Five Facts from Our Friend, Susan Wiggs
The one thing you’ve learned you can’t live without during the pandemic:
I hate to be so predictable, but the answer is BOOKS. We've been so isolated and disconnected, but a good book is a source of comfort and inspiration and a perfect antidote for boredom. I've probably read twice as many books this past year than I usually have time to read. I try to keep track of them on my Bookbub page to share with fellow readers.
Your perfect day:
Coffee (duh), a long hike with a dog or favorite husband, yoga class (virtual these days) and then I find a cozy spot to settle in with the day's reading or writing. Happy hour is at 5:00 sharp! Cocktails on the patio with family and vaccinated friends. So I suppose you'd say my perfect day is a combination of solitude and social time.
Your favorite independent bookstore:
The last book you raved about:
Your next book in ten words or less:
Woman with shocking past finds forbidden romance. Also, food. :-) SUGAR AND SALT comes out January 11, 2022!
|
|
Bookseller of the Week
LIBERTY BAY BOOKS
Our featured independent bookseller of the week is Liberty Bay Books in Poulsbo, WA, which started as Shotwell's Bookstore in 1977 and was purchased by Suzanne Droppert in 1996. In February 2020 (yes, at the dawn of the pandemic!) local children's author, Suzanne Selfors, purchased the store and we're so glad she has persevered through her first rather difficult year. Get 10% off at Liberty Bay (no coupon code required!) on The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs as well as on other new and recent titles from the Fab Five. Visit the specially curated F&F page on the Liberty Bay website to SHOP NOW!
|
|
Latest News From "The Fab Five"
KRISTIN HARMEL wants to thank each and every one you—her Friends & Fiction friends—for all your support with The Book of Lost Names over the last year. The book came out in paperback last week and debuted on the New York Times bestseller list in the #5 spot. Kristin is tremendously grateful—and she’s also excited to share that her next novel, The Forest of Vanishing Stars, coming in just four weeks, is an Indie Next List pick for July! She can’t wait to share that book with all of you, and she’s busy plotting her July 7 Friends & Fiction launch episode with the other F&F authors. Hint: You can count on the return of “Friends & Fiction Theater!”
MARY ALICE MONROE was featured by Publishers Weekly in a Q&A for The Islanders. South Carolina Living Magazine featured Mary Alice as "The Turtle Lady"—a moniker she wears with pride! Charleston Magazine reviewed both of MAM’s books. They wrote, “It wouldn’t be summer without a new Mary Alice Monroe release to tuck into your beach bag!” The Augusta Chronicle featured Reunion Beach in their By the Book Column! Writer’s Digest featured two essays by Mary Alice: Writing the Family Saga and Tips to Invite Your Readers into Your Story World. BookBub included The Summer of Lost and Found in their list of “13 Books Our Readers Loved in May.” Mary Alice is very honored and thrilled with the rave reviews for her first Middle Grade book. Kwame Alexander, the two-time Newberry Award-winner and head of his own imprint Diversify, said this about The Islanders: "This is storytelling for young readers at its finest—equal parts summer adventure and environmental suspense, The Islanders is a middle-grade love letter to family, friendship, and the natural world." THE ISLANDERS is now an Amazon Editor's Pick: Best Books in June!
MARY KAY ANDREWS achieved peak tabloid status recently by having The Newcomer included in legendary gossip columnist Cindy Adams’s summer reading list on the New York Post’s Page Six. PopSugar declared The Newcomer a top summer thriller calling it “a sultry combination of an unsolved murder, a dangerous ex and a complex love affair . . . “ And in the meantime, Mary Kay is gearing up for publication of her surprise Christmas novella, The Santa Suit. Look for it Sept. 28th and watch for the schedule of tour events.
KRISTY WOODSON HARVEY is so thrilled that Under the Southern Sky was included in The Pilot’s Summer Reading List—along with Mary Alice Monroe and Mary Kay Andrews! Faye Dasen said, “I’ve loved all of Harvey’s books.” She’s also so excited that Mom’s Don’t Have Time to Have Kids, Zibby Owen’s latest anthology to which she contributed, is available for preorder now—and is already a Publisher’s Weekly Buzz Pick!
PATTI CALLAHAN is so thrilled to share her Canadian cover for Once Upon a Wardrobe. And she is set to announce a beautiful pre-order giveaway so keep your eyes open! Also, a reminder that the last call for the drawing for a salvaged coin from the Pulaksi shipwreck in Surviving Savannah is on June 18th. You can go here for details!
|
|
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 what makes a perfect beach read.
Ah, those long, lazy days of summer. And what better to savor—along with those warm-weather treats like ripe juicy peaches, technicolor sunsets and afternoon naps in the hammock—than a big delicious stack of beach books?
Of course, we all have different ideas of what makes a great summer read—also known as a beach book—but to me, the most enjoyable aspect of these pleasure reads is that it’s perfectly okay to ignore other people’s preconceived notions about their definition. Because don’t we all need an excuse to slow down and escape during this time of year, to discover (or just remind ourselves) who we really are?
Desk-bound professionals may long to escape from must-read technical journals and business books and dive into the pages of a pulse-pounding thriller, a slow-burn romance or a novel of political intrigue, but there are also plenty of readers who see summer as the perfect time to finally dust off those classics they were supposed to read in high school or college. Proust, anyone?
Some—like reader Anne Marie Lopicolo—see summertime as the perfect excuse to dig deep into challenging, weighty (intellectually and physically) tomes on serious subjects, books they might not have the time or bandwidth to tackle the rest of the year. “I like a thicker nonfiction book, history or memoir, or a tough classic in late July or August,” Lopicolo says. “It feels like I’m engaging my brain along with the kids’ back-to-school madness.”
But a thoroughly unscientific survey I took of my own online community revealed, unsurprisingly, that the overwhelming majority of the more than 400 respondents to a question posed about beach books, said they choose lighter books with happy endings this time of year.
To continue reading Mary Kay’s essay on Parade.com, click HERE.
|
|
Listen to the F&F Podcast!
Coming soon! Out this Friday, June 11th!
WB_S1E1—Our first podcast episode featuring Ron Block, Ron interviews Wade Rouse aka Viola Shipman (The Clover Girls) and Elyssa Friendland (Last Summer at the Golden Hotel) about their summer novels and reminisce about summer memories.
Out Now! S1E14—Mary Alice celebrates June is Audiobooks Month with Penguin Random House audiobook producer Dan Zitt and award-winning audiobook narrator, Cassandra Campbell.
Out Now! S1E13—Patti & Mary Alice interview authors Signe Pike and Rebecca Bruff about writing fiction based on real people.
LISTEN NOW!
BIG PODCAST NEWS! Starting this Friday, June 11th, not-so-new kid on the F&F block, librarian extraordinaire, Ron Block starts up with our newly freshened-up, NOW WEEKLY podcast which we are re-naming the Friends & Fiction Writers' Block Podcast with Ron Block! Look for new episodes every single Friday from now on!
Listen, download, subscribe, rate, review & share wherever you get your podcasts!
|
|
News from the F&F Official Book Club
Have a look at our monthly book club schedule through January 2022! We can't wait to discuss the selections below with our fabulous authors & book club members! All sessions are at 7 pm ET.
June 21: The Newcomer with Mary Kay Andrews
July 19: The Summer of Lost and Found with Mary Alice Monroe
Aug 16: The Forest of Vanishing Stars with Kristin Harmel
Sept 20: The Bookshop at Water's End with Patti Callahan Henry
Oct 18: Second Star to the Right with Mary Alice Monroe
Nov 15: Once Upon a Wardrobe with Patti Callahan Henry
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 hilarious book club discussion of Under The Southern Sky with Kristy Woodson Harvey, click HERE to see it!
|
|
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!
|
|
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!
|
|
|
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!
|
|
CONNECT WITH THE FRIENDS & FICTION HOST AUTHORS! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
