Storytime in Paris

Welcome to the finale of the summer season of Storytime in Paris! In honor of this illustrious event, I will be speaking with NYTimes bestselling author Christine Wells. Christine is known for her lavish historical fiction and her latest novel, “The Paris Gown,” takes us to Paris in the 1950s. When best friends Claire, Gina, and Margot scatter to the far corners of the world and then find themselv...

My guest this week is internationally bestselling author Gillian Harvey. Gillian’s latest novel, “The Riviera House Swap,” stars Nina, who impetuously swaps her home in rural England for one in the French Riviera in hopes of finding “the one that got away.” “The Riviera House Swap” is a reflection on growing older, taking chances, and the unrelenting power of female friendships.  In our conversati...

Are you a travel lover? How much do you think about the impact your travel has on the place you’re visiting while you’re visiting it? My guest this week is Paige McClanahan. Paige is an American journalist based in France, who can now add “author” to her list of accolades with the publication of “The New Tourist: Waking Up to the Power and Perils of Travel” just last month.  Brilliantly researched...

My guest this week is USA Today and internationally bestselling author of “The Paris Widow,” Kimberly Belle. In Kimberly’s latest mystery/thriller “The Paris Widow,” Stella and Adam are married and very much in love. They have been galavanting all over Europe on vacation. In Paris, mere hours before they are set to return home, there is a giant explosion. Adam is missing and presumed dead. But wit...

We could all use a little more love in our lives, couldn’t we? Well, my first guest for the mini-summer season of Storytime in Paris is here to help. Rebecca Raisin is an internationally bestselling romance writer whose books have been optioned for film. Her latest novel “A Love Letter to Paris” just came out last week. It’s not a bodice-ripping romance, but a truly romantic escape.  In our conver...

What would happen if you and your bestie decided to secretly crawl into each other’s beds and seduce each other’s husbands without them knowing? That’s the premise behind author Lily Samson’s debut thriller “The Switch” and, of course, there’s something more sinister afoot. “The Switch” is a fast-paced, wild ride that I could not put down.  In this Season Seven finale, Lily shares how she knew wha...

You’ve undoubtedly heard of American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, the First Lady of Song, but you likely don’t know much about her early life. My guest this week aims to change all that. Diane Richards is an author, playwright, singer, producer, and the Executive Director of the Harlem Writers Guild, which launched and supported Dr. Maya Angelou’s writing career, Diane’s novel “Ella” is a fictiona...

My guest this week is internationally-bestselling author Sarah Penner. Her debut novel “The Lost Apothecary,” was an Instant NY Times bestseller, a Book of the Year top 5 finalist, has sold over one million copies, is available in forty territories, and is currently in production as a drama series on Fox. Her second novel, “The London Séance Society,” was an instant NY Times, Publishers Weekly, In...

My guest this week is award-winning author Katrina Kell. Katrina won an Australian Society of Authors Award Mentorship for “Chloé,” her novel released earlier this year. “Chloé” is an historical novel, inspired by the painting of the same name by Jules Lefebvre in 1875, which now lives in the bar of the Young and Jackson Hotel in Melbourne.  In her novel, Katrina explores the life of Marie, the wo...

I’m very excited to welcome back this week’s guest Helen Fripp! Helen first graced us with her presence in our 32nd episode, where we spoke about her novel “The Painter’s Girl.” Her latest novel finds us returning to France - this time, in Provence during World War II - in “The Girl from Provence.” “The Girl from Provence” has everything: war, intrigue, and romance. Even Antoine de Saint-Exupéry,...

Who on earth would be brave/crazy enough to move to Paris, quit their secure job in finance, and open a cooking school? The answer, of course, is Jane Bertch, founder of the iconic La Cuisine Paris, and author of “The French Ingredient.” In her beautifully-written memoir, Jane details how she transformed from banker to business-owner, all while navigating the inevitable cultural differences she fa...

My guest this week is award-winning author Donald Lystra. Donald’s latest novel, “Searching for Van Gogh,” is a coming-of-age story, told from the perspective of Nate, against the backdrop of 1963 Michigan. Nate has lived a relatively sheltered life, but recent events have thrust him from his bubble and he's learning that there's more to the world than what he'd been brought up around. He meets Au...

What do you do when you love some thing more than any one person? And what if that thing is something you, as a woman, are not expected to love? And how are your daughters meant to react? My guest this week is New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Melanie Benjamin. Melanie’s books have been translated in over fifteen languages. She won the WILLA Literary Award in Historical Fiction for “...

My guest this week is bestselling, award-winning author Jamie Pacton. Jamie has predominantly written Young Adult novels, although she currently has some adult fiction in the works. Her latest novel, “The Absinthe Underground,” is a sapphic YA romantasy set in France during the Belle Époque, and was an instant Indie Bestseller. In it, Sybil and Esme, two best friends who are secretly in love with...

Welcome back to the Season Seven Premiere of Storytime in Paris! My first guest is Cynthia Newberry Martin and the moment I read her latest novel “The Art of Her Life,” I knew I needed to introduce you, dear listeners, to her work. Cynthia won the Gold Medal in Literary Fiction at the 2020 Independent Publisher Book Awards and the 14th Annual National Indie Excellence Award for Fiction for her fir...

For this Season Finale of Storytime in Paris, I’m thrilled to be joined by New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author Madeline Martin, who will be giving us a sneak peek into her latest book, ”The Keeper of Hidden Books.” ”The Keeper of Hidden Books” is based on the true story of the underground library in WWII Warsaw, Poland. Zofia is an intelligent, outspoken and rebelliou...

My guest this week is award-winning author Cate Green, whose novel “The Curious Kidnapping of Nora W.” won 2019’s Exeter Novel Prize. “The Curious Kidnapping of Nora W.” focuses on the final 18 days, not of Nora’s life, but before she breaks the world record for being the oldest person in history, at 122 years and 165 days old. But strong-willed Nora is not your average centarian and, as she disap...

My guest this week is best-selling, award-winning author Jennifer Cody Epstein. Jennifer’s latest novel "The Madwomen of Paris" is a work of historical fiction set in Paris’s 19th-century Salpêtrière, a notorious women’s asylum. Here, women are treated for hysteria by world famous Doctor Jean-Martine Charcot, often publicly, on stage and under hypnosis. When Josephine is admitted to the hospital i...

My guest this week is award-winning author and screenwriter Stef Penney, whose novel "The Tenderness of Wolves" won Costa Book of the Year, Theakston’s Crime Novel of the Year, and has been translated into 30 languages. Her latest novel, "The Beasts of Paris,” takes us to Paris in 1870 at the onset of the Franco-Prussian War and its subsequent revolution. We visit Paris, not through the eyes of po...

My guest this week is author, theologian, and cultural critic Dr. Tara Isabella Burton. Tara has written five books, including three novels and two nonfiction books. Her debut novel, “Social Creature,” was named a "book of the year" by The New York Times, New York's Vulture, and The Guardian. In addition to this, her writing has appeared in publications like The New York Times, National Geographic...

My guest this week is Jaclyn Goldis, a former lawyer who gave it all up to travel the world and write novels. Her latest book, “The Chateau,” published by Simon & Schuster, is a mystery/thriller set in a chateau in Provence. What begins as a celebratory reunion for a group of old friends, soon devolves into “deadly nightmare of secrets and murder.” “The Chateau” is a deeply atmospheric and twi...

My guest this week is the illustrious Chelsea Fagan. Chelsea is an author and the founder and CEO of The Financial Diet, the largest women's personal finance media company. You may know her written work from her numerous non-fiction books or her pieces in publications like The Atlantic, VICE and Cosmpolitan, but we’re here to talk about Chelsea’s steamy fiction debut: “A Perfect Vintage.” Lea is a...

My guest this week is New York Times Bestelling author Martha Hall Kelly. In fact, Martha’s debut novel Lilac Girls , became a New York Times bestseller the week it was published. It then went on to sell over two million copies and be published in 50 countries. She followed that book with two more in the series. Martha’s latest book, The Golden Doves , is a standalone work of historical fiction se...

What would you do if you were living in Paris in 1949 and Julia Child just happened to be your best friend and neighbor? What then if the two of you stumbled upon a murder? My guest is week is Colleen Cambridge, who also writes under the name Colleen Gleason. Colleen is an award-winning USA Today and New York Times bestselling author whose books have been translated into 8 languages. Colleen is a...

GIVEAWAY My first guest this season is critically-acclaimed author and journalist Sophie Hardach. Sophie’s non-fiction debut, “Languages Are Good For Us,” is about language and how it develops, how it evolves, how its learned, how its used, how it can die or be revived. It’s a wonderfully-researched book that honors the many ways in which we humans have communicated over time and mixes historical...