On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Ron Block welcome #1 New York Times bestselling author Jess Walter to discuss his propulsive new novel So Far Gone, a hilarious, empathetic, and brilliantly provocative adventure through life in modern America, about a reclusive journalist forced back into the world to rescue his kidnapped grandchildren. Jess Walter is the author of eleven books published in 34 languages. His other novels include the #1 New York Times bestseller Beautiful Ruins and the NEA Big Read, The Cold Millions; The Zero, finalist for the National Book Award; and Citizen Vince, winner of the Edgar Award. His short fiction, collected in The Angel of Rome and We Live in Water, has won the O. Henry Prize, the Pushcart Prize and appeared three times in Best American Short Stories. He joins us from his hometown of Spokane, Washington to discuss So Far Gone, which has received wall-to-wall starred reviews and been named to best-of and most-anticipated lists by Vogue, Amazon, the Washington Post, the LA Times, the New York Times, and Oprah’s Book Club among others.
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46:45
Friends & Fiction with Julie Clark
On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews & Kristy Woodson Harvey welcome New York Times bestselling author Julie Clark to discuss her dazzling new thriller, The Ghostwriter. Julie is the NYT-bestselling author of The Ones We Choose, The Last Flight, and The Lies I Tell. Her debut, The Ones We Choose, was published in 2018 and has been optioned for television by Lionsgate. The Last Flight was a #1 international bestseller and an Amazon Best Book of the Year that has been translated into more than twenty languages, earning a trifecta of starred trade reviews and picks from Indie Next and Library Reads. We are so excited to talk to Julie about The Ghostwriter (Sourcebooks, June 3), an instant NYT-bestseller and Book of the Month Club pick that Booklist called it “a riveting, five-star read” in a starred review.
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30:20
Friends & Fiction with Kristin Harmel
On this episode, the full F&F family gathers to welcome this month’s F&F Featured Author, New York Times bestselling novelist and F&F'smvery own Kristin Harmel to discuss her electrifying new novel, our June 2025 Pick of the Month, The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau, about two jewel thieves, a priceless bracelet that disappears in 1940s Paris, and a quest for answers in a decades-old murder. Kristin is the New York Times, USA Today, and #1 internationally bestselling author of more than a dozen novels including The Forest of Vanishing Stars, The Book of Lost Names, The Room on Rue Amélie, and The Sweetness of Forgetting. Her books are published in more than thirty languages and are sold all over the world, and many of them have been optioned for film and television. Prior to her first book being published in 2006, Kristin had a long magazine writing career, primarily at PEOPLE magazine, and was a frequent contributor to the national television morning show The Daily Buzz. She joins us from her home in Orlando, Florida before embarking on a 2-week book tour to discuss this “dazzling diamond of a novel” (Hazel Gaynor) that Fiona Davis calls “joyous and ultimately triumphant.”
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53:45
The Frieds & Fiction Beach Party Official Kick-Off to Summer 2025
On this episode, Meg Walker and Mary Kay Andrews (Summers at the Saint, new in paperback 6/3) welcome 6 author guests, all with new summer reads hitting this season. We invited Annabel Monaghan (It’s a Love Story, 5/27), Martha Hall Kelly (The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club, 5/27), Meg Mitchell Moore (Mansion Beach, 5/27), Amy Mason Doan (The California Dreamers, 4/8), Wendy Francis (Betting on Good, 5/1), and Brooke Lea Foster (Our Last Vineyard Summer, 7/1) to join us for a festive kick-off to summer where we learn all about each of their new books, chat about beach reads, and engage in a fun summer-themed lightning round.
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1:02:04
Friends & Fiction with Kristina McMorris
On this episode, Kristin Harmel & Patti Callahan Henry welcome New York Times bestselling author Kristina McMorris to discuss her latest work of historical fiction, THE GIRLS OF GOOD FORTUNE, which shines a light on shocking events surrounding Portland's dark history. Kristina is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of two novellas and seven historical novels, including the million-copy bestseller SOLD ON A MONDAY. The recipient of more than twenty national literary awards, she previously hosted weekly TV shows for Warner Bros. and an ABC affiliate, beginning at age nine with an Emmy Award-winning program. Kristina joins us from her home near Portland, Oregon, to discuss THE GIRLS OF GOOD FORTUNE (Sourcebooks, May 20), a gripping novel of love, lore, and betrayal which has been called a “page-turning, propulsive read,” by Fiona Davis and “a captivating blend of intrigue and heart,” by Jean Kwok.
We're four bestselling novelists and friends whose common love of reading, writing, and independent bookstores bound us together. Now we want to share and celebrate stories—of the books we’ve written, the ones we’re reading now, and the art of writing—with each other and the guest authors we invite to join us. If you love books and are curious about the writing world, you’re in the right place.
USA