New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis joins Adam to chat about her brand new book, The Spectacular, but before they get into that, they get into her massive adoration for the theater. An actress by trade, Fiona expresses where her love comes from and how it connects with the stories she tells. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jude Atwood is a teacher and author of the award-winning debut middle grade novel, Maybe There Are Witches, but the science of baking is where he finds pure joy. He's baked over 40 different types of pies and cakes and loves tinkering with recipes. In this chat, we breakdown how this baking has helped his writing and all about his new novel! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sidney Karger is an award-winning screenwriter for film and television with credits including Billy on the Street, Comedy Central, and Saturday Night Live. Growing up near Chicago, he was raised on a steady diet of improv and sketch comedy from some of the greats of Second City and Upright Citizens Brigade. It's a shared love Adam also adores. They also get into his incredible new romantic comedy Best Men! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Margaret Owen creates elaborate and fantastical worlds that feel so vibrant you can almost touch them. Her books are magical and fully realized and this comes from the origins of her creative story-as an artist. Margaret discusses her fascination with visual arts and her incredible, instant bestselling new book Painted Devils. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anissa Gray was raised in a world of music, specifically gospel music. It's inspired her latest novel, Life and other love songs. In this discussion, we get into how the music of her childhood home shaped her work and her life at large. We get into the music of her adult life and returning to gospel later in her life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a bonus episode with friend of the show, Mallory O'Meara! We are dishing out loads of book recommendations but before you get to those, go preorder her new book, Girls Make Movies, right now! Books mentioned in this episode: Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal The September House by Carissa Orlando Magdalena by Candi Sary Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano Satisfaction Guaranteed by Karelia Stetz-Waters The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean Advika and the Hollywood...

H.G. Parry's newest book, The Magician's Daughter has a few magical animal characters and when you learn about her interests, you'll understand why. She adores mice and rabbits both in the literary sense and the "own a bunch of them" sense. This is a fascinating discussion about her deep research about these animals and their relationship with stories as well as what it's like owning them as pets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

J. Ryan Stradal is the author of New York Times bestseller Kitchens of the Great Midwest and national bestseller The Lager Queen of Minnesota but somehow his latest novel Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club, might just be his most midwestern book yet. He tells the stories of generations of a family-run diner, what it means to the community, and the stress it brings the people who run it. In this conversation, we discuss food at-large, what a supper club is, our respective midwestern...

Rebecca Makkai is borderline obsessive with language. When you read her books, it feels like every sentence and every word is exactly where it should be. When you find out that she's on a quest to learn one of the world's most difficult languages, it's easy to understand why words matter so much to her. Rebecca's latest book, I Have Some Questions for You, uses her obsession with language to tell a story riddled with deep character construction. We dive into both her loves, writing the...

New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline has written 35 books in 35 years but her true passion is her love of of animals all shapes and sizes. From her trusted best friend dogs, to horses, to chickens Lisa loves them all. In this scatterplot chat, Adam and Lisa discuss their senior dogs, her new bestseller Loyalty, and what sparked her to realize she wanted to keep adding animals. This is a MUST listen. Enjoyed this episode? Be sure to rate and review us on whatever platform you...

Kristin Loesch joins the podcast to discuss her new book The Last Russian Doll as well as her love of flash and experimental fiction. It was a passion she discovered during the pandemic and it's been a great way for to keep her writing skills sharp in between novels. She offers all kinds of tips for aspiring writers and fans of short stories. Enjoyed this episode? Be sure to rate and review us on whatever platform you listen to your podcasts and send your feedback...

Jenny Jackson has taken the literary world by storm with her new book Pineapple Street and the heart of that story lies in the heart of her own community. During the pandemic, Jenny found herself obsessing over her community of Brooklyn Heights. She researched the buildings, the prices of the real estate, and the people who lived there. An obsession begat a story which begat an instant place on the New York Times bestsellers list! Enjoyed this episode? Be sure to rate and review us on...

What would you do if your entire town lived in a single building, couldn't leave, and then found yourself trapped? That's what Iris Yamashita's novel City Under One Roof asks. In this discussion, we chat about her new murder mystery based on a real Alaskan town, her life as an Oscar-nominated screenplay writer, and her rediscovery of the joys of playing music... specifically movie scores. Enjoyed this episode? Be sure to rate and review us on whatever platform you listen to your podcasts and...

Melissa De La Cruz is well know for her bestselling young adult novels, incredible book festivals, and her experience creating stories in Hollywood. What people might not know about her is her fierce adoration of being a mother. In this chat, we breakdown what it means to be a classroom mother and how her children's friends have become beta readers for her. We then discuss her new novel The Headmaster's List. Enjoyed this episode? Be sure to rate and review us on whatever platform you listen...

Alma Katsu built an entire career in intelligence before the literary world discovered her talent for writing historical horror with The Fervor, The Deep, & The Hunger. Now, with Red London, she returns to the world of secrecy and thrillers. Her initial novel in the series, Red Widow, kept readers guessing until the final page with it's political intrigue and spy games and Red London does the same. Where does she write all these stories? Well that's what this discussion is all about! She...

Hannah Whitten took the literary world by storm with her debut For the Wolf & it's follow up For the Throne. Now she's back with a magical, mysterious heisty novel that you won't be able to put down... The Foxglove King! In this chat, Hannah and Adam talk about where she learned to block a story scene by scene... on the stage! They discuss musical theater, how she sees character interactions, and all the intricacies of her stunning new novel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

GennaRose Nethercott's book Thistlefoot, is all Adam has been able to talk about for months. It's macabre, spooky atmosphere starts to make a lot more sense when you learn about her life long fascination with all things creepy. She researches for the hit podcast Lore, has a clown for a parent, and travels around with a puppet show. In short, her life is a joyful mystery each day! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Leah Konen knows how to craft a thriller. She's made a career out of writing page turning stories that keep you on the edge of your seat and You Should Have Told me is no different. You'll be left guessing until the very end. It's almost as if she's made it her quest to build out a stunning narrative. Which makes when sense when you hear about her love of the long form adventures she's fallen in love with from the World of Warcraft computer game. In this discussion, Leah and Adam talk about...

We're back with another bonus episode loaded with book recommendations! Adam's buddy Tina, from the popular Book Talk, etc., podcast , stops by to spend an hour offering up backlist book recommendations that are sure to add STACKS to your TBR list... sorry, not sorry. Tina's current read: The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz Adam’s current read: Maame by Jessica George Tina’s Book picks How it went down by Kekla Magoon The Humans by Matt Haig The Nix by Nathan Hill Working Stiff by Judy...

Mimi Herman's new book, The Kudzu Queen, is all about a mysterious man who comes into town looking to shake things up. In her own way, Mimi was that strange person when she bought a house, nearly site unseen, that she could afford to purchase but could not afford to pay someone else to fix up. And so, she learned plumbing. And painting. And electric. And a million other things that went into home restoration. And she grew to LOVE it. You're going to adore this chat and her fabulous...

Nick Brooks is an author hip hop artist and an award-winning filmmaker. All his life, he's find stories in the music he listens to, transforming them into films, lyrics, and, now, his massively awaited new novel, Promise Boys. In this discussion, Adam and Nick chat about his foundational love of rap, the groups he fell in love with, and how he determines what medium to tell his stories in. Enjoyed this episode? Be sure to rate and review us on whatever platform you listen to your podcasts...

Grady Hendrix’s new novel, How to Sell a Haunted House, is the culmination of what his career as a horror novelist has been all about: building terror through emotion and experiences we can all relate to. In this discussion, Adam and Grady chat about how these emotional cores that transform into fear sprung from his original passion for folklore and the horror that comes from it.  They discuss his early years living in England, how he came to be known as “the horror book” person, what makes a...

Jennifer Herrera's new book, The Hunter, is a psychological thriller that will leave you guessing every step of the way. When you learn about her extensive knowledge of both philosophy and psychology in this chat, you'll uncover how she was able to weave such an incredible mystery that is also packed with feeling and emotion. This wide-ranging chat goes into her studies in college, her budding interest after that into the world of psychology as well as Jennifer and Adam's shared history in...

In Victoria Garza's new memoir, The Field, she writes about the unspeakable tragedy that took place in her family when she was a child. Between that time and now, Victoria has gone on a journey to understand what took place in the past and what has taken place since then in her own mind. In this discussion, Victoria and Adam discuss her childhood growing up in the vegetable fields of Ohio and her experience with plant ceremonies and how they've helped to come to terms with the world around...

Millions of copies of Cornelia Maude Spelman's books have been sold thanks to their ability to help children understand emotions and come to terms with life experiences they're having for the first time. Now, she's written a memoir titled Missing in an attempt to understand the life experiences of her own family. In this discussion, Adam and Cornelia discuss family heirlooms and the things that get passed down from generation to generation, slowing coming to represent the history of a family...