Meet Greer Macallister TONIGHT!
Weekly News from Friends & Fiction—August 14, 2024
Tune in at 7pm ET for TONIGHT’s episode!
Join us Wednesday, August 14th at 7pm Eastern on the F&F Facebook page and YouTube channel as Kristy Woodson Harvey and Mary Kay Andrews welcome bestselling author Greer Macallister to discuss THE THIRTEENTH HUSBAND, the story of scandalous heiress Aimee Crocker, who lit up the Gilded Age tabloids with her devil-may-care attitude and worldwide adventures.
Greer Macallister’s historical novels, including THE MAGICIAN'S LIE, GIRL IN DISGUISE, WOMAN 99, and THE ARCTIC FURY, have been named Book of the Month, Indie Next, LibraryReads, Target Book Club, and Amazon Best Book of the Month picks and optioned for film and television. As G. R. Macallister, she is the author of the Five Queendoms series, which Paste Magazine called “the best feminist fantasy series you probably haven't read yet.” She joins us to discuss her latest work of historical fiction, THE THIRTEENTH HUSBAND (Sourcebooks, Aug 6), which Fiona Davis has dubbed, “a whirlwind...a truly wonderful read,” and Marie Benedict has called, “utterly gripping.” This fictional tell-all has been described as THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO meets THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE and we can’t wait to talk to Greer all about it.
Watch the video broadcast of this show as it airs Wed 8/14 at 7pm ET on the F&F Facebook group page & YouTube channel. Catch the audio version on our podcast Fri 8/16.
Order Greer’s book on Bookshop.org!
Shop all of our guests’ & hosts’ books in our F&F Shop on Bookshop.org!
Upgrade to our PAID Subscription for bonus Q&A’s with our guest authors which include a writing tip, book recommendation, and information about their works-in-progress, plus other great material not covered on the show!
Latest News from the Fab Four!
KRISTY WOODSON HARVEY is enjoying the last bit of summer break with little Will. She is excited to be visiting her parents this weekend and is working away on her 2026 novel. She hopes to have a cover to share with you soon on her 2025 novel! Kristy was so excited to see THE SUMMER OF SONGBIRDS included in this Woman’s World article, Books About Summer Camp!
What Kristy is reading and why she’s loving it: Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty. I am so intrigued by the premise of this book. I can’t wait to have her on the show to discuss every twist and turn.
PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY was so inspired by the independent booksellers gathering in Arlington, Virginia. It was the first time she’s spoken about The Story She Left Behind, and it made her so excited for the upcoming release (6 ½ months!!!). She also attended the wedding of a dear friend and was able to spend loads of time with her son, who lives in DC. She walked miles and miles around the capital and was awed by both the Natural History Museum and the American History Museum. (Her favorites: the Hope Diamond, the First Ladies’ Dress exhibit, and always the gems and minerals). Now she is back to work (including a fascinating discussion Thursday night with Frances Mayes of Under the Tuscan Sun fame about her new novel, A Great Marriage.)
What Patti is reading and why she’s loving it: By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult out August 20th. I am loving this novel! I am thinking about it during the day and wondering how Jodi will round out these fascinating characters. A dual timeline between present day and 1500’s Shakespeare theater, two playwright women across centuries must hide their identity to write. Jodi supposes that another woman — Emilia Bassano — wrote Shakespeare’s plays and the suspense and scenes have me turning the pages like mad.
KRISTIN HARMEL can’t believe that her son, Noah, started third grade this week. How is the summer over? How is he so old? Where are the days and weeks and months going? Now that her family is getting back into a school-year routine, she’s looking forward to diving in to an early outline for her next novel, as she waits for edits to come in on her 2025 book.
What Kristin is reading and why she’s loving it: Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance. I don’t agree with his politics, but I think that trying to understand where people are coming from is even more important when you don’t share the same perspective. I was curious about who he is as a person—and what’s in his heart. The book—which is well-written and details his very difficult childhood—answers a lot of those questions for me. Books—both fiction and nonfiction—can often serve as doors into other worlds, and especially in this time of division as the election approaches, it felt like a good idea to take a peek through that doorway.
MARY KAY ANDREWS is slowly getting back into the groove of writing. Her next book is a dual timeline novel set partly in Ireland, and she’s mentally packing for her research trip in early September. In the meantime, you can catch her in Atlanta, this Sunday, in conversation with the irrepressible Karin Slaughter, for the release of Karin’s latest Will Trent/Sara Linton thriller, This Is Why We Lied. Go here for tickets, which include a signed copy of Karin’s book. (You can also purchase MKA’s latest.)
What MKA is reading and why she’s loving it: This Is Why We Lied by Karin Slaughter. Will and Sara honeymoon at a family-owned off-the-grid mountaintop resort and have barely unpacked before they encounter a bone-chilling murder. The suspects include the victim’s troubled family and the other guests—eight strangers with secrets someone will kill to keep hidden. It’s a new twist on the traditional English country house murder mystery, and if you’ve read Karin Slaughter, you know just how twisted things can get.
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Upcoming Events
Thursday, August 15th at 6 PM – Patti will be in conversation with Frances Mayes of Under the Tuscan Sun fame with her new one – A Great Marriage – at the Charleston Library Society. INFORMATION HERE
Friday, September 27, 4pm ET — Join us for an F&F Live “Toast to the Ta-Tas” event at the beautiful High Point Country Club in High Point, NC to benefit Earlier.org. We will be sharing fascinating insider talk about publishing and writing and discussing their newest releases, all to raise funding for critical research to identify an earlier biological detection test for breast cancer. Books will be available for purchase care of The Country Bookshop with each author signing select books and proceeds benefitting Friends for an Earlier Breast Cancer Test®! Get details & tickets HERE.
Sunday, September 29, 10am ET — An F&F Live brunch event at the 19th Annual Bookmarks Festival of Books & Authors in Winston-Salem, NC. Close out the book festival with us at this super fun event to be held at the Benton Convention Center. There are two ticket options. The 10am Meet & Greet + Brunch Event is $80 (plus taxes & fees) will include a mimosa and the chance to mingle, meet the authors, and take photos, plus a wristband to get to the front of the signing line following the brunch. The 11am Brunch Event only is $50 (plus taxes & fees) and includes a seated program and book signing. Note that there will not be an opportunity for posed photos during this portion of the event. Get tickets HERE.
Wednesday, November 6, 6pm ET — Join all four founders and hosts of Friends & Fiction—along with Meg Walker & Ron Block—together in-person at the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Orlando, FL for a unique fundraising event benefiting the Florida Cancer Specialists (FCS) Foundation which will include a reception over cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, an intimate presentation, book sales, and an autograph session. Get tickets HERE.
Thursday, November 7, 12:30pm ET — An F&F Live luncheon event hosted by the Amelia Island Book Festival at The Ritz-Carlton in Amelia Island, FL. Ticket price will include tea fare of a light lunch, snacks, and refreshments. For members of book clubs who are interested in reserving an entire table, the Book Club Pre-Sale will open on August 15th. If interested, email bookclubs@ameliaislandbookfestival.org identifying yourself and providing a main point of contact. Ticket sales will open up to the public on September 1st. Details HERE. Ticketing link to come!
Want to know what these F&F Live events are all about? Watch this video compilation!
In Case You Missed It
On last week’s episode of The Friends & Fiction Show, Mary Kay Andrews and Patti Callahan Henry welcomed New York Times bestselling author Rhys Bowen to discuss THE ROSE ARBOR, her haunting new novel of suspense which follows an investigation into a girl’s disappearance that uncovers a mystery dating back to World War II. Order Rhys’s book from the F&F Shop on Bookshop.org, where you’ll also find books by all our hosts and guests, all at a discount—and where all your purchases support our show and our beloved indie bookstores nationwide!
You can WATCH that episode on Facebook or YouTube, or LISTEN to it on our podcast.
Coming Up on The Friends & Fiction Show
All shows can be watched on Facebook & YouTube each Wednesday evening at 7pm ET, and listened to on our podcast each Friday, all year long.
Already aired: Killer Author Club (Kimberly Belle, Heather Gudenkauf & Kaira Rouda)
WATCH now! | LISTEN now!
Already aired: Christina Dodd, A Daughter of Fair Verona
WATCH now! | LISTEN now!
Already aired: F&F Pick of the Month: Jamie Brenner, A Novel Summer
WATCH now! | LISTEN now!
Already aired: Emily Giffin, The Summer Pact
WATCH now! | LISTEN now!
Already aired: Marjan Kamali, The Lion Women of Tehran
WATCH now! | LISTEN now!
Already aired: Rhys Bowen, The Rose Arbor
WATCH now! | LISTEN now!
Greer Macallister, The Thirteenth Husband
Watch: August 14 | Listen: August 16
F&F Pick of the Month: Jessa Maxwell, I Need You to Read This
Watch: August 21 | Listen: August 23
Madeline Martin, The Booklover's Library
Watch: August 28 | Listen: August 30
TJ Klune, Somewhere Beyond the Sea
Watch: September 4 | Listen: September 6
Laura Dave, The Night We Lost Him
Watch: September 11 | Listen: September 13
F&F Pick of the Month: Jodi Picoult, By Any Other Name
Watch LIVE: September 18 | Listen: September 20
Liane Moriarty, Here One Moment
Watch: September 25 | Listen: September 27
Bonus Episodes!
The Fab Four (along with Meg & Ron) are taking turns interviewing some additional authors in short video segments we are calling “Behind the Book.” Check out a few recent bonus interviews that we’ve run on the F&F YouTube channel!
WATCH Kristy’s interview with Gilmore Girls star Devon Sorvari, who is also the voice of Keaton in the audiobook version of A HAPPIER LIFE.
WATCH Kristin’s interview with Erika Robuck about her new highly-anticipated WWII historical novel, The Last Twelve Miles.
WATCH Kristin & Kristy’s interview with Lisa Barr about her new highly-anticipated WWII historical novel, The Goddess of Warsaw.
WATCH Kristin’s conversation with Christina Lauren about their brand-new instant NYT-bestselling hit The Paradise Problem.
WATCH MKA’s conversation with the award-winning voice artist Kathleen McInerney who narrates the Summers at the Saint audiobook.
WATCH Patti & MKA’s interview with Sheila Roberts about her newest The Best Life Book Club.
F&F Merch Store
We have a Friends & Fiction merch store with t-shirts, sweatshirts, coffee mugs and a book bag on Bonfire. We also have other items like wine tumblers, reading journals, and our original white v-neck logo tees available through Oxford Exchange.
F&F Official Book Club & 2024 Reading Challenge
Join Brenda Gardner & Lisa Harrison for monthly book club picks and live online author chats on the Facebook page for the F&F Official Book Club with Brenda & Lisa, where they’ve amassed more than 30k of their own members. You can also follow the Book Club on Instagram and subscribe to their YouTube channel where you can catch past discussions, including their most recent chat with Katherine Center about her novel, The Rom-Commers. Mark your calendars for August 19th for their next author guest, Kristy Woodson Harvey, when they’ll discuss her novel, A Happier Life. With the help of Annissa Armstrong, the Book Club is also hosting the 2024 F&F Reading Challenge. Join them for a different category prompt each month to read outside your comfort zone. The July prompt is to read a book from a Little Free Library (bonus if you take a book and leave one!) and the August prompt is to read a book that inspired a TV show or movie.
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