March 1, 2023 | Issue #132 |
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Latest News From "The Fab Four"
Patti Callahan Henry spent most of the week in Seattle with indie booksellers and is home now, and back to the desk working on her next novel even as she talks about The Secret Book of Flora Lea (she is not confusing the characters, or maybe she is?). She is looking forward to spending the weekend with MKA in the birthplace of Harper Lee for a book festival (see above events). And she loved seeing Flora Lea featured in Book Bub anticipated reads! as well as a Zibby Magazine most anticipated read!
Kristy Woodson Harvey is so excited that the paperback edition of THE WEDDING VEIL is launching next week! She will be heading to Naples, Florida and Boston, Massachusetts for some really great events and hopes to see you there!
Kristin Harmel’s week was made on Monday when Pink (!!) mentioned her 2019 novel THE WINEMAKER’S WIFE on The Drew Barrymore Show. She’s also really excited about the Adventures by the Book event next Tuesday; she and Adventures by the Book owner Susan McBeth feel like they’ve been playing the world’s most complicated game of Tetris as they try to fit 60 authors (some by video, some by live appearance) into 90 minutes of programming time. She’s hoping that the event reminds lots of women to schedule their mammograms—and that every single person leaves that event feeling stronger and more confident about facing life’s inevitable rocky roads. (After the event, Kristin is excited to finally get back to work on drafting her next novel.)
Mary Kay Andrews turned in the copy edits for Bright Lights, Big Christmas (out Sept. 26) and immediately began planning her fall book tour schedule. Want her to do a signing in your neck of the woods? Ask your local library or bookseller to contact her through her website. In the meantime she’ll be in Monroeville, Alabama with Patti Callahan Henry for a book festival this weekend.
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Announcing the SIBA Katie Trocheck Abel Award
NOMINATE A SOUTHERN INDIE BOOKSELLER!
As you may know, last year this time, our beloved Mary Kay Andrews lost her 39-year-old daughter, Katie Trocheck Abel. Katie had a huge heart for community outreach, lending countless hours of support to organizations such as No Kid Hungry, Atlanta's Free99Fridge, and Atlanta's Helping Mamas, which has named a car seat donation program in her honor. Katie was also a fierce supporter of her mom, and of the many booksellers who support MKA.
In Katie's honor, and to celebrate the often unheralded acts of kindness that take place all the time in our bookselling world, SIBA will award $500 to a SIBA bookseller who has gone above and beyond in their local community.
Do you know an indie bookseller in the southern US whose kindness, generosity, and dedication is a huge asset to their local community? If so, nominate them! The nomination form is open now through May 1, 2023 with the winner announced on July 3, 2023.
Find more details and the nomination form HERE.
The winner will be chosen by Mary Kay Andrews and her Friends & Fiction co-hosts Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey, and Patti Callahan Henry.
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Virtual Event to Support Susan G. Komen
BREAST CANCER FUNDRAISING ADVENTURE IN HONOR OF KRISTIN HARMEL
On Tuesday, March 7, 2023 at 7pm ET join Kristin Harmel along with more than FIFTY other authors—including the rest of the Fab Four: Kristy, Patti & MKA—at a virtual event sponsored by Adventures By the Book with the goals of raising money for Susan G. Komen, underscoring the importance of mammograms and other screenings, and reminding us all that we're stronger than we know. Click HERE to RSVP and to see the incredible list of authors, all of whom will be sharing something about a character of theirs who has discovered inner strength in a difficult time. The only cost of admission: a commitment that you've scheduled a mammogram or encouraged a loved one to do so. Don’t miss this great online event, all for a great cause!
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Get to Know Our Friend, Hank Phillippi Ryan!
What would you be if you weren’t a writer?
I’ve been a television reporter for 43 years, so is that writing? It’s storytelling, certainly, and now I'm trying to peel back the layers to discover what I might be if my life had nothing to do with writing. I wanted to be the lawyer for the Mine Workers Union, and then a Broadway singer. (Sadly, I can’t sing.) I wanted to be a geneticist. And an English teacher. It always seems like it would be lovely to be a florist, but probably that's a lot of incredibly hard work. So maybe I'd be a lawyer who arranges flowers?
What’s the biggest misconception people have about you and your work?
You know how people say: Oh golly, you’re churning out a book a year? And I say… Churning? Churning? In my world, at least, there's no churning when it comes to writing. It’s this unpredictable combination of gloriously wonderful and unceasingly difficult at the same time. And because I am always challenging myself to be better, writing each book becomes even more exciting, but even more difficult. I thought The House Guest would be the death of me! Do people think it’s easier because I have been a reporter?
When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I grew up in really rural Indiana, so rural that you couldn’t see another house from our house, and my sister and I used to ride our ponies to the library to get books. And I would read up in the hayloft of the barn behind our house. That’s where I fell in love with Nancy Drew, and then Sherlock Holmes. And Agatha Christie. Those books taught me about plot and clues and character development and secrets and twists. And that "girls" could be smart and solve problems. And I thought wow, I wish I could do that. Tell a twisty compelling story with a powerful ending that absolutely surprises you! But then I wondered…might it be more fun to be Sherlock Holmes than to write about Sherlock Holmes? So I’ve done both now, right? Being an investigative reporter is like being a detective. And then, finally—at age 55—I turned to fiction. So it only took me fifty years to follow my dream.
The first piece of fiction I ever wrote?
It’s so funny, and I keep trying to delve into my past to discover it, but I truly don’t think I ever wrote fiction. I really think my first piece of fiction was my first book, Prime Time. Yes, I was 55 back then, but I was a kid inside.
Do you have any writing rituals?
I am so superstitious that I try not to have writing rituals because I think—what if I can’t do whatever it is? Will I not be able to write? But I do set a goal of 540 words a day, and I promise myself I will do that, whether it takes 15 minutes or five hours. Sometimes I set a timer for 34 minutes, and promise myself I will do nothing else but write for those 34 minutes—not do the laundry, not get the mail, not play the New York Times Spelling Bee. I guess my ritual is promising to give my manuscript undivided attention. And I can do that anywhere. My favorite place to write is on a plane, isn’t that funny? Because I think it’s so restricted—I have the time between departure and arrival, and I promise myself I will write that whole time. I love it. I have finished two novels on airplanes, in fact. And my seatmates never knew.
Is there a particular independent bookstore or library you’d like to shout out.
Oh, that’s risky territory! So many are so fabulous. Brookline Booksmith has hosted my book launches from day one, and they are incredibly supportive and marvelous. I cannot wait to go to Zibby's Bookshop in California, that is about to be an incredible destination. Page 158 Books in Wake Forest has been my partner for years now, providing signed and personalized books—they are wonderful! And of course, the absolute crime fiction hub, The Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale.
The last book you raved about:
Tell us about your work in progress.
I honestly just sent in my new book! Like, yesterday. And every day of the past year, I'd thought: I will never figure this out. But in the end, One Wrong Word (out this time next year!) surprised and delighted me, and I am so eager to edit and polish it. It stars crisis management consultant Arden Ward, who makes her living by molding public opinion. Then the power of words gets used as a weapon against her when she’s falsely accused of having an affair with a client. She gets fired, unfairly, but is allowed to handle one last case: helping a family whose husband has been acquitted in a fatal drunk driving accident.
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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 nearly $25 million for indie bookstores! Find THE HOUSE GUEST by Hank Phillippi Ryan — as well as books by all of our guests and hosts — on our Friends & Fiction Winter 2023 Guests list!
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Subscribe to the Friends & Fiction 2023 First Edition Subscription Box!
Purchase of this special 2023 Friends & Fiction First Edition Subscription Box includes each 2023 NEW & SIGNED hardcover release from ALL FOUR of the Friends & Fiction host authors plus a fun, small gift included with the first shipment—a kitchen towel that reads, “Dinner can wait. It’s time for Friends & Fiction!”
Subscribers will receive four shipments around each book release:
May 2023—Patti Callahan Henry's The Secret Book of Flora Lea
June 2023—Kristin Harmel's The Paris Daughter
July 2023—Kristy Woodson Harvey's The Summer of Songbirds
Sept 2023—Mary Kay Andrews's Bright Lights, Big Christmas
Subscription price of $125 includes tax and all shipping charges. Sign up now at Booktowne.com!
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Friends & Fiction Merchandise
SHOP THE F&F MERCH STORE!
BOGO T-SHIRTS IN THE F&F MERCH STORE!
Our figure-flattering, cozy cotton v-neck T-shirts with our signature Friends & Fiction logo are now on sale Buy One Get One FREE! ORDER T-SHIRTS HERE. Use Code FFBOGO at check-out to claim your FREE T-shirt when you purchase one!
Also available:
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Listen to the F&F Podcast!
Coming this Friday, March 3rd—Ron & Meg talk to bestselling author Rebecca Makkai (whose The Great Believers was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award) about her brand-new novel, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU.
Out Now! WB_S5E7—Ron & MKA talk to Kristen Mei Chase about her debut novel A THOUSAND MILES TO GRACELAND, a road trip rom-com that explores mother-daughter relationships and what it means to be mixed-race in America. LISTEN NOW!
Out Now! WB_S5E6—Ron & Meg talk to Chinese-American debut novelist Lauren Kung Jessen about her brand-new rom-com LUNAR LOVE, an enemies-to-lovers tale set around an LA-based Chinese zodiac matchmaking business. LISTEN NOW!
Listen, download, subscribe, rate, review & share wherever you get your podcasts!
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News from the Zibby Award-Winning Friends &Fiction Official Book Club with Brenda & Lisa
We’ve got some great 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.
Coming up:
Grab these books and start reading now!
If you missed it:
Watch our Feb 9th happy hour with Ron Block HERE.
Follow us!
We are on YouTube! View previous book club discussions and happy hours at your leisure. Subscribe to our channel HERE!
Not a member of the Friends & Fiction Book Club? Join us on Facebook. We would love to have you!
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The F&F 2023 Reading Challenge!
We have announced the 2023 F&F Reading Challenge! This year the challenge is being run by the F&F Official Book Club with Brenda & Lisa. Join in on all the fun on their Facebook group page. Each month there is a different category prompt designed to get all of us reading outside of our comfort zone. Let’s have fun together all year long reading books from lots of different genres. On the book club’s Facebook page, there will be ideas shared for each category and the chance to talk with fellow members about your reading selections. The timeless F&F Reading Journal makes the perfect companion piece to this or any reading 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 on YouTube!
Subscribe Today!
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Did you miss the February 22nd episode with Sadea Johnson & Lynn Cullen? If so, you can watch it on our YouTube channel HERE. We air our show 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 in case 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 February 22nd show HERE.
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Join Us on Fable!
Introducing Friends & Fiction: Behind the Book
Have you joined F&F on Fable yet?! We are taking our immersive reading experience a step further by partnering with this unique social platform to form the “Friends & Fiction: Behind the Book” Premium Book Club! Let’s discover, read, and talk about great books together! Download the FREE Fable app for your phone or tablet. Join MKA, Kristin, Kristy & Patti as they talk about their own books, the books they love, and books they're just discovering together. They’ll feature a new book selection every month, plus special club events, exclusive content, and more! Join our Premium Club for just $5/month! JOIN TODAY!
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CONNECT WITH THE FRIENDS & FICTION HOST AUTHORS! |
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