Libsyn Directory

Wendy Walker: Blade

Release Date: 02/12/2026

Bookreporter Talks To

Wendy Walker joins Carol Fitzgerald to discuss her new thriller, BLADE, a Bookreporter Bets On selection that is set in the world of competitive figure skating. The novel, which draws from Wendy's personal experience as a competitive figure skater (she trained in Colorado from ages 13 to 16), features alternating timelines that follow attorney Ana Robbins, who returns to her former skating facility to defend a young skater accused of murder. Wendy talks about the book’s themes of isolation, the pressure on young athletes, and the psychological impact of competitive sports. The dual-timeline...

Ashley Elston: Anatomy of an Alibi

Bookreporter Talks To

Ashley Elston joins Carol Fitzgerald to talk about her New York Times bestseller, ANATOMY OF AN ALIBI, which also is a Bookreporter Bets On selection. Ashley reveals that she rewrote the book three times, changing structure, timeline and point of view. She shares the character she began with, and how the others evolved, as well as what stayed the same from the very start. Ashley was thinking about the Murdaugh family murders and how technology can help with an alibi as much as it can hurt it. She confirms that she is under contract for a new book and updates us on what is happening with...

Paula McLain : Skylark

Bookreporter Talks To

Paula McLain joins Carol Fitzgerald to discuss her latest novel, SKYLARK. Paula has been enthralled with Paris since her 2011 bestseller, THE PARIS WIFE. Her new book features dual timelines set in Paris --- one in 1664 and the other in the 1940s during the Nazi occupation. The characters face parallel struggles across different time periods. Both storylines address how people find meaning and hope through connections with others. In SKYLARK, the underground tunnels beneath Paris serve as a space of refuge and resistance throughout history. Paula conducted extensive research, including...

“Bookaccino Live” Book Group: Allen Levi

Bookreporter Talks To

Allen Levi joined us for January’s “Bookaccino Live” Book Group to discuss his New York Times bestselling debut novel, THEO OF GOLDEN. The audience clearly was mesmerized by the insight he gave into the characters and setting. Allen talked about his inspiration for writing the book and expressed his appreciation for how it has resonated with so many people. He thoughtfully responded to a number of reader questions. Some were asked by attendees who appeared on the virtual stage, while Carol Fitzgerald shared questions and comments from those who were camera-shy or weren’t able...

Belle Burden: Strangers

Bookreporter Talks To

Belle Burden joins Carol Fitzgerald to discuss her memoir, STRANGERS, which details how her husband abruptly left their marriage during the early days of the pandemic. The book, which is a Bookreporter Bets On selection, chronicles Belle's journey from shock and grief to rebuilding her life as a writer and single mother. Belle started writing about her experience after her divorce was finalized in 2022, feeling "a burning need to write down what had happened." She initially wrote a piece for the New York Times “Modern Love” column, which ran in June 2023....

Rebecca Armitage: The Heir Apparent

Bookreporter Talks To

Rebecca Armitage joins Carol Fitzgerald to discuss her debut novel, THE HEIR APPARENT, which was a Reese's Book Club pick and a Bookreporter Bets On selection. Rebecca describes the book as a modern-day fairy tale. Lexi, who is living in Tasmania and training to be a doctor, is summoned home after a skiing accident kills her father and critically injures her brother. Her grandmother is the Queen of England; she is the heir apparent and must return to London. Carol loved the cinematic opening scene with the helicopter landing to whisk Lexi away from her life in Australia. Rebecca drew upon...

2025 Bookreporter Bets On Selections: Books We're Betting You'll Love

Bookreporter Talks To

Carol Fitzgerald shares commentary about her 42 Bookreporter Bets On selections from 2025. These are books that she is betting Bookreporter readers will love! (* means a video/podcast interview with that author is available.) Fiction Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall * The Correspondent by Virginia Evans * The River Is Waiting by Wally Lamb Heart the Lover by Lily King * Buckeye by Patrick Ryan Speak to Me of Home by Jeanine Cummins * Culpability by Bruce Holsinger * The Heir Apparent by Rebecca Armitage (* to come) Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson * More or Less Maddy by Lisa...

"Bookaccino Live": Our Reviewers' Favorite Books of 2025

Bookreporter Talks To

Carol Fitzgerald and Tom Donadio talked to eight Bookreporter reviewers about two of their favorite books of 2025. Our guests were Sarah Rachel Egelman, Megan Elliott, Harvey Freedenberg, Pamela Kramer, Bronwyn Miller, Rebecca Munro, Norah Piehl and Stuart Shiffman. Kate Ayers and Ray Palen, who have appeared on previous programs, were not able to join us live. But we showed Ray’s presentation on video, and we shared Kate’s picks, along with brief excerpts from her reviews of those books. Their selections cover a wide variety of genres, and there may be a few books you haven’t heard...

Vicky Nguyen: Boat Baby

Bookreporter Talks To

Vicky Nguyen joins Carol Fitzgerald to discuss her memoir, BOAT BABY, which is about her experience as a Vietnamese refugee who came to America as an eight-month-old "boat baby" in 1979. She talks about the challenges of growing up as a child of immigrants, navigating cultural differences, and her path to becoming an NBC News correspondent. The interview includes honest conversation about multi-generational living, parenting approaches across cultures, and the importance of maintaining immigrant values while assimilating. Vicky emphasizes how her parents' work ethic, optimism and...

“Bookaccino Live” Book Group: Clare Leslie Hall

Bookreporter Talks To

Clare Leslie Hall joined us for November’s “Bookaccino Live” Book Group to discuss her New York Times bestseller, BROKEN COUNTRY, a Bookreporter Bets On selection that has received numerous “Best Of 2025” accolades. Clare talks about her inspiration for the novel, as well as the different paths that she took to writing it. She shares details on the development of her characters and explains how the trial was woven throughout the pages. She also touches on her earlier books, PICTURES OF HIM and DAYS YOU WERE MINE, which released this summer in the US as trade paperbacks....

More Episodes

Wendy talks about the book’s themes of isolation, the pressure on young athletes, and the psychological impact of competitive sports. The dual-timeline structure allows readers to see connections between past and present events. And with the Winter Olympics airing, she touches on the importance of nailing the triple axel.

Wendy has expanded her career to include producing audio originals. She shares how creating audio content differs from writing novels, including being able to rewrite lines during recording sessions, and various writing techniques, such as minimizing dialogue tags.

Our Latest “Bookreporter Talks To” Interviews:

Ashley Elston: https://youtu.be/Yb_ig0leaQA

Paula McLain: https://youtu.be/vKwg0G18sCA

Belle Burden: https://youtu.be/kmlJvv037Yg

Rebecca Armitage: https://youtu.be/xVTebMX3Bg0

Vicky Nguyen: https://youtu.be/ssPMpaokVp8

Brisa Carleton: https://youtu.be/aE2cCH4oMsk

Alex DeMille: https://youtu.be/EstkI7Caul8

Lily King: https://youtu.be/ir_IaUnaru4

Virginia Evans: https://youtu.be/6FtYT5KRW2Q

Our Latest “Bookaccino Live” Book Group Events:

Allen Levi: https://youtu.be/tELDtaqsD7g