Passions & Prologues

Jude Atwood is a teacher and author of the award-winning debut middle grade novel, Maybe There Are Witches, but the science of baking is where he finds pure joy. He's baked over 40 different types of pies and cakes and loves tinkering with recipes. In this chat, we breakdown how this baking has helped his writing and all about his new novel!

Jude Atwood is a teacher and author of the award-winning debut middle grade novel, Maybe There Are Witches, but the science of baking is where he finds pure joy. He's baked over 40 different types of pies and cakes and loves tinkering with recipes. In this chat, we breakdown how this baking has helped his writing and all about his new novel!

Sidney Karger  is an award-winning screenwriter for film and television with credits including Billy on the Street, Comedy Central, and Saturday Night Live. Growing up near Chicago, he was raised on a steady diet of improv and sketch comedy from some of the greats of Second City and Upright Citizens Brigade. It's a shared love Adam also adores. They also get into his incredible new romantic comedy...

Sidney Karger is an award-winning screenwriter for film and television with credits including Billy on the Street, Comedy Central, and Saturday Night Live. Growing up near Chicago, he was raised on a steady diet of improv and sketch comedy from some of the greats of Second City and Upright Citizens Brigade. It's a shared love Adam also adores. They also get into his incredible new romantic comedy...

Margaret Owen creates elaborate and fantastical worlds that feel so vibrant you can almost touch them. Her books are magical and fully realized and this comes from the origins of her creative story-as an artist. Margaret discusses her fascination with visual arts and her incredible, instant bestselling new book Painted Devils.

Margaret Owen creates elaborate and fantastical worlds that feel so vibrant you can almost touch them. Her books are magical and fully realized and this comes from the origins of her creative story-as an artist. Margaret discusses her fascination with visual arts and her incredible, instant bestselling new book Painted Devils.

Anissa Gray was raised in a world of music, specifically gospel music. It's inspired her latest novel, Life and other love songs . In this discussion, we get into how the music of her childhood home shaped her work and her life at large. We get into the music of her adult life and returning to gospel later in her life.

Anissa Gray was raised in a world of music, specifically gospel music. It's inspired her latest novel, Life and other love songs. In this discussion, we get into how the music of her childhood home shaped her work and her life at large. We get into the music of her adult life and returning to gospel later in her life.

It's a bonus episode with friend of the show, Mallory O'Meara! We are dishing out loads of book recommendations but before you get to those, go preorder her new book, Girls Make Movies , right now! Books mentioned in this episode: Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal The September House by Carissa Orlando Magdalena by Candi Sary Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano Satisfacti...

It's a bonus episode with friend of the show, Mallory O'Meara! We are dishing out loads of book recommendations but before you get to those, go preorder her new book, Girls Make Movies, right now! Books mentioned in this episode: Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal The September House by Carissa Orlando Magdalena by Candi Sary Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano Satisfactio...

H.G. Parry's newest book, The Magician's Daughter has a few magical animal characters and when you learn about her interests, you'll understand why. She adores mice and rabbits both in the literary sense and the "own a bunch of them" sense. This is a fascinating discussion about her deep research about these animals and their relationship with stories as well as what it's like owning them as pets.

H.G. Parry's newest book, The Magician's Daughter has a few magical animal characters and when you learn about her interests, you'll understand why. She adores mice and rabbits both in the literary sense and the "own a bunch of them" sense. This is a fascinating discussion about her deep research about these animals and their relationship with stories as well as what it's like owning them as pets.

J. Ryan Stradal is the author of New York Times bestseller Kitchens of the Great Midwest and national bestseller The Lager Queen of Minnesota but somehow his latest novel Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club , might just be his most midwestern book yet. He tells the stories of generations of a family-run diner, what it means to the community, and the stress it brings the people who run it. I...

J. Ryan Stradal is the author of New York Times bestseller Kitchens of the Great Midwest and national bestseller The Lager Queen of Minnesota but somehow his latest novel Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club, might just be his most midwestern book yet. He tells the stories of generations of a family-run diner, what it means to the community, and the stress it brings the people who run it. In...

Rebecca Makkai is borderline obsessive with language. When you read her books, it feels like every sentence and every word is exactly where it should be. When you find out that she's on a quest to learn one of the world's most difficult languages, it's easy to understand why words matter so much to her. Rebecca's latest book, I Have Some Questions for You , uses her obsession with language to tell...

Rebecca Makkai is borderline obsessive with language. When you read her books, it feels like every sentence and every word is exactly where it should be. When you find out that she's on a quest to learn one of the world's most difficult languages, it's easy to understand why words matter so much to her. Rebecca's latest book, I Have Some Questions for You, uses her obsession with language to tell...

New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline has written 35 books in 35 years but her true passion is her love of of animals all shapes and sizes. From her trusted best friend dogs, to horses, to chickens Lisa loves them all. In this scatterplot chat, Adam and Lisa discuss their senior dogs, her new bestseller Loyalty , and what sparked her to realize she wanted to keep adding animals. This i...

New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline has written 35 books in 35 years but her true passion is her love of of animals all shapes and sizes. From her trusted best friend dogs, to horses, to chickens Lisa loves them all. In this scatterplot chat, Adam and Lisa discuss their senior dogs, her new bestseller Loyalty, and what sparked her to realize she wanted to keep adding animals. This is...

Kristin Loesch joins the podcast to discuss her new book The Last Russian Doll as well as her love of flash and experimental fiction. It was a passion she discovered during the pandemic and it's been a great way for to keep her writing skills sharp in between novels. She offers all kinds of tips for aspiring writers and fans of short stories. Enjoyed this episode? Be sure to rate and review us on...

Kristin Loesch joins the podcast to discuss her new book The Last Russian Doll as well as her love of flash and experimental fiction. It was a passion she discovered during the pandemic and it's been a great way for to keep her writing skills sharp in between novels. She offers all kinds of tips for aspiring writers and fans of short stories. Enjoyed this episode? Be sure to rate and review us on...

Jenny Jackson has taken the literary world by storm with her new book Pineapple Street and the heart of that story lies in the heart of her own community. During the pandemic, Jenny found herself obsessing over her community of Brooklyn Heights. She researched the buildings, the prices of the real estate, and the people who lived there. An obsession begat a story which begat an instant place on th...

Jenny Jackson has taken the literary world by storm with her new book Pineapple Street and the heart of that story lies in the heart of her own community. During the pandemic, Jenny found herself obsessing over her community of Brooklyn Heights. She researched the buildings, the prices of the real estate, and the people who lived there. An obsession begat a story which begat an instant place on th...

What would you do if your entire town lived in a single building, couldn't leave, and then found yourself trapped? That's what Iris Yamashita's novel City Under One Roof asks. In this discussion, we chat about her new murder mystery based on a real Alaskan town, her life as an Oscar-nominated screenplay writer, and her rediscovery of the joys of playing music... specifically movie scores. Enjoyed...

What would you do if your entire town lived in a single building, couldn't leave, and then found yourself trapped? That's what Iris Yamashita's novel City Under One Roof asks. In this discussion, we chat about her new murder mystery based on a real Alaskan town, her life as an Oscar-nominated screenplay writer, and her rediscovery of the joys of playing music... specifically movie scores. Enjoyed...

Melissa De La Cruz is well know for her bestselling young adult novels, incredible book festivals, and her experience creating stories in Hollywood. What people might not know about her is her fierce adoration of being a mother. In this chat, we breakdown what it means to be a classroom mother and how her children's friends have become beta readers for her. We then discuss her new novel The Headma...