Friends & Fiction

On tonight’s LIVE episode, we meet Angie Kim!After moving from Seoul, South Korea, to the suburbs of Baltimore as a pre-teen, Angie Kim earned a philosophy degree from Stanford and attended Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Her debut novel, MIRACLE CREEK, won the Edgar Award and the ITW Thriller Award, and was named one of the 100 best mysteries and thrillers of all time by Time, and one of the best books of the year by Time, The Washington Post, Kirkus Reviews, and the Today show. Angie joins us to discuss her second novel, the instant New York Times bestseller, HAPPINESS FALLS (Hogarth Books, Aug 29), which was a Book of the Month Club selection, a Good Morning America Book Club pick, and a Barnes & Noble national book club selection.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

WRITERS' BLOCK William Kent Kruger talks with Kristin Harmel and Ron Block about his latest release, The River We Remember, which was just named one of Barnes & Noble's best books of the year. This deep and meaningful conversation explores the creation of this tender and compelling story set in 1958, but also features William's inspiration and background reavealing the personal connection with the book. A beautiful episode full of the warmth and humanity we have come to expect from this revered author. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On tonight’s LIVE episode, we meet crime fiction author Lori Rader-Day!Lori Rader-Day is the Edgar Award-nominated and Agatha, Anthony, and Mary Higgins Clark award-winning author of seven novels including DEATH AT GREENWAY, THE BLACK HOUR, and THE DAY I DIED. A past president of Sisters in Crime, Lori is co-chair of Midwest Mystery Conference, and teaches creative writing at Northwestern University. She joins us from her home in Chicago to discuss her latest chilling suspense novel, THE DEATH OF US (William Morrow, Oct 3), which Mary Kubica calls “unputdownable.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

WRITERS' BLOCK Lola Akinmade Akerstrom joins Ron and Meg for an absolutely fascinating discussion about her second novel, Everything Is Not Enough. Her breakout debut, In Every Mirror She's Black, was a GMA pick and created immense buzz. Lola talks about the journey to write her sophmore novel, which explores how 3 Black Women face stuggles of racism, gender stereotypes and class in Sweden. She writes compelling characters and weaves their stories flawlessly. Lola openly shares about her life, her passions and her work beyond novel writing. Such a remarkable conversation! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On tonight’s LIVE episode of our web show, we sit down with the incredible Jean Kwok.Jean Kwok is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of Girl in Translation, Mambo in Chinatown, and the instant New York Times bestseller and Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club pick Searching for Sylvie Lee. Her work has been published in twenty countries and is taught in universities, colleges, and high schools across the world. She has been selected for numerous honors, including the American Library Association Alex Award and the Chinese American Librarians Association Best Book Award. With a bachelor's from Harvard and an MFA from Columbia, Jean is fluent in Chinese, Dutch, and English. She joins us to discuss her highly-anticipated, brand-new novel THE LEFTOVER WOMAN (William Morrow, Oct 10) which was named to most-anticipated lists by The New York Times, Elle, TIME, People and many more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

WRITERS' BLOCK What do you do when a song gets stuck in your head and you want to figure out the backstory of the lyrics? Why, write a book imagining how real life influenced the song. Rochelle Weinstein is captivating talking to Kristy Woodson Harvey and Ron Block about how she created a powerful and emotional novel based on "Hey There Delilah" by the Plain White T's who also gave Rochelle their blessing. Such a great conversation! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On tonight’s live episode, we are excited to talk to Thrity Umrigar about her highly anticipated new novel, THE MUSEUM OF FAILURES. Thrity is the award-winning and bestselling author of nine previous novels, including HONOR, which was a Reese's Book Club Pick, as well as three picture books and a memoir. Her books have been published in more than 15 countries and in several languages. A former journalist, she has contributed to the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, the New York Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer. She joins us from her home in Cleveland to tell us all about her compelling family drama THE MUSEUM OF FAILURES, which Algonquin Books published on Sept. 26th.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

WRITERS' BLOCK Ashley Winstead is the guest on this week's episode, discussing her departure thriller, Midnight is the Darkest Hour. She joins Patti Callahan Henry and Ron Block for a deep discussion about how this Louisiana Swamp set tale explores the effect a fundamentalist focus can have on it's small town gothic town. The murder mystery begins with Ruth, whose world was changed when she discovered life in the pages of Twilight, who may have had a hand in the discivery of a skull in the swamp setting off a manhunt for killers in the town. Ashley talks about how religious fervor and greed can affect everyone in the town. She talks openly about her own background, the inspiration for this personal story and why she wanted to tell this particular tale about control, escape and ultimately good vs. evil. All wrapped in a pulse pounding thriller! A fantastic episode! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode, we introduce you to Jessica Knoll and her incredible new book, BRIGHT YOUNG WOMEN.Jessica Knoll is the New York Times bestselling author of LUCKIEST GIRL ALIVE and THE FAVORITE SISTER. She also adapted and executive produced the film Luckiest Girl Alive, starring Mila Kunis, which was released on Netflix in 2022. A former editor at SELF and Cosmopolitan, Jessica’s books have been published in more than forty languages. She joins us from her home in Los Angeles to discuss her third novel, BRIGHT YOUNG WOMEN—the instant New York Times bestseller with starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Library Journal, and Kirkus—which was published by Simon & Schuster / Marysue Rucci Books on September 19th.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

WRITERS' BLOCK Revisiting a classic with a twist! Ron Block and Kristy Woodson Harvey are joined for a fabulous conversation with Melinda Taub about her new book that honors Pride and Prejudice (with a twist) in her new book, The Scanadalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch. Melinda talks about creating a new angle on the classic Bennet sisters story, infusing it with magic and insight into the elusive sister, Lydia. Melinda talks about her work as former Head Writer and Excecutive Producer of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee and how it influenced her writing. The book is a unique and absorbing triumph and you absolutely don't want to miss this chat about this emerging author and book! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.