July 14, 2021 | Issue #50 |
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Five Facts from Our Friend, Paula McLain
The one thing you’ve learned you can’t live without during the pandemic:
An office door that closes. And locks!
Your perfect day:
Two cups of coffee before the house wakes up. A really nice dog walk in good weather. Four or five uninterrupted hours of writing. Dinner with my kids and good friends. Another dog walk, followed by a glass of wine on my terrace with a food magazine. A few chapters of whatever I’m reading at bedtime. Pass out and do it again!
Your favorite independent bookstore:
This is a hard one! There are so, so many wonderful booksellers out there. Maybe McLean & Eakin in Petoskey, MI. Beautiful, family-owned store in a dreamy setting. Wonderfully curated. Lots of intimate hand-selling.
The last book you raved about:
Your next book in ten words or less:
Female-centered, true-crime based thriller set in 1973 Pasadena.
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Bookseller of the Week
Loganberry Books
Our featured independent bookseller of the week is Loganberry Books, an independently owned and operated bookstore in the historic Larchmere neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio. Established in 1994, they feature a carefully curated collection of new, used and rare books in all genres for both readers and collectors, with an inventory over 100,000 volumes. Get 10% off at Loganberry Books this week (no code required!) on WHEN THE STARS GO DARK by our guest Paula McLain and on new and recent titles from the Fab Five. Visit the specially curated F&F page on the Loganberry Books website to SHOP NOW!
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Latest News From "The Fab Five"
KRISTIN HARMEL is tremendously grateful for the support from her Friends & Fiction family. Launching THE FOREST OF VANISHING STARS this week was one of her career highlights because of all of you.
PATTI CALLAHAN is so honored that Library Journal gave Once Upon a Wardrobe a Starred Review. As we get closer to publication she is so thrilled to share more news about giveaways, book clubs and events! Patti is also so happy to join Kristin and Kathy on the road this week to be together in Tybee Island.
MARY KAY ANDREWS is gearing up to be a “matinee idol” after her fundraising appearance with Kristin and Patti at the Tybee Post Theater this Sunday. In between planning the upcoming tour for the Sept. 28 publication of The Santa Suit she is working on her novel for summer of ‘22 (hint: it’s set in Savannah and Tybee Island) and picking flowers from her garden and trying to come up with new and interesting uses for a bumper crop of zucchini. Anybody up for a zucchini martini?
KRISTY WOODSON HARVEY is so excited to announce the Peachtree Bluff read-a-long! We will be reading Slightly South of Simple in July, The Secret to Southern Charm in August and The Southern Side of Paradise in September to prepare for Christmas in Peachtree Bluff’s October 26 release. The Slightly South of Simple chat will take place on July 28 at 5:30 pm with @thebookenddiner--and will also be available via Zoom! For more information, visit kristywoodsonharvey.com/blog. (She’s also super pumped because Friday, July 16 is her birthday!!)
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An Original Essay by Mary Kay Andrews
Each week, the Friends & Fiction authors take turns
writing an essay for Parade.com, the online home of Parade magazine.This week, Mary Kay Andrews shares a column about running away from home to write.
As a small child in a big family, whenever I felt life (or my mom) had been unfair, I’d threaten to run away from home. I’d pack a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and my current Nancy Drew mystery and retreat to the top of a huge tree in our side yard in St. Petersburg, Fla., or maybe, when I was feeling particularly mistreated, I’d walk across the street to “the woods,” an undeveloped plot of land with lots more trees and an unobstructed view of Tampa Bay.
Later, in those awkward moony pre-teen years, Nancy was replaced by my treasured battery-powered record player and my favorite 45s—I seem to remember favoring Gary Puckett and the Union Gap and the Monkees. I’d make a nest under a tree, pull out my spiral-bound notebook and scrawl ideas for stories.
I can still remember the sense of freedom—the delicious adventure of escaping from my bickering brothers and bossy sisters, and yes, let’s be honest—whatever household chore my mother had assigned me.
Alone, with only my imagination for company, I could scribble in my notebook—stories of adventure and intrigue, romance and danger. Of course, as soon as twilight settled over those woods and the streetlights came on, I’d scurry back home in time for supper, my belly empty, my notebook full.
Today, all these decades later, when the distractions of everyday life pull me in a dozen different ways, and my book-in-progress is screaming for my absolute, undivided attention, I still heed the call to pack up my laptop and run away from home to write...
To continue reading Mary Kay's column, click HERE.
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Debut Spotlight
This thriller was just published by indie bookseller Otto Penzler's Mysterious Press this week. Called “a real corker” by Booklist and a “fast-paced tale” by Kirkus, The Last Commandment is the first in a series featuring a Scotland Yard detective who tracks serial killers. Author Scott Shepherd is a Hollywood TV writer, producer and showrunner for shows like The Equalizer, Miami Vice and Quantum Leap. It’s no surprise, then, that Library Journal praised the book’s ending as “a shocking, made-for-TV reveal.” What’s more, F&F friend Karin Slaughter calls The Last Commandment an “enthralling mystery that will hook you on the very first page and keep you turning until the last.” Grab yourself a copy!
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Listen to the F&F Podcast!
Coming soon! Out this Friday, July 16th!—Ron talks to author MJ Rose about her books and former career as an ad exec and to Pauline Hubert, the founder of the popular book club app Book Movement.
Out Now! WB_S1E5—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. LISTEN NOW!
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!
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 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!
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CONNECT WITH THE FRIENDS & FICTION HOST AUTHORS! |
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