September 15, 2021 | Issue #59 |
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Five Facts from Our Friend, Emily Henry
The one thing you’ve learned you can’t live without during the pandemic:
I mean, I didn't think I could appreciate books any more than I already did, and then the pandemic happened. Books have gotten me through this.
Your perfect day:
Rainy and gray, with enough bite in the air to warrant using the fireplace, snuggled up with a good book (writing or reading) and a very good latte.
Your favorite independent bookstore:
The last book you raved about:
I am pretty much non-stop raving about books, but I've been reading Alice Hoffman's The Book of Magic and it is slowly breaking my heart in the most exquisite way. Her language is so gorgeous, and I love her characters.
Your next book in ten words or less:
Literary agent tries on small-town life--big-city editor ruins everything. I'm counting those hyphenated words as one apiece.
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Shop Small at Bookshop.org!
SUPPORT F&F AND INDIE BOOKSTORES!
We have updated our own Bookshop.org shop with this week’s guest Emily Henry’s new book PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION and her blockbuster from last year, BEACH READ. Both are under $15! Every purchase you make from our shop helps us keep F&F going and helps support independent booksellers nationwide. Since its inception, Bookshop.org has raised nearly $16 million for independent booksellers! Now that's a mission we can get behind! Find all F&F guests’ new books and those by the Fab Five in our Bookshop.org shop. Shop local with Bookshop.org! tell them Friends & Fiction sent you! Shop now!
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Latest News From "The Fab Five"
KRISTIN HARMEL just finished two blurbs for other authors, and she’s excited to finally have some time to do some leisure reading. What’s on the agenda? Books by two of her favorite people in the world: Mary Kay Andrews’s The Santa Suit and Kristy Woodson Harvey’s Christmas in Peachtree Bluff. She can’t wait to (finally!) read the novels and join Mary Kay, Kristy, and Patti on the road next month for several dates to promote their new books (Patti also has Once Upon a Wardrobe, which Kristin has already read, coming this fall).
PATTI CALLAHAN to remind you that this is your LAST CHANCE to sign up for the LIVE The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe exclusive book club with C. S. Lewis’ stepson, Douglas Gresham on Sunday, September 19th at 2 PM EST. CLICK HERE! This week, Patti loved talking to Rachel Herron on the How I Write Podcast about knowing what your character wants. She also visited the Selma, Alabama Library and she loved being back in the library! Five. More. Weeks. Until the book comes out and Patti joins you on the road on Book Tour, and so much of tour will include Kristy, Mary Kay and Kristin. Meanwhile, there's a 10-copy Goodreads giveaway for Once Upon a Wardrobe happening now! Enter to win—the giveaway closes Monday 9/20!
What Patti is Reading: The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews, gearing up for the big launch in two weeks!
MARY KAY ANDREWS is digging out her favorite vintage Christmas decor in preparation for the Sept. 26 Atlanta launch party for The Santa Suit. Buy tickets here. And there’s a launch party in Savannah too, to benefit CURE for childhood cancer. Tickets for both events include an autographed first edition of The Santa Suit, swag bag, light bites, and signature cocktail. Rumor is that Naughty Santa might make an appearance too! In the meantime, she’s gearing up for a full calendar of in-person tour events, including a Florida swing featuring Kristy, Kristin and Patti. And yes, she’s still trying to finish the first draft of next summer’s novel.
What Mary Kay is reading: Beach Read by Emily Henry.
KRISTY WOODSON HARVEY is gearing up for her in person tour for Christmas in Peachtree Bluff--much of it with Mary Kay, Kristin and Patti! She is getting so excited for Christmas in Peachtree’s release in just six weeks--and to leave on tour in five! Visit her website for the full tour schedule!
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An Original Essay by Kristy Woodson Harvey
Each week, the Friends & Fiction authors take turns
writing an essay for Parade.com, the online home of Parade magazine.This week, Kristy Woodson Harvey wrote about important life lessons we can learn from sports.
Never fall in love with a Hornet tennis player because love means nothing to us. My 10-year-old self dreamed of wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt with those words—words reserved for Salisbury High School tennis players—emblazoned on the back.
That’s because where I grew up, in a small North Carolina town, the girls’ tennis team wasn’t just good; they were champions. From childhood, I watched those girls in match after match, dreaming of a day when I might grace their courts in my own sporty tennis dress, high ponytail, and big hoop earrings.
Fast forward, and I had done it. After years of clinics and matches, weekend tournaments and holiday camps, I was playing top six as a freshman, something I could only have imagined in my wildest dreams. My first match against Lexington, our biggest conference rival, was a monumental one. Not only were they right up the road and fellow stinging insects—Yellow Jackets—but they were a team like ours, a team so deep that the entire top 6 could get mono and another six could fill in like it was nothing.
That night, we celebrated our 100th straight conference win—and I truly realized that I was a part of something bigger than myself, something that had come before me and would continue long after I was gone.
It was a feeling that never left me...
To continue reading Kristy's column
on Parade.com, click HERE.
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Listen to the F&F Podcast!
Coming soon! Out this Friday, September 17th!—Ron Block & Patti Callahan sit down with Pulitzer finalist and National Book Award winning author of history, Nathaniel Philbrick to discuss his latest book Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy.
Out Now! WB_S1E14—It’s all about online reading groups! Ron & Kristy interview Kristy Barrett, the founder of the Facebook group A Novel Bee and Ron & Patti interview Andrea Peskind Katz, the founder of the group Great Thoughts Great Readers. LISTEN NOW!
Out Now! WB_S1E13—Ron and Kristin interview S.A. Cosby, author of this summer’s phenomenal bestselling novel Razorblade Tears. LISTEN NOW!
Out Now! WB_S1E12—Ron and MKA chat with Virginia Stanley, the longtime Director of Library Marketing at HarperCollins, and rockstar librarian, bestselling author, literary critic, and the former Executive Director of the Washington Center for the Book at Seattle Public Library, Nancy Pearl. LISTEN NOW!
Listen, download, subscribe, rate, review & share wherever you get your podcasts!
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News from the F&F Official Book Club
Have a look at our monthly book club schedule through the end of the year and be sure to save the dates! All events are at 7pm unless otherwise noted.
Sept 16: Join us for “Behind the Pages” with Leslie Hooton discussing her book The Secret of Rainy Days at 6:30pm
Sept 20: The Bookshop at Water's End with Patti Callahan Henry
Sept 23: Pre-pub day celebration of The Santa Suit with Mary Kay Andrews
Oct 1: Happy Hour with Ron Block
Nov 15: Once Upon a Wardrobe with Patti Callahan Henry
Dec 3: Happy Hour with Ron Block
Dec 6: The Santa Suit with Mary Kay Andrews
Dec 20: Christmas in Peachtree Bluff with Kristy Woodson Harvey
If you missed our Sun 8/15 one-year anniversary celebration, watch it HERE.
If you missed our Mon 8/16 book club chat with Kristin Harmel about her beautiful book The Forest of Vanishing Stars watch the replay HERE.
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The F&F Winter Wonderland Subscription Box
Three of the Fab Five (Mary Kay Patti & Kristy) have new books coming this holiday season! Here is your opportunity to be among the very first to read these books just as they are released—and to obtain loads of exclusive extra swag available only to those who subscribe!
This package is available for purchase only through our friends at Nantucket Book Partners. Books will ship as they release this fall.
For the one-time flat-rate charge of $82, subscribers will receive:
- A first edition copy of each book with signed book plate
- A QR code distributed only to subscribers which grants access to a private recorded presentation together with all three authors discussing their books
- An exclusive “Season’s Readings” tote from MKA, PCH and KWH
- A hot chocolate spoon
- A book club kit sent with each book containing discussion questions, a letter from the author, a recipe, and other special content
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Friends & Fiction Merchandise
THE F&F MERCH STORE IS HERE!
Our merch is here!
Cozy cotton with a flattering v-neck and our signature Friends & Fiction logo, these comfy
t-shirts are the perfect way to show your
Friends & Fiction wine sippies are available and shipping now from Oxford Exchange!
But that’s not all! We also have F&F 20oz travel tumblers for on-the-go coffee of drinks!
We can’t wait to see you model your merch!
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CONNECT WITH THE FRIENDS & FICTION HOST AUTHORS! |
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