I invited Amanda to come chat with us about her latest book, what inspires her, and what it means to build a writing career. Plus, it’s set in Greece, one of my favorite places on earth. Welcome, Amanda Eyre Ward!

You’ve written several novels now. Where did you get the idea for Arrivals and Departures?
Arrivals and Departures began when I had a friend who was romance-scammed. I wondered so many things when I found out about it: how could someone just like me actually believe a scammer? Would my brain also put aside reason to believe in something I desperately wanted? And also, who are these scammers?

The more I researched, the more obsessed I became with the whole world of elaborate romance scams, which can include deepfake video calls, decadent vacations that never quite work out, and crushing heartbreak. I was actually halfway through the book when I realized…these characters are my Jetsetters!

What has been the most surprising start of a novel for one of your books?
I had been writing crime thrillers when I opened Travel + Leisure magazine and saw a glamorous woman on a cruise ship balcony. In my kitchen with 3 kids in a hot Texas August, I remember staring at that photo and thinking, “I want to be her.” I had never been on a cruise ship in my life. I had a vivid fantasy of taking my little kids to Europe on a Mediterranean cruise. I actually e-mailed my editor, Kara, and said, “What do you think about a fun book about a dysfunctional family trapped together on a sun-drenched cruise?”

Every conversation I have with Kara is inspirational—she told me to go for it. I will never forget buying tickets for the cheapest cruise in the world, the Carnival Vista sailing on its inaugural voyage from Athens to Barcelona. It took every cent of my savings, and it was glorious. I did a “Behind the Scenes” tour through the kitchen. I took photos of every sconce and hallway carpet. My son said, “If anyone found your phone, Mom, they’d think you were crazy.” And that’s how The Jetsetters began!

Do you tend to have an idea for your next book when you finish a novel?
I have so many ideas. People are so strange and fascinating and I never stop wondering about what makes them tick. I read all the gossip and crime, and at a party, I will usually end up listening to one person’s incredible story. Travel also gives me ideas, every time. If you ever run out of ideas, go hang out at an airport bar, is my advice.

Is there a theme that you revisit in your novels and does Arrivals and Departures fit into it?
I am not sure what the theme is! Am I crazy? Is it oceanic hijinks? Is it bad parenting? Is it Chardonnay? Thwarted love?

Haha. I could see some themes in your novels, foremost redemption. Your characters are often looking to be loved and accepted even though they are greatly flawed individuals. I’m curious about your writing process. Which of your books was the fastest or slowest to write? Do you think you’re getting faster/more efficient as you continue to write or are you getting slower/pickier as you continue to write?
This is such an insightful question! I always think it will get easier, but every book seems to take the same amount of time and be just as intricate and confusing and wonderful and terrifying. I think if I picked a genre and stayed there, it might be more smooth for me, but I get obsessed with different topics and styles, and I am so very lucky to be able to write just the book I am seeking to read.

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Arrivals and Departures takes place in Greece and on your website you list several different places you’ve lived in or adventured in, including South Africa, Montana and Rye, NY. Of all of your adventures and hometowns, which place has inspired you the most as a writer?
I think the most inspirational place for me is Austin, TX, because it’s the place I left my “outsider” stance to try to make a home. That’s a complicated thing—to claim a place, for better or worse, and to become a mother. I think most of my work is about belonging and the ache to be seen, and so those challenges come to light when I slow down. My favorite writer, David Foster Wallace, once wrote, “After sex, a writer says, was it good for ME?” Moving from an outside observer to the center is really hard for many writers, and definitely me. But that challenge has inspired a lot of my books.

What has been the single most challenging moment in your publishing career? How did you get over it?
I wrote a book called Cat & Vivian, and I loved it. But my agent felt it didn’t work as a novel. I cried and cried and set it aside. I beat myself up about that book for YEARS. But then it was bought by Audible and became an incredible audio book…it was MEANT to live that way, I think. And now it’s going to be a TV show! So I think the lesson is to trust your people—my agent is also one of my best friends—and trust yourself. Sometimes a book isn’t right for the marketplace or even for print. I think when I was younger I worried a lot about fulfilling what others wanted…now I try to focus inward and create the best work I can, and let it find its way in the marketplace.

What has been the highlight?
Hitting the New York Times bestseller list, and being surrounded by people who make me feel safe.

Your go-to food when you need to stress eat?
CHOCOLATE

Ha! Me, too! I’m always saying I have a bag of chocolate chips in my fridge that I get up to retrieve handfuls of when I’m stress writing. LOL. Thank you so much, Amanda. I loved this and I can’t wait to hear what my readers think of your latest!

I’m on vacation these next two weeks, and I will try, try, try to write. But if I miss a week, you’ll know I’m on the beach in my happy place. xo

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Maybe I’ve said it before, but I feel the need to dig my feet in the sand when visiting all of the beach towns I love every summer. This past weekend, I had the awful punishment (wink, wink) of bringing my daughter to camp in Maine. My mom tagged along with my 11-year-old and me, and we centered our time in Kennebunkport, one of the prettiest towns in the state. Camden is tied with Kennebunkport for me; further north, Mount Desert Island and I share the same soul.

We arrived midafternoon at The Wanderer, a cottage-style resort a few minutes bike ride to the wide open vistas of Gooch’s Beach and the highly walkable downtown. Everything about the decor of this Travel & Leisure recommended hotel screamed Our Last Vineyard Summer, meaning it was my style with a capital S. Bamboo cane furnishings? Check. Navy and white bedding? Check. Black and white vintage framed photographs of surfers? Triple check. They had beach cruisers on hand, and outside our screened door was a vintage-feeling square pool with games to play if you’re tired of reading a book on the lounger. My mom and daughter played Yahtzee. I dug into my book: Grant Grinder’s So Old, So Young.

My mom also immediately took out her MOMA portable vase and cut snowball hydrangea to arrange inside. SO MY MOM. And she got a hundred compliments on her flowy, bright pink sundress.

Most of the first day was spent shopping. There are Lily Pulitzer dresses in nearly every clothing store—and my daughter picked a special dress for our family vacation in Martha’s Vineyard in August. There were tiny round dishes with lemons painted on them, driftwood signs with the names of beaches, cozy sweatshirts with the old Maine flag, salt water taffy, and straw hats alongside beaded earrings and silver bangles. My absolute favorite store was Dannah, which seemed to have a new treasure on every shelf and corner.

Lupine Books was a stunner. Even though it was small, it had a lovely stock and I picked up Jenny Jackson’s latest off the front table. Also spotted: Jo Piazza’s The Parisian Heist and Ellen Baker’s Summerland Cove, both on my list. A few minutes after leaving the shop, I received news that Our Last Vineyard Summer was named by People magazine as one of the best books to read if you liked The Five Star Weekend. OMG. I was floating.

That night, we drove twenty minutes to the Ogunquit Theater to see a summer stock production of “Hello, Dolly.” OH MY GOODNESS. It was like watching a Broadway show; I had no idea these summer productions in New England were this high quality. There was an actor from “Gossip Girl,” another from “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” and many other stars. We met a young actor who had driven up from Boston just to see it.

My mom couldn’t stop eating lobster rolls; the one at Allison’s Restaurant seemed to win her heart. Our best meal was by far at Ocean Restaurant, which was perched in a beautiful beach house inn just up from Walker’s Point, the compound of the Bush family. There’s a wildness, a ruggedness about Maine, that always inspires me, and the juxtaposition of a sophisticated cocktail overlooking the rough, turbulent ocean on a stormy night couldn’t get more dramatic. It was also lovely to talk to my mom like we were just two friends out to catch up, even though I see her every day in summer because our summer cottages are side by side.

I’m doing some book research on this trip too, but I can’t say what because I want my next, next book to be a surprise. My daughter got a little weepy the night before we dropped her off. I told her that sometimes daddy and I fall asleep holding hands, and I offered to hold hers as we drifted off. It did the trick and she slipped off in a deep sleep. The next morning she bounced in her seat as we drove into the entrance of her happy place, her lake front summer camp.

“You realize that this is an incredible gift, right? To go to camp in Maine and be in nature like this for two weeks.”

She nodded, smiling. “I love it here.”

Satisfied, we hugged goodbye, and she shooed me away from her returning friends. When my mom and I went back to Kennebunkport that night, I found a super super super soft dark green sweatshirt. It has a single pine tree and a simple sentence so compelling that I couldn’t help but buy it.

“I like it here,” it reads, the pine tree serving as the “I” in the word “like”. Not exactly what my daughter said but darn close. Doesn’t everyone, I thought?

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That day is today. The paperback for my latest novel Our Last Vineyard Summer is now in bookstores. Think: the much lighter (and lower cost) version of the same story featured in Oprah Daily, People, Woman’s World and Country Living.

I realized last night that it’s not my first book about second chances. Summer Darlings gives my main character, Heddy, a second chance at remaking herself. In On Gin Lane, my heroine got another shot at true love. All the Summers in Between focuses on two estranged friends who get another chance at friendship. Our Last Vineyard Summer offers a redo, too, only this time it’s three sisters getting another chance at a happy family.

Rather than think of this as my paperback launch day, I see it as a second chance to win your heart.

I offer this newsletter free to over 7,000 people, and I do that because I love sharing tidbits from my writing life, promoting the works of other authors and talking books with all of you.

But (but!!) if you’ve ever wanted to support me, today is the day. Here’s how you can help:

• If you read and loved any of my books, please help spread the word by recommending my book to a friend, posting a pic of it on social media, invite me to your book club!

• Purchase Our Last Vineyard Summer at any major retailer or online bookseller. (Or as Mary Kay Andrews tells her readers, “Buy the damn book.” I love her!)

• There’s also a wonderful audiobook for my fellow readers who listen to books as they shuttle kids, walk dogs and fold laundry.

• Forward this email to a friend and encourage them to subscribe to this newsletter.

• Did you love The Five Star Weekend? My novel is set on the OTHER summer island just across the Nantucket Sound. Ha! The Vineyard is so different and yet so similar.

• Leave a review for Our Last Vineyard Summer on Good Reads or Amazon. Then give another one of my novels a try. :)

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I’m always trying to get things right—to do better—as a mom, a wife, a friend and yes, as an author. Readers sometimes ask where they should begin when it comes to my books. I’d say begin here with Our Last Vineyard Summer. While I’m proud of all of my novels, this one is my best so far. That’s not bragging. That’s working your butt off to try and get better and seeing a glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, it worked.

xo

See you all next week with an interview with Amanda Eyre Ward (The Jetsetters). I’m heading to Maine for a quick trip and I’ll report fully on my reading and exploring along the coast. xoxoxo Happy Summer, friends!

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Something in the Water was the first book I ever listened to on Audible (now I’m on Libro), and oh-my-goodness my sister was right. The story was about a newlywed couple on honeymoon in Tahiti who discover a huge amount of money in a crashed seaplane while scuba diving. Watching them wrangle with whether they should keep the money or alert authorities about the dead bodies (also on the plane) was thoroughly addicting.

Catherine Steadman has a way of writing that keeps you up late into the night, your bleary eyes reading on as you tell yourself just one more page.

I felt the same when I picked up Nine Lives at the local bookshop on the East End of Long Island. Her latest book is set on a beautiful street in London where the stately row houses have lush gardens out back and quaint gates leading to their front doors. Insert an unreliable narrator in the newly divorced and newly arrived Fran, a cast of questionable neighbors and a new love interest that seems a bit too interested, and you’ve got a great read. Then mix in chapters told from a woman who is being held captive in a grubby basement on the very street where Fran just moved, and you’ve got yourself a gripping suspense novel.

I loved the book so much that I invited Catherine across the pond from her East London home to tell us about her latest book. Catherine Steadman, welcome to Dear Fiction!

I love the origin stories of novels. Where did you get the idea for Nine Lives?
Over the course of a few months, while I was working on a script commission for a movie, a cat started sitting outside my second story window, on the ledge, just staring at me all day while I worked. In the summer, when the windows were open and I left the room, I’d come back to find him snooping on my desk or under furniture and I’d have to let him back out. But he got a good look around my, and I presume a lot of my neighbours’ houses!? He also had a large strange looking collar disk (!) – which was quite distracting. I later found out (his name was Asti and he lived two streets away) the collar disk was just something to do with his vet – but watching him totter along the wall connecting all the houses on the street, and diving in wherever he could, gave me the idea for Nine Lives. That and a pinch of “Rear Window.”

Yes! The book reminded me of “Rear Window” in all the best ways. How specifically is this book different from your other novels? Was there anything about it that proved particularly challenging?
I think Nine Lives is my first and only DOMESTIC thriller. It’s set on a street, in a community, it doesn’t have the jet-setting scope of my previous novels as it’s more about isolation, and how these days we can feel lost, and alone, especially in a city full of people. My natural inclination is towards adventure/high-concept in thrillers but it was fun to try to find those high-stakes qualities in a more contained environment.

I loved focusing in one street in London since I got to know the feel of the area and could imagine what it would be like if I were Fran. On another note, what part of the novel do you really think you nailed?
I loved writing the chapters of Blue (the cat’s) POV via the camera hanging around his neck. There’s a whole subsection of TikTok devoted to cat camera collar footage. You go where the cat goes kind-of-thing. And the cats go everywhere. It’s a voyeur’s dream, ha! I loved writing those mini adventures —and trusting in the reader’s ability to put two-and-two together to build a picture of ‘who-lives-in-a-house-like-this’ was all part of the fun.

The cat cam was very well done! What has been the most challenging moment of your writing/publishing career? Can you be specific and tell us how you pulled out of it?
I think there’s moments in every book that are challenging. I wrote a book last year, before Nine Lives that was abandoned. My publishers thought it might be too speculative for my usual readership so it has been shelved for now. That was challenging because there is, of course, an element of branding/funnelling of content even in publishing. You kind of have to stick to your lane unless you want to publish under a different name…so, I may come back to the more speculative book at some point but either under another name or with tweaks that make it more directly fit the psych thriller space.

Oddly, it makes me feel better whenever I hear that other authors have had projects they’ve been forced to abandon for one reason or another. On a brighter note, if you could relive one day in your publishing/writing career--or your life, what would it be and why?
I think about the day I wrote 13k words, in one brilliant flow state, a lot! That was a GREAT DAY. Also, I remember where I was when I wrote the opening chapter (in one go) of Something in the Water. It ending up being published pretty much unedited. It’s days like that, when it just flows and works that are the literal DREAM!

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Wow! Really? That’s fascinating. But yes, the flow state is the best feeling for creatives. What would most people be surprised about when it comes to your writing routine or your process of developing a novel?
I guess, I’ve just covered it but, I write quickly — once I confidently know what the hook, character and problem is. When I feel I’m set up on tracks that lead to the right place and I just let myself go. I also edit as I go, constantly rereading, tweaking, adjusting. I plan but I plan in my head not on a spreadsheet but it’s the same information. Whenever I see a ‘planners’ spreadsheet I’m always thinking ha, that’s funny, I never write that stuff down, I just decide it. Maybe I’ll scrawl it on a post it – if I think I’ll forget an aspect of the structure but I don’t tend to. So, I suppose I present as a ‘pantser’ but I’m actually a ‘mental planner’. Lol!

Also, fun fact: Catherine’s screenwriting debut, all four episodes of the screen adaptation of psychological thriller THE EX-WIFE, is now streaming on Paramount+.

See you next week with the paperback pub day for my latest novel Our Last Vineyard Summer!

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Where Waves Meet Music

June ended with my daughter, Emi, graduating from the fifth grade, my son heading off to the midwest for camp, and my husband and I sitting along with his brother and my sister-in-law in Row Q for the Jack Johnson concert at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland. We left our teenagers at home with the fifth graders (oh the joy of not paying a babysitter to leave the house) and went to see one of my top three bands. If you’re not familiar with the Hawaii North Shore vibes of Jack Johnson, you need to run (not walk) to your spotify account. Jack Johnson is to music what my novels are to the book world: it’s where surf music meets summer pages.

He made us feel like we were hanging with him at a bonfire in Oahu, taking requests from the audience, answering people’s questions and shouting out anyone with a touching sign.

One woman held up a piece of cardboard that said: “I found this CD in my dad’s car after he died. Will you sign it for me?” It was Jack Johnson’s latest CD and of course, he brought her on stage to sign it.

Seconds before he came on stage, I turned to my husband and said, “What song do you hope he plays?” My husband said, “Hm. Not sure. What about you?” My favorite song, I said, is “Mud Football,” and guess what?

HE PLAYED IT FIRST. Um, I love you, Jack.

Day Trip to Annapolis

We went to Annapolis the next day and shopped around in ninety degrees + humidity. Fun fact: My husband and I almost moved to a cute little bungalow in the historic old city of Annapolis just after college but we decided DC was the better place for us. It was, but I still love the sweet old town with its twisty streets and colorful townhomes.

We discovered a sweet little bookstore called Old Fox Books, and inside, there was a stack of antique Yale Shakespeare readers (see above). I bought three and put them on my bookshelf in the beach house. I love how they look beside my industrial farmhouse mirror, a stack of newer books anchoring them.

Next door to Old Fox Books is a coastal clothing shop where every piece felt curated just for me (think beachy prints and flowy skirts; a navy strapless dress with pockets!) and I picked up this beautiful blue printed shirt that I’m going to live in all summer. Be prepared to see many photos of me in it. This is one we snapped at sunset the other night.

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A Book I Devoured

I arrived at the beach cottage with a stack of eight novels to read this summer. But then I went into a bookshop and saw the paperback of Saltwater by Katy Hays. I haven’t been able to put down the Capri-set family mystery since I picked it up two days ago. I have thirty pages left.

Not only do I love the atmospheric details of being among the wealthiest on the island of Capri (said “Cah-pri,” as one old money character lets us know), but the pages are so engrossing. It’s a psychological thriller/mystery/beach read all wrapped up in one.

I sat on my reading porch, on the beach, on the deck of my daughter’s sailing club and kept turning the pages.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

A Fresh Take on Pizza

Last night we made pizza on the outdoor grill (we have a griddle attached) and everyone got to choose their own toppings. I topped mine with ricotta, basil, red pepper flakes and paper thin slices of lemon. Thinking of it now, it kinda tasted like Capri. My daughter made margarita-style heart shaped pizzas and my husband put artichokes on his white pizza. It was so easy. We bought premade dough from our local Italian market, rolled it out, grilled one side of the dough and then added the toppings on the other. Then we popped it back on the grill to melt the toppings. Perfection.

I would love to hear what everyone is doing for the fourth. We’re going to the beach, having a BBQ and my mom is going to make the same macaroni salad she’s been making since I was seven. Think: less mayo, more creamy, milky and salty with lots of celery, onions and carrots. One of those nostalgic flavors for me. I might make a watermelon, feta, mint salad, which is one of my favorites too. Plus, local corn. Sigh. It’s so good to be in the swing of summer.

See you all next week on whatever shoreline you’re enjoying! Have a great holiday weekend! Also, look at how cute my friend Meredith’s new puppy is. They named him Ranger and he’s so delicious!

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I first met author Juliet Faithfull at the Newburyport Literary Festival in April. We were asked to present on the same historical fiction panel during the conference, and I loved her nurturing, genuine and kind personality right away. I also loved her novel, Liar’s Dice, which I read as soon as I got home the following week. It’s tender and lyrical with a story that’s so compelling (and inspired by her real-life) that I understood right away why she was scheduled to go on “The Today Show” to speak about her book.

Liar’s Dice isn’t light but it’s worthwhile. Think: A heartbreaking look at 1970s Brazil and one young woman who is torn away from her disabled twin sister and forced to fight for a chance to see her again. I invited Juliet to talk about her twenty year journey to write the novel—and why getting her story out in the world may just heal her.

I’m not the only one who has noticed this novel either. Legendary writer Sandra Cisneros says, “I hesitate to call anything this beautiful ‘magic.’ It’s more than that. It’s sacred healing.”

Welcome, Juliet, to Dear Fiction!

I love to hear how authors get their ideas. Where did you come up with the premise for Liar’s Dice?
I don’t really write from ideas; I sit and write and then see what emerges. But I knew I wanted to write a story that included a character with a disability. My novel was inspired by my identical twin sister, who had cerebral palsy and epilepsy. I remember reading Dancing After Hours by Andre Dubus, where a quadriplegic man sits drinking at a bar. I cried. It was 1996, I think, and the first time I’d read about someone in a wheelchair in fiction.

I also wanted to write about the experience of being illiterate. My mother is illiterate and I only started school when I was almost ten. Once I had a few pieces, the story started to unfold. I wanted the military dictatorship to be part of the story too. I grew up in 1970’s Brazil, at the height of the military dictatorship. But I had to tell it from the point-of-view of a twelve-year-old (my main character). I wanted the dictatorship to be there in the way it was for me, always in the background, like the shade of a tall building.

How long did it take you to write? What were your biggest challenges, both personally and professionally?
It took me over twenty years to write! I started it in the nineties, but then I became a single mother to two boys, and I worked full-time so it was hard to carve out time to write. I had a Thursday night writing group, where we met and wrote together. That was the “room of my own,” a space where I could go and for a few hours, put everything on hold, and write. Much of what is now my novel, began there.

I think lack of confidence was the single biggest challenge. It’s hard to trust that it will all come together. It’s such a long-distance race. It helps to have the support of a writing community. I was so lucky to find that.

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What kept you going? Were there any times you nearly gave up? Please give a specific example.
The support and encouragement of others kept me going. Both friends, and teachers. In 2016, I almost gave up. It seemed I would never have the space and time needed to write a novel, so I decided to go back to short stories. I found a chapter in my novel that I thought could stand alone (with some revision) and I sent it to the Bellevue Review and was published almost immediately. That gave me hope. And then an agent wrote to me saying that he had read my story and thought it could be a novel, would I consider writing one? So, it was back to the novel again!!

When my kids went to college, I decided to put writing first. I applied to Grub Street’s Novel Incubator, led by Michelle Hoover—and that program (and Michele) made all the difference. I collected all those pieces I’d written on Thursday nights and the Novel Incubator helped me to shape them into a novel. It wasn’t just craft-- it was the sustained support from the other excellent writers in the program. We read each other’s novels four times!

And how did those writings turn into Liar’s Dice?
Once the story of Mita and Dolores arrived, I knew it had to be a novel. It took over, and it was hard to write other things. Writing about my twin sister, even if I was “telling it slant,” meant facing the sadness of her life. Sometimes I avoided it. On the other hand, writing about Rio and Brazil was fun; it was a way to be there, even in the coldest winter! Sense of place (1970’s Brazil) is an important part of my novel.

I know your book just came out, but what has been the single biggest moment of your publishing career so far? Why?
There have been so many amazing moments! I sold my novel at auction the same week my twin died. I wasn’t sure I was up for going to NYC and meeting with editors, but I went, and I’m so glad I did! Meeting Jenna Bush Hager for the first time, discussing my novel and twinship with Jenna, my editor, my agent, all of us in her little office crying about my characters! I will never forget that!

My reading event at the Harvard Bookstore was the most joyful. We filled up the place, including the spare rooms with TV monitors. I was so touched. Looking out at a roomful of friends and family and people I had never met in the bookshop where I spent so many hours in as an undergraduate.

And the TODAY show. I was so nervous, but it was smaller than I expected and friendly, almost like being back-stage in a play.

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If you could get one do over in your life, what would it be and why?
This is a hard one. I think of Tilly Olsen and that wonderful story “As I Stand Here Ironing,” the mother in the story thinking about her daughter, having to leave her to work, not being able to give her certain opportunities, so “all in her will not bloom—but in how many does it?” Those lines haunt me. I became a single mother when my boys were young (that is also why it took me so long to finish my book!) and I would have wanted to give them more in every way; more time, more ease, better opportunities. Maybe every parent feels that way…

I think we do. You’re not alone, Juliet. And thank you for giving us this gift of a story in Liar’s Dice. xo

Have a great week everyone! Special report from the sand next week. Ha!

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• I love seeing the sunflowers turn their faces to the sun in big open fields. This might sound funny but they really feel like old friends waving hello.

• When I woke up this morning and went on the deck with my over-sugary coffee, the air was warm but cool and soft. I thought: “It feels like the Vineyard.”

• I’m obsessed with this shirt.

• My 11-year-old was Mary Poppins in “Mary Poppins.” Cue the tissues. It was my favorite movie as a kid, and if you could have told my 12-year-old self that one day I’d have a sweet, smart and confident daughter star in the play as Mary, I would have never believed you. Full circle moment.

• My husband and I have planted so many flowers in our backyard garden that it’s exploding with color. The bright fuchsia blooms of our clematis vines are climbing the side of our garage. Japanese spirea glow hot pink along the deck. My rose garden along one side of our white picket fence are a mix of reds and pale pinks. Yarrow is as yellow as the sun. Blooming soon: I just planted a giant hibiscus.

• I’m terrified of the television show “Widow’s Bay,” even if it’s the series of the summer—When Pennywise chased Matthew Rhys through the crawlspace, I had to hide my eyes, and then I jumped when I saw a shadow in the living room. It was my 16-year-old.

• My 16-year-old is leaving for a three week arts camp in the midwest, and I think I just need to get used to it, him leaving us. He’s getting older and the years are flying and he just took a big math final and he came out of his brick school building grinning at me. “I think I crushed it,” he said. How does a boy’s big goofy smile always melt a mother’s heart?

• I started researching my 2028 book.

• I sold my summer 2027 novel. Cartwheels.

• We’re throwing my daughter a small graduation party where a hibachi chef is going to cook in our backyard. This excites me more than anything. Open wide!

• I’m reading and LOVING the tender-hearted Bug Hollow by Michelle Uneven. Final chapter to be finished today.

• I’m 80 percent finished listening to The Calamity Club, and it’s such a captivating historical fiction story it’s making me want to write something equally ambitious.

• My daughter is still in school and won’t finish until NEXT Thursday. Why does it feel like the rest of America is already finished with the grind?

• The Knicks won the championship, and somehow it feels like I won it too. It had been a very long drought and in that sense, my New York team was actually the underdog.

• I’m counting down the days until we get to the North Fork. There’s nothing better than letting your dogs run free on the beach early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Get me on the sand.

• Is anyone else loving the Olivia Rodrigo song “Drop Dead”? It’s been on repeat in our house.

• My writer pal, Eliza Knight, just had a new book come out and I blurbed it. It’s called Lost in the Summer of ‘69 and the mother/daughter story in it is totally worth the read. Eliza and I are both Terps, and I love her books.

• I can’t wait to read Whistler by Ann Patchett, along with every other Patchett fan this summer. Why does Ann Patchett feel like everyone’s favorite aunt?

• Last, should I buy these sandals? I’ve already bought another pair of Jellies and I’m Jelly obsessed. Do you all remember wearing them as a kid?

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Julie Gerstenblatt and I often joke about which New England summer island is best: her loyalty is with Nantucket while mine is with the Vineyard. But it doesn’t mean we wouldn’t love to spend time on either island’s similar (and wholly different!!) shores. Since she knows Nantucket from years of summering and writing about the island, I asked her to explain what makes the summer island so special. In many ways, it’s been her muse.

Coming off a lovely debut, Daughters of Nantucket, Gerstenblatt’s second novel, The Stargazer of Nantucket, released this week and it’s an epic story of adventure and discovery, all originating in the former whaling island. I got to read an early copy of this novel and couldn’t put it down—I particularly enjoyed heroine Winifred Starbuck whose antics were as empowered as they were maddening.

Why does Julie always set her books on the island? Because it captured her heart as a child and its pull hasn’t let up. Welcome to the Nantucket author’s tour of her happy place.

Why She Keeps Going Back in Summer and On the Page:

I fell in love with Nantucket in the summer of 1978 and have been going back with my family in one form or another ever since. I love everything about it, except for the impossible economics of trying to live there. I love the beaches and the architecture and the history and the food and the nightlife. Where else can you drive your Jeep onto a beach by day and fish for stripers in your bathing suit and then put on a fun dress and sing at a piano bar at night? (Not that I actually go fishing!)

Nantucket is a place with such a sense of place, if that makes sense. It owns my heart, and some day I hope to own a little piece of it. But, until then, I can sit at my desk and imagine my characters living there for me.

Her Favorite Beach: Surfside

I love the view of the Atlantic from the top of the sandy path – and having truffle fries from the Shack for lunch!

(Note From Brooke: Surfside is also my favorite beach on Nantucket! I love the Shack!!!!)

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Julie’s Best Nantucket Memory:

The summer of 1978 with my grandfather (who we called Pop-Pop) on Dionis beach. We went there a lot, but I have this memory of one day in particular when my brother and I raced each other as we rolled down the (then) huge dunes, flew kites with Pop-Pop, and walked out at low tide with him to collect hermit crabs in plastic buckets, staying on the beach until the sun set.

Most Over-the-top Nantucket Look She Adores:

I love a wedding party where all the guys are dressed in OG (original), real deal Murray’s Toggery Shop’s Nantucket reds. I also love seeing older women with beautiful antique Nantucket Lightship baskets on their arms and several gold baskets on chains around their necks, their wrists and ears dripping in giant pearls and gorgeous nautical, island-inspired statement jewelry from stores like Seaman Schepps.

Her Favorite Lunch Spot:

A Turkey Terrific from Provisions with Cape Cod chips and a Nantucket Nectars half-and-half eaten in a beach chair next to my rented Jeep with my family out at Great Point.

Where She Shops:

Boutique Erica Wilson for brands like Ulla Johnson, Saloni, and Alamais, plus soft pajama sets and their own private-label line of clothing. They are very good at helping you put together an upscale Nantucket-y outfit, and they also carry needlepoint and children’s clothing. I also love Cartolina and Gypsy.

I also shop at the island location of Veronica Beard. If you know me, then you know how obsessed I am with everything VB. I have several blazers and lots of their dresses and tops, and – a new discovery! – I love their winter boots.

Her Favorite Walk on the Island:

Okay, so by the afternoon, I am not walking anywhere. By then I like to be on the beach. The best morning walk, though, is on the ‘Sconset Bluff. Unfortunately, this serene lookout path behind homes along Baxter Road and out to the Sankaty Light has gotten too much attention via social media. Also, it’s not a place to go for a brisk walk because of the narrow footpath and constant right-of-way issues with people coming and going. But it’s gorgeous and you have to see it! Alternatives where you can actually get your heart rate up include the unpaved Altar Rock path (to the highest point on the island, which isn’t very high) or the paved Surfside bike path out to the beach, where a kid or two is almost always selling lemonade. If you are in town and want a short, pretty stroll through a Nantucket Land Bank area, I’d suggest Lily Pond Park.

Thank you, Julie! Sorry I’m a little late posting this week. It’s Knicks mania in New York (GO KNICKS!!!!) AND my kids end of year schedules are keeping me on the hop. See you all next week with an update about me! xo Have a great weekend everyone!

“Sure,” I said with a nervous chuckle, probably downing a chocolate chip cookie, which I tended to do whether I was anxious or not. Why was the game of Mahjong so stressful? “But what do we do again?”

“We roll the dice,” said Ranjana, who somehow picked up the game quickly; she’s a numbers gal. “The highest roll goes first.”

Oh right. Thank goodness for friends, right? I wouldn’t have learned anything about how to play this game without them, and I’ve also learned to lean on them in other ways too. That’s what I began to think about as the weeks of play marched on from those earliest Wednesdays in winter. Mahjong isn’t just a game of luck and strategy. It’s a game of friendship. It’s also a metaphor for life.

Let me rewind. When my friend Tovah asked me if I wanted to learn Mahjong, I hesitated. Wasn’t this something old ladies did after retirement? My close friend, Sara, had been playing for years and it made her happier than a summer’s day, but still: Was this going to be like some kind of coffee clutch at the nursing home? Then again, I adored the friend group that was inviting me to learn with them; they included women I’d been close with for years and friends I’d always wanted to be closer to. Besides, I love learning new things, always and forever like a chef’s kiss, so I said, sure, I’ll try it.

In our early lessons, my brain felt like it had been put through a dryer cycle afterward, like all these little compartments that were typically dormant were suddenly shaken awake. I write all day everyday—I don’t typically look for patterns, and I certainly don’t stare at numbers or little Chinese characters. What was this foreign language? Over several weeks and a very long losing streak, though, the Mahjong card began to make a little more sense. I didn’t win, but I could sometimes say, “I was one away!” from victory, which Sara said is a joke in the Mahjong world.

Everyone is always one away. You can buy t-shirts that say this.

Our five-some only played together, two of us teaming up if all of us could make it on Wednesday nights. This always made the round more fun because you could talk over your strategy with a friend and grovel with them when the tiles didn’t go your way. Tiles often didn’t go your way, and that was the first lesson for me of why I adore this game: When does life ever go the way you want it to? But just like in Mahjong, you decide how to respond: You can pivot and change your path, or you can accept defeat and start over. Either way, it’s your choice how to respond to whatever the game deals you.

My friend, Nancy, often groans with disgust or indecision when we play, and she’s capturing my own internal frustration. When I asked her if she thought Mahjong is a metaphor for life, she texted right away. “I’m the type of person who likes to plan out everything in advance and then follow that plan to the letter. Mahjong is a good reminder for me that sometimes you need to go with the flow and make new plans when necessary to get where you want! And sometimes (oftentimes) things don’t work out, but that just means it’s worked out for one of my friends, and there’s always another chance for me next time.”

We were supportive Mahjong players. If someone missed the chance to pick up a tile and saw it later, we’d encourage them to take it. When Ranjana and Tovah began to win game after game, clearly excelling in ways the rest of us weren’t, they cheered us on the way good friends do. At one point, when it was clear that some of us were advanced enough to recognize another’s strategy and work against them, Meredith kindly said, “Don’t hold back to be nice. We need to play for real.” Meaning, let’s not sugarcoat our moves. If you could hold on to a tile to keep someone else from winning, go for it.

We all agreed, each of us longing to get a victory under our belt. Still, even after weeks and weeks of play, I still hadn’t won a game on my own.

Our Wednesday meetups had been going on for months, and we found ourselves talking about our lives more and more as we divvied up tiles during the Charleston since the game was becoming clearer. We also began to grow faster at our play. One excruciating slow game over two hours early on transformed into three swift matches. We’d talk about our kids who were attending prom, parenting struggles, how our husbands can drive us crazy when they’re sick, what we could do to help a friend who needed us. We all began to look forward to these nights—hump day was now fun day—and not just because of the game but because it gave us an excuse to be together. To connect and laugh and complain and catch up.

There have been books written about the key to happiness, but what I’ve realized is that it’s not complicated. Happiness comes with connection, and Mahjong gives people a fresh way to connect. You are doing something new with the people you care about—or using it as a way to find new people to care about. Over time, it became even more apparent, at least to me, that our get togethers weren’t just about playing an old game. It was about building a Mahjong friendship circle.

Maybe this essay is a cheesy ode to our game play, but it’s true. The game of Mahjong is only as good as the people you play it with.

Our lives are only as good as the people we play it with.

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Two weeks ago, I thought I had a win and hollered out, “Mahjong.” Everyone clapped and cheered, but then when we examined my tiles, I realized I had mixed up two lines. I didn’t win after all. My cheeks grew hot. These were my friends, but I felt kind of stupid. Why was I always messing up in this game? I just needed one more tile! Again!

Each of us went around the circle, taking a turn. Ranjana picked up a bird bam and discarded it. Then it was my turn. There was one tile left. One tile left in the entire game! When I reached for it, turning it over in my palm, my heart swelled.

Four dot. It was what I needed to win.

“Mahjong!” I called out, and my friends erupted into cheers and laughter and visible relief since I’d recovered from my earlier error. It was like hitting a home run after being struck out. My friends kept cheering, “Four dot!”

“That was the best win ever,” Nancy laughed, and we all cheered again. We couldn’t stop texting about it the next morning.

And maybe that’s the thing about Mahjong that’s even better than connection. Being together isn’t just about catching up and game play. It’s about sharing in each other’s victories, and then starting together again.

Recently, Christine and I shared a chatty drive back to the Back Bay Amtrak station after we both presented at the Newburyport Literary Festival. We got talking about writing, travel and publishing, and I eagerly took home her debut novel, All the Men I’ve Loved Again (out in paperback 6/12).

What a tender, heart-felt read! The story begins in 1999, and our heroine, Cora, is trying to reinvent herself in college when she meets and falls in love with sweet and adorable Lincoln. When family tragedy pulls her back home, Cora finds herself spending time with a young photographer—and she falls in love for a second time. The relationships fizzle out and life shifts in different directions, and the story picks up again in her thirties when she finds herself dating the same two men. Will she find true love, even after closing herself off to the possibility? You need to read the book to find out!

I’m so excited that Christine Pride is here with us today. Christine, let’s begin our second gab fest, only this time we’re not in a car. xoxoxo

This is your first solo novel. Why did you decide to pivot a bit from your book written with Jo Piazza?
Yes, my debut novel is a departure from my earlier writing experiences in that the subject matter is very different and it was my first time writing solo! I’ve always thought about trying new ventures, creatively and otherwise. I did want to try my hand at an individual project after many years of collaborating with other writers as an editor and as a writing partner. It was a way to stretch! And yes, I also wanted to venture into somewhat “lighter” terrain after writing about heavy hitting and complex subjects like race, police violence and foster care. It was fun (in a different way) to write about first love and second chances. The novel still has plenty of emotional depth, but it’s also fun and juicy.

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People often mistake a book character for its writer. Are there any parts of you or any parts of your life story reflected in Cora in All the Men I’ve Loved Again?
I did, wildly and improbably enough, date two men in my twenties back to back and then the same two men in my forties back to back. When your life is a novel plot, you almost have no choice but to use it as inspiration!

Ha! I love that. How has your career as an editor impacted your career as a writer? Is your editor hat always on when you’re writing? How do you turn it off?
One thing that’s really helped me as an author—and I wouldn’t even say writer, but author—is that I know how the publishing industry works after being a Big 5 editor for twenty plus years: the players, the timing, the vernacular, etc. It was a leg up to understand how the whole machine operates and thus what I could expect and push for.

As far as the writing itself goes, editing other people’s work for so many years has given me an intuitive understanding of the mechanics of plot, structure, character development, etc, and also, crucially, reader’s expectations. I know that helped me in the overall development of my novels, even though it’s still hard to string words together into lovely sentences no matter what! And everyone needs an editor (It’s impossible to wear both hats at once)—I certainly had struggles and blind spots from being too close to the material that I needed feedback and fresh eyes. Which is to say being an editor had already convinced me how important having one is!

I’m also much more sensitive to the emotional dimension of writing, after becoming a novelist. As an editor, I didn’t realize how much crying, and proverbial head slamming and wails of “this is impossible!!!” are an unavoidable (just me?) but often invisible (to the reader) part of the process.

What has been the pinnacle moment of your publishing career? Try to be specific. Can you describe what happened, where you were, why it was so great?
Getting the call that We Are Not Like Them was going to be a Good Morning America book club pick was very specific and very exciting! That call came about six months before publication so there was a lot of anticipation around what it would mean for the book and a lot of fun (but hard!!!) secrecy! It was a delight to be interviewed by Deborah Roberts and be on national TV for the first time! How can national TV NOT be a career pinnacle.

But even more than that, I’m proud of the way so many readers and book clubs responded to the book from there—from that launching point—it inspired so many heartfelt conversations about race that were timely and important and meaningful and when a book can do that, it’s special.

What has been the hardest moment of your publishing career?
Recently, I tried to sell a project I was very passionate about—an anthology about grief with “big name” writers sharing deeply personal and inspiring stories of loss and resilience. It was lining up an amazing roster of beloved writers and I know it’s the book I would have wanted to have when my dad died almost two years ago, or that I would want to give people in my life when they’re impacted by loss. And yet, my agents couldn’t get any editors on board. Which I think (wearing my editor hat) is a real miss, but it was also for me personally, who saw so much potential and meaning in this project, a disappointment!

If you could have one do-over in your personal life, what would it be?
I don’t believe in do-overs, actually. I think we only get one life and we make the best choices we can and then live with the accumulated consequences and course correct as we go. I recently got a tattoo to remind me of this—Amor Fati— which means love/embrace your fate. I don’t want to miss out on what could be by spending time and energy ruminating on what could have been.

I love that. See, there’s a reason we hit it off, Christine. :)

Speed round: If you could live in any one novel for one day, what would it be and why? Who am I kidding? That’s not a speed round question but I’m curious since you’re such a book lover like me.
I love this question, but my god, there are so. many. novels. How to possibly choose? I think, at the moment, I’d love to be a heroine in any one of Kennedy Ryan’s novels—they’re strong yet vulnerable Black women at the top of their game, meeting hot men, having the steamiest sex, overcoming any obstacle in their way, alongside their ride or die friends. (Also the clothes and parties and backdrops.) Sign me up.

Thank you for stopping by, Christine! Don’t forget to pick up the paperback of this one. Perfect for the beach. See you all next week!

So what is a beach read? Let’s not be mistaken. I’m not a believer that a summer read is light and fluffy; my book, Our Last Vineyard Summer, out in paperback in July, is hardly without teeth! Plus, since summer reading is escapist, I want books that immerse me in fascinating worlds to deconstruct my own life—or parachute me into someone else’s life to learn from them. So let’s give the dragons a break, and return to a good old tale of humanity. Here are my picks for the summer 2026!

Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer
I loved Less, and Greer’s latest has my interest piqued: A woman takes a job with a Baronessa at her crumbling mansion in the Tuscan hills. David Sedaris says that Greer couldn’t be “funnier” and that his prose “sings.” I’m in!

Daughters of the Sun and Moon by Lisa See
I thought I was done reading Lisa See’s rich, historical novels, many of which I’ve loved, but the premise of this one has me reaching for it. The lives of three Chinese women in 19th century Los Angeles (“a dusty, violent pueblo”) intersect amid anti-Chinese sentiment and daydreams of what life might be.

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The Story Keeper by Kelly Rimmer
After taking over her family’s old crumbling estate, Fiona Winslow is intent on restoring it—until she finds long buried secrets hiding in the walls. I will be losing myself in this gothic dual timeline that’s called “a book within a book” on the beach!

June Baby by Shannon Garvey
This is the book that is first on my list. Called the “book of the summer” by Elin Hilderbrand, the novel is set on Block Island and it follows Ruth, who lost her mother as a teenager. An adult now, Ruth finds herself pining for her an old crush named Charlie while still figuring out who she is. A tender coming of age story, the book promises a “tender exploration of love and grief, set against a backdrop of golden dunes.” Um, Shannon Garvey and I are going to be friends. Haha!

Liberty Island by Virginia Hume
I’ve been waiting for Virginia Hume to write a second novel after her lovely debut Haven Point, and it’s finally here. Liberty Island sounds very intriguing since Hume picks up on the Demarest characters from Haven Point, but at an earlier point in this dual timeline sweeping historical novel. Think: women pushing beyond expectations during two summers spent at a family home set on the rocky shores of Maine.

Pink Sand Summer by Chassity Evans
I’m not going to lie. I’m not a huge romance fan over here, but this book got with me its title. I love the idea of spending a dreamy summer on the shores of Harbour Island in The Bahamas, and the idea is cute: A woman returns home only to come face to face with the man that broke her heart. I mean, why not?

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When You Loved Me by Beatriz Williams
There isn’t a Beatriz novel I haven’t read, and this one sounds just as juicy as the others: A young window returns to her father’s New England estate and becomes obsessed with finding the pirate treasure that consumed his life. For some reason, I’m thinking Beatriz may be channeling her inner Carolyn Keene and this novel may just feel like an upmarket Nancy Drew. I’m dying for it!

The Parisian Heist by Jo Piazza
Jo Piazza is always engaging in her books, and this one has me interested in main character Emma, who takes a job in Paris cleaning houses of the rich. While there, she meets an illustrious wealthy family who draws her into their mysterious world full of money and secrets. Expect to travel with Emma to iconic European locales while she tries to figure out what happened during a theft at the Musee d’Orsay.

Breathing Under Water by Jackie Friedland
Jackie’s books are always full of interesting, unforgettable characters, and this one is no exception. Both of the women in Friedland’s latest captivating novel feel as though they’re failing at life, but they will find each other in the most extraordinary way and (find themselves, too) in the end. I loved this one!!

Beginning Middle End by Valeria Luiselli
This premise had me from the start: Recently divorced mother and teenage daughter land in Sicily for the trip of a lifetime to the place where the great-grandmother once worked on archaeological dig. There are deep questions from the start: “How do you begin again? the narrator wonders, pondering her family line. How do you begin again if you got the beginning wrong?” Doesn’t that just give you the chills?

The Chateau on Sunset by Natasha Lester
A feminist reimagining of Jane Eyre set at the legendary Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, I can’t wait to read this imaginative latest by the prolific and always talented Natasha Lester!

Down With the Shipmans by Meg Mitchell Moore
I loved this book with all of my heart. The Shipman sisters are a fascinating bunch as they return home to coastal New Hampshire to reckon with their family’s past. I had a chance to read an early copy, so I’ll let my blurb speak for itself: “Meg Mitchell Moore’s perceptive latest is the absolute best novel I’ve read about sisters since Ann Napolitano’s Hello Beautiful.”

Big Little Truth by Leanne Moriarty
Same characters as Big Little Lies. Same locale. New drama in this book that Liane Moriarty swore she’d never write. Well, she has, and I’m in. Perfect for a long airplane ride. I bet the audiobook is tops.

Star Crossed Summer by Devon Daniels
I read that this one is based on the real life actors in The Notebook: Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling. Again, not the typical pick for me, but I loved the idea of imagining what their hot-headed relationship was like on set, and then how they dated by the end of the movie. So did this author who fashions her book on this very story. So adorable. I may just have to read this one!

The Great Wherever by Shannon Sanders
I’ve preordered this one! A woman inherits her father’s share of a Tennessee farm and when she returns, she finds that four very judgmental ghosts are waiting to share some of the biggest mistakes made by those that called the farm home. The tagline is enough to catch my attention: “The dead are relentless gossips, or at least these dead are.”

Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan
Last but certainly not least. Annabel is kind and funny and she’s a fabulous writer so I can’t wait for her latest summer lady Dolly. Monaghan’s books are like Hallmark movies with incredible plotting, lush writing and the most lovable characters around.

If you read any of these books, please share with me. I’d love to hear what you think! xo I can’t believe it’s Memorial Day this weekend. Welcome to Summer!

Until then, I will be catching up on all of the things in my life I’ve been putting off while I finished my book. Did you really think authors could write books without the rest of their lives falling apart? It’s impossible. Ha!

Calling All Readers!

First, a gift. The ebook of my third novel, All the Summers in Between, has been marked down by the publishing gods to a “cheaper than a latte” price of $1.99. Really!

If you’ve been wondering if you should try reading one of my books, now is the time. Go on your Kindle and give it a whirl. I loved writing All the Summers in Between since it was about two best friends who reunite after a ten year estrangement—only to discover that they may not be able to push through their differing accounts of one terrible night. There’s a sweet love story, a lot about the ups and downs of friendship and of course, a look at how the standards of beauty and pressures to be a woman have evolved. Plus, the setting is splendid. The Hamptons in the 70s…before the Hamptons were the over the top, fairly obnoxious (still beautiful) place they are today.

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These (Literary!) Country Roads

Guys! Can I tell you something so exciting? Country Living did a roundup of its favorite 2026 summer reads and Our Last Vineyard Summer made the cut. Woot! I’m so grateful since the list is rounded out by some of my favorite writers like Jenny Jackson, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Beatriz Williams, Meg Mitchell Moore and Elin Hilderbrand.

Truly, I hope this helps readers finds my heartfelt story about the Whiting sisters and their complex relationship with their feminist-icon mother, Virgie. That family is hiding all sorts of secrets from each other when they get home, and the summer wouldn’t be complete if those secrets didn’t find their way out. What I loved exploring in this book is memory—all three sisters in the book experienced their family and remember its legacy in very different ways.

I’m curious. Do you think you and your siblings would describe your family in the same way?

Meeting New Book Besties at the Newburyport Literary Festival

I was so honored to be asked to speak on a panel about historical fiction along with Juliet Faithful and Emily Franklin. Not only did I get to spend the weekend exploring the postcard worthy town of Newburyport, but I was able to meet up with a bunch of author friends.

Here were some of the highlights: A cocktail party at literary great Andre Dubus III (The House of Sand and Fog) insanely awesome house (see NYT article here). Trying on hats and sipping wine with Meg Mitchell Moore (her awesome book is out in two weeks) at J. McLaughlin. Saving author Jenna Blum from being hit on by some creepy guy and then chatting and posing for pics on the front step of our hotel. A gabby lunch with authors Julie Gerstenblatt (her book is also out soon!) and Jenna Paone. A laugh-filled dinner with four lovely women writers (Christine Pride, Lori Gold, Stephanie Burns and Betty Cayouette). Meeting Catherine Newman (Sandwich and Wreck) even if she never remembers me again. Walking along the harbor front early Sunday morning, then laying on the beach on Plum Island. All in all, a lovely, lovely weekend.

It was hardly the first time I’ve been able to say…Gosh, I love being a writer.

The Little Things

The other night at an intimate group dinner, my friend Georgene said: “Let’s go around the table and talk about something that’s bringing us joy right now.” Isn’t that brilliant? I just gave you three things. Will you share something with me? What is bringing you joy right now? (It can literally be…lilacs blooming in my backyard, which is also bringing me happiness).

Georgene held up her wrist and said, “My WHOOP.” This made us laugh, but it’s so true. Maximizing our stats is so satisfying. We were all feeling so inspired that we did something funny. We drove to the oldest tree in our town with the plan to hug it. It felt so good to wrap our arms around this magnificent oak tree. I don’t know. Maybe we’re all going through something. It was really wonderful.

Happy Tuesday, everyone.

xo

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See you all next week with lots of updates! By the way, my serious, stressed face (below) is how I look 99 percent of the time when I’m writing. No wonder I have wrinkles between my eyebrows. My thinking lines! And I included my dog Luna because every time I look down, she’s looking up at me. Sweetie! Happy happy day, friends.

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Consider Dreamt a literary beach read, though there’s nothing light about it. The writing is elevated, the story full of insight and the characters gripping—but it’s all set in a fictional town on the Cape that had me daydreaming about summer.

I invited Jimin to Dear Fiction to share insights about Dreamt I Found You, which is inspired, in part, by a contemporary retelling of Korea’s Romeo & Juliet. Not only is the story behind the story fascinating but there are so many great takeaways when she talks about her writing process. Enjoy!

Welcome, Jimin! Happy Pub Day!

Where did you get the idea for Dreamt I Found You? What was the spark, and when did you know you had a story big enough for a novel?
I’ve always loved stories so this book is a love letter to how stories impact our lives, how stories surround us and determine the choices we make, whether they’re stories we hear from family and friends or those we read and watch on screens.

Many things came together at once for this book to be written. For one, a memory of my boyfriend in college who had a coffee mug with a scene from a Chinese version of Romeo and Juliet. I wondered then if there was a Korean version of that story. When I asked my aunt and uncle, they told me the Tale of Chunhyang. I had no idea it was as famous as it was in Korea and it made me wonder about all the versions of the same stories we share as humans on this planet.

The other part of this book came from my cousin Sherry, who has always been such a supporter of my writing. Her family is so different from mine even though our mothers are sisters and we grew up living together under one roof at various times in our lives. So the idea of sameness and difference helped me write this novel.

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Sameness and differentness is a huge theme in this book, and I found your exploration of it fascinating. Another fascinating turn: You ended up writing their story as a mystery. Did you always plan on writing it that way?
I wanted the cousins, Dahee and Channing, in this novel to experience change in their financial fortunes based on the situation in their families. I was curious about how children live through those kinds of changes, when economic circumstances improve and when they decline. They’re held together despite the struggles in their lives as cousins so the mystery evolved out of that. I had to write an entire draft just about the mystery and then a draft about the love story between Channing and Minjae and then weave them together from Dahee’s point of view.

One aspect of your book I love is the way the Korean folktale of Chunhyang shapes the story. How have stories shaped your life, and is there a story you have returned to over time in terms of shaping your personality and moral compass?
Love stories are the same in so many ways. Why does society separate people? We love who we love. People are constantly interfering with that. We see it in so many ways.

My grandparents were of different social/economic classes so I grew up hearing how my grandmother was disowned by her parents because of who she loved and had to move to the northern part of the Korean peninsula. My father was eventually born and then the Korean War started and he and his father fled south on foot, leaving my grandmother behind temporarily—or so they thought.

My grandmother who left her family for the man she loved ended up living the rest of her adult life, most of her life if we believe the stories we heard that she died in her sixties, without the man she left her family for because a border was imposed at the 38th parallel. It should have been a cautionary tale, instead my grandmother was an example of someone who made a choice based on love, not on these artificial rules people came up with. It has stayed with me, this sense that sometimes laws and social rules are unjust.

The setting for the book is East End, a diverse community on the Cape, and there’s a tight knit community of Koreans summering there. Is this based on a real place? Why did you set this story at the beach rather than, say, Boston?
Great question. I think there’s something about a small community that insulates it from the rest of the country and the world in ways that cities don’t. My early memories of moving to the States from South Korea are all based in Providence, Rhode Island. I went to kindergarten and first grade there. And after we moved away my parents took us back every summer to stay with my aunt and uncle who lived there. Not just a few days. My brothers and I spent the entire summer. Every weekend my aunt and uncle took us to the beach and we stayed all day.

When I was in college my parents moved back to Providence for a couple of years before moving yet again. That was eye-opening. I added a whole new set of memories.

The other beachtown influence that continues to grow is that my writers group goes to Cape Cod every summer. We’ve had this annual retreat for over a dozen years now. And every time I go, all those childhood memories return and I get the most written during that week. My friend’s house is set right in the harbor and you can walk to the public beach down the road.

In terms of diversity, East End is entirely fictional but it’s possible for a place like that to exist because we have Martha’s Vineyard, of course. And Annandale, Virginia, where my parents retired and where my aunt and uncle and cousins currently live is such a great community with a large Asian community. I love visiting it.

I love that we can use our imaginations to create places we wished existed in fiction.

That is so deep, Jimin. I agree. On another note. What has been the single most meaningful moment in your publishing career? Why?
Probably getting the news when I was buying dog food after teaching a class at the Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence that my editor had bought my first novel, A Small Revolution. Nothing compares to being catapulted to that start of the journey. I couldn’t believe it. I was stunned and walked up and down the aisle with all the huge 20 pound bags of dog food, saying over and over again into my cellphone to my agent, “Can you repeat that?”

What has been the single most challenging moment of your publishing career? What did you do to get over it?
After that first book was published, I set out to work on my second novel where a Korean American woman is having a great time at the W Hotel in Barcelona, partying on the rooftop pool, when she gets a call from a woman she used to babysit. The younger woman is desperate and begs the older one in Spain to come back to their upstate New York hometown to help her. I worked really hard on that book but I just couldn’t get it to work and had to put it aside. That was painful.

At the time, I had another idea based on the story of my grandmother that I was playing around with. I thought maybe it would be a memoir. Instead that one turned into a novel and my writers group loved the voice so much better than my mystery and so I pivoted and wrote that other one really fast. That turned into The Apology.

So though Dreamt I Found You is not that mystery, I’m really proud of myself for having come up with a mystery for that one. And I guess there’s a lot that’s similar to that story: It’s also about a woman asking another for help and one coming to the rescue of the other. This time, they’re cousins instead of a care giver at one point. But I have a babysitter in there! Channing is taking care of two little boys for the month of August. Fascinating how these ideas come back around again.

Lesson learned: Even if you think you’ve given up, all is not lost. Elements of that abandoned story will return in another version.

Thank you all for reading. Next week, I’ll update you about all of the fun stuff I’ve been up to. Also, I’ve been reading Yesteryear and LOVING it. What a cringe book—the narrator is so psycho in the most delicious way. I can’t put it down. What are you reading and loving lately? xo Happy week!

We’ve stayed in touch with every book we’ve put out since, and her latest, The Island Club, is my favorite Nicola novel so far. I loved being transported to vintage Balboa Island, California, but I was also fascinated by her glamorous and compelling tale of female friendship. (It reminds me of my book All the Summers in Between quite a bit!) I invited her to share about her writing journey, her latest novel and what has helped her stay inspired along the way. xo

Welcome, Nicola!

Where did you get the idea for this book? What was the spark?
Actually, there were two sparks for this book. The first was the setting. I knew I wanted to set this novel on Balboa Island, a tiny, walkable island tucked into Newport Beach, California, close to where I spent my teenage years. To get there you take a historic ferry, which has been running since 1919, just 800 feet across the harbor. There’s a saltwater taffy shop, a frozen banana stand, an old-school diner and old timey boutiques, so it felt perfect to set a 1950s novel there.

The second spark was tennis. A few years ago, in my early 40s, I found myself on a tennis court for the first time in my life. I had never played a sport, and yet somehow, I was roped in to joining a group lesson. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing or even how to hit the ball, but as time went on I grew to love the game and, more importantly, I found an incredible community of women. All of us are busy with motherhood, our jobs and all those other pesky adult responsibilities, but many of us realized that we had forgotten to leave time to be playful. Almost all of us were beginners at tennis, and let me tell you, there is something profoundly bonding about being bad at something together and gradually - very, very gradually - starting to improve.

So, without really realizing it, this book became about female friendship, and what happens when women give themselves permission to try something new.

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How is it different from your other novels?
My previous novels were written from a single, first-person perspective, so writing The Island Club through three alternating narrators, Milly, Sylvia and Adele, was a big change for me. And quite honestly, I loved it! Moving between the three women’s perspectives allowed me to step out of one character’s interior world and into another. I was about to show how interconnected their lives were and how the same moment would be understood very differently depending on who was experiencing it. It probably tripled the amount of work I needed to do in a single POV novel (three backstories, three emotional arcs etc), but ultimately, I think it added a depth and complexity that the story wouldn’t have had from a single point of view, so it was absolutely necessary.

What has been the most exciting moment in your publishing career?
It’s always thrilling when you get that box of books in the mail a few weeks before pub day and get to hold your brand-new book baby in the flesh (ok in the paper) but I don’t think anything can beat that very first thrill of finding an agent and a publisher and realizing that you’re going to be a published author.

What has been the most discouraging moment? How did you push through?
Well, sales are probably the toughest part of being an author. It’s not something I ever really want to think or care about, but of course I’m aware that the publishers think about it. My second novel The Showgirl came out during covid and the sales just weren’t as robust as my first novel Montauk. So that can send you into a bit of a spiral – oh my God what if I don’t get to publish another book, what if I only had one good book in me?

But then last year, like a fairly God mother, Taylor Swift named her album “The Life of a Show Girl,” and all of a sudden, my book was everywhere. The lyrics of her title song really tied in with my character in The Showgirl - a young women in 1920s NYC who’s determined to make it on the Broadway stage no matter what the cost - so the ultimate show girl gave my book a nice little boost. Thank you Taylor!

If you could write like any other author on this planet, who would it be and why?Wow this is a shockingly hard to narrow down. There are so many I admire. But I would say Elizabeth Strout. I had the incredible opportunity to study with her when I was working towards my MFA in creative writing and what I appreciate most about her writing is how she pares her sentences down to the simplest, most honest and straightforward style. She has a deep understanding of human behavior and is able to capture universal truths that are so relatable in the lives of ordinary, everyday people. I was blown away with her novels Olive Kitteridge and Amy & Isabelle.

What are you most proud of when it comes to The Island Club? What do you think you really nailed? It’s okay to brag a bit -- we want to know that your hard work paid off too. :)
I’m proud of the dynamic I created between the three women. They’re very different, each carrying their own secrets and complications, but their stories weave together in a way that I think this is both surprising and inevitable. In books like this, with alternating narrators or timelines, readers often latch onto a favorite, but I worked to make each story line equally engaging. I’m obviously biased, but I found myself rooting for all three, which felt true to the kind of layered, sometimes complicated friendships we all have in real life.

Thank you, Nicola! Next week I’ll be publishing an Author Confessions column with one of my writing heroes, Jimin Han, whose third novel Dreamt I Found You releases next Tuesday. Plus, big news from the book writing front. xoxo Happy week, everyone!

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I have never felt so inspired.

We sipped green tea in Tokyo. We slurped umami ramen and tasted salty mochi, nibbled on tender beef yakitori skewers and indulged in fluffy cream buns. We bowed when people bowed to us, we spoke in broken Japanese, we pet dogs dressed up in hats and frilly dresses, and we wrote our wishes at buddhist temples and left them hanging beside thousands of other wishes.

There was so much more. In Kyoto, we wandered narrow alleys at night lined with wooden buildings from the Samurai era, spotting geishas as they left their evening appointments. In the Japanese alps, we took an e-bike ride up and down the hills, visiting an ancient Shinto shrine where there was a 1,200 year old tree. I pressed my palms against its towering sides and felt a rush of goodness and purity flowing through me. “Do you feel the energy?” our Japanese guide, Yoko, asked me. I did, and so did my husband and kids.

It was on the 12 hour flight home that I realized how much I needed this trip. We travel quite a bit — it’s our favorite way to spend time as a family. But sometimes you need a life experience that pushes you so far outside of yourself that it redefines you in some way. It makes you rethink everything you knew about living. A trip that throws you into the unknown—we struggled to understand the language, the culture, the customs—and helps you consider just how different this earth can feel, despite how global we tend to live.

For me, this type of “stranger in a strange land” travel is the spark that sits behind my creativity. Artistry is something that needs to be nurtured in order for it to thrive, and I felt my creative pulse thumping during this entire trip. I’m so grateful to give my kids the same gift. My son began daydreaming about studying architecture in Kyoto as a college student. My daughter kept repeating that visiting the bamboo forest was the best day ever.

Several times during the trip, my husband would glance at me with a knowing look. I knew exactly what he was thinking. Lucky Japan. Lucky us.

Paperback News

We’re in the process of pulling together the paperback version of Our Last Vineyard Summer. My editor sent me a PDF of the book to read through, and it’s spectacular. Best of all, this edition is publishing with a special book club discussion guide that wasn’t a part of the hardcover edition. So gather your friends and get reading! Much of Our Last Vineyard Summer is about the complicated but enduring relationships of sisters as well as mothers and daughters. I love books about family, and I hope you’ll consider supporting my work and this newsletter by giving one of my novels a try. xo

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Media Diary

Show I Can’t Stop Watching: “Imperfect Women,” starring Elizabeth Moss, Kate Mara and Kerry Washington. Think “Big Little Lies” meets “Succession.” Loving it!

What I’m Reading: Theo of Golden is our next book club choice. Did you like it? I’m starting it today.

Article I Recommend: Did you see the piece in the Times about the village in Ireland that banned all phones (even at home) for kids? A free range childhood of the best kind. Thoughts?

Movie I Just Didn’t Like: “Marty Supreme.” I watched it on the plane ride to Japan and I thought it was awful. Timothy Chalamet is a gifted actor, but I thought his character was so unlikeable and I couldn’t root for him. Gwyneth was so miscast. Did anyone else dislike this film?

See you all next Tuesday. I have a tough week ahead.

One of my dear friends, James Farnsworth, who was an avid reader of this newsletter, unexpectedly passed away last week. I have some hard days ahead saying goodbye to the ever smiling James at his memorial service this Thursday.

Do you know when you lose somebody who was always jolly and bringing joy to everyone they knew? That was my friend. I will miss him terribly, and I wanted to say goodbye to him here, just in case he’s still reading. He was a HUGE Bruce Springsteen fan so I found myself wanting to quote the Boss in these pages. From his song “Atlantic City”:

Well now everything dies baby that's a fact
But maybe everything that dies someday comes back

Love you, James. xo

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With a new subject to write about, Pataki dove into years of research about Evelyn Nesbit, discovering that she was a fixture in New York society at the turn of the century and was at the heart of a crime of passion involving famed architect Stanford White. We invited Allison to talk about her latest book, motherhood, and how she pulls off a book tour with little ones at home. Hint: It’s not easy. Welcome Allison!

I love origin stories. Where did you get the idea for It Girl?

It Girl is inspired by the life of Evelyn Nesbit, who was known as The Gibson Girl at the dawn of the twentieth century. I first saw images of the Gibson Girl hanging up in my mother’s bedroom when I was young. I was fascinated by the scenes of elegant, busy women. I found it to be so intriguing—this combination of cool and slightly intimidating sophistication blended with the mundane activities of daily life. Nobody I knew dressed like that to, say, wash their hands. Plus, those piles of hair!

Fast forward a few years, my mother made an offhand comment: “Oh, the real Gibson Girl, her life was so tragic.” Wait, there was a real woman behind these images? A true-life Gibson Girl? And her life was full of drama? How had I never stopped to consider that? Tell me more! I’ve learned that as an author of historical fiction, inspiration can strike at any time. It’s funny how an offhand comment like this can lead to three years of research and a leading lady who takes up residence in my imagination, but that’s how it always goes. I knew I had met my next book.

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What was the single most fascinating piece of research you uncovered?

Evelyn’s role in what was known as “The Crime of the Century.” This was the very sordid love triangle and scandal that sits squarely as the climax of this book. And without giving spoilers, I’ll just say that it was such a huge scandal and drama at the time that President Teddy Roosevelt had to ask the papers to stop printing about it and give Evelyn a break. And yet today, so few of us know about this shocking story! It was breathtaking to enter into the events the preceded and then surrounded this dramatic murder and mystery that rocked the entire nation. And to see how Evelyn’s voice got coopted by the eruption of this scandal.

Was there a particular challenge about this book that you haven’t faced before? Can you give a specific example?

With all of my heroines, interestingly enough, I have found my way into their stories and into the narrative and character arc by first becoming fascinated with their end point. That’s been the case with Traitor’s Wife, with Sisi, with Marjorie Post, with Finding Margaret Fuller. But with Evelyn, I actually had to wrestle with her character arc and the resolution of her story for years before I felt like she and I had gotten it right together. It hinges on the plot twist, so I am reluctant to say more. But once you read It Girl, you’ll see what I mean!

What has been your hardest day in publishing ever? Can you be specific about what challenges you faced and what you did to overcome them?

When I was on book tour for Finding Margaret Fuller, I was at the very end of some of my travel, and I remember I was in a hotel room in Atlanta the night after a great book talk at Fox Tale Book Shoppe. By that point I had been on the go for several weeks straight, and I was exhausted and really missing my family, and vice versa. I FaceTimed with my husband and three young girls at bedtime, and they just began weeping into the phone. Like, shout-crying. And my eldest, who was 8 at the time, declares through her tears: “WE ARE FALLING APART WITHOUT YOU.”

Let me tell you, the mom guilt in that moment is real! My little ones are so young, so every time I have to leave them for bedtime, it’s a big deal. There are so many facets to this job-- researcher, writer, editor, small business owner, social media creator, travel agent, public speaker, and more--and I love each piece of it. I really relish the chance to get out into the world to meet readers and speak about my work. But launching and touring is demanding for any author.

It also asks a lot of the family that is being left behind, particularly as my kiddos are still so young. I highlight this one evening in particular, but the broader challenge I face very often with this career is figuring out how to balance it all. I wish I could accept every invitation to speak to every library, bookseller, and book club. Every “yes” in one direction means a “no” to someone else, and so I’m constantly negotiating that. I wouldn’t say I’ve overcome it, but I’m taking it chapter by chapter, so to speak. :)

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Lastly, tell me about a part of this book that you’re most proud of. Do you have a specific scene that, as a writer, you feel like you really nailed?

Evelyn was the first self-made female celebrity of modern American society, and she really shaped this concept of the “It Girl” in pop culture as we know it. But her story is not all glamour and happily-ever-after, even if she was nicknamed ‘America’s Cinderella.’ The plain truth is that Evelyn had to fight for every single thing she had, beginning as a young, fatherless, penniless girl. And that continues to be the case as she soars to stardom as the most sought-after artist’s muse and model and then Broadway showgirl of her era.

But in spite of that, Evelyn was often put in situations where she was vulnerable to much larger forces and the powerful individuals who surrounded her and sought to exploit her. So I really needed to write a few rock-solid scenes where we see Evelyn stepping into her own power. I needed to walk the line of showing her as a vulnerable and real human while also holding her space as the superstar performer who enraptured an entire nation.

So one of those scenes is a performance scene, where we see Evelyn on stage and we see the megawatt star power she has and her ability to command the room. This will come in as a huge piece of her ability to write her own ending and determine her own free will later in the story. So I needed to sow that seed of her potential and her evolution early on. So I’m proud of one of her performance scenes where she is entrancing the rich and powerful of Gilded Age New York in Mrs. Vanderbilt’s ballroom. It’s fun, it’s layered, it’s glamorous, it’s a bit dark. I hope readers enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Love this newsletter? Consider pledging your support and becoming a paid subscriber—or purchasing one of my novels. Our Last Vineyard Summer is out in paperback in July.

Thank you for reading, and find a reason to smile today. It’s spring break in New York next week, so I’ll be back on April 7th. xo

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Spring Sneaks

Any of these Tretorn sneakers from Tuckernuck have my eye, but these are the ones I ordered. I just started wearing them this week. Obsessed with how they look with an ankle jean. I’m going to bring these to Japan with me for Spring Break!

Endearing Trenches

I was watching the new Steve Carrell show the “Rooster” when I saw his daughter wearing the nicest spring trench coat. After a quick google search, I realized it was the same jacket I’ve been obsessing over from Sezane. I really want to buy this, but at $355, the price is so steep. What about this on sale version from Quince? I may spring for the $100 one since it has the same nice lining and is one-third the cost. Can you really tell the difference?

3 Most Anticipated Spring Books

Is anyone else counting down the days until The Help’s Kathryn Stockett’s long awaited book The Calamity Club (May 5th) comes out? Maybe Kathryn will usher in a return to historical fiction. This one is about the Jim Crow south and it sounds really good. Plus, Lessons in Chemistry’s Bonnie Garmus called it a “must read.” Ah, yes.

I’m also dying to get my hands on Elizabeth Strout’s The Things We Never Say (May 5th) and Camille Pagan’s Dog Person (April 7th). There are so many other authors I could list here—Emma Straub, Ann Patchett, Tana French—but this is where my spring reading list begins.

3 Most Anticipated Spring TV/Movies

Of course they’re all inspired by books. I’m going this weekend to see “Project Hail Mary” starring Ryan Gosling. I didn’t read this book, but my son did and so did my husband. They talked about it so much that I’m dying to see the movie. Is it on your list?

I also cannot WAIT for “The Devil Wears Prada 2.” I don’t care if I sound like the most uncool person in the world for saying it. Meryl Streep, the Tucci, Emily Blunt and Anne Hathaway are reunited in this sequel. Could there be anything better? Plus, the movie is set in today’s magazine world, which has lost a lot of its shine since the 2006 original film was released. I’m dying to see how they handle all of the industry changes in the storyline.

Last, “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” the novel by Rufi Thorpe, is coming to AppleTV on April 15th. I was surprised by how much I loved this book, and it made me laugh and broke my heart all at once. It’s going to make an awesome limited series.

Farmer’s Market Finds

I was at the Union Square Farmer’s Market in NYC the other day, and I noticed there were so many beautiful tulips in all different colors. There was also some amazing rosemary plants, which would look beautiful lined up on my kitchen windowsill. Sadly, I couldn’t buy them because I was walking around that day, but that’s my plan for spring. Line my windowsill with rosemary plants. It adds such a pretty punch of green and it smells amazing,

Also, it’s asparagus season!! They’re everywhere and I love including them in a “throw everything from the fridge” frittata with goat cheese. Try it. So delish and perfect for a light dinner. Now if only I could get my kids to eat that…

Dreamy Weekend Getaway is Here

My girlfriends and I are headed upstate to Inness to celebrate my friend Kelsa’s 50th this weekend. I can’t wait for yoga, spa treatments, a Farmhouse Brunch, and just awesome time together catching up. This is my favorite part about spring, day trips and quick weekends away to watch the earth green up.

Swoon for Jack Johnson

I’ve been waiting for Jack Johnson to go on tour for a few years now, rather than just play in Hawaii, and his mega city tour is finally here. The Surfilmusic Tour—get it? Surf Film Music Tour…Oh Jack, you’re so cool! We have tickets to two of the shows, and the first one we’re going to is end of June at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. Woot! Okay, I’m cheating. That’s summer. But still, I had to mention it here.

What are you looking forward to most this spring? Love this newsletter? Consider pledging your support and becoming a paid subscriber—or purchase one of my paperback novels. Our Last Vineyard Summer is out in paperback in July. Woot!

Our Last Vineyard Summer released in July and I focused the rest of the summer on a book tour, criss crossing the eastern seaboard’s best beach towns to promote the novel. SO MUCH FUN!

I returned to my desk in September knowing exactly what was wrong with the book. There wasn’t enough at stake. I needed to figure out the villain, and the sisters weren’t reading evenly, meaning their characters didn’t feel solid enough to make the reader believe they were actually real people. To me, the hallmark of a great book. I decided to get under the hood and tune it up. I gave it to two trusted writer friends who gave me solid feedback about what needed to evolve. All in all, I thought the book was in great shape.

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When I gave it to my agent, she didn’t one hundred percent agree. I’ll paraphrase her words: There was a lot to love, she said, but the plot was just not coming together. When a writer is told they don’t have a plot, that writer knows they don’t have a book. Yet. To my credit, I was crushed for about thirty seconds. Then I thought to myself: If there isn’t a plot, I need to rework this entire book. It’s one reason I’m grateful for my twenty years as a journalist. In my mind, writing can always be improved. It’s not personal. Either a story is working or it’s not, and it’s my job to fix it.

So I pushed up my sleeves in mid-January. Feeling a bit like Tom Hanks’ character in “You’ve Got Mail,” I blew on my fingertips to ready myself. Then I went to the mattresses. (sorry, the romantic in me had to show this photo below—swoon!)

One thing I noticed when I was replotting my story is how I wrote myself into a corner. My instinct kept telling me that this should be more of a road trip story but I had found this comfortable place in this wellness retreat I’d found so I stayed there. Sometimes that works. For this book, it wasn’t because there weren’t any big reveals other than personal reflection. BORING. Who wants to read about characters thinking all of the time? I’m laughing just thinking about this. Characters need to be doing things. There needs to be action in women’s fiction just as much as emotional development.

Within a few hours, I had a completely reworked plot and outline. What was at stake with the two sisters was revealed in the first two chapters, and by page 50, the reader was very clear what kind of book this would be: two sisters searching for their mother go on a road trip to retrace her steps and figure out what happened to her ten years before. Of course there’s so much more, but the road trip gave me so many more opportunities for them to screw up, feel triumphant, have a setback, all while figuring themselves out.

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I’m 200 pages in to the new version of the book. It’s the same characters, the same premise, the same ending, but thank god for my agent’s honesty. Now the book’s pages are flying, and my readers will be thrilled to spend a couple weeks with these sisters.

So here’s my advice of the day. If you’re told your book isn’t working, don’t fret. Just go to the mattresses! xo

Friends With Books

I received a couple of emails in the last couple of weeks from friends who need help spreading the word about their amazing books. My buddy Karen Dukess, whose highly entertaining novel Welcome to Murder Week, came out in paperback last Tuesday. If you missed this one, it’s worth a read!

The darling Allison Pataki, who is as lovely as her novels, has her latest out today: It Girl. Looks super good and I adore the cover. I’m going to get a copy this week.

OMG fun fact. When my agent and I submitted Summer Darlings back in 2020, the working title was The It Girl. Isn’t that funny!? It didn’t work for us, but it clearly works for Allison.

Media Diary

Article I Devoured: Actress Daryl Hannah’s essay about how poorly she was misrepresented in the biopic “Love Story” about John Jr. and Carolyn Bisette’s marriage. It’s egregious to think of a real person as a narrative device. I loved this quote: “Many people believe what they see on TV and do not distinguish between dramatization and documented fact — and the impact is not abstract. In a digital era, entertainment often becomes collective memory. Real names are not fictional tools. They belong to real lives.”

Podcast I Listened to a Second Time: “How to Design Your Life” featuring Debbie Millman, a professor at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan who is an expert in helping people ask the right questions to visualize and work towards the life of your dreams. I found out about it from my friend Georgene who said it was a powerful tool for reimagining her everyday at midlife, but I gave it to my teenager to listen to too. Very powerful. (Just pretend it’s not a Mel Robbins episode; she’s not my favorite.)

The Most Egregious Thing I’ve Heard All Week: The author Coral Hart who uses ChatGpt to write her romance books. There are so many problems with this, but….most of all…I think it’s odd because the whole point of being a writer is loving the act of writing.

I get that people who hate writing use AI for help. Makes perfect sense to me. I just don’t understand why you would be a creative writer if you’re going to use ChatGPT to write for you. Anyway,,,,the premise is so ridiculous but this line did make me laugh out loud: “Chatbots were also bad at building sexual tension — the slow-burn, will-they-or-won’t-they plotlines that romance readers crave. When told to craft a love scene, the bots usually jumped straight to the obvious narrative climax.” Slow down, bots!

This Made Me Laugh. Be gone Daylight Savings. I feel like a zombie!

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There was a stack of seven possible contenders on my kitchen counter the week leading up to my trip. On the last day, I selected the following four, and the other one I downloaded on Libro since it was my book club book and I listened to it on the plane. The mix of novels was perfect—one literary, one suspense and one light—and I really enjoyed each and every one for different reasons. Then again, all of those colorful flowers and bright sunshine put me in a very good mood.

MY FAVORITE

The People We Keep
by Allison Larkin

My editor shipped me a few books after reading on my Substack that I needed recommendations. She sent The People We Keep, and since she knows my tastes to the core, I couldn’t wait to dig in. When I started it, we were staying at an eco-luxury, nature-centric resort for a couple of nights called Lovongo Resort & Beach Club. The novel is an older book from 2012 but the characters are timeless. The story follows a teenager named April who lives in a trailer upstate New York after being abandoned by her mother and cast aside by her remarried father. After a particularly brutal fight with her father, she finds the courage to leave home and goes on a journey to find her people. It’s the tender hearted relationships she builds along the way with strangers that draws you in. The question becomes: Will she find family ever again?

I read it in two days and LOVED, LOVED, LOVED everything about this story. It’s exactly the kind of character-driven book I write, but Allison Larkin’s talents left me in awe as a reader and a writer. I was so invested during April’s entire journey and it left me shedding tears at times. If you’ve missed this one, give it a read and let me know what you think! (Note to my editor if you’re reading this: I’m starting The Death Row Club after I finish Jimin Han’s engrossing and beautiful Dreamt I Found You.)

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Saint X
By Alexis Shaitkin

A friend of mine said she recommends this literary suspense novel to anyone visiting the Caribbean since it’s about a wealthy family on a fancy Caribbean trip whose teenage daughter goes missing. What makes the story so unputdownable though is that it’s written from the surviving little sister’s point of view. She’s a child when her older sister goes missing and she grows into adulthood while remaining obsessed with what happened to her sister. Her personal investigation mines her family dynamics, cultural differences and the psychological state of her sister. The pages flew by on a particularly sunny day at gorgeous Trunk Bay, and I was nearly finished by evening. This one is also an older book that I missed during its heyday, and I highly recommend for your warm weather vacation.

Jane and Dan At the End of the World
By Colleen Oakley

A writer friend encouraged me to take along this popular contemporary novel, which she found highly entertaining. It’s lighter than the first two books despite the intense plot: A couple celebrating their twentieth anniversary at a fancy (read: insanely priced) restaurant in Northern California are reckoning with their relationship as the dining room is overtaken by environmental terrorists. The twist: One of the terrorists is their teenage daughter. There were true moments of hilarity and the book read like a television comedy. You guys know my tastes—I lean more toward the complex and intense Bel Canto version of connecting with terrorists than a book poking fun at them but it won me over anyway. I mean, what would happen if you proposed getting a divorce on the same night you are held hostage at gunpoint? Beyond belief at times, I recommend this one to anyone who needs a good chuckle.

The Jetsetters
by Amanda Eyre Ward

This was my happy surprise of the trip. I uncovered it in the bookshelf of the sweet little villa we rented. (I also found a well-broken-in copy of my book On Gin Lane, since I’d left it there when we rented the same house years before)! It follows the estranged Perkins family and their narcissist aging mother. When they were kids, their alcoholic father died young; now their mother has convinced the three grown siblings to accompany her on a European cruise. This selection combined all of the depth of The People We Keep along with the humor of Jen and Dan. I ADORED this one since the author was fantastic at bringing you into the minds and hearts of every member of the family. There were moments when I was cringing at the conversation like they were my own family. Plus, there’s so much great armchair travel, it reads a bit like a season of “The White Lotus.”

The Rest of Our Lives
by Benjamin Markovitz

The audiobook of this novel, a finalist for the Booker Prize, was engaging enough that the story, which was lackluster at times, held my attention. The book follows Tom, a 55-year-old bumbling dad, who drops off his daughter at college and then decides to keep driving rather than return home. His relationship with his wife is strained after she cheated on him years before, and he decides to meet up with some of his oldest friends and an ex-girlfriend. What I liked about this book: It captured some of the inertia of men at middle age, the myriad ways that people get stuck because of their own disappointments, and then either work to push through or don’t. There’s an honesty in that storyline, and you don’t often see it from the perspective of men. What I didn’t like: There isn’t a real ending. It’s one of those books that just ends, and I found it really disappointing. Well-written and deep, but not my favorite read.

Media Diary

Show I Can’t Stop Watching: Survivor 50 with MIKE WHITE, the creator of “The White Lotus.” Not only are my fan favorites on this show—Camilla, Kyle, Joe, Savannah, Colby, Jenna and Rizzo—but you get to see all of the contestants kiss up to Mike White for a future Hollywood role.

Podcast I Devoured: Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes of “Smartless” interviewing mega hunk Chris Hemsworth. It’s fascinating to hear him talk about some traveling celebrity party group he’s a part of. Plus, he named his kid Tristan after Brad Pitt’s character in “Legends of the Fall.” Say whaaa?

Most Inspirational 80s Saying of the Week: OMG, someone recently reminded me of this goody from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” and I felt a beat in my heart. "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." I’ll never stop loving that movie!

Fave Beauty Product of the Week: The Summer Fridays sweet mint flavor lip butter. I reapply it so much it’s becoming a bit of a verbal tic.

Have a great week everyone! My daughter is performing in a play this weekend and I’m already excited to see her sing. I’m hoping it will take my mind off the mess that the world is in right now. xo

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