You’ve undoubtedly heard of American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, the First Lady of Song, but you likely don’t know much about her early life. My guest this week aims to change all that. Diane Richards is an author, playwright, singer, producer, and the Executive Director of the Harlem Writers Guild, which launched and supported Dr. Maya Angelou’s writing career, Diane’s novel “Ella” is a fictionalized biography spanning two years of Ella’s life, from her mother’s death in 1932 to her...

My guest this week is internationally-bestselling author Sarah Penner. Her debut novel “The Lost Apothecary,” was an Instant NY Times bestseller, a Book of the Year top 5 finalist, has sold over one million copies, is available in forty territories, and is currently in production as a drama series on Fox. Her second novel, “The London Séance Society,” was an instant NY Times, Publishers Weekly, IndieBound bestseller, as well as a Book of the Month pick for March 2023, and an instant...

My guest this week is award-winning author Katrina Kell. Katrina won an Australian Society of Authors Award Mentorship for “Chloé,” her novel released earlier this year. “Chloé” is an historical novel, inspired by the painting of the same name by Jules Lefebvre in 1875, which now lives in the bar of the Young and Jackson Hotel in Melbourne.  In her novel, Katrina explores the life of Marie, the woman who posed for the painting, and the mystery behind her supposed death. In our conversation,...

I’m very excited to welcome back this week’s guest Helen Fripp! Helen first graced us with her presence in our 32nd episode, where we spoke about her novel “The Painter’s Girl.” Her latest novel finds us returning to France - this time, in Provence during World War II - in “The Girl from Provence.” “The Girl from Provence” has everything: war, intrigue, and romance. Even Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the author of “The Little Prince,” plays an important role. In our conversation, I ask Helen...

Who on earth would be brave/crazy enough to move to Paris, quit their secure job in finance, and open a cooking school? The answer, of course, is Jane Bertch, founder of the iconic La Cuisine Paris, and author of “The French Ingredient.” In her beautifully-written memoir, Jane details how she transformed from banker to business-owner, all while navigating the inevitable cultural differences she faced as an American expat, and the countless curveballs life threw her way. In our conversation,...

My guest this week is award-winning author Donald Lystra. Donald’s latest novel, “Searching for Van Gogh,” is a coming-of-age story, told from the perspective of Nate, against the backdrop of 1963 Michigan. Nate has lived a relatively sheltered life, but recent events have thrust him from his bubble and he's learning that there's more to the world than what he'd been brought up around. He meets Audrey who, for better or worse, sees the colors in the world that Nate's eyes have not been open...

What do you do when you love some thing more than any one person? And what if that thing is something you, as a woman, are not expected to love? And how are your daughters meant to react? My guest this week is New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Melanie Benjamin. Melanie’s books have been translated in over fifteen languages. She won the WILLA Literary Award in Historical Fiction for “The Children’s Blizzard,” and her latest novel “California Golden,” was named as one of...

My guest this week is bestselling, award-winning author Jamie Pacton. Jamie has predominantly written Young Adult novels, although she currently has some adult fiction in the works. Her latest novel, “The Absinthe Underground,” is a sapphic YA romantasy set in France during the Belle Époque, and was an instant Indie Bestseller. In it, Sybil and Esme, two best friends who are secretly in love with one another, make the mistake of stealing the wrong poster in an effort to make rent. They are...

Welcome back to the Season Seven Premiere of Storytime in Paris! My first guest is Cynthia Newberry Martin and the moment I read her latest novel “The Art of Her Life,” I knew I needed to introduce you, dear listeners, to her work. Cynthia won the Gold Medal in Literary Fiction at the 2020 Independent Publisher Book Awards and the 14th Annual National Indie Excellence Award for Fiction for her first novel “Tidal Flats.” In “The Art of Her Life,” our main character Emily fell in love with...

For this Season Finale of Storytime in Paris, I’m thrilled to be joined by New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author Madeline Martin, who will be giving us a sneak peek into her latest book, ”The Keeper of Hidden Books.” ”The Keeper of Hidden Books” is based on the true story of the underground library in WWII Warsaw, Poland. Zofia is an intelligent, outspoken and rebellious 17-year-old, who wants nothing more than to dig into a good book and chat about it with her...

My guest this week is award-winning author Cate Green, whose novel “The Curious Kidnapping of Nora W.” won 2019’s Exeter Novel Prize. “The Curious Kidnapping of Nora W.” focuses on the final 18 days, not of Nora’s life, but before she breaks the world record for being the oldest person in history, at 122 years and 165 days old. But strong-willed Nora is not your average centarian and, as she disappears from her retirement home, she, and her family, embark on an adventure down memory...

My guest this week is best-selling, award-winning author Jennifer Cody Epstein. Jennifer’s latest novel "The Madwomen of Paris" is a work of historical fiction set in Paris’s 19th-century Salpêtrière, a notorious women’s asylum. Here, women are treated for hysteria by world famous Doctor Jean-Martine Charcot, often publicly, on stage and under hypnosis. When Josephine is admitted to the hospital in a fit of rage and amnesia, she is placed under the care of Laure, a...

My guest this week is award-winning author and screenwriter Stef Penney, whose novel "The Tenderness of Wolves" won Costa Book of the Year, Theakston’s Crime Novel of the Year, and has been translated into 30 languages. Her latest novel, "The Beasts of Paris,” takes us to Paris in 1870 at the onset of the Franco-Prussian War and its subsequent revolution. We visit Paris, not through the eyes of political or military strategists, but through some of her more marginalized characters: gay men,...

My guest this week is author, theologian, and cultural critic Dr. Tara Isabella Burton. Tara has written five books, including three novels and two nonfiction books. Her debut novel, “Social Creature,” was named a "book of the year" by The New York Times, New York's Vulture, and The Guardian. In addition to this, her writing has appeared in publications like The New York Times, National Geographic, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. Tara’s second nonfiction book “Self-Made:...

My guest this week is Jaclyn Goldis, a former lawyer who gave it all up to travel the world and write novels. Her latest book, “The Chateau,” published by Simon & Schuster, is a mystery/thriller set in a chateau in Provence. What begins as a celebratory reunion for a group of old friends, soon devolves into “deadly nightmare of secrets and murder.” “The Chateau” is a deeply atmospheric and twisty page-turner that will keep you happily guessing until the very last page. In our...

My guest this week is the illustrious Chelsea Fagan. Chelsea is an author and the founder and CEO of The Financial Diet, the largest women's personal finance media company. You may know her written work from her numerous non-fiction books or her pieces in publications like The Atlantic, VICE and Cosmpolitan, but we’re here to talk about Chelsea’s steamy fiction debut: “A Perfect Vintage.” Lea is an industrious American charged with overseeing the renovation of a chateau in the Loire Valley....

My guest this week is New York Times Bestelling author Martha Hall Kelly. In fact, Martha’s debut novel Lilac Girls, became a New York Times bestseller the week it was published. It then went on to sell over two million copies and be published in 50 countries. She followed that book with two more in the series. Martha’s latest book, The Golden Doves, is a standalone work of historical fiction set just in the aftermath of WWII. It features two former female spies - one hunting down an infamous...

What would you do if you were living in Paris in 1949 and Julia Child just happened to be your best friend and neighbor? What then if the two of you stumbled upon a murder? My guest is week is Colleen Cambridge, who also writes under the name Colleen Gleason. Colleen is an award-winning USA Today and New York Times bestselling author whose books have been translated into 8 languages. Colleen is a prolific writer, and her latest book "Mastering the Art of French Murder,” is the first in her...

GIVEAWAY My first guest this season is critically-acclaimed author and journalist Sophie Hardach. Sophie’s non-fiction debut, “Languages Are Good For Us,” is about language and how it develops, how it evolves, how its learned, how its used, how it can die or be revived. It’s a wonderfully-researched book that honors the many ways in which we humans have communicated over time and mixes historical fact with Sophie’s personal experiences. Sophie has also generously offered to give away a...

Welcome to the Season Finale of Season Five of Storytime in Paris! This week, I had the pleassure of sitting down with lawyer, law professor, and NYTimes bestelling author Pam Jenoff to talk about her book “Code Name Sapphire.” “Code Name Sapphire” is a riveting, fast-paced story about courage, sacrifice, family, love, and impossible choices set against the background of WWII Europe. In our conversation, Pam chats about the slow process of fast-paced writing, where she finds inspiration, how...

My guest this week is journalist and author Joel Warner, whose latest book The Curse of the Marquis de Sade recounts the true story of how the Marquis de Sade’s book 120 Days of Sodom landed at the heart of one of the biggest scams in modern literary history in a French Ponzi scheme. Joel’s book is incredibly well-researched and weaves together tales from the Marquis’s life, the adventures of the scroll 120 Days of Sodom was written on, and the world of letter and manuscript collecting. Was...

My guest this week is New York Times and Sunday Times #1 bestselling author B.A. Paris. Bernadette’s latest novel, “The Prisoner,” is a psychological thriller centered around Amélie, a young woman who wakes up in a pitch-black room, not knowing where she is, who brought her there, or what they want. In our conversation, Bernadette shares what draws her to psychological thrillers, how she crafts a naive protagonist, whether it’s more fun to write moral or irrmoral characters, sensorial...

My guest this week is award-winning, #1 internationally bestselling author Eva Stachniak. Eva is known for her lovely, detailed works of historical fiction, and her latest novel, “The School of Mirrors” is a stunning book that nestles its characters into a rich and vivid world seeped in history.. Spanning the last half of the 18th century, her novel centers around two women, Veronique, a young girl brought to Versailles to be a courtesan to King Louis XV, and their illegitimate daughter,...

My guest this week is Edward Chisholm whose debut novel “A Waiter in Paris: Adventures in the Dark Heart of the City” has received international recognition. It was named Book of the Week by the Daily Mail and one of the Best Books of 2022 by the New York Post. “A Waiter in Paris” is based on Edward’s time as, well, a waiter in Paris, a job he threw himself into when he found himself alone, nearly penniless, and speaking only the most rudimentary French. It’s a look into the seedy underbelly...