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On this week’s special Kirkus Indie Awards episode, C.W. Johnson discusses his award-winning novel, A Life Full of Quarks (Baryon Dreams Press, Sept. 24, 2024). “In Johnson’s novel, a brilliant physicist tries to build a life after narrowly surviving a childhood filled with reanimated dinosaurs, runaway aliens, and mutated Mexican beaded lizards,” Kirkus writes in a starred review. “Heartbreaking and hilarious.” THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:  The Inner Compass by S.J. KingBorn Sick in the USA by Stephen BezruchkaGood Lookin’ by T.L. BequetteThe Conclusion of the American Experiment by Jonathan MorrowAdams Morgan Fugue by Alex Fardon See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, actor and writer Nadia Bowers joins us to discuss her stunning debut memoir, Dear Dealer (Gallery Books, Sept. 15). “A sister struggles to accept her sibling’s overdose death,” Kirkus writes in a starred review. “A moving embodiment of the powerful, creative energy of grief.” THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:  The Big Dream by Owen ThomasIndigo, The Deep by Kellye Abernathy A Simple Guide to Being Alive by David M.L. RabinTo Be Here Is Immense by Clare SimonsRising Waters by Aleatha Romig See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, undefeated world champion boxer Laila Ali joins us to discuss A Spark of Greatness: The Autobiography of a Fighter, illustrated by Caldecott honoree Cosby A. Cabrera (Crown, Sept. 8). “Boxing champion Ali describes how, growing up in the shadow of a legend, she at last stepped into the ring on her own terms,” Kirkus writes. “[A]n inspiring portrait of resilience and ambition.” THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:  Jack and Lulu Go to the Tree Farm by Julie Ryan McGue, illus. by Mariia StepanovaShallcross by Charles PorterEmil by Patrick Matthews See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode,  New York Times bestselling translator and classicist Emily Wilson joins us to discuss Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea: Journeys Through Ancient Literature (Liveright/Norton, Sept. 1). “Enchanting academic essays about translating the classics,” Kirkus writes in a starred review, calling this insightful, accessible essay collection, “a lively exploration of ancient literature.”   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:  Revenge Is the Best Revenge by James A. ScottMall Goddess by Marilee DahlmanRevelations of Grimm Lohr by William PotterLife and Music by Idil Biret with Dominique Xardel, trans. by Gunesh Guran GeryParrot Heaven by Jessica Howland Kany See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Liane Moriarty joins us to discuss Big Little Truths (Crown, Aug. 25). “Ten years later, the friends from Big Little Lies (2014) have new headaches, traumas, and secrets,” Kirkus writes in a starred review. “Don’t wait for the TV series—Moriarty’s sparkling writing is worth the read.”  THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:  Waymaker by Michael D. WardenMaud and Pearl by Pearl Allen AndreeParrot Heaven by Jessica Howland Kany The Riddle of the Trees by Marc S. PerlmanLos Rios by Bryan Zimmerman See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, New York Times bestselling author Tia Williams joins us to discuss The Missed Connection (Grand Central Publishing, June 16), book two in her North Falls series. Kirkus: “Desperate to reconnect with the perfect man she met on a plane, a woman hires a private detective with ties to her past…. Flawed yet lovable characters shine in this celebration of human connection.” THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:  This Never Happened by Kent HeckenlivelyIn His Own Time by Kathy LemoineAwaken Your Sexuality by Stephanie Covington and Vanessa CarlisleParrot Heaven by Jessica Howland KanyBeauty by Christina Chiu See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Karin Slaughter joins us to discuss The Secrets We Keep (William Morrow/HarperCollins, Aug. 4), book two in her North Falls series. Kirkus: ““Every twist in the path to the truth is riveting—especially the final revelation, which puts all the others in the shade—but the most important relationship is between the two investigators, one of whom harbors a secret the other can’t imagine.” THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:  This Never Happened by Kent HeckenlivelyThe Hypókrisis Mirror and Other Stories by Raymond FortunatoTapestries by Patrick SummersVirtuality, Book Two, by Ragnar KrollAvatars of the Pantheon by Jackson Owens See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner join us to discuss her latest thriller, You’ll Be Sorry (Grand Central Publishing, Aug. 4). “A small-town sheriff uncovers centuries’ worth of secrets,” Kirkus writes in an admiring review. “Gardner deftly juggles a number of characters, plot threads, secrets, time periods, and motives, delivering a satisfyingly layered novel that interrogates the insular lives and histories of small towns.” THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:  This Never Happened by Kent Heckenlively  Blood Moon Over Bentonville by Bernard DoucetteDeath on Warriors Way by Dave PyleThe Murder Investigation of Adolf Hitler by Peter ClenottDear Laura, A Lost Chapter of WWII by Laura Elliott  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Chris Bohjalian joins us to discuss his new novel, The Amateur (Doubleday, Aug. 4). “An accident at the golf course cuts short one life and totally upends another,” Kirkus writes in a starred review. “It’s hard to think of any reason not to call this a perfect novel—our critic writes—a hole in one.”  THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:  This Never Happened by Kent HeckenlivelyLifers by Keith G. McWalterChemstories by Maya Mourshed See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode,  novelist Julie Buntin joins us to discuss Famous Men (Random House, July 14). “A personal and professional entanglement with an acclaimed writer shapes a young woman’s life,” kirkus writes in a starred review. Buntin’s stellar sophomore offering is “a searing, brilliant novel about power, and stories, and who gets to tell them.”   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:  The Book of Don by T.B. CalderDear Laura, A Lost Chapter of WWII by Laura ElliottBlood Lasts Forever by Jeff Gunhus See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Colson Whitehead joins us to discuss Cool Machine (Doubleday, July 21). “Whitehead’s justly celebrated Harlem Trilogy comes to a triumphant, satisfying conclusion,” Kirkus writes in a starred review of Cool Machine, calling Whitehead “a master novelist in full command of his powers as a storyteller, prose stylist, and social observer.”   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:  Finding Our Voice by Adam Castillo  American Gyro by Jim Zervanos  The Needs of the Heart by Phillip Anderson See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, internationally bestselling author Robinne Lee joins us to discuss her new novel, Crash Into Me (St. Martin’s, July 7). “After moving to Los Angeles, a biracial photographer navigates the complexities of celebrity, wealth, race, and her own past,” Kirkus writes in an admiring review of Crash Into Me, calling this “sharp and often slyly funny” novel “thoughtful social commentary meets sensual queer awakening among the Beautiful People.” THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:  Carrie’s Children by Clarence T. JonesA Slaughter of Iguanas by Anne Loiselle See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, New York Times bestselling author Jessica Knoll joins us to discuss her latest novel, Helpless (Scribner, July 7). “A Hollywood writer returns to her college town for a funeral only to get pulled back into the complicated relationships she left behind,” Kirkus writes in an admiring review of a scintillating novel that “puts the ‘erotic’ back in ‘erotic thriller.’” THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:  A Collection of Brevities by Patrick SummersSurviving Life by Tom SchneiderAn Endless Knot by Joe ElefanteAlbrecht Drue, Ghostpuncher. by Paul D. Miller See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, New York Times bestselling novelist Jenny Jackson joins us to discuss The Shampoo Effect (Pamela Dorman Books, June 30). Kirkus: “A beginning author gets in over her head, personally and professionally” in a winning novel that “combines a literary rom-com with an acute portrait of midlife among millennials.”   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: A Name Unbroken by Donald ProffitAlternate Sources by Lamar Brantley See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, Eva zu Beck joins us to discuss The Wilder Way: A Memoir of Adventure, Freedom, and an Uncharted Life (Gallery Books, June 2). In a starred review, Kirkus calls this bold debut by the YouTube adventurer and National Geographic TV host “an inspiring, action-packed journey to find one’s self through perilous adventures in exotic, far-flung destinations.”  THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: Sebastian and the Belgian Koala by Jill Charlotte Thomas, illus. by Parks SadlerDeath and All That Follows by Javier Piñol SerraThe Lodge Women, Their Men and Their Times by Emily Lodge See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.