Bookseller of the Week
Writer's Block
Our featured independent bookseller of the week is Writer's Block with locations in Winter Park and Winter Garden, FL. Established in 2014, Writer’s Block is Central Florida's independent community bookstore specializing in favorite and bestselling books of all genres, plus gifts, events, book clubs and free gift wrapping! Get 10% off at Writer's Block with the code PREORDER2021 on THE FOREST OF VANISHING STARS by Kristin Harmel, on OBJECTS IN THE MIRROR by our musical guest Stephen Kellogg, and on other new and recent titles from rest of the Fab Five. Visit the specially curated F&F page on the Writer's Block website to SHOP NOW!
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Latest News From "The Fab Five"
KRISTIN HARMEL is so excited that THE FOREST OF VANISHING STARS is out NOW! She’s looking forward to hitting the real and virtual road for a fully packed book tour that will be a hybrid between online and in-person events. Find her full public schedule here, and more info about her book here. She’s especially excited that she’ll get to see Patti, Kathy, and Mary Alice in person for various events over the next two weeks; she’ll also see Kristy virtually this Friday, and in-person for a book event in August.
MARY ALICE MONROE is on the cover of Charleston Home and Design Magazine! The magazine paid a visit to her island home. You can see the Summer issue of the magazine HERE.
PATTI CALLAHAN loves this review of Surviving Savannah that was just released by the Alabama Writer’s Forum and she talks about the novel here on a Public TV show with Don Noble. She doesn’t want you to forget about the enchanting pre-pub giveaway for Once Upon a Wardrobe! Click HERE for details. Meanwhile she is looking so forward to Kristin’s Forest of Vanishing Stars launch and peeking into the next week when Kristin, Mary Kay and Patti will be on Tybee Island together!
MARY KAY ANDREWS is looking forward to several in-person events coming up including Tues 7/13 with Kristin at FoxTale Book Shoppe in Woodstock, GA. She’ll also be together with Patti & Kristin Sun 7/19 for a 2pm Sunday Matinee event at the Tybee Post Theater. Get your tickets before it sells out! And she and Mr. MKA have a quick getaway to New England planned at the end of the month during which she’ll have a book signing at Mitchell’s Book Corner on Nantucket Sat 7/31 10:30am - 12pm. Other than that she’s writing next summer’s book and prepping for Christmas in July as she announces several fun pre-order and swag opportunities (and a fall tour!) for her Sept 28th Christmas novella, The Santa Suit.
KRISTY WOODSON HARVEY is so thrilled that Under the Southern Sky is one of First for Women’s Books We’re Loving Now. Executive Editor Patty Bontekoe said, “This story reminded me that life is never what you expect… And that can be a good thing!”
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An Original Essay by
Each week, the Friends & Fiction authors take turns
writing an essay for Parade.com, the online home of Parade magazine.This week, Kristin Harmel shares a column about how talking to a Holocaust survivor taught her about strength during dark times.
Eighty years ago this December, 14-year-old Aron Bielski was doing chores in his small Polish village of Stankiewicze when he saw a police vehicle rumbling down the lane. Immediately, he dropped everything and hid in his family’s barn.
The authorities—in conjunction with occupying German forces—were there to arrest his parents, David and Beila. It was Friday, and by Monday morning, they had been executed, along with 4,000 other Jews from the area.
Aron fled into the nearby woods where he reunited with two of his older brothers, Asael and Zus. They were later joined by another brother, Tuvia, and slowly, what began as a small group of family and friends fleeing the Germans became much more. By the time their area was liberated by the Red Army, 77 years ago this week, their group of people hiding in the forest had grown to more than 1,200—70 percent of whom were women, children and seniors who otherwise would have perished under German occupation, according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (Their story is told in startling detail in the 2008 Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber film Defiance, based on the 1993 book of the same name.)
Why should this story—more than three-quarters of a century-old—resonate with us today? Because it’s a tale of bravery, survival, fighting back and standing strong. It’s a tale of resistance, defiance, and survival against the odds. It’s a tale that reminds us of our human capacity for resilience, even when all the chips are down.
To continue reading Kristin's column, click HERE.
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Listen to the F&F Podcast!
Coming soon! Out this Friday, July 9th!—Ron & Patti talk to authors Lisa Patton (Rush) and Susan Cushman (John and Mary Margaret) about writing novels centered around the college experience and using the college campus as a setting.
Out Now! WB_S1E4—Boutique Publishing—Mary Kay Andrews sits down with publishing veterans Julie Grau and Cindy Spiegel to talk about the launch of their new independent publishing house, Spiegel & Grau. Hear about their first book Fox & I: An Uncommon Friendship (in stores July 6th), and what it’s like to launch a boutique publisher in the midst of so much consolidation and the rise of the mega-publisher. LISTEN NOW!
Out Now! WB_S1E3—Origin Stories—Chris Whitaker (We Begin at the End) and Amy Jo Burns (Shiner) join hosts Patti Callahan and Ron Block to discuss the ideas that sparked their most recent novels. LISTEN NOW!
Out Now! WB_S1E2—Celebrate Pride Month with F&F! Members of the LGBTQ community join host Ron Block to discuss their latest books and writing journeys. Guests are: Steven Rowley (The Guncle), P.J. Vernon (Bath Haus) and James Beard Award winning Chef, Virginia Willis (The Secrets of the Southern Table). LISTEN NOW!
Listen, download, subscribe, rate, review & share wherever you get your podcasts!
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News from the F&F Official Book Club
Would you like to be a part of our one-year anniversary show? We would love our book club members to send in a video up to 30 seconds sharing their favorite book club memory, what they love about the book club, or just a simple happy one-year anniversary message. These videos will be shared during the show. Please email your video to friends and fiction bookclub@gmail.com by July 9th.
If you missed our live chat with Kristin Harmel on Friday 7/2 for her pre-pub day event with us, you can view the recording HERE.
Have a look at our monthly book club schedule through January 2022! All sessions are at 7 pm ET. Save the date!
July 19: The Summer of Lost and Found and The Islanders with Mary Alice Monroe
July 23: Book Club One-Year Anniversary Party—with surprises!
Aug 6: Happy Hour with Ron Block
Aug 16: The Forest of Vanishing Stars with Kristin Harmel
Sept 20: The Bookshop at Water's End with Patti Callahan Henry
Oct 1: Happy Hour with Ron Block
Oct 18: Second Star to the Right with Mary Alice Monroe
Nov 15: Once Upon a Wardrobe with Patti Callahan Henry
Dec 3: Happy Hour with Ron Block
Dec 6: The Santa Suit with Mary Kay Andrews
Dec 20: Christmas in Peachtree Bluff with Kristy Woodson Harvey
Jan 17, 2022: The Sweetness of Forgetting with Kristin Harmel
If you missed our 6/21 book club discussion of The Newcomer with Mary Kay Andrews, click HERE to see it!
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And Now a Word from our Partners
MAMA GERALDINE'S
We are so pleased to partner with Mama Geraldine's Bodacious Foods! Not only is Mama Geraldine's the maker of the world's most delicious (and this country's bestselling!) cheese straw, they're also a woman-owned business. And we can really get behind that! Try their six flavors of cheese straws and their oh-so-delicious cookies. Get 20% off your online order at MamaGeraldines.com with the code FABFIVE. SHOP NOW!
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WELCOME STORYPOINT WINES!
Beginning NOW we are kicking off “The Summer of Storypoint” on Friends & Fiction! Each week, the after-show will be called “Sip & Stay with Storypoint” and will be sponsored by Storypoint Wines. This distinctive collection of flavorful wines—Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay—from California’s best growing regions, seeks to champion stories that inspire. After all, many great stories and ideas unfold over a shared bottle of wine. The experience of a wine—like that of a good book—should tell you something, invite you to discover new things, and surprise you. So, stick around after the show each week all summer long where we will indulge in stories, sips, and surprises!
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Friends & Fiction Merchandise
THE F&F MERCH STORE IS HERE!
Our merch is 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 wine sippies are available for preorder and will be shipping soon from Oxford Exchange! ORDER WINE TUMBLERS HERE.
We can’t wait to see you model your merch!
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CONNECT WITH THE FRIENDS & FICTION HOST AUTHORS! |
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