November 17, 2021 | Issue #68 |
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Five Facts from our Friend, Vivian Howard
The one thing you’ve learned you can’t live without during the pandemic:
Skincare devices
Your perfect day:
I actually wrote about my perfect summer day for the June issue of G&G, but since it's November, my winter version would be all about piddling at home with my plants, maybe a house project, some skincare, a big fire and a pot of soup.
Your favorite independent bookstore:
I live in rural Eastern North Carolina so my experience at independent bookstores has largely been siphoned through my own book tour. That being said, if I could pick any bookstore up and move it to my backyard it would be Main Street Books in Davidson, NC.
The last book you raved about:
I'm almost embarrassed to say it, but Untamed by Glennon Doyle. My sisters and I have had a lot of fun with Meg & Jo by Virginia Kantra because there are droplets of our lives sprinkled throughout the reimagination.
Your next book in ten words or less:
A modern cookbook that looks to the past to show us how to eat today with the planet in mind.
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Latest News From "The Fab Five"
KRISTY WOODSON HARVEY is loving seeing all of the festive photos of Christmas in Peachtree Bluff on social media and is so grateful for all your lovely, kind reviews on Amazon and Goodreads! She’s also SO excited that—along with our Kristin Harmel’s THE FOREST OF VANISHING STARS—UNDER THE SOUTHERN SKY is in the running for She Reads Best Contemporary Fiction of 2021! You can vote here as many times as you like until November 20. Don’t forget to cast your vote for Kristin in the Historical Fiction category!
PATTI CALLAHAN loved talking to Medium.com about Once Upon a Wardrobe for Authors at Home. She loves the review in the Bowling Green Daily and the Toronto Star calls Once Upon A Wardrobe one of 4 novels to immerse you in imagination! Book Page had such lovely things to say! Patti will head to the mountains for Thanksgiving and can’t wait to celebrate Thanksgiving on our episode with Vivan Howard!
What Patti is Reading: The Wedding Veil (early copy) by Kristy Woodson Harvey. (swoon!)
MARY KAY ANDREWS is trying to wrap up The Homewreckers before Thanksgiving, meaning she’s pulling her version of all-nighters. In between she’s working on perfecting making store-bought pie crust look homemade, and plotting her Christmas decor.
KRISTIN HARMEL spent the week in Hawaii (her first trip there) for her brother’s wedding…She absolutely loved it and can’t wait to go back again! And she’s just as excited as Kristy about their shared She Reads nominations and hopes you’ll consider voting for both books if you enjoyed them!
What Kristin is reading: On Gin Lane by Brooke Lea Foster (coming early 2022)
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An Original Essay by Kristin Harmel
Each week, the Friends & Fiction authors take turns
writing an essay for Parade.com, the online home of Parade magazine. Today, Kristin Harmel offers tips for hosting an easy Thanksgiving dinner—and the authors share their favorite Thanksgiving recipes.
When I was in my late 20s, I had the bright idea one year to throw out a “Friendsgiving” invitation to a handful of friends. “Come over the Tuesday before Thanksgiving,” I said. “I’ll put something together before we all head home to see our families.”
“Sure, I’ll see if I have time that week,” said one friend vaguely.
“Sounds good,” said another. “I’ll circle back once I’ve checked my calendar.”
By the Sunday before Thanksgiving, I hadn’t received a single definitive yes. Oh well, I thought, I guess it was a silly idea. So I sent one more email out, just to close the loop, and I went to bed that night, sighing a little sigh of relief that I wouldn’t have to put on an enormous dinner that was well above my kitchen skill level at the time.
I woke up the next morning to a half-dozen responses in my inbox. Everyone who had waffled before was suddenly available. In 36 hours, I would have 19 people sitting around my dining room table, expecting the full-on Thanksgiving meal I had promised. “Don’t bring a thing!” I had foolishly written to all of them. “I’ll take care of everything!”
I flew into a panic, running out to the grocery store, filling my cart with everything Thanksgiving-appropriate I could think of, and then I raced home to madly begin my prep work. By the next afternoon, I had a turkey and sides in the oven, an appetizer spread ready to go, and a tablecloth and place settings laid out, but I was exhausted and overwhelmed. I had just pulled together a Thanksgiving meal for 10 in a day and a half—and I had attempted to duplicate all of my mother’s elaborate recipes, which had left me entirely depleted. By the time I sat down with my friends, I was too worn out to enjoy any of it.
There had to be an easier way.
To continue reading MKA's column on Parade.com, click HERE.
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Listen to the F&F Podcast!
Coming soon! Out this Friday, November 19th—Mary Alice Monroe speaks with Allison Heller and Faye Bender about writing for children.
Out Now! WB_S1E23—Mary Kay Andrews speaks with editor/publisher Pam Dorman & literary agent Stuart Krichevsky about their life in publishing. 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 through the end of the year and be sure to save the dates! All events begin at 7pm Eastern unless otherwise noted.
November 18: Friendsgiving! Our annual virtual zoom sharing our favorite recipes, family traditions and cookbooks returns. Save the date! Register now!
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 book club chat with Patti Callahan Henry on Monday 11/15, you can watch it HERE.
Don't forget to sign up for our 2nd Annual Friendsgiving this Thursday 11/18/2021 at 7pm EST. Please register 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!
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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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F&F is on YouTube!
Subscribe Today!
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Did you miss last week’s episode with Armando Lucas Correa and Katherine Reay? 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 10th show HERE.
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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 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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