In her debut novel, The Irish Goodbye, poet, teacher, and writing coach Heather Aimee O’Neill tells the story of three sisters still grappling with a tragedy that occurred twenty years earlier. Because of this devastating event, their brother, Topher’s, life was deeply impacted. Set on the North Shore of Long Island, the novel begins with the three sisters – Cait, Read More
In her debut novel The Cover Girl, author Amy Rossi explores the life of Birdie Rhodes, a young girl who is discovered by a modeling agent at the age of thirteen. The story spans two timelines: one in the 1970’s during Birdie’s younger modeling years and the other in 2018 when Birdie is fifty-six and goes by the name Elizabeth. Read More
Author and graduate of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Samsun Knight, joins Writer’s Voices to discuss his second novel, Likeness. Loosely based on his own parent’s open marriage, Likeness tells the story of Anne and her husband, Sebastian, who have a polyamorous marriage, as they navigate their relationship with Sebastian’s lover, Sandy. Told from multiple points of views, the first half of Read More
In Romantic Friction, YA novelist, Lori Gold, formerly Lori Goldstein, presents her debut book club fiction novel based on a character not unlike herself. The story follows bestselling romantasy writer, Sofie Wilde, who is awaiting the release of the 10th book in her successful series, but is rivaled by a new author named Hartley West who has written a book Read More
In Mothers of Fate, award-winning author, Lynne Hugo, writes a poignant family drama centered around the intricacies of adoption. Set in Pittsburgh, her novel follows a middle-aged, disabled woman named Deana Wilkes who is searching for the son she gave up 30 years ago in a closed adoption. In the process, she reaches out to an attorney named Monica Connell Read More
In her 7th novel, New York Times bestselling author, Jennifer Haigh, presents Rabbit Moon, a fast-paced, poignant drama that opens with a young American woman named Lindsey who moves abroad to teach English in Shanghai. As the story continues, “…[she’s] standing on a sidewalk shortly after dawn on a Sunday morning in the financial district of Shanghai, and a car Read More
Therapist, adjunct professor, and author, Holly LaBarbera, joins us to discuss her debut novel, All I Know. As she describes it, “The story is about two intertwined, dysfunctional families… it’s about this one woman’s discovery to move beyond your childhood wounds and issues and how to find love and live a healthy life with healthy adult relationships. The main character, Read More
In his second novel, musician and former producer, Don Silver, presents Scorched, a coming-of-age, mystery thriller. Set in Philadelphia, the story follows the life of 14-year-old Jonas Shore who, after the death of his father, makes some misguided decisions that land him in Lafayette Academy, a boarding school for orphans and delinquents. According to Silver, “…Jonas, who has a very Read More
Writing coach, editor, and author, Jacqueline Gay Walley, joins Writer’s Voices to discuss her intriguing new novel, The Waw. The book tells the story of an American woman who, in the hopes of escaping her life, journeys abroad after envisioning a small, lovely English town by the sea. In her voyage of self discovery, she meets several interesting people along Read More
Columbia University professor, Helen Benedict, known for her work regarding the plight of asylum-seekers and war, presents a disconcerting novel about refugees in Greece titled The Good Deed. Her book tells the stories of five women, four of whom are seeking comfort and protection from their native countries, but end up in a terrible, overcrowded detention refugee camp in the Read More
Canadian bestselling author, Lesley Crewe, joins us to discuss her heart-warming, new novel, Recipe for a Good Life. Set in 1955, Recipe for a Good Life follows the life of Kitty, a mystery novelist living in Montreal, Canada, who is suffering from writer’s block and decides she is done writing any more detective novels. This news sends her publishers into Read More
In Morning in This Broken World, novelist and creative writing instructor, Katrina Kittle, tells the story of Vivian Laurent, a 74-year-old recent widow, Luna, a 30-year-old single mother of two, and Luna’s two children, Wren and Cooper. Vivian is a resident at the nursing facility that Luna works at and where Luna cared for Vivian’s late husband before his death. Read More
New York Times editor and critic, Ken Jaworowski, visits us to discuss his debut crime novel, Small Town Sins. His story takes place in Locksburg, a small town in Pennsylvania, where we meet three hapless individuals who are each struggling with issues in their own difficult lives. According to Jaworowski, “None of these three are… ordinary people, people that you Read More
In her debut novel, The Sisters We Were, Wendy Willis Baldwin tells the emotional story of two adult sisters, Ruby and Pearl Crenshaw, and the bond they share as they work to overcome their childhood traumas. While one sister, Ruby, goes through her own major changes, it’s Pearl that has the life-changing transformation, from battling a food addiction that caused Read More
In her debut novel, Daughters of the New Year, E.M. Tran tells the stories of three Vietnamese-American sisters whose mother emigrated from Vietnam to the United States after the Fall of Saigon. Remarkably, Tran’s novel is also told in reverse, starting in 2016 and going back to the 1970’s, spanning four decades. “It starts in 2016, pretty much present-day New Read More
Former Days of Our Lives star and now author, Staci Greason, visits with us to discuss her fourth novel, All the Girls in Town. In addition to writing novels, Greason also writes essays, short stories, and screenplays. Her newest book tells the story of three women whose lives come together after they are all wronged by the same man. “…I Read More
Annie Hartnett visits with us to discuss her newest novel, Unlikely Animals. “It is a book that is about a young woman named Emma who has returned home to a small town in New Hampshire, and she’s got a slight healing touch in her hands that she was born with, so there’s like a touch of magic in it. She’s Read More
Karen Winn’s debut novel, Our Little World, explores the relationship between two sisters and how it’s affected after the disappearance of a young girl in their small, east coast town. “So Our Little World, it does take place in a small, rural town in New Jersey called Hammend. It’s a fictional town but it is a fictionalized version, an anagram, Read More
Author and sorority alumnae, Robin Benoit, visits us to talk about her debut novel, The Eighty-Year-Old Sorority Girls. The book tells the story of a group of 80-something friends who are dealing with the decline of their friend’s mental health. “The hardest aspect of this for me was the main character, Vivian. Vivian is the one that has Alzheimer’s and Read More
Author and former literature professor, Larry Baker, visits with us to talk about his newest novel,Wyman and the Florida Knights. The book tells the story of Peter Wyman, a famous American portrait painter, who is nearing the end of his life and wants to escape his past by seeking a place of refuge. “He’s told that the only place you Read More
Former log-rolling champion, avid hiker, explorer, motivational speaker, and author, Kristine Ochu, joins us to talk about her international best-selling novel, Campfire Confessions. “So the story is about, you know, three best friends with three big secrets. Their lives seem perfect, but of course, you know that’s deceiving, appearances, right? …So when Annie’s secret is exposed first… she ends up Read More
Sissie Klein is Completely Normal is Kris Clink’s standalone sequel to her first novel, Goodbye Lark Lovejoy. Both stories are part of Clink’s Enchanted Rock series and are set in Texas’ beautiful Hill Country. Sissie Klein is Completely Normal is centered around the title character Sissie, who was introduced to readers in the first novel. According to Clink, “I’d like Read More
Veteran Broadway, television and film actor and now author, Rick Lenz, joins us to discuss his novel, Hello, Rest of My Life. While not quite autobiographical, the book is loosely based on Rick and his wife, Linda, who have been married 40 years. His novel tells of the romance between film actor, Danny Maytree, and Samantha, a woman he meets Read More
Daniel Handler aka. Lemony Snicket -talks about his love of writing and his new book for adults – Poison for Breakfast. “When I was young and first interested in books. I felt so deeply connected to books and the world of literature that I knew I wanted to participate in some way. It felt like a participatory art form to Read More
Kristin Contino talk about the craft of writing and her second novel – A House Full of Windsor. “The book is about Debbie and her daughter Sara. We follow Debbie from the 1980’s through the present day; her history of loving the royal family and being a royal family collector to the point where she has become a compulsive hoarder. Read More
Ellen Michaelson’s award winning novella – The Care of Strangers. ” It’s about how we take care of each other in challenging times. And it’s also about how we get beyond our family expectations to be who we want to be or to do what we want to do in life. It covers a lot of other things. It’s about Read More
When the Tempest Passes…and the Wicked is No More -is set in the l890’s; it’s author Linda Kephart-Nash tells her grandmothers story from the early the deaths of her siblings to the disappearance of the fiancé she loved so much and the humiliation of being left at the altar, “The wedding was set and the day of the wedding arrived Read More
Romance writer RaeAnn Thayne talks about her novel – The Path to Sunshine Cove – and her motivations for writing. ” I like stories that make people feel good and that they can be happy at the end of the day, when they were reading them. That was sort of a better fit for my personality. So it was a Read More
Tami Charles talks about her new young adult novel – Muted – and why she became a writer. “It was through my teaching that I rediscovered my love of writing and my continued passion for books ” “it was my students who said, because we were writing stories together, .., Miss Charles you should really think about becoming an author. Read More
Writing team Maika and Maritza Moulite talk with us about their latest book – One of the Good Ones – and about what got them started wring in the first place. “We had grown up reading a ton of books… because our parents didn’t allow us to watch TV during the week. So we went to the library every weekend, Read More
Stacey Wise introduces us to a world of secrecy and revenge in her new novel -Lie, Lie Again. “I think a lot of (the book) was definitely inspired by just looking a round and seeing what is going on in my own neighborhood. And how, whether it’s on the soccer field or at dance class or what ever the case Read More
Michael Kaufman shares the premise of his new dystopian mystery novel – The Last Exit. “This is a world of growing inequality, of rising unemployment because of… automation, and growing population…By this point big pharma companies have developed longevity treatments,… they’ve made it staggeringly expensive – the ultra rich can live if not forever, then for pretty near that… Well Read More
The Paris Apartment author Kelly Bowen talks about how she got started “When I had my first son I was on maternity leave and I actually sat down and thought, ‘I should try writing a novel. I love writing. Now seems to be a good time to do it’…. I love history, so I decided to write a historical fiction Read More
“Though this book tackles some really difficult subjects, it’s ultimately a really hopeful book.” Jennifer Dupee talks about the creation of her new novel. – Little French Bridal Shop. ” “As I began to delve into the writing, I realized Larissa ( the main character) is kind of engaging in more and more deception; and her deceptions become a vehicle Read More
It is a novel that reads like a memoir. Rebecca Warner’s “My Dad, My Dog” gives us a window into the life a of a woman caring for a father with dementia. It is a heartfelt tribute to care givers everywhere. “About 53 million Americans provide care without pay to an ailing or aging loved one, and they do it Read More
Our conversation with debut novelist Regina Buttner, author of “Absolution,” which explores the consequences of allowing what happens to you define you, is a great listen for anyone new to fiction writing who needs some tips on how, exactly, to go about it. We discuss plotting, writing scene by scene, developing a disciplined writing habit, and how to tackle controversial Read More
Lisa Unger looks and sounds like a normal, nice person, who is drawn to the question “What does a normal person do on their worst day?” Or put another way – what evil lurks in the hearts of men (and women?) But as she says, “the person who sits down to write is not the same as the person who Read More
We spoke with Brad Fox during his much-longer-than-expected stay at the edge of the Peruvian jungle, where he was stranded due to COVID flight restrictions. But if anyone can adapt to such unusual circumstances, it would be this author – like the characters in his debut novel in English, “To Remain Nameless,” Brad Fox has worked for humanitarian organizations in Read More
I have to admit that when I started reading “Sorrow”, I was annoyed that Joe, the hero, was such a loser. But as I got further in, not only did Joe start to grow on me, but I also came to appreciate the way Tiffanie DeBartolo wove important themes into this novel without being obvious about it, gently revealing the Read More
“I love to set my books in Minnesota. There’s just something that I find so unique about the people here and the culture. We’re so quirky, we’re deserving of books” Join us as we spend an hour talking with Gretchen Anthony as she shares with us the writing of her latest novel – The Kids are Gonna Ask. Family is Read More
“An old Hungarian proverb: ‘Adam ate the apple and our teeth still ache.’ At what price do we choose incorrectly.” David Bluder talks about the writing of his novel – The Great Gamble. A thriller about the seamy side of sports. ” I’m a plot person so this is kind of plot heavy…. It kind of took me some time Read More
I learned a lot from this conversation with Michael Elias, a prolific and skilled writer. Elias is an author, screenwriter, playwright and director. Whatever interests him, he wants to write about and, he says, “I’m an all-over-the-place guy,” That’s worked out well for him – he has had success in many places. Screenwriting credits include “Frisco Kid,” and “The Jerk” Read More
I have always been drawn to Spain, although I’ve only visited there twice, once the summer I graduated from high school, and again about 15 years ago. Reading “Finding Hemingway” and talking with author Ken Dortzbach was a treat, because I have memories (and stories to tell) of many of the location he visits in his debut romantic comedy “with Read More
Debut novelist Brady Hammes, author of “The Resolutions” has a great day job – as a documentary film editor. One recent project, “Tom vs. Time” about NFL quarterback Tom Brady, won a 2018 Sports Emmy. In our conversation with Brady, he talks about why he wanted to write novels too, what he brings from one career to the other, and Read More
Scott Spencer has a pretty impressive writing resume. “An Ocean Without a Shore” is his twelfth novel. Two earlier novels were National Book Award Finalists, and four have been made into movies. He has taught writing at several universities, including Columbia and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and at Eastern Correctional Facility as part of the Bard Prison Initiative. He has Read More
Ann Crawford’s tenth published book, “Life in the Hollywood Lane,” was inspired by her brief stint in talent management in LA, which she says is the best day job she ever had. In her trademark intimate confessional style, Crawford explores the depths of despair that can overwhelm even the most beautiful and talented aspiring actors, from a perspective that she Read More
Phyllis Melhado has had a quote from renowned author Phyllis Whitney tacked up on her board for years. “Never mind the rejections, the discouragement, the voices of ridicule (there can be those too.) Work and wait and learn, and that train will come by. If you give up, you’ll never have a chance to climb aboard.” Melhado left a dream Read More
The San Francisco neighborhoods that Barbara Sapienza describes in such glorious detail are almost another character in her novel, “The Laundress.” After retiring as a clinical psycholgist, Barbara pursued her dream of writing. “The Laundress,” published by hybrid publisher She Writes Press, is her second novel. Barbara describes the flow between heart, mind and body that comes from writing her Read More
“I have always been fascinated by Shakespeare. I have always been fascinated by the idea of what happened to Ariel, this all powerful spirit that has been released into the world ( Shakespeare’s play The Tempest)” Pat McKee talks about his new novel – Ariel’s Island .”If we could recognize it and agree upon it, we could probably program our Read More
“We really aren’t in the position anymore, where if you just get an email…..you can say with great confidence ‘This has to be a scam’.” Megan Angelo talks about the future of social media in her new novel – Followers. ” I really was trying to write the future from a more human standpoint; but of course technology had to Read More