What is the title of your latest release?BEES IN JUNE What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?For a one floor ride: Kenny Loggins’ song, Return to Pooh Corner, but with Appalachian witches. For a multi-floor ride: Set against the hopeful backdrop of the first moon landing in 1969, a feat many said was impossible, Rennie Hendricks dreams of something she thinks is impossible, a happy and peaceful life. Aided by a hive of sentient bees brought from the Appalachian Mountains by her maybe-witch aunt Eugenia, Rennie reconnects with the magic of her childhood and finds that the impossible can sometimes happen. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?My first book, THE EMPRESS OF COOKE COUNTY, was set in the fictional town of Spark, Tennessee. I still had more stories to explore there, so I set Bees in June in the same town, three years later. I took minor characters from the first book and made them the main characters of BEES IN JUNE. Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?Absolutely! She is kind and resilient, loves dogs and books, and is a fabulous cook. I’d love to have a cup of…

What is the title of your latest release?WHATEVER HAPPENED TO LORI LOVELY? What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?Based on a true story: a beautiful young movie star of Hollywood’s Golden Age gives up her bright career to become a cloistered nun. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I followed the lives of three famous, real-life actresses: humble beginnings in North Carolina, theater school in London, the pageantry of Hollywood, filming in Rome, and a cloistered abbey in Connecticut. I went to all these places while researching and writing Lori Lovely’s story. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Absolutely! In fact, the book is dedicated to one of Lori Lovely’s real-life inspirations Mother Dolores Hart who I have the honor of my life to call a spiritual guide and a friend. We have been in communication for nearly a decade. I joke that I want to be Lori Lovely when I grow up. She’s someone I greatly admire and want to have a cup of tea with… talking all things. I hope readers feel similarly. What are three words that describe your hero?Gracious. Courageous. Lovely. What’s something you learned while writing…

Book Title: VIANNECharacter Name: Right now, it’s Vianne Rochas. Who knows what it will be tomorrow? How would you describe your family or your childhood?I didn’t have a childhood. My early years were spent travelling with my mother, moving from place to place, hiding our tracks, learning the skills we needed to survive, surviving on as little as possible. Life on the road makes a child grow up very fast. It has to. The few toys I had were left behind when I got too attached to them. She said: “too much baggage slows you down.” I sometimes wondered, if that was the case, whether some day, she would leave me behind. Some days, I even wanted her to. What was your greatest talent?I used to think it was my ability to see into other people; to read their moods and lift their thoughts and the burdens they are carrying. But now I have other, less dangerous skills. I make a mean chocolate truffle. Significant other?All others are significant. Biggest challenge in relationships?I don’t really have intimate relationships. I take what I need and move on. I’ve never been allowed to believe that any connection I make can last. But…

In this week’s Jen’s Jewels, I’m chatting with bestselling author Liza Palmer about her captivating new novel, YOUNG FOOLS—a heartfelt love letter to the messy, beautiful, and defining nature of female friendships. Set against the backdrop of an immersive writing conference brimming with creative energy, the story follows Helen and Cherry through ambition, vulnerability, and the deep bonds that shape who we are. From the electric tension between literary and genre fiction to moments that tug at the heartstrings, Liza takes us inside her creative process with warmth, wit, and honesty. Read on for our full conversation and a behind-the-scenes look at the inspiration, themes, and favorite scenes that bring Young Fools to life. Jen: What sparked the idea for this story? Was there a real-life friendship or writing experience that inspired Helen and Cherry’s journey?Liza: The spark of this book started with thinking about things that felt singular to women. My last book, FAMILY RESERVATIONS, focused on the dynamics unique to mothers, daughters and sisters, so for the follow up I wanted to write a love letter to the abiding nature of female friendships. Messy, beautiful and heartbreakingly real, our friendships define the eras of our life, and I…

What is the title of your latest release?PLEASE DON’T LIE What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?PLEASE DON’T LIE is a twisty, stylish thriller set in the rugged and beautiful Adirondack Mountains. The novel follows Hayley Stone, a young woman hoping to rebuild her life after a series of devastating losses. Newly married, she moves with her husband to a remote mountain town where she’s determined to leave her past behind. But as secrets begin to surface—hers, her husband’s, and those of her new community—Hayley discovers that starting over isn’t as simple as she hoped. A taut exploration of betrayal and survival, PLEASE DON’T LIE unravels the devastating truths we hide from others—and ourselves—when everything is at stake. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?We were looking for a setting that felt rich with atmosphere. Anne has lived in the Berkshires, Christina has a home in Maine, and we’ve both spent a lot of time in upstate New York. So when we imagined Crystal River, the fictional town at the center of Please Don’t Lie, we were able to draw on real places while inventing freely. It’s a town simmering with secrets and claustrophobic…

This week on Jen’s Jewels, I couldn’t be more excited to catch up with USA Today bestselling author Hank Phillippi Ryan. Her brand-new thriller, ALL THIS COULD BE YOURS, takes readers on a wild ride through the glitz and chaos of a national book tour that quickly turns into a deadly game of cat and mouse. With her signature mix of suspense, heart, and razor-sharp insight, Hank gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the inspiration for the story, the high stakes facing her heroine, and why this novel is a love letter to bookstores, libraries, and readers everywhere. Jen: What first sparked the idea for ALL THIS COULD BE YOURS? Was there a particular moment or “what if” question that set this story in motion?Hank: Yes, absolutely, and I remember it perfectly. I was signing books at the wonderful Poisoned Pen Bookstore, and I inscribed a book to a reader which said: “So wonderful to see you in Scottsdale!” And then I put the date. And as I handed the book to the reader, I thought to myself, gosh, that is a perfect alibi! I’ve just written, essentially, exactly where I am, and where this other person is, and exactly…

Playlists come to me super intuitively as I ideate and write. I love music and my taste is wide, though not purposefully eclectic… I’m not a snob; I’m just as likely to listen to Chopin as Charli XCX. And as a synesthete, I have a bit of crossed wiring that causes me to “see” most songs, so part of the attraction is conveying the right aural and visual feel, alongside the affective or thematic one! OF FLINT AND FORTUNE is like a Merchant Ivory romance mixed with a Sherlock Holmes story (the more unhinged ones Arthur Conan Doyle wrote before 1895) mixed with a ghost story (think M. R. James or Guillermo del Toro). Impeccable vibes that led to a satisfying playlist situation. Here are five songs that jumped out at me: Immortal—Eli Brown A broody, wonderful house song that I first heard because Benny Benassi did a set in Venice on a boat during the first round of pandemic lockdowns, and I watched it on YouTube. (Venice and Benny Benassi are two of my favorite Italian things.) The lyrics ask, “I keep dreaming; why can’t we live forever?” and if you’ve been reading my series Threads of Wyrd since…

What is the title of your latest release?KINGDOM OF TOMORROW, tale 1 in the Book of Arden series What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?In a kingdom where night turns people into monsters, a sunshine girl prone to anxiety attacks is drafted to train as a royal warrior. She’s recruited into a secret society that meets in an invisible library filled with prophetic books, and her only ally is an enigmatic high prince tasked with training her, who glares like it’s his love language. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?That is the detail I got first. I saw this image flash in my head—two worlds, instantly fused together. One layered over the other like a transparent image altering everything beneath it. A massive rock wall filled the cracks between them. In that moment, the realms exchanged half of everything. We acquired some of their godly statues, and they acquired some of ours. Their buildings made of crystal and precious stones suddenly fused with our buildings made from brick or concrete, becoming half and half. Waters mixed and soils combined, which complicated survival resources. From there, I had to know how and why it…

What is the title of your latest release?HONEYEATER What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?A subtropical haunting. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I’d been wanting to tell a story set in a (fictionalized, renamed) version of my city — subtropical, green, heavy with flowers and the memories of floods. I’d had an early half-drafted short story with two of the characters in it, so when I started building Honeyeater, I really leaned into that. And then the lockdowns were happening, so I spent a lot of time wandering my suburb, looking for elements that felt they could be mythic, or enchanted. Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?There are more-or-less three protagonists / point-of-view characters: Charlie, Grace, and the taxi driver’s daughter. I suspect they all think it would be boring to hang out with them, for very different reasons. But in fact, it might get a bit too exciting — they are variously magnets for trouble, have a compass for it, or are trouble incarnate. What are three words that describe your protagonist?The three: Self-effacing, stubborn, tall. Deteriorating, hungry, paranoid. Curious, determined, unsupervised. What’s something you learned while writing…

Book Title: A SEA VIEW CHRISTMASCharacter Name: Sarah Summers How would you describe your family or your childhood?My childhood with my four sisters was idyllic—until one of my sisters ran off with a scoundrel and my father died, leading to financial ruin and the loss of our home. What was your greatest talent?I am what is sometimes called (and not always kindly) a “managing woman.” I am the capable, practical, responsible sister who tries to hold what is left of our family together. Significant other?I was engaged once, but the man died before we could wed. Now, I consider myself a spinster, although I can’t seem to stop thinking about a certain handsome Scotsman…. Biggest challenge in relationships?I used to say, “I have had one great love in my life and don’t expect to have another.” Now I regret saying that so often, and I regret discouraging the attentions of another worthy man. Where do you live?After losing our family home, we moved into our only remaining property—a house called Sea View in Sidmouth, on the south Devonshire coast. To make ends meet, we opened it as a guest house. I have been doing everything in my power to assure…