My guest this week is internationally-bestselling author Sarah Penner. Her debut novel “The Lost Apothecary,” was an Instant NY Times bestseller, a Book of the Year top 5 finalist, has sold over one million copies, is available in forty territories, and is currently in production as a drama series on Fox. Her second novel, “The London Séance Society,” was an instant NY Times, Publishers Weekly, IndieBound bestseller, as well as a Book of the Month pick for March 2023, and an instant international bestseller in Canada. With its release in paperback just yesterday, I sit down with Sarah to ..read more

I’m very excited to welcome back this week’s guest Helen Fripp! Helen first graced us with her presence in our 32nd episode, where we spoke about her novel “The Painter’s Girl.” Her latest novel finds us returning to France - this time, in Provence during World War II - in “The Girl from Provence.” “The Girl from Provence” has everything: war, intrigue, and romance. Even Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the author of “The Little Prince,” plays an important role. In our conversation, I ask Helen about the controversial nature of a love story between Lilou, a young French Resistance fighter, and Krist ..read more

Who on earth would be brave/crazy enough to move to Paris, quit their secure job in finance, and open a cooking school? The answer, of course, is Jane Bertch, founder of the iconic La Cuisine Paris, and author of “The French Ingredient.” In her beautifully-written memoir, Jane details how she transformed from banker to business-owner, all while navigating the inevitable cultural differences she faced as an American expat, and the countless curveballs life threw her way. In our conversation, Jane shares whether her vision of moody café-writing matched her reality, how owning a cooking school c ..read more

My guest this week is award-winning author Donald Lystra. Donald’s latest novel, “Searching for Van Gogh,” is a coming-of-age story, told from the perspective of Nate, against the backdrop of 1963 Michigan. Nate has lived a relatively sheltered life, but recent events have thrust him from his bubble and he's learning that there's more to the world than what he'd been brought up around. He meets Audrey who, for better or worse, sees the colors in the world that Nate's eyes have not been open to. She's an unlikely mentor and a perfect shepherd for Nate. You know the feeling when you first wake u ..read more

What do you do when you love some thing more than any one person? And what if that thing is something you, as a woman, are not expected to love? And how are your daughters meant to react? My guest this week is New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Melanie Benjamin. Melanie’s books have been translated in over fifteen languages. She won the WILLA Literary Award in Historical Fiction for “The Children’s Blizzard,” and her latest novel “California Golden,” was named as one of Entertainment Weekly’s best new summer vacation books of 2023. In our conversation, Melanie shares what drew h ..read more

My guest this week is bestselling, award-winning author Jamie Pacton. Jamie has predominantly written Young Adult novels, although she currently has some adult fiction in the works. Her latest novel, “The Absinthe Underground,” is a sapphic YA romantasy set in France during the Belle Époque, and was an instant Indie Bestseller. In it, Sybil and Esme, two best friends who are secretly in love with one another, make the mistake of stealing the wrong poster in an effort to make rent. They are confronted by the head of The Absinthe Underground nightclub, an actual Green Faerie, catapulting them o ..read more

Welcome back to the Season Seven Premiere of Storytime in Paris! My first guest is Cynthia Newberry Martin and the moment I read her latest novel “The Art of Her Life,” I knew I needed to introduce you, dear listeners, to her work. Cynthia won the Gold Medal in Literary Fiction at the 2020 Independent Publisher Book Awards and the 14th Annual National Indie Excellence Award for Fiction for her first novel “Tidal Flats.” In “The Art of Her Life,” our main character Emily fell in love with the painting Breakfast by Henri Matisse as a young child, and her love of this painting has shaped, guided ..read more

For this Season Finale of Storytime in Paris, I’m thrilled to be joined by New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author Madeline Martin, who will be giving us a sneak peek into her latest book, ”The Keeper of Hidden Books.” ”The Keeper of Hidden Books” is based on the true story of the underground library in WWII Warsaw, Poland. Zofia is an intelligent, outspoken and rebellious 17-year-old, who wants nothing more than to dig into a good book and chat about it with her Jewish best friend Janina. She is wholly unprepared for the horrors that the Nazi Occupation brings, and w ..read more

My guest this week is award-winning author Cate Green, whose novel “The Curious Kidnapping of Nora W.” won 2019’s Exeter Novel Prize. “The Curious Kidnapping of Nora W.” focuses on the final 18 days, not of Nora’s life, but before she breaks the world record for being the oldest person in history, at 122 years and 165 days old. But strong-willed Nora is not your average centarian and, as she disappears from her retirement home, she, and her family, embark on an adventure down memory lane. https://twitter.com/saracategreen https://www.instagram.com/categreenwrites/ https://www.facebook.com/pr ..read more

My guest this week is best-selling, award-winning author Jennifer Cody Epstein. Jennifer’s latest novel "The Madwomen of Paris" is a work of historical fiction set in Paris’s 19th-century Salpêtrière, a notorious women’s asylum. Here, women are treated for hysteria by world famous Doctor Jean-Martine Charcot, often publicly, on stage and under hypnosis. When Josephine is admitted to the hospital in a fit of rage and amnesia, she is placed under the care of Laure, a former-resident-turned-attendant. They quickly form a strong connection that forces them to separate truth from fiction in all fac ..read more