Podcasts about Joshilyn Jackson

This week on From the Front Porch, we have a new episode series: Into the Backlist! Today, Annie changes her focus from new releases to dive into the backlist: the books that came out years ago, the books that didn't get enough attention, the books you may stumble upon while browsing in an indie bookstore like The Bookshelf. To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, visit our website (type “Episode 476” into the search bar and tap enter to find the books mentioned in this episode) or or download and shop on The Bookshelf's official app: The Mothers by Brit Bennett The Ensemble by Aja Gabel The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett Annie would put The Mothers on a shelf with these books: Revival Season by Monica West Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi Memorial Drive by Natasha Tretheway A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson (unavailable to order) The Color of Water by James McBride Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert From the Front Porch is a weekly podcast production of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in South Georgia. You can follow The Bookshelf's daily happenings on Instagram, Tiktok, and Facebook, and all the books from today's episode can be purchased online through our store website, www.bookshelfthomasville.com.  A full transcript of today's episode can be found here. Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D Podcast Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.  This week, Annie is listening to Funny Story by Emily Henry. If you liked what you heard in today's episode, tell us by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. You can also support us on Patreon, where you can access bonus content, monthly live Porch Visits with Annie, our monthly live Patreon Book Club with Bookshelf staffers, Conquer a Classic episodes with Hunter, and more. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch. We're so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week. Our Executive Producers are...Jennifer Bannerton, Stephanie Dean, Linda Lee Drozt, Ashley Ferrell, Susan Hulings, Wendi Jenkins, Martha, Nicole Marsee, Gene Queens, Cammy Tidwell, and Amanda Whigham.

On this episode of Complicated Conversations, we chat with Joshilyn Jackson, an original inspiration for Carinn's early fiction. With My Little Eye is out now -- listen to our spoiler-free interview while you wait for your copy to arrive!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

These books had a lot more in common that we thought they would. There are neighborhood book clubs and a lot of secrets, secrets that could destroy lives. Books Dicussed:The Neighbor's Secret by L. Alison HellerNever Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson

Killers of a Certain Age | Book Review and Podcast Website: https://gobookmart.com Buy Now: https://amzn.to/3W7oI2D “This Golden Girls meets James Bond thriller is a journey you want to be part of.” -Buzzfeed “A singular suspense story thanks to its deftly fluctuating tone, which is by turns comical, violent and unexpectedly affecting…it's impossible not to root for these dangerous dames and their refusal to let themselves be put on the ash heap — a phrase that, in this thriller, should be taken literally.” -The Washington Post “A sharp and witty thriller.” -PopSugar "National treasure Deanna Raybourn never fails to enchant with her signature dry wit, sophisticated storylines, slick twists, and smart eccentric women who anchor her books. Her latest is a romping, wild delight from start to finish. Killers of a Certain Age is the 60-something lady assassin book we didn't know we needed, but, oh, we needed it. I love this book." —Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times bestselling author “Deanna Raybourn's Killers of a Certain Age captures the reader from the get-go—and never lets go! An excellent and thrilling read!” —Heather Graham, New York Times bestselling author of Crimson Summer --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/gobookmart-review/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/gobookmart-review/support

The 540th episode of the Reading and Writing Podcast features an interview with New York Times bestselling writer Joshilyn Jackson, author of the novel MOTHER MAY I. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/reading-and-writing-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Welcome to another episode of From the Front Porch! Annie is back to answer your literary dilemmas like a bookish Frasier Crane in volume 11 of Literary Therapy. Before we get started, this is your friendly reminder that From the Front Porch is a production of The Bookshelf, an indie bookstore in Thomasville, Georgia. We're in the throes of our second holiday shopping season held during a pandemic, and remarkably, our spirits are high. As you support indies like ours this holiday season, please remember to shop early, to be open to our suggestions when your first book preference might already be back-ordered, and to trust our deadlines. This year, December 1 is the deadline to purchase something from us and have it arrive by Christmas. The books mentioned in this week's episode can be purchased from The Bookshelf My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano Normal People by Sally Rooney Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney Olive Again by Elizabeth Strout Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi Finding Freedom by Erin French Educated by Tara Westover So Many Beginnings by Bethany C. Morrow Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel Ecology of a Cracker Child by Janisse Ray Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward Sing Unburied Sing by Jesmyn Ward Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson (currently unavailable) Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson (currently unavailable) The Fortunate Ones by Ed Tarkington Where I Come From by Rick Bragg Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston Black, White, and the Grey by Mashama Bailey and John O. Morisano Memorial Drive by Natasha Tretheway Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny (currently unavailable) Misfortune of Marion Palm by Emily Culliton (currently unavailable) Frances and Bernard by Carlene Bauer Limelight by Amy Poppel Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan Strangers and Cousins by Leah Hager Cohen (currently unavailable) This Close to Okay by Leesa Cross-Smith From the Front Porch is a weekly podcast production of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in South Georgia. You can follow The Bookshelf's daily happenings on Instagram at @bookshelftville, and all the books from today's episode can be purchased online through our store website, www.bookshelfthomasville.com.  A full transcript of today's episode can be found here. Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D Podcast Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.  Thank you again to this week's sponsor, Visit Thomasville. Whether you live close by or are passing through, I hope you'll visit beautiful Thomasville, Georgia: www.thomasvillega.com. This week, Annie is reading Taste by Stanley Tucci. If you liked what you heard in today's episode, tell us by leaving a review on iTunes. Or, if you're so inclined, support us on Patreon, where you can hear our staff's weekly New Release Tuesday conversations, read full book reviews in our monthly Shelf Life newsletter and follow along as Hunter and I conquer a classic. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch. We're so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week. Libro.FM: Libro.fm lets you purchase audiobooks directly from your favorite local bookstore (Like The Bookshelf). You can pick from more than 215,000 audiobooks, and you'll get the same audiobooks at the same price as the largest audiobook company out there (you know the name). But you'll be part of a different story -- one that supports community. All you need is a smart phone and the free Libro.fm app. Right now, if you sign up for a new membership, you will get 2 audiobooks for the price of one. All you have to do is enter FRONTPORCH at checkout or follow this link: libro.fm/redeem/FRONTPORCH Flodesk: Do you receive a weekly or monthly newsletter from one of your favorite brands? Like maybe From the Front Porch (Or The Bookshelf)... Did you ever wonder, ‘how do they make such gorgeous emails?'  Flodesk is an email marketing service provider that's built for creators, by creators, and it's easy to use. We've been using it for a couple of years now, and I personally love it. And right now you can get 50% off your Flodesk subscription by going to: flodesk.com/c/THEFRONTPORCH

Anne is an author, the creator of the Modern Mrs. Darcy blog, and the host of the What Should I Read Next? Podcast. She is a lover of books and helps us diagnose our reading tastes. She says there is no “should” in reading and it's meant to be a place of joy. We talk about the shame that comes along with reading and how we can ditch the shame and read what we actually like to read. Anne gives us great advice on reading goals and talks all about her new journal that serves as a guide to falling in love with books again.    To find out more about becoming an Enneagram Coach, click here.   Connect with Anne: IG: @annebogel and @whatshouldireadnext Website: www.modernmrsdarcy.com Podcast: What Should I Read Next   Mentioned in the show:    The Help by Kathryn Stockett Women in Black by Madeleine St. John Surviving Savannah by Patti Callahan   Lovely War by Julie Berry This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones   This Must Be the Place by Maggie O'Farrell Rules of Civility by Amor Towles A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson   Jim Dale, audiobook narrator Joshilyn Jackson, author The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali audiobook The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo Join the Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club Get Anne's new journal -- My Reading Life: A Book Journal Connect With Angie: Website: chatologie.com IG: @angiebrownelkins Twitter: @Angieelkins Facebook: @chatologieangieelkins This episode was edited and produced by Angie Elkins Media.

"Dream Girl" is NYT bestselling author Laura Lippman's latest suspenseful novel.  Lippman calls it "a book lover's book." Told from the perspective of an acclaimed novelist, Gerry Anderson, whose literary relevance was cemented with publication of a book called "Dream Girl." The story finds Gerry bed-ridden and isolated, recovering from physical injury and the passing of his mother, when he starts receiving mysterious phone calls from his book's fictional character.  Is he losing his mind? Or is someone out to get Gerry, and if so, why? A fresh look at life post #MeToo from the perspective of a man who may have a very unreliable take on his own past. Lippman talks with Olivia about the novel, a crossover from Tess Monaughan, her early days as a journalist, #MeToo, and her friendships with millenials.  In a A Moment With Margaret, Olivia and Margaret discuss revenge themes and Margaret shares why she recommends both Joshilyn Jackson's “Mother May I?” and S.A. Cosby's “Razorblade Tears.

Rea and Joe are back on the mic this week with another INCREDIBLE guest, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Joshilyn Jackson, whose latest book—her tenth!—Mother May I, has been called “gripping,” “chilling,” and “haunting” in its raving advanced reviews.  Not “just” a prolific author, however, Joshilyn is also a former actor and currently a highly awarded audiobook narrator, of both her own novels and frequently other writers' books. Additionally, she serves on the board of Reforming Arts, an education-in-prison and reentry program, and also teaches creative writing, composition, and literature in maximum-security women's prisons in Georgia. This insightful, electric, and often hilarious conversation with Joshilyn is a reminder that the only REAL limits in our creative endeavors are the ones that you put on yourself, that you can write a book to sell and enjoy the process, and that if you're pursuing a #PathToPublishing, it's only right if it FEELS right … to YOU.For more information about Joshilyn and her work, and for the opportunity to purchase any of her novels, visit www.joshilynjackson.com/. Be part of our discussion and let us know: when it comes to your #PathToPublish, what do you want, what do you need, and what do you feel obligated to do? Tell us at podcast@writewayco.com

Ms. Mariah and Ms. Jame discuss their reading selections through the hazy days of summer. Books mentioned include: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, The Callahan Series by Spider Robinson, All the Beautiful Lies by Peter Swanson, Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson, Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson, Mother May I by Joshilyn Jackson and The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware. The movie Freaky was also mentioned. 

Let the summer reading continue! Sarah and Jayme talk about what they have been reading lately. Sarah's Shelf: One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid My Calamity Jane by Cynthia Hand The Caretakers by Eliza Maxwell The Bend in Redwood Road by Danielle Stewart Jayme's Shelf Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett Mother May I by Joshilyn Jackson

Local Woman Missing By Mary Kubica “[A] daringly plotted, emotionally eviscerating psychological thriller.” —Publishers Weekly “Impossible-to-see-it-coming…. [Kubica] takes readers to a whole new level of deceit and irony.” —Booklist “[Local Woman Missing] will appeal to fans of Lisa Jackson and Gregg Olsen…. The twists, turns, and an unpredictable ending make it irresistible.” —Library Journal “I'm shamelessly addicted to Mary Kubica's juicy, unpredictable reads, as much for her well-rounded, fully human, flawed characters as her sizzling plots—and she just keeps getting better. LOCAL WOMAN MISSING is a propulsive journey through a winding maze of secrets, leading to a jaw-dropping twist that I never saw coming. Loved every minute.” —Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Never Have I Ever “Dark and twisty, with all the white-knuckle tension and jaw-dropping surprises readers have come to expect from Mary Kubica.” —Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of Home Before Dark --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/gobookmart-review/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/gobookmart-review/support

Join us on a  dark wild ride as we discuss Mother May by Joshilyn Jackson!

You should always meet your heroes - particularly while drinking Chocolate Cherry Bombs! NYT Bestselling author Joshilyn Jackson stops by to talk about her latest release MOTHER MAY I and while she's at it, she tells me about her real-life love story (delicious!) how she creates her flawed, human characters and how she views balance in her books. Oh, and we get pretty drunk... it's a good one! 

This week’s focus is Joshilyn Jackson’s Mother May I, but we’re also discussing thrillers, sports books, a cancer memoir, and the joys of re-reading.

Today I am happy to welcome back Joshilyn Jackson to talk about her new book Mother May...

info@podcastone.com9593b3f9-5675-4a86-88fb-595e9e735f5bTue, 13 Apr 2021 13:48:53 PDTLori & Julia00:12:27

Bestselling author Joshilyn Jackson joins the Fab Five to discuss her latest book, MOTHER MAY I and how the shift from writing southern women's fiction to thrillers allowed her to "lean in and have a little more 'murdery fun'." They also touch on Joshilyn's acting career, her work as an award-winning audiobook narrator, and her advocacy for literacy and reform in women's prisons. http://www.joshilynjackson.com

Today we’re joined by New York Times bestselling author Joshilyn Jackson for a fun chat about her latest novel Mother May I, the reaction she got when she asked to audition to narrate her own book, what she learned from teaching incarcerated women, the similarities between writing and acting, being a hands on researcher, and … Continue reading Ep. 119 Method Writing With Joshilyn Jackson

In today's episode Lisa Mae Brunson - host of the Podcast and founder of Wonder Women Tech - catches up with the amazing Slija Litvin, experienced psychologist, successful entrepreneur, and beloved Mental Health Expert at Wonder Women Tech, shaping our mental health environment and mindfulness events.  After viewing the limitations of public and private therapy practices firsthand in the U.K., Silja searched for a way to scale affordable therapy for all. Today she realizes this dream through her highly-awarded mental health app, eQuoo, which greatly raises the standard mental health app retention rates through the gamification of life-saving mental health tactics.  Listen in to learn from Silja as she recounts her incredible journey across continents and industries, her personal mental health journey, the mistakes she made along the way--and why she would do them all over again.  Today's pioneering woman is Joshilyn Jackson, best-selling author and board member of Reforming Arts, a nonprofit that runs education-in-prison and reentry programs. Through this organization, Joshilyn has taught creative writing, composition, and literature inside Georgia's maximum security facility for women. Thank you for your pioneering contributions, Joshilyn Jackson. Please be sure to Like, Rate, Comment, and Share this and all our podcast episodes! You can connect with @wonderwomentech on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Linked In! Sound Engineering and Music by Carleigh Strange Art Work By Jessenia Hernandez - @sen.i.a on Instagram

A bonus episode, in which we share nearly thirty minutes from the audiobook of Mother May I by Joshilyn Jackson. 

Announcing the HarperCollins titles that were selected for the April 2021 LibraryReads list. Congratulations to THE NIGHT ALWAYS COMES by Willy Vlautin and SECOND FIRST IMPRESSIONS by Sally Thorne! We also congratulate Joshilyn Jackson, author of MOTHER MAY I, for being inducted into the Hall of Fame! Be sure to stay tuned for clips from the authors. For more information on these titles, go to librarylovefest.com We also have a phone number! Call 212-207-7773 and leave us a message—it might end up on the show! You can find us on Facebook (@librarylovefest), Twitter (@librarylovefest), and Instagram (@harperlibrary).

At the end of the day, we'd like funders to read our proposals with an eye towards funding our programs. So how do we keep them focused and excited to hear all we have to say? It's all in the story we tell. Join our cohosts as we chat with author Joshilyn Jackson. She translates her New York times bestseller writing techniques into sound advice for successful grant writing.

On this episode, Emily Krump, Executive Editor at William Morrow, interviews Joshilyn Jackson, author of MOTHER MAY I, available on April 6, 2021. Find show notes here: bit.ly/Joshilyn Visit our website: librarylovefest.com. You can find us on Facebook (@librarylovefest), Twitter (@librarylovefest), and Instagram (@harperlibrary). We also have a voicemail! Give us a call at 212-207-7773.

Hi friends! This is a bonus episode that I recorded to help you in the wake of January 6, 2021's storming of the United States Capitol Building by domestic terrorists, or (as you'll hear in today's episode) people that featured WTOO guest and NYT best-selling author Joshilyn Jackson calls "known jackasses." I want to give you some resources to help you remain calm – because that is what your kiddo needs from you today. I am more grateful than I can say that you are listening, I can almost feel us holding hands and standing together today… I will have links posted (at weturnedoutokay.com/353-5) ASAP, but for now I just want you to be able to hear my words and know that you can remain calm, for your child and for yourself. No matter what is going on in your world, or in the wider world. And I am here with you. xoxo, Karen

Today on How Story Works Conversations, we interview Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times and USA Today bestselling and award-winning author.

Gnats don't read maps, but the bugs do seem hesitant to cross an unseen, geographic boundary in Georgia. Learn about the disparities north and south of the "gnat line" from Tales from the Gnat Line author and longtime state lawmaker Larry Walker.

Here’s one way to learn how to write books that work in audio: narrate over 700 of them, like our guest this week, Tanya Eby. If that sounds a little daunting, listen in instead for the condensed version.Episode links and a transcript follow—but first, we sent out our first supporter-only #MiniSupporter episode this week: #Prewriting. Those will be short and sporadic bursts of advice and inspiration from one of us, and thanks to the magic of Substack, supporters of #AmWriting will see those drop into a special feed in their podcast apps whenever we’ve got one ready. We’d love to add you to that list if you’re not already on it. Support the podcast you love, get bonus #MiniSupporter episodes AND get weekly #WriterTopFives with actionable advice you can use for just $7 a month. As always, this episode (and every episode) will appear for all subscribers in your usual podcast listening places, totally free as the #AmWriting Podcast has always been. This shownotes email is free, too, so please—forward it to a friend, and if you haven’t already, join our email list and be on top of it with the shownotes and a transcript every time there’s a new episode. LINKS FROM THE PODCAST#AmReading (Watching, Listening)Jess: Olive Kitteredge, Elizabeth StroutKJ: Ninth House, Leigh BardugoSarina: Never Have I Ever, Joshilyn JacksonTanya: The Chestnut Man, Soren Sveistrup#FaveIndieBookstoreSchuler Books in Grand Rapids, MichiganOur guest for this episode is Tanya Eby, the Audie Award Winning narrator of over 700 audio books. Her production company, Blunder Woman Productions, is currently nominated for two Society Arts Awards. Find more about Tanya here.This episode was sponsored by Author Accelerator, the book coaching program that helps you get your work DONE. Visit https://www.authoraccelerator.com/amwritingfor details, special offers and Jennie Nash’s Inside-Outline template.Find more about Jess here, Sarina here and about KJ here.If you enjoyed this episode, we suggest you check out Marginally, a podcast about writing, work and friendship.Transcript (We use an AI service for transcription, and while we do clean it up a bit, some errors are the price of admission here. We hope it’s still helpful.)KJ:                                        00:01                    Hey writers, it's KJ and if you're listening in real time, there's a pretty good chance you might be in the middle of NaNoWriMo right now, or giving up on it, or flailing around and wishing you'd never started it. If your National Novel Writing Month isn't exactly passing by in a haze of inspired typing, it's well worth taking a break from churning outwards to make sure your book has a strong enough spine to support the story you want to tell. Our sponsor, Author Accelerator has a tool that might help - the Inside Outline. And I have a NaNoWriMo secret. It's not all about the word count. 30,000 words are better than 50,000 if you're going to have to throw half of those 50,000 words away. So, if you're feeling the least bit stuck, try applying the Inside Outline to what you've already written and to the scenes to come. It might be exactly what you need to get over the finish line. #AmWriting listeners have exclusive access to a free download that describes what the outline is, why it works, and how to do it free. You can find it at authoraccelerator.com/amwriting. Is it recording?Jess:                                     01:12                    Now it's recording.KJ:                                        01:14                    Yay.Jess:                                     01:14                    Go ahead.KJ:                                        01:15                    This is the part where I stare blankly at the microphone like I don't remember what I was supposed to be doing.Jess:                                     01:19                    Alright, let's start over.KJ:                                        01:21                    Awkward pause, I'm going to rustle some papers.Jess:                                     01:24                    Okay.KJ:                                        01:24                    Now one, two, three.KJ:                                        01:32                    Hey, I'm KJ Dell'Antonia and this is #AmWriting, the weekly podcast about writing all the things - fiction, nonfiction, every genre, every possible permutation of writing that we can possibly come up with, (especially if it begins with a P, which seems to be where I'm going today) pitches, proposals. See I told you, and as you know, this is, above all else, the podcast about sitting down and getting your work done.Jess:                                     02:03                    I'm Jess Lahey. I'm the author of the Gift of Failure and you can find my work at the New York Times and The Atlantic. And I just finished the first draft of my forthcoming book in 2021 The Addiction Inoculation about preventing substance abuse in kids.Sarina:                                 02:17                    And this is Sarina Bowen. I'm the author of more than 30 romance novels, with a new one coming out in just a few days, called Man Cuffed, and more about that in a minute.KJ:                                        02:29                    And I am KJ Dell'Antonia, author of How To Be a Happier Parent as well as a novel coming out next year, The Chicken Sisters, former editor of the Motherlode blog at the New York Times, and feeling a bit like a slacker with this just same book, you know, coming out all the time. I'm working, I'm going to have another one soon, I hope.Jess:                                     02:55                    Well, just wait. I mean, my book's not coming out until 2021 so just imagine how sick of it we're going to be by the time it finally comes out, it feels like it's forever away.KJ:                                        03:03                    Yes, we have a guest today. Sarina, I'm going to tell you, 'Take it away.'Sarina:                                 03:11                    We do have a guest today and it's a friend of mine. We're welcoming to the show, Tanya Eby, who is the Audie award-winning narrator of over 700 audio books. Wow. I mean, come on, 700. Her production company, which is adorably titled Blunder Woman Productions, is currently nominated for two society arts awards, as well. And Tanya is here today to talk mostly about the booming market for audio books. But I just have to slide in there and say that Tanya and I also have a USA today bestselling series of romance novels together. They are The Man Hands books. Which everything Tanya does is funny, so I'm going to tell you the titles are: Man Hands, Man Card, Boy Toy, and our new one, Man Cuffed. Welcome, Tanya.Tanya:                                 04:06                    Hey, that was such a cool introduction. Thank you.Sarina:                                 04:10                    You are welcome.Jess:                                     04:12                    The series you two write together that Sarina was just talking about just makes me laugh out loud. I love that series. And it's also really fun to read Sarina with various authors. I love reading Sarina in all the different forms and I'm so excited to hear about audio books. Mainly because number one, I'm a huge, huge audio book fan since I had a head injury a couple of years ago. For me, I have limited on the page time, and so audio books are my preferred way to sort of get at the fun reading. But also, I was on one of my audio book apps, scrolling through trying to make sure I knew which books you've narrated that I've read, and it's like page one of 62 and I'm scrolling through. So I'm glad Sarina said how many because that was going to be a long morning for me scrolling through every single thing you've ever done.Tanya:                                 05:08                    Yeah, I've been doing this for a while now.Jess:                                     05:11                    Well I have a ton of questions, but I know that Sarina has some stuff that she wants to talk to you about first. So I'm going to defer to Sarina.Sarina:                                 05:19                    I was pulling together my thoughts about this and I would like to say that Tanya has been basically a full-time audio book narrator and producer since before it was cool.Jess:                                     05:33                    Which means officially it's cool now. It's very, very cool.Sarina:                                 05:38                    Because some of these numbers I was just finding about the growth of the audio book industry are pretty crazy. So the industry has had, according to the Audio Publisher's Association, which I believe Tanya has just finished a stint on the board. They say they've had seven years of double digit growth. With the last date available 2018 of course, cause we're not quite done with this one. And that in 2018, according to the APA, it was almost a billion dollar industry, which of course means that it was over a billion dollar industry because professional associations that cover publishing can never actually capture all that revenue because there's too many independent publishers. And also because the only people who really know how many audio downloads there are, are Amazon and they're not saying.Tanya:                                 06:36                    Right, but it's a lot.Sarina:                                 06:37                    It's a lot. And 2018 revenue was up 24 and a half percent over 2017, which is a big fat growth number. And I'm, you know, a cynical economist so that when people tell me that something is growing really fast, I kind of sometimes discount that because if a thing is growing really fast, but it's a really tiny thing, then you know, that's interesting, but it's not life changing. And in publishing we love to grasp onto whatever is growing because, you know, it's a tricky industry and wild growth is not something people think about when they think about publishing. But now after seven years of double digit growth, I have to say that it really seems like they're not fooling around this time. And so, I'm a believer now. And just to prove it to myself, I looked up my own audio revenue on my early 2018 release because I thought that that was like the best one to look at to figure out what it was. And 12% of all the copies of my early 2018 release were sold in audio, which means that the revenue proportion is even greater than 12%, because I'm earning slightly more on every audio copy than other formats, including e-book and paperback. So, wow. I'm a believer.Jess:                                     08:12                    I'm so jealous of you being able to look up that information. I mean, when it comes (as you mentioned before) Amazon's not telling and it's almost impossible for me to know. But what's really nice for me when I go to a book signing, go to a book event, more and more frequently people are asking me if the book's available on audio or I listened to you in my car. And I want to talk about that in a little bit - to the sort of the relationship that you build with the voice that you listen to in your car. But more and more people are saying to me, 'Oh, I listened to it on audio and I love that format.' And that wasn't something, even five years ago, that wasn't something I was hearing.Tanya:                                 08:51                    Well, I think that the industry really changed and exploded when we had the technology to support it. So when I started, I was still on tape. This is how long ago I was recording and then it moved to mostly CDs, but then we've had this huge, you know explosion since smartphones and then Audible coming in and now people can access it everywhere, where you couldn't before. And people have discovered how much fun it is to listen. For me, it's like a movie in my mind and it's been constantly growing, which has been great.Jess:                                     09:31                    From the teacher perspective, there have been a bunch of articles in the past couple of years on you know, is listening to audio books "reading", does it count, you know, that kind of thing. And there've been a couple of articles saying, 'Absolutely, yes, it does count.'Speaker 4:                          09:48                    We do process the the words we read slightly differently, but I know from a teaching perspective, if I have to teach a text, especially a text that's really dense, I always listen and read because I get different things from a text when I listen than when I read, and it's a very important part of my preparation. So I think that's added to it.Tanya:                                 10:07                    Yeah. It actually lights up the same parts of the brain as reading does, which is really cool. And I actually got started with audio books - my first experience - I was trying to understand Faulkner's As I Lay Dying and I was like 16 years old and I couldn't make sense of it. So I started to read it out loud and suddenly like the whole book just came to life for me. So, yeah I agree.Jess:                                     10:33                    There's this really cool passage I used to teach in seventh grade, I would teach Great Expectations. There are a few passages that I had to read out loud because the way Dickens structured the sentences lent itself to the same - there's a scene where they're racing through the marshes and the sentence just bounds, and bounds, and bounds forward the same way that Joe is bounding, and bounding, and bounding through the marsh. And so it's a way of showing students that you can use language not only to appeal to the eye and to sort of sound good in your head, but to sound good from an oral perspective as well. So that's one of my favorite parts about reading out loud and who doesn't want to be read to?Tanya:                                 11:15                    It's so nice, isn't it? It's really comforting, I love it.Jess:                                     11:19                    So can we talk nuts and bolts?Tanya:                                 11:21                    What do you want to know?Jess:                                     11:23                    I want to know practical stuff. Like how do you get hired? And Sarina talks about this every once in a while, but how does an author (and often it has nothing to do with the author unless you're at Lucky like Sarina and you're so good at the self pub thing) but how do you get hired for a book in the first place?Tanya:                                 11:40                    So I think the most important thing to realize about narrators is that we are all freelancers. So we may work through a publisher, but we don't work with just that publisher. And you can basically contact us and most of us can produce audio for you or we can work with whichever publishing house you want to work with. So how I get hired is publishing houses sometimes will cast and I've been in the business long enough that they know me and they simply send me an email and say, 'Are you interested?' Or I might audition or I have authors who contact me or I might audition for pieces that authors post online through ACX or find a way or some of those services. So there's multiple ways to reach a narrator.Jess:                                     12:31                    You hear about like actors going after certain roles, have there been certain audio books that you've really gone after because you wanted to be a part of them?Tanya:                                 12:38                    Yes. And it did not work. And I'm still intensely bitter. No, I'm not. But this was before I started my publishing company and I realized that I might've seemed a little creepy because I was just a narrator saying like, 'Hire me.' And that made people uncomfortable. But now that I have a production company, they take me a little more seriously and I have been able to get some really great roles that way.Jess:                                     13:07                    Cool. So in terms of - and these are just the things that I tend to be fascinated by - so when I read my own audio book for my for my book for Harper Collins, I got a flat fee as the author. So they said, here's the amount of money you get. Go away, go read the book. But I also understand from Sarina that audio narrators can get paid in terms of a finished, by the minute....Tanya:                                 13:35                    We are paid what's called per finished hour. So if your book is 10 hours long, we are paid 10 hours worth of work. We call it per finished hour because each hour to record takes about two hours or more for us to produce it. So doing it by the per finished hour simplifies things. And I think there are A list actors who their pay scale is much different, but for most of us it's a per finished hour.Jess:                                     14:07                    There's so many things that go into why it takes so much longer in the finished product.Tanya:                                 14:14                    And I think they don't realize that for every hour of audio book you listen to, it's taken about 10 hours to produce and there can be a team of like 20 people working on that audio book. So we've got directors, we have engineers, proofers, people who listen for mistakes or tummy grumbles or things like that, you have people doing research, you have the narrator who reads the book first and does a bunch of research and yeah, I mean it's huge what goes into it.Jess:                                     14:46                    What's your favorite kind of book to narrate? Do you have a favorite kind?Tanya:                                 14:51                    Well, I mean, I love stories. We all love stories that have great characters. I've been enjoying narrating nonfiction lately, but I like heartwarming stories. But then I also have this dark side where there are times where I love true crime and I love those gritty mysteries. So for me, one of the fun parts about being a narrator is I get to narrate across genres. So once I'd been doing romances for a while, I might get a nonfiction title thrown in and it keeps me really interested.Jess:                                     15:24                    One of the things that I've sort of been really curious about (mainly because it's something that I don't know that I could do) is there are those times that I'm listening to a book and I realize that it is a woman reading the book to me. and yet I get lost in the male voice that that narrator is able to create for me. And I forget that I'm listening to just one narrator. And I'm sort of curious as to how you arrive on that and just sort of what the tricks are about doing that. Cause I don't really get it. It's almost like one of those TV or movie illusions that it's best not to think about. But I'm really curious about how you do that.Tanya:                                 16:02                    Yeah, I mean that's the magic of audio books - that you can have one performer create all these characters. What helps is if we have good writing to start with. So that gives us some clues as to what the characters are. If you have like an evil character, is he gritty? Is he is he smarmy? Is he manipulative, cocky? Like those kinds of adjectives help us choose voices. And for me I've been listening to lots and lots of people talk and I kind of like quietly mimic them to capture voices. And what's interesting is that not all males have this deep masculine voice. Some of them have higher pitched voice and the same goes with women, we're not all Sopranos. So kind of making choices that suit the character, as if you were dressing the character, what would this character wear is kind of how I get into it.Jess:                                     16:57                    That's so cool. One of the things Sarina and I were talking about recently is often Sarina's books, for example, Good Boy that you read along with (obviously you weren't in the same room together) but with Teddy Hamilton in the male character. The thing though in a lot of books is that even from the female perspective, you have to speak in the male voice. And so do you ever get to hear, for example, Teddy Hamilton's performance before you do yours or is it just sort of put together at the end?Tanya:                                 17:27                    When you're doing a dual read like that (when you have two people narrating) with each one doing a point of view chapter. What I do is I'll talk to my co-narrator and we post files that we'll listen to (of each other) where we make character choices and so I can listen to it and kind of get the groove. Now Teddy, I know well enough and I've listened to him a lot and spent time with him, that it was easy to fall into that groove of how he narrates.Jess:                                     18:03                    He's one of my favorites, he's one of my very favorite narrators.Tanya:                                 18:07                    And he's an awesome person, too, which is always great.Jess:                                     18:11                    That is so cool. Sarina, did you want to jump in? I feel like taking over this interview.Sarina:                                 18:18                    Oh no, it's all good. I thought it would be fun to ask Tanya though - Like, which words in a manuscript do you not like?Tanya:                                 18:27                    So...clasping - like, she clasped her breasts or something - is really hard. Sexting, texting - those words destroy me.Jess:                                     18:41                    I told Sarina at one point I had them, I used to work as a political speech writer and I wrote an inaugural speech for someone. And at a certain point we just had to ditch an entire sentence no matter, he loved the sentence, I love the sentence, but it was not coming out of his mouth the right way. It was not going to happen.Tanya:                                 19:03                    Yeah. Sometimes it doesn't. Or you get a character. The famous one is Jack, we love that name. But whenever you have a character, Jack asked, you have to be careful. And fantasy books, character names are difficult because they'll create languages and people think they know how it's pronounced. And then a narrator will make a choice and they make the wrong choice, it's tricky.Sarina:                                 19:29                    So what happens - what happens if you're reading a fantasy novel and they gave you the pronunciation for like everything except this one word and you read that one word. What happens?Tanya:                                 19:38                    So two things. Either they like it so much, they're okay with it. Or you have to record 156 fixes of every time you said that name. I've had it go both ways. And I had one where I said Viola and it was Viola. Because I guess Viola is more popular in the South.Jess:                                     20:02                    And there's nothing that pulls me out of a book faster. I was listening to an audio book a while ago and they mispronounced a really well-known street name in Los Angeles and that was it. Like it was over for me.Tanya:                                 20:17                    Proofers should catch that, but they don't. You know, it's a team and we don't always. But something for writers to know - if one of your pieces are being produced, you can supply some of those pronunciations to your audio book team and they will love you for it.Jess:                                     20:36                    Oh, that's a great tip.Tanya:                                 20:38                    Yeah. Just knowing like if you have some names that are super important, let your narrator know.Jess:                                     20:43                    That's especially important, I guess for us nonfiction writers that were there tend to be researchers' names Dr. So and so in there. That would be really helpful. That never (well I guess because I read my own book) but that never would've occurred to me. And you're right, that would be really, really helpful. It's a great tip.Sarina:                                 20:59                    Can I just say that I have not always been good at this? At giving people the information they need. Except when we were going to record Him, which is I believe my bestselling audio book ever, I did manage to tell the narrating team that Jamie was from San Rafael, California. And I said, 'You don't say Rafael, even though it's spelled that way.' People from Northern California say San Rafael. And I got notes from grateful listeners like 'Thank you for saying San Rafael.' And I'm like, 'Okay. I guess that one thing that I thought to do.' So, the other thing that we should mention, so some of our listeners are authors with published books who may not have an audio edition. So you know, there must be some people listening to think how do I get one?Tanya:                                 22:02                    Well the first thing they need to know is to look at their contract (if they have one) and see if they own the audio rights. Or if they're self-published, they do own the audio rights. And that can make you go into two different paths. So there's lots of paths to get your book into audio. You can request that your publisher consider publishing in audio and if they don't, if you can have the rights back and you can do it yourself. If you own the rights, you can do it yourself or you can hire a company like my production company, Blunder Woman Productions, and we can produce it for you. So there are lots of different avenues, but the most important question is do you have the rights?Sarina:                                 22:45                    Right. And I actually I had a contract with a publisher that I no longer have a contract with, let's say in 2014. And one of the things that my agent did with that contract is that this particular publisher keeps rights like that. They keep audio and they were keeping translation as well, and she couldn't talk them out of keeping those things. But she did put in that if they hadn't exercised the audio rights by a certain date that we got it back.Tanya:                                 23:22                    Right. And that's so great, especially because as audio books have become more popular, more and more publishers are holding onto those rights. So having that clause is extremely helpful. You can also put in a clause that you have some input with the narrator. Sometimes publishers will cast it for you. But if you have that information in there, they can give you choices to choose from. And that's really helpful sometimes for writers.Sarina:                                 23:49                    Yeah. In fact, I have a different contract with Penguin (who always keeps their audio rights), but in this case I was perfectly happy about it because they publish those audio books immediately with the publication of the other books. So here's where it also gets weird if you're an author and you can't quite figure out what's happening. So let's just say you have books with Penguin or Harper or Simon and Schuster. Sometimes your publisher will make them themselves. Like, you know, the book will be from Harper Audio, but sometimes your publisher will sell off those rights to an audio book publisher, such as Blackstone, Tenter, Brilliance. You know, there's a bunch like this. And then those people will make the book. And in this case, I had no rights at all (except of course to earn money when someone else did this work for me) but I was still asked by Blackstone, my opinion about who I wanted to narrate and they sent me audition tapes and it was just terrific.Tanya:                                 25:01                    So nice. So sometimes they will sell those rights to other companies. Sometimes those other companies will just produce it for them. Because not every publishing house can produce as many books as they want to.Jess:                                     25:16                    What's also been cool is to see some of the audio books from before audio really became as popular as it is now and the quality has changed, that a lot of a lot of stuff is being reproduced. And it's really, really nice because it can be updated and you can stay on top of it and they can look uniform. And Stephen King's work comes to mind. They've reengineered a whole bunch of his books and it's been great.Tanya:                                 25:44                    Well, and it's also interesting because in the last 10 years there's been a shift. Audio book started as reading for the blind. And narrators were instructed just to read the words with no emotion, no characterization, but there's been a real shift now, where those books are being performed. So like you had mentioned earlier with vocal characterization, we do accents, so we really act it out now. So that can also be a huge difference from a book that was released 10 years ago.Sarina:                                 26:11                    I'll bet. And another new thing is the popularity of certain narrators. And this is another technology thing. So now that we all carry our audio books around in our pockets and we buy them or rent them from various audio book platforms, you can often search by narrator. So if you have a favorite and you click on their name all of their stuff comes up, which makes the whole recommending machine hum in a different direction than I'm sure it used to in the olden days.Tanya:                                 26:51                    Right. If you're casting your own audio book, it's a good way to find narrators by listening to those little clips and seeing who do you click with? Because I also want to mention something really important for writers - that the audio book is never going to sound the way that it sounds in your head. So it's an interpretation by an actor and that's really important to remember that, that there's many ways to perform a piece and sometimes you gotta let go a little bit.Sarina:                                 27:18                    Yeah. My way of doing this is, I have to say, I never listen to my own books in audio and people will say, 'Oh, this one is so wonderful.' And I'm like, 'That's amazing. I'm glad. I'm so happy to hear it.' But I will never have actually heard it. I've only listened to a couple. The fact that the cadence isn't the same in my head as I heard it is just, I can't deal.Jess:                                     27:44                    You guys want to hear something horrifying. I was at a talk recently and someone came to the book signing and said, 'Oh, I was in a real hurry to get this listened to before, I wanted to get it all done before you came. So I listened to you. I started at 1.5 times, then I went up to 1.7, and then I listened to the very end at 2.0 and I tried it just to sort of see what that was like. I don't know how people do that, it scrambles my brain. It's the worst, but some people swear by it. They're like, 'That's how I get through books quickly is to go at one and a half speed.'Tanya:                                 28:18                    When narrators hear that, it's like we've been drained by a vampire, like all the blood leaves our face. And we're like, 'That's great.'Jess:                                     28:30                    There is something really (and I said this at the beginning that I wanted to come back to it) There's something really magical about having spent so much time in someone else's existence. You know, like I've been in someone's car, or they'd be listening to me on the way to work, and they're like, 'I feel like I know you.' And that is the same way I feel about the audio narrators that I listen to. Like Davina Porter, you know, I've listened to her voice so much that she's familiar to me and soothing and it's a reason that I relisten to those books when I'm feeling anxious because I have a relationship with that voice and I feel really privileged to be in that place.Tanya:                                 29:14                    What's interesting about that, to hear you say that is that many of us when we sit down in the booth, like right now I'm in my basement in my booth, it's dark and I have to sit down and remember that I'm going to tell you a story and I want to pull you in and I want to have a conversation with you. So it's like, it's really intimate. And that's good to hear that that works for you.Jess:                                     29:36                    Yeah, my producer at Vermont Public Radio taught me the coolest trick, and this of course doesn't work when you're totally by yourself, I suppose. But one of the things that she taught me to do is to catch her eye at moments where I felt it was really, really important to connect. And there's something about just looking at another human being when I'm in the booth that really does something to your voice. And especially right at the end of something and that's when I always try to catch her eye and sort of emote in a particular way. That was a really helpful trick she gave me and it helps me connect with whoever out there is listening. It's really a fun, amazing thing to get to do is to be in someone else's head, to be in someone else's ears, I think. So, speaking of reading audio books, listening to audio books, and reading, can we talk a little bit about what we've been listening to and reading? And for me it has been listening to, but I would love to hear what you guys have been reading this week.KJ:                                        30:33                    I have a really good one. I think Sarina mentioned this one on the podcast before, but I just want to shout out to Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House, which was a really, really fun fantasy read, which I personally finished over Halloween, but it's perfect for any dark and dreary fall season, or heck a beach read. Really, anything you could possibly come up with. Fun, paranormal, lots of suspense, great characters, a real page turner for me. I had a great time with it.Sarina:                                 31:06                    I'm so happy you liked it.Jess:                                     31:08                    Yeah. You two have been talking about that one for a long time. I got to catch up and read that one, too.Sarina:                                 31:12                    Do it.Jess:                                     31:12                    Sarina, what do you have?Sarina:                                 31:14                    Yesterday I read Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson, which you guys had an episode about, actually. And her writing is so beautiful and it sent me into a little spiral of trying to define what it means to have an unreliable narrator. And after I figure that out I'll get back to you.Jess:                                     31:35                    And reliable narrator meaning we just can't trust everything they're telling us, which I would think would put the author in a very tricky place. So I'm excited to hear more about that. I decided to re download and listen to Olive Kitteredge again because I'm going to listen to the new book Olive, again, I think is what it's called by Elizabeth Strout. And I have to say all Olive Kitteredge is even better than I remembered. It's just a beautiful, beautiful book. And the audio version of it is fantastic. It's a great book. Plus it puts me in Maine and I get in that Maine headspace and that's always good, too.Tanya:                                 32:12                    Well, I have something I'm reading. Because I narrate a lot of romance I like to read dark things for pleasure. So this is called The Chestnut Man and it's by Soren Sveistrup. It's about a serial killer, so it's pretty dark, but I'm really enjoying it.Jess:                                     32:30                    I'm totally into those books and I've got a lot of travel coming up so will be downloading that one, too. And Tanya, do you have a bookstore for us to talk about this week?Tanya:                                 32:40                    Sure. I live in Grand Rapids, Michigan and there's a great bookstore called Schuler Books. They have two locations and it's cozy and they have coffee and they also highlight a lot of local writers, which is always great to see.Jess:                                     32:57                    I'm sort of excited. I get to go to Nashville next week or later this week, which means I get to visit Parnassus. I'm so excited, it's going to be so much fun. Alright, I think that's it for today. And Sarina, would you like to take us out today?Sarina:                                 33:11                    Okay, everybody. Then, until next week, keep your butt in the chair and your head in the game.Jess:                                     33:29                    This episode of #AmWriting with Jess and KJ was produced by Andrew Parilla. Our music, aptly titled unemployed Monday was written and performed by Max Cohen. Andrew and Max were paid for their services because everyone, even creatives should be paid. This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at amwriting.substack.com/subscribe

  We're talking with author Joshilyn Jackson about her new novel, Never Have I Ever. It's a tale of domestic suspense, where long-buried secrets resurface. 

Meredith and Kaytee are back in your earbuds this week for another new episode of Currently Reading and we have lots of fun stuff to share with you! First, a quick announcement about our Patron-only book club: we will be discussing The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain, and the author will be joining us to chat about her book on November 17th! So, if you’ve been on the fence about reading or joining our Patreon, now may be the time to do it! Second, we have a Currently Reading Listener Survey for you this week. Please click through to the survey and tell us your thoughts about all things Currently Reading! You’ll hear a “bookish moment of the week” from each of us: a local author event and pre-reading a book for a friend. Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. We’re each sharing two reads this week since Belly Up episodes end up running long. Strong opinions abound in our novels this week! We’ll move on to a short Slow But Steady update from each of us, including a “completed!” update. For our deep dive this week, we are discussing the Currently Reading 2019 Challenge category 11: Books Pressed by an IRL or Online Book Club. We already shared a lot of Book Club thoughts in episode 4 of season 2, so this ends up being an ode to finding your bookish tribe. Finally, this week, we are Bellying Up to the Book Bar with DeeAnn Haworth. This was a bit of a challenge for one of us, but we’re excited to talk about some new to you and to us titles! As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you’d like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don’t scroll down! *Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*   . . . . . 1:15 - The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain 1:40 - Patreon 1:53 - Currently Reading Listener Survey 2:51 - Garcia Street Books in Santa Fe, NM 3:23 - The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal 3:33 - Minisode with J. Ryan Stradal 5:22 - Outlander by Diana Gabaldon 5:45 - The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley 7:14 - The Dearly Beloved by Cara Walls 7:20 - Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner 7:40 - Knox McCoy on The Popcast 7:43 - Shelf Subscription on Bookshelf Thomasville 14:06 - An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green 19:50 - The Swallows by Lisa Lutz 20:05 - Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey 20:07 - The Whisper Network by Chandler Baker 25:29 - Currently Reading on Patreon 25:46 - The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain 31:59 - Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry 33:15 - The Road Back to You by Suzanne Stabile and Ian Morgan Cron 33:56 - Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 34:50 - Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell 36:30 - Currently Reading 2019 Reading Challenge 36:47 - Episode 4 of Season 2 38:00 - Meredith on Episode 85 (I said 89, but that was a mistake!) of Sorta Awesome Podcast 42:13 - bookish.com 43:43 - Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch series 43:46 - JA Jance’s Joanna Brady and JP Beaumont series 43:54 - Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall 43:57 - Saving Ceecee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman 44:00 - Richard Paul Evans’ The Walk series and The Broken Road series 44:05 - An Eldery Lady is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten 44:10 - The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins 44:12 - Elevation by Stephen King 44:15 - Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah McCoy 44:19 - When by Victoria Laurie 45:55 - Sue Grafton’s Alphabet Series 46:42 - Mickey Haller/Lincoln Lawyer series by Michael Connelly 46:56 - When the Bough Breaks by Jonathan Kellerman 47:22 - Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta series 47:59 - In Her Bones by Kate Moretti 48:37 - Joshilyn Jackson’s The Almost Sisters and A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty 48:50 - Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney 49:21 - A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman 49:46 - Rabbit, the Autobiography of Ms. Pat by Patricia Williams 50:20 - Aunti Poldi series by Mario Giordano 50:45 - Celine by Peter Heller 50:49 - The River by Peter Heller 51:39 - Setting Free the Kites by Alex George 51:42 - Harry’s Trees by Jon Cohen 51:56 - Little Lovely Things by Maureen Joyce Connelly 52:40 - The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth 53:12 - Thinner by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman 54:16 - The Grown-Up by Gillian Flynn 54:45 - McNally’s Secret by Lawrence Sanders 56:20 - Listener Survey - one more time!

New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist Joshilyn Jackson’s newest book, Never Have I Ever, is available now wherever books are sold. You can check out her previous eight novels and other work here. Joshilyn’s books have been translated into a dozen languages, have won SIBA’s Novel of the Year award, have three times been #1 Book Sense Pick, have twice won Georgia Author of the Year awards, have three times been shortlisted for the Townsend Prize for Fiction, and have been a finalist for the Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction.A former actor, Jackson reads the audio versions of both her own novels and the books of other writers; her work in this field has been nominated for the Audie Award, was selected by AudioFile Magazine for their best of the year list, won three Earphones awards, made the 2012 Audible All-Star list for highest listener ranks/reviews, and garnered three Listen Up awards from Publisher’s Weekly.ABA INDIE NEXT Pick | ALA Library Reads Pick | SIBA Okra Pick | One of CrimeReads’ Most Anticipated Crime Books of Summer | Recommended Summer Read by Wall Street Journal, Atlanta-Journal Constitution, Pop Sugar, Deep South Magazine, Book Bub, Atlanta Magazine, Atlanta Intown, The Augusta Chronicle, She Reads, and Modern Mrs. Darcy.In her first psychological thriller NEVER HAVE I EVER, Joshilyn asks the question Have you ever done something so bad, so shameful that you would do anything to keep it secret? What if your worst enemy knew . . . and was determined to expose you?Amy Whey is proud of her ordinary life and the simple pleasures that come with it—teaching diving lessons, baking cookies for new neighbors, helping her best friend, Charlotte, run their local book club. Her greatest joy is her family: her devoted professor husband, her spirited fifteen-year-old stepdaughter, her adorable infant son. And, of course, the steadfast and supportive Charlotte. But Amy’s sweet, uncomplicated life begins to unravel when the mysterious and alluring Angelica Roux arrives on her doorstep one book club night.

September Re-cap! In this episode Philippa talks about the books she read in September, highlights her top 3 as well as some other interesting reads. Books mentioned include: Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson, The Testaments by Margaret Attwood, The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, No Big Deal by Bethany Rutter, The Long Call by Ann Cleaves and many others! 

Joshilyn Jackson doesn't just write best-selling thrillers. She narrates them, too. Should we?Episode links and a transcript follow—but first, a preview of the #WritersTopFive that will be dropping into #AmWriting supporter inboxes on Monday, September 23, 2019: Top Five Steps to Burn Chart Success (a How-to). Not joined that club yet? You’ll want to get on that. Support the podcast you love AND get weekly #WriterTopFives with actionable advice you can use for just $7 a month. As always, this episode (and every episode) will appear for all subscribers in your usual podcast listening places, totally free as the #AmWriting Podcast has always been. This shownotes email is free, too, so please—forward it to a friend, and if you haven’t already, join our email list and be on top of it with the shownotes and a transcript every time there’s a new episode. To support the podcast and help it stay free, subscribe to our weekly #WritersTopFive email.LINKS FROM THE PODCAST#AmReading (Watching, Listening)Jess: I Like to Watch: Arguing My Way Through the TV Revolution, Emily NussbaumKJ: Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, David EpsteinJoshilyn:Gretchen, Shannon KirkThe Better Liar: A Novel, Tanen Jones Lady in the Lake, Laura Lippman#FaveIndieBookstoreLittle Shop of Stories, Decatur, GAOur guest for this episode is Joshilyn Jackson. She is the author of:Never Have I Ever The Almost SistersThe Opposite of EveryoneSomeone Else’s Love StoryA Grown-Up Kind of PrettyBackseat SaintsThe Girl Who Stopped SwimmingBetween, Georgia, Gods in AlabamaMy Own MiraculousDon’t Quit Your Day JobWedding Cake for BreakfastThis episode was sponsored by Author Accelerator, the book coaching program that helps you get your work DONE. Visit https://www.authoraccelerator.com/amwritingfor details, special offers and Jennie Nash’s Inside-Outline template.Find more about Jess here, Sarina here and about KJ here.If you enjoyed this episode, we suggest you check out Marginally, a podcast about writing, work and friendship.The image in our podcast illustration is by TKTranscript (We use an AI service for transcription, and while we do clean it up a bit, some errors are the price of admission here. We hope it’s still helpful.)KJ:                                        00:01                    Hey all. As you likely know, the one and only sponsor of the #AmWriting podcast is Author Accelerator, the book coaching program that helps writers all the way through their projects to the very end. Usually Author Accelerator offers only longterm coaching and they're great at it, but they've just launched something new inside outline coaching, a four week long program for novelists and memoir writers that can help you find just the right amount of structure so that you can plot or pants your way to an actual draft. I love the inside outline and I think you will too. I come back to mine again and again, whether I'm writing or revising. Working through it with someone else helps keep you honest and helps you deliver a story structure that works. Find out more at www.authoraccelerator.com/insideoutline.Jess:                                     00:57                    Go ahead.KJ:                                        00:57                    This is the part where I stare blankly at the microphone like I don't remember what I was supposed to be doing.Jess:                                     00:57                    All right, let's start over.KJ:                                        00:57                    Awkward pause, I'm going to rustle some papers.Jess:                                     00:57                    Okay.KJ:                                        00:57                    Now one, two, three.KJ:                                        00:57                    Hey, I'm KJ Dell'Antonia,Jess:                                     00:57                    and I'm Jess Lahey.KJ:                                        00:57                    And this is #AmWriting,Jess:                                     00:57                    with Jess and KJ.KJ:                                        00:57                    #AmWriting is our podcast about all things writing. Long things, short things, book proposals, entire books, short articles, blog posts, YA, pitches, whatever we can think of. And as I think most of you know, #AmWriting is really the podcast about sitting down and getting the work done.Jess:                                     01:43                    I'm Jess Lahey, I'm the author of the Gift of Failure and an upcoming book about preventing substance abuse in kids. And I write for the Washington Post and the New York Times and various other outlets.KJ:                                        01:53                    And I am KJ Dell'Antonia, author of a novel forthcoming next year and also a parent-y type book How to Be a Happier Parent, former lead editor and writer for the New York Times Motherlode blog But I saw someone in one of our reviews accusing us of having a nonfiction focus on parenting writing. To which I was like, 'What?' I mean that has certainly been our professional writing, I guess our guests probably see it that way. But not today.Jess:                                     02:27                    Not today. I'm so excited. Can I introduce? Cause I'm super excited. Today our guest is Joshilyn Jackson. She is a New York Times and USA Today best selling author of nine novels, including one that I am (spoiler) not finished with, so be careful - called Never Have I Ever, it is so good. But one of the big reasons we wanted to have Joshilyn on today is that she does something that almost no one really does, which is narrate. She narrates her own fiction audio. And we know a lot of people, including ourselves who narrated our own nonfiction, but fiction is a whole other game. Not only does she narrate her own fiction, she's really, really good at it. She's won a bunch of awards. She was nominated for an Audi award, she was on Audio File Magazine's best of the year list, she was an Audible All Star for the highest listener ranks and reviews. I mean that's huge. And then I also have to add, because near and dear to my heart, she also works with an organization called Reforming Arts. And she has taught writing and literature inside Georgia's maximum security facility for women. So we have that in common as well. Welcome so much to the show, Joshilyn. We're so excited to talk to you.Joshilyn:                              03:56                    Oh, thank you for having me. I'm really happy to be here.Jess:                                     03:59                    We love talking to authors, but one of the topics that has come up a lot for us is narrating audio books. Not only because Sarina Bowen (one of our frequent guests and sort of almost another host) has a podcast about audio books. Specifically, I'm a huge audio book fan and we've been talking a lot lately about people who choose to narrate their own fiction cause it's really hard. So we would love to talk to you about that today, but we'd love to start with sort of just how you got started with writing. What's your story?Joshilyn:                              04:40                    Oh, I've always wanted to be a writer. When I was three, I published my first novel using the Crayola stapler method. My mom helped, and to be fair, it wasn't a very good book. Yeah, I'm dating myself, but when Walden Books came out with Blank Books, I was in middle school and I would buy a Blank Book and write a novel into it and the novel would be just however many pages the Blank Book was. And I was a huge Stephen King fan. I would write these books, I remember one was called Don't Go Into the Woods and all these girls who looked a lot like girls who were kind of mean to me in middle school, one by one went into the woods and never came back. It's terrible, but really derivative Stephen King novel.Jess:                                     06:54                    Alright, so let's skip ahead to your adult life. How does writing become a part of your adult life?Joshilyn:                              07:02                    I mean it's my job, is that what you mean?Jess:                                     07:08                    Yeah, exactly. In terms of your professional work. I know one little thing about you that I would love to interject here, a bit of trivia. You got plucked out of a slush pile. How did that go down?Joshilyn:                              07:22                    Yeah, I didn't know any better. So what I did was I loaded up 160-something query letters into a shotgun, pointed it at New York, which is of course insane, don't do that. If you're getting ready to query a book query 10 - 15 agents, if you don't get a 20% return of agents saying let me see a partial or your manuscript, your query is not good enough and it doesn't matter how good the book is. So to shoot off that many at once is just to burn all your lottery tickets when you don't know if your query is good enough and is representing your book to a point where somebody is going to take you seriously. Out of the 160-something queries I got one request to look at the work and that was my agent.Jess:                                     08:12                    Wow. And that was the one that got pulled out of the slush pile?Joshilyn:                              08:31                    There's thousands of those they get everyday. And it wasn't the best query, but he was interested in the idea. So he asked me to send the manuscript, and I did, and we ended up working together.Jess:                                     08:42                    And how did that first that first book deal go for you? How did that all come about?Joshilyn:                              08:47                    Oh, it was a long time coming. So, he was my agent and he was interested in me. We had a couple of phone conversations, I sent him some short stories I'd had published. And he shopped two nonfiction book proposals, a children's book series, and two novels for me. At that point I was pretty ground down about it. That's a lot of rejection, and a lot of years, and a lot of work. So I just quietly said to myself, 'You know, I'm not gonna break up with my agent. I'm not going to have this big dramatic thing. I'm just going to stop sending him stuff, I'm gonna stop calling him, I'm gonna stop bothering him because I've done nothing but cost this guy money. So, you know, I'll just let it go and New York can suck it. I'm going to write cause I can't imagine not writing, but I'm done trying to be published. I was butt hurt, I picked up my toys and went home. And that Christmas he sent me a present, and a letter, and it was like his family Christmas letter. And at the bottom, he had written a little note just to me and he said, 'When am I gonna see something from you again? You really are one of my favorite writers.'. You don't say that to somebody who's never been published. You say you're so talented. You say you have so much potential. You say, I think we can sell this. You don't call an unpublished person, one of your favorite writers. So I sent him the manuscript I'd been working on and he sent it out, he said this is going to auction. And he sent it out to I think eight places like saying, this is an auction, you have two weeks. And we had a preempt in two days and he made me turn the preempts down. I was not going to turn that preempt down, I was so excited. It was an offer of actual like folding for a book I'd written. And he was like, no, we're turning this down. And I was like, okay, technically I'm the boss of you and we're not turning it down. He said, 'It's cute that you think that, but I'm the one who understands this industry and we're turning it down. We turned it down and he sent word out to the other houses that we had turned down a preempt. And everybody had 48 hours to get their best offer in and five of them showed up to bid.Jess:                                     11:27                    That's fantastic. I emailed with shaking fingers in return when I heard that we had a preempt that was for an amount of money that I was like, 'Whoa.' I remember typing back. 'Oh, okay. I trust you.' But in my head I was like, I totally don't trust you, we should accept this. I saw that you were part of a book called Don't Quit Your Day Job: Acclaimed Authors in the Day Jobs They Quit. So what was the day job you quit?Joshilyn:                              12:07                    It's a job that I called tote monkey. I'm dating myself again, but there was a car parts place that had these dot matrix printers and when the stuff was all down on the floor from the printer, I would take a huge stack and peel those rinds off and then separate it like white, blue, pink, goldenrod, white, blue, pink, goldenrod. And then I'd file each of those colors where they had to be filed. And by then the dot matrix printers would have other huge stacks lined up and I'd just take them and peel them is all I did.Jess:                                     12:43                    Were you so sad to have to quit that job to become a professional writer?Joshilyn:                              12:48                    I had dropped out of college to be an actor and eventually was starving and had to take this day job. I called my father and I said, 'I want to go back to college.' And he said, 'You can go back to college until you get a B, I'll pay for it until you get a B.' So I went back to college and I never got a B, that job taught me that I didn't want to be doing that job.Jess:                                     13:18                    So the acting stuff leads us to the big questions that I'm dying to ask you about how you got started narrating your own audio work. And did that start from the beginning? Was that something that you specifically trained to do? Please tell us all about it. Because, and I have to sort of spoiler here is that some of the conversations we've had is about like, Ooh, that's kind of interesting. I wonder what it would take to be able to narrate our own fictions. So what does it take, Joshilyn?Joshilyn:                              13:48                    I don't think it's necessarily a good thing most of the time when authors read their own books, to be honest. Because it is a really specific skill set. And I did go to school in theater and I did live off the grid for awhile as an actor and a playwright. And most of the time when I made money, it was doing voice acting and I got some pretty good gigs. I've done voice acting for local commercials and radio spots. But I've also done stuff for a documentary that PBS was doing, stuff like that. So I had a theatrical background and when my first novel came out, while the narrator of that novel is a wildly, promiscuous murderess and people always think that your first novel is autobiographical, which of course my first novel was, but as you know from earlier, it did not sell. This was my third novel, so it wasn't autobiographical. I am not a wildly, promiscuous murderess, for the record. And I wasn't sure how much I wanted to be associated with her anymore than I was. You know, with a debut, that's the first question you get - so how much of this is your life? And so, I didn't really want to do it. My second novel, I figured I had that distance. Plus I also thought Arlene should sound really young and I don't think I've ever sounded particularly young. She has to sound young for you to forgive her. But my second book, I really thought I could do it. So I went to my editor and I said, 'You know, I used to be an actor and I've done a lot of voice acting, do you think I could read the audio book?' And she said, 'Oh, no, don't do that.' And I said, 'Okay, but I really have done it before.' And she was like, 'You know, I was with Warner Books and they were the most theatrical of the audio books. Some audio book companies want a real straight read with just very light differentiations between the voices and some of them want it to be really theatrical.' This was a very theatrical one that wanted big differences in the voices and they put musical tracks in and stuff. So I said, 'Well, can I audition?' And my editor said, 'Yes, you can audition, but you're not going to get hired. But, sure.' So, I had a friend named Darren Wong, he's actually an author, too. He wrote The Hidden Light of Northern Fires, which is a great book. And he used to run an audio book magazine called Verb, it was an all audio magazine. So he had a home studio and an edit board and professional grade equipment and he helped me edit it and set levels. So it was a really good recording and I did a fight scene with five different men having a fight. And I did a comedic scene so they would know my timing and I did straight narration with energy so they knew I could get them through the landscape descriptions or whatever. And then after I turned that in, like two weeks later, my editor called and she was like, 'Oh yes, you can read your audio book.' So I started reading my own and the first one did well. And so after that, the next time we got a book contract, they had a little clause in there that said, I had to read the audio book, it was already in the contract and I thought that was really flattering. And now I read for other people who aren't me, too.Jess:                                     17:32                    I had heard that actually because as I said, our frequent guest, Sarina Bowen, has a podcast called Story Bites with Tanya Eby. Tanya has her own studio and they tend to really pick apart narration. Especially since Sarina picks the narrators for her books and she's very picky about that and they raved about your narration. So they were one of the reasons we found out about you.KJ:                                        18:03                    You were episode three of their Story Bites Podcast. You'll want the rest, but if you want to taste it for free that's one way to do it.Jess:                                     18:22                    Well, and Sarina also raved about The Almost Sisters. That was a book that she really enjoyed and we trust her judgement. What I meant was you guys have read The Almost Sisters, I have not yet. I'm going to now though because the first of Joshilyn's books that I have read is Never Have I Ever, and I am so deep in and what I wanted to say is I'm listening to the audio and I also have the hard cover of the book, as well. And one of the things I wanted to say about your narration there is you have two very different women in particular that are sort of at the heart of this book. And I have to say that what I was struck by from the very beginning is your depiction of Rue, one of the two sort of main-ish characters. And you do such a brilliant job with her because I'm not even sure what it is you're doing because I don't have the technical words to describe it, but there's something in her voice that renders her a completely different human being than your protagonist who has such... I've heard for various audio book narrators that they'll often have recordings of their characters or are you able to do that just sort of as you go through?Joshilyn:                              19:56                    I don't use recordings, I do use my husband. I met him doing black box theater. We were working at a regional repertory theater together. The first time I ever saw him, he was learning to stage sword fight - that is hot. So we've known each other since we were teenagers. I was 18, I think he was 19. And he is a theater guy, his masters degrees is in stage management. So when I'm getting ready to do an audio book, I go through and set voices with him and he says, 'No, that's not right.' Or, 'Oh, that sounds just like her, but can you take it just a little deeper? Drop your register just a little bit.' So he works with me on the characters and it's good to have that because my voice sounds different in my head. So he's sort of my feedback loop. And then I'm an outside enactor like I was never method, where you go inside, and try to find some memory, and attach it. I've always been like, if you put your body and face into the shape, you'll feel the thing that your body is in the shape of. So the way I set characters is with a stance and a facial expression. So if I get into a certain position and hold my face a certain way, that voice just comes out because that's what I have the character attached to. So I'm sure it looks bizarre to my sound editor and director when I'm in there doing a scene with a bunch of different people talking as I fold myself into different shapes and make these weird facial expressions, but it works.Jess:                                     21:30                    That's really interesting. What that reminds me of - I was lucky enough to see Bradley Cooper play The Elephant Man. And at the very, very beginning, he walks out to the middle of the stage to center stage as just a guy, as Bradley Cooper. But he becomes the character by changing his body shape, that's how he does it. And he does it right in front of you so that you can see it happen. And it's a really cool thing. I think you should totally set up some videos so we can see what it looks like. .Joshilyn:                              22:00                    I would rather not see it myself. I don't want to feel self conscious about it because it works and maybe I don't want to see that.Jess:                                     22:10                    Well, so the next question I have then is now that you do all this narration, do you hear your characters as you write them?Joshilyn:                              22:19                    I guess, but I always have. And I mean, the kind of stuff I'm talking about with setting voices, that takes a lot longer for a book I didn't write. For a book I did write, I know what these people sound like in my head and I just try to approximate that with the voice and the range that I have. Which you know, is getting harder as I get older. In another 10 years I probably won't have the vocal elasticity to do my side gig anymore. So I'm trying to do a few more because I love it. I'm doing a few more a year than I used to, just to be able to do it while I can. Because you really do need some good elasticity and I'm not willing to give up drinking or fried food entirely and coddle my vocal chords to try and get another five years out of them.Jess:                                     23:11                    Can you tell ahead of time when a line is not going to work? KJ and I talked about this because we were lucky enough to be able to record our nonfiction books. And other friends and advisors have done the same - where you hit a line (and I used to be a speech writer as well) and I remember specifically I wrote a speech for a governor and we got to rehearsal with the prompter and there was just a line and he was like, 'This is never gonna come out right.' It's just not coming out of my mouth right. Do you ever hear that when you're writing or do you just not worry about that?Joshilyn:                              23:44                    I definitely it when I'm writing because I read aloud to myself as a writer. Like especially dialogue, I'll read it out loud while I'm writing. I mutter and talk while I'm writing. And if a paragraph doesn't sound right or I'm having trouble with it, I'll read it aloud and sometimes I edit aloud. I'll just change it mid-sentence to make it sound better and then just write down what I heard myself say.Jess:                                     24:12                    I will say, over my 20 years as an English teacher, I have told my students over and over and over again, if you want really good editing, if you would like to really get your paper clean, you've got to read it out loud.Joshilyn:                              24:24                    So smart. And just speaking as an audio book reader, as a person who reads them aloud, and I listen to them obsessively. You can tell the people who don't read their work aloud from the people who do. Not that it's that huge of a difference where now the book's not good or anything like that. But like people who read them aloud have so much less unintentional, internal rhyme. When you're just looking at words, you can write a sentence like Mike took the bike down the street with his friend Rike and they ate a pipe. You don't hear it cause it's visual and you don't see it. But then when you were listening to an audio book, I'll hear a string of rhymes and I'll be like, 'That person did not read their book out loud.'Jess:                                     25:07                    Well, and actually when we interviewed Steven Strogatz about his book that just came out recently about calculus that's just beautiful. He said that he dictates when he writes and he found his last line of his book because of the rhythm, cause he was walking at the time. And so that rhythm then made it into his writing because it was spoken in the first place and not because it was just his fingers dancing across the keyboard. So I find it fascinating. And Sarina Bowen also uses dictation software as well and our guest Karen Kolpe that we interviewed just recently also uses dictation software. So, I'm always curious about the difference between dictation and just writing with your hands and being able to hear those things and how that changes your work. So that is fascinating to me. It had never occurred to me that maybe I would be writing in rhymes unintentionally.Joshilyn:                              26:02                    Yeah, I've never tried to use dictation software, but maybe I should because I listen so much. It's weird; I tried to be a playwright for a while and I'm not a very good playwright to be honest, because I'm not willing to leave that room. Like a play should be a framework where a director can come in and do things and then there's room for actors to come in and do things so that it's a different play every time. And I'm just obsessively (and I'm not saying I have control issues, but I have control issues) and writing a play, I've just always felt I was trying to lock stuff down and make it be the way it is in my head. And it felt like the whole front of my head would heat up. Whereas when I'm acting or when I'm writing a novel and I am in control of what I do, even though of course you're being reactive, I feel like it's coming from the occipital lobe. It feels like it comes from a different place in my brain.Jess:                                     27:08                    That's so interesting. There was an interview a long time ago that I heard with Michael Ondaatje and he said he does not hear his work at all, he only sees it. And it's very difficult for me, I don't hear my work either. I do nonfiction though, so maybe it's different. But for me it's very visual and not sound related. So it's always fascinating to get into the head of someone who writes differently. Like I just don't hear it.Joshilyn:                              27:34                    Yeah, that's interesting. If I'm engaging it just in the terms of the visual, it's not going to get where I need it to be.Jess:                                     27:45                    One of the things you did for for this most recent book (a central thing in this book is scuba diving) and this was something you had never done before, right?Joshilyn:                              27:56                    No, never.Jess:                                     27:59                    So how did you even, not having had the experience, I just assumed when I listened to the book that Oh, that's something she does and isn't that cool? She knows what the words are, but how did you even know that was going to be a thing if you had never done it before?Joshilyn:                              28:15                    Amy was always a scuba diver, I wanted the metaphor. The ocean was so perfect for what I was doing in terms of like, (if you've ever dropped your sunglasses off a boat, you know the ocean can hide anything) you're never getting those back. In terms of being like this massive place where you can put things that you are just gone forever and also being kind of an entity with its own breath, so that your secrets are sort of housed in this living system. There were lots of metaphors that I wanted that scuba diving gave me and so I watched YouTube videos and did some interviews and I was like, I'm not getting this. I went to my husband and I said, 'Hey baby, it's about time for my midlife crisis and I need to learn to scuba dive for this book. I think my midlife crisis is going to be scuba diving. Would you like to have it with me?' He'd already had his midlife crisis - he learned to play the bass and joined a band. But he was like, 'Yeah, I'll do yours with you. That sounds really fun. If the other choice is an oiled cabana boy, I say scuba diving.' So we started diving and it really changed the book. I knew that Amy (Amy's my narrator, the protagonist, the scuba diving instructor), she's the one who has sort of the dark past and she's entirely reinvented herself. And you know, I wanted that baptismal imagery - go into the water, come up a different person. She's very self-destructive after she does this kind of terrible thing, she almost doesn't survive it. she has so much guilt. And then she sort of navigates her own understanding of grace and she reinvents herself and finds a life she can sustain. But I needed something to be the pivot that she uses to save herself. And I tried a bunch of different things and scuba diving was also in there. And then after I was diving, I was like, I don't need anything else. This is what saves her. Because it's so, it's like yoga plus plus - it is meditation, it is prayer, you cannot project into the future, you cannot worry about the past, it grounds you entirely in the present. You actually use your own breath. Like once you have a good technical ability to dive, once you've practiced enough and you're not fussing with your equipment all the time and you really understand how to get neutrally buoyant in the water, you actually change levels in the water and aim yourself just using your own breath. So it's your breath inside the ocean's breath. It is, it's also like super fun.Jess:                                     31:02                    I loved the idea of someone finding freedom in an activity that many people would find completely claustrophobic and closed in. So there was something really interesting about scuba diving as a metaphor. (as I also scuba dive) Something that a lot of people wouldn't be able to bear because it would feel too close. For her, it's exactly that that gives her the freedom. I really loved that metaphor. Well, one of the things I wanted to say about this book - so KJ and I talk all the time about people's ability to a) stick the landing on books, and b) surprise us. Well, the surprise thing I can attest to because I was listening to it as I was before I went to sleep last night and I had headphones on and my husband was reading something else and I got really upset and I said, 'Oh, well, duh. I figured that out a while ago.' And then you totally tricked me, you completely messed with my head. I thought I was ahead of you and you were so ahead of me. And I love that. I mean, the ability to be surprised is huge, it's especially huge for me because there's so many books (KJ can attest to this) that I have thrown. I've joked about throwing books across the room because I get so angry at formulas that make me feel dumb as a reader. And you made me feel like - you had me.Joshilyn:                              34:45                    Oh good. I'm glad I enjoy a plot twist.KJ:                                        34:49                    How much of that do you set up ahead of time and how has that evolved over the course of nine books?Joshilyn:                              34:59                    So this was my first book that is really leaning hard into domestic noir.KJ:                                        35:05                    I would agree that this is twistier, and I can actually only go back to The Almost Sisters, but that one's pretty twisty, too.Joshilyn:                              35:15                    Yeah. I always use the engine of a murder mystery or a thriller (sometimes to greater degrees than others) plot twists because I enjoy it. But, really the only thing that's changed in terms of genre is the stakes and the pacing. The stakes are super high, I don't know how to explain it, it really is just about stakes raising. It's still my voice, my kinds of fierce, female characters who act instead of reacting, my thematic things I'm always interested in, you know, I'm always writing about redemption and motherhood. So, I would agree with you. But for me, the plot is the thing that comes last. The plot is the cookie. I understand what I want to address thematically very, very well. I understand these characters down to their bones. Sometimes I think about characters for years before I write them. I've been thinking about Rue and for a vehicle to write Rue for more than seven years and she was a hard person to place because she's difficult. You wouldn't want a place in your life. She's a nightmare, but she's a very interesting nightmare. So, I know the characters, I know the stakes, I know the themes, and the plot is the cookie. I try to play fair, too. Like something will happen and it'll really surprise me and then I go back and edit and put in clues and foreshadowing and I'm good at it. I have a facility for this. I think as writers, we all have things that we're good at and things that we really struggle with. I'm good at crafting those kind of plot twists. That's the thing that comes easily to me, because it's fun and I'm surprising myself, too. And I try to play fair so that at least some readers will catch onto what I'm doing. Or if you go back and read it a second time, you're like, 'Oh, right there. She practically tells me right there.' But you slide it into these little moments where you're describing a car and nobody's paying attention or you know, there's all kinds of tricks you can do to misdirect. It's like a magician's sleight of hand with coins. They do everything, they just got you looking at the wrong place when they do the thing.KJ:                                        37:35                    I'm at the stage of a revision where I have a list of about six things that I just need to go back and make sure are properly set up. And it doesn't take that much, you know? I did read something recently where a character very suddenly took a turn that I really was like, 'What, what?' There was like one warning of this and none of the warning came from the character. So it yanked me, and you have to find that line where you've given people enough preparation that they aren't pulled out of the story by wait a minute, is this consistent with what happened before?Joshilyn:                              38:22                    Flannery O'Connor says you have to get to an end that feels inevitable, yet surprising. And I love her.Jess:                                     38:36                    It's so funny you guys are saying that about fiction because that's what I'm working on right now. Even in nonfiction where I have two chapters and they're sort of two chapters that really go together and one was submitted with my proposal, so I wrote that a long time ago. And then the other one I just finished. So I have them now side by side because I need to plant seeds for one in the other, in order for the reader to be led a bit down a path and for things to at least feel like I've prepared them a little bit for what's coming next. And I love that part of the process. I love it. You know, with nonfiction it's not really about hints, but it is, it is anyway, it's narrative hinting, even though it's nonfiction. I love that.Joshilyn:                              39:23                    Yeah. I think that's really actually cool that that translates into nonfiction. That's really interesting.KJ:                                        39:33                    If there aren't a bunch of through lines, then you just get a bunch of different stories.Jess:                                     39:47                    Well, and it's funny that you were talking about hearing and I said I don't hear my work, but that's actually not true because I always try to end on a major chord. You know, there's that sort of resolution to a major chord at the end where your reader can go, 'Ah, okay. Yeah, it feels good.' And so I do hear that little bit. I try to come back to a major chord at the end of a chapter so that I leave my reader feeling at least not like they're, you know, hanging there on a dissonant note and that I've just dumped them off the edge. So there is a little bit of sound there.KJ:                                        40:20                    Let's hope we've left our listeners on a major chord at this point. It's think it's time to shift gears and talk about what we've been reading.Jess:                                     40:32                    Please share with us - you first.Joshilyn:                              40:35                    I always have a book and an audio book going. And can I do a little commercial for Libro FM? So the way I get my audio books is through a service called Libro FM, which it's just like any other subscription service. You know, you get a credit every month, and your credits never expire, and it costs exactly the same, but it benefits your local independent book seller. You choose the store you want to shop through. So of course I'm all over that. So I was listening to Gretchen by Shannon Kirk and this is some next level WTF. Like I loved this book. It is so smart. Like I don't even know if it's a thriller, it verges on horror. But, then I loved the character so much and the character of Gretchen - I dream about, it's really good. It's about a young woman who's on the run with her mother and they have hidden identities and they move into this little shack. And then they have to leave and they're on the run again. And the girl next door is named Gretchen and she finds herself involved in this (puzzles are a big metaphor) game with Gretchen that has these very far reaching consequences.Jess:                                     42:02                    I'm on their website right now getting this book, I'm so excited.Joshilyn:                              42:08                    And then the book I just finished reading with my eyes is called The Better Liar by Tanen Jones. It doesn't come out till January. Here's what I liked about it - it's a thriller, it's suspense, which I really like, but it's fun. Like the plot is fun and twisty and sinister, but she's doing something so smart and so emotionally resonant just under the surface. I went to it for like a fun, twisty read and it is - I got that. But at the end I was not just like, 'Whoa, what the twists.' I was like, 'Whoa, Holy crap.' There was an emotional surprise. It's about a woman who has to appear with her, estranged sister to claim her inheritance and she has reasons for needing the money. And when she goes to find her sister (who's a troubled person) she finds her body, but she meets somebody else who looks like her sister, but who has secrets of her own, and they go to try and claim this inheritance. It is great.Jess:                                     43:26                    Oh, that is a great premise. I'm going to have to buy that one, too.Joshilyn:                              43:32                    I just finished both of those and I just started Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman and it's great so far, which is completely unsurprising because I've never read a Laura Lippman book and gone, 'Oh well that was disappointing.' She's so good and I'm loving it so far.Jess:                                     43:49                    Okay. KJ, you're up. What have you been reading?KJ:                                        43:52                    I have not been reading anything, to be honest. I'm in the middle of something that I like, but I'll wait until we finish it. I'm in the middle of Range by David Epstein, which we've talked about before. I'm rereading, I'm doing a lot of rereading right now. I have a list of like fresh books I read this year and I was thinking I should make a list of books I actually reread, too.Jess:                                     44:17                    I have been joking around on our text trio that I have been (because my brain is so occupied right now with getting to my deadline and this book) that I've been doing a lot of re-listening. And my re-listening choices have been Sarina Bowen books. And so every once in awhile I'll text Sarina with some observation about some characters she wrote like eight years ago. And it's just really comforting.KJ:                                        44:46                    It occurs to me that I did forget to mention that I might have just read a book called Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson.Jess:                                     44:57                    I was just about to say that exact thing.KJ:                                        44:59                    So, I did just read an entire novel. Which normally would've been what I put on #AmReading. And it is great, and it is twisty, and it is turny, and it is satisfying, it's really satisfying.Jess:                                     45:16                    I really, really love it. And while I have you, I do have to ask you one quick question, Joshilyn, did the title come first or did the premise come first?Joshilyn:                              45:25                    The premise came first. In fact, I had almost finished the book with a completely different title that I don't remember, it wasn't a great title. And my friend Sarah Gruin was like, 'Why aren't you calling this Never Have I Ever? I was like, 'Oh, I don't know. You're so right. That's obviously the title. Nevermind.'Jess:                                     45:48                    I love that because ever since I started the book that was kind of one of my first questions. I wrote it on the inside flap - which came first, the cover or the title or the premise - because it's great. Both of them are great. I also have been listening to Emily Nussbaum, who's the television critic at the New Yorker. She has a book called I Like To Watch and it's all about being a television critic, which is something I don't think I would do, but I'm fascinated by the job. I'm fascinated that the job exists and I'm a huge fan of Emily Nussbaum to begin with. So I'm loving this and this is a book that you can read in chunks because it's sorta like essay, more essay format. And it's really lovely, which is not surprising because Emily Nussbaum is a lovely writer, so I recommend that so far, I'm not done with it either. Alright. An independent bookseller?Joshilyn:                              46:42                    I live in Decatur, Georgia and we have so many Indies. They're my favorite things to visit when I travel. I live like four blocks from EagleEye, so that's my walk up and get a book independent. And then down on the square there's a store called Little Shop of Stories, which is a kid's shop. It's like an independent that just sells children books and a lot of YA, but they have

The Family Upstairs - Lisa JewelBe careful who you let in.Soon after her twenty-fifth birthday, Libby Jones returns home from work to find the letter she’s been waiting for her entire life. She rips it open with one driving thought: I am finally going to know who I am.She soon learns not only the identity of her birth parents, but also that she is the sole inheritor of their abandoned mansion on the banks of the Thames in London’s fashionable Chelsea neighborhood, worth millions. Everything in Libby’s life is about to change. But what she can’t possibly know is that others have been waiting for this day as well—and she is on a collision course to meet them.Twenty-five years ago, police were called to 16 Cheyne Walk with reports of a baby crying. When they arrived, they found a healthy ten-month-old happily cooing in her crib in the bedroom. Downstairs in the kitchen lay three dead bodies, all dressed in black, next to a hastily scrawled note. And the four other children reported to live at Cheyne Walk were gone.In The Family Upstairs, the master of “bone-chilling suspense” (People) brings us the can’t-look-away story of three entangled families living in a house with the darkest of secrets.Never Have I Ever - Joshilyn JacksonAmy Whey is proud of her ordinary life and the simple pleasures that come with it—teaching diving lessons, baking cookies for new neighbors, helping her best friend, Charlotte, run their local book club. Her greatest joy is her family: her devoted professor husband, her spirited fifteen-year-old stepdaughter, her adorable infant son. And, of course, the steadfast and supportive Charlotte. But Amy’s sweet, uncomplicated life begins to unravel when the mysterious and alluring Angelica Roux arrives on her doorstep one book club night.Sultry and magnetic, Roux beguiles the group with her feral charm. She keeps the wine flowing and lures them into a game of spilling secrets. Everyone thinks it’s naughty, harmless fun. Only Amy knows better. Something wicked has come her way—a she-devil in a pricey red sports car who seems to know the terrible truth about who she is and what she once did.When they’re alone, Roux tells her that if she doesn’t give her what she asks for, what she deserves, she’s going to make Amy pay for her sins. One way or another.To protect herself and her family and save the life she’s built, Amy must beat the devil at her own clever game, matching wits with Roux in an escalating war of hidden pasts and unearthed secrets. Amy knows the consequences if she can’t beat Roux. What terrifies her is everything she could lose if she wins.A diabolically entertaining tale of betrayal, deception, temptation, and love filled with dark twists leavened by Joshilyn Jackson’s trademark humor, Never Have I Ever explores what happens when the transgressions of our past come back with a vengeance. LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVE 

Brace yourself for a roller coaster of a story. AudioFile reviewer Jonathan Smith tells host Jo Reed why NEVER HAVE I EVER is such a captivating thriller. When a newcomer to Amy’s neighborhood starts blackmailing her, she finds herself in a battle to conceal her deepest, darkest secret. Author Joshilyn Jackson is also a skilled narrator—she breathes life into her characters, setting the scene in the Florida Panhandle. Published by Harper Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Paperback Classics, a new imprint from Oasis Family Media, bringing the best vintage pulp paperbacks to audio, including the 1960s cult-classic series Dark Shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kaytee and Meredith are back in your earbuds with strong opinions and bookish concoctions! You’ll hear a “bookish moment of the week” from each host, and we are TEASES this week. We both have books that we cannot wait to talk about… but we’re not telling you what they are! Next, we’ll remind you about our Bookshelf Thomasville coupon code for you: CURRENTLYLOVING will get you 10% off from our friends over there through the month of August! You’ve got just a few days left before this code expires, so get on it! Moving forward, we discuss our current reads for the week. We are mostly GLOWING about our books this week, and we have lots of words about each of them. We’ve got an update for you on our Slow But Steady reads as well, and we’ve loved having you chime in for what you’re reading for this challenge. Today, we’re also rethinking what Slow But Steady means in terms of content. For our deep dive, we are discussing book clubs. All the different kinds of book clubs there are. How we feel about them personally. What we enjoy about the idea of book clubs. And some other weird tangents. What are your thoughts on book clubs? Finally, this week, we finish the episode by Bellying Up to the Book Bar! Our drinking buddy this week is Angie Dawson, and we have LOTS of titles to throw her way. The show notes for this episode are bananas, friends. B-A-N-A-N-A-S. As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you’d like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don’t scroll down!  . . . . . 5:39 - Save Me The Plums by Ruth Reichl 5:56 - Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl 9:50 - The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen Flynn 10:02 - Want to get in on the Patron action? Patreon! 15:04 - The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames 20:34 - The Whisper Network by Chandler Baker 20:39 - Reese Witherspoon Book Club 24:18 - The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan 24:36 - The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan 29:35 - Lock Every Door by Riley Sager 29:44 - Final Girls by Riley Sager 34:29 - Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry 35:03 - North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell 35:16 - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas 36:04 - The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt 36:05 - The Stand by Stephen King 36:20 - 11/22/63 by Stephen King 36:27 - War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells 36:49 - The Complete Stories of Flannery O’Connor 37:32 - Les Miserables by Victor Hugo 37:36 - War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy 37:42 - Stamped From the Beginning: A Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibraham Kendi 38:33 - Middlemarch by George Eliot 38:36 - The Fiery Cross (Outlander #5) by Diana Gabaldon 40:35 - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot 43:13 - Silent Book Club 45:04 - Episode 14 with Amy Allen Clark 45:48 - Have opinions about a CR buddy read? Join the Patreon 47:19 - Us Against You by Fredrick Backman 47:33 - Red Rising by Pierce Brown 47:37 - A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas 47:39 - Outlander by Diana Gabaldon 47:46 - Twilight by Stephanie Meyer 47:58 - Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys 48:08 - Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys 48:10 - Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah 48:23 - The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan 48:24 - The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang 48:25 - The Bride Test by Helen Hoang 48:26 - The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren 48:27 - Joshilyn Jackson Books 48:38 - The Line That Held Us by David Joy 48:39 - The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir 48:41 - A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams 48:46 - We Were Liars by E. Lockhart 49:02 - Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert 49:03 - Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn 49:05 - The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger 49:37 -This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel 50:19 - A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman 50:54 - A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer 51:07 - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 51:35 - The Paper Magician (series) by Charlie Holmberg 52:01 - The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen Flynn 52:09 - Scythe by Neal Schusterman 53:00 - The Red Tent by Anita Diamant 53:52 - A Bridge Across the Ocean by Susan Meissner 53:57 - The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor 54:05 - The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 54:17 - Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly 54:18 - Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly 55:02 - Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston 55:17 - The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai 55:23 - Christina Lauren books 55:37 - Jasmine Guillory books 56:05 - Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson 56:30 - The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare 57:23 - Want some extra Belly Up to the Book Bar? Patreon! *Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*  

Kaytee is chatting with her bookish friend, Jessica Howard, this week while Meredith celebrates her birthday! You’ll hear a “bookish moment of the week” from each host: a meta podcast moment in which Jess hears herself mentioned on the podcast, and a dentist/book overlap that will leave you scratching your head! Next, we’ll remind you about our Bookshelf Thomasville coupon code for you: CURRENTLYLOVING will get you 10% off from our friends over there through the month of August! One more week for this fun code! Moving forward, we discuss our current reads for the week. We’re stuffing some extra titles into this segment this week, because we just couldn’t help ourselves. We’ve got an update for you on our Slow But Steady reads as well. We’re also shouting out a few readers and their own Slow But Steady reads. Have you told us about yours yet? For our deep dive, Jessica and I chat about what it’s like to work at Bookmans in Tucson, AZ. She has lots of fun stories to share, some that make you go hmmm, and some interesting behind-the-scenes book review talk that you’ll love! Finally, this week, we finish with The Book that we’d like to press into your hands, readers. We’ve got a favorite author that doesn’t get enough love and a Southern novel that’s anything but slow. As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you’d like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don’t scroll down!  . . . . . 1:35 - Season 1, Episode 42 of Currently Reading 3:12 - The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry 3:26 - The Giver (quartet) by Lois Lowry 4:21 - Dark Age by Pierce Brown 4:27 - Red Rising by Pierce Brown 4:41 - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 5:41 - Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enwright 5:49 - The Saturdays (Melendy Quartet) by Elizabeth Enright 5:54 - Four Story Mistake (Melendy Quartet) by Elizabeth Enright 6:03 - Return to Gone-Away by Elizabeth Enwright 7:26 - Fingersmith by Sarah Waters 7:43 - Season 1, Episode 14 with Amy Allen Clark 9:36 - The Long Call by Ann Cleeves 9:47 - Raven Black (The Shetland Books) by Ann Cleeves 9:54 - The Crow Trap (Vera Books) by Ann Cleeves 11:45 - Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren 13:28 - The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone 13:45 - Imitation Game (movie) 15:30 - The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal 15:38 - Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal 19:32 - The Wondering Years by Knox McCoy 20:08 - Savor by Shauna Niequist 20:37 - North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell 21:11 - 11/22/63 by Stephen King 21:23 - War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy 21:27 - Serial Reader App 21:46 - Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 22:26 - Bookman’s Entertainment Exchange 24:20 - The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo 28:14 - Liver Let Die by Liz Lipperman 28:31 - Lord of the Wings by Donna Andrews 28:34 - Gone Gull by Donna Andrews 31:42 - Shelf Awareness 34:38 - NetGalley 37:31 - Frederica by Georgette Heyer 37:33 - The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer 38:26 - The Conqueror: A Novel of William the Conqueror by Georgette Heyer 38:27 - My Lord John by Georgette Heyer 41:49 - The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson 43:35 - Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson 45:00 - Find Jessica: @howjessreads on Twitter, Instagram, and Litsy, or Quirky Bookworm on Facebook *Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*  

Mining below the surface of ordinary lives has made Joshilyn Jackson a multiple New York Times best-selling novelist. Her newest book, Never Have I Ever, ratchets things up to thriller level when a new neighbor knocks at Amy's door. The sultry and charming stranger, Roux, hijacks the agenda at book club, and soon moves onto Amy's life with a blackmail scheme to expose a long buried secret.

Amanda and Jenn discuss chapter books about girls, thrillers, undersea stories, and more in this week’s episode of Get Booked. This episode is sponsored by Book Riot Insiders, One Good Deed by David Baldacci, and Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. FEEDBACK Serial Killers: Murder Without Mercy by Nigel Blundell (rec’d by Sharon) Song of a Captive Bird by Jasmin Darznik (rec’d by Sibyl) The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar (rec’d by Sibyl) Spoonbenders by Darryl Gregory (rec’d by Sibyl) The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (rec’d by Sibyl) QUESTIONS 1. Hi Amanda and Jenn, I’m such a big fan of the show and your recs are always must-adds for my TBR! I tend to buy most of my books at library book sales, used bookstores, etc, where there are a lot of random books in a big mish-mash. It makes me sad when I see a favorite but lesser-known book in a pile, being passed over again and again for new hyped up releases. I’d love to know, if you were at a used bookstore, what would be the book that would make you want to pull it out of the pile and hold it up like Simba in The Lion King while announcing to everyone “this is the one! Please take this one home!” -Nicole 2. I am thinking about moving to Manchester, England to start a graduate program in September, so I am looking for contemporary fiction or nonfiction books set in Manchester that would give me insight into the city and introduce me to writers from the region. Since I cannot visit the city before starting the program I think reading could help calm my nerves a bit (as it tends to do). When I lived in Paris I read 4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster and really enjoyed the Parisian and literary references. I have read novels set in other European cities but would really appreciate recommendations specific to Manchester. It would be a nice addition if one of the recommendations had a non-white, non-male protagonist and author. Thank you! I really enjoy listening to the podcast and expanding my TBR pile. -Megan 3. Hi Amanda and Jenn. Hoping you can smash another recommendation for me. I recently bought my friend’s daughter the Phoebe the Unicorn books and successfully turned a tentative reader into a certified book worm. She even posted me her own little thank you note, it was the cutest. I’m keen to get her some new books to keep up the streak. She comes from an extended family where she is surrounded by young mums and examples of motherhood and homemaking, and while this is lovely, I know her mum is keen to make sure she knows that having children is not the only path available to her. Could you recommend some books to keep her inspired, whatever her path may be. I particularly want to combat the kind of troubling comments I know she’s come up against already in her young life, such as ‘little boys become doctors, little girls become nurses’

What if someone knew your worst secret and was ready to use it against you?  New York Times award-winning author Joshilyn Jackson keeps us on edge with that chilling premise in her psychological thriller 'Never Have I Ever.' Fellow author, Lee Child, says “it has an ominous back beat.”  Joshilyn sits down with Lynda to reveal where she gets the inspiration for crafting unforgettable characters and the way she exposes the psychological under currents of her characters. Scuba diving plays a big part in 'Never Have I Ever.'  Joshilyn took scuba diving lessons before writing this novel and she talks about the way it changed the direction of the story. She gives insight into her writing life and how her writing has changed since she wrote her debut novel, 'Gods in Alabama.'  Joshilyn takes us inside the mind of a writer and has practical advice for every creative. Joshilyn Jackson’s debut novel, 'Gods in Alabama,' won SIBA’s 2005 Novel of the Year award and her novels have twice won Georgia Author of the Year awards.   http://www.JoshilynJackson.com      

Today’s author interview guest is Joshilyn Jackson, author of Never Have I Ever. “Wonderful—suspense and surprises, real characters, and a scary, ominous backbeat.  This feels like the book Jackson was born to write.” —Lee Child, New York Times bestselling author From New York […]

What is the definition of suspense? Will Lee and Eddie solve it before time runs out? Will Lee ever stop talking about glass blowing? Will Eddie ever stop trying to get weird books on the show with really thin justification? Will this series of questions ever end? Maybe you will find out in this episode... or will you? This episode, Lee is on the cutting edge of new and brilliant crime and mystery, with Joshilyn Jackson's Never Have I Ever, and Eddie is back on their bullshit, reviewing World War I novels from the 90s. The post 5.7 | Joshilyn Jackson, Sébastien Japrisot, & … Suspense appeared first on Crime Time.

 What is the definition of suspense? Will Lee and Eddie solve it before time runs out? Will Lee ever stop talking about glass blowing? Will Eddie ever stop trying to get weird books on the show with really thin justification? Will this series of questions ever end? Maybe you will find out in this episode… or will you?This episode, Lee is on the cutting edge of new and brilliant crime and mystery, with Joshilyn Jackson's Never Have I Ever, and Eddie is back on their bullshit, reviewing World War I novels from the 90s.____________________________________________________ If you like what you hear, we'd really appreciate if you sent us some stars on iTunes! It's one the best ways to support the show!We've had many requests for beta reading from Crime Time listeners over the years, and we're thrilled to finally be able to offer this service to our book community! Check out Frankcoreaders.com for all your manuscript assessment needs!Tell us what books are your faves in the comments below, or via Twitter!Join the Crime Time Team at Patreon!Make sure to check out the books of the week via the affiliate link below! Crime Time has partnered with Book Depository to bring you books at a great price – with free shipping worldwide thrown in!

Anna, Lina och Karin pratar om den spanska netflix-serien Las Chicas del Cable. Det är vackra 1920-talsmiljöer, fina hattar och oändligt melodramatiskt. Vi funderar på om vi kanske sett för lite spansk film och telenovelas för att kunna uppskatta det här? Vi pratar också om onlinemagasinet Omenana, podcasten Haxel & Katniss & Harry & Starr, samt romanen The Almost Sisters av Joshilyn Jackson. Spoilers för Las Chicas del Cable säsong 1, avsnitt 1-3. Vill du veta mer eller kommentera det vi har pratat om? Besök gärna vår hemsida, där finns det länkar för varje avsnitt och mycket mer. Vi finns också på facebook, twitter och instagram. Eller så kan du mejla till nyasvarta@gmail.com Gillar du det vi gör? Skriv gärna en recension på facebook eller i din poddspelare. Du kan också stötta oss via Paypal.

Here at the end of our pollen-covered month, it's time to discuss what we were able read between, y'know, everything else. You can find all of the following books for sale (or preorder) in The Bookshelf's online store. + Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson (on sale July 30) + Beyond the Point by Claire Gibson (on sale April 2) + Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl (on sale April 2) + Strangers and Cousins by Leah Hager Cohen (on sale May 14) + Inheritance by Dani Shapiro + Normal People by Sally Rooney (on sale April 16) + Trust Exercise by Susan Choi (on sale April 9) Thanks, as always, to Forlorn Strangers for the use of our theme music. Learn and listen more here. Listen to a full back catalogue of our show here, and, if you're interested in some exclusive content like Chris and Annie's Unpopular Opinions, consider supporting us on Patreon here.  

Epigraph Welcome to episode 17! We're interviewing the a.m.a.z.i.n.g Holland Saltsman, owner of The Novel Neighbor in Webster Groves, MO.   Listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, our website, or subscribe using your podcatcher of choice. Support the show! All books in our show notes link to Indiebound, a website that connects you with your local independent bookstore. Purchases made through our affiliate links help fund Drunk Booksellers, so you can support your favorite indie bookstore and your favorite podcasting booksellers. #win If you want to get our show notes delivered directly to your inbox—with all the books mentioned on the podcast and links to the books we discuss—sign up for our email newsletter. This episode is sponsored by Books & Whatnot, the newsletter dedicated to books, bookselling, and bookish folk; check out their newsletter archive here. Follow Books & Whatnot on Twitter at @booksandwhatnot.   Chapter I In which We Discuss Bookstore Bathrooms, Discover that Staff Picks Work, and Talk About... Books... Before we start drinking, check out Novel Neighbor's bathroom: We’re Drinking It's too hot for bourbon, so we're rocking dirty gin martinis out of mason jars, coffee mugs, and martini glasses (apparently Kim's the classy one this episode).   Holland's Reading Amazing Adventures of Aaron Broom by A E Hotchner (for Novel Neighbor's Subscription program) Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of '80s and '90s Teen Fiction by Gabrielle Moss (pubs 10/30/18) The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers by Maxwell King (the audiobook is read by LeVar Burton!) Harry's Trees by Jon Cohen The Anna Karenina Fix: Life Lessons from Russian Literature by Viv Groskop (pubs 10/23/18) Emma's Reading I'm Fine, But You Appear to Be Sinking by Leyna Krow They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib Betwixt-And-Between: Essays on the Writing Life by Jenny Boully Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover Kim's Reading Unbound: Transgender Men and the Remaking of Identity by Arlene Stein When Katie Met Cassidy by Camille Perri Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera Forthcoming & Newly-New Titles We're Excited About Hannah's Excited About The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell What If This Were Enough? by Heather Havrilesky (pubs 2018 Oct 2) The Disasters by M K England (pubs 2018 Dec 12) - The Breakfast Club meets Guardians of the Galaxy! Hungover: The Morning After and One Man's Quest for the Cure by Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall (pubs 2018 Nov 20) Time's Convert by Deborah Harkness Kim's Excited About Washington Black by Esi Edugyan (author of Half-Blood for folks who love Sing Unburied Sing and The Underground Railroad. author of Half-Blood Blues) Monstress Volume 3 by Marjorie Liu Vengeful by V E Schwab (follow up to Vicious) The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents by Pete Souza (author of Obama: An Intimate Portrait) Emma's Excited About Severence by Ling Ma Rosewater by Tade Thompson Also mentioned: The Murders of Molly Southbourne Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles by Mark Russell and Mike Feehan (author of the Flintstones comic reboot) Bonus Podcast Recommendation: Super Skull All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung (pubs 2 Oct 2018) Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (pubs 23 Oct 2018) Y'all. Hot take here. Staff picks work! Emma had a staff pick on All the Lives I Want and Holland actually picked it up at Elliott Bay while visiting Seattle before our episode! (Shout out to our episode with Amy Stephenson from The Booksmith, who initially recommended it to us, and to our favorite audiobook provider, Libro.fm.)       View this post on Instagram Picked this up @elliottbaybookco from their #stafffavorite shelf, cracking it open tonight. #essays #hollandreads #literarytourism #shoplocal @grandcentralpub A post shared by The Novel Neighbor (@novelneighbor) on Jul 29, 2018 at 4:54pm PDT   --- Chapter II [26:37] In Which No One Tells Holland She's Crazy, People Love Their Greeting Cards, The Drunk Booksellers Marvel at Novel Neighbor's Ability to Handsell Events, and We Reiterate that Bookstores are a Business (whaaaa?) The Novel Neighbor: More Than A Bookstore The Novel Neighbor is not just a bookstore. In addition to author events, they host birthday parties, summer camps, bookstore yoga, and adult classes (like continuing ed, but sexier), among other things (sorry Amanda!). Recommended reading for staff retreats: StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura VanderKam Beware of squirreling, y'all.   Chapter III [47:06] In Which We Move From Books to Books, Talk About Hybridity, and We Finally Meet a Bookseller Who Has Read Harry Potter Book Description Guaranteed to Get You Reading  Anything meets anything. NOT "It's the next" NOT EVERYTHING IS THE NEXT HUNGER GAMES, Y'ALL. Hybridity. Holland loved a book that was Comic Con meets The Help. FYI, it's called The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson. Emma recommends Hawkeye by Matt Friction. It's Buffy meets Veronica Mars. Which apparently is listed on Emma's shelf talker. But, like, who reads those? Desert Island Pick The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett Emma hasn't finished The Secret Garden, but The Little Princess might be Emma's Desert Island pick. That said, she hearts Mandy by Julie Andrews, which is kinda the same thing, so that counts, right? Station Eleven Picks Practical: anything from the Did you Know shelf, such as How to Stay Alive in the Woods: A Complete Guide to Food, Shelter and Self-Preservation Anywhere by Bradford Angier Political: Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard Wild Pick The Amazing Adventures of a Nobody and The Kindness Diaries: One Man's Quest to Ignite Goodwill and Transform Lives Around the World by Leon Logothetis Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama Bookseller Confession Holland hated Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff and The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney. Also, she never read Catcher in the Rye, which both Kim and Emma are totally okay with. Emma says you should skip Catcher and read Franny and Zooey.  Shout out to a bookseller who has actually read Harry Potter. Go-To Handsell Best book Holland has read since she opened the bookstore (whoa): The One-In-A-Million Boy by Monica Wood Kids of Appetite by David Arnold (if you liked Outsiders, read this) Go-To Picture Books: Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast by John Funk, illustrated by Brendan Kearney Interstellar Cinderella by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Meg Hunt Impossible Handsell Good Luck of Right Now by Matthew Quick (author of Silver Linings Playbook and The Reason You're Alive) FYI: Emma's really into Richard Gere.   Book for Booksellers Throw back to Laura VanderKam 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works by Dan Harris Favorite Bookstores Flyleaf Books - Chapel Hill, NC Elliott Bay Book Company - Seattle, WA Strand Book Store - New York, NY novel. - Memphis, TN The Last Bookstore - Los Angeles, CA Road Trips are for bookstores, right? Favorite Literary Media Shelf Awareness What Should I Read Next Podcast (hosted by Anne Bogel, author of Reading People: How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything and I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life) Book Riot Drunk Booksellers Epilogue In which we tell you where to find Novel Neighbor on the Internets Website: thenovelneighbor.com Facebook: @novelneighbor Twitter: @novelneighbor Instagram: @novelneighbor You can find us on: Twitter: @drunkbookseller Litsy: @drunkbooksellers Facebook Instagram Email Newsletter Website Join us for our FIRST EVER LIVE EPISODE on Friday, September 28th at 10pm at King's Books in Tacoma, WA. Also, spoiler alert, this will be our next episode. And it will be fucking incredible. Promise. Emma tweets from @thebibliot and writes bookish things for Book Riot. Kim occasionally tweets from @finaleofseem, but not enough to justify you bothering to follow her. Subscribe and rate us on iTunes!

Recording Date: November 7, 2017 Hosts: Lauren Martino and David Payne Episode Summary: Cooking enthusiasts Dana Alsup, a librarian at Marilyn Praisner Library, and Nalani Devendra, a library associate at Silver Spring Library, discuss the joys and challenges of cooking and how MCPL can make your next meal a delicious one.  Guests: Librarian Dana Alsup and Library Associate Nalani Devendra Featured MCPL Service: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) resources and events. Our Go! Kits contain books, science tools, a tablet, and more selected to encourage parents/caregivers and children to actively explore the world around them. We have Little Explorer Go! Kits for children ages 3-6 and Young Voyager Go! Kits for children ages 7-12.  What Our Guests Are Currently Reading:  Dana Alsup: Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz. Horowitz has also written for the television series Foyles War and Midsomer Murders. Dana also recently read Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson. Nalani Devendra: Future Crimes by Marc Goodman Books, Magazines, Cooking Shows, and Other Items of Interest Mentioned During this Episode: 641.5: The call number for cookbooks at MCPL.  America's Test Kitchen: A  cooking show on WETA. The show has an extensive website that includes an archive of old shows. MCPL has a large collection of America's Test Kitchen cookbooks.  Barefoot Contessa: An American cooking show on the Food Network featuring celebrity chef Ina Garten, who has authored several cookbooks and has an extensive cooking website.   Bon Appetit: This food magazine is available in print at several MCPL branches. It is available online through our RBdigital Magazines service.  The Can't Cook Book: 100+ Recipes for the Absolutely Terrified by Jessica Seinfeld. Giada De Laurentis: Chef, writer, and television personality. Host of the Food Network's Giada at Home. MCPL owns many of her cookbooks.  Paula Deen: Celebrity chef, restaurant owner, and author. MCPL owns a number of her cookbooks.   First Bite by Bee Wilson: A look at how individual's food habits are formed.  The Forest Feast blog: Erin Gleeson's blog features mostly vegetarian recipes and entertaining ideas.   The Forest Feast: Simple Vegetarian Recipes from My Cabin in the Woods by Erin Gleeson The Forest Feast Gatherings: Simple Vegetarian Menus for Hosting Friends & Family by Erin Gleeson The Forest Feast for Kids: Colorful Vegetarian Recipes that Are Simple to Make by Erin Gleeson The Food Network: Cable and satellite television channel focused on food.  How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman Other Items of Interest: Flipster: An online collection of full color magazines that includes the magazines Food & Wine and Cooking Light.  RBdigital Magazines: This online collection of full color magazines includes several cooking magazines such as Bon Appetit, Eating Well, Food Network Magazine, and more.  Read the full transcript

– – A HUGE tree fell in our yard during a buck wild nor'easter last week, and we lost power for days! (Click here to check out the video I made of the tree!) All back now and everything is okay… But I had to delay the start of our epic "How to Help Your Child Navigate the Choppy Social Waters of Life Without Getting Pulled Under Yourself or Losing Your Mind" mastercourse. The first live module now goes up on Tuesday, November 14, giving you until Monday, November 13 to enroll! If you can't make it to the modules live, you'll always be able to catch them in our password-protected online classroom - plus ask questions over the whole 6 weeks of the mastercourse in our private Survive the Social Stuff Facebook group, exclusively for those enrolled in the course.… To learn more and sign up go to weturnedoutokay.com/socialstuff! – – Today's conversation is one of those awesome ones that went in a completely different direction than I had thought it would. I knew we were going to talk about racism, and parenting, and how New York Times best-selling author Joshilyn Jackson teaches creative writing to prisoners – but when, early on in our conversation, Joshilyn shared "I didn't have any empathy until I became a mom," my heart just stopped. How could that possibly be, I wondered? And so we raced off into a discussion that will help you understand empathy as a crucial parenting skill, perhaps the most important ninja tactic of all. You are going to LOVE it. Go to weturnedoutokay.com/194 for key links : )

It's hot as something down here in the South, and Chris and Annie are back to talk about what they read in June. It was a light month of the highest quality. Also, Chris Pine: hot or not? And happy anniversary, Harry Potter.  Annie read: + The End We Start From by Megan Hunter (on sale November 7) + Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson (on sale July 11) + Heating and Cooling by Beth Ann Fennelly (on sale October 10) + Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (on sale (on sale September 12) + Theft by Finding by David Sedaris + The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante Chris read: + Marriage of a Thousand Lies by SJ Sindu Hey, did you know that we read and recap books in literally every episode of this podcast, not just the ones labeled "Reading Recap"? I just want to make sure that you do because we have so many recommendations for you all the time always and want you to enjoy!

Knitting Segments   This episode is brought to you by The Sock Ruler and Eucalan.  Show Ready Knits Solaris by Melanie Berg with my Pal Kal Mini Kit from One Twisted Tree.     Knits in Rehearsal       Zigzagular Socks by Susie White Triple Threat PalKal Project here with 3 podcasts represented: Prairie Girls Knit and Spin Podcast  Twist Fiber Studio and the Twisted Stitcher Podcast The Fat Squirrel Speaks   The Bag was a gift from Sarah Shoo of the Cultivate and Create podcast.     Vanilla Socks with Scrumptious Purl Self-Striping Yarn.   Not-so-baby Blanket in progress. It's a labor of love!   Ice Shanty by Amy Miller    Astonish Top by Katy Banks.    This episode of Actually Knitting is brought to you by The Sock Ruler.  "The Sock Ruler is an innovative measuring tool for sock knitters. Whether the sock is knit toe up or cuff down the ruler works equally well.  It is constructed of a heavy duty, yet flexible plastic and measures from the inside of the sock, allowing the sock to lie flat and ensure accurate measurements." Visit our website, www.sockruler.com, for more information and don’t forget to use coupon code “palkal2016” for 25% off of a regular sock ruler from now until September 15th. Knitting News, Notes and Events PalKal2016 is Underway!    Rules:  The basic idea is to support a podcaster you listen to or watch by knitting one of their patterns and/or using their yarns for your project. You can also use a project bag or stitch marker by a podcaster! The design, yarn/fiber and/or project bag must be from a knitting/crochet/fiber podcaster. (Not all 3, just one of those to qualify). Spinning also counts, just make sure it’s a finished product. Use the chatter thread for discussion. Make suggestions. There are TONS of podcasts out there and almost no one knows about all of them, so if you know of a podcaster designer/yarnie/bag maker, feel free to share with us! You are encouraged to take advantage of the coupon codes offered by our sponsors, but you are not limited to those podcasters for the KAL. Sponsors and coupon codes are listed in the appropriate threads and will be listed on the podcast as well. Please post finished objects in the non-chatter thread and include a link to the podcaster you are supporting. Enter as many projects as you like! There is no minimum yardage requirement or limit to the projects you can enter. If you use more than one podcaster product/design/bag/etc on one project, you may create multiple entries for that project. For example: Knit the Zigzagular Socks by prairiegirlsusie using yarn by Oh! Loops and use a project bag by thefatsquirrel, you can enter that project into the FO thread 3 separate times, just link to each podcaster seperately in each post. A note about project bags: a project bag may only be entered into the contest one time for an entry. (You can’t just keep using a podcaster project bag over and over and entering the contest that way). The same applies for stitch markers. Wips count! Just finish them between June 15 and September 15, 2016. You must be a member of the Actually Knitting Podcast Group to win. Have fun supporting a podcaster designer or yarnie! Please support as many different podcasts as you can! Please do not chatter in the non-chatter thread. It makes it more difficult to draw a winner! Use the tag PALKAL2016 here on Ravelry and #palkal2016 on Instagram. Feel free to double, triple, quadruple dip! Today I will highlight our Cameo Sponsors who are donating prizes for the KAL. For more information, check out the threads on Ravelry in the Actually Knitting Podcast Group.    Jenn Sheelan Designs and Podcast     Lilliput Yarn     One Twisted Tree/Prairie Girl Danie of the Prairie Girls Knit and Spin Podcast      The Relentless Knitting Podcast     The Twisted Stitches Podcast     Unwind Yarn Company/Dana from the Just One More Row Podcast     I am also highlighting the prizes being offered by these Top Billing Sponsors. These sponsors have donated prizes as well as coupon codes. More information about all of this can be found in the threads on the Ravelry group, but today we will focus on the prizes.    Ancient Threads Farm Etsy Shop and Website/Podcast        A skein of yarn, winner's choice.      Ann of the Carolina Fiber Girls         Copy of the Fletcher's Falling Leaves Sock Pattern       Brenda Castiel Designs        3 Patterns of winners' choice Daniela Richardson from A Coffee Fueled Life         5 Patterns from her Ravelry Store.      Janis Ficker of the Carolina Fiber Girls           Copy of her 10 Day Sweater Pattern     C.C. Almon from the Geeky Girls Knit Podcast         Copy of her ebook, Coffee with C.C.      Jennifer Lassonde of the Down Cellar Studio Podcast         Copy of one of her patterns from her Ravelry Store   Knitting Daddy Greg of the Unraveling Podcast          2 copies of his Scrappy Sock Yarn Preemie Hat   Mary of the Kino Knits Podcast          Copy of her Adrenaline Junkie Sock Pattern    Kristine Beeson of the Yarnings Podcast          Winner's Choice of pattern from her Ravelry Store     Paula of the Knitting Pipeline Podcast          5 patterns from her Ravelry store and one winner will receive a shawl quantity of yarn from Quince           and Co.    Sarah Shoo of Cultivate and Create Podcast          3 patterns from her Ravelry Shop   Susie White of the Prairie Girls Knit and Spin Podcast          Copy of one of her patterns from her Ravelry Shop   Ashley of Twist Fiber Studio and the Twisted Stitcher Podcast           Project bag of winner's choice from her Etsy Shop   Zombody Knits             A project bag from her Etsy Shop   Julia from the Whole Lotta Craft Podcast            Pattern from her Ravelry Shop for one lucky winner!       Angela from the Revelations of a Delusional Knitter Podcast             Winner's choice of a pattern from her Ravelry Store!   Steph from the Happy Buffalo Boutique           A skein of yarn, winner’s choice   Amy from the Stockinette Zombies Podcast           Winner’s choice of pattern from her Ravelry Store, some yarn from her own stash and a project bag     from the SilverShedUSA!   Anne from Wooly Wonka Fiber           As a prize, Anne is offering one lucky listener $30.00 in patterns from her Designer Store on    Ravelry. The winner will be able to pick any combination of individual patterns that suits!   Claire from New Hampshire Knits            2 balls of West Yorkshire Spinners yarn from their Country Bird collection in the Bullfinch and                             Cayenne Pepper color ways (so a patterned ball with a contrasting solid for heels etc).    Jan Hamby of the Twinset Designs Podcast           A Noste-Demi and Noste-Mini        Please check out the threads on Ravelry for photos and more information and remember that all of the Top Billing Sponsors have provided coupon codes as well, which you can also find in the Ravelry group.   Rhinebeck is October 15th and 16th, 2016. Let me know if you plan on attending!   Virtual Knit Night?  If you would like to do a virtual knit night via Google Hangouts?      This Episode of Actually Knitting is brought to you by Eucalan. For over 25 years Eucalan’s simple soak and spin delicate wash has been the preferred choice for your handmade creations. This extraordinary non-toxic solution is formulated without petro chemicals, bleach or optical brighteners making it safe and gentle for everything from baby’s knits and toys to quilts, and even lingerie! Infused with pure beneficial essential oils of either eucalyptus, lavender, grapefruit, jasmine or an unscented version, there’s an option for everyone. Eucalan is like a beauty treatment for natural fabrics and an aromatherapy treat for the user!     Non-Knitting Segments   Love it or Leave it!  Love it: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend on Netflix   Leave it: Sizing Discrepancies in women's clothing.      Other News and Notes Running Updates   I ran my longest distance ever this week! 14 hot, hilly, humid miles!    Book Updates   Finished reading:    The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff   The Sum of All Kisses by Julia Quinn   The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson   The Dinner by Herman Koch   Started Listening to:    Let's Pretend this Never Happened by Jenny Lawson   Started Reading:    In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware   Other Updates My adventures in babysitting went really well! I didn't permanently damage my friend's kids and I also didn't wake them up even though I went in their rooms a million times to make sure they were still breathing.    I'm heading on vacation this week to Jackson Hole, Wyoming!   

Natalie is the author of Queen Sugar, soon to be adapted for television by writer/director Ava DuVernay of “Selma” fame, and co-produced by Oprah Winfrey for OWN, Oprah’s television network. Natalie has an M.A. in Afro-American Studies from UCLA  and is a graduate of Warren Wilson College’s MFA Program for Writers where she was a Holden Minority Scholar. An early version of Queen Sugar won the Hurston Wright College Writer’s Award, was a co-runner-up in the Faulkner Pirate’s Alley Novel-in-Progress competition, and excerpts were published in Cairn and ZYZZYVA. She has had residencies at the Ragdale Foundation where she was awarded the Sylvia Clare Brown fellowship, Virginia Center for the Arts, and Hedgebrook. Her non-fiction work has appeared in The Rumpus.net, Mission at Tenth, and in The Best Women’s Travel Writing Volume 9. She is a former fiction editor at The Cortland Review and is a member of the San Francisco Writers’ Grotto. Natalie grew up in Southern California and lives in San Francisco with her family. Queen Sugar - Now available in Paperback, Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bam! | IndieBound | iTunes . Queen Sugar; A mother-daughter story of reinvention—about an African American woman who unexpectedly inherits a sugarcane farm in Louisiana. Why exactly her late father left her eight hundred acres of prime sugarcane land in Louisiana is as mysterious as it is generous. But for Charley Bordelon, it’s also an opportunity start over: to get away from the smog and sprawl of Los Angeles, and to grow a new life in the coffee-dark soil of the Gulf coast. Accompanied by her eleven-year-old daughter Micah, Charley arrives with high hopes and just in time for growing season. Charley is as unfamiliar with Southern customs as she is with cane farming—which poses serious challenges both on and off the farm, especially when her farm manager leaves without warning. But, rolling up her sleeves and swallowing her pride, Charley finds the help of a colorful cast of characters—blood relatives and townspeople alike—who all become a family to her and Micah. As the cane grows, Charley is tested by a brother who is quickly using up her patience, and it will take all of her heart to keep the sugar growing and her family intact. Queen Sugar is a story of Southern wisdom, unexpected love, and one family flourishing against all odds. Reviews : Baszile is an eloquent and descriptive writer. . . [Queen Sugar] artfully captures the timelessness of the struggle to survive, the virtues of perseverance, and the undying bonds of blood. —Bust Magazine “Queen Sugar is a page-turning, heart-breaking novel of the new south, where the past is never truly past, but the future is a hot, bright promise. This is a story of family and the healing power of our connections—to each other, and to the rich land beneath our feet.” —Tayari Jones, author of Silver Sparrow “In her heartfelt and beautiful debut novel, Natalie Baszile tells a tale of the South that is as deeply rooted in time and place as it is universal. How do we make sense of family? Loss? The legacies passed down to us? These are the questions that Charley, a young widowed mother, grapples with as she tries to save the sugarcane plantation that is her inheritance and which, unbeknownst to her, holds the answers to both her past and her future.” —Ruth Ozeki, author of A Tale for the Time Being “After turning the last page of Queen Sugar, I already miss the gutsy, contemporary African American woman who ditches California and migrates to Louisiana to run her inherited cane farm. Natalie Baszile is a fresh, new voice that resists all Southern stereotypes, and delivers an authentic knock-out read.” —Lalita Tademy, New York Times bestselling author of Cane River and Red River “Natalie Baszile debuts with an irresistible tale of family, community, personal obligation, and personal reinvention. The world is full of things that keep you down and things that lift you up—Queen Sugar is about both and in approximately equal measure. Smart and heart-felt and highly recommended.” —Karen Joy Fowler, New York Times bestselling author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves “Raw with hardship and tender with hope, Queen Sugar digs deep to the core of a courageous young widow’s life as she struggles to keep her farm in Louisiana’s sugarcane country. Natalie Baszile writes with a bold and steady hand.” —Beth Hoffman, New York Times bestselling author of Looking for Me and Saving CeeCee Honeycutt “Queen Sugar is a gorgeous, moving story about what grounds us as brothers and sisters, as mothers and daughters, and all the ways we fight to save each other. Natalie Baszile’s characters put brave roots into inhospitable ground, looking for a place, a person, a community to call home home. I alternately laughed and wept as they failed each other, forgave each other, lost each other, found themselves. It’s a wise, strong book, and I loved it. You will, too.” —Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Gods in Alabama “Natalie Baszile’s Queen Sugar is a sweeping, beautifully wrought, and uniquely American story that brings to vibrant life the little-known world of Louisiana’s sugarcane country. I fell in love with Charley Bordelon—her huge heart, her kindness, her courage, and her resilience. A lyrical and page-turning meditation on second chances, reinvention, family, and race, Queen Sugar casts quite a spell.” —Melanie Gideon, author of The Slippery Year and Wife 22 “Queen Sugar is an accomplished, confident narrative that announces the arrival of a writer to watch.” —Krys Lee, author of Drifting House “Gorgeous . . . an exquisitely written book about the joys and sorrows of family, love, endurance, and hard work. I can’t ask much more of any novel.” —Peter Orner, author of Last Car Over the Sagamore Bridge “Queen Sugar is story of reinvention and reconciliation about an African American woman who unexpectedly inherits a sugarcane farm in Louisiana. It is a remarkable tale of hope, endurance, and love.” —Ann Trice, Garden District Bookshop Thank You for checking out Hollywood Breakthrough Show This podcast main purpose is to serve up positive information. Join us at Hollywood Breakthrough Show, as we interview some of the most talented people in the business, which names you may, or may not know! But you have seen their work! Whether they're well- established veterans of the business, or current up and comers, these are the people who are making a living in Hollywood. Screenwriters, directors, producers and entertainment industry professionals share inside perspective on writing, filmmaking, breaking into Hollywood and navigating SHOW BUSINESS, along with stories of their journey to success! HELP SPREAD THE WORD PLEASE! SCREENWRITERS, DIRECTORS, AUTHORS, we would love to help spread the word about your Film, Book, Crowdfunding, etc., Contact us! (EMAIL: Info@hollywoodbreakthrough.com ) See Videos of all interviews at Hollywood Breakthrough Show Please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Follow us on: Social Media Sites | Twitter @TheBreakThur| Facebook: facebook.com/HollywoodBreakthroughPodcast Subscribe! Or, Please contact us for Interviews or Sponsorship of an episode! Hollywood Breakthrough Show Website (EMAIL: Info@hollywoodbreakthrough.com ) View Apps Sponsor: Press and hold links to visit the page: Hollywood Hero Agent Fenix Hill Pro Scottie The Baby Dino  

Be Frank with Me (William Morrow & Company)Be Frank with Me, with its eccentric characters in self-imposed isolation, their grand but sometimes misunderstood gestures, and idiosyncratic approach to coping with the ordinary world, captures the intensity of growing up just a little bit different than everybody else. Or, in Frank’s case, a lot different from everybody else. Already called “magnificently poignant, funny, and wholly original” (Library Journal), Kirkus summed it up as “the curious case of where’d you go, Salinger.” It’s a spot-on description, as Be Frank with Me has the poignant quirks of Haddon, the effervescent spirit of Semple and, at its center, a Salingeresque reclusive literary legend. That legend is the enigmatic M.M. “Mimi” Banning, holed up in her Bel Air mansion for the quarter-century since her classic but still-best-selling first novel’s publication. Broke after losing her savings in a Ponzi scheme, Mimi now must write her long-awaited second book. To ensure the timely delivery of her long-anticipated manuscript, her New York publisher sends an assistant to monitor her progress. The prickly Mimi outlines the parametes for an acceptable assistant: No Ivy-Leaguers or English majors. Must drive, cook, tidy. Computer whiz. Good with kids. Quiet, discreet, sane.When Alice Whitley arrives at the Banning mansion, she’s put to work right away—as a full-time companion to Mimi’s son, Frank. The kid, Alice discovers, sees world in a very different—but completely fascinating—way. With little to entertain them but the sound of Mimi typing behind closed doors, Alice and her eccentric companion decide to embark on a series of giddy adventures in the greater world of Los Angeles. To occupy her imagination her downtime, Alice becomes consumed with finding out who Frank’s father is, how his gorgeous “piano teacher and itinerant male role model” Xander fits into the Banning family equation—and whether Mimi will ever finish that book.Full of heart and countless “only-in-Hollywood” moments, but with a deep ring of truth, Be Frank with Me is a captivating and unconventional story of an unusual mother and son, and the intrepid young woman who finds herself irresistibly pulled into their unforgettable world.Praise for Be Frank with Me“Johnson’s magnificently poignant, funny, and wholly original debut goes beyond page-turner status. Readers will race to the next sentence. And the next. Her charming, flawed, quietly courageous characters, each wonderfully different, demand a second reading while we impatiently await the author’s second work.” —Library Journal (starred review)“Witty dialogue, irresistible characters, and a touch of mystery make this sweet debut about a quirky Hollywood family an enjoyable page-turner.” —Booklist“The curious incident of where’d you go, Salinger: clever, sweet.”—Kirkus Reviews“What a charmer this book is! From the very first page, I fell hard for Frank, an adorable oddball with anamazing brain, a wardrobe to die for, and a lonely fragility that pierced my heart again and again. When I finished, I wished him and his makeshift, off-beat family well—and immediately began missing him.”—Marisa de los Santos, New York Times-bestselling author of Love Walked In and The Precious One“There’s so much to love about this novel: the hilarious one-liners, the unforgettable characters, the unexpected moments of tenderness and all the funny, sad, poignant twists and turns this story takes. I lost myself in these pages and you will too.”—John Searles, nationally-bestselling author of Help for the Haunted“Beautifully written, brimming with insight, mystery, and benevolent wit, Julia Johnson had me gripped from the first chapter to the final page of Be Frank with Me.”—Julia Sweeney, author, actress, comedienne“Be Frank with Me is complex, nuanced, detailed and profound. In other words, funny, in the best, most resonant way. Read it with both eyes because it will delight both the thinky and the feely parts of your brain.” —Dave Foley, comedian and, technically, an actor“Julia Claiborne Johnson has written an effervescent gem of a novel, expertly balancing on a literary tightrope between lighthearted and heartbreaking. Be Frank with Me is peopled by characters at once utterly unique, and entirely authentic. I may re-read this book just to spend more time with Frank.” —Laura Nicole Diamond, author of Shelter Us“BE FRANK WITH ME is that rare, hits-me-just-right book I am always hoping to find when browsing: Witty, but never cutesy. Deeply felt, but never sentimental. Peopled with deeply flawed, fully realized characters I cared about. It pulled me in so strongly that I found myself reading in that whole body way that is a rare and luminous pleasure after childhood, so immersed that the phone and the dogs and the kids had to work to pull me out. I loved every minute I spent in Julia Claiborne Johnson’s glass house with her cast of dedicated stone-throwers. This one is special—don’t miss it.”—Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times-bestselling author of The Opposite of Everyone“Julia Claiborne Johnson has struck gold in creating Frank Banning—a one-of-a-kind exasperating, witty and endearing nine-year-old genius who functions as the beating heart of this marvelous book.”—Julie Schumacher, author of Dear Committee MembersJulia Claiborne Johnson worked at Mademoiselle and Glamour magazines before marrying and moving to Los Angeles, where she lives with her comedy-writer husband and their two children.

https://fbcdecaturga.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/joshilyn-jackson.mp3 http://fbcdnews.com/2014/06/22/there-is-room-at-the-table-joshilyn-jackson/feed/ 0 Ron Withers no arwithers sermon,sermons,Julie,Pe

On the eve of the paperback release of A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty, we talk to New York Times Bestselling author Joshilyn Jackson about the three powerful voices who narrate this book. Here's a synopsis of the novel from Joshilyn's website: Every fifteen years, trouble comes after the Slocumb women. Now, as their youngest turns fifteen, a long-hidden grave is unearthed in the backyard. Headstrong young Mosey Slocumb is determined to find out who used their yard as a make-shift cemetery, and why. What she learns could cost her family everything.  As forty-five year old Ginny fights to protect Mosey from the truth, she’s thrown back into the arms of the long-lost--and married--love of her life. Between them is Liza, silenced by a stroke, with the answers trapped inside her. To survive Liza's secrets and Mosey's insistent adventures, Ginny must learn to trust the love that braids the strands of their past---and stop at nothing to defend their future. And speaking of voices, Joshilyn has narrated all but one of her audiobooks. Her work in this field has been nominated for the Audie Award, was selected by AudioFile Magazine for their best of the year list, has made the 2012 Audible All-Star list for highest listener ranks/reviews, and garnered a Listen Up Award from Publisher’s Weekly. Publisher's Weekly gave a starred audio review to Joshilyn's narration of another writer's work, Shine Shine Shine by Lydia Netzer. If you want to get Joshilyn's picks for great Southern authors and other reads on her "spectrum of Southern literature", grab a pencil and listen up.

Today on StoryWonk Daily, we have overcome the bubons, and are making up for lost time. Today’s links: Follow @storywonk, @lanidianerich and @paperbullets, and watch for the hashtag #swn11 Add Lani and Alastair on NaNoWriMo.org The wonderful Joshilyn Jackson! Send your questions and comments to podcast@storywonk.com, leave us voicemail on 252-505-WONK, follow us on Twitter, come […]