Friends & Fiction cover image

Friends & Fiction

Latest episodes

undefined
Feb 28, 2025 • 30min

Friends & Fiction with C.J. Box

On this episode, Ron Block and Mary Kay Andrews welcome #1 New York Times bestselling author C. J. Box to discuss the riveting 25th installment in his fan-favorite Joe Pickett series, BATTLE MOUNTAIN, in which outlaw falconer Nate Romanowski is off the grid and out for revenge. C. J. Box is the author of 25 Joe Pickett novels, 8 stand-alone novels, and a story collection. He has won the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, Gumshoe, and two Barry awards, as well as the French Prix Calibre .38, the Western Heritage Award for Literature, and two Spur Awards. An avid outdoorsman, Box has hunted, fished, hiked, ridden, and skied throughout Wyoming and the Mountain West. He has served as executive producer on television series based on his books, including ABC TV’s "Big Sky" and "Joe Pickett" on Paramount+. He joins us to discuss BATTLE MOUNTAIN, which Mystery & Suspense calls “an explosive, highly atmospheric masterpiece of tautly woven plot lines, insane pacing, and relentless suspense.”
undefined
Feb 21, 2025 • 59min

Friends & Fiction with Pam Jenoff

On this episode, the Fab Four (Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodsdon Harvey & Patti Callahan Henry) gather to welcome this month’s F&F Featured Author, Pam Jenoff, to discuss our February 2025 Pick of the Month, her brand-new instant New York Times bestseller, Last Twilight in Paris, a riveting novel of love and survival about a Parisian department store, a mysterious necklace, and a woman's quest to unlock a decade-old mystery. Pam Jenoff is the author of several books of historical fiction, including the NYT bestsellers The Lost Girls of Paris and The Woman with the Blue Star. She holds a degree in international affairs from George Washington University and a degree in history from Cambridge, and she earned her J.D. from UPenn. She lives with her husband and three children near Philadelphia, where, in addition to writing, she teaches law school. She joins us to discuss Last Twilight in Paris, “a compelling novel that illuminates a shocking and little-known piece of WWII history—a Parisian store where Jews were imprisoned and forced to sell plunder from Jewish homes” (Lisa Scottoline) — which just debuted on the NYT list at #9 in its first week out.
undefined
Feb 14, 2025 • 36min

Friends & Fiction with Christina Clancy

On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews and Kristy Woodson Harvey welcome author Christina Clancy to discuss The Snowbirds, her latest page-turning story of a couple who flee winter in the Midwest for Palm Springs, where they find their relationship at a crossroads. Christina Clancy is the author of two previous novels, The Second Home and Shoulder Season, which have been featured on Good Morning America, CNN, and Travel & Leisure. Her writing has also appeared in the New York Times, The Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, The Sun magazine, and in various literary journals. A former college English professor with a PhD in creative writing, she splits her time between Madison, Wisconsin, and Palm Springs. Described as The Last Thing He Told Me meets Fleishman Is in Trouble, The Snowbirds has gotten raves from Annabel Monaghan (“emotionally wise and beautifully written”) and Fiona Davis (“an absolute treat”) and has been called “a riveting exploration of midlife yearning,” by People magazine.
undefined
Feb 7, 2025 • 45min

Friends & Fiction with Victoria Christopher Murray

On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Ron Block welcome New York Times bestselling author Victoria Christopher Murray to discuss her gripping new historical novel, Harlem Rhapsody, about Jessie Redmon Fauset, the powerhouse civil rights activist and literary sensation who ignited the Harlem Renaissance. Victoria Christopher Murray is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than thirty novels, including The Personal Librarian (a Good Morning America book club pick), and The First Ladies, (Target’s Book of the Year), both of which she co-authored with Marie Benedict. Victoria won the NAACP Image Award for her social commentary novel, Stand Your Ground, which was also a Library Journal Best Book of the Year. Four of her novels, Lust, Envy, Wrath and Greed have been made into TV movies for Lifetime. She joins us to discuss her new novel, Harlem Rhapsody, which Sadeqa Johnson calls “powerful” and “simply stunning,” and Tayari Jones calls, “a page turner and history lesson at once.”
undefined
Jan 31, 2025 • 35min

Friends & Fiction with Lisa Genova

On this episode, Kristy Woodson Harvey & Mary Kay Andrews welcome neuroscientist turned New York Times bestselling author Lisa Genova to discuss her breathless, riveting new novel, More or Less Maddy, about a young woman diagnosed with bipolar disorder who rejects the stability and approval found in a traditionally “normal” life for a career in stand-up comedy. Acclaimed as the Oliver Sacks of fiction and the Michael Crichton of brain science, Lisa Genova is the New York Times bestselling author of Still Alice, Left Neglected, Love Anthony, Inside the O'Briens, and Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting. Still Alice was adapted into an Oscar-winning film starring Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, and Kristen Stewart. Lisa graduated valedictorian from Bates College with a degree in biopsychology and holds a PhD in neuroscience from Harvard. Her TED talks on Alzheimer's and memory have been viewed over 11-million times. She joins us to discuss More or Less Maddy, which Booklist calls, “a visceral, harrowing, and undeniably powerful read,” and Publishers Weekly dubs “a remarkable achievement.”
undefined
Jan 24, 2025 • 54min

Friends & Fiction with Scott Turow

On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews & Ron Block welcome #1 New York Times bestselling master of the legal thriller, Scott Turow, to discuss his riveting new courtroom drama, Presumed Guilty, which sees the return of Rusty Sabich from Presumed Innocent, the phenomenon that redefined the genre. A writer and former practicing lawyer, Scott Turow is the author of 13 bestselling works of fiction, including Presumed Innocent and Suspect. Scott has also published two nonfiction books, including the perennial bestseller, One L, about his experience as a Harvard Law student. His books have been translated into more than 40 languages, sold more than 30-million copies worldwide, and have been adapted into movies and television projects. Recently, Presumed Innocent was the basis for Apple TV+’s most-watched drama series ever, starring Jake Gyllenhaal. Scott joins us to discuss his new novel, Presumed Guilty, in which Rusty returns to court one last time to defend his fiancé’s son and to find out whether the system to which he has devoted his life can ever provide true justice for those who are presumed guilty.
undefined
Jan 17, 2025 • 48min

Friends & Fiction with Tara Dorabji

On this episode, the Fab Four — Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey, Patti Callahan Henry — gather to welcome this month’s F&F Featured Author, debut novelist Tara Dorabji, to discuss our January 2025 Pick of the Month, Call Her Freedom, a sweeping family saga following one woman’s struggle to protect her culture and her family amidst the backdrop of a military occupation. Tara Dorabji is the daughter of Parsi-Indian and German-Italian migrants. Her documentary film series on human rights defenders in Kashmir won awards at over a dozen film festivals throughout Asia and the US. Her writing has been featured in publications such as Al Jazeera, The Chicago Quarterly, Huizache, and in the acclaimed anthologies: Good Girls Marry Doctors and All the Women in My Family Sing. She joins us from her home in Northern California to discuss her debut novel, Call Her Freedom, which was chosen as the winner of Simon & Schuster’s Books Like Us First Novel Contest for underrepresented writers.
undefined
Jan 10, 2025 • 49min

Friends & Fiction with Kate Fagan

On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Kristy Woodson Harvey welcome Emmy-winning journalist and #1 New York Times bestselling author Kate Fagan to discuss her electric, voice-driven debut novel, The Three Lives Of Cate Kay, about an elusive bestselling author who decides to finally confess her true identity after years of hiding from her past. Kate Fagan has published four previous books including What Made Maddy Run, a semi-finalist for the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sportswriting; All The Colors Came Out, a memoir of basketball and the enduring father/daughter bond; and Hoop Muses, an insider’s guide to pop culture and the women’s game on which she collaborated with WNBA legend Seimone Augustus and artist Sophia Chang. Kate spent seven years as a columnist and feature writer for espnW, ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine, was a regular panelist on ESPN's “Around the Horn,” and a host of “Outside the Lines.” Kate covered the Philadelphia 76ers for three seasons and played college basketball at the University of Colorado. She joins us from her home in Charleston to discuss her fiction debut, The Three Lives Of Cate Kay, which has been described as The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo meets First Lie Wins.
undefined
Jan 3, 2025 • 49min

Friends & Fiction with Fiona Davis

On this episode, Kristin Harmel & Patti Callahan Henry welcome NYT-bestselling author Fiona Davis to discuss her latest utterly addictive historical novel, The Stolen Queen, which transports us from New York City’s glamorous Met Gala in the 1970s to the labyrinth streets of 1930s Cairo and back. Fiona Davis is the New York Times bestselling author of seven historical fiction novels, each set in a different iconic New York City building, including The Spectacular, The Magnolia Palace, The Address, and The Lions of Fifth Avenue, which was a Good Morning America book club pick. Her articles have appeared in publications like The Wall Street Journal and the Oprah magazine. Fiona first came to New York as an actress, but fell in love with writing after getting a master's degree at Columbia Journalism School. Her books have been translated into more than twenty languages. She joins us to discuss The Stolen Queen in which New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the pharaohs' tombs of Egypt take center stage.
undefined
Dec 27, 2024 • 1h 1min

Friends & Fiction Holiday Office Party

On this episode, the full F&F family all gather together — Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey, Patti Callahan Henry, Meg Walker & Ron Block — for out F&F Holiday Office Party. The gang brings the holiday cheer with a rousing round of Name That Holiday Tune, a fun game of Bookish Holiday Trivia, and a laugh-filled Lightning Round where we share favorites and least favorites when it comes to all things Christmas. You’ll want to tune in for the ugly sweaters alone. From the adorable to the shocking to the truly perplexing, they are each a whole vibe. Come celebrate the holidays with us!

Get the Snipd
podcast app

Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
App store bannerPlay store banner

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode

Save any
moment

Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways

Share
& Export

Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode