Friends & Fiction

On tonight’s LIVE episode, we’ve got two great authors in store for you! We first met New York Times bestselling author Tracey Lange in 2021 when she joined us on our podcast to discuss her debut novel WE ARE THE BRENNANS . Born and raised in New York City, Tracey earned a degree in psychology from the University of New Mexico and owned a behavioral healthcare company for fifteen years. She comple...

On this episode we’ve got two fabulous and super fun authors in store for you! Ann Garvin is the USA Today bestselling author of five funny and sad novels about people who do too much in a world that asks too much from them. A nurse with her Ph. D., Anne taught for thirty years in the University of Wisconsin system and currently teaches creative writing at Drexel University. The founder of Tall Po...

WRITERS' BLOCK Patti Callahan Henry is joined by David Katz, Director and Chief Organizer of the Kauai Writer's Conference. Listeners are treated to a history of the conference, along with a deep discussion about why writing communities and conferences are so important to the writers, teachers and members of the publishing industry. This episode is sure to make you think about a trip to Hawaii!  S...

WRITERS' BLOCK One of the most revered voices in audiobook narration, Julia Whelan joins Mary Kay Andrews and Ron Block to discuss her second novel, Thank You For Listening. This fascinating conversation explores Julia's early work in television, her entry into narration and her rise to vocal stardom. Her newest novel is a delightful Rom-Com about a narrator, a former child actor, who left voicing...

Tonight’s episode is our Fall season premiere! We’ve got two amazing authors in store for you! Adrienne Brodeur is the author of the memoir WILD GAME , which was selected as a Best Book of the Year by NPR and The Washington Post and is in development as a Netflix film. She founded the literary magazine Zoetrope: All-Story with Francis Ford Coppola, and currently serves as executive director of Asp...

WRITERS' BLOCK Meg Walker and Ron Block are joined by literal Rockstar Susanna Hoffs, lead singer of the 80s suprgroup The Bangles. She has recently published her first novel, This Bird Has Flown, to huge acclaim. In this episode, she talks about where her idea for the book originated, how she took the leap to writing fiction, and charts her path to publication. Throughout this fun and engrossing...

WRITERS' BLOCK Author Daniel Kraus joins Meg Walker and Ron Block for a fascinating conversation about his highly anticipated new book, Whalefall, hailed by Gillian Flynn as “Astoundingly great...quite simply, a beautiful novel—a must-read story of the sea, the nature of awe, and the briny relationships between fathers and sons.” Kraus shares how the book idea came to life, his deep research and h...

WRITERS' BLOCK Join Patti Callahan Henry and Ron Block as they are joined by debut novelist, Emily Habeck, author of Shark Heart, a beautifully told story of grief and change. Wren and Lewis are a newly married couple. Lewis finds out that he will slowly change into a great white shark within a year, causing them to face the unthinkable. This deeply felt love story will grab readers from the first...

Welcome to our Summer Season Finale! Who better to spend it with than beach-reads royalty, Queen of Nantucket Island, total rockstar author, and dear friend of the show, Elin Hilderbrand?! After publishing her first work in Seventeen Magazine in 1991 while a senior at Johns Hopkins University, Elin worked in publishing for a bit, attended the Iowa Writers Workshop, earned her MFA, and never looked...

WRITERS' BLOCK Reteling of Mythology is having a moment! Ron Block and Patti Callahan Henry host a deep conversation about re-imagining ancient myths in the new book, Horses of Fire with authors Ashlee Cowles & Danielle Stinson, who write as A.D. Rhine. Their own friendship history and their deep passion for myths and storytelling combine in this fascinating episode for everyone who loves storytel...

What a summer treat we have in store on this episode! First, we welcome author Steven Rowley , the author of one of the F&F community’s most buzzed about books of all time. For a double-dip of summer fun, we will also meet up with the best-friend writing pair, Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke ! Steven Rowley is the New York Times bestselling author of LILY AND THE OCTOPUS , a Washington Post Notable Book...

WRITERS' BLOCK Ron Block is joined by Mary Kay Andrews to talk with author Christopher Swann about his newest release in the Faulkner Family series, Never Back Down. This stand-alone focuses on Suzie Faulkner, continuing her high-powered and thrilling cat and mouse game with Finn, her family's arch enemy. It was great to hear about the origin stories, the research, how Christopher keeps the tensio...

Are you ready to play the Feud? Survey says…YES! We are all in for big summer-camp-style family fun on this episode as the Fab Four gather to celebrate the launch of Kristy Woodson Harvey’s THE SUMMER OF SONGBIRDS. F&F’s Managing Director Meg Walker steps in to play game show host, leading Kristy, Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel & Patti Callahan Henry in a rousing game of Family Feud featuring al...

WRITERS' BLOCK: We love highlighting debut novels, and this week's guest has written a fantastic one! Ron Block and Meg Walker are joined by Alex Hay, author of the much anticipated novel, The Housekeepers. Sarah Penner said: “Rollicking fun and entirely original... Anyone who relishes a good party gone wrong will devour this.” Alex is a delight to talk with and learning his process and his path t...

Fresh on the heels of a hot holiday weekend we welcome Marie Bostwick and Terah Shelton Harris to the show to hear about two new books you just must stuff into your beach bags this summer. And we will have a special guest host — bestselling novelist John Searles — filling in for Kristin! Marie Bostwick is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nineteen uplifting works of historical...

WRITERS' BLOCK: Ron Block is joined by Meg Walker for a conversation with Christine Pride and Jo Piazza. This writing powerhouse duo are the authors of You Were Always Mine which is the follow-up to their best-selling GMA pick, We Are Not Like Them, We discussed so many interesting aspects of writing with a partner, how race and class are viewed in the world and how important books are to building...

This episode will have your beach bags overflowing with sparkling summer reads as we welcome FOUR authors to the show. Meet Annabel Monaghan and Megan Miranda on the main show and the writing duo of Mary Hollis Huddleston and Asher Fogle Paul on the After Show. Annabel Monaghan is the author of IndieNext and LibraryReads pick NORA GOES OFF SCRIPT as well as two young adult novels and a collection...

WRITERS' BLOCK Mary Kay Andrews and Ron Block are joined by NYT Bestselling Autho, Curtis Sittenfeld about her newest, Romantic Comedy, which was the April 2023 Pick for Reese's Book Club! A fascinating look behind the scenes of a Saturday Night Live type show thorugh the eyes of a female comedy writer. Our conversation focuses on this Rom-Com but also the complicated assumptions within modern rel...

On this episode, we welcome Hazel Gaynor and Katherine Reay —and T.I. Lowe joins us for the After Show. Hazel Gaynor is the award-winning, New York Times, USA Today, Irish Times, and internationally bestselling author of seven historical novels including The Girl Who Came Home, When We Were Young and Brave, and The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter. Hazel has also co-written three novels with Heather W...

Tonight’s episode features the star power of THREE amazing author guests whose novels deliver a night of mid-20th century glitz and glamor. Fiona Davis is the New York Times bestselling author of six historical novels set in iconic New York City buildings, including The Magnolia Palace, The Dollhouse, The Address, and The Lions of Fifth Avenue, which was a Good Morning America book club pick. Her...

WRITERS' BLOCK Kristy Woodson Harvey and Ron Block have a fascinating conversation with Ashley Audrain, author of the mega-selling popular debut, The Push, about her followup book The Whispers, about 4 women who are neighbors and how one tragic event affects their relationships in different ways, making them question all their relationships, their lives and their roles as women and mothers.  See o...

Tonight’s episode once again marks the triumphant return of “F&F Theater” as the Fab Four, podcast host Ron Block, and F&F’s Managing Director Meg Walker gather to celebrate the launch of Kristin Harmel ’s THE PARIS DAUGHTER in grand style! You won’t want to miss this show, complete with props and bad accents — but also with loads of moving insights about Kristin’s new novel and, as always, lots o...

WRITERS' BLOCK Kristin Harmel and Ron Block welcome literary power couple Ann Hood and MIchael Ruhlman to talk about their latest books, Fly Girl, Ann's memoir about her early days working for TWA as a stewardess, and The Book of Cocktail Ratios, Michael's newest must have Cocktail reference guide. We also talked about how the two met, how they have grown to be hugely supportive and complementary...

WRITERS' BLOCK Kristin Harmel and Ron Block take a deep dive with author T.J. Newman about her new page-turning thriller- Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421. It's a fascinating conversation about lifelong dreams, changing careers from a Flight Attendant to being a huge bestselling author, and some surprising research methods.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted by Simplec...

This episode is a delicious confection of sweet summertime treats as we welcome four authors to the LIVE web show! Meg Mitchell Moore is a former journalist and the USA Today bestselling author of eight novels including The Islanders, Two Truths and a Lie, and Vacationland. She joins us from the beautiful coastal town of Newburyport, MA, to discuss her shimmering new page-turner, SUMMER STAGE (Wil...