In this mini episode of The Write Question, Linda Holmes, one of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour hosts, discusses her new book, Back After This (Ballantine Books). TWQ host Lauren Korn asks Linda about what makes the world of audio production and podcasting ripe for romance and about what she’s learned from the romance (i.e., the rom-com) genre.
About the book:
Cecily Foster loves to make podcasts. She fiercely protects her colleagues, dearly adores her friends, and never misses dinner with her sister. But after a disastrous relationship with a colleague who stole her heart and her ideas, she’s put romantic love on hold.
When the boss who’s disappointed her again and again finally offers her the chance to host her own show, she wants to be thrilled. But there’s a catch—actually, two catches. First, the show will be about Cecily’s dating life. And second, she has to follow the guidance of influencer and newly minted relationship coach Eliza Cassidy, whose relentlessly upbeat attitude seems ready-made for social media, not real life.
About Linda:
Linda Holmes is a novelist, a pop culture correspondent for NPR, and one of the hosts of the popular podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, which has held sold-out live shows in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere. She appears regularly on NPR radio shows including Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition. Before NPR, she wrote for New York magazine online and for TV Guide, as well as for the groundbreaking website Television Without Pity. Her first novel, Evvie Drake Starts Over, was a New York Times bestseller. In her free time, she watches far too many romantic comedies, bakes bread, plays with her wonderful dog, and tries to keep various plants thriving.
Lauren Korn recommends:
Back After This and Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes (Ballantine Books; Penguin Random House)
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld (Penguin Random House)
Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe (William Morrow)
Thank You For Listening by Julia Whelan (Avon; HarperCollins)
Novels by Emily Henry (Berkley; Penguin Random House)
The Wedding People by Alison Espach (Henry Holt and Co.)
The Husbands by Holly Gramazio (Doubleday)
Lauren Korn is looking forward to:
Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely (forthcoming, July 2025; Canary Street Press)
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry (forthcoming, April 2025; Berkley)
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The Write Question team for this episode was Lauren Korn, host, co-producer, and editor; and Chris Moyles, co-producer, editor, and sound engineer. The Write Question’s 2024-2025 season is supported by a co-op of four independent bookstores, encouraging a lifetime of learning through storytelling and conversation: Chapter One Bookstore in Hamilton, Montana; Montana Book Co. in Helena, Montana; Fact & Fiction Books in Missoula, Montana; and Bookworks of Whitefish in Whitefish, Montana.
Additional funding for The Write Question comes from Humanities Montana; members of Montana Public Radio; and from the Greater Montana Foundation—encouraging communication on issues, trends, and values of importance to Montanans.
The Write Question logo and brand (2022) was designed by Molly Russell. You can see more of her work at iamthemollruss.com and on Instagram @iamthemollruss.
The Write Question is a production of Montana Public Radio.
