BOOKSTORM

NYT Bestselling author Mary Kubica joins BOOKSTORM Podcast to discuss her newest novel, Just the Nicest Couple ! This thriller has it all - a "perfect" marriage, twisted lies, and thrills you don't see coming! Have you ever had a moment where you just snapped? Did you cross the line into wrongful behavior? If not, what stopped you? We threw a bunch of thorny ethical issues Mary&apos...

Bestselling author PAM JENOFF joins BOOKSTORM Podcast to discuss her newest novel, CODE NAME SAPPHIRE!  Courage, sacrifice  . . . and the tough choices that women have to make when their loyalties are divided! The theme of heroic choices runs strong in this story.  We encounter characters that helped others -- at great personal cost -- and others that chose not to act. What drives people as they m...

Katy Hays joins BOOKSTORM Podcast to discuss THE CLOISTERS , her instant NYT bestseller. If you could, would you want to know the future? Do you believe in Fate or Free Will? We explored those topics, as well the obsessions of Katy’s mysterious, driven, and deceitful characters – all against the backdrop of The Cloisters, a real-life Gothic museum located in New York City. We talked about the role...

Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times bestselling author GERALDINE BROOKS joins BOOKSTORM Podcast to discuss her fantastic new novel, HORSE ! This story immediately captures our attention with a discarded painting and a skeleton in an attic. But upon that foundation Geraldine weaves an incredible saga about the greatest racehorse in American history, social injustice, and art history. This stor...

New York Times bestselling author DEBBIE MACOMBER joins BOOKSTORM podcast to talk about her Christmas release, The Christmas Spirit ! Laugh with us as we celebrate friendships and talk about love! We addressed common relationship issues - do opposites really attract? Aren’t shared values important? We touched on male bonding and friendships … and the level of intentionality necessary to maintain t...

New York Times bestselling author and internationally known essayist/poet BARBARA KINGSOLVER joins BOOKSTORM to discuss her newest novel, Demon Copperhead! Although Appalachia is the locale for this life-changing novel, we dove deep into its resilient people and our common humanity. We talk about our innate need to be loved, accepted, nurtured, and cared for. What happens when these essential need...

Best-selling author and attorney Scott Turow joins us to discuss SUSPECT, his newest thriller! No subject was taboo … we talk about sex positivity and shame. We address the multiple purposes for which people engage in sex. His characters aren’t just using sex for love, connection, need, honesty, or vulnerability, but also for selfish gratification, manipulation, power, and crime. We explore its be...

Bestselling author Lisa Unger joins BOOKSTORM to discuss Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six , her newest thriller! An isolated cabin. A storm. A stranger ... and a family that's about to be confronted with long-held secrets. Wow! We love talking about family trauma, and coping when a family falls apart. And this discussion delivers! We examine isolation, and the necessity of pulling away from the dist...

Kristina McMorris returns to BOOKSTORM to discuss her newest release, The Ways We Hide ! If you’re like us, you believe there can never be enough novels about WWII. This one is offers an entirely different perspective. Join us as we explore the idea that no mission is more treacherous than escaping one's past. We talk about the impacts of trauma. We explore the ways that people cope. Is there...

New York Times Bestselling author Shelby Van Pelt joins us to discuss her bestseller Remarkably Bright Creatures ! We dove deep into the aquarium of life with this fantastic story. We saw truths about one another from the unusual perspective of a remarkably bright – or perhaps remarkably observant – octopus. We discuss his observations about how humans hide, grieve, lash out, or fail to communicat...

Bestselling author Thrity Umrigar joins us to talk about Honor , her newest novel! At its heart, this is a love story - love for one another,  love for the place of our birth. It features a character who experienced India in a whole new way when she returned as an adult. We see her trying to reconcile different aspects of her birth country. On the one hand, she knew it to be patriarchal, feudal, o...

Bestselling author Jaime Ford joins BOOKSTORM podcast to discuss The Many Daughters of Afong Moy! Have you ever wondered whether trauma can be passed down to subsequent generations? What about gifts and aptitudes? Would you ever use an experimental medical treatment to remember those incidents? Are answers that important? We tackle the incredibly provocative subject of epigenetic inheritance … and...

Every marriage has its secrets! Is falling in love irrational? Should we run from it? Best-selling author John Searles joins BOOKSTORM to talk about some of the harsher aspects of love! The characters in Her Last Affair all experienced serious trauma in their past. Some of them later harmed others. Do we view people with deep wounds with empathy? What happens when they cross a legal line or a mora...

Bestselling author Laurie Lico Albanese joins BOOKSTORM to talk about HESTER , her masterful reimagining  the tragic heroine in The Scarlett Letter ! You’ll never read that classic the same. Laurie captivated us with little-known historical facts — the very beginnings of the Underground Railroad, the dark side of Nathaniel Hawthorne, and the black families that established thriving businesses and...

Best-selling author William Kent Krueger joins BOOKSTORM Podcast to discuss FOX CREEK, his fantastic new novel! The chase is on through Minnesota’s Boundary Waters - and against that backdrop we discuss the mystical obstacles that oppose us in life, as well as the man-made ones. What is it about the natural world that gives us peace? What’s the difference between being and doing? And who has the g...

Bestselling author Meg Waite Clayton joins BOOKSTORM to discuss her incredible novel THE POSTMISTRESS OF PARIS ! Why would an American heiress risk her life to help artists and intellectuals in France who were being hunted by the Nazis? What role generally did Americans play in helping the French Resistance? How were war refugees treated across Europe? We explore those fascinating topics and so mu...

Best-selling author Lauren Belfer joins us to talk about Ashton Hall , her newest novel! We were immediately immersed in this brilliant, atmospheric story that explores marriage, motherhood, societal expectations, and the historical role of women. Lauren draws parallels between the challenges facing women in the Sixteenth Century and now: struggles to control their destiny, financial dependence, o...

Wade Rouse joins us to discuss a number of universal life themes from his newest novel, The Edge of Summer. Wade vividly recounts anecdotes from his formative years in the Ozarks. He shares memories of his cherished late grandmother, and acknowledges the tremendous positive influence she’s had on his life. He talks about how his characters had to reconcile themselves to their history, both good an...

Join us for an important and absolutely riveting discussion with Brendan Slocumb  about his best-seller, The Violin Conspiracy!    This interview was a no-holds-barred discussion about race, appearance, bias … and the world of classical music. How can we respond to racism and oppression - is respectful discussion enough? What about the role of anger? You don’t want to miss Brendan’s thoughtful com...

Join us as we discuss The Secret Keeper of Jaipur with best-selling author Alka Joshi! This story, although it stands alone, is a follow up to The Henna Artist, her immensely popular novel that was published in 2020. We explore universal themes of power, class, respect, corruption, and parenthood … all against the backdrop of 1960s India. We were fascinated by Alka’s thoughts on Indian society (di...

Join us as we tackle The Lost Girls of Willowbrook , Ellen Marie Wiseman’s powerful, heartbreaking, and complex novel about young people institutionalized in a New York “school” that was anything but. Senator Robert Kennedy once called Willowbrook a “snake pit.” Ellen talks about how children were essentially warehoused for years in this understaffed, overcrowded, filthy, and corrupt facility. Urb...

Katherine Center (The Bodyguard) is on the Radar!  Want to talk about LOVE? Join us for a lively discussion with the delightful Katherine Center as we dive deep on The Bodyguard! Her newest bestseller is pure joy - a much needed breath of fresh air in today’s challenging world. We cover the universal themes of love, grief, jealously, escapism, balance, and self-doubt. What are the hallmarks of lov...

People tell us who they are, don’t they? How do we recognize when someone’s motivations are way off … evil even? How do we telegraph our vulnerabilities? The thrills don’t stop in Karin Slaughter’s Girl, Forgotten , her gripping follow up to Pieces of Her (now a Netflix hit series!) Join us for a deep discussion about some fascinating topics, including the clarity that comes with being in the veil...

We’re talking revenge, justice, and The Lies I Tell with Julie Clark! Con artists are often charismatic and intelligent … they’re also good at being whoever you need them to be. On this episode, we deconstruct them - what drives these scammers? What are the hallmarks of one? How do we avoid them? Do we telegraph our weaknesses to others? We talk about accountability and blame, transferred anger, f...

We're talking with Jamie Brenner about her fabulous novel Gilt ! This glittering story has it all -- love, gems, antiques, beach towns, family dysfunction, and, of course, guilt . Are you someone who believes in love . . . but not happy endings? You think you don't deserve happiness? You'll love to hear what these characters and Jamie have to say. If you grew up in a family with sib...