November 10, 2021 | Issue #67 |
|
Five Facts from our Friend, Armando Lucas Correa
The one thing you’ve learned you can’t live without during the pandemic:
My MacBook Pro
Your perfect day:
With my children at our house in upstate New York.
Your favorite independent bookstore:
If I have to choose one, Books and Books in Coral Gables, FL. It feels like home. Also among my favorites: Annie Philbrick’s bookstores. She has been the godmother of my novels, among the first who have read them. Her bookstores —Savoy Bookshop and Cafe in Westerly, and Bank Square Books in Mystic— are gorgeous. I have presented my books there. And Book Culture; it’s in our neighborhood in NYC.
The last book you raved about:
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell. I’m a fan of hers. Hamnet is a masterpiece with an end that it’s still in my head.
Your next book in ten words or less:
The Night Traveler: Abandoning her daughter is the only way to save her.
|
|
Five Facts from our Friend, Katherine Reay
The one thing you’ve learned you can’t live without during the pandemic:
Time outside. I hadn’t really thought of being outside as essential to my everyday life prior to the pandemic. And, living in Chicago, there are a few dark, cold, winter days, I wouldn’t have considered stepping outside. Now I do — I bundle up and plod along — because taking walks and breathing deep during those walks became vital to me. Even now that we are out-and-about more, I try to walk daily and am continually amazed how much nature changes from one day to the next — when I slow down enough to notice.
Your perfect day:
You’ve caught me at a crazy time and, during such times, my introvert nature comes out and the “perfect day” might seem downright dull. But it sounds glorious to me and I might go and chase it. It starts with a good cup of coffee. We have a wonderful espresso machine that starts the day just right. Then… A walk with a friend or two... A little time to catch up with friends and readers on social media... A few hours of writing… A chat with each of my kids, if I can catch them on the phone... Time with my husband to make a fun dinner… And time to read. As I said, that’s a pretty quiet day and they are rare beautiful things right now.
Your favorite independent bookstore:
So many!!! Each and every store is so unique. I love Saturn Booksellers in Gaylord, MI. They are incredibly welcoming and they know books. I also get new suggestions that push me out of my comfort zone, but are spot-on too. I also adore my local shop, the Lake Forest Book Store, and am beyond thankful we have such a wonderful store in our community.
The last book you raved about:
Anything by Frederick Forsyth. He’s not a new writer. The last book I read by him, The Devil’s Alternative, was published in 1980. But it blew me away and I wondered how it took me so long to find him. Forsyth's research was extraordinary, his twists and turns compelling, and his characters fascinating… I’m on my third one now — and they are not short books.
Your next book in ten words or less:
Strong women. Love. War. Sacrifice. Friendship. Secrets. Spies. Moscow. Washington.
|
|
Bookstore of the Week
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! A bit of every sale made on Bookshop goes straight into the pockets of indie booksellers nationwide. Since its inception, Bookshop.org has raised nearly $17 million for indie bookstores! Find recent books by tonight’s guests Armando Lucas Correa and Katherine Reay on our Friends & Fiction 2021 Guests list!
|
|
Latest News From "The Fab Five"
KRISTY WOODSON HARVEY is so happy to be home from tour and thanks everyone who came out to see her! She has a few more events around North Carolina, so if you haven’t caught her yet, make sure you come visit! She is also so thrilled because her publisher is running the greatest giveaway for THE WEDDING VEIL! Enter now on Goodreads! Last but not least, she had the best time reading a quick clip from her essay in Zibby Owens’ MOMS DON’T HAVE TIME TO HAVE KIDS on Good Morning America! If you missed it, check out the clip!
PATTI CALLAHAN is still smiling about Harlan Coben suggesting Once Upon a Wardrobe as one of the five books of November on THE TODAY SHOW. She is thrilled with what the Historical Novel Society had to say about Once Upon a Wardrobe. Did you see her Friday Frolic? If you missed her event in Chicago -- they have a taping of it HERE at The Wade Center. Patti is looking forward to preparing for Thanksgiving and family!
What Patti is Reading: Circe by Madeline Miller.
MARY KAY ANDREWS spent a fun weekend fluffing Coquina Cottage, her newest vacation rental home on Tybee Island, Georgia, and getting it ready for holiday guests. (This could be you!) She's also recovering from the news that her pretend boyfriend Paul Rudd has just been named People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive and prepping for all the pretend competition for his pretend attention now that the world knows how (not pretend) dreamy he is. MKA is also giving away a copy of her friend Marian Parson's (aka @missmustardseed) gorgeous home decorating book Feels Like Home on her Instagram feed. Enter to win a copy of Marian's book and The Santa Suit!
What Mary Kay is reading: State of Terror by Louise Penny and Hillary Rodham Clinton.
KRISTIN HARMEL had a blast on her whirlwind trip to Los Angeles and San Diego, where she did two events (with Alka Joshi, Martha Hall Kelly, and Susan Meissner), lunched with her amazing literary agent, had some great meetings, and saw some old friends, including authors Alyson Noel and Heather Hach, in less than four days. She misses the west coast already!
|
|
Listen to the F&F Podcast!
Coming soon! Out this Friday, November 12th—Mary Kay Andrews speaks with editor/publisher Pam Dorman & literary agent Stuart Krichevsky about their life in publishing.
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 through the end of the year and be sure to save the dates! All events begin at 7pm Eastern unless otherwise noted (newly added events are marked with an asterisk*).
Nov 15: Once Upon a Wardrobe book club discussion with Patti Callahan Henry
*November 18: Friendsgiving! Our annual virtual zoom sharing our favorite recipes, family traditions and cookbooks returns. Save the date!
Dec 3: Happy Hour with Ron Block -Get your TBR lists ready! We will have book recommendations galore and we will announce our book club picks for January-March 2022. You don't want to miss it!
Dec 6: The Santa Suit book club discussion with Mary Kay Andrews
Dec 20: Christmas in Peachtree Bluff book club discussion with Kristy Woodson Harvey
If you missed our Sunday Pre-Pub Brunch with Patti Callahan Henry be sure to check out the recording HERE.
Need more books added to your growing TBR list? We've got you covered! Check out our latest Happy Hour with Ron Block HERE.
Not a member of the Friends & Fiction Book Club? Click here to join us. We would love to have you!
|
|
F&F is Now on LoCo+!
Sign up for a free trial!
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/.
|
|
F&F is Now on YouTube!
Subscribe Today!
|
Did you miss last week’s episode with Zibby Owens? 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 November 3rd show HERE.
|
|
|
Friends & Fiction Merchandise
THE SHOP IN 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 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! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
