The Best of Women’s Fiction - Episodes
Looking for the best women’s fiction? The podcast publishes short interviews with bestselling and debut women’s fiction authors. Hosted by Lainey Cameron and Ashley Hasty
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Episode 135: Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger, author of The Diplomat's Wife Series
Award-winning author Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger talks The Diplomat's Wife series. In this gripping World War 2 fiction, we follow the journey of Kitty Larsson, a U.S. senator's daughter whose life takes an unexpected turn when she marries an Austrian diplomat on the cusp of the Anschluss.
Episode 134: Jane Healey, Bestselling author of Historical Fiction
Step back in time with Jane Healey, the Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestselling author of 'The Secret Stealers.'
In her latest historical novel, 'Goodnight From Paris,' we're transported to Nazi-occupied France. Here, an American film star embraces her most dangerous role, weaving a tale of loyalty and resistance, inspired by the true story of real-life Hollywood actress Drue Leyton.
Episode 133: *Special Fall Episode* Exciting 2023 Debuts!
In this special episode of our Fall/Winter season, we're showcasing six exciting women's fiction debuts. Each of our six authors shares insights about their novel, the inspiration behind it, and their best writing advice.
Episode 131: Vanessa Riley, Award-winning author of Historical Fiction
Vanessa Riley is an award-winning author of Island Queen, A Good Morning America Buzz Pick and was also named the 2023 Georgia Author of the Year Awards Literary Fiction Winner for Sister Mother Warrior.
Queen of Exiles is based on the life of an extraordinary Black woman from history: Haiti’s Queen Marie-Louise Coidavid, who escaped a coup in Haiti to establish her own royal court in Italy during the Regency era. There, she became a popular figure in European royal society.
Episode 130: Ann Marie Jackson, author of The Broken Hummingbird
Annie Marie Jackson's debut novel, The Broken Hummingbird was announced as a finalist in the 2023 International Book Awards for Women's Fiction.
Set in the Mexican town of San Miguel de Allende, where Lainey Cameron also resides, this novel wrestles with marital dissolution and cultural dissonance, following a woman’s struggle to truly know her new country and her own heart.
Episode 130: *Special Episode* (June) Hot New Releases
In our last episode of this season, we feature four exciting new novels, all releases from our past guests.
We highlight new historical fiction from Erin Litteken and KD Allbaugh, set in Ukraine and rural Wisconsin. New contemporary fiction, in a poignant sister story from author, Jamie Beck, and a preview of an upcoming thriller from Maggie Giles, releasing in September.
Episode 129: Chanel Cleeton, New York Times Bestselling author of The Cuban Heiress
NYT and USA TODAY bestselling author Chanel Cleeton is the author many superb novels including Next Year in Havana, When We Left Cuba, The Last Train to Key West, and more.
Her latest release, The Cuban Heiress, follows two women in 1934 with secrets. They set sail aboard the Morro Castle—a luxury cruise liner that sailed between New York and Havana.
Episode 127: Micki Berthelot Morency, author of Island Sisters
Micki Berthelot Morency shares the inspiration behind her debut novel, The Island Sisters.
A story about four women from Haiti, St. Thomas, and Guam whose fates are bound together by culture, history, and most importantly, by a deep and irrevocable friendship.
Episode 119: Jennifer Rosner, Award-winning author of The Yellow Bird Sings and Once We Were Home
Jennifer Rosner’s first novel, The Yellow Bird Sings was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award.
Her new release, Once We Were Home is historical fiction based on the true stories of children separated and displaced from their parents, during and after World War II. The novel has been called “moving, subtle, and beautifully told”.
Episode 116: Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The London Séance Society
Sarah Penner is the author of the New York Times bestseller and breakout debut success, The Last Apothecary.
Her new novel, The London Séance Society, tells the tale of two daring women who hunt for truth and justice in the perilous art of conjuring the dead.
Episode 114: Madeline Martin, New York Times and International Bestselling author of The Librarian Spy
Madeline Martin talks to Ashley about her latest historical novel, THE LIBRARIAN SPY, based on the true story of American librarians spying for the American government with little to no training during World War II. We meet Ava, an American librarian at the Library of Congress who travels to Lisbon to gather intelligence and ends up communicating through coded messages with Elaine, A french girl working for the resistance at a printing press.
Episode 112: Jenni L. Walsh, author of The Call of the Wrens
Jenni L. Walsh talks about her latest historical novel, THE CALL OF THE WRENS, a little-known story about a group of women who were assigned to train and deliver carrier pigeons to the front line of World War II. Jenni talks about the difference between writing about real, well-known women in history versus telling true stories through the eyes of fictional characters, why she writes both middle grade and adult novels, and how she first heard about the Women’s Royal Naval Service—the Wrens.
Episode 111: Lauren Belfer, New York Times Bestselling author
New York Times bestselling author and winner of winner of the Washington Post Best Novel and NPR Best Mystery of the Year prizes introduces us to her latest novel.
In Ashton Hall, an American woman and her son unearth the buried secrets and past lives of an English manor house
Episode 107: Penny Haw, author of The Invincible Miss Cust
Penny Haw talks about her debut historical novel, THE INVINCIBLE MISS CUST, inspired by the true story of Aleen Isabel Cust, Britain and Ireland's first female veterinary surgeon. Penny talks about her love of animals and how they inspire her writing, how she first heard about Aleen Cust’s story, and what it was in her own past that led her to write about a veterinary surgeon.
Episode 106: Jeannée Sacken, award-winning author of Behind the Lens and Double Exposure
Jeannée Sacken’s first novel, Behind the Lens won the 2022 American Writing Awards Hawthorne Prize and Book of the Year in fiction, women’s fiction and suspense, in addition to several other awards.
Her new novel, Double Exposure, is also set in Afghanistan featuring Annie Hawkins Greene, a war zone photojournalist.
Episode 105: Erin Litteken, author of The Memory Keeper of Kyiv
Erin Littenken talks about her debut novel, THE MEMORY KEEPER OF KYIV, a dual timeline story that follows Katya’s life beginning in the 1930s during the Holodomor, a man-made famine instigated by Stalin and 70 years later with Katya’s granddaughter facing her own struggles and learning of her grandmother’s past. Erin talks about the journey she took to becoming an author, the familial connection that inspired her to write about Ukraine, and what it was like to publish a book about Ukraine as they experience their current crisis with Russia.
Episode 104: Soraya Lane, bestselling author of historical and contemporary women’s fiction
Soraya Lane, bestselling author of historical and contemporary women’s fiction, introduces us to her new series, The Lost Daughters.
The Italian Daughter, first in the new series, is a dual timeline novel which takes the reader to Italy, both in 1946 and to a beautiful vineyard in present day.
Readers describe the novel as emotional, heart-breaking and “full of hope and love”.
Episode 98: Kerry Chaput, author of Daughter of the King
Kerry Chaput shares how researching her husband’s family history inspired her to write DAUGHTER OF THE KING, which is about the protestant struggle in Catholic France in the 1600s and based on the real story of girls known as a daughter of the king who were taken from poverty, given money and protection and allowed to select their own husbands through an interview process if they would help populate the region of Canada.
Episode 96: Aimie K. Runyan, author of The School for German Brides
Aimie K Runyan chats with Ashley about her latest novel, THE SCHOOL FOR GERMAN BRIDES. We chat about what her research looked like during the pandemic lockdown, a few of her favorite sources, and the inspiration behind the story. Aimie also shares the best advice she has for aspiring authors.
Episode 93: Veena Rao, author of Purple Lotus, winner 2021 American Fiction Awards
Veena Rao shares the inspiration behind her novel, Purple Lotus, the winner in the multi-cultural category of the 2021 American Fiction Awards.
A tale of an immigrant who comes to Atlanta through marriage, Purple Lotus has been described as a "dazzling tale of an Indian-American woman finding her way through the labyrinth of tradition to self-awareness in the modern world"