Front Porch Book Club Podcast
Grab your book and iced tea and join the Front Porch Book Club, your no-commitment, casual, and eclectic podcast about books. We examine the relationship between characters, the worlds they live in, and what that means to us.
Latest Episode
134: Kayla Rae Whitaker
Today we interview Kayla Rae Whitaker about her new novel, RETURNS AND EXCHANGES. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to have a family business, this book is for you! We learn about Kayla’s inspiration to write RETURNS AND EXCHANGES and get her perspective on the...
134: Kayla Rae Whitaker
Today we interview Kayla Rae Whitaker about her new novel, RETURNS AND EXCHANGES. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to have a family business, this book is for you! We learn about Kayla’s inspiration to write RETURNS AND EXCHANGES and get her perspective on the complex characters and interrelationships she builds around the rise and fall of Baker-Taylor discount stores.
Kayla Rae Whitaker is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and New York University. Her first novel, THE ANIMATORS, was named a best book of the year by Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Kirkus Reviews, and BookPage. She lives in Queens, New York.
We discuss Kayla's journey from English major to major author. She tells us just what she tells her students: if you want to see your name on the spine of a book, it's very possible.
Kayla tells us how homesickness and a trip to Sears gave her the shape of the story for RETURNS AND EXCHANGES.
Linny says she really liked the depth of each of the characters in RETURNS AND EXCHANGES. Kayla says she loves reading family epics, such as EAST OF EDEN. She wanted to write the kind of book she likes to read.
We loved talking about our many favorite characters and Kayla tells us the importance of writers loving all their characters: even Fred. Kayla likes to start with characters first and then find the stories around them.
We learn that Kayla loves to think about how birth order impacts her characters and we find out she is the youngest, just like Birdie, her easiest character to write!
EAST OF EDEN by John Steinbeck
About Front Porch Book Club
I honestly was blown away by the deep dive Nancy and Linny did into SPARKS LIKE STARS and really appreciated the personal perspectives they brought.
Nadia Hashimi, Author
Every month the Front Porch Book Club features two episodes on our selected book. In the first episode Linda and Nancy introduce the book and discuss their thoughts. In the second episode, Linda and Nancy are joined by the author or an expert to delve deeper into the book. Our book selections are eclectic: fiction, autobiography, history, memoir, investigative journalism, and classics. They are books that give us insights into how we may be more intentional, creative, and loving.
Recent Episodes
134: Kayla Rae Whitaker
Today we interview Kayla Rae Whitaker about her new novel, RETURNS AND EXCHANGES. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to have a family business, this book is for you! We learn about Kayla’s inspiration to write RETURNS AND EXCHANGES and get her perspective on the...
133: Returns and Exchanges
After discussing the super fun time they spent together the week before, Linny and Nancy discuss RETURNS AND EXCHANGES by Kayla Rae Whitaker. This best-seller is the sweeping story of one Kentucky family’s tragicomic rise and fall throughout the 1980s. The plot...
127: Molly Fader
We have a rollicking time with author Molly Fader. Her latest book, LADY X, became available on July 14. Molly is the author of four novels, including THE MCAVOY SISTERS BOOK OF SECRETS which is about two sisters from a small Pennsylvania hometown! Writing under the...
131: Lady X
It’s a hot summer in 1977. Son of Sam is on the loose and avigilante, Lady X, is meting out justice to abusive men. Linny and Nancy discuss Molly Fader’s new book, LADY X, and the feminine rage three young roommates experience in 1970’s New York. And also, in this...
Meet The Hosts
Growing up, Nancy always had her nose in a book. She never remembers not loving to read books. Linda, on the other hand, hated libraries and spent her childhood trying to lure Nancy away from books into some other activity that she thought would be way more fun. That’s right – we’re sisters. Nancy was more of an introvert and Linda was more of an extrovert. But, somewhere along the way, Linda started loving books and Nancy started loving talking about books. Nancy is a recovering academic in Nebraska who writes and Linda is a licensed counselor in Pennsylvania.