Jenn Bouchard
Author Interview - Jenn Bouchard
Author of Considering Us and The Delicious Foodie Novel: A Guest Post
After an affair with a client's husband leads to scandal, private chef Devon Paige is left with only one client in Boston -a reclusive professional basketball player with a craving for cookies. With no other choice, Devon lands on the doorstep of Rockwood, a boarding school on the New Hampshire seacoast, taking a job leading their dining services. She is shocked to soon discover Kyle Holling on staff, who she hasn't seen in over fifteen years since a memorable night just before departing for college in different cities. Devon and Kyle must determine what their relationship looks like years later, all while dodging the cameras of an underground newspaper, dealing with the installation of a controversial campus sculpture, and grappling with the arrival of Devon's former lover's daughter as a newly-enrolled student.
When Devon meets a handsome paramedic named Heath, she ditches the possibility of romance with Kyle in favor of what appears to be a more straightforward relationship. But a trip to Los Angeles to keep her client well-fed ahead of his basketball game threatens to upend everything, forcing Devon to finally answer the one question she has been avoiding: is fifteen years too late to rekindle a one-night stand?
Author Interview - Jenn Bouchard
Author I draw inspiration from:
Jennifer Weiner has been my inspiration as an author for years, ever since GOOD IN BED. I finally got to meet her the day after my debut novel FIRST COURSE was published in 2021! I drove through the worst storms to get to Newport, Rhode Island where her event was being held. I actually met her in the bathroom before the event began! It's one of my favorite stories.
She has had such an incredible career and continues to be even more amazing with every book she writes. I just read THE BREAKAWAY recently and absolutely loved it. And I really enjoyed the three books she wrote in a row that were all set on Cape Cod, since that's one of my favorite places to be.
Author Interview - Jenn Bouchard | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
Hands down, Mayflower Beach in Dennis on Cape Cod at low tide. I know this is very specific, but the beach goes on forever there at just the right time of day. It's beautiful and just so relaxing. And then I like to go to Harvest Gallery in Dennis Village for live music on the patio with a charcuterie plate and a hibiscus margarita. Sounds good, right?
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
Rachel from Nora Ephron's HEARTBURN. We'd have a lot of recipes to discuss! HEARTBURN was the inspiration for FIRST COURSE, so it's near and dear to me.
Author Interview - Jenn Bouchard | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
Yet another beach story. I was sitting with my family at Crane Beach in Ipswich, Massachusetts at the end of the summer. I think it was 2015? I turned to my husband and told him that I thought I wanted to write a novel. He said to go for it. And then I started to figure it out what that meant. It took for 2.5 years to write a first draft! I went to a ton of author events and learned so much. I'm still learning.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
I am definitely a paperback fan. I like to be able to take a book wherever I go, just in case I get the chance to read. I love to get a hardback signed by the author, but then I get nervous about taking it places. I can read an ebook when I need to, but it's not my preferred method. I sometimes get too distracted to fully listen to an audiobook, but I'd like to be better about that.
The last book I read:
It was THE BREAKAWAY by Jennifer Weiner. I loved it. I wasn't sure if I would, because I am not super into biking. I have a bicycle that I use once a year when we spend a week on Cape Cod. But this was a book for everyone. She did a great job with the setting, the characters, the humor, you name it. It was a terrific read.
Author Interview - Jenn Bouchard | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
I used to be a super plotter. Everything was planned out before I started actually writing anything. Last summer, I plotted out an entire book. It took me months. And then I started writing it. I ditched it after a couple of chapters; I didn't like it enough to write the rest of the book! I'm grateful that I figured it out when I did, but I decided to approach the next book differently.
With my current work-in-progress, I developed characters and came up with the basic shell of a plot. And then I just started writing, taking it chapter by chapter. I'm having a lot more fun with it! My goal going forward is to write a book a year, and I think this might be my formula for it.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
Beverly Diamond from Sara Goodman Confino's BEHIND EVERY GOOD MAN is one of my favorite characters from a recent read. I lived in the DC area four times growing up and was a political science major in college. I teach AP Government for my day job. I loved Beverly because she's savvy, smart, funny, and knows her way around DC. She's also a great mother, which is something I strive to be. I'd love to have lunch with Beverly! I think we'd have some laughs.
Author Interview - Jenn Bouchard | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
I would love to open a small bookstore/wine bar in my town in Massachusetts. I would bring in small musical acts in the evenings and host author events. We would offer small plates and desserts. It would combine so many things I love, and hopefully I could just walk home at the end of the night! If I ever win the lottery, that's what you'll find me doing.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
I was obsessed with the 1960s styles on "Mad Men" when it was on TV. I'm not sure I'd love to dress that way every single day, but I really enjoyed the attention to detail that the show portrayed.
Place I’d most like to travel:
I have a bunch of places on my bucket list, but I'd love to go to Ireland. It seems like the most beautiful place to explore both in the cities and in the countryside, and it's a relatively quick flight from Boston. I also would like to visit Bermuda. I've only spent about eight hours in Paris, so I'd like to go back to France. I could keep going with this list...there are so many places I'd like to go.
My signature drink:
There are many, but the drink of choice in CONSIDERING US is the whiskey sour. The main character Devon makes them for herself and others, even figuring out a version to craft on an airplane. It's her go-to!
Favorite artist:
I love listening to music of many kinds. I got way into Taylor Swift as I was editing CONSIDERING US. I listened to a ton of nineties rock while I was writing it, as that's what the characters listened to when they initially got together.
One book I wrote listening entirely to jazz. Another, it was Ben Folds. With the book I am writing right now, I am gravitating toward more lounge-y music. Lots of Sade and Amy Winehouse. And I am always a fan of yacht rock, especially in the summer.
Number one on my bucket list:
I look forward to traveling more and experiencing new places. Even in New England, where I live, there are so many places I haven't been yet. I want to spend more time in Vermont.
Anything else you'd like to add:
I set all of my books in coastal New England. CONSIDERING US is set primarily around Portsmouth, New Hampshire, which is on the seacoast and is the coolest little historic city. Although the book mostly takes place in fall, I am excited for an early February release to coincide with Valentine's Day. You'll fall in love in February with Devon and Kyle!
Find more from the author:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennbouchardBOS
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennbouchardbos
Twitter/X: https://x.com/JennBouchardBOS
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jenn-bouchard
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/jennbouchard
About Jenn Bouchard:
Author Interview - Jenn Bouchard
Jenn Bouchard is the award-winning author of the novel First Course and several short stories. She is a graduate of Bates College and Tufts University. An avid cook, Jenn volunteers for good causes and is a devoted Red Sox fan. A high school social studies teacher of twenty-five years, she lives with her family in the Boston suburbs.
