In this interview, I chat with Joanna Miller about The Eights, creating a strong sense of place, how she decided to write this book, her focus on the small details, including the Timeline, Glossary, and Author's Note at the end of the book, her covers and all of the meaning in them, incorporating eights throughout the book, and much more.

Joanna's recommended read is Mere by Danielle Giles.

Looking for some great winter reads? Check out my printable 17-page 2025 Winter Reading Guide with 45 new titles vetted by me that will provide great entertainment this winter. I also include mystery series recommendations, new releases in a next-in-the-series section and fiction and nonfiction pairings.

Want to know which new titles are publishing in January - May of 2025? Check out our third Literary Lookbook which contains a comprehensive but not exhaustive list all in one place so you can plan ahead.    

The Eights can be purchased at my Bookshop storefront.     

Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Threads. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mary Webber O'Malley and Pamela Klinger-Horn join me to recommend their favorites reads of the second quarter of 2025.

April:

I See You've Called in Dead by John Kenney

May:

Speak to Me of Home by Jeanine Cummins

Shop Girls by Jessica Anya Blau

The River Is Waiting by Wally Lamb

It's a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan

We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough

June:

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark

Far and Away by Amy Poeppel

Hazel Says No by Jessica Berger Gross

Making Friends Can Be Murder by Kathleen West

Welcome to Murder Week by Karen Dukess

Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady 

April:

The Seven O'Clock Club by Amelia Ireland

Rabbit Moon by Jennifer Haigh

The Edge of Yesterday by Rita Woods

The Guilt Pill by Saumya Dave

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

May:

Austen at Sea by Natalie Jenner

My Friends by Fredrik Backman

The Red House by Mary Morris

The Love Haters by Katherine Center

Aftertaste by Daria Lavelle

June:

How to Lose Your Mother by Molly Jong-Fast

Finding Grace by Loretta Rothschild

Looking for some great winter reads? Check out my printable 17-page 2025 Winter Reading Guide with 45 new titles vetted by me that will provide great entertainment this winter. I also include mystery series recommendations, new releases in a next-in-the-series section and fiction and nonfiction pairings.

Want to know which new titles are publishing in January - May of 2025? Check out our third Literary Lookbook which contains a comprehensive but not exhaustive list all in one place so you can plan ahead.     

Support the podcast by joining my Patreon.  Other ways to support the podcast can be found here.    

Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and Twitter. 

Mary's social media handles: Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and Twitter.

Pamela's social media handles: Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this interview, I chat with Belinda Bauer about The Impossible Thing, the world of rare bird egg collecting, how hard it was to find information on this subject matter and why, how she characterizes the book, the title and cover, what surprised her the most when writing this one, and much more.

Belinda's recommended reads are:

Looking for some great winter reads? Check out my printable 17-page 2025 Winter Reading Guide with 45 new titles vetted by me that will provide great entertainment this winter. I also include mystery series recommendations, new releases in a next-in-the-series section and fiction and nonfiction pairings.

Want to know which new titles are publishing in January - May of 2025? Check out our third Literary Lookbook which contains a comprehensive but not exhaustive list all in one place so you can plan ahead.    

The Impossible Thing can be purchased at my Bookshop storefront.     

Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Threads. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kelly Hooker joins me for the March's Real Time Reading episode where we highlight our current, past and upcoming reads.

Last: 

Too Old for This by Samantha Downing

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

Now:

Notes on Infinity by Austin Taylor

Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds by Allison Brennan

Next:

Slanting Towards the Sea by Lidija Hilje

The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb

DNFs or Didn't Like:

The Compound by Aisling Rawle

Book Mail Highlights:

Everyone is Lying to You by Jo Piazza 

The Marigold Cottage Murder Collective by Jo Nichols

Last:

Let’s Make a Scene by Laura Wood 

Park Avenue by Renee Adhieh 

Now:

Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd 

June in the Garden by Eleanor Wilde 

Next:

The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff 

My Friends by Fredrik Backman 

DNFs or Didn’t Like:

Inner Space by Jakob Szamalek  

Hazel Says No by Jessica Berger Gross  

Book Mail Highlights: 

The Summer We Ran by Audrey Ingram 

Our Last Vineyard Summer by Brooke Lea Foster  

Want to know which new titles are publishing in January - May of 2025? Check out our third Literary Lookbookwhich contains a comprehensive but not exhaustive list all in one place so you can plan ahead.     

Join my Patreon group to support the podcast.  Other ways to support the podcast can be found here.    

Connect with Kelly Hooker on Instagram.

Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Threads. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this interview, I chat with Elise Hooper about The Library of Lost Dollhouses, how she decided to write about dollhouses, her great-grandmother's dollhouse and what it has taught her, her focus on women lost to history, her research for this novel, connecting timelines together, her title and cover, and much more.

Elise's recommended reads are:

Looking for some great winter reads? Check out my printable 17-page 2025 Winter Reading Guide with 45 new titles vetted by me that will provide great entertainment this winter. I also include mystery series recommendations, new releases in a next-in-the-series section and fiction and nonfiction pairings.

Want to know which new titles are publishing in January - May of 2025? Check out our third Literary Lookbook which contains a comprehensive but not exhaustive list all in one place so you can plan ahead.    

The Library of Lost Dollhouses can be purchased at my Bookshop storefront.     

Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Threads. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this interview, I chat with Nicholas Binge about Dissolution, coming up with his stellar ending, his writing process, pursuing how memory works and what loss of memory can do, balancing the science fiction elements with storytelling, the love story at the heart of the book, his title and cover, and much more.

Nick's recommended reads are:

Looking for some great winter reads? Check out my printable 17-page 2025 Winter Reading Guide with 45 new titles vetted by me that will provide great entertainment this winter. I also include mystery series recommendations, new releases in a next-in-the-series section and fiction and nonfiction pairings.

Want to know which new titles are publishing in January - May of 2025? Check out our third Literary Lookbook which contains a comprehensive but not exhaustive list all in one place so you can plan ahead.    

Dissolution can be purchased at my Bookshop storefront.     

Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Threads. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this interview, I chat with Shara Moon about Let Us March On, highlighting an unsung heroine, her research, bringing Lizzie McDuffie to life, deciding what and what not top include, what surprised her the most when writing this one, and much more.

Shara's recommended reads are:

Looking for some great winter reads? Check out my printable 17-page 2025 Winter Reading Guide with 45 new titles vetted by me that will provide great entertainment this winter. I also include mystery series recommendations, new releases in a next-in-the-series section and fiction and nonfiction pairings.

Want to know which new titles are publishing in January - May of 2025? Check out our third Literary Lookbook which contains a comprehensive but not exhaustive list all in one place so you can plan ahead.    

Let Us March On can be purchased at my Bookshop storefront.     

Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Threads. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this interview, I chat with Patti Callahan Henry about The Story She Left Behind, the real life inspiration for this book, exploring how humans deal with the unknowing, digging up literary themes, including Beatrix Potter, how she determined who would tell the story, her title and cover, and much more.

Patti's recommended reads are:

Looking for some great winter reads? Check out my printable 17-page 2025 Winter Reading Guide with 45 new titles vetted by me that will provide great entertainment this winter. I also include mystery series recommendations, new releases in a next-in-the-series section and fiction and nonfiction pairings.

Want to know which new titles are publishing in January - May of 2025? Check out our third Literary Lookbook which contains a comprehensive but not exhaustive list all in one place so you can plan ahead.    

The Story She Left Behind can be purchased at my Bookshop storefront.     

Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Threads. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this interview, I chat with Chloe Dalton about Raising Hare, why she decided to write this memoir, her relationship with Hare, how her habits and lifestyle changed as a result of this relationship, our interactions with wild animals, what she learned from these experiences, her working relationship with Angeline Jolie, and much more.

Chloe's recommended reads are:

Looking for some great winter reads? Check out my printable 17-page 2025 Winter Reading Guide with 45 new titles vetted by me that will provide great entertainment this winter. I also include mystery series recommendations, new releases in a next-in-the-series section and fiction and nonfiction pairings.

Want to know which new titles are publishing in January - May of 2025? Check out our third Literary Lookbook which contains a comprehensive but not exhaustive list all in one place so you can plan ahead.    

Raising Hare can be purchased at my Bookshop storefront.     

Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Threads. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this interview, I chat with Gillian McAllister about Famous Last Words, subverting the standard thriller tropes, her writing process and how she deletes her entire first draft after she writes it, setting a book in the publishing world, taking a hostage negotiation course, and much more.

Gillian's recommended read is Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra.

Looking for some great winter reads? Check out my printable 17-page 2025 Winter Reading Guide with 45 new titles vetted by me that will provide great entertainment this winter. I also include mystery series recommendations, new releases in a next-in-the-series section and fiction and nonfiction pairings.

Want to know which new titles are publishing in January - May of 2025? Check out our third Literary Lookbook which contains a comprehensive but not exhaustive list all in one place so you can plan ahead.    

Famous Last Words can be purchased at my Bookshop storefront.     

Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Threads. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices