Wine, Women And Words

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 check out our shop on Bookshop.org to be able to help support independent bookstores and this podcast. You can find  "Dalvi: Six Years in the Arctic Tundra" under 'Featured Books' and our August title, "The Book Eaters" by Sunyi Dean in our 'Book of the Month' shop.

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 August title, "The Boo Eaters" by Sunyi Dean in our 'Book of the Month' shop.

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 Me Be Frank" by Tracy Dawson in our 'Book of the Month' shop.

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 Design" under 'Featured Books' and our July title, "Let Me Be Frank" by Tracy Dawson in our 'Book of the Month' shop.  

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 this podcast. You can find  "The Lager Queen of Minnesota" under 'Featured Books' and our July title, "Let Me Be Frank" by Tracy Dawson in our 'Book of the Month' shop.

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 help support independent bookstores and this podcast. You can find  "The Memory Keeper of Kyiv" under 'Featured Books' and our July title, "Let Me Be Frank" by Tracy Dawson in our 'Book of the Month' shop.

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 podcast. You can find  "Sister Mother Warrior" by Vanessa Riley under 'Featured Books' and our July title, "Let Me Be Frank" by Tracy Dawson in our 'Book of the Month' shop.

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 bookstores and this podcast. You can find  "Self-Portrait with Ghost" under 'Featured Books' and our July title, "Let Me Be Frank" by Tracy Dawson in our 'Book of the Month' shop.

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' and our July title, "Let Me Be Frank" by Tracy Dawson in our 'Book of the Month' shop.

***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 title, "The Candid Life of Meena Dave" by Namrata Patel in our 'Book of the Month' shop.

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 this podcast. You can find  "The Caretakers" under 'Featured Books' and our June title, "The Candid Life of Meena Dave" by Namrata Patel in our 'Book of the Month' shop.

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 Bookshop.org to be able to help support independent bookstores and this podcast. You can find our June title, "The Candid Life of Meena Dave" by Namrata Patel in our 'Book of the Month' shop.

Alma Katsu joins us to discuss "The Fervor," her latest historical horror novel set in the Japanese American internment camps during WWII. We dive into the history behind the novel (and which character was pulled right out of history), her research and how she approached it, the jorogumo and Japanese folkore 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  "The Fervor" under 'Featured Books' and our June title, "The Candid Life of Meena Dave" by Namrata Patel in our 'Book of the Month' shop.

We discuss "The Patron Saint of Second Chances" with debut author Christine Simon and dive into the creation of Signor Speranza and Prometto, his small Italian village. Our conversation veers into Italian dialects, marketing campaigns and much, much more.  We kick off our book of the month discussion about "The Candid Life of Meena Dave" by Namrata Patel.  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 Patron Saint of Second Chances" under 'Featured Books' and our June title, "The Candid Life of Meena Dave" by Namrata Patel in our 'Book of the Month' shop.

Weina Dai Randel joins us to discuss her historical fiction novel "The Last Rose of Shanhai." We discuss the history and historical figures behind the novel, traditions Weina has begun with her family and her novels 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  "The Last Rose of Shanghai" under 'Featured Books' and our June title, "Candid Life of Meena Dave" by Namrata Patel in our 'Book of the Month' shop.

Karen White joins us to discuss "The Shop on Royal Street," the first book in her Royal Street series -- a spinoff frrom her Tradd Street series. We discuss some of the origin stories of Nola, the main character, unexpected secondary characters who insert themselves in the writing process 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  "The Shop on Royal Street" under 'Featured Books' and our February title, "Candid Life of Meena Dave" in our 'Book of the Month' shop.

***CAUTION: SPOILERS*** Kristy Woodson Harvey joins the show to unpack her novel (and our book of the month) "The Wedding Veil." We discuss the women of the Biltmore and Edith Vanderbilt's wedding veil that really did disappear, how Cornelia's fascination with numerology helped shape her storyline in the novel, the development of some major plot points 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 our May title, "The Wedding Veil" by Kristy Woodson Harvey in our 'Book of the Month' shop.

Connie Berry discusses the fourth installation of her Kate Hamilton mystery series, "The Shadow of Memory." We dive into exploring/developing characters over the course of a series, pantsing versus plotting and so much more! We discuss our May book, "The Wedding Veil" by Kristy Woodson Harvey. 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 Shadow of Memory" under 'Featured Books' and our May title, "The Wedding Veil" by Kristy Woodson Harvey in our 'Book of the Month' shop.

T.J. Alexander joins us to discuss their debut novel "Chef's Kiss" and we nerd out about all things baking, slow-burn romances and so, so much more amid *lots* of laughing.  Be sure to check out our shop on Bookshop.org to be able to help support independent bookstores and this podcast. You can find  "Chef's Kiss" under 'Featured Books' and our May title, "The Wedding Veil" by Kristy Woodson Harvey in our 'Book of the Month' shop.

Author Jenn Bouchard joins us to discuss her debut novel "First Course" -- and we dive into some of the recipes from the novel, writing complex sibling relationships 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  "First Course" under 'Featured Books' and our May title, "The Wedding Veil" by Kristy Woodson Harvey in our 'Book of the Month' shop.