Writers' Voices

In her historical fiction debut, The Double Standard Sporting House, historian and novelist Nancy Bernhard tells the story of a 19th century brothel nurse, Nell “Doc” Hastings, who fought to protect and aid girls trafficked in the sex trade. Set in New York City, her upscale brothel, named The Double Standard Sporting House, catered to Read More

In The Culting of America: What Makes a Cult and Why We Love Them, Daniella Mestyanek Young, a cult survivor and U.S. Army veteran, explores how cult-like behavior can emerge in many of America's communities and institutions, from religious groups to corporations to recovery support groups. Co-written with Amy Reed, the book outlines a ten-part Read More

In The Motivation Mindset Workbook: Helping Teens and Tweens Discover What They Love To Do, child clinical psychologist Dr. Hillary Bush teams up with former Writer's Voices guest and associate professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School Dr. Ellen Braaten to create an impactful and insightful workbook to help our young adolescents uncover their interests Read More

In The Hostess, novelist Courtney Psak intrigues readers with a riveting psychological thriller that follows Natalie and Luke, a couple who retreat to an idyllic rental home in Southampton so that Natalie can rest and recover following a recent traumatic brain injury. When they arrive, they meet Sadie, the beautiful and wealthy owner of the Read More

In his debut novel, The Othello Club, award-winning creative director and copywriter J.D. Pennington delivers a gripping crime thriller about six divorcees who set out to exact revenge on their unfaithful spouses. Told from multiple points of views, the story centers around Emily, whose life is turned upside down after she finds out her husband, Read More

In The Place Where They Buried Your Heart, horror and dark fantasy author Christina Henry writes a chilling tale set in Chicago and centered around a young woman named Jessie Campanelli, whose brother Paul disappeared years earlier in a mysterious house down the street. At the time, Jessie was an angsty 13-year-old teenager who didn't Read More

In her fifth published novel, Behind These Four Walls, critically-acclaimed, #1 Amazon bestselling author Yasmin Angoe delivers a gripping mystery suspense centered around a young woman named Isla Thorne, who sets out to uncover the truth behind her friend's disappearance ten years earlier. Set first in Los Angeles, then Virginia, Isla starts her search at Read More

In her powerful new book, The Labors of Resurrection: Black Women, Necromancy, and Morrisonian Democracy, Associate Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies at Vanderbilt University Shatema Threadcraft sheds light on the serious topic of Black femicide and writes about the Black feminists who are organizing to stop the murders of Black women. In addition, her Read More

Pushcart Prize-winning author Michael Kardos visits Writer's Voices to discuss his fourth novel, the comedic caper Fun City Heist. Set on the Jersey Shore, the book tells the story of Mo Melnick, a former drummer for the band Sunshine Apocalypse who now spends his days renting out beach umbrellas. One day, he's approached by Johnny Read More

In the 25th anniversary edition of Return of the Osprey: A Season of Flight and Wonder, New York Times bestselling author David Gessner invites readers into the world of the magnificent creature known as the osprey. Once endangered due to the use of the pesticide DDT, ospreys have made a strong return to their former Read More

In Snow Kissed, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne shares a heartwarming holiday romance about finding love for the second time. Set in the fictional town of Shelter Springs, her story centers around single mom Holly Goodwin Moore whose daughter, Lydia, is set to take part in her ex-husband's sister-in-law's wedding. Read More

In her debut novel, Whistling Women and Crowing Hens, former CPA turned novelist Melora Fern compels readers with a story inspired by her grandmother's time as a traveling musician in the 1920's. In this historical novel, readers follow Birdie Stauffer, a young woman who performs as a musical whistler with a train-traveling roadshow. In an Read More

Acclaimed novelist and longtime New Yorker contributor Cynthia Zarin visits Writer's Voices to discuss her latest novel, Estate, a companion piece to her debut novel, Inverno. Her story centers around Caroline, a woman and mother in her late forties (possibly early fifties) who has been married twice, is currently separated from her husband, and involved Read More

Amazon Charts bestselling author Elle Marr joins Writer's Voices to discuss her seventh and latest psychological thriller, The Lie She Wears. Set in Portland, Oregon, the story centers around a Chinese-American museum curator named Pearl Davis who receives a shocking letter from her recently deceased mother, Sally, confessing to murder. Soon after acquiring the letter, Read More

In Dreams of Fields: Memory Traces of Iowa's Past, Roy R. Behrens, a former Professor and Distinguished Scholar at the University of Northern Iowa, takes readers deep into the Midwest as he delves into the people associated with Iowa's rich history. Filled with twenty-five personal essays, Behrens' book features prominent Iowans, as well as those Read More

In The Mad Wife, New York Times bestselling author Meagan Church takes readers back to 1950's suburban America where we meet Lulu Mayfield, a young, married woman who is trying to keep up appearances by being the perfect mother and the ideal housewife. As the story unfolds, Lulu's life begins spiraling following the birth of Read More

In her second novel, Bees In June, author and former reading specialist Elizabeth Bass Parman enchants readers with an emotional story centered around Rennie Hendricks, a woman grieving the loss of her young son while working through the challenges of a broken marriage. Set in 1969 in the fictional town of Spark, Tennessee, readers follow Read More

In her debut novel, The Irish Goodbye, poet, teacher, and writing coach Heather Aimee O'Neill tells the story of three sisters still grappling with a tragedy that occurred twenty years earlier. Because of this devastating event, their brother, Topher's, life was deeply impacted. Set on the North Shore of Long Island, the novel begins with Read More

In The Women of Artemis, award-winning author Hannah Lynn writes a captivating retelling of a Greek myth about Otrera, the first Amazon queen. As readers learn, Otrera first marries at the tender age of fourteen with dreams of sharing a life with an affectionate and devoted husband. However, her hopes are shattered when her husband Read More

In All the Way Around the Sun, writer and lawyer Xixi Tian writes a coming-of-age novel centered around family, loss, and the journey of finding our identity in a new home. Set in both China and the United States, the story follows Stella Chan, a Chinese immigrant living in Illinois, who is coping with the Read More

Award-winning novelist Jake Arnott joins Writer's Voices to discuss his latest crime thriller, Blood Rival. Set in the 1980's in Kent, England, Blood Rival centers around the death of the infamous gangster, Lee Royle, who is killed in a violent act of road rage. Following Lee's death, his widow, Jo, her lover, Eddie (an adversary Read More

In his third book of poetry, Haiku Americana, retired history professor and local Fairfield poet Lawrence Eyre presents a compilation of haikus that follows the traditional 5-7-5 syllable, three-line structure, but reflects his own personal style. Though not centered on customary haiku themes, Haiku Americana is composed of pieces influenced by the Bible, Shakespeare, Aesop, Read More

In her debut novel The Cover Girl, author Amy Rossi explores the life of Birdie Rhodes, a young girl who is discovered by a modeling agent at the age of thirteen. The story spans two timelines: one in the 1970's during Birdie's younger modeling years and the other in 2018 when Birdie is fifty-six and Read More

In Ink Ribbon Red, crime novel writer, Alex Pavesi, presents his latest mystery thriller about a group of friends who trek to a remote location in the English countryside for a murder mystery birthday weekend. The host, Anatol, has invited his friends to join him for his 30th birthday and wants them to partake in Read More

In her second published novel, Starting From Here, author Paula Saunders tells a poignant coming-of-age story set in South Dakota in the 1970's. The book follows a young woman named René who leaves her small town of Rapid City to pursue her wish of becoming a ballet dancer. With her mother's support, she journeys from Read More

In Vianne, internationally renowned and award-winning author, Joanne Harris, presents the prequel to her best-selling novel, Chocolat. Set six years prior to the events of Chocolat, a woman known as Sylviane Rochas leaves New York after the death of her mother in search of a new life in Marseille. Soon after she arrives, she changes Read More

National bestselling author of historical fiction, Erika Robuck, chats with Writer's Voices to discuss her exciting new historical novel, The Last Assignment: A Novel of Dickey Chapelle. In it, she writes about the life of award-winning combat photojournalist, Georgette “Dickey” Chapelle, who was one of the first female war photographers in U.S. history and whose Read More

Former EMT and paramedic, Joanna Sokol, joins Writer's Voices to discuss her powerful new memoir, A Real Emergency: Stories from the Ambulance. During the decade she spent working in the ambulance, Sokol often kept a small journal in her back pocket and wrote down patient notes as well as anecdotes about her day-to-day experiences with Read More

In The Wayward Girls, New York Times bestselling author, Susan Wiggs, writes a poignant historical fiction that takes readers back to 1968 in Buffalo, New York. Based on a true story, the book follows six teenage girls, Mairin, Angela, Helen, Odessa, Denise, and Janice, who are sent to the Good Shepherd, a Catholic reform school, Read More

In Cyborg Fever, critically-acclaimed author, Laurie Sheck, presents a complex and intriguing novel centered around an orphan named Erwin who falls into a year-long fever dream and wakes up with a plethora of information from esteemed scientists of the past. According to Sheck, “…in the book, I chronicle the beings that he meets during his Read More

In The Bayrose Files, award-winning poet and novelist, Diane Wald, writes an intriguing novella about a young journalist named Violet Maris who attends an artists' and writers' colony in Provincetown, Massachusetts, in the 1980s. In order to be accepted into the residency, Violet deceitfully applied using her friend's short stories with the intention of writing Read More

Author and graduate of Iowa Writers' Workshop, Samsun Knight, joins Writer's Voices to discuss his second novel, Likeness. Loosely based on his own parent's open marriage, Likeness tells the story of Anne and her husband, Sebastian, who have a polyamorous marriage, as they navigate their relationship with Sebastian's lover, Sandy. Told from multiple points of Read More

In The Scrapbook, award-winning author, Heather Clark, writes her debut novel, a historical fiction set in 1996 that follows Anna, a Harvard graduand, who falls in love with a visiting German student named Christoph. As their relationship grows, Anna travels back and forth to Germany to visit Christoph and while it's known that both their Read More

In Romantic Friction, YA novelist, Lori Gold, formerly Lori Goldstein, presents her debut book club fiction novel based on a character not unlike herself. The story follows bestselling romantasy writer, Sofie Wilde, who is awaiting the release of the 10th book in her successful series, but is rivaled by a new author named Hartley West Read More

Award-winning writer and journalist, Joanne Leedom-Ackerman, chats with Writer's Voices to discuss her gripping, new political thriller, The Far Side of the Desert. Set in various locations all over the world, the book follows two sisters, Samantha and Monte Waters, who are vacationing together in Spain and are awaiting the arrival of their brother, Cal. Read More

In The End Is the Beginning: A Personal History of My Mother, poet, novelist, and editor, Jill Bialosky, writes a moving family memoir centered around her mother, Iris Yvonne Bialosky. Her book starts in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic first begins and Iris has just passed away after succumbing to Alzheimer's while in hospice Read More

In Mothers of Fate, award-winning author, Lynne Hugo, writes a poignant family drama centered around the intricacies of adoption. Set in Pittsburgh, her novel follows a middle-aged, disabled woman named Deana Wilkes who is searching for the son she gave up 30 years ago in a closed adoption. In the process, she reaches out to Read More

In her third book of poetry, Diorama, poet Sandra Marchetti presents a collection of over 50 poems that she completed throughout a ten-year period. Her previous collection, Aisle 228, which was centered around baseball, won the 2023 Twin Bill Book Prize for Best Baseball Poetry of the Year. This time around, Marchetti's poems are heavily Read More

New York Times bestselling author, Martha Hall Kelly, joins Writer's Voices to discuss her latest novel, a historical fiction set in Martha's Vineyard, titled The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club. Based on her own family's history, the story is told in dual timelines, with one set in 2016 and the other during WWII in Read More

In The Italian Soul: How to Savor the Full Joys of Life, award-winning journalist, poet, and spirituality author Judith Valente takes readers into the slow-paced, tranquil lifestyle of the Italians. Having visited Italy a number of times, her book is geared to anyone seeking to calm their busy lives and live a more mindful and Read More

In A Bit Much, comedy writer and poet, Lyndsay Rush, presents her debut book, a collection of poetry containing over 140 funny and heartwarming poems about her experiences with life, love, and womanhood. Rush, who became a poet by accident, became a viral sensation when her witty and relatable poems were posted on her popular Read More

In Technology is Dead: The Path to a More Human Future, former managing director of the Harvard Innovation Labs, author, and global speaker, Chris Colbert, writes an insightful and thought-provoking book centered around humanity's dependance on technology and how we as a society can use that to produce positive outcomes for us rather than unintended, Read More

In Gender Explained: A New Understanding of Identity in a Gender Creative World, developmental and clinical psychologist, Diane Ehrensaft, PhD, and her co-author, Michelle Jurkiewicz, PsyD, explore the changing culture of gender in today's world. According to Ehrensaft, this is a time in history where the uncertainty of this topic is making many people anxious. Read More

In Suspended by No String: A Songwriter's Reflections on Faith, Aliveness, and Wonder, Emmy and Grammy-nominated musician and writer, Peter Himmelman, presents a collection of essays that touches on topics that both inspire and reflect on everyday life. While his book includes some personal recollections, he doesn't consider it to be his memoir even if Read More

In The Puzzle Box, New York Times bestselling author, Danielle Trussoni, writes an intriguing follow-up to her 2023 hit thriller, The Puzzle Master. Set in Japan during the Year of the Wood Dragon, her novel tells the story of a puzzle savant named Mike who has been invited to Tokyo to help crack the ancient Read More

French American author, Aurélie Thiele, joins Writer's Voices to talk about her debut novel, a historical fiction titled The Paris Understudy. Set in Paris in the time before, during, and after WWII, the book tells the story of two rival women, French opera extraordinaire, Madeleine Moreau, and her understudy, a novice named Yvonne Chevallier. When Read More

In Mattie, Milo, and Me, Moth StorySLAM winner, Anne Abel, shares her moving memoir about the role her dogs, Mattie and Milo, played in her journey of recovery from her traumatic childhood. Her first dog was Mattie, one she took in when her son was 10 years old, and ended up falling completely in love Read More

Author and marketing expert, Crystal King, visits Writer's Voices to discuss her third novel, a blend of mythology mixed with history and goth, titled In the Garden of Monsters. Set in 1948 in Italy's Sacro Bosco, her book is a retelling of the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone, and is told from the point Read More

Bestselling historical fiction author, Greer Macallister joins Writer's Voices to discuss her newest historical novel, The Thirteenth Husband. Set during the Gilded Age, the book tells the story of a real-life, Bohemian heiress named Aimee Crocker. According to Macallister, “She was an heiress from a well-to-do, California family. Her father was actually the lawyer for Read More

The Best Lies is New York Times #1 bestselling author, David Ellis', 11th published crime novel. The book follows Leo Balanoff, an attorney and diagnosed pathological liar, who's framed for the murder of a local gangster. In exchange for life in prison, Leo chooses to go undercover for the FBI to help take down the Read More

Therapist, adjunct professor, and author, Holly LaBarbera, joins us to discuss her debut novel, All I Know. As she describes it, “The story is about two intertwined, dysfunctional families… it's about this one woman's discovery to move beyond your childhood wounds and issues and how to find love and live a healthy life with healthy Read More