Beyond the Next Chapter with Whitney Clark

A group of college friends lose one member of the group to suicide just before graduation in 1995. The loss resonates and shapes their relationships for decades in this funny and moving novel by Steven Rowley. Steven returns to the podcast to talk about his fantastic 2023 release, a story that is personal to the author in many ways, “there’s so much story in these middle years,” he says of the characters who align with his own path.  He talks with Olivia about the book’s success, the screen adaptations for his work that are awaiting the end of the writers’ strike, and his own marriage. The book is available in hardcover from GP Putnam & Sons, and the author narrates the audiobook. For more visit his website This is the last episode of the Olivia’s Book Club podcast. Keep up with the group on Facebook, and stay connected with Olivia on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube  

Riley Sager is back and this creepy, twisty thriller takes readers on a tense ride to reveal what really happened the night of the Hope family murders, and why then 17-year-old Lenora was THE ONLY ONE LEFT. Sager returns to the podcast for the third time to talk about his latest work, his book tour, and the plans for upcoming adaptation of THE HOUSE ACROSS THE LAKE for Netflix. For more on the author visit his website. Riley Sager will be at The Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale on June 19th, information is here. 

Ashley Audrain, the author of the 2021 powerhouse women’s fiction debut, THE PUSH, returns to the podcast to talk with Olivia about her new novel, THE WHISPERS. THE WHISPERS takes us to an affluent street where we experience life, frustration, marriage concerns, parenting failures, heartbreaks, tragedies, embarrassment, suspicions, all through the eyes (and whispers) of four women: Whitney, Blair, Rebecca and Mara. Ashley says her experience during the restrictions of the pandemic helped to shape the novel. “Your world became so small, your world was only as big as what you could see outside your front window, which was your neighbor and your neighboring houses. I think we all became a little more intimate and closer with the people we lived in proximity with, that was very much on my mind when I was writing the characters of this book and their settings on the street” she says. THE WHISPERS is out now from Pamela Dorman/Viking and is also available in audio. For more on the author visit her website. Click here to revisit Olivia and Ashley’s conversation about THE PUSH.

Happiness Project Founder and New York Times bestselling author Gretchen Rubin returns to the podcast to talk with Olivia about her new  book, LIFE IN FIVE SENSES, another useful tool for the toolkit of anyone  who shares her insatiable desire to understand human nature and find  ways to live a happier life. For this book Gretchen embarks on an experiment to see how a focus  on her senses might change her perspective and discovered she found  greater calm, joy, and connection to the people and places surrounding  her. Gretchen shares surprising discoveries from daily visits the New  York Metropolitan Museum of Art and which life experience she’d like a  do-over for, after practicing these methods to be more in her body and  in the moment. LIFE IN FIVE SENSES is available in hardcover from Crown Publishing and  is also available in audio format, read by the author. Want to better tap into your five senses? Check out the Happier With  Gretchen Rubin podcast.

“A plane crashes into the ocean, sinks with people trapped inside,” T.J. Newman says in describing the premise of this summer’s new novel, DROWNING. The writer returns to the podcast to talk with Olivia about battling the pressures of following up her debut bestseller, and her gratitude for the opportunity to live her dream as a full-time writer. A former bookseller and flight attendant, Newman’s commercial airline centered thrillers sparked bidding wars in publishing and in Hollywood. This time around, deadline pressures were as intense as the burden of expectation, but Newman said she loved writing this intensely emotional book: “At its core, this story would not work if it were not a story of grief and loss and hope and survival and a family coming together” she says.  DROWNING is published by Avid Reader Press, available for pre-order before its May 30, 2023 release. Newman will be signing books at Changing Hands Bookstore, where she used to work, on Monday May 29, 2023. She’ll be at The Poisoned Pen Bookstore the following night. For more on TJ Newman, and to follow the latest developments as both her books head to the big screen, visit her website.

Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, the besties and writing duo who make readers’ smiles and hearts grow with every book published under the pen name Christina Lauren, return to the podcast to talk with Olivia about this summer’s release. THE TRUE LOVE EXPERIMENT is a stand alone novel focused on “Fizzy” aka Felicity Chen, who readers first met in their instant bestseller THE SOULMATE EQUATION. “No two people complete each other, it is who is perfect for our heroine or our hero,” says Christina, and in this book it’s the divorced dad/documentary producer Conner who is clearly meant for Fizzy. The way the relationship unfolds slowly, Lauren explains, is what makes it good. “What more fun can you imagine than taking that person who thinks she knows everything about love and showing her that maybe that’s not actually true… they really became friends,” she says. THE TRUE LOVE EXPERIMENT is out May 16, 2023 from Gallery Books. For more on the writers and their book tour, visit https://christinalaurenbooks.com/

A Mardi Gras bachelorette party leads to a chance encounter for bridesmaid Serena Khan that leads her considering blowing up the life she’s carefully built just weeks before her thirtieth birthday. As if that’s not challenging enough, she’ll need to get it back together (or at least look together) before she’s featured in a Life at 30 profile she’s been anticipating since graduation, Neely Tubati Alexander joins the podcast to talk about her debut novel, LOVE BUZZ. She chats with Olivia about her favorite parts of the writing process, her approach to inclusion and representation in her work, and what it all has to do with Nirvana. LOVE BUZZ is out in paperback and audio on May 2, 2023 from Harper Perennial. For more on the author, who has a contract for two more novels currently in the works, visit www.neelytubatialexander.com Neely will celebrate her book’s launch locally at Changing Hands Bookstore in Phoenix on Friday May 12.

“He’s driving across America, running from the mob, the feds, the cops, a whole bunch of people just to try to find a place to be and exist,” says Don Winslow of where readers find the character of Danny Ryan in his new book, CITY OF DREAMS. Don returns to the podcast to talk with Olivia about the second novel in the crime trilogy that began with CITY ON FIRE.  Winslow shares his advice for aspiring writers, and recollections of his stranger than fiction life prior to becoming a bestselling writer of crime fiction. CITY OF DREAMS is available in hardcover from William Morrow and in audio from HarperAudio. For more on his work, visit https://www.donwinslow.com/

Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist Rebecca Makkai joins the podcast to discuss her novel, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU. The book follows film professor and podcaster Bodie Kane’s return to her alma mater to teach a two-week course. The environment and her students’ interest in producing a true crime podcast about the murder of her former roommate resurrect strong feelings, questions and concerns for Bodie.  Rebecca tells Olivia about making changes to the character of Bodie, her interest in the obsession with true crime, the emotional moments that arise on the book tour when readers discuss her highly acclaimed book, THE GREAT BELIEVERS, and her SubMakk substack. She also shares her tribute to her late father, the 84 Books Project. I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU is available in hardcover from Viking and audio from Penguin Audio. For more on the author visit https://rebeccamakkai.com/

Larry Loftis writers non-fiction thrillers. Not a genre Olivia was familiar with before reading his 2023 book THE WATCHMAKER’S DAUGHTER, Larry joined the podcast to talk about his approach to telling true stories that read like fiction. “I like thrillers, that’s what’s fun for me to read, turning the page, getting your heart rate going, so I just merged the two genres.” Larry spends at least a year on research before beginning to write his books- and telling Corrie Ten Boom’s story was no different. Once he completes his extensive research, he exercises his creativity in the formatting and pacing of the story. He takes no creative license with the details: “I can’t make anything up. What I can do is decide when chapters end, that’s up to me. When there's a dead body, a gun, a briefcase stolen… then, I can end the chapter there. The reader says, ‘wait, wait, what happened? That's what a thriller is.” Larry Loftis is the author of: THE PRINCESS SPY, CODE NAME: LISE, INTO THE LION’S MOUTH, and 2023’s THE WATCHMAKER’S DAUGHTER, published by William Morrow and is also available as an audiobook from Harper Audio.

Vanessa Blair is most definitely not living her dream life. She’s working as a telemarketer for a judgmental tyrant who wants her out because of her RBF. Her facial expression aside, she’s done everything expected of the employees and then some (hello, office Olympics?) For fans of movies like Office Space and the classic 9-5, Anastasia Ryan’s debut novel YOU SHOULD SMILE MORE is laugh out loud funny and disturbingly relatable to most anyone who has worked in a company claiming to embrace a meaningful corporate culture. When Vanessa and her peers turn her termination into a challenge, they learn from the tenets of THE ART OF WAR, realize that friendships were the true perk of the job, and find a way to a happier ending that can incorporate gainful employment, kittens, and maybe even love. Anastasia talks to Olivia about the jobs and interviews that inspired her story, her own history as a foster mom to kittens, and why being an introvert feels like an obstacle to selling books!  For more on the author visit  https://anastasiaryan.com/ Follow her on IG, TikTok and Twitter: @byanastasiaryan YOU SHOULD SMILE MORE is available in paperback and for e-readers from Sourcebooks.

For attorney turned novelist William Landay, the justice system is a complex beast, and the stories worth telling don’t often resolve simply. The intense emotion of uncertainty of what to believe is what propelled the narrative of William Landay’s 2012 bestselling novel DEFENDING JACOB, recently adapted as a limited series for Apple TV+.  More than ten years later, Landay is back with a new family drama that also involves the courtroom. ALL THAT IS MINE I CARRY WITH ME begins with the disappearance of a suburban mother of three, Miranda Larkin, spouse of a prominent criminal defense attorney. The investigation, fears, suspicions, and absence of the matriarch and questions of the father’s involvement fuel the moving story that spans decades, grappling with the uncertainty of never knowing what to truly believe. “It is human beings in a jury box, human beings who are judges and lawyers, and mistakes are made. So I wanted to capture some of that uncertainty – which is a difficult thing, when working toward a conclusion is the whole heart of the story,” Landay says as he joins Olivia on the podcast. He shares the journey over the years to write his fourth novel, and what advice he has for other writers who sometimes find the craft full of challenges. ALL THAT IS MINE I CARRY WITH ME published in hardcover by Bantam Books, and is available in audio. For more on the author, visit www.williamlanday.com

Sarah joins the podcast to discuss her second novel, THE LONDON SEANCE SOCIETY. Book number two comes just two years after her instant New York Times #1 bestseller, THE LOST APOTHECARY. That literary tsunami-style splash was made on the heels of leaving a long, successful career working in finance. Yes, finance! Sarah talks with Olivia about her past career and the perk of traveling regularly to London, where she says, “she felt like I’d lived a previous life there. I felt so enchanted by the old brick alleyways... really enamored of it all. I knew I wanted to set my first book there and ended up setting THE LONDON SEANCE SOCIETY there as well.” Sarah talks about researching her Victorian-era novel, writing strong female characters like Lenna and Vaudeline, and her own adventure gaining perspective of a séance, digging deeper into what grieving people are seeking when they desire connection with those who have passed, and how those emotions can make us vulnerable. THE LONDON SEANCE SOCIETY is released March 7, 2023 by Park Row Books. For more on the author visit sarahpenner.com Also mentioned in this podcast: HESTER by Laurie Lico Albanese. To hear Olivia’s previous conversation with Laurie about this book, listen to this podcast episode from October 20, 2022.

“When I tell you I’m living the dream Olivia, I’m living the dream!” Wanda Morris returns to the podcast to talk about her second novel, ANYWHERE YOU RUN, published by William Morrow in October, a follow up to her acclaimed debut, ALL HER LITTLE SECRETS. Wanda’s novel is what she calls a “coming of age story, with a few dead bodies thrown in,” is set in Jackson, Mississippi in 1964, focusing on sisters Marigold and Violet and how their lives change when they each leave the only home they’ve ever known, to save their own futures. ANYWHERE YOU RUN is available in hardcover from William Morrow, and in audio from HarperAudio. For more on the author visit https://wandamorriswrites.com/ Wanda will be part of the Brandeis Books & Author event in Phoenix on March 13. For ticket info: https://www.brandeisphoenix.org/2023ba.html

Screenwriter Rachel Koller Croft’s debut novel STONE COLD FOX is a deliciously wicked thriller about a gorgeous woman who has no intention of letting anyone or anything (even her own truth) get in the way of the way of a ring on her finger and millions in the bank. Rachel joins the podcast to talk to Olivia about the story, the journey to get a publisher to say yes, and which character in the book is loosely inspired by someone in her life. STONE COLD FOX is out February 14, 2023 in hardcover from Berkley, and the audiobook is Penguin Random House audio, read by Carlotta Brentan. Rachel’s book tour includes dates in Chicago, California, New York and Arizona. Visit https://www.rachelkollercroft.com/ for details, or catch her in person with Olivia for her book event at The Poisoned Pen Bookstore on Thursday March2, 2023 at 7pm. https://calendar.time.ly/9plshfqx/event/75299678/20230302190000

There aren’t many people around who read more than Barbara VanDenburgh, the former Arizona Republic writer turned USA Today Books Editor. When she’s not reading or writing about books, she’s talking about them, as host of the First Draft Book Club at Changing Hands Bookstore in Phoenix. Barbara joined the podcast to share some of the early 2023 books she’s most excited about, including the current pick for her book club: NIGHT WHEREVER WE GO, Tracey Rose Peyton LIFE ON DELAY: MAKING PEACE WITH A STUTTER, John Hendrickson VICTORY CITY, Salman Rushdie THE CLIMATE BOOK: THE FACTS AND THE SOLUTIONS, Greta Thunberg HOW TO SELL A HAUNTED HOUSE, Grady Hendrix NEVER NEVER, Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher OSCAR WARS: A HISTORY OF THE OSCARS IN GOLD, SWEAT AND TEARS, Michael Schulman IMMORTALITY A LOVE STORY, Dana Schwartz LOVE PAMELA, Pamela Anderson FINDING ME, Viola Davis Books also mentioned in this episode: FAIRY TALE, Stephen King THE GLASS CASTLE and HANG THE MOON, Jeannette Walls To follow Barbara’s work, visit: https://www.usatoday.com/staff/2646127001/barbara-vandenburgh/ Join First Draft Book Club: https://firstdraftbookbar.com/book-club 

When a misunderstanding at a Panera results in an offer that’s impossible to refuse, Elle Cosimano’s title character springs to life for readers who can’t help but root for her heroine to find love, money, and kick a lot of butt along the way. Elle returns to the podcast to talk to Olivia about the third book in her series, FINLAY DONOVAN JUMPS THE GUN. This time we see Finlay and her bestie/nanny/accountant, Vero, head off to a citizen’s police academy that puts her right in the focus of the police, for better or worse. The author says the situation was inspired by a real-life writer’s academy she took part in, which provides a safe space to ask questions that might otherwise make you look like an aspiring serial killer. “My google search probably has me on several very scary watchlists… but the writer’s police academy was great for those questions that would be frowned upon for asking anywhere else!” FINLAY DONOVAN JUMPS THE GUN is available from Minotaur Books on January 31, 2023, and as an audiobook from Macmillan Audio. For more on the author, visit www.ellecosimano.com

Dani Shapiro is the author of eleven books, and the host and creator of the hit podcast Family Secrets. She joined the podcast to talk with Olivia about her most recent novel, SIGNAL FIRES, her first work of fiction in thirteen years. SIGNAL FIRES was named a best book of 2022 by numerous publications, including Time Magazine, and The Washington Post. Dani tells Olivia about how the idea for SIGNAL FIRES first struck her years ago, and that she felt only recently capable of crafting the moving story in part due to her life experience in recent years, specifically the revelations about her own family she shared in her bestselling memoir, INHERITANCE. SIGNAL FIRES is available in hardcover from Knopf Doubleday, and in audiobook (narrated by the author) from Penguin Random House. For more on Dani Shapiro, visit her website: https://danishapiro.com/ Dani Shapiro will be part of an author event in Phoenix in March. To request ticket information visit: https://www.brandeisphoenix.org/2023ba.html

2023 is going to be a good year according to astrologer Valerie Tejeda. Tejeda is a bestselling author, an astrologer with a degree in psychology and certificates in astrology and music therapy, and the creator of the digital brand Big Cosmic Energy. She is the writer and narrator of SELF CARE BY THE SIGNS, a #1 Audible bestseller, a #1 Amazon bestseller, an AP bestseller, as well as SELF CARE BY THE MOON, an Audible Top 10 Listen and Editor's Pick for a 2021 favorite in self-development. She joins the podcast to chat with Olivia (in spite of Mercury being in retrograde messing with reception,) and the powers of the planets and how we can use the stars to better understand ourselves and others. During the chat, Valerie explains why Mercury is messing with us all (and those with Olivia’s signs in particular,) and shares the inspiration for her contemporary romance novel GOOD ON PAPER. If you are astrology curious, this conversation is for you! Do you want to know if dogs are guided by their signs? Of course, we do! But you’ll have to listen as she shares some insight into her own canine cutie, Dulce. Valerie has contributed to Self Magazine, Vanity Fair, MTV, Teen Vogue, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, among other publications, and is working on her next book, COSMIC CARE. To learn more about Valerie, purchase her books, or schedule an astrological reading, visit valerietejeda.com

Queen of suspense Mary Kubica opens the year with her latest suspenseful mystery, JUST THE NICEST COUPLE, to be released January 10th. The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author joins the podcast to talk about her twisty tale of two seemingly perfect couples, and the secrets that are exposed between them when one of the husbands disappears.  Mary joins the podcast to talk with Olivia about her previous career as a teacher, how she constructs her storylines, and how motherhood helped to launch her successful career. Mary will celebrate her books birthday with an event at The Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale on January 10th. For event information or  to pre-order a copy of JUST THE NICEST COUPLE, visit https://poisonedpen.com/ To learn more about the author visit https://marykubica.com/