April 13, 2022 | Issue #90 |
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Buy Our Spring/Summer Guests' Books on Bookshop!
We are pleased to share this brand-new curated list on Bookshop.org of books written by the guests whom we are so honored to host on Friends & Fiction during our Spring/Summer 2022 season (Apr 20-Jul 27). You can always find all the books by every F&F guest and host, past and present, in our Shop on Bookshop. We love when you buy on Bookshop because portions of all sales placed in our shop help fund F&F and support our guests! Also, 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! Thanks for supporting indies!
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In Case You Missed It!
Recent Favorites from the Fab Four
As we pause between seasons, we thought is was a good time to stop and reflect on the season we just wrapped up. The Winter 2022 season was chock-full of incredible guests. Here are a handful of episodes we want to be sure you’ve seen. Remember, you can always catch all of our shows on our YouTube channel. If you subscribe, you’ll never miss a thing!
PATTI wants to be sure you catch the episode with Amor Towles. While it’s nearly impossible to choose a “favorite”, this episode was inspiring and fascinating, from his take on writing to his notebooks to his title choice. I’ve been a fan of his work since Rules of Civility and this newest – The Lincoln HIghway - was just as immersive and moving. Catch it on YouTube HERE.
KRISTIN would love for you to tune in to the episode featuring #1 New York Times bestselling author V.E. Schwab. She was warm, wise, humble, and full of not only wonderful book-world stories, but also advice for living a better, truer life. Catch this insightful and eye-opening episode HERE.
KRISTY’s favorite episode of the season was the launch celebration for THE WEDDING VEIL. And who could blame her?! Was it the veils and top hats? Was it all the laughs? Was it the epic game of Would You Rather? Or maybe it was looking at all of our vintage wedding photos. YES! To all of the above. It was a rip roaring good time. If you missed it, catch it HERE.
MKA is lucky enough to call Lisa Scottoline one of her longtime pals. Lisa’s quick wit always lights up the room—or the Zoom! MKA hopes you'll watch the March 23rd episode where Lisa talks about the ways trauma and tragedy shape us. Her protagonist in her new book WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BENNETTS (which just debuted at #2 on the NYT bestseller list!) is an ordinary dad, who, when his family is shattered by a violent crime, discovers he actually has superpowers he never dreamed he possessed. Catch it on our YouTube channel HERE.
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Latest News From "The Fab Four"
Patti Callahan Henry wants to thank everyone who helped celebrate the paperback release of Surviving Savannah and she loved writing about the artifacts of our lives in PARADE MAGAZINE! Patti shared one of her favorite writing tips – along with a few other Georgia authors – with the Atlanta Journal and Constitution. With LITHUB Patti answered a rapid fire list of questions about some of the books that have changed or impacted her – from Anne Rivers Siddons to Mary Kay Andrews to Graham Greene. Now let’s get ready to launch MKA’s Homewreckers!
Kristy Woodson Harvey has been busy traveling and meeting with readers on tour! She can’t even begin to thank everyone enough for all of the support she has received in making THE WEDDING VEIL a successful book launch! It was a USA Today, Bookscan, Publishers Weekly, Siba Books, Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, and South Main Books Bestseller! She has each and every one of you to thank for your support!
Mary Kay Andrews is so pleased that New York Magazine’s “The Strategist” included THE HOMEWRECKERS in its Mother’s Day gift round-up. She’s happy, too, that the early trade reviews for the new book are raves so far with Booklist calling it “a perfect summer escape” and Kirkus saying it’s “a fun story with twists and turns that will appeal to romantics and cold case fans alike.” She can’t wait to see some of you out on her upcoming book tour. Meanwhile, she’s headed to the beach with family for Easter and wishes a Happy Easter to all who celebrate.
Kristin Harmel is looking forward to Easter with her family, to hopefully seeing Kristy at the Vero Beach Book Center on Monday, and to an overdue visit to her hairdresser. She’s also excited that THE FOREST OF VANISHING STARS is coming out in paperback in just three weeks! It has been named an Indie Next “Now in Paperback” pick for May, and Kristin is endlessly grateful for all of the independent booksellers (many of which we celebrate on the show!) who have recommended it to readers. Want to catch Kristin on tour? She hopes to make an official tour announcement this week on social media, but she’ll be filling in tour dates as they’re confirmed on her web site, so check those out here. She’ll be visiting several stores and cities she has never toured in before, and she hopes to see as many Friends & Fiction friends on the road as possible!
What Kristin is Reading: Hoping to start The Homewreckers by our very own Mary Kay Andrews this week and desperately wishing there were more hours in the day!
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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 when it releases in May, 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.
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Listen to the F&F Podcast!
Coming this Friday, April 15th—Ron interviews Andrew Neiderman all about author VC Andrews and his new book, The Woman Beyond the Attic: The VC Andrews Story.
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!
Out Now! WB_S2E14—Part 2 of a 2-parter…Patti and Ron continue the two part series with an interview with the founder of Audible, Don Katz. Hear all about how Audiobooks have expanded in ways we couldn’t have imagined. LISTEN NOW!
Out Now! WB_S2E13—Part 1 of a 2-parter…Ron & Patti interview Martha Hall Kelly and her co-author Kathy Murray about their Audible Original, The Munich Cowboys Cheerleaders, a novella based on Murray's underdog story of coaching a German cheerleading squad. 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
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!
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Join Brenda & Lisa April 21-23!
Brenda and Lisa are excited to host 2 sessions (surprise guests to be announced later this week) during the upcoming virtual Epigraph Literary Festival April 21st-23rd! It is a three day festival with authors and book lovers. Click the link below to save your seat!
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2022 Reading Challenge
The F&F 2022 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.
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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/.
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Sponsor Spotlight
Charleston Coffee Roasters
We’ve just recently announced the F&F Book & Coffee Bundles with our friends at Charleston Coffee Roasters! Check them out HERE. They make great Mother’s Day, hostess, and teacher gifts! Remember to ENTER our ongoing coffee-of-the-month giveaway. We’ve got two more 3-month subscriptions (a $90 value!) up for grabs with winners announced in each April and May. Will you be one of the lucky ones? 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 follow CCR on Facebook & Instagram and sign up for their email newsletter.
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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!
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CONNECT WITH THE FRIENDS & FICTION HOST AUTHORS! |
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