[Crystal King: what’s next]: The Italian novel everyone should read + the power of weird mash-ups
Fri Jan 30 2026
Welcome back to the final installment of my interview with Crystal King, bestselling author of In the Garden of Monsters, Feast of Sorrow, The Chef's Secret, and the brand new The Happiness Collector. Crystal's writing is fueled by a love of history and a passion for the food, language, and culture of Italy. So if you're ever looking to take a mental escape to another culture, a delicious one and a fascinating one at that, definitely check out her books.Today we get a peek at what's currently inspiring Crystal and I'll ask her my fast final five questions about what she's been reading, watching, listening to, drinking and eating lately.We cover:- Her new novel, which combines Nathaniel Hawthorne and the punk scene in Rome in the early 80s- The book by an Italian author she wants everyone to read- The authors who inspire her- Why her husband doesn’t read her books until they’re published- Why she’s applying for Italian citizenship- Her very specific vision of where she’s headed that involves being in a room with 5,000 copies of her book- Two novels by other authors coming out this spring we should all be on the lookout for- The Italian singer-songwriter and rapper whose social media posts make her happyVisit Crystal at crystalking.com or on Substack @crystalking.For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Thank you for listening!
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Welcome back to the final installment of my interview with Crystal King, bestselling author of In the Garden of Monsters, Feast of Sorrow, The Chef's Secret, and the brand new The Happiness Collector. Crystal's writing is fueled by a love of history and a passion for the food, language, and culture of Italy. So if you're ever looking to take a mental escape to another culture, a delicious one and a fascinating one at that, definitely check out her books.Today we get a peek at what's currently inspiring Crystal and I'll ask her my fast final five questions about what she's been reading, watching, listening to, drinking and eating lately.We cover:- Her new novel, which combines Nathaniel Hawthorne and the punk scene in Rome in the early 80s- The book by an Italian author she wants everyone to read- The authors who inspire her- Why her husband doesn’t read her books until they’re published- Why she’s applying for Italian citizenship- Her very specific vision of where she’s headed that involves being in a room with 5,000 copies of her book- Two novels by other authors coming out this spring we should all be on the lookout for- The Italian singer-songwriter and rapper whose social media posts make her happyVisit Crystal at crystalking.com or on Substack @crystalking.For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Thank you for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices