1--What is the title of your latest release?
WEDDING OF THE SEASON
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Cass Coventry reluctantly returns to the Gilded Age mansion where she was raised to help her sister plan the wedding that has all Newport society talking.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I visited the Gilded Age mansions in Newport, Rhode Island years ago. As we were touring The Breakers, I learned that the descendants of the Vanderbilt family, who had called the “cottage” home for 120 years, were moving out of their third-floor apartments, having turned over the rest of the mansion to tourists and preservationists. This relocation was either voluntary or involuntary, depending on which source you read. I thought this drama would make a very good novel and tucked the idea away.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Absolutely!
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Adventurous, creative, and witty
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Newport’s layers of history, from colonial times through the Revolutionary War, the Gilded Age, and beyond, make it one of the most interesting cities in America.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I can’t help editing while I write. It’s the perfectionist in me.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Oysters and champagne.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I have an antique writing desk with all my notes and magazine clippings with story ideas and research books and pictures of people that I love. It’s very organized because I don’t actually use it very much. Mostly, I haul my computer into my bed and write propped up on pillows. This is why I have to visit the chiropractor often.
10--Who is an author you admire?
So many women in this business have my admiration: Jamie Brenner, Jillian Cantor, Meg Mitchell Moore, Amanda Eyre Ward, Amy Meyerson, Joy Callaway, Amy Mason Doan, Allison Winn Scotch, Gina Sorell.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
YOU’VE GOT TO READ THIS, an anthology of must-read short stories, introduced by other writers. Jim Shepard, who taught me writing in college, assigned this book for all his fiction classes. He, and this book, are the reasons I became a writer.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I was at the playground with my daughter when my agent, Sarah, called. Sarah was talking me through the deal as my daughter was yelling “watch me, mama!” The moment encapsulates how it is writing with young kids.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
The genre I write—what the industry calls upmarket women’s fiction, or book club fiction. Stories about interesting women and their families and lovers.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
Twister. No apologies.
15--What is your favorite season?
Summer.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
With family and friends.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
The White Lotus, seasons one and two. Obsessed.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Sushi – could eat it every day.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
Lay supine on the couch and watch tv.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
Another fun and feisty book about friends and family – set in the Hamptons!
A warm, whip-smart novel about two modern-day society families and the summer wedding that has all of Newport talking...
Despite its beauty, Newport is a place Cass Coventry would prefer to forget. But after an extended absence, she’s back in her hometown to celebrate her sister’s engagement—even if she’s marrying into the family that famously stole the Gilded Age Coventry mansion out from under them a decade ago.
The moment Cass pulls up to the estate, she’s in for one surprise after another. The bride-to-be is hiding a big secret. Her mother has royal-wedding aspirations. And, when the date is set for only three months away, a local gossip blog makes the two families its new favorite subject.
It's not long before Cass's weekend in town becomes a full summer of frenzied wedding planning and society drama—but also idyllic sails, starry nights, and a former love. As the grand affair arrives, along with new truths about her family, Cass must finally face her own thorny past in Newport and decide how to honor the Coventry legacy in all its chaotic glory.
Women's Fiction [Graydon House, On Sale: February 21, 2023, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781525899997 / eISBN: 9780369720542]
LAUREN EDMONDSON has a BA from Williams College and an MFA in Fiction from Sarah Lawrence College. She teaches English at Northern Virginia Community College and lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and daughter.
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