Friends & Fiction

On this episode, Kristin Harmel, Patti Callahan Henry & Mary Kay Andrews welcome the multi-million copy bestselling author of The Time Traveler's Wife Audrey Niffenegger to discuss our October 2026 Pick of the Month, Life Out of Order, her exhilarating new speculative story set in a dystopian future where virtual reality and real life converge. Audrey Niffenegger is a visual artist and writer whose book art, prints, and paintings are included in the collections of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Newberry Library, and the Library of Congress. A former Professor at Columbia...

On this episode, Ron Block & Kristin Harmel welcome Bonnie Garmus, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the global sensation Lessons in Chemistry, to discuss Peck & Peck, her irresistible, delightful, and tender new literary novel set in the publishing world of 1980s New York City about a young man whose life turns upside down when he is hired by the most prestigious, secretive, and dysfunctional poetry journal in the world. Bonnie is a coffee-dependent American novelist whose debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry, was a Good Morning America Book Club Pick, a Goodreads Choice Best Book of the Year, spent...

On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews & Kristin Harmel welcome bestselling, award-winning author Annie Hartnett to discuss her darkly comic and warm-hearted national bestseller, The Road to Tender Hearts, about an old man on a cross-country mission to reunite with his high school crush—bringing together his adult daughter, two orphaned kids, and a cat who can predict death. Annie is the award-winning author of two previous novels Rabbit Cake and Unlikely Animals. Released in its trade paperback edition in April, The Road to Tender Hearts, won the 2025 New England Book Award for fiction, was longlisted for the Massachusetts Book Aw...

On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews & Ron Block welcome #1 bestselling author Lucy Foley to discuss her brand-new novel, Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel, the first fully authorized Miss Marple mystery in fifty years featuring Agatha Christie’s iconic detective. Lucy is a #1 Sunday Times, Irish Times, and New York Times bestselling author with more than 10-million copies of her books in print worldwide and several currently being adapted for the screen. She is a Waterstones Thriller of the Month author, a three-time nominee at the British Book Awards, and The Guest List was a Reese’s Book Club sele...

On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Kristin Harmel welcome New York Times bestselling author Ariel Lawhon to discuss her brand-new instant NYT-bestselling novel, The Pirate Queen, a sweeping historical adventure inspired by the life of Grace O’Malley, the legendary Irish folk heroine who risked everything to defend her people. Ariel is an award-winning, critically acclaimed, bestselling author of seven works of historical fiction including Code Name Hélène, The Wife the Maid and the Mistress, and I Was Anastasia. Her 2023 novel, The Frozen River was a Good Morning America Book Club pick and an NPR Book of the...

On this episode, Ron Block & Kristy Woodson Harvey welcome award-winning, NYT-bestselling author Chloe Benjamin to discuss her new novel and this month’s Good Morning America Book Club pick, Under Story, an intimate yet epic love story that’s also a sweeping odyssey of scientific discovery. Chloe is the author of The Anatomy of Dreams and The Immortalists which was a New York Times bestseller, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, a LibraryReads favorite, a #1 Indie Next pick, and a best book of 2018 according to NPR and The Washington Post among others. Chloe joins us from her home...

On this episode, the full F&F family gathers to celebrate this month’s F&F Featured Author, our very own Kristy Woodson Harvey, to discuss our August 2026 Pick of the Month, Falling for Peachtree Bluff, the fifth installment in Kristy’s fan-favorite series that reunites the Murphy crew just in time for pumpkin spice season. Kristy is the New York Times, USA TODAY, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of fourteen novels, including Summer State of Mind, Beach House Rules, A Happier Life, and The Wedding Veil. Many of her novels are in various stages of option or development for...

On this episode, we are airing an “Ask Us Anything” episode where F&F’s Managing Director Meg Walker leads our hosts & founders — Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey & Patti Callahan Henry in answering questions that were submitted by our community. The Fab Four wanted to know what those of you out there might be wondering about. So we solicited your questions and we were amazed by the response! We received more than 50 questions! So, we recorded a casual, informal chat where we got to as many of them as possible. One thing is clear—we will definitely...

This episode is a re-airing of one of our favorite episodes from the vault! Join us as Kristy, Kristin & Mary Kay talk to #1 NYT-bestselling novelist Elin Hilderbrand along with her daughter Shelby Cunningham, to discuss their 2025 bestselling co-written novel, The Academy, the deliciously scandalous story of one drama-filled year at a New England boarding school. Now is the perfect time to re-air this episode as Elin & Shelby’s eagerly anticipated follow-up, The Thoroughbreds, is set to release on September 15th. Class will soon be back in session for senior year at Tiffin Academy promising loads of high-stakes drama, tension, an...

On this episode, the full F&F family gathers to welcome this month’s F&F Featured Author, the #1 New York Times bestseller Karin Slaughter to discuss The Secrets We Hide, the next thrilling mystery in her new North Falls series featuring Sheriff Emmy Clifton, which is our August 2026 Pick of the Month! Karin is the #1 NYT-bestselling author of more than 25 novels, including the Edgar-nominated Cop Town and standalone novels Pretty Girls and False Witness. An international bestseller, Slaughter is published in 120 countries with more than 40-million copies sold across the globe. Pieces of Her, based on her novel, de...

On this episode, Kristy Woodson Harvey & Kristin Harmel welcome New York Times bestselling author duo Christina Lauren to discuss their brand-new instant NYT-bestseller The Romance Revival, in which a fateful accident erases a troubled marriage from memory and a scientific breakthrough gives love one extraordinary do-over. Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of longtime writing partners and best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, the New York Times, USA Today, and #1 internationally bestselling authors of the Beautiful and Wild Seasons series plus more than 20 other novels including The Unhoneymooners and The Paradise Problem. They join us to discuss...

On this episode, Kristin Harmel & Ron Block welcome bestselling author, podcast creator, and award-winning journalist Jo Piazza to discuss her new novel, The Parisian Heist, a propulsive dual-timeline mystery drenched in art-world intrigue and brimming with family secrets, betrayal, and the intoxicating lure of power. Jo is the internationally bestselling author of thirteen books, including Everyone Is Lying to You, The Sicilian Inheritance, and the Good Morning America Book Club pick We Are Not Like Them co-written with Christine Pride. She’s also the host of the critically acclaimed Under the Influence podcast. Her work has been featured in Th...

On this episode, Kristy Woodson Harvey & Kristin Harmel chat with three three of their Gallery Books pub house sisters all with new contemporary summer romance novels out. Released on July 7th, Natalie Messier’s debut novel Every Version of You is for fans of The Love of My Afterlife and The Seven Year Slip. This heartfelt contemporary romance follows a woman who gets a second chance at a formative time in her adult life—this time to win the “one that got away.” Natalie is a Reese’s Book Club LitUp Fellow and Los Angeles-based screenwriter. Released on June 23rd, Kyleig...

On this episode, the full F&F family gathers to celebrate the launch of our very own NYT-bestselling author Kristin Harmel’s captivating new novel, Meet Me In Paris about several intertwined stories of love, loss, courage, and redemption set over the course of one magical week in Paris, which is, of course, our July Pick of the Month! One of F&F’s co-founders and co-hosts, Kristin Harmel is the New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen novels, including The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau, The Paris Daughter, The Forest of Vanishing Stars, and The Book...

On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Kristin Harmel welcome debut novelist Ben Reeves to discuss his super buzzy new book, Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt, an astonishing, deeply moving story about finding beauty in the brevity of life, as narrated by the one who knows it best: Death. When Ben Reeves is not writing, he paints, makes music, and works as a web designer for a book printing company in Peterborough, UK. An early draft of Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt won the international 2024 Bath Novel Award. Perfect for fans of Fredrik Backman and Virginia Evans, the...

On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews & Patti Callahan Henry welcome NYT-bestselling author John Searles to discuss his infectious and utterly charming new novel, Single Girls, which is a fictionalization of the iconic Helen Gurley Brown’s early years at the helm of Cosmopolitan, and the intrepid group of women she took under her wing to create one of the most talked about magazines of all time. John is a New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of four atmospheric thrillers including Strange But True which was adapted as a major motion picture starring Amy Ryan, Greg Kinnear, Brian Cox, Bl...

On this episode, Ron Block & Mary Kay Andrews welcome #1 NYT-bestselling author Lisa Jewell to discuss her "deliciously dark, devilishly addictive" (Alice Feeney) new novel It Could Have Been Her, in which two women's lives converge in a house containing devastating secrets that refuse to stay buried. Lisa is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 24 novels, including Don’t Let Him In, None of This Is True, The Family Upstairs, and Then She Was Gone. Her novels have sold more than 15-million copies internationally, and her work has been translated into more than 30 languages. She joins us from her ho...

On this episode, Kristin Harmel & Kristy Woodson Harvey welcome beloved New York Times bestselling author Lisa See to discuss her new novel, Daughters of the Sun and Moon, the story of three Chinese women whose unexpected friendship helps them survive and, despite the odds, thrive, in the turmoil of post-Civil War Los Angeles. Lisa is the NYT-bestselling author of a dozen novels including Lady Tan’s Circle of Women, The Island of Sea Women, The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. She is also the author of the memoir, On Gold Mountain, which te...

On tis episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Kristin Harmel welcome #1 New York Times bestselling author Ann Patchett to discuss her new Katie Couric and Good Housekeeping Book Club Pick, Whistler, a moving, luminous novel that reminds us of the sweetness and impermanence of life and the power of connection to defy time. Ann Patchett is the author of ten novels, most recently the #1 New York Times bestselling Tom Lake, five works of nonfiction, and three children's books whose work has been translated into more than thirty languages. A winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Women's Prize for Fiction, and...

On this episode, Kristy Woodson Harvey & Mary Kay Andrews welcome New York Times bestselling author Annabel Monaghan to discuss her brand-new novel, Dolly All the Time—the GMA Book Club pick for June—in which a hardworking single mom returns to her seaside hometown and stumbles into a fake dating situationship with a wealthy, workaholic scion. Annabel is the NYT-bestselling and Library Reads Hall of Fame author of It’s a Love Story, Summer Romance, Same Time Next Summer, and Nora Goes Off Script, as well as two young adult novels and Does This Volvo Make My Butt Look Big...

On this episode, the full F&F family gathers to celebrate the launch of our very own “undisputed queen of beach reads,” (Southern Living) NYT-bestselling author Mary Kay Andrews’s new book, Road Trip, which is, of course, our June Pick of the Month! A former journalist with a fourteen-year career in newspapers, including a decade as a reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, MKA is the NYT-bestselling author of thirty-four novels and a cookbook. Her novel, Summers at the Saint is currently in development with Universal Studios. She joins us before heading out on a massive book tour to discus...

On this episode, we are re-airing one of our favorite episodes from the vault! Join us as the Fab Four talk to Steven Rowley about his 2023 novel The Celebrants, and to Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke about their 2023 novel Forever Hold Your Peace. Steven Rowley is the NYT-bestselling author of six novels including The Guncle, winner of 2021’s Thurber Prize for American Humor. His fiction has been published in twenty languages and all of his books are in development for feature film or television adaptation. In this episode, he joined us to discuss his NYT bestseller and Read With Jenna Bo...

On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Mary Kay Andrews welcome the multimillion-copy-selling author of The Help, Kathryn Stockett, to discuss The Calamity Club, her bold, big-hearted new novel about a group of unbreakable women, fighting for what's rightfully theirs—and the power of friendship to change everything. Kathryn Stockett was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. After graduating from the University of Alabama, she moved to New York City, where she worked in magazine publishing and marketing. Her first novel, The Help—a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don’t—was a #1...

On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Kristy Woodson Harvey welcome #1 NYT-bestselling author Christina Baker Kline to discuss her new historical novel, The Foursome, a boldly original reimagining of the astonishing true story of two sisters in nineteenth-century North Carolina — Kline’s own distant relatives — who married world-famous conjoined twins from Siam. Christina is the author of ten novels, including the New York Times bestsellers Orphan Train, The Exiles, and A Piece of the World. Her novels have received the New England Society Book Award for Fiction and the Maine Literary Award among other prizes. Born in England and raised in the...

On this episode, the full F&F family gathers to celebrate the launch of our very own “queen of the beach read” (Cosmopolitan), NYT-bestselling author Kristy Woodson Harvey’s new book Summer State of Mind, which is, of course, our May Pick of the Month! Kristy is the New York Times, USA TODAY, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of fourteen novels, including Beach House Rules and the Peachtree Bluff series. A Happier Life is in development for film with MGM/Amazon and The Summer of Songbirds is in development for television with Hulu. There’s good reason why People magazine...

On this episode, Ron Block & Patti Callahan Henry welcome two authors both with new novels about Hollywood icons—Lynn Cullen with hers about Marilyn Monroe, When We Were Brilliant, and Priya Parmar with hers about Katharine Hepburn, The Original. Priya Parmar is the author of the novels Exit the Actress and Vanessa and Her Sister, a New York Times Notable Book, who also writes for musical theater. Her stunning new novel, The Original, plunges into the tumultuous life of screen icon Katharine Hepburn, a star whose passionate spirit and fluid sexuality shattered Hollywood’s rules and redefined what it mean...

On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews & Kristy Woodson Harvey welcome iconic NYT-bestselling crime writer Tana French to discuss the third and final book in her million-copy-bestselling Cal Hooper trilogy, The Keeper, which just debuted at #4 on the NYT bestseller list upon its release. Tana French is the New York Times bestselling author of nine previous books, including In the Woods, The Searcher, and The Hunter. Her novels have sold more than eight million copies worldwide and won numerous awards, including the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, and Barry awards, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Best Mystery/Thriller, and the...

On this episode, Kristin Harmel, Patti Callahan Henry & Mary Kay Andrews welcome this month’s F&F Featured Authors, #1 NYT-bestselling novelist V.E. Schwab and screenwriter and YA author Cat Clarke to discuss their new locked-room thriller (co-written as Evelyn Clarke), The Ending Writes Itself, our April 2026 Pick of the Month, which Stephen King has proclaimed as “in the running for best mystery of 2026!” V.E. Schwab is a #1 New York Times bestselling author known for her genre-defying works like The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and the Shades of Magic series. Cat Clarke is a screenwriter and author known...

For Easter week, we are re-airing one of our favorite episodes from the vault! Join us as Kristy Woodson Harvey, Patti Callahan Henry & Mary Kay Andrews talk to our own Kristin Harmel about her 2025 instant NYT-bestseller, The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau—about two jewel thieves, a priceless bracelet that disappears in 1940s Paris, and a quest for answers in a decades-old murder—which is out in paperback this week. One of the founders and hosts of Friends & Fiction, Kristin is the New York Times, USA Today, and #1 internationally bestselling author of more than a dozen novels, including The Fore...

On this episode, the full F&F family — Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey & Patti Callahan Henry — gathers to welcome this month’s F&F Featured Authors, the #1 NYT-bestselling Virginia Evans to discuss her epistolary novel of connection and daring, The Correspondent, and the #1 NYT-bestselling Allen Levi to discuss his endearing story of anonymous generosity, Theo of Golden. These are our TWO March 2026 Picks of the Month in one fabulous double whammy episode! BOTH of these debut novels are #1 NYT-bestselling phenomena, BOTH are Katie Couric Book Club picks, and BOTH can attribute their overwhelming success to pure old-fa...

On this episode, the full F&F family — Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey & Patti Callahan Henry — gathers with Managing Director Meg Walker and Producer Shaun Hettinger for a special “just us” episode. We’ve got another F&F family episode of our show, but this time we are joined by our tech guru and #1 cabana boy Shaun for a super fun musical discussion. Shaun is a talented musician who has been in several bands and written lots of film scores and soundtracks. When he told us he has a new single dropping on March 20th (and a full alb...

On this episode, Kristy Woodson Harvey & Mary Kay Andrews welcome #1 New York Times bestselling author Lucy Score to discuss her new swoonworthy small town rom-com, Mistakes Were Made, which invites us back to Story Lake for a steamy escape full of emotional twists, slow-burn tension, and Lucy's trademark charm. Lucy Score is a #1 NYT-bestselling author who stumbled into her dream job after being fired one too many times. Known for her laugh-out-loud romances and fiercely loyal readers, she’s sold millions of books across the globe which have been translated into 31 languages and counting. When she’s not writing, Lucy...

On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews & Patti Callahan Henry welcome New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist Joshilyn Jackson to discuss her fast-paced new thriller, Missing Sister, a chilling story of sisters and revenge. Joshilyn is the author of eleven previous novels, including Gods in Alabama and Never Have I Ever. Her books have been translated into more than a dozen languages. A former actor and an award-winning audiobook narrator, Joshilyn is a recent expat from the American South. She joins us from her new home in upstate New York to discuss Missing Sister, the book Karin Slaughter...

On this episode, Ron Block & Patti Callahan Henry welcome acclaimed author Terah Shelton Harris to discuss her new novel, Where the Wildflowers Grow, poignant story of survival and redemption that questions what it means to stop existing and start living. Terah is a former librarian who now writes upmarket fiction with bittersweet endings. She is the author of One Summer in Savannah and Long After We Are Gone. Her books have been chosen as a Target Book Club pick, LibraryReads pick, Kobo Best Book, Publishers Marketplace Buzz Book, and a Goodreads Choice Awards nominee for Best Debut. Terah was...

On this episode, the full F&F family — Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey & Patti Callahan Henry — gathers with Managing Director Meg Walker for a special “just us” episode. Consider this a throwback to the earlier days of Friends & Fiction when we wouldn’t always welcome an author guest every week and our hosts would occasionally just gather to have an off-the-cuff chat about what they’re reading and loving, what trends they’re seeing in the industry, and what’s happening in their busy author lives. On a week when the show would have been “dark” for a monthly break...

On this episode, Kristy Woodson Harvey & Kristin Harmel welcome preeminent journalist and royal biographer Omid Scobie and his National Book Award-winning co-author Robin Benway to discuss their much-anticipated novel, Royal Spin, in which they draw from their real world expertise to create an irresistibly entertaining story about a young American woman who takes a job at Buckingham Palace—where she finds herself tangled in a royal mess she might not be able to spin her way out of. Omid Scobie is a British journalist and NYT-bestselling author of Finding Freedom and Endgame, which have been published in more than 20 co...

On this episode, the full F&F family gathers to welcome this month’s F&F Featured Authors, the bestselling Janie Chang to discuss her haunting Gothic novel set in 1911 China, The Fourth Princess, and the NYT-bestselling Kate Quinn to discuss her gorgeously written fantastical adventure, The Astral Library. These are our TWO February 2026 Picks of the Month in one fabulous double whammy episode! Janie Chang is a Globe and Mail bestselling author of historical fiction that often draws from her family history and ancestral stories. She is the author of Three Souls, Dragon Springs Road, The Library of Le...

On this episode, the full F&F family gathers to welcome this month’s F&F Featured Author, the NYT-bestselling Paula McLain, to discuss our January 2026 Pick of the Month, her new mesmerizing tale of Paris above and below, Skylark, in which a woman’s quest for artistic freedom in 1664 intertwines with a doctor’s dangerous mission during the German occupation in the 1940s, revealing a story of courage and resistance that transcends time. Paula McLain is the New York Times bestselling author of six novels, including The Paris Wife, Circling the Sun, and Love and Ruin, as well as two...

On this episode, Ron Block & Mary Kay Andrews welcome USA Today bestselling author Jesse Q. Sutanto to discuss her new claustrophobic psychological suspense novel Read Between the Lies in which the line between victim and villain blurs with every chapter. Because in the end, everyone has their own version of the truth--but only one will make it onto the page.
Jesse is the Edgar Award-winning, USA Today bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties, The Obsession, Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit, Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, and Well, That Was Unexpected. The film rights to Dial...

On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews & Kristy Woodson Harvey welcome New York Times bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz to discuss her enthralling new romantic suspense novel, The Shop on Hidden Lane which is filled with deeply entrenched grudges, psychic dangers, and a conspiracy that threatens not only two families but also the entire paranormal community. Jayne is the author of more than 50 NYT bestsellers. She uses three different pen names for each of her “worlds.” As Jayne Ann Krentz (her married name) she writes contemporary romantic-suspense. She uses Amanda Quick for her novels of historical romantic-suspense. Jayne Castle (her birt...