The Book Tour by Emily Ohanjanians

A special thank you to the publisher, Dell, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Despite her popular podcast and sold-out speaking events, Ana Movilian still feels like she has to prove herself. To her family, who can't believe she quit med school to build an influencer career, and to literary snobs, who decry her buzzy self-help book. Happily, her upcoming book tour is the perfect chance to show the world just how bright her star can shine.

That is, until her beloved publicist resigns the night before their plane is set to take off, announcing that her replacement is none other than Ryan bleeping Grant.

Ryan specializes in highbrow, "important" books, and his perma-scowl in every interaction with Ana makes one thing clear: he does not get her book. Or her. He’s the last person who should be promoting her work, the last person she should be stuck with for two weeks . . . and the last person who should look that damn good in business casual.

As they travel from city to city, however, Ana's assumptions about Ryan take new shape. A decidedly more appealing shape. Soon, their growing attraction starts to feel like a ticking time bomb. But crossing that line could derail each of their careers faster than you can say "conflict of interest," and they both have bigger dreams at stake than the bestseller list.

Editor Ohanjanians offers a glimpse into publishing industry in her stellar debut. 

Written from Ana's point of view, this novel checks all the boxes—grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity, forbidden romance, opposites attract, and a healthy dose of steam! (This is an open door romance.) Also refreshing is Ohanjanians' leading lady. Ana, a second-generation Armenian, is intelligent, self-sufficient, and feisty. She experiences tremendous personal growth while navigating grief and managing cultural/familiar expectations. Also refreshing, Ana and Maral's relationship is just as important as the romance.    

The Book Tour will have readers swooning with its sizzling chemistry, smart banter, and steamy scenes.

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EMILY OHANJANIANS lives with her family in Toronto, Canada, where she works as a professional book editor. After many years on the other side of the desk, she decided to parlay a lifelong love of joyous, escapist, romantic stories into her own writing. The Book Tour is her first novel. 

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Q & A with Emily Ohanjanians*

GWR: Are you a pantser/gardener or a plotter/architect?

EO: I’m about as plotter as it gets. I applaud anybody who can pants their way through a story, it feels like absolute witchcraft to me! My brain just doesn’t work that way—I need a map to follow.

GWR: As a publishing professional, what is your favourite part of the process? Was there anything you found surprising being on the author side? 

EO: My first love is editing. Working with an author to help their story reach its full potential is just so fulfilling. Now on the author side, I still find that editing is my favourite part! I wouldn’t say I was surprised at how challenging drafting is, but I definitely find that blank page intimidating. Revising and editing that draft afterwards is where I really come alive—and so does the story. I’m also lucky to be able to work with incredible editors whose insights help make my work so much better.

GWR: What advice would you give to Ana if you were her editor? 

EO: Chill. LOL. Maybe more like, harness the chaos. Ana is full of energy and ideas, and my job as her editor would be to help streamline her storytelling into a cohesive narrative. 

GWR: Give us your best Hollywood pitch for the book.

EO: A lively debut author is forced to go on a two-week national book tour with her grumpy publicist, aka the last person on earth she’d ever choose to promote her work—only for very inconvenient sparks to fly between them.  

GWR: Do you let your characters tell you who they are, or do you decide their attributes? 

EO: I decide who I want them to be upfront, but as the story develops they definitely evolve and I have to rethink some of those initial attributes! The core of who they are remains the same but details may shift and recalibrate as I draft and revise.

GWR: This novel is as much about a romantic relationship as it is about female connection. What were the most important characteristics and dynamics that you wanted Ana and Ryan’s relationship to have, as well as Ana’s with Maral?

EO: Story is about character evolution, and I knew that the dynamic between the characters would have to serve each of those characters’ specific transformations within the story. Maral and Ryan are both grounding forces for Ana, who operates at a very different energy level than them—they make her feel safe and accepted and allow her to see that she doesn’t have to perform a persona at all times. She can just be herself. In turn, Ana is the ultimate hype woman, and knowing her gives Maral and Ryan each the push they need to pursue life on their own terms.  

GWR: The Book Tour features some of the best romance tropes—grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity, forbidden romance—what is your favourite trope to write and what is your favourite to read?

EO: I love tension and chemistry, so forced proximity offers a lot of opportunity to explore those elements in a really fun way. I’m always drawn to fake-relationship stories, though I haven’t written one myself yet. My ultimate favourite to read and write may be he falls first—I’m just a sucker for it, and will likely find some way to work that into any book I write!

GWR: You used depth through the inclusion of grief, as well as Ana navigating cultural expectations, as a counterbalance to the romance—why was it important to include these elements in the story?

EO: I wanted Ana’s internal conflict to be at once personally and universally relatable. Whether people grow up in an immigrant household or not, everyone has experienced some level of expectation that puts pressure on their choices. We all play different roles in different spheres of our lives, so I thought that “foot in two worlds” experience may resonate broadly with readers. Ana’s grief is an unresolved trauma that continues to colour her perception of love. If the people who claim to love you don’t “allow” your big emotions, then you can’t bring your whole self into that relationship. One of Ana’s big lessons in the story is that someone who loves you the way you deserve to be loved will accept all of you.

GWR: If your book was a beverage, what would it be? 

EO: Dark roast coffee, of course. IYKYK.

GWR: What are you working on now?

EO: My second novel is a sports romance set in the professional tennis world, about two pro tennis players who have to pair up to play mixed doubles at Wimbledon. It’s swoony and romantic and has a lot of delicious forced-proximity tension!

*A version of this post was published on STYLE Canada.

Christmas at the Ranch by Julia McKay

A special thank you to the publisher, Penguin Random House Canada, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

She hasn’t been in love in ten years, but she’s about to get back in the saddle.

With the holidays around the corner and her father recently imprisoned for financial fraud, disgraced journalist Emory Oakes doesn’t know where to turn. She’s only certain of one thing: She needs to get away.

Fate takes the wheel, leaving her stranded in snowy Evergreen, the picturesque town where she spent her happiest Christmas as a teen—and chronicled every moment in her journal as she fell in love with handsome local, Tate Wilder, at his family’s idyllic horse ranch—until it all went wrong.

Emory isn’t ready to face Tate, but kismet and Christmas magic have other ideas. As the love they’ve denied for a decade rekindles, the betrayals that kept them apart resurface, as does Emory’s family scandal. Yet Tate Wilder and his ranch feel more like home than anywhere ever has. Will Emory and Tate’s alchemy fizzle or will their Christmas wishes come true? 

This swoony second chance holiday romance is about a woman who escapes a family scandal by fleeing to the charming, nostalgic place where she both fell in love for the first time and had her heart broken. Set against a perfect snowy setting, Christmas at the Ranch is a story of love, hope, and the magic of Christmas. With themes of forgiveness and second chances, this is the perfect holiday escape.

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JULIA McKAY is the pen name of Marissa Stapley, a New York Times bestselling author of numerous novels, including the Reese's Book Club pick Lucky (soon to be an Apple TV+ limited series starring Anya Taylor-Joy). She has also co-written several bestselling holiday romances, including The Holiday Swap, All I Want for Christmas, and Three Holidays and a Wedding. 

Stapley divides her time between city life in Toronto and lake life in Haliburton, where she writes about love, second chances, and the magic of the holidays.

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Q & A with Julia McKay*

GWR: What inspired you to write holiday romances? 

JM: There’s just something about the holidays that makes my storytelling heart come alive. The lights, the traditions, the way love and nostalgia seem amplified—it’s irresistible! I’m also fascinated by the contrast the season brings: joy and celebration isn’t all there is to the holiday season. It can also be full of loneliness and family unrest, which can stir up old tensions or heartbreak. That mix of comfort and complexity gives me so much to explore as a writer. And, of course, I adore capturing the cozy magic of a small Canadian town blanketed in snow.

GWR: What sparked the idea for Christmas at the Ranch? What is the story behind the story? 

JM: The story was born from my deep love of cottage country—and my own little slice of it. The lake in the book is inspired by the one where I spend my summers (and sometimes snowy holidays), where the ice makes the most haunting, beautiful sounds as it shifts and cracks. I’ve also been an equestrian most of my life, so weaving in a ranch setting and that bond between humans and horses felt natural. Christmas at the Ranch is my love letter to winter in Ontario—snow, family, healing, and second chances all included.

GWR: You’ve also co-authored holiday romance books writing as Maggie Knox (with Karma Brown) and with Uzma Jalaluddin—is there a trope that you haven’t explored yet that you would like to?

JM: I have a soft spot for Opposites Attract, and I think an office romance might be next on my wish list. That seems like it could be great fun—especially when the mistletoe gets involved.

GWR: What elements are a must in a holiday novel?

JM: Even the most laugh-out-loud or glamorous holiday story needs emotional truth underneath,  that spark of connection and hope that makes readers feel deeply invested in the love story. Setting is key, too: snow-covered streets, glowing windows, twinkle lights, and the smell of something baking in the background. And of course, a satisfying happily-ever-after...because if not at Christmas, when?

GWR: I loved the juxtaposition of Toronto and cottage country. What is it about the small-town setting of Evergreen that makes it the perfect backdrop for a Christmas romance?

JM: Evergreen is everything I love about small-town Ontario: it’s full of charm, community, and a little mischief. People know one another’s business—for better or worse—but that also means they show up when it counts. The natural beauty of the snow-covered lake and forests creates a built-in sense of wonder, and the town provides the perfect opportunity to introduce a quirky cast of supporting characters, something I always love to do.

GWR: You utilized a dual timeline as well as an epistolary element through the inclusion of Emory’s diary entries—how did this structure come about? 

JM: I wanted readers to feel the depth of Emory and Tate’s history,  to sense how the past still echoes in the present. The diary entries allowed me to weave in emotion, secrets, and reflection in a really intimate way.

GWR: If your book was a beverage, what would it be? 

JM: For a cocktail, I’d say Ranch Water: traditionally made with tequila, water, and lime, but made festive with a splash of cranberry juice, a few frozen cranberries, and a sprig of rosemary. It easily becomes a mocktail by skipping the tequila and adding a dash or two of bitters.

GWR: Can you share what are you working on now?

JM: I’m currently finishing my next romance novel, which I’ll be able to share more about soon—but for now, I can say it’s set in small-town Ontario and full of cozy vibes, second chances, and seasonal magic. On the other end of the spectrum, I’m also deep into writing the sequel to Lucky. It’s a busy but very exciting time!

*A version of this post was published on STYLE Canada.

She Didn't See It Coming by Shari Lapena

A special thank you to the publisher, Penguin Random House Canada, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When a beloved wife and mother disappears, a luxurious condo building transforms into a potential crime scene, and the investigation begins: can the detectives find her before it's too late?

Bryden and Sam have it all: thriving careers, a smart apartment in a luxury condominium, supportive friends and a cherished daughter. The perfect life for the perfect couple.

Then Sam receives a call at his office. Bryden—working from home that day—has failed to collect their daughter from daycare. Arriving home with their little girl, he finds his wife’s car in the underground garage. Upstairs in their apartment her laptop is open on the table, her cell phone nearby, her keys in their usual place in the hall.

Except Bryden is nowhere to be seen. It’s as if she just walked out. 

The queen of domestic suspense, Shari Lapena, is back with a gripping and claustrophobic tale of deception, revenge, and jealousy. 

She Didn't See it Coming is union of a suburban thriller and police procedural. Told from multiple points of view, this cast of unreliable and unlikable characters are full of secrets, lies, and in some cases motivation—everyone is a suspect for Detective Jayne Salter.

Expertly plotted and full of red herrings and twists, this is Lapena is at her finest. Strong recommend.

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SHARI LAPENA is is the internationally bestselling author of nine thrillers—including The Couple Next Door—which have all been New York Times, Sunday Times, and Globe and Mail bestsellers. Her books have been sold in forty territories around the world. 

Lapena lives on a farm outside Toronto with her husband.

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Q & A with Shari Lapena*

GWR: Is there a particular author/work that inspired you to become a writer or the way you write?  

SL: There’s no one book or author who inspired me to become a writer exactly, but I do remember being nine years old and reading Nancy Drew books and thinking that I’d like to grow up and write Nancy Drew books one day. As far as the way I write, I take inspiration from Patricia Highsmith, who was so good at getting into the deep, dark psychology of her characters.

GWR: Are you a pantser/gardener or a plotter/architect? 

SL: That’s interesting—I haven’t heard the gardener/architect labels before. I’m definitely a pantser/gardener. I’ve tried planning but I just can’t think of anything that might happen unless I’m actually writing inside a character in a scene and seeing what happens next. I’m definitely an organic writer—one thing leads to another for me. I start with a couple of characters and a situation or conflict and see what they do and go from there. 

GWR: As a seasoned author, what is your favourite part of the publishing process? Is there anything that you still find difficult?

SL: I still love writing the first draft. I love to see where the story is going. And I love touring and going to festivals. I still find edits a slog after a while, but they’re a necessary part of the process. There’s also a lot of administrative work that goes along with being an author, but it must be done.

GWR: What sparked the idea for She Didn't See It Coming?

SL: I’ve always been interested in stories about people who go out to the corner store to get a loaf of bread for example and are never seen again. I always want to know what happened. I came up with the idea of a woman working from home one day in a condominium building who appears to have just stepped out for a moment, leaving her purse, keys and phone behind. No signs of a struggle. And no clues as to what happened to her. Of course, the people left behind are going mad not knowing what happened to her. The police investigation is extra interesting because there is no evidence that she ever actually left the building—but they can’t find her.

GWR: Detective Jayne Salter and her partner, Dr. Michael Fraser, are persuasive and compelling characters—will either/both be featured in any upcoming works, or for a series perhaps? 

SL: That’s a good question! I’ve always written stand alones, but I’m actually starting to consider doing a series. And I like Jayne and Michael too—her struggles with being a homicide detective, and the extra colour he provides as a psychologist. I might come back to them. People are already asking for a sequel to She Didn't See It Coming.

GWR: Why do you prefer to write from a third-person point of view? 

SL: I love third person point of view, but even more, I love multiple points of view. Third person is great because you can get as shallow or as deep as you like into a character—and I like to get deep into their emotions and complexities. And I love multiple viewpoints because I find it really helps to keep the pacing fast and sets up lots of opportunities to engage and mislead the reader.  

GWR: How do you write such effective red herrings when you are so close to the material?

SL: I don’t even have to think about red herrings—they just occur naturally as I write. I think of every character, or most characters, as a suspect, so I’m imagining why they might have done the crime and how and why. So the red herrings are there naturally for each suspect.

GWR: As the queen of domestic suspense, do you build your stories around a twist/reveal, or does this happen organically?

SL: It’s all organic for me. I don’t plan any of it, and that includes plot, character, twists, reveals, and the ending. I start with an incident—for example, in She Didn't See It Coming, I knew Bryden would disappear from her condo and not pick her child up from daycare. I knew she would have a husband. But that’s it. After I’d written that, I went back and added a prologue about a minor car accident she’d had. And then I started adding in other characters as they occurred to me in the story.

GWR: What draws you to darker themes? 

SL: That is such a good question, and do we ever really know? I just find that I’m curious about them. It’s curiosity that drives me to write, and I think it’s curiosity that drives us to read. We want to know what happens next. People have a built-in love for story. I think it’s how we learn.

GWR: What’s the one element of a thriller that is a must?

SL: Tension. You can’t have a thriller without tension. You can have a thriller without a dead body, but you must have tension.

GWR: If your book was a beverage, what would it be? 

SL: Oh, no one’s ever asked me that before. Maybe a black coffee with a shot of gin. I wonder what that tastes like? (Shari said that the black coffee for a jolt and the gin because apparently psychopaths drink gin.)

GWR: Can you share what are you working on now?

SL: Yes, I’ve just finished my tenth crime novel, called Getting Away With Murder. It will be out next summer. It just might be my best yet.

*A version of this post was published on STYLE Canada. 

Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young

A special thank you to Dell for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

High school sweethearts Sarah and Caleb Linwood have always been a sure thing. For the past seventeen years, they have had each other’s backs through all of life’s ups and downs, achievements, losses, stages, and phases.

But Sarah has begun to wonder... Who is she without her other half?

When she decides to take on a project of her own, a fundraising gala in memoriam of her late mother, Sarah wants nothing more than to prove to herself—and to everyone else—that she doesn’t need Caleb’s help to succeed. She’s still her mother’s daughter, after all. Independent and capable.

That is until the event fails and Caleb uninvitedly steps in to save the day.

The rift that follows unearths a decade of grievances between them and doubts begin to grow. Are they truly the same people they were when they got married at nineteen? Are they supposed to be?

In a desperate attempt to fix what they fear is near breaking, Sarah and Caleb make the spontaneous decision to join a gruelling hiking trip intended to guide couples through rough patches.

What follows is a life-affirming comedy of errors as two nature-averse people fight their way out of the woods in order to find their way back to their roots.

Bonam-Young's companion novel to Out on a Limb features a marriage in trouble trope that's skewered with young love. Told in a dual timeline, it is an exploration of Sarah and Caleb's relationship as well as grief—how paralyzing loss can be. 

Out of the Woods tackles some weightier topics that Bonam-Young balances with witty banter and her exceptional supporting cast. Centred around loss, it is a novel that has incredible depth with a side of spice.

Readers will love the cameos from some beloved characters—Win, Bo, and Gus—and will be rooting for Sarah and Caleb.

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HANNAH BONAM-YOUNG is the author of Next of Kin, Next to You, Out on a Limb, and Out of the Woods. Hannah writes romances featuring a cast of diverse, disabled, marginalized, and LGBTQIA+ folks wherein swoon-worthy storylines blend with the beautiful, messy, and challenging realities of life. When not reading or writing romance you can find her having living room dance parties with her kids or planning any occasion that warrants a cheese board. 

Bonam-Young lives with her childhood friend turned husband, Ben, two kids, and bulldog near Niagara Falls on the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples.

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Q & A with Hannah Bonam-Young-Young*

GWR: How did you start writing/become a writer?      

HBY: It sounds so cliche but I've been writing as long as I can remember! I was the kid with her nose stuck in a book or a journal and often found my imagination a nicer place to exist than in the real world. It wasn't until the pandemic that I started writing again in a more serious, structured sense. I had two toddlers at home with me, while trying to work part-time from home as well, and I needed something in my day that was just for me. After a year or so, I wrote a book called Next of Kin that I felt pretty proud of. I sent it off to some family and friends and they all supported me in the decision to do something with it! Eventually that became self-publishing! After self-publishing my first three books (and a novella) I made the transition over to traditional publishing when I signed a book deal with Penguin Random House. Now, I get the pleasure of writing and releasing books with them!

GWR: Being a seasoned author, what is your favourite part of the publishing process? Is there anything that surprised you? 

HBY: I don't know if I would call myself a seasoned author just yet but thank you for the compliment, ha! My favourite part of the publishing process is definitely seeing the fully finished cover for the first time. It always feels like a puzzle piece clicking into place. 

I think what surprised me the most was that in traditional publishing there are so many folks working to make the book a reality! I was a one-woman team for the most part before, so it's very cool to have a team of people working towards a common goal of making each book the very best it can be.

GWR: What comes first for you—the overall idea or the characters? 

HBY: Usually the idea is very vague, but necessary for me to start daydreaming, and then the characters are what sell me on whether I think the book is worth writing or not. If they are interesting to me or easy to reach, I'll always want to write their story! Often the idea becomes totally different too, once I get to know whose story it is.

GWR: Did you always want to tell Sarah and Caleb’s story? (Sarah and Caleb are introduced in Out on a Limb—this is a companion novel, but it is not necessary to read Out on a Limb first.) 

HBY: I did! I didn't necessarily think I would, because I wasn't convinced that Out on a Limb would do "well" enough to keep readers interested enough for a follow-up novel, but I did hope for the chance to write their story.

GWR: Out of the Woods features young love and marriage in crisis tropes—what is your favourite trope to write and what is your favourite trope to read?

HBY: My favourite trope to write, that I've written so far, is friends-to-lovers. I love reading it too! I think it's just so wholesome and messy and FUN.

GWR: What were the most important characteristics and dynamic that you wanted Sarah and Caleb’s relationship to have? I love that you also celebrate female friendship, so I’ll ask the same question about Sarah and Win’s relationship.

HBY: What was most important to me about Sarah and Caleb's dynamic was that they remained in love for the duration of the book. There's not a moment in Out of the Woods, or at least I hope there isn't, that the reader will doubt these two are very much in love and wanting to work on things. They have a really deep, layered, fundamental bond that isn't easily broken and while they have a lot of progress to make, they do love each other throughout it all. 

For Sarah and Win, their relationship is so pivotal to each of their individual character arcs. I love to say this but I found a lot of comfort in the fact that Win would have been totally fine in Out on a Limb if Bo had never met her for coffee—because she had Sarah! And if Sarah had needed to leave her marriage, Win would have helped her through it. They will always be there for each other.

GWR: How do you balance complex subject matter—loss, grief, toxic parental relationships, mental health—with the lighter elements of a romance novel? 

HBY: I think it's just about keeping things grounded in reality. Humans experience all of these heavier, "negative" emotions day after day—but we still feel joy amongst it! Having characters processing all of these very difficult things while simultaneously feeling hope is so necessary to me—because that's life. And hope can come through in many different forms... Sometimes it's silly, goofy banter. Sometimes it's sex. Sometimes it's light-hearted conversations to remind them that there's still more happiness to come. Without that balance, the story wouldn't feel worthwhile to me. Or, I'd get too sad writing it to keep going.

GWR: Which subjects do you wish more authors would write about?

HBY: I honestly don't know! I would love to see more limb difference representation, obviously. But every author has to figure out what story they want to tell, and we're being fed a lot of incredible books these days so I don't feel like I'm missing out! 

GWR: What do you hope readers will take away from Out of the Woods?  

HBY: That you can reinvent yourself at any stage of life. That it's never too late to figure out who you are and what you want! And, if you do have a partner, they should go on that discovery journey alongside you and support you through it.

GWR: If your book was a beverage, what would it be? 

HBY: If Out of the Woods was a beverage it would be black coffee from a thermos. Bitter, but comforting!

GWR: Can you share what are you working on now?

HBY: I'm finishing up copy edits on my upcoming September release, People Watching, while also writing my sixth book, People Pleasing. I cannot wait to share more about them! 

*A version of this post was published on STYLE Canada. 

The Holiday Honeymoon Switch by Julia McKay

A special thank you to the publisher, Penguin Random House Canada, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When doppelgänger best friends trade one’s cabin Christmas vacation for the other’s Hawaiian would’ve-been-honeymoon, both might just find love they weren’t expecting.

Holly Beech and Ivy Casey are bury-the-body besties. They’re so in sync, they even look alike. So when Holly’s fiancé jilts her, leaving her in shock and with a nonrefundable honeymoon, Holly convinces Ivy to switch places. Ivy will go on the Hawaiian honeymoon her best friend can’t bear to take alone, while Holly escapes to Ivy’s rented Hudson Valley cabin to binge-watch holiday movies and heal.

But Holly’s wallowing is interrupted when her rugged Airbnb host turns out to be her high school academic rival who’s had a major glow-up. Meanwhile, Ivy’s (now Hawaiian) annual solo art retreat is upended when Holly’s ex-fiancé checks into the honeymoon suite—with a new woman. Raging and bedless, the last thing Ivy expects is for the hot hotel bartender to come to her rescue. Against all odds, this Christmas might prove the most magical yet. 

For fans of The Holiday and Hallmark movies, The Holiday Honeymoon Switch is a best friends, dual point of view, new chance at love in the most opposite of settings. This is the perfect read to kick off your holiday season.

JULIA McKAY/MARISSA STAPLEY is a journalist and the bestselling author of Lucky, The Last Resort, Things to Do When It’s Raining, and Mating for Life. She co-authored All I Want for Christmas and The Holiday Swap with Karma Brown as Maggie Knox, and Three Holidays and a Wedding with Uzma Jalaluddin. 

Stapley lives in Toronto with her family.

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Q & A with Julia McKay*

GWR: How long did it take you to write The Holiday Honeymoon Switch, and how many drafts were there before publication?

JM: The timelines are really tight with my holiday romance novels—given that there is no leeway, and they must come out before the holiday season! So, I tend to write them in more concentrated bursts. It took me about five months to complete the first draft, and then there were two faster drafts after that before we got to copyedits. 

GWR: Is there any significance to the name Julia McKay?

JM: Julia is my middle name; McKay is my Grannie Maggie’s maiden name—and she was a writer, freelancing for many Canadian newspapers and magazines over the years and penning short stories as well. 

GWR: Were you inspired by any holiday movies or other holiday rom-coms?

JM: I was inspired by one of my favourite movies, The Holiday, as well as one of my favourite rom coms, The Unhoneymooners! 

GWR: Give us your best Hollywood pitch for the book.

JM: For fans of The Holiday, but make them besties … When Holly gets left at the altar of her Christmas themed wedding, she swaps holidays with her best friend, Ivy—and, out of heartache,  both friends find unexpected love beyond their wildest dreams. 

GWR: What comes first for you—the overall idea or the characters?  

JM: It always depends. Sometimes a situation or plot will come to me first, sometimes the main characters. In the case of The Holiday Honeymoon Switch, Holly and Ivy appeared first, and I knew these were characters I wanted to work with. Then I had to take some time to sort out the kind of journey I was going to take them on. 

GWR: Do you have more fun with character development or plot?

JM: I have a lot of fun with both. It’s really exciting to get to know your characters during the early stages of book conceptualizing—almost like meeting a new friend! I always use questionnaires to learn about my characters, such as the Proust questionnaire or the one in Save the Cat Writes a Novel, and it’s so entertaining to come up with answers for a person who doesn’t really exist. But I also adore plotting and planning. I feel such a rush when I’m writing an outline, even if I know things are likely to change somewhat once I get to the writing stage. 

GWR: This novel is as much about romantic relationships as it is about friendship. What were the most important characteristics and dynamics that you wanted Holly and Aiden’s/Ivy and Oliver’s relationships to have, as well as Holly and Ivy’s friendship? 

JM: It is very important to me that my characters have agency, and full lives outside of their romantic relationships. So, in this case, it was key that any relationship either character ended up in would work with her best friendship. I wanted both male leads to be secure and confident, with some baggage but not the sort that would get in the way of outside relationships. And I also thought it would be good if they were both a little isolated in their lives and really in the market for a bromance, which is definitely what I see happening between them after the final pages of the novel, by the way!  

As far as Holly and Ivy’s friendship goes, if you’re lucky enough to have this kind of friend then you know what it’s like. It’s such a gift to have someone you can truly be yourself with, someone who accepts you for who you are even if you aren’t always perfect—because no one is—supports and brings out the best in you, and is there for you no matter what. I feel lucky to have a best friend I know I can call in any crisis, and who will also be unconditionally happy for my successes. I didn’t find this friend until I was in my forties; it’s completely okay to hold out. But I love that Holly and Ivy met in university. 

GWR: What do you hope readers will take away from The Holiday Honeymoon Switch? 

JM: That it’s okay to take risks in the pursuit of happiness. That safety and responsibility are good, but following your heart is, too. That love comes in many forms, and the love you have for a friend is just as important as the love you have for a romantic partner. 

GWR: If your book was a beverage, what would it be? 

JM: Since there are two love stories, there would have to be, two! A Hawaiian Bonfire cocktail for Ivy, a peppermint mocha with extra whip for Holly. 

GWR: Will there be another Julia McKay book or holiday novel with one of your other partnerships?

JM: Although Uzma and I would love to write together again once we find the time and the right idea, Julia McKay is here to stay. A second novel will be out next holiday season, and I’ll be sharing news on that soon. 

*A version of this post was published on STYLE Canada. 

What Wild Women Do by Karma Brown

A special thank you to Viking Canada/Penguin Random House Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review..

Rowan is stuck. Her dreams of becoming a screenwriter are stalled, along with her bank account, as she and her fiancé Seth try to make sense of what's next for them after leaving LA. But when the couple takes a trip to a cabin in the Adirondacks, hoping the change will provide inspiration for Seth's novel-in-progress, Rowan finds herself drawn into a story greater than her own—that of socialite-turned-feminist-crusader Eddie Calloway, who vanished one day in 1975 and was never found or heard from again. In a handbook left behind in the abandoned ruins of a once great camp, Rowan starts to discover clues to what happened to Eddie.

As Rowan delves deeper into the mystery, we meet Eddie herself, a fierce and loving woman whose greatest wish was to host women at her camp and unlock their "wildness." However, Eddie's wild ways aren't welcomed by everyone, and rifts between camp owners threaten her mission. When Rowan gets closer to the truth of Eddie's disappearance, she realizes that it may hold the key to unlocking her own ambition and future

Much like its strong female characters, What Wild Women Do is a force. Told in dual timelines/perspectives, Brown's latest offering is a comment on social media, the pressures of societal expectations on women, and finding one's purpose. 

Although Rowan and Eddie are from different decades, they have a lot in common—they are passionate, strong, and resilient. Both storylines are equally captivating and an ode to women. Brown elevates the novel with added layers of mystery and self-discovery. 

Atmospheric, mysterious, and compelling, What Wild Women Do is a must read.

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KARMA BROWN is an award-winning journalist and author of the bestsellers Come Away With Me, The Choices We Make, In This Moment, The Life Lucy Knew, and Recipe for a Perfect Wife. Her first non-fiction book, The 4% Fix, published in 2020. Karma's writing has appeared in publications such as Redbook, SELF, and Chatelaine. 

Brown lives just outside Toronto, Canada with her husband, daughter, and their adorably handsome labradoodle, Fred.

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Q & A with Karma Brown*

GWR: This is your sixth fiction novel, do you approach each the same way or has your writing process changed? 

KB: Some things are always the same, like writing a detailed synopsis before a single page of the manuscript, and doing research and brainstorming ahead of drafting. I find a first draft (my least favourite part of the process) comes out more easily if I do this work first. You’re going to have to do the fiddly stuff at some point, and the “when” simply comes down to style and personal preference. However, I did something with this book that I haven’t before. Instead of writing the chapters consecutively, alternating between characters and timelines, I wrote Rowan’s (modern protagonist) storyline first, then switched to Eddie’s (1970s protagonist). That wasn’t my plan going in, but it’s what made sense for this book. So even though some things stay the same with my process, I’m always open to new strategies—every book is its own journey!

GWR: 
Being a screenwriter, Rowan would know how to pitch the book, but what do you think Eddie would say about it? 

KB: Eddie offers a lot of wisdom throughout the story, but I think she would keep it simple. Something like, “This book is about learning, and trusting, your personal truths. Nothing else matters!” After that she’d take a big sip of her beloved chocolate milk, and give a raised eyebrow look, as if to say, “Prove me wrong.”



GWR: Jess and Aidan live completely off the grid—is this something you think you could do? 

KB: Is it something I dream of doing? Yes. Is it something I think I could do…probably not. I am that person who wants to sit under a mother tree in a forest of mother trees, with a morning mug of coffee listening to birdsongs, and have nothing but wilderness surrounding me. But I’m also grateful that I can get next-day delivery without leaving my house, and I’m a big fan of indoor plumbing. 



GWR: The themes of this book—female relationships, societal pressures on women, the impact of social media—are all relatable, yet your take is fresh and also has an added element of mystery. Where did you draw inspiration from?

KB: I love setting a book in an isolated place, and the vast woods felt perfect for this story. When I was a child my parents took me and my younger sister to Camp Sagamore in the Adirondacks. It was the 1970s, we were the children of hippies and so well-versed in exploring wide open spaces and spending time in nature. Camp Sagamore had originally belonged to the gilded Vanderbilt family—these great camps were compounds built in the woods for these families to escape city life—and we stayed in Gloria Vanderbilt’s cabin, which was exciting! We spent our days exploring the woods, making plaster casts of animal paw prints, eating communally in the large, wooden beamed dining hall, and bowling for hours in the open-air alley. It was magical, and all these years later, it was that visit that inspired the setting for this book. But an isolated forest also lends itself well to mystery and disappearances…the trees are great secret keepers. 

GWR: 

Strong women are central to your books. Who are some other authors you would recommend that also write strong female characters well? 

KB: This is a tough question to answer, not only because there are many authors to recommend, but also because what makes a female character “strong” depends on context, and perspective. However, some of my favourite female characters—who I think embody that adjective—are: Carrie Soto (Carrie Soto is Back, Taylor Jenkins Reid); Joanna Eberhart (The Stepford Wives, Ira Levin); Dr. Marina Singh (State of Wonder, Ann Patchett); Harriett Osborne (The Change, Kirsten Miller); and Carlota Moreau (The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, Silvia Moreno-Garcia). 

GWR: 

What are some great books you’ve read this summer?

KB: This summer was a busy one, and I didn’t get as much time to read as I wanted to. So, here’s a sampling of a few great books I’ve read this year (so far): How to Sell a Haunted House, by Grady Hendrix; Weyward, by Emilia Hart; The Whispers, by Ashley Audrain; Nightbitch, by Rachel Yoder; The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise, by Colleen Oakley; Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier. 

GWR: 

What do you hope readers will take away from What Wild Women Do?

KB: I hope readers see, through Eddie and Rowan’s stories, that bravery, courage and resiliency arrive in both bold and quiet ways. Also, to remember that we only get this one life…so, how do you want to spend it?  

GWR: 

If your book was a beverage, what would it be?

KB: I have no clue! Why is this the hardest question of them all?

Maybe a dark-roast, piping hot coffee, with a generous pour of organic soy milk, cinnamon and fresh nutmeg sprinkled on top. Strong, slightly out of the ordinary, a touch sweet and spicy. 



GWR: Can you share what you are working on next?

KB: All I can say at the moment is that I’m actively drafting a new story—one that veers into a different genre from what I’ve written before—and that I am having the most fun writing it! Stay tuned for more ☺ 

*A version of this post was published on STYLE Canada. 

The Whispers by Ashley Audrain

A special thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

On Harlow Street, the well-to-do neighbor­hood couples and their children gather for a barbecue as the summer winds down. Everything is fabulous until Whitney, the picture-perfect hostess, explodes in fury because her son disobeys her. Everyone at the party hears her exquisite veneer crack—loud and clear. Before long, that same young boy falls from his bedside window in the middle of the night. And then his mother can only sit by her son’s hospital bed, where his life hangs in the balance.

Over the course of a tense three days, the women of the neighborhood grapple with what led to that terrible night. People-pleasing Blair, Whitney’s best friend, suspects something isn’t as it seems. Rebecca, the ER doctor who helps treat Whit­ney’s son, has struggled to have a child of her own. And the all-knowing Mara, the older woman next door, watches everyone’s world unravel from her front porch.

Ashley Audrain's sophomore effort is a propulsive page-turner. This character-driven psychological thriller centres around a tragedy and the ripple effect it has on four separate families. The Whispers is raw and visceral—not for the faint of heart.

The novel is told from the perspectives of four women: Whitney, a career woman and mother of three; Blair, a stay-at-home mom; Rebecca, a doctor who is struggling with miscarriages; and Mara, a widow in her eighties who is still grieving the death of her only son. The Whispers is also an examination of motherhood: how trying it can be, the pressure to be the perfect mother, how awful it is to want to be a one, and how devastating it is to lose a child and not be a mother anymore. 

What I love about Audrain’s books are all the nuances that start with the title and funnel down through the thematic elements. Whispers are what we don't want others to hear, the things we say to ourselves, what we say about others, and the things that may or may not be true. She captures all of these things behind the closed doors of her characters.  

Exploring themes of envy, desire, and motherhood, The Whispers is about giving in to impulse and about the whispers that we silence. Highly recommend!

*Trigger warning: miscarriage and infertility, discussion of suicide, infidelity, accident involving child.

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ASHLEY AUDRAIN previously worked as the publicity director of Penguin Books Canada. Prior to Penguin, she worked in public relations. She is a graduate of the Media, Information & Technoculture program at Western University. The Push is her debut.

Audrain lives in Toronto, where she and her partner are raising their two young children. 

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Q & A with Ashley Audrain*

GWR: Is there a particular author/work that inspired you to become a writer or the way you write? 

AA: I don’t know if there’s just one, but I’m certainly inspired by women writing page-turning stories about complex female characters, and I always have been. As a teenager, I loved to read the Oprah’s Book Club picks each month because she often focused on darker stories about women, and fiction that was very accessible. I probably read things a bit too mature for my age, but I think that curiosity is part of what makes reading so compelling for young people.

GWR: Did you approach writing The Whispers the same way as The Push? What does your writing process look like?

AA: It really felt like a very different writing process from start to finish in terms of where and when I was writing. I’d worked on The Push for a much longer time, in bigger chunks of time, and revised it at my own pace, all while having my babies—with The Whispers, I had a deadline and editors for the first time, and writing it also overlapped with the bulk of the pandemic. I found it really difficult to be productive and creative during that period, in a time crunch, with so many months of lockdown and schools closed in Toronto (I know we can all relate). I woke up every day at 5am to work through revisions until the kids woke up, and then the rest of the day was a complete write-off. That said, I’d learned a lot during the writing of The Push, including just how valuable BIG revisions are. It’s always painful to feel like you’re digging up the foundation of a book, but now I can see that’s a completely necessary part of my process. So, both books went through a lot of changes, and I didn’t have a fully developed structure for either of them before I started. I suppose that’s my writing process… make a mess and then try to clean it up! 

GWR: You have a publishing background—did this help or hinder your writing? What do you like most about the publishing process? What do you like the least?

AA: I think having a publishing background has only helped my writing, mostly because in publishing, you have to read so much and so widely, including genres you wouldn’t otherwise try and authors you hadn’t read before. Reading is such good ‘training’ for writing, especially if you’re paying keen attention to things like structure and voice and pacing. 

The thing I love most about the publishing process is that much-anticipated moment of (hopefully!) feeling like the draft is exactly where it should be—that a revision has accomplished what it needs to and is ready to send back to my (wonderful) editors. It’s such a satisfying part of the process, after a lot of hard work. The part I like least is probably the jumble of nerves and emotions just before publication, waiting to see how the novel will be received by readers and critics. There’s such little control during this time—the work is done, and all you can do is wait with fingers crossed.

GWR: What was the genesis of The Whispers?

AA: A few things were on my mind at the time I was developing The Whispers. First, I was living in Little Portugal in Toronto, and wanted to explore the feeling of that neighbourhood…the idea of young, busy families moving in, renovating old houses, and essentially taking over the street while the older Portuguese immigrants were trying to hang on to the porch culture they’d long established and enjoyed. Second, there was a bedroom window in my son’s room that didn’t have a lock (at first). He wasn’t big enough to reach the window, but I always had a terrible visual of him opening up the window in the middle of the night and falling out. This, of course, inspired a pivotal plot point in The Whispers…

And then, a bit later into the draft, I came across this concept of ‘the whispers’ on an episode of Oprah’s podcast, featuring a conversation with her best friend, Gayle King. Gayle shares about ‘the whispers’ she had long quieted about her marriage, until she couldn’t anymore—because she came home and found her husband with another woman. I loved this idea of the ways our life is always speaking to us, whether or not we want to hear it, and how complex this can be for women who are terrified of the consequences if they listen. 

GWR: Did any minor characters become major characters over the course of the novel?

AA: I think Mara grew the most as a character over the course of revisions—I loved her story from the beginning, but at one point she was more of grumpy voyeur, less involved in the plot. I love where she ended up, and I really enjoyed writing from her perspective.

GWR: What do you enjoy more: character development or plot?

AA: I think I enjoy thinking about character most, but I also find it the hardest to work through on the page. Often, I think I’ve conveyed something about a character in the story, but it’s really living more in my mind—this has been a consistent theme in my early reader feedback! I think it’s because I feel like I know these characters so well; as writers we often live with them long before they make it on the page. It’s sometimes hard to see what we haven’t communicated about them yet. 

GWR: You tackle some weightier subjects—miscarriage, infertility, infidelity, trauma—which topics do you wish more authors would write about?

AA: Definitely pregnancy loss, although I can understand why authors might choose not to. It’s a very personal and terrifying experience to go through. Although I can think of many characters who have had miscarriages, we don’t often see the physicality of it in real time on the page. When I had my miscarriages, it was striking to me how foreign the entire experience was—I knew nothing about what would really happen, how it would feel, how to deal with the aftermath. I think if we shared more about this on the page or on the screen, it might feel a bit less lonely for women who go through it.

GWR: I love how purposeful and layered the titles are of your novels—there are several connotations of “the whispers” which I won’t say to keep spoiler-free—do you select the titles or are you even conscious of the nuances the time of writing?  

AA: Thank you. I’ve always chosen the titles after the books were finished. The Push came to me at a completely random time, when I wasn’t meaning to be brainstorm title ideas (thank you, creative fairies!). The Whispers was a title suggested by a friend of mine who had read a very early draft; this was taken straight from a phrase in Blair’s inner dialogue, but as you’ve said, it certainly applies on several levels in the novel, and became a thread throughout as I was revising.

GWR: What are you working on now?

AA: I am starting to work on something new, but unfortunately can’t say anything about it yet! But it’s been a total joy to be in a new story, with a cast of new characters. 

*A version of this post was published on STYLE Canada.

Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune

A special thank you to the publisher, Penguin Canada, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fern Brookbanks has wasted far too much of her adult life thinking about Will Baxter. She spent just twenty-four hours in her early twenties with the aggravatingly attractive, idealistic artist, a chance encounter that spiraled into a daylong adventure in Toronto. The timing was wrong, but their connection was undeniable: they shared every secret, every dream, and made a pact to meet one year later. Fern showed up. Will didn't.

At thirty-two, Fern's life doesn't look at all how she once imagined it would. Instead of living in the city, Fern's back home, running her mother's Muskoka lakeside resort—something she vowed never to do. The place is in disarray, her ex-boyfriend's the manager, and Fern doesn't know where to begin.

She needs a plan—a lifeline. To her surprise, it comes in the form of Will, who arrives nine years too late, with a suitcase in tow and an offer to help on his lips. Will may be the only person who understands what Fern's going through. But how could she possibly trust this expensive-suit wearing mirage who seems nothing like the young man she met all those years ago. Will is hiding something, and Fern's not sure she wants to know what it is.

But ten years ago, Will Baxter rescued Fern. Can she do the same for him?

After a whirlwind daylong adventure, Ferm and Will make a promise that one of them keeps and the other breaks. Meet Me at the Lake is a beautiful story about missed connections and second chances set against the picturesque backdrop of Muskoka. 

Fortune's writing is effortless and immersive—she is a master of dialogue and witty banter. The narrative flows from past to present, urban to rural. Through well-developed and perfectly executed backstories, Fortune shows how Fern and Will become the present day versions of themselves. She also uses diary entries to fully flesh out the character of Maggie as well as Fern's memories in order to further explore the mother-daughter relationship which is a central theme of the book.  

Although there are similarities to Every Summer After—lake setting, the theme of grief, dual timeline—this is an entirely fresh story. Brimming with nostalgia for summers at the lake, Meet Me at the Lake is like coming home.

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CARLEY FORTUNE is an award-winning journalist who also worked as an editor at some of Canada’s top publications, including The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, Toronto Life, and was most recently the Executive Editor of Refinery29 Canada. Carley holds a Bachelor of Journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University). 

Carley spent her young life in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia, and in Barry’s Bay, a tiny lakeside town in rural Ontario and the setting for Every Summer After. 

Fortune lives in Toronto with her husband and two sons. 

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Q & A with Carley Fortune*

GWR: Are you a pantser/gardener or a plotter/architect? What does your writing process look like? How many hours a day do you write?

CF: I’m a pantser. Before I begin, I have a broad concept for the story, and if there’s a twist or a reveal, I might know that too—though not always. I have the vaguest sense of who my characters are, but almost everything reveals itself as I write. I love that about my process. The way scenes, dialogue, and character quirks pop into my brain often feels like magic. 

Writing is my day job, and I approach it like one. As soon as my husband and kids are out the door, I get to work, breaking for lunch and (hopefully) exercise, and then am back to my keyboard until everyone gets home and chaos ensues. I tend to write my first draft quickly and without editing. But by the time I hand it in to my editors, I’ve revised the manuscript multiple times. 

 

GWR: You have a publishing background—did this help or hinder your writing? What do you like most about the publishing process?

CF: I was a journalist for sixteen years, working as an editor at outlets like Refinery29, Chatelaine, The Globe and Mail, and Toronto Life. So much of what I’ve learned about writing and the editorial process comes from my media background and from my journalism degree: the importance of clarity, selecting telling details, the tremendous value of editors, meeting deadlines, reaching an audience, the power of a good cover, and what it means to produce something at the intersection of art, craft, and commerce. 

What I love about book publishing is the extra time and attention that goes into the work, as well as the longevity of a novel compared to an article. My debut novel, Every Summer After, came out in May of 2022, and it boggles my mind that there are still thousands of people buying a copy of the book every week. I’ve always been passionate about my work, I’ve always put my heart and soul into my job, and now I feel like it’s absolutely worth the effort. I know I’m doing what I was meant to do.

 

GWR: What was the inspiration behind Meet Me at the Lake?

CF: Insomnia! I wrote Every Summer After in 2020 while I was pregnant with my second child, and we sold it in a two-book deal when I was eight months pregnant. I suffered insomnia throughout the pregnancy and after I gave birth. At the same time, I had to pitch an idea for my second book to my editor. I was lying awake in the middle of the night after a feeding, trying to figure out what the heck I was going to do. So I asked myself where I wanted to be. I find that writing is like reading, in that you’re transported to the characters’ world. And I saw it immediately: a classic lakeside resort in Muskoka, and Fern, who’s reluctantly back home running the place following the death of her mom. There’s a storyline told through a series of diary entries Fern’s mom wrote in the summer of 1990, and that came to me that night as well. The love story took longer to sort out. I decided to challenge myself to do the exact opposite thing I did with Every Summer After, where the characters fall in love over years. In Meet Me at the Lake, I wanted to build an intense, life-altering bond in just 24 hours. 

GWR: Did you start writing Meet Me at the Lake before the release of Every Summer After? Did the success of Every Summer After impact your writing of Meet Me at the Lake?

CF: By the time Every Summer After was published, I had already submitted the second draft of Meet Me at the Lake. Both my editor and agent, who are tremendously talented and savvy, had suggested having the second book well underway by the time the first came out. And I’m so glad I followed their advice. I already had a massive case of self-doubt while working my second book. I was worried my ability to write Every Summer After had been a fluke. We had big hopes for Every Summer After, but the way it exploded was a huge surprise, at least to me. I’m sure my imposter syndrome would have been almost debilitating had I been drafting Meet Me at the Lake when Every Summer After became a bestseller. 

 

GWR: Did any minor characters become major characters over the course of the novel?

CF: Yes. In my first draft of Meet Me at the Lake, Jamie, who is Fern’s ex and the manager of the resort, was not her ex. With every draft, he took on a greater role, which was so fun, because Jamie was one of my favourite characters to write. Maggie, who is Fern’s mom, was always a major character, but since she’s recently passed away when we meet Fern in the present-day storyline, she is mostly developed through her diary entries and through Fern’s memories. The mother-daughter relationship is core to the book, and my editors helped me give it (and Maggie herself) texture, weight, and specificity with every draft. 

 

GWR: You shift perspectives with the use of diary entries and alternate between past and present—what made you decide to write the book this way? Was it easier or more challenging to explore the parallel storyline?

CF: I love playing with time, and I enjoy books that experiment with structure and technique. I love it when characters have a history, so when I’m brainstorming, I tend to spend much of my effort creating elaborate backstories for my love interests. It feels natural for me to go back and forth between present and past storylines, and in some ways easier than writing one linear story—it’s like two short books in one, and I can pack in a lot. I’m interested in how our relationships to ourselves and others shift over time, and alternating timelines is a great tool for exploring that. 

 

GWR: There is strong nostalgia associated with your books for summers in Muskoka/Barry's Bay as well as the city of Toronto—why is it important to feature these Canadian settings versus a generic US locale?    

CF: Every Summer After is set in Toronto and Barry’s Bay, which is a small town in eastern Ontario where I lived from grade four until the end of high school. Barry’s Bay far less populated than Muskoka and quite far from the city. Meet Me at the Lake is set at a fictional resort in Muskoka and the Toronto of ten years ago. Every Summer After began as a project that was just for me. I wanted to write about how I grew up: on a lake, in the bush, with cottagers who come and go with the seasons. But when I realized it might become a published book, I asked agents whether they thought the Canadian setting might be a problem. I got mixed feedback. Honestly: I wouldn’t have set the book in the US, but I would have made the precise location of Barry’s Bay unknowable if it meant being published. Fortunately, both my editor (who is based in New York) and my agent (who is based in LA) loved the setting, and I’m so grateful it appears the way I initially wrote it. In hindsight, I think that’s one of the reasons it resonated with readers outside of Canada—there’s an escapist element we crave in our summer reads. My favourite part of writing Meet Me at the Lake was Will and Fern’s twenty-four hours in Toronto—I think it’s dreamy and magical and a love letter to the city the same way that Every Summer After was a love letter to Barry’s Bay. 

 

GWR: If your book was a beverage, what would it be? 

CF: French press coffee, black, the way Fern drinks it. 

 

GWR: What are you working on now?

CF: I’m working on my third book, which I am preposterously excited about. It’s the most fun I’ve had writing thus far, and I can’t wait to share more about it. (Hopefully later this summer!) 

*A version of this post was published on STYLE Canada.

In the Upper Country by Kai Thomas

A special thank you to the publisher, Penguin Random House Canada, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In the 1800s in Dunmore, a Canadian town settled by people fleeing enslavement in the American south, young Lensinda Martin works for a crusading Black journalist.

One night, a neighboring farmer summons Lensinda after a slave hunter is shot dead on his land by an old woman who recently arrived via the Underground Railroad. When the old woman refuses to flee before the authorities arrive, the farmer urges Lensinda to gather testimony from her before she can be condemned for the crime.

But the old woman doesn't want to confess. Instead she proposes a barter: a story for a story. And so begins an extraordinary exchange of tales that reveal an interwoven history of Black and Indigenous peoples in a wide swath of what is called North America.

As time runs out, Lensinda is challenged to uncover her past and face her fears in order to make good on the bargain of a story for a story. And it seems the old woman may carry a secret that could shape Lensinda's destiny.

With themes of freedom and sovereignty, family, and survival, In the Upper Country is an exceptional novel from a bold new voice. 

The story is set in the town of Dunmore—a fictitious Canadian town settled by former slaves that escaped along the Underground Railroad. It is here where Thomas gives his readers a glimpse of what life was like for these previously enslaved people as well as their connection to Indigenous people. 

This mesmerizing debut is about the fates of two resilient and unforgettable women—Lensinda and Cash—whose currency is their stories. Told from Lensinda’s perspective, Thomas amplifies women, making them strong, courageous, and unforgettable.  

In the spirit and tradition of the storytelling that preserved their cultures, In the Upper Country maps the interconnected history between white, Black, and Indigenous communities.

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KAI THOMAS is a writer, carpenter, and land steward. He is a graduate of University of Guelph’s Creative Writing MFA, for which the manuscript of In the Upper Country was his thesis work. 

Thomas resides in upstate New York.  

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Q & A with Kai Thomas*

GWR: Which writers (novelists, playwrights, journalists, poets) do you admire most and did any of them influence the way you write or inspire you to become an author?

KT:  So many. Many too many to name. I will be brutal and pick three. 

Marlon James’ novels were a significant inspiration to me. I picked up his work at a time in my life when the idea of writing a novel was just dawning on me, and the equal parts wonder and terror in his exquisite storytelling convinced me that pursuing this craft was a good idea. 

The playwright Djanet Sears deepened my relationship with theatre. Witnessing Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God was surreal for me. It was the first time I had seen such fantastic musicality, humour, humanity, and utter beauty, all enacted through the story of an Afro Canadian experience. 

Waubgeshig Rice not only is a fantastic journalist but a skilled novelist. Moreover he is a friend and a mentor to me. Together we workshopped excerpts of early drafts of my novel, and his guidance helped me truly connect with the craft, and to find joy in it.

GWR: How long did it take you to write In the Upper Country, and can you tell us a bit about your writing process?

KT: Most of the active writing and editing of this novel happened over the course of three years. I worked intensively on the manuscript during my MFA at the University of Guelph, and again once I had sold it, in coordination with my three top-notch editors: Lara Hinchberger, Laura Tisdel, and Abigail Scruby. 

Throughout the entire process, I leaned into the feedback I was getting from peers, teachers, and editors. In the Upper Country has a fairly complex plot, and having never written a novel before, I took all the help I could get. Whenever something was unnecessarily confusing to a reader, I would attend it in the text; examining it and rewriting and adding as necessary. My writing style tends toward the sparse and enigmatic, and while that sometimes lends itself to compelling prose, mostly in its raw form it is just a lot of murkiness. And while I’m getting better at self-editing, I hugely value good feedback and ideas, and I think the call and response between the readers and myself was the defining process of writing this book.  

GWR: In your own words, how would you describe the book?

KT: From a genre perspective it is a historical fiction set in late 18th to mid 19th century Great Lakes region of North America. Thematically, it grapples with Black and Indigenous relations of the period, the institutions of slavery in the US and Canada, the War of 1812, the Underground Railroad, ideas of freedom and sovereignty, human relationships with nature, and many others. Its mood is like: imagine black folk singer Rhiannon Giddens got remixed by Tribe Called Red.  

GRW: What was the genesis of the novel? What came first—the overall idea or the characters? 

KT: The idea definitely came first. I knew certain scenes and historical moments had to be represented in this story. But funnily enough, as a reader, I feel that characters are actually more important than the overall idea or themes. But by way of artistic process, it’s the themes, and sometimes even the mood that come first, and then it is up to me to let the characters animate those more abstract ideas. 

GWR: How did you balance crafting a good story against historical accuracy in terms of character development? 

KT: The particular style of historical fiction that I’m working with in this book is a type of realism. So historical accuracy was quite important. I aimed to build a world that was parallel to the one I found in history books. All of the occurrences in the novel are things that could have happened, or at the very least, stories that could have been told. That is to say, once this type of parallel universe setting is established, then the historical accuracy lends itself to the quality of the story, which of course includes character development.

GWR: I love the idea of stories being used as the currency between Cash and Lensinda. Can you tell us about the research you did to form these narratives?

KT: Much of the research began with reading really interesting historical monographs that dealt with the book’s areas of interest. I searched the bibliographies of these books for pertinent primary source documents. So called “slave narratives” were among those, but additionally, recipe books, marine muster rolls, town census records, court records, and newspaper articles of the place and time. Additionally I spoke with elders, historians, and knowledge keepers who had invaluable perspectives on the pertinent historical periods and themes.  

GWR: In the Upper Country is written from Lensinda’s perspective. Why was it important for you to amplify women’s stories?

KT: When I started writing, I didn’t know Lensinda was going to be the narrator and protagonist. She just kind of demanded that space. I think her character was hollering at me from between the lines of the history books, so I just tried to listen. Initially I found it difficult to write her voice, and I think the difficulty appealed to me. It signalled that I had no idea what a young black Canadian woman would sound like in 1859. And I wanted to know. And I probably wasn’t the only one.   

GWR: What do you hope readers will take away from your book?

KT: I hope they take away a fresh perspective on a period of history that they may have had stale associations with. Whether that be interests of Black and Indigenous peoples in the War of 1812, or the complex lives of Underground Railroad communities in the “promised land”, or that of humanity’s relationship with nature as a vehicle for sovereignty.                            

GWR: What are you working on now?

KT: I work full time as a carpenter site manager at Soul Fire Farm, a non-profit educational farm in upstate New York. I also have a lovely family, and I spend good chunks of time caregiving our one year old and preparing for baby #2 in who arrives in February if all goes well. My writing time these days is mostly occupied with this sort of thing, associated with the launch of In the Upper Country. In terms of my next creative writing project, I’m in the beginning stages of the next novel: a deep dive into the beauty and terror of Trinidadian folklore, set against the backdrop of a 19th century pirate fiction. 

*A version of this post was published on STYLE Canada.

All I Want for Christmas by Maggie Knox

True love wasn't on their holiday wish list.

When Sadie and Max are selected as contestants on the famed reality singing show Starmaker, each thinks they've finally gotten their big Nashville break. But then they're paired up for duet week and stun the world with their romantic onstage chemistry. With fans going wild for #Saxie the network demands that they remain a duo on and offstage, or exit the competition. Faking a relationship until their final performance in the Starmaker holiday special shouldn't be too hard, except for one small problem—Sadie and Max can't stand each other.

With the deadline of their fake relationship approaching, they come together to write an original holiday love song, but will the magic of Christmas spark a romance?

All I Want for Christmas is the sophomore effort from Maggie Knox, the powerhouse duo of Karma Brown and Marissa Stapley. This novel reads like The Hating Game meets Nashville—it'a a festive and flirty enemies to lovers tale. 

Although this book is sweet and swoon-worthy overall, there are some weightier themes—alcoholism, abandonment of a parent, grief, death of a loved one. And there is lots of grumpy/sunshine. 

Complimented by holiday music, All I Want for Christmas will put you in the festive spirit. 

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KARMA BROWN is an award-winning journalist and author of the bestsellers Come Away With Me, The Choices We Make, In This Moment, The Life Lucy Knew, and Recipe for a Perfect Wife. Her first non-fiction book, The 4% Fix, published in 2020. Karma's writing has appeared in publications such as Redbook, SELF, and Chatelaine. 

Brown lives just outside Toronto, Canada with her husband, daughter, and their adorably handsome labradoodle, Fred.

MARISSA STAPLEY is a journalist and the bestselling author of Mating for Life, Things to Do When It's Raining, The Last Resort and Lucky which has been optioned for television. 

Stapley lives in Toronto with her family. 

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Q & A with Maggie Knox*

GWR: How long did it take you to write All I Want for Christmas, and how many drafts were there before publication?

MK: We took about a year to write it. Because this one was sold to our wonderful editing team at Putnam, Viking Canada, and Hodder in the UK on a proposal (along with The Holiday Swap, our debut), we approached it a bit differently than we do our other novels: we wrote an outline, then a half draft, which we shared with our editors. They gave feedback on that (which actually required a complete overhaul of the dual timeline we were initially using to tell the story), we wrote the rest of the draft, and then we went through two rounds of edits before it was ready for publication. 

GWR: Can you tell us about your writing process. What is the one thing that surprised you the most about writing as a duo?

MK: As with our previous novel, the outline was our saviour. We’re not sure it would be possible to co-write successfully without a rigorous, detailed outline. It’s natural that during the process of actually writing the book, some things will change. Characters have a way of tossing away the most carefully laid plans! But having a good roadmap in place made collaborating on a novel so much easier. What’s always surprising about writing as a duo is the way our writing can weave together so seamlessly in style and tone, even when we’re each writing a different character, as we did this time around. 

GWR: How did you come up with the concept?

MS: Oh my goodness, I’m having trouble remembering! I know it was during the whirlwind of selling The Holiday Swap, and during all the excitement we wondered what would happen if we pitched another idea, too. We’re both quick on our feet so went back and forth about it for a while and came up with an idea the editors loved and we were excited to work on. 

KB: My memory is also a bit spotty, but I’m remembering it the way Marissa does. One element we knew we wanted to add to the second book as well, along with a snowy, holiday feel, was the reality show angle. It’s one we both love, and it has so much potential in rom-coms.

GWR: Both of your books have a reality TV aspect—do either of you have experience in working in television? 

MS: One of my first jobs was in PR at VisionTV. I found working at a television station, especially one that was making the sort of unique programs VisionTV was making at the time, completely fascinating. I’ve also done some script-writing but never actually worked on-set. 

KB: During journalism school I interned at the CBC with the investigative journalism program The Fifth Estate. It was fascinating and inspiring to see the dedication and risks the show and its team took to bring such challenging stories to light. I was lucky enough to work with the formidable Leora Eisen, and received a writer credit for the episode “Spiritual Shepherds” (2003). It remains one of my best, most exciting work experiences to date.

GWR: Music is paramount to the story—can you play an instrument or do either of you have a musical background?

MS: We both have musicians in our family. I have a singer/actress aunt and a singer/songwriter uncle—plus a large extended family who can all sing and play various instruments and like to break them out at family gatherings for singalongs around the table or bonfire. I don’t have any musical talent myself, but I do own a karaoke machine and love to have friends over and belt it out, always confidently imagining we sound like Sadie with her magical voice…

KB: I have about zero musical talent! I used to play the clarinet, and not very well, in high school, and recently I tried to learn to play the ukulele…another fail. My dad, however, still plays in a band at the age of 83, and my mom is the most beautiful piano player. Clearly the musical talent skipped (at least) a generation in my family!

GWR: What is your favourite Christmas carol? 

MS: So many! Karma and I share a love of holiday music. We both love the Barenaked Ladies' version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"—if you’ve never listened to that one, do; it’s excellent. And Stevie Nicks’ version of "Silent Night" gets me every time. I’m also a sucker for the classics. Anything by Nat King Cole, but especially "O’ Tannenbaum" and Bing Crosby’s White Christmas album, which we have on vinyl and wear out during the holidays. 

KB: This is a hard one for me, because I adore Christmas carols. But my all-time favourite is "The Christmas Song" by Nat King Cole, and a close runner up is "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" by The Barenaked Ladies & Sarah McLachlan. Marissa and I definitely share a love of holiday music, which is one of the best parts about writing holiday romances…you have a perfect excuse to listen to carols outside of the regular season!

GWR: If your book was a beverage, what would it be? 

MS: A shot of fireball whiskey! Enjoyed at a country-music playing dive bar in the Canadian Rockies. 

KB: Probably a glass of excellent, homemade eggnog, spiced to perfection with nutmeg and cinnamon. I don’t believe anyone drinks eggnog in the book, but it is a sweet and spicy cocktail…much like our main characters.

GWR: What are you working on now? 

MS: I’m working on another holiday rom com co-authored with bestselling Canadian author Uzma Jalaluddin: it’s called Three Holidays and a Wedding, will be released next fall, and takes place during a year when Christmas, Eid, and Hanukkah all fall at once. It’s a multi faith Love, Actually meets Let It Snow, and it’s so much fun. After that, I’ll be finishing up my next solo novel, The Lightning Bottles, about a missing 90s rockstar and the woman who goes on a life-changing road trip to find him, due out in 2024. 

KB: I’m in the final stages of my next novel, What Wild Women Do, which releases November 2023. It’s a dual timeline story about a writer and filmmaker couple who head to the isolated Adirondack Park for a month-long research venture, and the 1975 feminist owner of one of the Park’s “Great Camps.” After the couple stumble upon the now abandoned camp, they make a shocking discovery that is connected to the decades-long mystery about the former camp owner…and learn that the truth—both in the past and present—won’t stay buried forever. 

*A version of this post was published on STYLE Canada.