The Jane Healey Happy Hour

In this episode of The Jane Healey Happy Hour, bestselling author Jane Healey sits down with bestselling author Kerri Maher to discuss Summer of Love, a family secrets novel that moves between 1967 San Francisco and 2015 Napa Valley. Kerri shares how Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way unexpectedly unlocked the idea for the novel, along with the personal connection she has to California and...

Bestselling author Jane Healey welcomes author, former U.S. Congressman, and bookstore owner Steve Israel to discuss his latest historical thriller, The Einstein Conspiracy . Inspired by the Long Island cottage where Albert Einstein wrote his pivotal 1939 letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt warning of Nazi atomic ambitions, Israel shares the remarkable true history behind the novel, his exte...

Author John Glynn joins Jane Healey to discuss his debut novel, The Lost Book of Lancelot , a queer retelling of Arthurian legend that reimagines the story of Sir Lancelot through a fresh and deeply researched lens. John shares how discovering the little-known relationship between Lancelot and the knight Galehaut inspired the novel, and discusses the challenges of navigating centuries of Arthurian...

Join bestselling author Jane Healey on The Jane Healey Happy Hour as she talks with U.S. Air Force veteran John Edward Collins about his debut novel, The Interdictionist , a Cold War military thriller inspired by his own experiences as an NSA cryptologist in West Germany. Collins shares the remarkable story behind the book, including how the NSA required him to submit both his memoir and novel for...

Jane Healey welcomes debut novelist Laura Vogt to discuss In The Great Quiet , a historical novel inspired by the life of Vogt’s great-great-grandmother, who joined the 1893 Cherokee Outlet land run in Oklahoma Territory. Laura shares how family stories, extensive research into women homesteaders, and overlooked corners of American history shaped the novel, along with the challenge of writing fict...

New York Times bestselling author Katherine Center joins Jane Healey to discuss her new romantic comedy, The Shippers , a childhood friends-to-lovers story set aboard a wedding cruise. Katherine shares how her own first kiss on a cruise inspired the novel, why she believes love stories deserve to be taken seriously, and how humor, hope, and emotional connection shape her writing. The conversation...

Bestselling historical fiction author Janis Robinson Daley joins Jane Healey to discuss her latest novel, Under Two Flags , inspired by a little-known 1918 memoir ghostwritten by Daley’s grandfather. The novel follows Josephine, a young American Jewish opera student who travels to Berlin during World War I to pursue her musical dreams amid growing political tension and hardship. Janice shares the...

Jane Healey welcomes debut author Kayla Hardy to The Jane Healey Happy Hour to discuss The Quarter Queen , a historical fantasy set in 1840s New Orleans. Drawing on her background in Black folklore and Louisiana Creole history, Hardy explores the life and legend of Marie Laveau through a layered mother-daughter story that blends magic with real historical tensions. The conversation highlights how...

Jane Healey welcomes back New York Times bestselling author Allison Pataki to discuss her new novel It Girl , inspired by the real-life story of Evelyn Nesbitt. From her rise out of poverty to becoming one of America’s first celebrities, Nesbitt’s life unfolds against the backdrop of the Gilded Age and the birth of modern fame. Pataki shares how she blended history with fiction to reclaim Evelyn’s...

In this episode of The Jane Healey Happy Hour, Jane Healey speaks with New York Times bestselling author Sadeqa Johnson about her new novel Keeper of Lost Children . Johnson shares the little-known history that inspired the book, including the real story of journalist and adoption advocate Mabel Grammer, who helped place more than 500 mixed-race “brown babies” born in post–World War II Germany int...

In this episode of The Jane Healey Happy Hour, host and bestselling author Jane Healey speaks with novelist Lisa Patton about her new book Kissing the Sky , a story set against the backdrop of the 1969 Woodstock music festival. Patton shares how watching the festival’s 50th anniversary coverage sparked the idea for the novel and how extensive research—including conversations with Woodstock organiz...

New York Times bestselling author Jenna Blum joins Jane Healey to celebrate the fifth anniversary—and rebrand—of the podcast and to discuss her sharp, darkly funny romantic thriller, Murder Your Darlings . The novel follows mid-career historical fiction writer Sam Verner as she embarks on a whirlwind romance with a charismatic, bestselling novelist—only to find herself entangled in a web of obsess...

Bestselling author Heather B. Moore joins Jane Healey to discuss her richly researched new novel, Julia , which explores the extraordinary life of culinary icon Julia Child. From her surprising work in the OSS during World War II to her groundbreaking cooking career that began in Paris, Moore paints a vivid portrait of a woman who found her passion later in life and never looked back. The conversa...

Bestselling author Erika Robuck joins host Jane Healey to talk about The Last Assignment: A Novel of Dickie Chappelle , her biographical novel about trailblazing war photojournalist Dickie Chappelle, who embedded with Marines and bore witness to Cold War flashpoints from Hungary and Cuba to Vietnam. They explore Dickie’s fearless calling to show civilians the realities of war, her complicated pers...

In this episode of Historical Happy Hour , bestselling author Jane Healey welcomes back Rhys Bowen to discuss her latest novel, Mrs. Endicott’s Splendid Adventure . Set in the South of France on the eve of World War II, the book follows Ellie Endicott as she discovers independence, friendship, and courage after being abandoned by her husband. Bowen shares the inspirations behind the novel—from a c...

In this episode of Historical Happy Hour, host Jane Healey chats with bestselling author Juliette Fay about her new novel The Harvey Girls. Together, they uncover the fascinating, little-known history of Fred Harvey’s hospitality empire, the young women who became Harvey Girls, and how this unique role transformed their independence in the 1920s. Fay shares insights into her research, character de...

In this episode of Historical Happy Hour , bestselling author Jane Healey interviews Ellen Marie Wiseman about her powerful new novel, The Lies They Told . Set in 1930s Virginia, the book follows an immigrant mother navigating the harsh realities of Ellis Island, only to uncover the devastating impact of the American eugenics movement on rural families. Wiseman shares her deep research into this o...

In this episode of Historical Happy Hour , host Jane Healey chats with bestselling author Eliza Knight about her newest historical fiction novel, Confessions of a Grammar Queen . Set in 1960s New York, the book follows Bernadette Swift, an ambitious copy editor aiming to become the first female CEO of a publishing house—alongside her endearing Great Dane, Frank. Jane and Eliza delve into the inspi...

In this episode of Historical Happy Hour , bestselling author Jane Healey sits down with Susan Wiggs to discuss her moving and deeply researched novel, Wayward Girls . Inspired by the shocking true history of the Good Shepherd Institute in Buffalo, New York, the book sheds light on the hidden network of U.S. Magdalene laundries and the young women whose lives were upended there. Wiggs shares her p...

In this episode of Historical Happy Hour , bestselling author Jane Healey chats with Ella Berman about her riveting new novel LA Women , set in 1960s and 70s Hollywood. The book explores the complex friendship—and eventual betrayal—between two ambitious female writers navigating a male-dominated literary and artistic world. Berman reveals how her own upbringing in LA and London, her research in La...

In this episode of Historical Happy Hour , bestselling author Serena Burdick joins host Jane Healey to discuss her latest novel, A Promise to Arlette . Inspired by the bohemian life of Burdick’s grandmother—who was a muse to Man Ray and lived with Henry Miller in Big Sur—the novel blends art-world mystique, postwar trauma, and a rich exploration of female friendship and love. Set in both conservat...

In this episode of Historical Happy Hour , bestselling author Jane Healey welcomes fellow novelist Camille Di Maio to discuss her new release, Come Fly With Me —a richly researched and heartfelt novel set in the glamorous world of 1960s Pan Am stewardesses. Di Maio shares the serendipitous origin of the book, penned partly on a liquor store bag in Tahiti, and describes her immersive journey into t...

In this episode of Historical Happy Hour , host and bestselling author Jane Healey sits down with acclaimed journalist and novelist Jack Ford to discuss his newest historical fiction novel, Beyond This Place of Wrath and Tears . Inspired by the true story of trailblazing WWII correspondent Lee Carson, the conversation dives deep into the remarkable life of a fearless woman who covered major moment...

In this episode of Historical Happy Hour , bestselling author Jane Healey sits down with novelist Alison Epstein to discuss her bold reimagining of Oliver Twist in her new book Fagan and the Thief . Epstein offers a compelling retelling from the perspective of Jacob Fagan, Dickens’ infamous pickpocket, giving him a first name, a backstory, and—most importantly—humanity. They explore the novel’s re...

Bestselling author Alka Joshi returns to discuss her newest historical fiction novel, Six Days in Bombay . Inspired by the enigmatic life and mysterious death of Indian painter Amrita Sher-Gil—dubbed the Frida Kahlo of India—Joshi weaves a rich narrative through the eyes of a fictional nurse, Sona, who cares for a dying artist and embarks on a journey across 1930s Europe to fulfill the artist’s fi...