Book Talk with Cara Putman

In this episode of Book Talk, I interview Ash Clifton , a debut author from Gainesville, Florida, about his intense thriller, Twice The Trouble . I like to compare this novel to works by Michael Cane, Tom Clancy, and Daniel Silva. Ash shares his journey of becoming a writer, inspired by his father's role as Chief of Police and Ash's exposure to former football players on his college team....

In today's episode of Book Talk, I have the pleasure of bringing my friend Kelly Goshorn onto the show to talk about her latest novel The Undercover Heiress of Brockton . I loved writing in a novella collection with Kelly a couple years ago, so I loved getting the chance to read this full-length novel. It's set in the very real events that happened when a shoe factory in Brockton exploded...

Y'all, there are rare moments when I read a book and think, "I wish I'd written this one." Connie Mann 's book that comes out in the spring is one of those (spoiler alert: I endorsed it!). But her current book, The Liar's Treasure is soooo good. That's why when I was planning this season of Book Talk I had to invite her to be a guest. This current series makes me thin...

I have known Kim Duffy (also writing as Kimberly Duffy) for several years, and it was past time to have her on as a guest. She is someone I love brainstorming with and spending time with because she's wicked smart and has this wry sense of humor I enjoy. She also loves to travel and homeschools her kids, so there are so many points of intersection even as we are so different. While I love her...

For today's episode of Book Talk, it's a treat to welcome Kristen Hogrefe Parnell back. Kristen writes page-turning romantic suspense, and her novella in Truth started with a what-if when she was on vacation at Rosemary Beach. She kept adding layers until she had the plot for the book. Like many authors, Kristen has always wanted to write. If she could go back in time, she'd ask herself what if it...

For today's episode of Book Talk, I'm so pleased to introduce you to Sarah Hamaker . On her website, Sarah hosts quick takes with authors, a great way to learn about what authors are working on and their newest books (you can listen to my part in one recent episode here ). In addition to encouraging and supporting other authors, Sarah writes page-turning romantic suspense. She has a novell...

One of the things I enjoy most about hosting Book Talk is making new writing friends. I love connecting with writers I've known for years, but today I get to introduce you to a new friend. Paul Bradley Carr and I hadn't met before we recorded, but as you enjoy this conversation, I think you'll find that we had so many things to talk about. It was a fast and fun chat about his new book...

t is so much fun to welcome Bethany Turner back to Book Talk. She was my first guest at the very beginning of Book Talk, and it is a delight to have her back as we discuss her latest romantic comedy, Wes and Addie Had Their Chance . I was surprised to learn that this was the first book idea that she had...ten years later, it's finally seeing the light of day. I love these characters and story....

Today, it's a thrill to get to introduce you to the delightful Lisa T. Bergren . The author of more than 70 books, Lisa is a wonderful person who writes fantastic novels. Today we're talking about her River of Time series. This series is one of my favorites, a passion I share with my oldest daughter. She inhaled this series multiple times as a teen, selecting different locations in Siena a...

In this episode of Book Talk, I get to introduce you to my friend Dan Walsh , a writer who has been compared to Nicholas Sparks. He has published traditionally and as an indie, with great success in both. We talked about why he's made the publishing choices he has as well as the journey two of his books have had on the path to possibly becoming books. It was a fascinating conversation as we ex...

There are some authors that I aspire to write like, and Susan Meissner is one of them. I am delighted to introduce you to her in this episode of Book Talk. Her latest novel A Map to Paradise , was featured in PEOPLE magazine. Woot! There is a gentleness to Susan that I so appreciate, and this episode grew out of reconnecting with her at a published author retreat in February. I know you'll enj...

Becca Kinzer is the award-winning author of romantic comedies like Dear Henry, Love Edith . I LOVED First Love, Second Draft , a book of second-chance love and forced proximity, so it was such fun to talk about it with Becca. I think we could also bond over our fondness of Jimmy Stewart, but we didn't dive down that rabbit hole in today's conversation. What we did talk about is the way lov...

It is always a delight to share my friend Jaime Jo Wright with y'all. In November, we were at the Christy Awards, and it was a thrill to watch her win the Christy for mystery/suspense/thriller. Y'all, I don't want to go head-to-head against this amazing writer. I can say this because I love Jaime and her writing. Jaime's books fill an interesting niche: Christian gothic. What is th...

There are some episodes of Book Talk that are a special treat and today's is one of those. Sarah Arthur and I met briefly at the Christy Awards where everyone was abuzz about her nominated novel Once a Queen . What I learned quickly is that novel and her latest, Once a Castle , are heavily influenced by her love of Tolkein, Lewis and L'Engle. She has written many non-fiction works includin...

Kim Vogel Sawyer and I have been friends since we served on the ACFW board together, so it is a delight to have her on Book Talk today as we talk about her next book Hope's Enduring Echo . I loved hearing about how she came up with the idea for a book set in Colorado in 1915 with dinosaur bones and line walkers. It's always so fascinating to hear the story behind how a book comes to be. Ki...

Today it's my pleasure to introduce you to my writing friend Patricia Johns . She has written more than 20 novels, so it is well past time to have her on Book Talk. Her best-selling Amish novels have been delighting readers, but I can't wait for y'all to dive into Green Pastures . It's a twist on the genre because the heroine is returning after leaving to get married and attend vet...

Today it's a delight to have my friend Crystal Caudill back on Book Talk. The last time I saw her was at the Christy Award Ceremony in November when we were both finalists in the Short Form category for our novellas in We Three Kings, the collection we wrote along with Angela Strong for Kregel. It was such fun celebrating with her when she won! Today we are talking about her latest novel Writt...

Elizabeth Goddard and I have been writing friends for a long time, and her romantic suspense novels are some of my favorites. Storm Warning is one that races from the first page with the perfect blend of romance and intense suspense. What I didn't realize until we talked is that there are actual lodges like the one in this novel where people retreat to watch storms blow in. A perfect setting f...

Y'all, there are some people that I just love getting to introduce you to and Sarah Monzon is one of them. Her book An Overdue Match is a fun romantic comedy with real depth to it. Those two things don't always go together, so when they do, I think it's a real treat. And sometimes a book is very personal to an author. An Overdue Match is that kind of book for Sarah Monzon. The heroine,...

Today I've taken a slight detour with Book Talk by inviting my friend Jill Williamson to join us. She writes amazing fantasy and creates worlds that readers adore. If y'all know me, you know that's not usually the book I'll grab first, but Jill is a friend who does it so well! While Jill and I had a great time talking about her brand-new novel, Squire of Truth , we also loved talki...

I always love celebrating an author's debut novel with them and chatting with Janya Breigh about her first novel The Hunted Heir was a delight! Jayna worked for ten years to see her dream come true, but she has loved words since her mother first started reading books like Pat the Bunny and Go Dog Go to her. Because she is an attorney who practiced in the LA area in Trusts and Estates litigatio...

Who doesn't love a good Christmas story? And who doesn't love celebrating someone's first novel? In this episode of Book Talk with Cara, we get to do both. Ann Swindell is my guest and we're talking about her brand-new novel Christmas in the Castle Library . This novel allowed Ann to explore novel writing after years of study and working with non-fiction including a devotional and spiritual memoir...

It's almost Christmas, and that means it's time to read Christmas books. Today I've got three delightful authors on Book Talk to talk about their novella collection A Louisiana Christmas to Remember . In these three, interconnected Christmas novellas, you experience three wonderful stories of love and hope. In A Louisiana Snow by Morgan Tarpley Smith , meet Mattie: A passionate visionary who learn...

Today it is such a pleasure introducing you to my friend and author Tessa Afshar . She is the author of 12 award-winning, best-selling novels, but it has been a journey for her to get here. She first started writing in her twenties, but after two rejections stopped. Then years later felt called to finish one of her novels after years of starting many, but not getting past the first 20 or 30 pages....

Writing can be an intense process, and today I'm talking to a woman who has written 18 full-length novels since 2013 in addition to many shorter-length romantic suspense books. Patricia Bradley is wonderful at creating stories that pull you deeply into character-driven stories that are filled with questions because she starts with a question. What if?... As a plantser, she often feels like she's d...