Spotlight on MKA's The Homewreckers
The Queen of the Beach Reads herself, Mary Kay Andrews, is celebrating the launch of her 30th novel, THE HOMEWRECKERS! It’s in stores everywhere this week and we know you’re going to love it!
THE HOMEWRECKERS is quintessential MKA. There’s a strong female protagonist you’ll love to root for. There’s an incredible setting in Savannah & Tybee Island that bursts to life off the page. She goes back to her mystery roots by including an unsolved murder that’s haunted the community for decades. There’s lots of laughs, a love story, even a dog. And, in true MKA form, there’s also a historic beach cottage renovation at center stage.
The early reviews have been glowing with Booklist calling it “a perfect summer escape,” and Kirkus calling it “a fun story with twists and turns that will appeal to romantics and cold-case fans alike.” According to Publishers Weekly, “Andrews sparkles in this fast-paced tale…fans will eat this up.” And Mystery & Suspense proclaims, “Mary Kay Andrews has done it again!”
MKA is headed out on a big book tour with stops throughout the Southeast plus THREE Friends & Fiction Live events in Cleveland on May 4th, at the Jersey Shore on May 20th, and in Rehoboth Beach on July 21st (ticketing link coming soon!).
We hope you’ll pick up THE HOMEWRECKERS today and see MKA on tour if you can. And if you love the book like we did, leave a review on GoodReads or on any book retail site. Early orders and reader reviews mean so much to all of us as authors.
We all know that summer begins with MKA! Get your beach reading underway early with the first big blockbuster beach read of the season, THE HOMEWRECKERS!
Get more details and buy links HERE.
WATCH the book trailer about the mystery at the heart of the novel.
WATCH the book trailer about the Savannah & Tybee setting.
WATCH MKA’s Mother’s Day public service announcement.
|
|
Spotlight on Kristin's The Forest of Vanishing Stars
Kristin Harmel’s bestselling novel The Forest of Vanishing Stars was released in paperback on May 3rd! We celebrated the hardcover release last July on Friends & Fiction, complete with a 15-minute mini-musical Kristin wrote herself—which we all performed in! You can see the musical here; it gives you a great idea of what the book’s about. In short, it’s the story of a young woman named Yona who was kidnapped on her second birthday from her German parents and raised deep in the woods of eastern Europe by an old woman named Jerusza, who believes the forest itself speaks to her. In 1942, Jerusza dies, leaving Yona alone in the wilderness, and soon, her life intersects with a family of Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazi terror. For the first time, she realizes what is happening in the world outside her beloved trees, and as the forest begins filling with refugees, she must make a choice: does she retreat deeper into the woods (as Jerusza told her she must do), or does she help those who are simply trying to survive in a world gone mad? Once she makes her choice, her world changes, but soon she learns that you can’t run from the past forever…
Based on the extraordinary true stories of survival of real-life refugee groups in the forests of eastern Poland and Belarus, this remarkable book is deeply researched and beautifully written. The world has changed since the hardcover came out and now, it feels timelier and more relevant than ever. It’s a sweeping World War II story of fate, love, destiny, and identity, and we know it will move and inspire you, just as it moved and inspired us.
|
|
Parade Essay by Kristin Harmel
Each month, the Friends & Fiction authors take turns writing an essay for Parade.com, the online home of Parade magazine. This week, Kristin wrote a column about finding optimism.
Last week, I had a small-scale breakdown at my desk.
My to-do list was overwhelming; I had a dozen emails I needed to reply to, page proofs due back for a book my publisher is re-releasing this fall, a new author’s note to write, and final edits to make for my 2023 book by the end of the week. On top of that, I was acutely conscious that I was working instead of spending time with my 6-year-old, whom I’d just picked up from school. I had promised myself that I wouldn’t do that—that when he was home with me, all of my focus would be on him—and once again, I was letting him down.
I was feeling like a failure of a mom and an overextended author who would never get through the mountain of responsibilities that lay before her. I also knew I was leaving for a book tour in a week or so, which came with its own set of worries about packing, speeches, travel logistics, and leaving my son behind—which, of course, comes with another helping of mom guilt.
Into that stew of self-blame and pressure fell the most minor thing—a vaguely unreasonable request from a colleague—and I lost it. I burst into tears. I picked up the phone to dramatically vent to my husband. I fired off a frustrated text to a friend. And I completely lost traction on all the things I was working on as I slid into a sea of exasperation.
None of these things are like me. It was a total and complete overreaction to a relatively insignificant problem. But I was already at my mental limit, and this was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
I essentially lost a day of work, wound up with a massive headache, and probably looked like a crazy person to the few people I talked to. All of this had very little do with the problem at hand; I had broken down because in my rush to try to get everything done—and to be a superwoman both at home and at work—I had forgotten to simply breathe.
To continue reading Kristin’s essay on Parade.com, click HERE.
|
|
Featured Bookseller
Bookshop.org
Find all the books by every F&F guest, past and present, in the F&F Bookshop.org Shop! Portions of all sales placed in our shop help fund F&F and support our guests! Proceeds from every sale made anywhere across Bookshop go straight into the pockets of indie booksellers nationwide. Since its inception, Bookshop.org has raised more than $20 million for indie bookstores! Find THE HOMEWRECKERS by Mary Kay Andrews and THE FOREST OF VANISHING STARS by Kristin Harmel—as well as recent books by our hosts and guests—on our Friends & Fiction Spring/Summer 2022 Guests list!
|
|
Latest News From "The Fab Four"
Mary Kay Andrews is neck deep in the big-azz book tour for her 30th novel, THE HOMEWRECKERS. The events so far have been very well attended and lots of fun. She adores getting the chance to meet so many of you while out on the road. Check out the events she has remaining and see if you can meet her at one! Please keep those reviews on Amazon and GoodReads coming. We hope you enjoy the show tonight. We pre-taped it (and it’s loads of fun!) since we are all together in Cleveland tonight for a live event with Ron and the Cuyahoga County Public Library.
What MKA is Reading: Listening to the audiobook of The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave while out on book tour with fellow road warrior and F&F Managing Director, Meg.
Kristin Harmel is excited to be back out on the road, meeting many of you! She had a great time at a luncheon supporting First Book near Myrtle Beach, SC on Saturday, where she got to give big hugs to both Brenda Gardner (who runs the book club with Lisa Harrison) and Annissa Armstrong (who runs our monthly reading challenge). She’ll be in a different state every night this week, celebrating THE FOREST OF VANISHING STARS, which is brand new in paperback. See where you can catch her here. It’s also her birthday today, and she’s so glad to be spending it with Kristy, Patti, Mary Kay, Meg, Ron, and all of you who are able to make it to Cleveland for our Friends & Fiction Live event!
What Kristin is Reading: STEALING INFINITY by Alyson Noel (for a blurb) – coming June 28
Kristy Woodson Harvey is excited to be cheering on her friends Mary Kay Andrews and Kristin Harmel who both have books releasing this week! She is excited to be spending time with Kristin, Mary Kay, Patti, Ron and Meg in Cleveland for the Friends and Fiction Live event! Kristy also recently turned in her 2023 novel. She is back to writing and is working on something she can’t wait to tell you all about!
Patti Callahan Henry is thrilled to be on the road with her Friends & Fiction pals. She’s been finishing her edits for her summer 2023 book and can’t wait to start talking more about it!! She wants to wish HUGE congrats to Mary Kay and Kristin with this week’s releases.
|
|
Spring Subscription Box
Subscribe Today for Signed Books & an Exclusive Gift!
Friends & Fiction co-hosts & co-founders Mary Kay Andrews and Kristy Woodson Harvey have teamed up with Oxford Exchange to offer this fun Spring Reading Box! Order the box from Oxford Exchange to get a signed copy of THE WEDDING VEIL (out now!), a signed copy of THE HOMEWRECKERS (coming May 3!), and this fun, exclusive Friends & Fiction notebook with sticky flags for marking all your favorite parts! (We hope there are tons!) Get more information and place your order with Oxford Exchange HERE.
|
|
Listen to the F&F Podcast!
Coming this Friday, May 6th—Ron Block and Patti Callahan explore mythology in fiction with Jennifer Saint and in non-fiction with Natalie Haynes.
Out Now! WB_S3E3—Ron chats with Mary Kay Andrews all about her new book THE HOMEWRECKERS and looks back on her 30 years as a published author as she celebrates a major career milestone. LISTEN NOW!
Out Now! WB_S3E2—Ron explores Women, Science and Fiction with two exceptional new releases, Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, and Atomic Anna by Rachel Barenbaum. LISTEN NOW!
Out Now! WB_S3E1—Ron interviews Andrew Neiderman all about author VC Andrews and his new book, The Woman Beyond the Attic: The VC Andrews Story. LISTEN NOW!
Out Now! WB_S2E15—Ron & Patti talk to author Mary Laura Philpot about writing memoir in essay form as they dive into her new book, Bomb Shelter. LISTEN NOW!
Listen, download, subscribe, rate, review & share wherever you get your podcasts!
|
|
News from the F&F Official Book Club
We have a lot of fun events coming up. Take a look at our book club schedule and be sure to save the dates! All events begin at 7pm Eastern unless otherwise noted.
May 6: Happy Hour with Ron Block and special guest Patti Callahan Henry
Grab these books and start reading now!
Not a member of the Friends & Fiction Book Club? Join us! We would love to have you!
|
|
The F&F 2022 Reading Challenge
Join the Fun in Our Reading Challenge!
Join us in 2022 for a fun 12-month reading challenge. We will challenge each other all year long to read books in a different category every month. This will help all of us broaden our horizons and read books in different genres we may not have chosen for ourselves. This is a fun way to join with the rest of the F&F community and share a fun reading experience. And the F&F Reading Journal makes the perfect companion piece to this challenge, helping you keep track of all the books you read all year long. Grab your reading journal HERE.
|
|
|
|
F&F is on YouTube!
Subscribe Today!
|
Did you miss the April 27th episode with Jane Green & Kimberly Brock? You can watch the whole thing on our YouTube channel HERE. We air our show live on YouTube every Wednesday night at 7pm ET. And every episode since our show’s inception can be found there too. So if you ever miss one, or Facebook is being difficult, check us out on YouTube. Subscribe today so you never miss an episode and get alerted every time we post new content. We also have book trailers and highlight clips on our channel too! Watch the April 27th show HERE.
|
|
F&F is Now on LoCo+!
Come join Friends & Fiction on LoCo+, a brand-new streaming platform that launched just a few days ago. The platform specializes in locally produced content and will eventually include channels from all over the country, but this is your chance to get in on the ground floor with us; we're part of the platform's rollout, and we'd love for you to be there, too. Eventually, it will be a paid subscription (like Netflix or Hulu), but if you sign up now, you can get the first month free--and you can see past and current episodes of Friends & Fiction as well as lots of other great, independently produced content, including the "Good News Lady" show from our friend (and former F&F guest) Daryn Kagan. Sign up for your free trial here and check it out: https://golocoplus.com/.
|
|
Sponsor Spotlight
Charleston Coffee Roasters
Do you need a great hostess, Mother’s Day, or teacher gift? We think the F&F Book & Coffee Bundles available through our friends at Charleston Coffee Roasters make the perfect gift for the book and coffee lovers in your life! You choose a book by one of the Fab Four, then select the coffee roast and grind of your choice. Pay one price for the bundle and receive your autographed book & coffee pairing in the mail! Check them out HERE. Remember to enter our ongoing coffee-of-the-month giveaway. We’ve got ONE more 3-month subscription (a $90 value) up for grabs with a final winner to be announced in May. Huge congrats to our April winner, Bubba Wilson! ENTER NOW! And don’t forget that everyone in the F&F community gets 20% off all bagged coffees on the Charleston Coffee Roasters website with code coffeewithfriends. SHOP NOW! While you’re on their website, please sign up for their email newsletter, and be sure to follow CCR on Facebook & Instagram.
|
|
Friends & Fiction Merchandise
SHOP THE F&F MERCH STORE!
NEW! Stay on track with the exclusive Friends & Fiction Reading Journal, featuring 52 book entries (one for every week of the year), a lending library, reading list, and books you put down. With a cloth cover, gold foil embossing, a satin ribbon page marker, elastic band, heavyweight paper, and a back pocket to store notes, this is the perfect gift for the book lover in your life—or for yourself! ORDER READING JOURNALS HERE.
Cozy cotton with a flattering v-neck and our signature Friends & Fiction logo, these comfy t-shirts are the perfect way to show your Friends & Fiction pride! ORDER T-SHIRTS HERE.
Friends & Fiction wine sippies are available and shipping now from Oxford Exchange!
But that’s not all! We also have F&F 20oz travel tumblers for on-the-go coffee of drinks!
We can’t wait to see you model your merch!
|
|
CONNECT WITH THE FRIENDS & FICTION HOST AUTHORS! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
