1--What is the title of your latest release?
LAST TWILIGHT IN PARIS
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
In 1953 London, Louise finds a half heart necklace in a thrift shop which she recognizes as the one she saw her friend Franny, an entertainer, holding hours before she was killed when Louise was volunteering in Europe with the Red Cross during World War II. Louise traces the necklace’s origin in a desperate attempt to find out the truth about what happened to Franny and discovers a mysterious connection to a department store in Paris with a tragic wartime past.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
When I learned the history of Levitan, the furniture store in central Paris where Jews were imprisoned and forced to sort, and in some cases sell, plunder from Jewish homes to the Germans, I was astounded. I knew the location would be central to my next book.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Definitely. But would she hang out with me??
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Searching. Curious. Determined.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
In addition to learning about the furniture store, I also learned about the complicated history of the Red Cross during World War II and the way politics hampered its work.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I’m a pantser – that is, I write by the seat of my pants. Words come out in a random order for months and then I have to make them make sense. So I definitely do not edit as I draft.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
My husband’s chocolate chip cookies. I’m very lucky that he is an amazing baker and cook and makes dinner every night. I have not made dinner since the first Obama administration (seriously!)
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I just have a simple desk in the corner of my bedroom where my computer sits. But if I am plotting or problem solving, I might take myself out to a café for breakfast with my notebook.
10--Who is an author you admire?
I can’t name just one. There are the successful, hardworking authors who so generously lend a hand to those who are trying to get established, like Kristin Hannah, Jodi Picoult, Mary Kay Andrews, Lisa Scottoline, Lisa Wingate and Christina Baker Kline, and the true author pals who are always there for you on the road, like Mary Kubica, Kristina McMorris and Jenna Blum, just to name a few. And to be honest, I’ve always been obsessed with Judy Blume. When I met her in 2018, and showed her the fan letter I’d written her decades earlier and my fifth grade yearbook which called me “The Next Judy Blume.” Then she invited me to stay at her house on book tour. It was truly a life moment.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg. Her Zen approach to writing, where you let the words come out without stopping to revise. Really broke me open as 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.
Friday, April 8, 2005. I was working at the law firm when my agent’s phone number popped up on my caller ID. It was my agent, and I thought he was calling to fire me since my book had not sold. But instead, he told me that an editor, whom we didn’t even know was still reading the book, made an offer 11 months after we had submitted it. I could not believe it – my dream had come true!
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
I read everything, regardless of genre: historical, suspense, modern. I have a particular weakness for books set in England or Philadelphia!
14--What’s your favorite movie?
Casablanca, followed by an eclectic mix, including Tombstone, The Princess Bride, The Greatest Showman, and Encanto.
15--What is your favorite season?
I was always an autumn person: back to school, pumpkins, football, etc. But since having kids, I’ve gone over to summer: more beach, more pool floats! I’ve actually ditched my car to chase an ice cream truck.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I would like to be at the beach, but my birthday is in June and given the end of the school year and my twins’ birthdays, that is not always possible. So I generally like a birthday that includes all of my normal day things: writing, a walk with my dog, time with family and maybe a nap, would be just great, because I really like my ordinary days.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I don’t get much time to watch television, but I love Abbott Elementary because Philly and the characters are fantastic. If I’m being honest, I mostly listen to parenting podcasts while I run, but I also draw a lot of insight from Glennon Doyle and Brene Brown. I’m afraid if I start mentioning books, I’m going to leave some out, but I loved We Are Not Like Them by Jo Piazza and Christine Pride, and When Franny Stands Up by Eden Robins, plus anything historical by Kristin Harmel or Kate Quinn.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
So many! Asian cuisine, Greek, fish - like salmon and tuna, salads.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
I have two jobs, three kids and six pets, so free time isn’t really a thing. But if it was, I might clean up around the house, work on a jigsaw puzzle or go outlet shopping with my mom.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
Already furiously working on my next book, but too soon to say. Stay tuned!
A Parisian department store, a mysterious necklace and a woman’s quest to unlock a decade-old mystery are at the center of this riveting novel of love and survival, from New York Times bestselling author Pam Jenoff
London, 1953. Louise is still adjusting to her postwar role as a housewife when she discovers a necklace in a box at a secondhand shop. The box is marked with the name of a department store in Paris, and she is certain she has seen the necklace before worked with the Red Cross in Nazi-occupied Europe —and that it holds the key to the mysterious death of her friend Franny during the war.
Following the trail of clues to Paris, Louise seeks help from her former boss Ian, with whom she shares a romantic history. The necklace leads them to discover the dark history of Lévitan—a once-glamorous department store that served as a Nazi prison, and Helaine, a woman who was imprisoned there, torn apart from her husband when the Germans invaded France.
Louise races to find the connection between the necklace, the department store and Franny’s death. But nothing is as it seems, and there are forces determined to keep the truth buried forever. Inspired by the true story of Lévitan, Last Twilight in Paris is both a gripping mystery and an unforgettable story about sacrifice, resistance and the power of love to transcend in even the darkest hours.
Women's Fiction Historical [Park Row, On Sale: February 4, 2025, Hardcover / e-Book , ISBN: 9780778307983 / eISBN: 9780369746900]
Presently an attorney in private practice, Pam Jenoff served as vice-consul for the U.S. State Department in Krakow, Poland, and as the special assistant to the secretary of the army at the Pentagon. She is an expert on Poland and the Holocaust, and has published several scholarly articles and been honored by a number of organizations for her work in this field.
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