Tag Archives: family

Episode 98: Interview with Madeline Kay Sneed

July 5, 2022Author Interview#comingout, #madelinesneed #LGBTQ, #thegoldenseason, Contemporary Fiction, faith, family, Football, graydon house, Harlequin, Queer, rural fiction, southern fiction, Texas, West Texastopshelfatmerricklibrary

“Madeline Kay Sneed has written a Friday Night Lights for a new generation. The Golden Season is a heartfelt story of finding yourself, coming out, and coming home… A tender, bighearted exploration of family, first love, and faith, with a gorgeously evoked west Texas landscape as backdrop.” —Sarah McCraw Crow, author of The Wrong Kind of Woman. An absolutely spot-on review for this remarkable debut, a novel about love, acceptance, and the expansion of your heart.

For this episode, debut author Madeline Kay Sneed chatted with me about writing a debut novel, setting the novel in West Texas and signature cocktails. Madeline even offers to teach me how to say, “y’all” like a true Texan. A must listen, thank you SO much Madeline!

Madeline Kay Sneed recommends: Vigil Harbor by Julia Glass; The Burning Season by Allison Wisdom

Follow Madeline on Twitter: @madelinesneed and on Instagram @madzsneed

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Episode 78: Interview with Ethan Joella, A LITTLE HOPE

December 20, 2021Author InterviewA Little Hope, Author Interview, Book Discussion, book discussions, book of the month, botm, debut, debut author, Ethan Joella, family, family drama, Friday Reads, grief, literary fiction, middle chil, Read With Jenna, Readers Advisory, Scribner, Simon and Schuster, small town life, Staff Picktopshelfatmerricklibrary

“It’s all here—community, family and friendship, how we love, grieve…a story of ordinary moments that connect and eventually transform us in extraordinary ways.”
—Adriana Trigiani, bestselling author of Lucia, Lucia and The Shoemaker’s Wife

I mean that quote right there says it all about A LITTLE HOPE by Ethan Joella. It was an absolute delight to sit down with him to talk about this remarkable gem of a book. A LITTLE HOPE gives us hope and it’s exactly what I needed as an end of year read. The book is book club gold. Ethan Joella also gives listeners some holiday cheer in this episode – to find out what those gifts are, you’ll have to listen to find out. It may involve actress Jean Smart… Thank you Ethan for joining me!

Ethan Joella recommends Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson.

You can follow Ethan Joella @joellawriting on Instagram and Twitter!

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E74: Interview with Naomi Krupitsky

November 16, 2021Author InterviewAuthor Interview, Book Discussion, book discussions, bqe, brooklyn, debut, debut author, family, Friday Reads, G P Putnam & Sons, historical fiction, mafia, Naomi Krupitsky, penguin random house, Readers Advisory, Staff Pick, The Familytopshelfatmerricklibrary

They say you can’t go home again but I sure did, right back to Brooklyn, NY with author Naomi Krupitsky’s debut novel The Family. Set in early 20th century Brooklyn, The Family is a captivating debut novel and coming-of-age story about the tangled fates of two best friends, Sophia and Antonia, who are both daughters of the Italian mafia. My copy of The Family is covered in sticky notes, Krupitsky’s prose is beautiful, and I can’t wait for you to read it. Thank you so much for joining me Naomi!

The Family is a November 2021 Read With Jenna Pick and a NYT Bestseller!

Naomi recommends: Matrix by Lauren Groff; and Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim

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