New Books Network Podcast

Literature January 31, 2023

Song of the Storyteller

Book 5 of 5: Songs of Steppe & Forest

C. P. Lesley

Hosted by G. P. Gottlieb

Today I talked to C. P. Lesley about Song of the Storyteller (Five Directions Press, 2023). It’s 1546, and Ivan the Terrible is about to be coronated and married off. Government …

Historical Fiction January 17, 2023

Pandora

A Novel

Susan Stokes-Chapman

Hosted by C. P. Lesley

It is the very end of the eighteenth century, and Pandora Blake—known as Dora—lives at the edge of London society. Despite the opposition of her obnoxious uncle Hezekiah and his …

Asian Review of Books December 15, 2022

Lost in the Long March

Michael X. Wang

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

In 1934, tens of thousands of Communist guerillas fled Jiangxi, in an extended retreat through hazardous terrain to Shaanxi in the north, while under fire from their Nationalist enemies. The …

Historical Fiction December 8, 2022

The American Adventuress

A Novel

C. W. Gortner

Hosted by C. P. Lesley

From Lucrezia Borgia to Marlene Dietrich, Empress Marie Fyodorovna of Russia, and most recently the actress Sarah Bernhardt, C. W. Gortner has made a career out of finding strong, fascinating, real-life …

Historical Fiction November 21, 2022

The Winter Garden

Nicola Cornick

Hosted by C. P. Lesley

In her novels, Nicola Cornick blends a modern perspective with a historical mystery and a paranormal connection between the two. The Winter Garden (Graydon House Books, 2022) revolves around the …

Literature November 15, 2022

The Lindbergh Nanny

A Novel

Mariah Fredericks

Hosted by G. P. Gottlieb

Today I talked to Mariah Fredericks about her new novel The Lindbergh Nanny (Minotaur Books, 2022). The kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh, Jr in 1932 shocked the country and made international headlines …

Literature November 8, 2022

Under a Veiled Moon

Karen Odden

Hosted by G. P. Gottlieb

Today I talked to Karen Odden about her new book Under a Veiled Moon (Crooked Lane Books, 2022). When the Princess Alice pleasure boat collides with a huge iron-hulled cargo ship …

Historical Fiction November 2, 2022

The Poison Machine

Robert J. Lloyd

Hosted by Michael Morales

London, 1679. Combining the color and adventure of Alexandre Dumas and the thrills of Frederick Forsyth, early scientists Harry Hunt and Robert Hooke of the Royal Society stumble onto a …

Literature October 27, 2022

Cora's Kitchen

Kimberly Garrett Brown

Hosted by G. P. Gottlieb

Cora’s Kitchen by Kimberly Garrett Brown (Inanna Publications 2022) is a striking novel told in letters, journal entries, and a series of stories written by an educated young Black mother …

Historical Fiction October 25, 2022

A Trace of Poison

Colleen Cambridge

Hosted by C. P. Lesley

Agatha Christie hardly needs an introduction. The Queen of Mystery has reigned since the 1920s, and the recent release of films based on her books shows that her popularity is …

Literature October 25, 2022

The Counterfeit Wife

A Revolutionary War Mystery

Mally Becker

Hosted by G. P. Gottlieb

Today I talked to Mally Becker about her new book The Counterfeit Wife: A Revolutionary War Mystery (Level Best Books, 2022). Philadelphia, June 1780. George Washington's two least likely spies return …

Historical Fiction October 24, 2022

The Empire's Bladesmen

Forbidden Relics

Clay Vagrant

Hosted by Stephen Satkiewicz

Set during the Ming Dynasty that ruled over China, The Empire's Bladesmen: Forbidden Relics (Amored History, 2021) by Clay Vagrant is a gripping story of adventure, secret assassins, and mythic …

Historical Fiction October 14, 2022

Coming Apart

A Novel of the Great Depression

Karen Heenan

Hosted by Deidre Tyler

Today I talked to Karen Heenan about Coming Apart: A Novel of the Great Depression (2022). Ava has always been poor, so she doesn't think the Great Depression will change anything …

Historical Fiction September 29, 2022

Miss Del Río

A Novel of Dolores del Río, the First Major Latina Star in Hollywood

Bárbara Mujica

Hosted by C. P. Lesley

Miss del Río (Graydon House Books, 2022) explores the biography of a real-life actress, Dolores del Río, who became a silent movie star in Hollywood, navigated the transition to talkies, and …

Literature September 20, 2022

Three Muses

Martha Anne Toll

Hosted by G. P. Gottlieb

In Three Muses (Regal House Publishing, 2022) by Martha Toll, John Curtin survives the Holocaust by singing for the entertainment of the kommendant who murdered his family. He’s sent to …

Historical Fiction September 13, 2022

The Hanging Tree

Paul Doherty

Hosted by Michael Morales

London, 1382. The Crown's treasury, the most secure chamber in the kingdom, has been robbed, and the five guards killed. Brother Athelstan is set to investigate, but he has problems …

Historical Fiction September 6, 2022

Back to the Garden

A Novel

Laurie R. King

Hosted by C. P. Lesley

Today I talked to Laurie R. King about her new novel Back to the Garden: A Novel (Bantam, 2022). Inspector Raquel Liang of the San Francisco Police Department has reached a …

Literature August 30, 2022

Price of Passage

A Tale of Immigration and Liberation

Larry F. Sommers

Hosted by G. P. Gottlieb

Price of Passage: A Tale of Immigration and Liberation (DX Varos, 2022), Larry Sommers opens in 1853 in Norway, where only firstborn sons inherited their father’s land and estate. Other …

Literature August 18, 2022

Babel

Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution

R. F. Kuang

Hosted by Jennifer Lee

In R. F. Kuang’s Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution (Harper Voyager in 2022), we meet Robin Swift. Orphaned by Cholera in Canton …

Historical Fiction August 9, 2022

Winter's Reckoning

A Novel

Adele Holmes

Hosted by C. P. Lesley

Madeline (Maddie) Fairbanks has created a satisfying life for herself in Jamesville since the death of her husband, Samuel, one of the town’s leading citizens. An herbalist from a long …