With equal parts humor, heart, and Southern sass, Grace Helena Walz’s GOOD HAIR DAYS is a love letter to sisterhood, resilience, and the power of community. Set in the small town of Whitetail, this charming novel invites readers inside June’s Beauty Shop, where laughter, tears, and gossip flow as freely as the sweet tea. In this week’s Jen’s Jewels, Grace shares the inspiration behind her unforgettable characters, the magic of small-town life, and how she strikes the perfect balance between heartache and hope.
Jen: GOOD HAIR DAYS captures the humor, heart, and chaos of Southern family life so beautifully. What first inspired you to write this story, and did the idea of the family salon come first, or the women who run it?
Grace: The idea of the family salon actually came first. I was sitting in the hair chair at a place run by two friends, and they spoke so much like sisters that I got to thinking how fun it would be to write about two sisters and a family run beauty shop. I knew fairly quickly that I wanted Georgia to embody many of the typical older sister traits. She’s responsible and serves the role of “fixer” in the family. Similarly, I knew I wanted younger sister Junie to be someone who delights in life and doesn’t overthink things.
Jen: The Louise women leap right off the page, each with her own quirks and flaws. Which character was the most fun or the most challenging to write?
Grace: I loved writing them all, but I think my two favorites to write were Junie and Cece. Junie might be one of my favorite characters I’ve ever written because of the way she sees the world, and I always enjoy writing a prickly character like Cece. Georgia was probably the most difficult to write because it was more challenging than I expected to balance her seriousness with softness. In edits I worked a lot to soften her character which really amounted to putting the softness I knew as the person imagining her onto the page for the reader to experience.
Jen: June’s Beauty Shop feels like a character all its own! Is it inspired by a real place or perhaps by memories from your own life?
Grace: I’m so glad! I really wanted June’s Beauty to take on her own life. It’s not inspired by a real place but is pieced together by what I have imagined and experienced in small Southern towns. Ultimately, I wanted it to be very down-to-earth much like the women running it, so I did some Pinterest searches and Google image searches and patchworked that together with what I had in mind.
Jen: The novel touches on family expectations, second chances, and the bond between sisters. What do you hope readers will take away from Georgia and Junie’s journey?
Grace: I hope that people feel hopeful and are reminded that even in dark times, glimpses of joy can be found. That darkness comes, but it doesn’t stay forever. That family—whether it’s the one you’re born into or the one you create—can carry you through. That love cannot be blown away even by the biggest storms.
Jen: If GOOD HAIR DAYS were adapted for the big screen, who would you cast as Georgia, Junie, and those fabulous aunts?
Grace: For Georgia I would have to go with a young Kate Winslet with the red hair she had in Titanic. Junie would be Emma Stone, of course with red hair. Tina would be Renee Zellwegger, and Cece would be Kathy Bates. Assuming late June, the sisters’ mother is shown in flashbacks and would be Connie Britton.
Jen: I love how this story made me laugh and cry. How do you strike that perfect balance between humor and heartache in your writing?
Grace: For this story especially, it was critical to inject enough humor and fun to mitigate the heartache I put the women through. The characters made that easier because of who they are: sassy women with big hearts. They are the sort of people who find the joy in the darkness, the ones who crack the joke when they don’t want to cry, and embrace one another when they feel like they can’t hold on any longer. In many ways they were the best type of characters to bring through heartache because the way they see the world allows them to acknowledge the hard parts while also seeing the good—even if it exists only in the future at that moment.
Jen: The setting of Whitetail, with all its charm and Southern flair, really pulls readers in. How important was capturing that small-town atmosphere to the story’s heart?
Grace: It was very important because the town really comes together to support the Louise women as they work to save their shop—and later when Junie’s illness worsens. If the setting were a larger city or a sprawling suburb, there wouldn’t be the same community surrounding the shop or the women. Of course, the other side of the small-town coin also comes into play as the town busybody tries to create trouble for June’s by way of reports to the licensing board. As in most real-life scenarios, there is good and bad in every situation.
Jen: What’s currently on your TBR pile?
Grace: Next up for me is How to Read a Book which has been recommended by many friends. I’m also really looking forward to reading Meagan Church’s latest, The Mad Wife. If I’m honest my TBR is a towering stack—both physical and mental—that I’ll be lucky to get through in a lifetime. We’re fortunate to have so many great books in the world!
Jen: What’s the best way for readers to stay connected with your latest happenings?
Grace: On socials, I’m most active on Instagram, and otherwise my website will have all of the information about new releases and events, and you can sign up for my newsletter there as well.
Jen: Finally, what’s next for you?
Grace: I have another southern women’s fiction novel coming out this summer (tentatively July). It’s called PRETTY AS A PEACH, and it’s about what happens to a group of friends when a problematic multi-level marketing company with impossible promises comes to town. Some of the women are drawn into the alluring promises. Others aren’t. And their decades-old friendship is put to the test.
GOOD HAIR DAYS by Grace Helena Walz
A modern twist on Steel Magnolias meets Hello Beautiful with some extra Dolly Parton flair.
The Louise women have squabbled for years, but they’ve always agreed on one thing: Georgia would be the one to make them proud. Years–and failed dreams–later, Georgia only wants to come home to the small Southern town of Whitetail, back to the family salon, June’s Beauty Shop, but to do so would mean dashing their hopes by admitting she’s fallen helplessly short.
When little sister Junie lands the beauty shop in hot water by way of a renovation gone wrong, reliable big sister Georgia returns to save the day. June’s Beauty may look like an outdated hole-in-the-wall slathered in Dolly Parton memorabilia, but to the women in town, it’s a sacred space. To Georgia and Junie, it is their family legacy. For generations, the shop has been passed down to every first-born daughter–always named June. It’s what’s left to anchor them to their late mother’s memory.
Without enough money to repair the shop, the sisters, along with their maternal aunts, jump into a series of money-making schemes. From setting out gambling tables at June’s to selling Aunt Tina’s pies at the fair, they will stop at nothing. But when Junie receives a life-altering diagnosis, the very world the Louise women could always rely on is turned upside down. They are forced to dig deep, finally tell the truth, and rely on the part of their family legacy that has never wavered: the deep love between them.
Bursting with energy, heart, and sass, Good Hair Days is about a family pulling together for a common purpose, finding healing from the past, and moving forward courageously as they face their hardest trial yet.
Discussion questions are included, so it’s perfect for book clubs! Keep your tissues nearby because this one is practically guaranteed to make you feel all the feelings.
Women’s Fiction [ Thomas Nelson, On Sale: November 11, 2025, e-Book, ISBN: 9781400345663 / ]
Buy GOOD HAIR DAYS: Kindle | BN.com | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR
About Grace Helena Walz
Grace Helena Walz received a master’s in social work at the University of Houston and worked with children in foster care, as a medical social worker, and in a mental health capacity. She currently resides outside of Atlanta, GA, with her husband and two young children. She writes women’s fiction in the moments between sticking Band-Aids on scraped knees and coordinating pint-sized social engagements.
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About Jennifer Vido
Jennifer Vido writes sweet romances set in the Lowcountry, earning acclaim as the award-winning author of the Gull Island series. Her debut novel, “Serendipity by the Sea,” secured the prestigious Best First Book award from the New Jersey Romance Writers Golden Leaf Contest. In 2024, Vido’s talent garnered further accolades, with Baltimore Magazine readers naming her Best Local Author in their annual Best of Baltimore poll, while the Baltimore Sun acknowledged her with an Honorable Mention in their Best of 2024 Author category. When not writing fiction, she interviews authors for her weekly Jen’s Jewels column, leads water exercise classes, and directs a legal nonprofit. Currently residing in Maryland, she and her husband are proud parents to two grown sons and a rescue dog named Fripp.
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