Q&A with RaeAnne Thayne

  

 

 

RaeAnne Thayne is the author of the new novel The Rainy Day Bookshop. Her many other books include Snow Kissed. She lives in Utah.

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Rainy Day Bookshop, and how did you create your characters Rosie, Andrew, Emma, and Bryce?

 

A: I wanted to write a book about a woman in the sandwich generation trying to heal her relationship with her daughter while also juggling caregiving for her mother after an accident. In the midst of everything, Rosie Lucas ends up falling for the bestselling author who moves into what was once her dream house.

 

Meanwhile, her daughter Emma wants to prove to her mother she is capable of running the family bookshop and she has no intention of losing her heart to the sexy contractor helping her renovate the place.

 

Q: The novel includes four generations of mothers and daughters--how would you describe the mother-daughter bonds in the story?

 

A: Any relationship between a mother and daughter can be beautifully rich and rewarding but it can also be fraught with tension and regret. In The Rainy Day Bookshop, Rosie and her daughter both have secrets from each other  and scars from their past. They each have to learn how to be vulnerable with each other and trust they’re each strong enough to handle whatever comes along.

 

Q: What do you think the novel says about community?

 

A: Throughout the book, Rosie and her daughter both reflect on the people in their community who helped them through a tragic event in their past and realize how integral that community has been in their lives.

 

Like all my books, I believe The Rainy Day Bookshop shows that a warm, supportive community can be a powerful force for healing, belonging, and transformation. 

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m hard at work on my 2027 releases and looking forward to bringing my readers more stories brimming over with emotion and heart.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I’m looking ahead to the release of my upcoming holiday novel. Cozy Little Christmas, which hits shelves Oct. 6, and I can’t wait for readers to revisit my town of Shelter Springs, Idaho.

 

Music therapist Hannah Goodwin thought she had built the perfect life in Shelter Springs, Idaho, until her first love Wes Kenner unexpectedly returns to town. With the magic of music and small-town warmth, they discover that second chances might lead to the coziest Christmas of all.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with RaeAnne Thayne.