Meet Tommy Orange TONIGHT!
Weekly News from Friends & Fiction—February 28, 2024
Tune in to watch TONIGHT’s episode!
Join us Wednesday, February 28th at 7pm Eastern on the F&F Facebook page and YouTube channel as Patti & Kristin welcome this week’s guest, the Pulitzer Prize-finalist and author of the breakout bestseller There There, Tommy Orange, to discuss WANDERING STARS, his masterful follow-up to his already classic first novel.
Tommy Orange is a graduate of the MFA program at the Institute of American Indian Arts. An enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, he was born and raised in Oakland, California. Tommy joins us to discuss his highly-anticipated second novel, WANDERING STARS, which extends his constellation of narratives into the past and future, tracing the legacies of the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School through three generations. We are eager to hear about this “outstanding . . . dazzling work of literary fiction” (the Boston Globe), which has been named to most-anticipated lists by TIME, Real Simple, Oprah Daily, and NPR.
Watch the video broadcast of this interview Wed 2/28 at 7pm ET on the F&F Facebook group page & YouTube channel. Catch the audio version on our podcast Fri 3/1.
Buy Tommy’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 a bonus Q&A with Tommy which includes a list of writers who influenced him, a writing tip, book recommendation, and other great material not covered on the show!
Latest News from the Fab Four!
MARY KAY ANDREWS is diving deep into her Irish family roots for research for her next novel. Here’s a hint: road trip! In the meantime, she and Mr. MKA are heading to Florida for a few days of sunshine before they head to Fort Myers for the Southwest Florida Reading Festival, where she’ll be speaking Saturday, at 11 a.m.
What MKA is reading and why she’s loving it: The New Couple in 5B by Lisa Unger. Lisa always brings the shivers with her domestic thrillers! And I’ll be chatting her up soon for one of our F&F Behind the Book segments.
KRISTY WOODSON HARVEY is so excited to be heading to BookMania with Patti Callahan Henry, Annabel Monaghan and Katherine Reay and more writing friends this weekend! She also cannot wait to share pre order freebies for A HAPPIER LIFE with you next week!
What Kristy is reading and why she’s loving it: The Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh. I am a HUGE Courtney Walsh fan and I am so excited to be diving into this book that I believe will be her best book yet!
PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY received her edits for the next novel and she now enters the editing cave, and will re-emerge bleary eyed and ready to talk about her next work soon! She loved hearing our Kristin Harmel speak at Southern Voices in Hoover – Kristin is always a reminder of how we can find our own strength in difficult times, and shine! Patti was thrilled to receive a box of The Secret Book of Flora Lea in paperback (out April 2nd) and they are GORGEOUS! Now she’s ready to pack for PAPERBACK TOUR…almost. OH and if you’re anywhere near Stuart, Florida this weekend, she will be with Kristy at BookMania!
What Patti is reading and why she’s loving it: The Princess of Las Vegas by Chris Bohjalian. I am so thrilled that he is our Friends and Fiction Pick of the Month for March! A thrilling page-turning ride through Las Vegas with a Princess Diana impersonator and a lot of secrets.
KRISTIN HARMEL spent a lovely long weekend at book festivals in Dallas (the Highland Park Literary Festival) and Birmingham (Southern Voices), where she got to meet lots of fascinating fellow writers, and best of all, got to hang out with Patti! Tonight, join her right before Friends & Fiction, at 6pm ET, for a Zoom with the Glen Eira Storytelling Festival in Australia! She’ll be in conversation with Michaela Kalowski; RSVP (free) here. This week, she’s looking forward to a Susan G. Komen More Than Pink Walk in Orlando.
What Kristin is reading and why she’s loving it: The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier: This historical epic, by the author of Girl With a Pearl Earring, will be out in June; it follows the story of Orsola Rosso, the eldest daughter in a family of glassblowers on Murano, the island revered for the craft. Beginning in 1486, the novel—tinged with a touch of magic—takes us in intimate detail to a Venice of an earlier time, as Orsola must triumph over tragedy and loss in a place where time moves differently and the centuries pass in the blink of an eye. I’m really enjoying it so far; it's very unique!
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Upcoming Events
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 6pm ET: An hour before this week’s Friends & Fiction episode tonight, join Kristin via Zoom speaking at the Glen Eira Storytelling Festival in Australia. Sign up in advance HERE for the Zoom link!
Saturday, March 2: Patti & Kristy will both be at the Martin County Library System’s annual BookMania! festival in Jensen Beach, FL. For the full festival line-up, click HERE.
Saturday, March 2: MKA at the Southwest Florida Reading Festival at the Fort Myers Regional Library in Fort Myers, FL. See the full line-up HERE.
Monday, March 4, 6pm ET: Kristin in conversation at Sunshine Book Company in Clermont, Florida. (Event is sold out.)
In Case You Missed It
Last week on The Friends & Fiction Show, all four F&F hosts and founders interviewed Tia Williams about her new book, our F&F Pick for February, A LOVE SONG FOR RICKI WILDE. Tia’s highly-anticipated follow-up to her NYT bestselling Reese’s Book Club pick Seven Days in June is an enchanting love story featuring a free-spirited florist and an enigmatic musician who are irreversibly linked through the history, art, and magic of Harlem. Tune in to hear about the book that has been praised for its “dazzling prose” by the New York Times, and predicted as “one of your most memorable reads of 2024” by People. Order Tia’s book (out now!) 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: 2024 Sneak Preview with the Fab Four
WATCH now! | LISTEN now!
Already aired: Grady Hendrix, How to Sell a Haunted House
WATCH now! | LISTEN now!
Already aired: F&F January Pick of the Month: Kristin Hannah, The Women
WATCH now! | LISTEN now!
Already aired: Abbott Kahler, Where You End
WATCH now! | LISTEN now!
Already aired: Jennifer Moorman, The Magic All Around
WATCH now! | LISTEN now!
Already aired: Amy Jo Burns, Mercury
WATCH now! | LISTEN now!
Already aired: Kate Quinn & Janie Chang, The Phoenix Crown
WATCH now! | LISTEN now!
Already aired: F&F February Pick of the Month: Tia Williams, A Love Song for Ricki Wilde
WATCH now! | LISTEN now!
Tommy Orange, Wandering Stars
Watch: Feb 28 | Listen: Mar 1
Rebecca Serle, Expiration Dates
Watch: Mar 6 | Listen: Mar 8
F&F March Pick of the Month: Chris Bohjalian, The Princess of Las Vegas
Watch LIVE: Mar 13 | Listen: Mar 15
Anna Quindlen, After Annie
Watch: Mar 20 | Listen: Mar 22
Allison Pataki, Finding Margaret Fuller
Watch: Mar 27 | Listen: Mar 29
Bonus Episodes!
The Fab Four are taking turns interviewing some additional authors in short 10-minute video segments we are calling “Behind the Book.” Check out a few recent bonus interviews that our host authors have run on the F&F YouTube channel!
WATCH: Patti Callahan Henry talks to Karen Spears Zacharias about her new novel -- NO PERFECT MOTHERS based on the true story of a woman named Carrie Buck in 1920's Virginia. We talked about writing real women, about this powerful story, and about what it takes to delve into the darker places of a story that is affecting us even now. As Jeanette Walls said, “NO PERFECT MOTHERS is both tragic and triumphant, a stunning reminder that we should learn from the lessons of our past.”
WATCH: Mary Kay Andrews talks to Ashley Elston and her editor Pam Dorman all about Ashley’s blockbuster new bestseller and Reese’s Book Club pick, FIRST LIE WINS, which has been perched on the NYT bestseller list for 7 straight weeks now. Tune in to hear about shifting from YA to adult, how to ratchet up the tension in a thriller, and how Ashley pieced this book together, including changing who the bad guy was after the first draft.
WATCH Patti & Ron’s interview with Roxana Robinson about Leaving.
F&F Merch Store & 2024 Subscription Box
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. You can also order the F&F 2024 SUBSCRIPTION BOX through our friends at Oxford Exchange. All details HERE!
F&F Official Book Club & 2024 Reading Challenge
Join Brenda Gardner & Lisa Harrison on Monday, March 18th at 7pm ET on the Facebook page for the F&F Official Book Club with Brenda & Lisa as they welcome author Tia Williams to discuss their March pick, A Love Song for Ricki Wilde. Also join them for a Happy Hour with special guest Ron Block tomorrow night, Thursday, February 29th, at 7:30pm ET. 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 Virginia Kantra about her book, The Fairytale Life of Dorothy Galey. 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 February prompt is to read a debut novel by an author of color. And for March it is to read a book with “book club” or “bookstore” in the title.
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Shop our guests’ & hosts’ books in our shop on BOOKSHOP.
Join the F&F Official BOOK CLUB with Brenda & Lisa.
Upgrade to our PAID Subscription for bonus content from our hosts and guests.
What a great lineup of events and podcasts and interviews! Where do you ladies find time to write? :))))