Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books™️

Lea Vale joins Zibby Owens to discuss her new novel Blue Sky Black, the slow-burn, second-chance romance told across two timelines that she wrote as a love letter to the friend she lost on 9/11.Lea shares her own experience in New York City that day 25 years ago, the trauma of having to cope with a loved one simply disappearing, and the importance of talking about tragedy. She also recounts how the romance genre finally allowed her to write this story, infusing hope and light into such a difficult subject. Learn more about Lea Vale at https://leavale.com and follow her on Instagram @leavaleauthor

Zibby was one of the countless people who lost a loved one on 9/11. Stacey Sanders, Zibby’s college roommate, worked in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. To process the loss, Zibby wrote an essay for her business school newspaper, The Harbus, two weeks after it happened. She reads it here to pay tribute to the 25th anniversary of the attacks. 

Kara Kavensky sits down with Zibby Owens to talk about her memoir Tell Me About Joy, inspired by WWII veteran Bob who shared with her his greatest regret: “I missed out on marrying the love of my life. Her name is Joy.”Interwoven with her own personal story, Kara writes about her journey to find Bob’s long-lost love and how it changed her life. She touches on her own healing after being married to a narcissist, the human face of war, sharing stories of resilience, the heaviness of losing a child, and ultimately, finding joy again.  Learn more about Kara here https://www.karakavensky.com/home and follow her on Instagram @karakavensky

Jonathan Santlofer joins Zibby Owens for a deep dive into his new novel Ten Perfect Guests, an immersive, fun, “whodunit” thriller following the aftermath of a beloved art figure’s death and the people summoned to a remote island under threat of losing their inheritance. Jonathan discusses the challenges of juggling ten different points of views, the joy of playing with familiar tropes like greed, lust, and betrayal, and the beauty of finding empathy for his most villainous characters. He also recounts the discovery of his mild dyslexia in art school, how losing ten years of his artwork to a building fire eventually led him to writing, and the grief of unexpectedly losing his wife. Learn more about Jonathan at https://jonathansantlofer.com and follow him on Instagram at @jonathansantlofer

Eriq La Salle joins Zibby Owens to discuss his new thriller Laws of Solomon, the fourth book in his Martyr Maker series, which takes a previous side character who was inspired by The Godfather’s Luca Brasi and lifts him up to the lead. Eriq discusses the ever-present question of ‘can our most villainous, vile characters find redemption?’, the journey of a character’s soul, how his favorite films have inspired his work, and the coming of age story of a man. He also touches on his transition from actor to author, the duality of his thrillers, and the blessings that come from failure. Learn more about Eriq here https://www.iameriqlasalle.com and follow him on Instagram @eriqlasalle 

Amanda Peters sits down with Zibby Owens to discuss her new novel (and Zibby’s November Book Club pick!) The Birthing Tree, the story of a young girl growing up in a family with secrets, her withdrawal from the grandmother who raised her among the generational traditions of Mi’kmaq women, and what eventually draws her back home as an adult. Rooted in community and feeling, The Birthing Tree weaves together the chase for identity, connection to home, repairing wounds from the past, and revering not only nature and the land, but the extraordinary feats of the human body. Amanda touches on how she drew inspiration for this book from a conversation with her own Nan, the importance of tradition within an always advancing modern world, and the terror of writing another book after a bestselling debut. Join Zibby and Amanda at Zibby’s Book Club on November 11 at 7pm for a virtual Q&A as they dive deeper into The Birthing Tree. Sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/zibbys-book-club-amanda-peters-tickets-1994014022619 Learn more about Amanda at https://amandapetersauthor.com and follow her @amandapetersauthor

Sarah Addison Allen’s book Paper Ghosts was, quite fittingly, haunting. We discussed grief, loss, fiction, writing, and more. I left feeling like I had a new friend. 

Jonah Platt and I both have TV shows on the JBS network which is how we connected for this episode. I’d been dying to interview Jonah about his Jewish advocacy and what he’d learned from interviewing so many leaders in the field. What he answered surprised me. I also learned about how he’s raising his children and more. 

Beth Ricanati, MD, and I made challah together in my kitchen in L.A. eight years ago — and filmed it. Since then, our lives continue to intersect from the podcast to the bookstore to her being part of the On Being Jewish Now anthology. In this conversation recorded at Zibby’s Bookshop, we covered health benefits to baking, her suggestions as a physician for how to live more healthfully, and the windy path to her second book. (If you want to watch our original film, click here!)