Episodes

  • Friends & Fiction with Lisa Genova
    Jan 31 2025

    On this episode, Kristy Woodson Harvey & Mary Kay Andrews welcome neuroscientist turned New York Times bestselling author Lisa Genova to discuss her breathless, riveting new novel, More or Less Maddy, about a young woman diagnosed with bipolar disorder who rejects the stability and approval found in a traditionally “normal” life for a career in stand-up comedy. Acclaimed as the Oliver Sacks of fiction and the Michael Crichton of brain science, Lisa Genova is the New York Times bestselling author of Still Alice, Left Neglected, Love Anthony, Inside the O'Briens, and Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting. Still Alice was adapted into an Oscar-winning film starring Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, and Kristen Stewart. Lisa graduated valedictorian from Bates College with a degree in biopsychology and holds a PhD in neuroscience from Harvard. Her TED talks on Alzheimer's and memory have been viewed over 11-million times. She joins us to discuss More or Less Maddy, which Booklist calls, “a visceral, harrowing, and undeniably powerful read,” and Publishers Weekly dubs “a remarkable achievement.”

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    35 mins
  • Friends & Fiction with Scott Turow
    Jan 24 2025

    On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews & Ron Block welcome #1 New York Times bestselling master of the legal thriller, Scott Turow, to discuss his riveting new courtroom drama, Presumed Guilty, which sees the return of Rusty Sabich from Presumed Innocent, the phenomenon that redefined the genre. A writer and former practicing lawyer, Scott Turow is the author of 13 bestselling works of fiction, including Presumed Innocent and Suspect. Scott has also published two nonfiction books, including the perennial bestseller, One L, about his experience as a Harvard Law student. His books have been translated into more than 40 languages, sold more than 30-million copies worldwide, and have been adapted into movies and television projects. Recently, Presumed Innocent was the basis for Apple TV+’s most-watched drama series ever, starring Jake Gyllenhaal. Scott joins us to discuss his new novel, Presumed Guilty, in which Rusty returns to court one last time to defend his fiancé’s son and to find out whether the system to which he has devoted his life can ever provide true justice for those who are presumed guilty.

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    54 mins
  • Friends & Fiction with Tara Dorabji
    Jan 17 2025

    On this episode, the Fab Four — Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey, Patti Callahan Henry — gather to welcome this month’s F&F Featured Author, debut novelist Tara Dorabji, to discuss our January 2025 Pick of the Month, Call Her Freedom, a sweeping family saga following one woman’s struggle to protect her culture and her family amidst the backdrop of a military occupation. Tara Dorabji is the daughter of Parsi-Indian and German-Italian migrants. Her documentary film series on human rights defenders in Kashmir won awards at over a dozen film festivals throughout Asia and the US. Her writing has been featured in publications such as Al Jazeera, The Chicago Quarterly, Huizache, and in the acclaimed anthologies: Good Girls Marry Doctors and All the Women in My Family Sing. She joins us from her home in Northern California to discuss her debut novel, Call Her Freedom, which was chosen as the winner of Simon & Schuster’s Books Like Us First Novel Contest for underrepresented writers.

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    48 mins
  • Friends & Fiction with Kate Fagan
    Jan 10 2025

    On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Kristy Woodson Harvey welcome Emmy-winning journalist and #1 New York Times bestselling author Kate Fagan to discuss her electric, voice-driven debut novel, The Three Lives Of Cate Kay, about an elusive bestselling author who decides to finally confess her true identity after years of hiding from her past. Kate Fagan has published four previous books including What Made Maddy Run, a semi-finalist for the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sportswriting; All The Colors Came Out, a memoir of basketball and the enduring father/daughter bond; and Hoop Muses, an insider’s guide to pop culture and the women’s game on which she collaborated with WNBA legend Seimone Augustus and artist Sophia Chang. Kate spent seven years as a columnist and feature writer for espnW, ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine, was a regular panelist on ESPN's “Around the Horn,” and a host of “Outside the Lines.” Kate covered the Philadelphia 76ers for three seasons and played college basketball at the University of Colorado. She joins us from her home in Charleston to discuss her fiction debut, The Three Lives Of Cate Kay, which has been described as The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo meets First Lie Wins.

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    49 mins
  • Friends & Fiction with Fiona Davis
    Jan 3 2025

    On this episode, Kristin Harmel & Patti Callahan Henry welcome NYT-bestselling author Fiona Davis to discuss her latest utterly addictive historical novel, The Stolen Queen, which transports us from New York City’s glamorous Met Gala in the 1970s to the labyrinth streets of 1930s Cairo and back. Fiona Davis is the New York Times bestselling author of seven historical fiction novels, each set in a different iconic New York City building, including The Spectacular, The Magnolia Palace, The Address, and The Lions of Fifth Avenue, which was a Good Morning America book club pick. Her articles have appeared in publications like The Wall Street Journal and the Oprah magazine. Fiona first came to New York as an actress, but fell in love with writing after getting a master's degree at Columbia Journalism School. Her books have been translated into more than twenty languages. She joins us to discuss The Stolen Queen in which New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the pharaohs' tombs of Egypt take center stage.

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    49 mins
  • Friends & Fiction Holiday Office Party
    Dec 27 2024

    On this episode, the full F&F family all gather together — Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey, Patti Callahan Henry, Meg Walker & Ron Block — for out F&F Holiday Office Party. The gang brings the holiday cheer with a rousing round of Name That Holiday Tune, a fun game of Bookish Holiday Trivia, and a laugh-filled Lightning Round where we share favorites and least favorites when it comes to all things Christmas. You’ll want to tune in for the ugly sweaters alone. From the adorable to the shocking to the truly perplexing, they are each a whole vibe. Come celebrate the holidays with us!

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    1 hr and 1 min
  • Friends & Fiction with Hazel Gaynor & Heather Webb
    Dec 20 2024

    On this episode, the Fab Four (Kristy Woodson Harvey, Patti Callahan Henry, Kristin Harmel & Mary Kay Andrews) gather to welcome this month’s F&F Featured Author, the writing duo of Hazel Gaynor & Heather Webb, to discuss our December 2024 Pick of the Month, their co-written heartwarming historical novel, Christmas with the Queen. Hazel Gaynor is an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author and freelance writer in Ireland and the UK who is known for her deeply moving historical novels including The Last Lifeboat and The Girl from Savoy. Heather Webb is the award-winning and USA Today bestselling author of ten historical novels including The Next Ship Home and Queens of London. Together Hazel and Heather have penned four previous works of historical fiction including Last Christmas in Paris and Three Words for Goodbye. The pair joins us to discuss their newly released Christmas with the Queen, which has been described as “The Crown” meets “When Harry Met Sally,” and which Gill Paul calls, “as delicious as a Christmas pudding topped with flaming brandy and lashings of cream.” We are excited to celebrate this festive season with Hazel & Heather and hear all about their latest captivating page-turner.

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    52 mins
  • Friends & Fiction with Jillian Cantor
    Dec 13 2024

    On this episode, Kristy Woodson Harvey and Patti Callahan Henry welcome the USA Today and internationally bestselling author Jillian Cantor to discuss her new novel, THE GREATEST LIE OF ALL, in which a glamorous romance novelist and an aspiring starlet share an unexpected secret.Jillian Cantor is the USA Today and internationally bestselling author of twelve novels for teens and adults, including, most recently THE FICTION WRITER. Her books have been chosen for LibraryReads, Indie Next and Amazon Best of the Month, and have been translated into fifteen languages. Jillian joins us from her home in Arizona to chat about her thirteenth novel, THE GREATEST LIE OF ALL, an addictive story about love, ambition, and how far we're willing to go to protect our hearts. The book has been called “Jillian Cantor at her absolute best,” by Allison Winn Scotch, “propulsively paced,” by Shelf Awareness, and “irresistibly juicy, twisty, and layered,” by Annabel Monaghan—and we are excited to talk to Jillian all about it.

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    39 mins