Book Talk with Cara Putman

In this episode of Book Talk, I have the pleasure of introducing you to my friend Robin Jones Gunn . Robin is such a light — I adore spending time with her even if it's constrained to Zoom. Today we're talking about her brand new novel Tea with Elephants . We've both had the privilege of traveling to Kenya and going on safaris (mine much shorter than hers). Tea with Elephants is a story of friends...

Y'all, I have been a huge fan of Irene Hannon's romantic suspense for years. I have so many of them on my bookshelf and can't get rid of them. It is a delight to host her on Book Talk today to talk about her latest book, Over the Edge . She first started writing at ten — and is now approaching 70 books published. That's pretty prolific! We share a love for Nancy Drew that propelled both of us into...

Today it's delightful to welcome Mesu Andrews to Book Talk. In our conversation, Mesu shares how she never imagined being a writer. Then one day she got sick and needed to teach. The rest is history. Mesu likes to write about the unknown women in the Bible. That's exactly who she focuses on in her latest book, Brave . In this book, she explores what the life of one of King David's unknown wives mi...

Welcome back to Book Talk, ya'll. In this episode, I have the pleasure of introducing you to my friend Michelle Griep . I love her historical romantic mysteries and our conversation was so much fun. We talked about her brand new novel Of Gold and Shadows , which is set in 1888 England. This one may have been inspired by Indiana Jones and the Mummy with its heroine who's an archaeologist who's focu...

On this episode of Book Talk, I have the pleasure of introducing you to author Holly Varni . She carries a joy that is effervescent and carries through in our conversation. Holly writes books that might remind you of Jan Karon's Mitford series because of the small-town setting and strong sense of community. She also has strong senior citizens who bring their wit and wisdom to the young charact...

I love celebrating, and today we're celebrating Kit Tosello's debut release The Color of Home . While we initially bonded over the teas we were each sipping, what we really connected about was the way that home and its theme resonated for each of us. Kit uses the power of story to ask important questions like am I where I belong in this season or am I playing it safe? Am I making my home i...

Welcome back to Book Talk, everyone. In today's episode, I'm delighted to introduce you to Melissa Koslin , who writes some really great romantic suspense. Her next novel, The Lost Library , started with the hero/aka the Beast, and she built the story from him. I love how for each author and each story, the genesis of the story can be so very different. After focusing on the beast, she loo...

Today it is my pleasure to host my friend Carrie Turansky on Book Talk. Carrie writes the best books set in England during the Edwardian period. Her most recent book A Token of Love is set in the Foundling Hospital and Foundling Museum. I love the story of how she found the what-if for this book — but you'll have to listen or watch to learn all about it. 🙂 One of the questions she does like t...

Today I'm delighted you to Amanda Cox . Her fourth novel, Between Sound and Sea , is one that I'm excited about because one of the threads takes place during the Uboat attacks along the North Carolina coast. As you can imagine, the two of us geeked out on all the cool research we did on this topic—her for this novel and me for my novella Across the Shores . She also wondered what it would...

It's always so fun to talk with Connilyn Cossette , and today's episode of Book Talk is a delight. In her latest novel, Shield of the Mighty , she brings a character from her prior series back — only now he's a grown-up soldier in Saul's army. The heroine is a widow who hates everything about Saul, so there is a clash from the first moment the two meet. Fundamentally this book is a...

Jocelyn Green is one of those authors that I always love to talk with. She's such a smart writer who cares deeply about the history and characters of the books she writes. I love her books, but I love even more digging into why she picks the stories she does. Today we're talking about The Hudson Collection , her latest novel that is about a woman who is an ornithologist who is assigned to...

Today I have the fun of bringing together three of my writing friends for a conversation where we talk about our books, how we research, and whether our genres chose us or we chose them. Janine Rosche writes contemporary romance with women's fiction threads, and her latest book The Road Before Us released in May. Janyre Tromp writes historical, primarily WWII, with gritty realism and a thread...

Rachel Hauck is one of my dearest writing friends so it is always a treat to have her on Book Talk. I had such fun talking to her about her newest book Meet Me at the Starlight . We got all nostalgic about rollerskating and the place rollerskating rinks played in our growing-up years. Rachel's process is a little different than mine. She likes to just keep writing and trust that the story will...

Jen Turano is one of my favorite authors of the Gilded Age rom-com. She starts with a bang and romps through to the end, usually with a swirl of mystery and fun. Meeting Her Match is no different, so it is a delight to have Jen back on Book Talk. It was so much fun to talk about how she likes to have something happen to her characters — on steroids and then amp it up even more. She's currently...

There is something so fun and sweet about introducing you to debut authors. That first book is such a precious and risky gift to the world. Today Nicole Miller is joining me on this episode of Book Talk. It was such fun to talk about her novel Until Our Time Comes , which is set in Poland during WWII. Nicole has long loved horses, so it isn't surprising that horses play a large role in this no...

One of my favorite things to do on Book Talk is introduce you to debut authors, and that's exactly what I get to do today. Jenny Erlingsson's debut book Her Part to Play is releasing, and I had such a good time connecting with Jenny from Iceland. Iceland, y'all! This book is her debut novel and was inspired by The Chosen because she became curious about the life behind the scenes on se...

Today, it's a delight to have Misty Beller on Book Talk. A busy mother of five, we were having a good conversation about the need to edit our lives when we remembered to hit record. Don't worry, we made sure to go back and include that for you, too. Rocky Mountain Journey is the third book in her current series, that follows four sisters who are on a mission to honor their father's dyi...

Some authors are simply a delight to talk with, and Gabrielle Meyers is one of those. The fact she made time to chat in the middle of a week with a book launch, edits, book deadline, and proposal? I get tired just typing all that up! For a Lifetime is the third book in a series I have adored...but I am delighted to share that books four and five are coming! These mystical realism novels are such f...

I love introducing y'all to debut authors, and today's conversation with Angela Carlisle is such a fun one. Angela's first novel Secondary Target is a page-turning romantic suspense that kept me reading when I did not have time. That's the sign of a compelling book! This novel contains a secret identity plot with a cold case all twisted up with a lost love story. There are so many...

Today, it's a delight to have Amanda Dykes join me on Book Talk. A busy mother of four, Amanda first decided to be a writer when she realized she was telling her students to follow their dreams and realized she needed to do the same. She started with a children's book, and when she got a rejection, she had a choice. Go forward or stop. Fortunately for all of us, she decided to keep writing...

Shelley Shepard Gray has been writing her award-winning Christian novels since 2000. Today I'm delighted to have her on Book Talk to discuss her latest, Unforgiven . Like many, when she started writing, it was a new hobby. She wanted to be a principal, but one day forgot a book to read at a break, so decided to start writing one. She soon found that the stories and characters wouldn't let...

Nicole Deese is one of those people I would love to hang out with. Our two extroverted selves would have too much fun catching up on all things life and writing. Until we can actually do that, recording Book Talk episodes is a fun way to connect and welcome you into the fun. Today's chapter of Book Talk is a delightful way to let you experience all the joy and delight that is Nicole Deese. Nic...

Jaime Jo Wright is no stranger to Book Talk or to award-winning fiction, so it is delightful to have her back for a conversation about her latest novel Night Falls on Predicament Avenue . We talk about everything from how she comes up with her spooky ideas. I love how she pulls ideas from newspaper stories and so much more. We also talked about whether the contemporary or historical thread tries t...

In today's episode of Book Talk with Cara, it's a delight to introduce you to Sarah Loudin Thomas and take you behind the scenes of her latest book These Tangled Threads . I so enjoyed chatting with her because we talked about a novel set at one of my favorite locations, the Biltmore Estate. What I didn't know before our conversation was that Sarah had worked at the Biltmore for about...

Sometimes there's an episode where there's just a depth that comes out, and this is one of them. Today I'm delighted to introduce you to my new writing friend Heather Kaufman . There are some books that you can't walk away from writing and Up From Dust was one of those books for Heather. The story of Martha, it's a book that she felt a strong sense of stewardship when she was w...