Wine, Women and Words

**CAUTION: SPOILERS**   We chat with Olesya Salnikova Gilmore joins us to discuss our October Book of the Month (and her debut novel!) "The Witch & the Tsar." We dive into the debut novel experience, the history and lore behind the novel, Olesya's experience weaving the two together into her story -- and much more!   Be sure to check out our shop on Bookshop.org to be able to help support independ...

Historical fiction author Karen Heenan joins us to discuss her latest novel "Coming Apart," a story of two sisters set during the Great Depression. We dive into shifting writing styles to a different period of history, Karen's experience exploring the complexities of the sisters' relationships and much more! Be sure to check out our shop on Bookshop.org to be able to help support independent books...

Author Brandie June returns to discuss "Curse Undone" the second book in her "Gold Spun" duology. We dive into sparkly cocktails, Brandie's experience building her own world in book two for the faerie realm versus working with the scaffolding of a fairytale in book one, Brandie's idea of a reverse outline and much more. Be sure to check out our shop on Bookshop.org to be able to help support indep...

We get to talk with Helene Wecker about both The Golem and the Jinni and Hidden Palaces. Diana and Helene commiserate over historical fiction woes and Helene's science fiction influences.  Get your copy of Hidden Palaces and The Golem and the Jinni at our bookshop.  

Join us as we chat with Daniella Bernett about setting, plotting our books and more!   Be sure to get your copy of A Mind for Murder here.

Stacie Murphy returns to the show to discuss "The Unquiet Dead," the next adventure of Amelia and Jonas (the characters from her debut novel "A Deadly Fortune"). We discuss the agent-author relationship, Stacie's experience working with a sensitivty reader, expanding her characters' world in book two and much more! Be sure to check out our shop on Bookshop.org to be able to help support independen...

Have you ever wondered what the little yellow person is on google maps? Well with the help of Kim Taylor Blakemore we find out. Kim isn't just here to shed light on a google mystery, she returns to the show to talk about her latest book, The Deception, and how to do setting research without leaving your home.   Pick up your copy of Deception here .

***CAUTION: SPOILERS*** We welcome Sunyi Dean for our August Book of the Month episode to unpack all things "The Book Eaters." We discussed the inspiration behind the novel, how Sunyi created taste descriptions for the books her characters ate in the story, what the story initially began as and so much more!  Be sure to check out our shop on Bookshop.org to be able to help support independent book...

Author Danielle Jackson joins us to discuss her debut novel "The Accidental Pinup." We discuss Danielle's inspiration and research process behind "Dreamland," the lingerie line featured in the novel, how Danielle's past career as a publicist in publishing prepared her to become an author and much more! Be sure to check out our shop on Bookshop.org to be able to help support independent bookstores...

Author Katalina Gamarra joins us to discuss her debut novel, "Ben & Beatriz." We have a mini Shakespeare nerd-out session before discussing Katalina's inspiration for a modern-day Beatriz, how her theater background helped her write dialogue in the novel and much, much more! Be sure to check out our shop on Bookshop.org to be able to help support independent bookstores and this podcast. You can fi...

Author Rebecca Stott joins us to discuss her latest novel, "Dark Eart" set during the Dark Ages in Londinium, the Roman settlement in Britain. We nerd out on research (of course) and archaeology, the brooch that inspired the novel, the meaning behind the title and much more.  Be sure to check out our shop on Bookshop.org to be able to help support independent bookstores and this podcast. You can f...

Author Melody Razak joins us to discuss her debut historical fiction novel "Moth." We dive into the research behind the story, the craft of building dialogue in the writing process, Melody's year living in India writing this novel and much, much more.  Be sure to check out our shop on Bookshop.org to be able to help support independent bookstores and this podcast. You can find  "Moth" under 'Featu...

Debut author Zoe Sivak joins us to discuss her historical fiction novel "Mademoiselle Revolution." We discuss pub week, what drew Zoe to this time period, the historical figures in the novel, cover art and so, so much more. Be sure to check out our shop on Bookshop.org to be able to help support independent bookstores and this podcast. You can find  "Mademoiselle Revolution" under 'Featured Books'...

Author Laura Galloway joins us to discuss "Dalvi: Six Years in the Arctic Tundra," her memoir of her experiences living in a reindeer village in the Arctic Tundra. We dive into her experiences learning the language, the writing process of compiling her memories and translating it into a book and much, much more.  We also discuss our book of the month, "The Book Eaters" by Sunyi Dean. Be sure to ch...

Author Alex Kiester returns to discuss her novel "The Truth About Ben and June." We dive into the research she did for her characters, writer's quirks and more amid a conversational tangent or two. Or three.  Be sure to check out our shop on Bookshop.org to be able to help support independent bookstores and this podcast. You can find  "The Truth About Ben and June" under 'Featured Books' and our A...

It's our book of the month episode to unpack "Let Me Be Frank" with author Tracy Dawson. We dive into all things about the book, from how it originated to the epic title to the phenomenal artwork to the women and research behind this non-fiction book.  Be sure to check out our shop on Bookshop.org to be able to help support independent bookstores and this podcast. You can find our July title, "Let...

Piper Huguley joins us to discuss her latest historical fiction novel "By Her Own Design: A Novel of Ann Lowe, Fashion Designer to the Social Register." We dive into the true story behind the novel, the women in Ann's life, Diana's food question and much more! Be sure to check out our shop on Bookshop.org to be able to help support independent bookstores and this podcast. You can find  "By Her Own...

J. Ryan Stradal joins us to discusses his latest novel "The Lager Queen of Minnesota." We dive into the research that went into the novel, author quirks and host a writer's workshop on his technique of starting a novel in the middle and working his way to the beginning and the end -- and much more!  Be sure to check out our shop on Bookshop.org to be able to help support independent bookstores and...

Erin Litteken joins us to discuss her debut historical fiction novel "The Memory Keeper of Kyiv." We dive into Erin's experiences pulling from her own family history to help inspire, inform and shape this novel, the chapter of Ukrainian history featured in this novel and nerd out about research rabbit holes (of course) -- and much more! Be sure to check out our shop on Bookshop.org to be able to h...

Vanessa Riley returns to the show to discuss her latest novel "Sister Mother Warrior." We dive into the real women behind the novel, finding the balance of history and fiction as a historical fiction writer and -- of course -- the research in a history nerd happy hour. And much, much more. Be sure to check out our shop on Bookshop.org to be able to help support independent bookstores and this podc...

Author Meng Jin returns to discuss "Self-Portrait with Ghost," her collection of short stories. We discuss writers who influenced Meng's writing, how she approached writing the stories in this collection and much more.  We also launch our discussion about "Let Me Be Frank," our book of the month by Tracy Dawson. Be sure to check out our shop on Bookshop.org to be able to help support independent b...

Liz Michalski joins us to discuss her latest novel, "Darling Girl" a dark reimagining of J.M. Barrie's "Peter Pan" and we dive into fairytales in general, narrator perspectives, Liz's take on Peter and Tinker Bell and so much more!  Be sure to check out our shop on Bookshop.org to be able to help support independent bookstores and this podcast. You can find  "Darling Girl" under 'Featured Books' a...

***CAUTION: SPOILERS!!*** It's our book of the month episode, so we're diving into all the spoilers of "The Candid Life of Meena Dave" with author Namrata Patel. From the phenomenal characters to the food to the plot twists - we discuss that and much, much more.  Be sure to check out our shop on Bookshop.org to be able to help support independent bookstores and this podcast. You can find our June...

Amanda Bestor-Siegal joins us to discuss her debut novel, "The Caretakers." We dive into the experiences that inspired the novel, what it was like to layer those experiences into character perspectives and the different themes that were explored through different characters -- and much, much more!  Be sure to check out our shop on Bookshop.org to be able to help support independent bookstores and...

C. D'Angelo joins us to discuss her latest novel "The Visitor." We dive into the inspiration behind the story (and which kind of stores we would open), the complex organizing systems we create for our bookshelves, how authors become mini experts in various fields/topics and much, much more! Check out C. D'Angelo's website to order your own copy of "The Visitor." Be sure to check out our shop on Bo...