Reading Life – A Bookish Home Podcast

Ep. 140: Get the Scoop on “Read With Jenna” Pick – Black Candle Women with Diane Marie Brown

March 21, 2023March 4, 2023Posted in Reading Life, WritingTagged author, PodcastLeave a comment

Today my guest is Diane Marie Brown, author of Black Candle Women, a warm and wry family drama with a magical twist about four generations of Black women living under one roof and the family curse that stems back to a Voodoo shop in 1950s New Orleans.

We discuss the winding road to debut novel including finding an agent, research, ways to connect with other new authors, and much more.

“Propulsive and poignant, Black Candle Women concocts an intoxicating potion of warmth, wisdom, and wonder.” -Ava DuVernay

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

About the Author:

Diane Marie Brown is a professor at Orange Coast College and a public health professional for the Long Beach Health Department. She has a BA and MPH from UCLA and a degree in fiction from USC’s Master of Professional Writing Program. She grew up in Stockton and now lives in Long Beach, California, with her husband, their four daughters, and their dog, Brownie. Black Candle Women is her debut novel. Learn more: https://www.dianemariebrown.com/

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is now an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.

Ep. 137: Amy Poeppel on Binge Writing Books with Heart and Humor

February 28, 2023February 27, 2023Posted in Reading Life, WritingTagged author, PodcastLeave a comment

Amy Poeppel is back on the podcast to discuss The Sweet Spot, a big-hearted, delightful novel about three women who form an accidental sorority in Greenwich village when a baby lands on their collective doorstep.

“The Sweet Spot sparkles with Amy Poeppel’s signature wit and warmth. This genuinely uproarious novel celebrates families – born and made – in all their messy glory. It’s so much fun, you’ll wish you could pull up a chair at the kitchen table and stay forever. (Though you might need to remove a feral gerbil from that chair first.)”-Laura Hankin, author of A SPECIAL PLACE FOR WOMEN

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

About the Author:

Amy Poeppel is the award-winning author of the novels The Sweet Spot, Musical Chairs, Limelight, and Small Admissions. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Rumpus, Literary Hub, and Working Mother. She and her husband have three sons and split their time between New York City, Germany, and Connecticut. She would love to hear from you on Twitter or Instagram: @AmyPoeppel or at AmyPoeppel.com.

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.

Ep. 129: Laura Vanderkam Helps Us Make Time for What Matters in 2023

January 3, 2023December 12, 2022Posted in Reading LifeTagged author, PodcastLeave a comment

Just in time to tackle those New Year’s resolutions, time management expert Laura Vandkerkam is back on the podcast this week to discuss Tranquility by Tuesday: Nine Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make time for What Matters. For anyone who’s sick of letting to-do lists dictate their time, Laura shares strategies for reclaiming your hours.

“Laura Vanderkam never promises her readers a better life without also telling them exactly how to achieve it. This book is well researched and so helpful, especially because it comes from a personal place for her. She understands the frustration and exhaustion so many of us are feeling, and she has found a way to feel better. Not just while you’re on vacation or over the weekend, but every day.”
—Celeste Headlee, author of Do Nothing, We Need to Talk, and Speaking of Race

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

About the Author:

Laura Vanderkam is the author of several time management and productivity books, including the new Tranquility by Tuesday: 9 Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make Time for What Matters, along with Juliet’s School of Possibilities, Off the Clock, I Know How She Does It, What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, and 168 Hours. Her work has appeared in publications including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, and Fortune. She is the host of the podcast Before Breakfast and the co-host, with Sarah Hart-Unger, of the podcast Best of Both Worlds. She lives outside Philadelphia with her husband and five children, and blogs at LauraVanderkam.com.

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is now an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.

Ep. 123: Julie Clark on Female Con Artists and Crafting a Thriller You’ll Want to Binge Read

November 2, 2022October 23, 2022Posted in Reading Life, WritingTagged author, PodcastLeave a comment

Bestselling author Julie Clark is back on the podcast this week to discuss The Lies I Tell, a new domestic thriller that will have you up all night reading.

“A gripping, immersive, downright triumphant revenge thriller…this book is so incredibly engaging and immersive, and I loved following the dangerous dance that develops between these two women. Driven by two complex, vividly-crafted female protagonists, The Lies I Tell draws readers into a thrilling web of deceit and revenge.”

— Crime by the Book

You can also listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

About the Author:

Julie Clark is the New York Times bestselling author of The Lies I Tell and The Last Flight, both of which were also #1 international bestsellers and have been translated into more than twenty-five languages. She lives in Los Angeles with her family and a goldendoodle with poor impulse control. Learn more: https://julieclarkauthor.com/

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is now an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.

Ep. 122: Sue Mell on Provenance, Bookends, and a Winding Journey to Publication

October 26, 2022October 20, 2022Posted in Reading Life, WritingTagged author, literary, PodcastLeave a comment

Sue Mell is on the podcast this week to discuss her new novel, Provenance. Winner of the Madville Publishing 2021 Blue Moon Novel Award, Provenance is a story of hope in ruin.

“A carefully crafted, impressively intriguing, and fully engaging contemporary novel that will have a special appeal to readers interested in family life fiction, “Provenance” by the gifted author Sue Mell is especially and unreservedly recommended.” –Midwest Book Review

You can also listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

About the Author:

Sue Mell is a writer from Queens, NY. She earned her MFA from Warren Wilson College and was a 2020 BookEnds fellow at SUNY Stony Brook Southampton. Her collection of micro essays, Giving Care, was a semi-finalist for the Digging Press 2020 Chapbook Prize. Other work has appeared in Brilliant Flash Fiction, Cleaver Magazine, Digging Through the Fat, Jellyfish Review, and more. Find her at suemellwrites.com and on Twitter @suemell2017

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is now an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.

Ep. 113: KJ Dell’Antonia on Online Personas, Creating Small Towns, and Having More Fun with Fiction

August 24, 2022August 4, 2022Posted in Reading Life, Summer Reading, WritingLeave a comment

This week, KJ Dell’Antonia is on the podcast to discuss her new novel, In Her Boots, a delightfully entertaining story set in small town New Hampshire about a ruse that goes awry and a chaotic homecoming that proves that confronting your past can sometimes set you free.

“In Her Boots is a modern, big-hearted, laugh-out-loud funny novel that reminds us that the only way to find true connection, friendship and belonging is to fully be ourselves. A joy to read from page one all the way to the very end.” —Louise Miller, author of The Late Bloomers’ Club and The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living

You can also listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

About the Author:

KJ Dell’Antonia is the former editor of Motherlode and current contributor to The New York Times, as well as the author of How to Be a Happier Parent and the instant New York Times bestseller and Reese’s Book Club Pick, The Chicken Sisters. She lives with her family on a small farm in Lyme, New Hampshire, but retains an abiding love for her childhood in Texas and Kansas. Learn more: https://kjdellantonia.com

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is now an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.

Ep. 104: Matt Bell, Author of Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts

June 23, 2022June 22, 2022Posted in Reading Life, WritingLeave a comment

This week I’m chatting with author Matt Bell about his essential new title for writers, Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts.

“I can’t imagine anyone setting pen to paper, or fingertips to keyboard, who won’t want to keep this book permanently close at hand.” —Benjamin Dreyer, New York Times bestselling author of Dreyer’s English

You can also listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

About the Author:

Matt Bell is the author most recently of the novels Appleseed (a ny times notable book of 2021), Scrapper (a Michigan Notable Book) and In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods (a finalist for the Young Lions Fiction Award). His stories have appeared in Best American Mystery Stories, Esquire, Tin House, Conjunctions, Fairy Tale Review, Gulf Coast, and many other publications. A native of Michigan, he now teaches creative writing at Arizona State University. Learn more at www.mattbell.com.

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is now an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.

Ep. 103: Alena Dillon, Author of My Body is a Big Fat Temple

June 14, 2022Posted in Reading Life, Summer ReadingLeave a comment

My guest this week is Alena Dillon, author of My Body is a Big Fat Temple, a laugh out loud memoir of pregnancy and early motherhood that is also thought-provoking, powerful, and a bit like an older sister taking you aside to tell you what to really expect.

“Alena Dillon is one of my favorite writers and to read her journey through pregnancy is a great joy and heartbreak.”―Amy Schumer

You can also listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

About the Author:

Alena Dillon is the author of Mercy House, a Library Journal Best Book of 2020, which has been optioned as a Paramount+ television series produced by Amy Schumer, as well as The Happiest Girl in the World, and My Body Is A Big Fat Temple, a memoir of pregnancy and early parenting, forthcoming from Woodhall Press October 2021. Alena’s work has appeared in publications including LitHub, River Teeth, Slice Magazine, The Rumpus, The Doctor TJ Eckleburg Review, and Bustle. She teaches creative writing and lives on the north shore of Boston with her husband, son, black lab, and lots of books. Learn more at alenadillon.com

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is now an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.

Ep. 102: Lindsey J. Palmer, Author of Reservations for Six

June 2, 2022June 1, 2022Posted in Reading Life, Summer ReadingLeave a comment

This week, tune in to hear Lindsey Palmer discuss her new novel, Reservations for Six, an entertaining and insightful page-turner about modern marriage and a tight-knit group of friends navigating their 30s and beyond.

“It’s not often you find a book that so perfectly captures the messy complexities of modern mid-life marriages and manages to also be a riveting page turner, yet with Reservations for Six, Palmer somehow pulls it off. I inhaled this book in two days, but these six characters so fully came alive for me that I’ll be thinking about them for much, much longer. Absolutely brilliant.” ―USA Today bestselling author, Colleen Oakley

You can also listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

About the Author:

Lindsey J. Palmer is a writer, editor, and educator. She is the author of four novels, RESERVATIONS FOR SIX, OTHERWISE ENGAGED, IF WE LIVED HERE, and PRETTY IN INK. She worked in the magazine industry for many years, most recently as Features Editor at Self, and previously at Redbook and Glamour. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, she earned a Master of Arts in English Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and taught A.P. Literature and Creative Writing at a Manhattan public school for several years. Nowadays she’s a senior editor at BrainPOP, an animated educational site for kids, which means she spends her days researching topics as diverse as Alan Turing, Juneteenth, and Mindfulness, and then translating what she’s learned into an engaging, narrative format. Lindsey lives on Cape Cod with her husband and daughter.

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is now an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.

Ep. 101: Kristy Woodson Harvey, Author of The Wedding Veil

May 19, 2022May 16, 2022Posted in History, Reading Life, Summer ReadingLeave a comment

Today I’m thrilled to share an episode with one of my favorite authors, Kristy Woodson Harvey. We discussed The Wedding Veil, a sweeping new novel following four women across generations, bound by a beautiful wedding veil and a connection to the famous Vanderbilt family.

“Masterfully woven…[a] literary homerun. This split-time narrative will delight readers of both contemporary and historical novels. As with all her books, Harvey delivers her trademark glamour and lighthearted spirit, all while weaving in fashion, architectural design, and the dramas that play out in daily life. It’s a delightful, well-shaped novel that leaves readers with a burst of joy in the end.” ―New York Journal of Books

You can also listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

About the Author:

Kristy Woodson Harvey is the New York Times bestselling author of nine novels, including Under the Southern Sky, and The Peachtree Bluff series, which is in development for television with NBC. Her writing has appeared in numerous online and print publications including Southern Living and USA TODAY and she was a finalist for the Southern Book Prize. Kristy is the cocreator and cohost of the weekly web show and podcast Friends & Fiction. She blogs with her mom Beth Woodson on Design Chic, and loves connecting with fans on KristyWoodsonHarvey.com. She lives on the North Carolina coast with her husband and son where she is (always!) working on her next novel.

Listen to Past Episodes of A Bookish Home Featuring Friends & Fiction Authors:

Ep. 96: Patti Callahan Henry on Once Upon A Wardrobe

Ep. 85: Kristin Harmel on The Forest of Vanishing Stars

Ep. 58: Mary Kay Andrews on Hello Summer

Ep. 36: Mary Kay Andrews on Sunset Beach

Ep. 80: Mary Alice Monroe on The Summer of Lost and Found

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is now an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.