BFF Book Club - The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett (E199)
This episode brings you the latest gathering of our BFF Book Club—a monthly celebration of reading, meaningful author conversations, and book-loving community. This month, we’re joined by by Annie Harnett, author of The Road to Tender Hearts. Annie is the award-winning author of two additional novels, Rabbit Cake and Unlikely Animals. Along with the wrtier Tessa Fontaine, she co-runs Accountability Workshops for writers, helping writers commit to routines and embrace the long, slow, joyful, terrible process of doing the work. She lives in Massachusetts with her prety good husband, perfect daughter, and their beloved border collie.
Episode Highlights:
The inspiration behind The Road to Tender Hearts and how Annie transformed personal anxiety into sharp, heartfelt fiction.
Her writing process of “going for the joke first” and then layering in what she calls the “emo copy” to bring emotional depth.
Why humor is her entry point into heavier themes.
How her experience as a former bookseller shaped her storytelling and reading life.
Annie’s book flight featuring four of her all-time favorite books.
Connect with Annie:
📚 Next Meet the Author Event
🗓️ March 15th | 🕓 3 pm PST / 5 pm CST / 6 pm EST
We’re thrilled to welcome Carmela Dutra, author of A Murder Most Fowl, a cozy food truck murder mystery, to our next Book Club gathering! Come for the conversation, stay for the community, and don’t forget to bring your questions for Carmela! 👉 Register Here.
Books and authors mentioned in the episode:
Karmen Somers episode featuring The Road to Tender Hearts (E168)
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Save the Cat by Blake Snyder
Margo’s Got Money Trouble by Rufi Thorpe
CivilWarLand in Bad Decline by George Saunders
Shark Heart by Emily Habeck
The Wedding People by Alison Espach
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Anxious People by Fredrik Bakman
Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson
So Far Gone by Jess Walter
Book Flight
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
Be sure to join the Bookish Flights community on social media. Happy listening!
