Author of Chocolat, the best-selling novel that became the acclaimed movie starring Juliette Binoche, Dame Judi Dench, and Johnny Depp, Joanne Harris weighs in on her latest novel, Vianne and what it's taken to maintain her successful writing career. 

Joanne Harris is the internationally renowned and award-winning author of more than twenty novels, plus novellas, cookbooks, scripts, short stories, libretti, lyrics, articles, and a self-help book for writers. Her books are published in fifty countries. She holds honorary doctorates from the Universities of Sheffield and Huddersfield, is an honorary Fellow of St. Catharine's College, Cambridge, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Joanne was born in South Yorkshire, England, of a French mother and an English father, and lives with her husband in Yorkshire. She is the author of the acclaimed novel, Chocolat, which became a movie starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. Today, we’ll discuss the prequel, Vianne. 

“Is chocolate magic? Whether you savored the 1999 bestseller or the 2000 movie, this sensuous prequel to Chocolat will make you a believer.” —People Magazine, Best New Books

Special thanks to NetGalley for an early preview copy. 

Learn more at www.joanne-harris.co.uk 

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Elizabeth Bass Parnam queried over two-hundred times before landing an agent and finding her novel in a four-way bidding war. Not giving up landed her where she'd always wanted to be: living the life of a professional novelist. This episode, Elizabeth shares her journey and discusses her newest novel, Bees in June. 

Elizabeth is a native Nashvillian, who had the extraordinarily good fortune of having as an English teacher in middle school author Lee Smith. Lee told Elizabeth to always keep writing, which she has joyfully done. She received her Bachelor’s degree in English literature from Hamilton College in upstate New York after spending a glorious Junior year in Canterbury, England, attending the University of Kent. She visited a dozen countries during her time there, much to the detriment of her GPA. As an Anglophile, one of the highlights of her travels was finding herself in a tiny museum in Wales, alone with Princess Diana’s wedding dress. After a year working in Manhattan, she returned to Nashville and married her high school sweetheart. They have now-grown identical twin daughters. She holds a Master’s degree in education from Belmont University in Nashville, and recently retired from a non-profit, working with children and adults with reading-based learning disabilities such as dyslexia. Elizabeth is a member of the Women's Fiction Writers Association and the Nashville Writers Alliance. Her latest novel is THE BEES IN JUNE. 

Learn more at elizabethbassparnam.com 

Special thanks to NetGalley for a preview of The Bees in June. 

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Writing can be a struggle between joy and pain, but Jennifer Probst seems to have figured out how to pivot during the less enjoyable times. 

Jennifer is the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over fifty books in contemporary romance fiction. Her work has been translated in over a dozen countries, sold over 2 million copies, and was dubbed a "romance phenom" by Kirkus Reviews. Her passions include reading, horse racing, Scrabble, Italian wine and food, shameful reality television, and rescue dogs. Like some of her characters, Probst, along with her husband and two sons, calls New York’s Hudson Valley home. She released THE RELUCTANT FLIRT this summer and will release COVET in September. 

Learn more at Jenniferprobst.com 

Jennifer's Write Naked Programming can be found here. 

Special thanks to NetGalley for early previews. 

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Poppy and Kris have an honest conversation about writing with neurodivergence and other health issues, and Poppy gives the background of her latest novel, Battle of the Bookshops. 

Poppy Alexander is the author of The Littlest Library, Storybook Ending, and 25 Days ’Til Christmas. She wrote her first book when she was five. There was a long gap in her writing career while she was at school, and after studying classical music at university, she decided the world of music was better off without her and took up public relations, campaigning, political lobbying, and a bit of journalism instead. She takes an anthropological interest in family, friends, and life in her West Sussex village (think The Archers crossed with Twin Peaks), where she lives with her husband, children, and various other pets. Her latest novel is Battle of the Bookshops. 

Learn more at PoppyAlexander.com 

Special thanks to NetGalley. 

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Hannah McKinnon enjoyed success writing for young people. Then, pulled back when asked to write edgier novels, recalibrating and finding success in the adult market. 

Hannah is the author of several acclaimed novels, including The Lake Season, Mystic Summer, The Summer House, Sailing Lessons, The View from Here, Message in the Sand, The Darlings, The Summer Club, and her latest, The Sandy Page Bookshop. She graduated from Connecticut College and the University of South Australia. She lives in Connecticut, with her family, a flock of chickens, and two raggedy rescue dogs. 

Learn more at HannahMcKinnon.com 

Special thanks to NetGalley for providing advanced copies. 

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Courtney Psak graduated with a degree in Communications and Journalism with a master’s degree in Publishing. She currently lives in Palm Beach, Florida with her husband and two sons. She is a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, the National Writers Association, International Thriller Writers and a board member for the Mystery Writers of America. Her newest novel is The Tutor.

 Special thanks to NetGalley for an early copy. 

Learn more at courtneypsak.com 

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Jane Hamilton shares what she's been doing since publishing her last novel almost ten years ago and reveals what got in her way while writing The Phoebe Variations. 

Jane Hamilton is the author of seven critically acclaimed and bestselling novels, including The Book of Ruth and A Map of the World, both of which were Oprah's Book Club selections. Her nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Allure, Elle, and various anthologies. She's married to an apple farmer and lives in Wisconsin. 

Learn more at Janehamiltonbooks.com 

Special thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of The Phoebe Variations. 

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Shirley Russak Wachtel is the author of the short story collection Three For A Dollar, the book of poetry, In The Mellow Light, and several books for children. Her short stories and poems have appeared in various literary journals. A daughter of Holocaust survivors, Wachtel was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She holds a doctor of letters degree from Drew University and Professor Emerita of English at Middlesex College in New Jersey.  The mother of three grown sons and grandmother to three precocious granddaughters, she currently resides in East Brunswick, New Jersey, with her husband, Arthur. 

Learn more at ShirleyWachtel.com 

Special thanks to NetGalley for advance reader copies. 

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What does it take to become a successful multi-genre author? J.T. Ellison reveals how she's navigated the changing publishing market while maintaining an authentic writing voice and promotional image. 

JT is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 35+ novels, and the EMMY® award winning co-host of the literary TV show A WORD ON WORDS. She also writes urban fantasy under the pen name Joss Walker. With millions of books in print, her work has won critical acclaim, prestigious awards, been optioned for television, and has been published in 28 countries. J.T. lives in Nashville with her husband and twin kittens, where she is hard at work on her next novel. Today, we’re going to talk about her latest, LAST SEEN. 

Learn more at JTEllison.com 

Special thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of Last Seen. 

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Amran Gowani is a former Wall Street analyst, a prolific content creator and over the last four years he's written and produced 200 humorous personal essays and satirical short-form pieces. When Amran’s not hanging out with imaginary people in imaginary places, he enjoys biking around the great city of Chicago, bouldering with his extraordinary wife Felicia, and reading comic books with his two wildly imaginative and deeply ungrateful children. By leveraging his lifelong love of film, literature, and video games—and drawing upon his decade-plus of surreal and disturbing experiences across Big Pharma and Wall Street—he crafted his blistering debut novel Leverage, which we’ll discuss on this episode of the Writing Table. 

Special thanks to NetGalley. 

Learn more at amrangowani.com 

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