Author Spotlight - Welcome back, Jenn Bouchard

This author interview is from a feature in my newsletter. To subscribe to future newsletters, please scroll to the bottom of this page and enter your email address. Happy Reading! 📚

Welcome back, Jenn! Please tell us about your latest book.

Thanks for having me back here, Angela! Palms on the Cape centers around Rachel Sinclair, who owns an upscale beach bar on Cape Cod. She’s also on the verge of turning forty. She has this amazing found family and the very best friend you could ask for in Carlos Hannigan, a retired Red Sox pitcher who now owns a local construction business. One day, a group of people shows up at the bar. Everything changes from that point on.

When writing this novel, what came first: the palm trees, the character Rachel, or the plot?

I have been fascinated with palm trees since I first saw them on a trip to Florida when I was seven. I still love them; I even have a small fake potted palm tree in my house. It only made sense that I would center a story around them.

This being your third book, were there any unique challenges faced and/or extra research needed while writing this one?

I always spend a lot of time in my book settings in preparation for writing them, but this one came very easily to me. Mayflower Beach in Dennis on Cape Cod is one of my very favorite places to be. I walked that beach so many times while writing and editing the book. I even picked out the house on Shore Drive that I decided was Carlos’. I tell everyone that I smiled the whole time I wrote it!

There is a large cast of characters in this book who surround Rachel. Who was your favorite secondary character to write? And what was your favorite relationship and/or scene to write?

Without giving away too much, I think I enjoyed writing Sloane and Brandy the most. Sloane is way too cool for most situations she is in, which was so much fun to write. Brandy is, well, readers will find out for themselves. She is just as outrageous as I envisioned her to be.

We know you’re an avid cook and all three of your books feature food. Do you plan to continue writing more novels about chefs or others in the food industry?

Writing about cooking anchors me. My fourth book is a little different; the guy is the cook! That was a ton of fun.

What was your favorite dish to write about in this book? And is it something you make?

The onion rings. It’s the recipe I’ve printed onto cards and will be handing out at book events this summer. That scene in the book is so subtle, but it sums up the personalities of Rachel, Brandy, and Tony the cook so well.

Last time you mentioned Nora Ephron as an inspiration for your last two books. Are there other authors you look to for inspiration? Or who are some of your favorite women’s fiction authors?

I have become a huge fan of Annabel Monaghan and Sara Goodman Confino. Caitlin Moss and Sharon M. Peterson are also must-reads for me. And I have a huge stack of books to read this summer… don’t we all?

Ha, ha, so true! What do your readers always ask you? (And what is the answer. ;) )

They always ask why I write books in the settings I do. I want to write stories in places I enjoy. I spent so much time in coastal Maine, the New Hampshire seacoast, and on the Cape while writing my first three books. I want to place my characters somewhere wonderful.

How are you celebrating your book launch?

I will be in conversation with author Jessica Maffetore (Eleanora in Pieces) at Belmont Books here in the Boston suburbs. And then my friends are coming over to my house for some delicious food, much like Rachel would make.

Where can readers best find you and your books?

I have a big book tour planned for this summer and fall, so please come and see me on the road! All details can be found at jennbouchard.com and on Instagram and Facebook at @JennBouchardBOS.

Thank you, Jenn! Friends, if you would like to check out Palms on the Cape it’s available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and can be ordered from your local bookstore.