Friends and Fiction
Join the five of us for tonight's episode as we tackle the subject of failure. What obstacles have we overcome in our writing career? How have we handled rejection? It's more clear now than ever that life is all about learning how to roll with the punches. So, we will gather together and share tales from our own career paths about learning to rise above.
Bookseller of the Week
PAGE AND PALETTE
This week's featured bookseller is PAGE AND PALETTE in Fairhope, Alabama. This third-generation family-owned bookstore has been a Fairhope landmark for more than 40 years. Proudly seated in the heart of the downtown community, they host a range of author events from local, up-and-coming names to blockbuster celebrities. In addition to books, they also carry greeting cards, journals, and a variety of merchandise. All of this over a cup of locally roasted coffee in Latte Da or a craft cocktail with a literary twist in The Book Cellar, it's no wonder some of their customers never leave the store. SHOP NOW!
PATTI CALLAHAN is looking forward to hosting tonight's episode of Friends & Fiction where she will be asking the Fab Five not only about success, but failure. She will also be the host of this weekend's Sunday Bonus Episode on August 30th with author Rachel McMillan.
Meet Rachel McMillan!
SUNDAY BONUS EPISODE August 30th!
We have a bonus episode this week! Join us on Sunday August 30th at 5:00pm Eastern as we chat with Rachel McMillan. Rachel's latest work of historical fiction, THE LONDON RESTORATION, was just released on August 18th. A keen history enthusiast and lifelong bibliophile, Rachel McMillan is the author of the Herringford and Watts mysteries, the Three Quarter Time series of contemporary romances set in opulent Vienna, and the Van Buren and DeLuca mysteries set in 1930's Boston. She also recently published her first work of non-fiction, a travel guide/memoir DREAM, PALN, GO
Up Close with Patti Callahan Henry
Why I Write.
I am often asked Why do you write? Why do you do this?” Usually someone asks when I miss a fun event or I am exhausted on the road. Since our subject this week is perseverance, I thought I’d talk about the why of this crazy life.
A belief in this power to change us and to open us to the world has been a touchstone of my life and my work. I take my questions, my hopelessness, my wonderings and even my fascination with the world, to the page. It is there that I have the power to make a choice, to change an outcome, to project forward to what might happen next.
There are other reasons, too, of course. I write because I don’t know many other ways to process the world around me. I write because, since childhood, story has been both my sustenance and also my support.
I write because it connects me to the human condition. I write because I don’t know what I believe or understand until I write it down. I write because there’s nothing else I do as well or as frequently or with as much desire. I write because the stories inside have to go somewhere, so why not on paper? I write because I’m addicted to the rare moment when it finally works and comes together like magic. I write to bypass despair.
I take my wondering to the page — many of my novels begin with the question, “Well, how did that happen?”. For example, that’s what I wanted to know about C. S. Lewis and Joy Davidman. How improbable they were — a married woman from upstate New York with two young children and a top Oxford University scholar in early 1950. When I began to write the novel Becoming Mrs Lewis: The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C. S. Lewis, I took that question and began to write from Joy’s point of view. I wanted to write it from the key of empathy, to tell the story from the seat of her heart. I deeply desired for us to meet C. S. Lewis’s wife on her own terms, no longer listening to what others say about her, but instead to hear from her.
Why we write might be as mysterious as the origins of the Universe, but we do it because we must! As I’ve often heard, “Writing might not be a great way to make a living, but it is a great way to make a life.” And what a life of wonder it is.
Upcoming Episodes
AUG 30—Sunday Bonus Episode with Rachel Macmillan
SEPT 2—Etaf Rum
SEPT 9—Emily Giffin
SEPT 16—Signe Pike
SEPT 23—Friends & Fiction Authors
SEPT 27—Sunday Bonus Episode with Christina Lauren
SEPT 30—Kathy Reichs
OCT 7—Lian Dolan
OCT 14—Charlaine Harris
OCT 21—Elizabeth Berg
Join the F&F Authors This Week
WED AUG 26, 5pm—KRISTY, MARY ALICE & PATTI virtual event with Booktowne, Manasquan NJ
THURS AUG 27, 6:30pm—MARY ALICE Interview with NextTribe
FRI AUG 28, 3pm—MARY ALICE virtual event with Florida Library Association
SUN AUG 30, 3pm—KRISTIN Southern Lit Alliance virtual event via Zoom and Facebook Live
News from the F&F Official Book Club
The September pick for the FRIENDS AND FICTION Official Book Club is On Ocean Boulevard by Mary Alice Monroe! Mark your calendars for Monday, September 14th when the club will host Mary Alice for a lively discussion.
If you missed any episodes, you can catch up HERE!