Friends & Fiction

On this episode, Kristin Harmel & Ron Block welcome #1 bestselling author Brad Meltzer on our first show of the new year to discuss The Viper, the brand-new installment in his thrilling Zig and Nola series which unravels a shocking cold case with a personal—and deadly—twist. Brad Meltzer is the Emmy-nominated, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lightning Rod and twelve other bestselling thrillers. He also writes nonfiction books like The JFK Conspiracy, and the Ordinary People Change the World kids’ book series. One of the co-creators of the TV show, “Jack & Bobby,” Brad is also the host of “Brad Meltzer’s Decoded” on the History Channel and is responsible for helping find the missing 9/11 flag with his show, “Brad Meltzer’s Lost History.” He joins us from his home in Florida to discuss The Viper (William Morrow, January 6th), which S.A. Cosby calls “a pulse pounding adventure that takes you on a journey into the darkest recesses of the human heart.” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For New Year's week, we are re-airing one of our favorite episodes from the vault! Join us as the Fab Four — Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey & Patti Callahan Henry — talk to reigning queen of the modern romance novel, Emily Henry, about her 2024 No.1 NYT-bestselling FUNNY STORY. Emily Henry is the author of four YA novels and, since 2020, she has published six NYT-bestselling rom-coms for adults (including BEACH READ, BOOK LOVERS, and HAPPY PLACE), with five of them being adapted for the big and small screens. In April 2024 Emily joined us to discuss FUNNY STORY, a shimmering, joyful novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common that went on to become a New York Times Notable Book. Now is the perfect time to revisit this chat as Emily comes off a truly incredible year. Emily’s 2025 novel GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL LIFE was a #1 NYT bestseller and was named a Reese’s Book Club pick, and the movie adaptation of her 2021 THE PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION will premiere on Netflix just after the holidays on January 9, 2026. So, as you wait for the ball to drop this New Year’s Eve, tune in for this interview, now with a brand-new intro recorded by Kristy Woodson Harvey. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For Christmas week, we are re-airing one of our favorite episodes from the vault! Join us as the Fab Four — Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey & Patti Callahan Henry — talk to #1 bestselling author Taylor Jenkins Reid about her blockbuster 2021 novel MAILUBU RISING, a NYT-bestseller and Read with Jenna Book Club Pick.Taylor's books have been chosen by Reese’s Book Club, Read with Jenna, Indie Next, Best of Amazon, and Book of the Month. Taylor is the author of nine novels, including DAISY JONES AND THE SIX, which was adapted by Hello Sunshine as a limited series for Amazon and has sold more than 2-million copies. In August 2021, Taylor joined us to discuss MAILUBU RISING. Now is the perfect time to revisit this episode as Taylor had quite the year in 2025 including gracing the cover of TIME Magazine. Her 2025 #1 NYT-bestselling novel, ATMOSPHERE, was a GMA Book Club pick, dominated bestseller lists for weeks on end, and now tops loads of year-end best-of lists, including being named the Target Book of the Year and Audible’s Audiobook of the Year. So, as you wait for Santa to come down the chimney, tune in for this interview, now with a brand-new intro recorded by Kristin Harmel. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews & Ron Block welcome #1 New York Times bestselling author, Jacquelyn Mitchard, to discuss The Birdwatcher, her page-turning drama that explores the beauty of female friendship; the relationship between money, power, and sex; and the very human desire to protect the ones we love most. Jacquelyn Mitchard is the award-winning, NYT-bestselling author of twelve novels for adults, seven novels for teenagers, and five children's books. These include The Deep End of the Ocean, the inaugural selection of the Oprah Winfrey Book Club with more than 3-million copies in print in 34 languages. She is also a professor of creative writing whose short stories, articles, essays, and book reviews have been widely published. A native of Chicago, she joins us from her home on Cape Cod to discuss her new novel, The Birdwatcher, which was named a Zibby's Most Anticipated Book of Fall 2025 and which Lisa Genova calls, “a suspenseful, twisty, and page-turning drama.” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews & Patti Callahan Henry welcome New York Times bestselling author, Ace Atkins, to discuss his rollicking comedic thriller, Everybody Wants to Rule the World, set in 1985 in which a suburban teen suspects his mom’s new boyfriend is the ultimate bad guy—a KGB agent. Ace Atkins is an award-winning, NYT-bestselling author of more than thirty novels and numerous short stories and, in 2011, was tapped by the estate of Robert B. Parker to continue his beloved Spenser series. A former college football player at Auburn University (where he was part of the undefeated 1993 team, appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated) and a former crime reporter at The Tampa Tribune, Ace is a recipient of the Richard Wright Literary Excellence Award and the Harper Lee Award, and is a member of the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame. He joins us from his home in Oxford, Mississippi to discuss Everybody Wants to Rule the World which his publisher calls “Elmore Leonard meets Robert Ludlum,” and which bestselling author Robert Crais describes as “unlike anything the great Ace Atkins has written before, and an absolute blast!” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.