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1651861.Jillian_Cantor

But let's allow Jillian to tell us all about it.

Hello there, Jillian, and welcome to the show. It's great to have you back with us.

Jillian Cantor: Hi, how are you?

Introducing author Jillian Cantor

Jenny Wheeler: I'm really good, thank you. Tell us, what's different about your book to the great classic

Jillian Cantor: The original Great Gatsby takes place over one summer in this fictional part of Long Island and it's narrated by an outsider, Nick Carraway, who's distantly related to Daisy and becomes enamored with his neighbor, Jay Gatsby, over the summer.

And my novel is narrated by the women who are in F Scott Fitzgerald's story, but don't really have much of a voice in it.

So the things that Nick tells us about that summer often come up in my novel, but appear very differently from the women's points of view.

And my novel also starts in 1917, about five years before the original Great Gatsby and then goes through the summer that The Great Gatsby takes place in.

Jenny Wheeler: And by doing that, by adding those extra years, we also get a really clear idea of those women, Catherine, Daisy and Jordan, and how they might be interlinked and also how they are all in the net surrounding Gatsby himself. And that's a fun part of the story, to understand or to be given those interconnections.

The women characters get their say

Jillian Cantor: That was my fictionalizing, the story. In the original, the women are involved so much in the plot, the affairs and the murders and the parties and the glamor all revolves around the women, but in the original novel, they don't speak very much. We definitely don't know what they're thinking.

My novel brings that all together and explores what that might have been.

Jenny Wheeler: Run us through the process of how you got drawn into taking this on as your next book. What was the fascination for you in it?

Jane Green has eighteen New York Times best sellers and ten million in sales in the woman's fiction genre with several books picked up by film and TV. Her latest Sister Stardust is her first foray into biographical fiction, telling the story of international jet-setter Talitha Getty, wife of mega rich heir Paul Getty, and their rock and roll life in Marrakesh in the sixties.

Hi there. I'm your host, Jenny Wheeler. And on Binge Reading today, Jane talks about her fascination for Talitha Getty, the woman who had everything and lost it all, and offers some fascinating insights into where she sees popular fiction going in the next few years.

As usual, we've got great books to give away this week historical books featuring strong female leaders. I've got Sadie's bow in there. The first in my new trilogy home at last,

DOWNLOAD STRONG FEMALE LEADS

Why not download that and read it in time for the release of Susannah's Secret book two in the series before Christmas.

You'll find all the details on the show notes for this episode. At the joys of binge reading dot. dot com

 And remember, if you enjoy what you hear, add review of the show on your favorite podcast site so others can hear about us too.

Links to things mentioned in the show:

The Beach House, Jane Green: https://www.amazon.com/Beach-House-Jane-Green/dp/0452295386

Mary Jane: Jessica Anya Blau: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54870208-mary-jane

Hippies: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1967/09/the-flowering-of-the-hippies/306619/

Summer of Love: https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2007/may/27/escape

Haight Ashbury: https://thehauntghosttours.com/blog/tips-for-visiting-haight-ashbury-neighborhood/

Sister Stardust Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3Fmk66fV8bBaAtTDx2LzaJ?si=wQXWe4OfQhmpKvcnLzfFxA

Straight Talking: Jane Green; https://www.amazon.com/Straight-Talking-Novel-Jane-Green/dp/0767915593

High Fidelity, Nick Hornby: https://www.amazon.com/High-Fidelity-Nick-Hornby/dp/1573225517

Bridget Jones Diary, Helen Fielding: https://www.amazon.com/Bridget-Joness-Diary-Helen-Fielding/dp/014028009X

Rainbow Girl, Jane Green story in podcast form: https://www.janegreen.com/2022/10/rainbow-girl-a-new-audio-drama-set-in-the-rock-star-world-of-1979-available-now/

Emerald Audio: https://emeraldaudio.net/podcasts/rainbow-girl/

Jane Green; The lifestyle brand: https://www.janegreen.com/figless-manor/

Good Assassins Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6TUFsoI45qbWNEZF2Wb5pr

Root of Evil podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/5pi39okDAFEW9h9d3iA9Z1

Jean Hanff Korelitz: The Plot; https://www.amazon.com/Plot-Jean-Hanff-Korelitz/dp/125079076X

Jean Hanff Korelitz: The Latevomer; https://www.amazon.com/Latecomer-Jean-Hanff-Korelitz/dp/1250790794

A M Homes: The Unfolding; https://www.amazon.com/Unfolding-Novel-M-Homes/dp/0735225354

A M Homes: May We Be Forgiven: https://www.amazon.com/May-We-Be-Forgiven-Novel/dp/014750970X

Where to find Jane online:

Website: www.janegreen.com

Facebook: facebook.com authorJane Green

Instagram: @Janegreenauthor

Podcasts: Emerald Audio: https://emeraldaudio.net/podcasts/rainbow-girl/

Introducing author Jane Green

Jenny Wheeler: But now here's Jane. Hello there, Jane, and welcome to the show. It's wonderful to have you with us.

Podcaster and women's fiction author Jane Green

Jane Green: Hi, Jenny. It's great to be. here

Jenny Wheeler: You're a top woman's fiction author. There's no disputing that you've got eighteen New York Times best sellers and 10 million books in print. But this latest book is just a slight change in direction for you. It's still very much women's fiction, but it is bio fiction. It's based on a real person and that person is Talitha Getty, one of the Paul Getty wives.

And it's based in Marrakesh in the late sixties. Now, what attracted you to this story and to slightly change in your directi...

Greek Australian author Peter Papathanasiou follows up his first novel  -  the 2021 crime debut novel of the year  The Stoning - with another haunting story, The Invisible. A burnt out Detective Sergeant George Manolis travels to Greece to reconnect with his roots...

Hi there I’m your host Jenny Wheeler and in Binge Reading today Peter talks about combining a leading career as a medical geneticist with fiction, and the space allowing his creative spirit to blossom filled in his life.

Our giveaway today is Free Series Starters in Mystery and Romance. My Book #1 Poisoned Legacy is in there along with a selection from a lot of other talented authors. 

https://books.bookfunnel.com/freeseriesstarters/2u980x54h9

And a little bit of exciting book news – we’ve finished recording Poisoned Legacy in audio and it should be available to buy for Christmas! We’ll be announcing exact dates very soon!

GET FREE MYSTERIES

Episode links can be found here

And remember – if you like what you hear leave us a review on your favorite podcast site...  It helps others find us and enjoy the show too..

Links to this show episode

Peter Papathanasiou. Memoir, Little One:  https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Peter-Papathanasiou-Little-One-9781760875596

Peter Temple: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Temple

Jane Harper: https://janeharper.com.au/

Miles Franklin Award: https://www.perpetual.com.au/milesfranklin#:

Outback Noir:  https://www.penguin.com.au/articles/3398-crime-novels-set-in-the-australian-outback#:

Chris Hammer: https://chrishammerauthor.com/

Garry Disher: https://garrydisher.com/

Adrian Hyland: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Hyland

Florina: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florina

Wake In Fright – 1971 movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mh7qZq0f_w

Wake In Fright Kenneth cook book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1533656.Wake_in_Fright

Wake In Fright – new release movie:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbS4Yt4aBHU

Where to find Peter Papanathasiou Online

Website: https://www.hachette.com.au/peter-papathanasiou/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PeterPapathanasiouWriter

Twitter: https://twitter.com/peteplastic

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petepapathanasiou/

Introducing author Peter Papathanasiou

Jenny Wheeler: Here we are with Peter. Welcome to the show, Peter. It's really great to have you with us.

Peter Papathanasiou crime writer.

Peter Papathanasiou: thanks Jenny. It's great to be here.

Jenny Wheeler: Now you built a very successful career as an internationally recognized research geneticist before you began your writing. That's hard to even get your mouth around research geneticist. But you say that you've always had a passion for writing. What part did writing play on your life when you were doing your serious academic?

It might not have even played a part. Just tell us about.

Peter Papathanasiou: I used to write a lot as a kid, read and write. I eventually wanted to create my own stories. I was pretty good at school and I became more and more academic. And as I became more academic with science mathematics and these hardcore subjects, I started to leave the creativity behind.

And for many years I, yeah, I didn't touch it at all. And I guess the way I was doing it was probably like writing letters and emails to friends and that's where I was telling them stories about what was happening in my life and things that had happened in the past as well.

I did a law degree as well and I think that helped improve my writing. A lot of scientists do struggle to write and also help my writing generally, but for many years it was mainly just I look back at some of. Emails and they were like 20, 30 pages long

Jenny Wheeler: Oh my gosh.

Peter Papathanasiou: It was just a way of catching up and staying connected and when I look back on it, it was a form of creative writing.

Hallee Bridgeman is a USA today best-selling author of inspirational romantic suspense and she's talking about her latest adventure series. Love and Honor.

Hi there. I'm your host Jenny Wheeler and in today's show Hallee introduces Honor's Refuge and the appeal of military and emergency rescue heroes. Special forces A team hero Phil Osborne returns home from the military missing a leg and feeling like half a man. Phil must overcome wounds both seen and unseen to find a strength long buried--and save the woman he loves.

And for our free book offer this week, we've got a special treat. Coming up to Christmas,  a Fall In Love Sweet Romance Giveaway.

https://books.bookfunnel.com/freesweethistoricalromance/k4ykv9h4rg

FALL IN LOVE ROMANCE FREE

I've got two free sweet historical novellas in it, Hope Redeemed, a Spanish novella that's #6 in the series and Captive Heart, a Hawaiian Christmas novella, #8 in the Of Gold & Blood series.

If you find you enjoy them, you might like to take a look at books #5 and #7, which are the long mysteries that lead into them.

And remember if you like what you hear, leave us a review on your favorite podcast site. It helps others find us and enjoy the show as well.

Links to items mentioned in the episode, including what Hallee’s reading now.

Love & Honor series: https://www.halleebridgeman.com/love-and-honor-series/

Red Blood and Bluegrass Series: https://www.halleebridgeman.com/red-blood-and-bluegrass-series/

Virtues and Valor World War II series: https://www.halleebridgeman.com/virtues-and-valor-series/

Jewel Series: https://www.halleebridgeman.com/the-jewel-series/

Hallee’s Brew Coffee: https://www.halleebridgeman.com/product-category/hallees-brew-coffee/

Reading Now: Rex Stout, Nero Wolfe series: https://www.goodreads.com/series/51837-nero-wolfe

Where to find Hallee Bridgeman online

www.halleebridgeman.com

Introducing inspirational romance author Hallee Bridgeman

Jenny Wheeler: But now here's Hallee. Hello there, Hallee and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.

Hallee Bridgeman - Inspirational romantic suspense author

Hallee Bridgeman: Thank you so much. I'm excited to be.

Jenny Wheeler: You are the best-selling author of inspirational fiction with nearly a million copies sold. That's a point for congratulations and celebration for starters. And we are going to be talking today about one of your recent series, Love and Honor, but you've got six other series and also half a dozen or so standalone books.

Give us an idea of where did you get started? Was it with the inspirational fiction, right at the beginning?

Hallee Bridgeman: That's what published first, but I wrote years ago, I was originally a secular romance author, not a Christian romance author.

I had 10 books written that were secular, typical, straight up romance. And then. I shelved them for a few years, I went through a divorce and I got remarried and I had babies and then one day I pulled them out and that was when I changed them to Christian fiction.

Six of those original stories have been published, but I redeemed them. I went in and I made them Christian instead of just a romance story.

What else you’ll hear in Hallee’s interview:

Why she rewrote her first ten books

How Hallee manages a fulltime job, home schooling two ten boys, and publishing 49 books as well

How being a ‘military brat’ has influenced her writing.

Why Hallee likes to focus on focus on ‘Type A’ strong men. and realistic characters who face real world problems.

What she tells other writers in her seminars on writing red, hot, squeaky, clean romance.

If you enjoyed Hallee you might also enjoy....

Lynette Eason's action packed page-turners: https://thejoysofbingereading.com/lynette-eason-romantic-suspense/

LISTEN TO LYNETTE

Next week on Binge Reading

On Binge Reading next week, Greek -Australian author,

Kate Parker's best selling 'Deadly' series follows intrepid lady sleuth, Olivia Redmond a society reporter for a London newspaper as she navigates the perils of World War II Europe while unmasking murderers and spies.

Hi, I'm your host Jenny Wheeler. And on Binge Reading this week, we've got Kate's latest book, Deadly Rescue, in her World War II spy mystery series.

As usual we've got great book offers, including a Halloween sales promo of dark fantasy mystery and thriller books, including Unbridled Vengeance, Book #5 in the Of Gold & Blood Old California mystery series - 50% off as a Halloween special.

halloween books sale

We've also got another fabulous Booksweeps promotion, 50 plus books and a new E reader to be one in the Literary Historical and Book Club Fiction contest. Details for how to enter these book offers all on the website, in the show notes for this episode at www.thejoysofbingereading.com.

And just before we get to Kate a reminder, if you enjoy the show, why don't you leave us a review on your favorite podcast site? Spread the word so others can join in the fun.

enter Booksweeps giveaway

Giveaway alert...If you haven’t read Book Bundle 2 - Poisoned Legacy and Tangled Destiny - Books #1 and #4 in the Of Gold & Blood series you can enter to win it on BookSweeps today — plus 50+exciting Literary, Historical & Book Club Fiction books from a great collection of authors AND a brand new eReader

Links to the show discussion

Books Kate recommends:

Robert Barnard: Crime mysteries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Barnard

Emma Lathen: Wall Street mystery series: (Double authors -  economic analyst Mary Jane Latsis (July 12, 1927 – October 29, 1997) and attrorney Martha Henissart (born 1929). The pseudonym is constructed from two authors' names: "M" of Mary and "Ma" of Martha, plus "Lat" of Latsis and "Hen" of Henissart.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Lathen#:~:text=Emma%20Lathen%20is%20the%20pen,and%20%22Hen%22%20of%20Henissart.

(Note in the podcast Kate spells their name with an "A" when it is actually an "E")

Where to find Kate Parker

Website: www,kateparkerbooks .com

Introducing mystery author Kate Parker

Kate Parker mystery author

Jenny Wheeler: Kate, you're a North Carolina USA based bestselling author, but most of your books, well, I think all of your books as far as I know, are set in the UK. So where did this love for the United Kingdom spring from?

Kate Parker: My mother had the entire collection of Agatha Christie murder mysteries. I grew up on that. And what I wanted to do more than anything else, and still do, would be to go to Great Britain in the 1930s to experience that world that she wrote about. And since I cannot build a time machine in my backyard, I haven't figured it out yet,

 I like to travel to Britain, but I also like to write.

Jenny Wheeler: That's fantastic. And you've certainly done that. You've got 16 books to your credit in three different series. The one we are talking about today, the 17th is part of your Deadly series and it's called Deadly Rescue. It's Book nine in the series, and set in War Time Britain, but quite a lot of the rest are set in 19th century Britain, aren't they?

Kate Parker: Yes. The first two series are set in the late Victorian era and the Edwardian era, so it's just the Deadly series that's set just before the war, and then now War Time Britain.

Jenny Wheeler: You've had particular breakthrough success with the Deadly Series, haven't you?

Kate Parker: Yes, it has been the, the biggest boost for me so far,

Things you'll learn in this episode

How a connection with Congo refugees in her local church sparked her interest in what happened to the World War II refugees fleeing Hitler's Germany - and helped lead to the Deadly seriesHow her Olivia character was inspired by a 1950s cartoon reporter named Brenda StarrKate wrote 18 books before she had one accepted by a...