A Bookish Home

Ep. 146: 2023 Newbery Medal Winner: Amina Luqman-Dawson on Freewater

It's an honor to have Amina Luqman-Dawson on this week, the 2023 Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King award winner for Freewater, a lyrical, accessible historical middle-grade novel about two enslaved children’s escape from a plantation and the many ways they find freedom.

Ep. 145: Julia Kelly on Telling the Heart Wrenching Story of England’s Evacuated Children in World War II

Julia Kelly is back on the podcast to discuss The Lost English Girl, an epic saga of love, motherhood, and betrayal during World War II that tells the story of the evacuation of English children to the countryside.

Ep. 144: Suzanne Park on The Do Over and Second Chances in Love and Life

Today Suzanne Park is back on the podcast to discuss The Do Over, a delightfully warm, hopeful story about a Korean-American woman having to return to college after discovering she’s a few credits shy of completing her degree—only to find one of her TAs is her old college boyfriend.

Ep. 143: Poet Maggie Smith on You Could Make This Place Beautiful, an Unforgettable new Memoir

This week my guest is poet and bestselling author Maggie Smith whose memoir, You Could Make This Place Beautiful just released and explores the disintegration of her marriage and her renewed commitment to herself.

Ep. 142: Eleanor Shearer on Bringing the 19th Century Caribbean to Life and Exploring What It Means to Be Free

Eleanor Shearer is here to discuss her debut novel, River Sing Me Home, a beautiful, page-turning and redemptive story of a mother’s gripping journey across the Caribbean to find her stolen children in the aftermath of slavery.

We discuss the power of historical novels to teach and bring lesser known periods of history to life and how she explores through her writing what it means to be free and finding love and joy in the darkest times.

River Sing Me Home is a Good Morning America Book Club pick and was  named a Most Anticipated Book of 2023 by Real Simple, Goodreads, BookBub,  BookRiot and more.

Ep. 141 Tori Whitaker Takes Us Into a World of Flappers, Bourbon, and Antique Cars

Tori Whitaker is back on the podcast this week to discuss A Matter of Happiness, a bittersweet novel about family, hard truths, and self-discovery in which a cherished heirloom opens up a century of secrets.

 

We discussed how she went about researching this time period, ways her writing process has changed after two books, drawing on her own life for literary inspiration, and much more.

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

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.

Ep. 139: Amy Tector Discusses the Addictive New Series Three Pines Fans Will Love

Today archivist and author Amy Tector is back on the podcast to discuss her new series, the Dominion Archives Mysteries, which is perfect for fans of Louise Penny.

Ep. 138 Sarah Penner on Following Up a Breakout Bestseller and Writing This Feminist, Gothic Mystery Set In Victorian London

Bestselling author Sarah Penner is back on to discuss her new novel, The London Seance Society, a spellbinding gothic whodunit introducing two enigmatic women who set out to solve a most unusual mystery.

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

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.