Colleen Hoover is a publishing phenomenon. She is one of the best-selling authors in the world and the top-selling author in the United States. And while she says she didn't set out for fame, she's achieved literary super stardom.

In 2022, she sold more than 16 million books, selling more than J.K. Rolling, Stephen King,

James Patterson, and John Grisham combined, and even outselling the Bible.

She dominates the New York Times bestseller list, once claiming

eight of the top ten paperback spots simultaneously, thanks to her passionate and dedicated

following of fans, known as cohorts. Hoover has 25 books to her name, including Verity and

Ugly Love, with more than 20 million copies

in circulation. Her romances and psychological thrillers are emotionally gripping. And now

her stories are coming to the big screen. Her most popular novel, It Ends With Us, centered

on domestic violence, loosely based on her mother's life as being adapted into a movie starring Blake lively.

Hoover has inspired an entire new generation of readers back to bookstores.

And thanks to her love of writing, her ability to address intimate topics and her very loyal fan following,

it's no surprise that Hoover was named one of Time

Magazine's most influential people of 2023. I sat down with her at her Book Bonanza charity event

in Texas for an exclusive interview to talk about her unexpected rise to literary fame.

I'm Jenna Bush Hager. Welcome to my podcast. Read with Jenna. Colleen, I have the New York Times bestseller list from this week.

Your books are highlighted.

If you notice you kind of dominate it, do you ever feel bad for the other authors?

Well, honestly, I was relieved to see there were five on there this week, but kind of served

in like six and seven, and I'm like, okay, okay.

No, it's such an amazing feeling and a little confusing.

When you first started writing in 2012, could you ever have imagined this?

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