Book of the Month Live

Boozy grandmothers are truly the life of any holiday party. In today's episode, Alison talks about what Christmas looks like in Portland, complete with brunch mimosas, fancy cocktails, and Voodoo donuts. She also shares how Bill Pullman was her inspiration for Jack, the butch lesbian, and how consent is really cool when it comes to romance novels. Kiss Her Once for Me tells the story of Ellie, a struggling artist working at a coffee shop in Portland. When the coffee shop's landlord Andrew needs to marry someone in order to secure his recent inheritance, Ellie steps in. But Ellie finds out that Andrew's sister Jack is the mysterious woman Ellie fell for on Christmas Eve last year. Time to cozy up with this delightful holiday tale as old as time: boy meets girl, girl meets boy's sister. Get Kiss Her Once for Me at bookofthemonth.com. New members get their first book for just $9.99 with code VBT at checkout. Learn more about Virtual Book Tour at virtualbooktour.com

Happy Thanksgiving, listeners! In celebration of the holiday season, we are re-airing our very first episode of VBT, featuring author Adriana Trigiani. We spoke with Adriana about the power of sharing family stories, as well as the role food plays in our lives. All of which is perfectly on theme! Every conversation with Adriana Trigiani is one to remember. According to Adriana, this one was years of manifestation in the making! Editorial Director Brianna Goodman and Editorial Associate Jerrod MacFarlane sit down with Adriana to talk about how stories are everywhere, especially in your own family tree. Get ready to laugh when you listen to this episode of Virtual Book Tour. After all, it's not every day that an author makes someone who reads books for a living rethink how they view an entire genre. The Good Left Undone is a historical fiction spanning four generations of Italian women as they navigate love, identity, and family legacy.. If you love art, romance, and WWII history, then this is the book for you! Get The Good Left Undone at bookofthemonth.com. New members get their first book for just $9.99 with code VBT at checkout.Learn more about Virtual Book Tour at virtualbooktour.com.

We're taking an emotional journey with our next guest, Onyi Nwabineli. Her debut novel Someday, Maybe tackles some really tough subjects like suicide, grief, and guilt. Onyi shares what it was like to dive deep into these emotions, what sparked the idea for this story, and we even play a little game where we learn what the being 'Keeper of the Cup' entails. Someday, Maybe tells the story of Eve, who has suffered the unimaginable. In the aftermath of her husband's suicide, she is battling with feelings of grief and guilt. But through the transformative power of love, Eve starts to grow stronger and more hopeful. This emotional, devastatingly frank account of grief's many faces will have you in your feelings. Get Someday, Maybe at bookofthemonth.com. New members get their first book for just $9.99 with code VBT at checkout. Learn more about Virtual Book Tour at virtualbooktour.com

Today, we get to ask a screenwriter-turned-author the most important question of them all: Is the book always better than the movie? Ruth Emmie Lang joins us today to talk about her newest novel, The Wilderwomen, and she shares what her go-to road trip necessities are. The Wilderwomen follows two sisters: one sister who can see the future; the other people's memories. When the girls meet up five years after their mother's disappearance, they start to uncover the answer to the question that has been haunting them for years: Why did she leave? Get The Wilderwomen at bookofthemonth.com. New members get their first book for just $9.99 with code VBT at checkout. Learn more about Virtual Book Tour at virtualbooktour.com

Our next guest went from teaching students, to becoming a Jungian expert, to writing another novel that's stirring conversations all over the country. Best-selling author Matthew Quick joins us today to talk about his newest novel, We Are the Light. He shares which landmark inspired this story, why movies hold such a special place in his heart, and what should be on your dad's Christmas list this year (besides beer and football memorabilia). We Are the Light tells the story of Lucas Goodgame, a man who suffered an unimaginable tragedy, and Eli, a boy ostracized from his community who Lucas takes under his wing. In this moving tale of hope and redemption, Lucas and Eli's unlikely film production brings together their small town racked with grief. Get We Are the Light at bookofthemonth.com. New members get their first book for just $9.99 with code VBT at checkout. Learn more about Virtual Book Tour at virtualbooktour.com

The day everyone has been waiting for has finally arrived, and we are pleased to announce the 2022 golden Lolly goes to... Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin! Listen back on the episode we recorded with Gabrielle in July and find out what makes her book so deserving. To hear more from Gabrielle on her BOTY win, visit bookoftheyear.com or download our app and watch our new video where she discusses what it means to be this year's winner. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a moving story of friendship and art-making that will make you nostalgic for your favorite childhood video games. It follows two characters, Sam and Sadie, who bonded while playing video games together as young kids. When they meet again as university students, they start building a video game together, which becomes incredibly successful and wrenches them into a life of unexpected fame. This book will make you feel all the feels, guaranteed. Get Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow at bookofthemonth.com. New members get their first book for just $9.99 with code VBT at checkout. Learn more about Virtual Book Tour at virtualbooktour.com

It's the question we've all been asking ourselves since January 1, 2022: Which book is going to win the Book of the Year Award at Book of the Month for 2022? Readers have left their opinions. BOTM staff members have stated their suspicions. And now you, the listener, can make your own predictions as to which author will win the coveted golden Lolly. Here are this year's nominees: A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin Vote for your favorite at bookofthemonth.com. New members get their first book for just $9.99 with code VBT at checkout. Learn more about Virtual Book Tour at virtualbooktour.com

Do flirty bisexuals make the best spies? Where does this historical fiction writer get her fight scene inspirations? What would happen if Pinocchio researched how to be a real boy on TikTok? We get the answers to these burning questions with our most recent guest, Chloe Gong, author of the YA historical fiction novel, Foul Lady Fortune. Foul Lady Fortune follows Rosalind Lang, a nationalist spy who cannot die. When a series of murders causes unrest in her city of 1930s Shanghai, Rosalind teams up with another nationalist spy, Orion Hong. The two spies soon find that there are deeper and more horrifying layers to this mystery than they ever imagined. Get Foul Lady Fortune at bookofthemonth.com. New members get their first book for just $9.99 with code VBT at checkout. Learn more about Virtual Book Tour at virtualbooktour.com

When you think of Hell, what do you think of? To our next guest, Claudia Lux, it means unpredictable puddles, non-stop car horns, and waking up in a hangover fog every morning. Claudia sits down with us to talk about her debut novel, Sign Here. She shares what the term "fluffy Hell" means, why the only drink in her version of Hell is Jägermeister, and why bike trolleys are the bane of her existence. Sign Here follows Peyote Trip who works in the deals department on the fifth floor of Hell. Pey has a great opportunity to earn a devilishly big promotion. But first he needs to get one more member of the Harrison family to sell their soul. Get Sign Here at bookofthemonth.com. New members get their first book for just $9.99 with code VBT at checkout. Learn more about Virtual Book Tour at virtualbooktour.com

Written by Book of the Month author Kiersten White. Author website: https://www.kierstenwhite.com/ New members can get Kiersten White's novel The Guinevere Deception at bookofthemonth.com for just $9.99 with code VBT at checkout. Here's the brief: Every kid in the neighborhood knew not to go near the big house at the end of the crooked lane. The Victorian mansion was perpetually dark and shuttered, surrounded by overgrown trees that cast long, spindly shadows. The old lady who lived there was known to threaten trespassers with a sharp-handled broom. Rumor had it there was even a dead body buried in her backyard. And so every Halloween, the neighborhood trick-or-treaters steered clear of that driveway. That is, until this Halloween night, when we noticed something unusual: The big house's porch light was on. The door was open. And Tommy dared me to go inside.