Friends & Fiction

On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews & Ron Block welcome #1 New York Times bestselling author, Jacquelyn Mitchard, to discuss The Birdwatcher, her page-turning drama that explores the beauty of female friendship; the relationship between money, power, and sex; and the very human desire to protect the ones we love most. Jacquelyn Mitchard is the award-winning, NYT-bestselling author of twelve novels for adults, seven novels for teenagers, and five children's books. These include The Deep End of the Ocean, the inaugural selection of the Oprah Winfrey Book Club with more than 3-million copies in print in 34 languages. She is also a professor of creative writing whose short stories, articles, essays, and book reviews have been widely published. A native of Chicago, she joins us from her home on Cape Cod to discuss her new novel, The Birdwatcher, which was named a Zibby's Most Anticipated Book of Fall 2025 and which Lisa Genova calls, “a suspenseful, twisty, and page-turning drama.” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews & Patti Callahan Henry welcome New York Times bestselling author, Ace Atkins, to discuss his rollicking comedic thriller, Everybody Wants to Rule the World, set in 1985 in which a suburban teen suspects his mom’s new boyfriend is the ultimate bad guy—a KGB agent. Ace Atkins is an award-winning, NYT-bestselling author of more than thirty novels and numerous short stories and, in 2011, was tapped by the estate of Robert B. Parker to continue his beloved Spenser series. A former college football player at Auburn University (where he was part of the undefeated 1993 team, appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated) and a former crime reporter at The Tampa Tribune, Ace is a recipient of the Richard Wright Literary Excellence Award and the Harper Lee Award, and is a member of the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame. He joins us from his home in Oxford, Mississippi to discuss Everybody Wants to Rule the World which his publisher calls “Elmore Leonard meets Robert Ludlum,” and which bestselling author Robert Crais describes as “unlike anything the great Ace Atkins has written before, and an absolute blast!” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode, Kristin Harmel, Patti Callahan Henry & Mary Kay Andrews welcome this month’s F&F Featured Author, the internationally renowned, award-winning, NYT-bestselling author John Irving, to discuss our December 2025 Pick of the Month, Queen Esther, which returns us after forty years to the world of his bestselling classic novel and Academy Award-winning film, The Cider House Rules. John Irving is an icon of American letters and the acclaimed author of more than 20 books which have been translated into more than 35 languages. His works include the National Book Award winning cultural phenomenon The World According to Garp; The Cider House Rules, for which he won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay; The Hotel New Hampshire, a bestseller which was made into a film starring Jodie Foster; and A Prayer for Owen Meany which is his all-time bestselling novel in every language. A former competitive wrestler and wrestling coach, he is a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. A dual citizen of the United States and Canada, John joins us from his home in Toronto to discuss Queen Esther which revisits the orphanage in St. Cloud’s, Maine, where Dr. Wilbur Larch takes in Esther, a Viennese-born Jew whose life is shaped by anti-Semitism. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For Thanksgiving week we are re-airing one of our favorite episodes from the vault! Join us as Kristin Harmel & Patti Callahan Henry talk to #1 bestselling author Louise Penny about her Fall 2024 novel The Grey Wolf, the 19th installment in her wildly successful Armand Gamache mystery series. Louise Penny is the #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Globe and Mail bestselling author of the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels. She was also the co-author with Hillary Rodham Clinton of the #1 New York Times bestselling thriller State of Terror. In October 2024, Kristin & Patti enjoyed a warm and insightful chat with Louise about her life and career. Now is the perfect time to re-air this episode as the 20th Gamache novel, The Black Wolf, was just released on October 28, 2025. So, as you’re slicing, dicing, baking, and entertaining, tune in for this chat, now with a brand-new intro recorded by Patti! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews & Kristin Harmel welcome #1 New York Times bestselling authors Lee Child and Andrew Child to discuss Exit Strategy, the “blockbuster” (Esquire) 30th installment in their Jack Reacher thriller series. Lee Child is the author of the #1 NYT-bestselling Jack Reacher series and the complete Jack Reacher story collection, No Middle Name. Foreign rights in the Reacher series have been sold in one hundred territories. Lee is an Executive Producer on the wildly successful Reacher Amazon Prime series which is adapted from his novels. Lee’s brother, Andrew Child, who also writes as Andrew Grant, is the author of six novels of his own (Run, False Positive, Too Close to Home). He’s also the #1 bestselling co-author of six novels in the Reacher universe, including this latest one. The brothers join us to chat about Exit Strategy, how their co-writing process works, and what kind of trouble Reacher gets up to in this “sure to please” (Booklist) thriller with “the best villain yet” (USA Today). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Kristy Woodson Harvey welcome Broadway producer turned author Brisa Carleton to discuss her debut novel Last Call at the Savoy, which is set against the glittering backdrop of London's iconic Savoy hotel where a young woman is forced to confront her troubled past as she uncovers the story of the hotel's first female bartender who’s been erased from the history books. Brisa grew up in the Pacific Northwest before moving to Midtown Manhattan to turn her passion for musicals and "flare for the dramatic" into an award-winning career as a Broadway producer. Three Tonys later, she's worked on numerous productions including Hamilton, Beautiful, and Moulin Rouge. She recently turned her entrepreneurial spirit to actual "spirits," launching Literati Spirits, a premium vodka created by book lovers for book lovers. She joins us to discuss her buzzy debut novel Last Call at the Savoy which Fiona Davis calls, "an exhilarating, tender read that will leave you smiling," and which Lisa Jackson calls, “bright and sassy.” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode, the full F&F family gathers live to welcome this month’s F&F Featured Author, the award-winning global #1 bestselling David Baldacci to discuss our November 2025 Pick of the Month, his new thriller, Nash Falls, in which Walter Nash’s life is turned completely upside down when he’s recruited by the FBI to bring down a global crime network. Baldacci is one of the world's favorite storytellers with books published in more than forty-five languages in more than eighty countries with 200 million plus copies sold worldwide. His works have been adapted for feature film and television. He’s the cofounder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting literacy efforts across America. He joins us from his native Virginia to discuss his brand-new stand-alone novel Nash Falls (coming from Grand Central Publishing on Nov. 11) featuring investment banker turned FBI inside man Walter Nash who’s tasked with exposing a money laundering enterprise at his own firm. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode, we air the recording from a recent in-person theater event that Kristy Woodson Harvey conducted with #1 NYT-bestselling global phenomenon Nicholas Sparks. Tune in to catch this conversation that was recorded at a packed-house sold-out event at Trustee’s Theater in Savannah, GA on October 14, 2025. Hosted by the fine folks at the Savannah Book Festival, Kristy was in conversation with Sparks to celebrate the release of his newest novel, REMAIN: A Supernatural Love Story, a book that he co-wrote with filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, which just debuted at #1 on the NYT bestseller list, and which hits theaters soon as a major motion picture starring Jake Gyllenhaal. An unprecedented collaboration between the globally bestselling author of love stories like The Notebook and the renowned screenwriter and director of blockbuster thrillers like The Sixth Sense, REMAIN is a one-of-a-kind novel that grapples with the supernatural mysteries of life, death, and human connection. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode, Ron Block & Patti Callahan Henry welcome New York Times bestselling author Catherine Newman to discuss her wonderful new novel WRECK, full of laughter and heart, about marriage, family, and what happens when life doesn’t go as planned. Catherine is the NYT-bestselling author of the memoirs Catastrophic Happiness and Waiting for Birdy, the middle-grade novel One Mixed-Up Night, the kids’ craft book Stitch Camp, the bestselling how-to books for kids How to Be a Person and What Can I Say?, and the novel We All Want Impossible Things. Her 2024 smash success novel, Sandwich, was an instant NYT-bestseller and called “joy in book form” by Ann Patchett. Catherine writes Crone Sandwich on Substack and has been a regular contributor to the New York Times, Real Simple, O, The Oprah Magazine, and Cup of Jo among other publications. She joins us to discuss WRECK, her “utterly joyful standalone novel” (Oprah Daily) that brings back Rocky and her family from Sandwich, this time in at home Western Massachusetts, for an exploration of the hidden rules of family, the heavy weight of uncertainty, and the gnarly fact that the people you love aren’t always who you want them to be. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Kristin Harmel welcome #1 New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill to discuss his new novel, King Sorrow, a chilling tale of modern-world dangers, dark academia, and the unexpected consequences of revenge as six friends dabble in the occult and are tragically, horrifyingly successful… calling forth an evil entity that demands regular human sacrifice. Joe Hill is the son of Stephen King and the #1 bestselling, award-winning author of novels (The Fireman, NOS4A2, Horns, Heart-Shaped Box), fiction collections (Strange Weather, Full Throttle, 20th Century Ghosts), graphic novels (Basketful of Heads, Plunge, Sea Dogs, Dying is Easy, Wraith), and a comic-book series (Locke & Key) which he co-created with artistic maestro Gabriel Rodriguez. Much of his work has been adapted for film and television. He joins us to discuss his epic new horror novel, King Sorrow, which Ruth Ware has called, “a brilliantly Faustian fable with a heart as huge as a dragon’s, and a stinging twist in its tail,” and which has earned a trifecta of starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus & Booklist. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.