Friends & Fiction

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 film and television. Around here she is most adored for her role as one of F&F’s co-founders and co-hosts. Readers have flocked to Kristy’s beloved Peachtree Bluff series for a reason: it’s a cozy coastal town where family secrets refuse to be washed away by the tide and close-knit community is everything. We agree with Susan Mallery who says, "Peachtree Bluff is my happy place!” Go there with us on this LIVE show as we welcome Fall the best way we know how—with a brand-new book perfect for the season and all the fun, laughs, and warm-hearted insights you’ve come to expect from our live launch episodes! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 need to do this again to get to more of them! But for now, join us as we discuss all manner of things from writing process, reading habits, and recent favorite reads, to book touring, guest booking, and the relationships between our four hosts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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, and intrigue—and the big reveal of what was in Cinnamon’s email. Tune in for this fun chat with this dynamic mother-daughter author duo—now with a brand-new intro from Kristy Woodson Harvey—as we discuss Elin & Shelby’s fresh, buzzy take on boarding school life which took one of America's most satisfying and popular storytellers in a thrilling new direction. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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, debuted at #1 worldwide on Netflix as an original series in 2022. Her bestselling Will Trent series is now a television and streaming sensation in its 4th season. Karin joins us to give an update on all her projects currently in development for film/TV, her work with Save the Libraries, and, of course, her pulse-pounding new thriller, The Secrets We Hide, about which Booklist said this in a starred review: “themes of motherhood, betrayal, and redemption are tied up in the final twist in Slaughter's gripping portrait of a painfully human small town.” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 The Romance Revival, their delightful new twist on second-chance romance which Ali Hazelwood calls, “unexpected, ridiculously charming, and romantic enough to short-circuit my last brain cell.” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, among other publications. She joins us to discuss her new suspense novel, The Parisian Heist, about an all-female art heist at Paris’s Musée d'Orsay, the legacy of Vincent van Gogh, and two daring women generations apart who refuse to be written out of history no matter the cost. Kristin Harmel calls the book “absolutely riveting and delicious,” Fiona Davis says it “has everything I’ve ever wanted in a novel,” and Kate Quinn says it’s “twisty, satisfying, and atmospheric.” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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, Kyleigh Leddy’s debut novel, Worse Than Strangers, is for fans of Jane Austen, Elin Hilderbrand, and Gilmore Girls. This beachy retelling of Austen’s Persuasion set in a modern-day Nantucket cottage is about finding romance, second chances, and a new path in life. Kyleigh penned the memoir, The Perfect Other, based on her NYT Modern Love essay, “Years Ago, My Sister Vanished. I See Her Whenever I Want.” Released on April 14th, USA Today bestselling author Chloe Liese’s Happy Ending is a clever and heartwarming rom-com perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Annabel Monaghan about two best friends who must fake a relationship for their exes. Chloe believes that everyone deserves a love story and is the author of two romantic family sagas, the Bergman Brothers and Wilmot Sisters. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 of Lost Names. She is published in more than thirty languages. She joins us before heading out on book tour to chat about her new contemporary novel, Meet Me In Paris, which is described as Love Actually meets The Notebook. We can’t wait to celebrate this tale of love, loss, and finding your way home set during one life-changing week in Paris in grand F&F style complete with musical performances and a signature cocktail! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 book has been named a Most Anticipated Book of the Summer by People, BuzzFeed, and Goodreads. We are excited to talk to Ben about the book that NYT-bestselling author Graeme Simsion (The Rosie Project) calls “one of the most original, riveting, and moving books I’ve read in a long while. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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, Blythe Danner, and Margaret Qualley. He appears regularly on the Today show to discuss his favorite book selections and has written for The New York Times, Oprah Daily, and The Washington Post. He spent more than two decades as a top editor at Cosmopolitan. He joins us to chat about Single Girls which has been named a Best Book of Summer by Oprah Daily, Harper’s Bazaar, and The Boston Globe, and been praised as “an irresistibly fun, sparkling novel that you'll want to binge in one night” by Kevin Kwan, and “a poignant and rollicking good time” by Wally Lamb. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 home in London before embarking on her US tour to chat about her new psychological thriller, It Could Have Been Her, which Riley Sager calls “twisty, twisted and oh so dark,” and Publishers Weekly calls a “pitch-black spine-tingler." Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 tells the story of her Chinese American family’s settlement in Los Angeles. See was the recipient of the Golden Spike Award from the Chinese Historical Association of Southern California and the Historymaker’s Award from the Chinese American Museum and was named National Woman of the Year by the Organization of Chinese American Women. She joins us to discuss her new book, Daughters of the Sun and Moon, which Library Journal called “a stunning piece of historical fiction based in truth” in a starred review. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 the Book Sense Book of the Year, she was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time magazine, and was awarded the National Humanities Medal in recognition of her contributions to American culture by President Biden. Her novel The Dutch House was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. She joins us from her home in Nashville—where she is the owner of Parnassus Books—to discuss her new novel Whistler, which has earned a trifecta of starred reviews from Booklist (“entrancing, radiant, and heart-seizing”), Publishers Weekly (“beautiful and generous”), and Kirkus (“death-defying, heart-opening”). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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?, a selection of laugh-out-loud columns that appeared in The Huffington Post, The Week, and The Rye Record. After twenty-five years in the suburbs of New York City, she now splits her time between Connecticut and Florida. Her novels have been translated into twenty-three languages. Annabel joins us to discuss Dolly All the Time, which Carley Fortune calls, “a luminous story of love, duty, and the tension between the two” that is “less like a novel and more like a place I never wanted to leave,” and which Elle Kennedy says, “grips you from the very first page and sparkles like the sun.” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 discuss her most personal novel to date in which two estranged sisters honor their mother’s dying wish to take a road trip to Ireland to uncover the provenance of a mysterious and potentially priceless family portrait. Publishers Weekly says Road Trip “sparkles,” and Library Journal calls it “a delightful tale with vivid characters.” Celebrate with us in grand F&F style complete with games, a signature cocktail, and lots of laughs! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 Book Club pick, The Celebrants. Steven’s got a new novel, Take Me With You, coming on May 19th. Best friends for more than three decades, Liz & Lisa have co-authored eight novels in addition to hosting a podcast, and appearing monthly on a San Diego news station to share their favorite book club picks. In this episode we discussed their Father of the Bride meets Bride Wars rom-com Forever Hold Your Peace. We hope you’ll check out their latest novel, The Naysayers, which was released earlier this year. So, as you prep for your Memorial Day weekend festivities, tune in for this interview, now with a brand-new introduction from Kristin Harmel. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 New York Times bestseller that has sold over 15-million copies worldwide and was the basis for the Academy Award-winning film. Seventeen years after this cultural phenomenon, Stockett returns with a new novel that Oprah Daily calls, “so immersive, exciting, and downright fabulous, you never want it to end.” We cannot wait to talk to her about this eagerly anticipated book that Bonnie Garmus calls “a must-read,” Adriana Trigiani calls, “terrific,” and the New York Times calls, “heart-wrenching [and] often hilarious.” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 American South and Maine, she divides her time between New York City and coastal Maine. She joins us before embarking on book tour to discuss her highly anticipated new novel, The Foursome, which has earned starred reviews across the board from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and Booklist, and which has been called “mesmerizing” and “gripping” by Real Simple, and “daring and deeply empathetic” by The Millions. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 dubbed Kristy the “go-to for elevated beach reads.” Her latest—featuring a burned out NICU nurse, a former hot shot baseball player turned high school coach, an abandoned baby, and a batty aunt with long-buried secrets—whisks us away to the tight-knit coastal community of Cape Carolina and shows us that sometimes life conspires to bring us exactly where we belong. Join us as we celebrate Kristy’s launch in grand F&F style with special guests, a signature cocktail, games, and laughs galore. Trust us—you do NOT want to miss this one! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 meant to be a woman in film. Lynn Cullen is the nationally bestselling author of Mrs. Poe and The Woman with the Cure. Her dazzling new novel, When We Were Brilliant, is about the unlikely pair—blond bombshell Marilyn Monroe and serious photographer Eve Arnold—who made a deal that would change both of their lives. We are so excited to talk to both authors about these fascinating new books which paint a vivid picture of two iconic women and their fierce struggle for independence and authenticity in Hollywood’s Golden Age. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.