1–What is the title of your latest release? TAKE TWO, BIRDIE MAXWELL 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? America’s Sweetheart gets canceled and retreats to her childhood hometown and discovers an anonymous love letter sent from one of her exes, then decides to stage her own real life romcom to discover who wrote it and win back the adoration of the public! 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Once I knew that it was going to be a road trip book, California – my home state – made the most sense. It’s such a huge stretch of land that they could log a lot of miles without even crossing a state border! 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely! I adore Birdie. I think if you’re writing a romcom heroine, the first rule has to be that you want to be their friend! 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Plucky, ambitious, determined 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? Probably that road-tripping in an RV is not for me. I did it once with my family in middle school, and this was a reminder that…

I’m an author who is always inspired by music – I always say that if I weren’t a novelist, I’d probably take my shot as a songwriter, and THE REWIND is no exception. In fact, music is folded into the plot and layered onto the page. Here are a few of the songs I had on repeat while I wrote the book and may just show up in Frankie and Ezra’s journey.   WITH OR WITHOUT YOU – U2 This song is foundational in their relationship. It was playing the first time that Ezra kissed Frankie or Frankie kissed Ezra (it was all such a blur, neither of them is quite sure), and haunts them throughout the next ten years. What I personally love about it is the ache in Bono’s voice as he wails the chorus, and how when you’re falling in love, you really do have to give yourself away, even if it’s going to hurt you in the end. We’ve all had that person whom we craved but who also made us miserable, and this song is so emblematic of that feeling for me.   MELT WITH YOU – MODERN ENGLISH Ahhhh is there a better song…

Jennifer Vido: What inspired your new release, THE REWIND? Allison Winn Scotch: We were about a year into Covid, and I hadn’t written anything since the pandemic hit. I wanted to write something joyful and fun, a relief from everything that we’d endured. I hadn’t written a romcom in a long time, so I was pitching my friend on ideas, and she told me this was the one. I have always loved digging into the past and the road not taken, so while it wasn’t an easy book to write in the thick of it – mostly because of the complicated logistics of juggling three different timelines – it really was a joy to complete.   Jen: What brings former college sweethearts Frankie and Ezra back to their alma mater? And, how do they feel about seeing each other again? Allison: They head back to Middleton, their college, for the wedding of two friends, and they are nervous and anxious and full of both dread and anticipation but know they must show up all the same. So they do. And then it all goes wrong.   Jen: How has Frankie’s life changed? And Ezra’s? Allison: Ah, great question. Ezra’s has…

Jen: What inspired you to write Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing? Allison: Well, I wanted to write something that reflected how it feels to be a woman in this particular moment in history and time. I tried a different approach with a different manuscript – I rewrote about 100 pages of that book several times, and it just wasn’t working. I knew what I wanted to say, but I wasn’t quite sure how to get there. Then, as good ideas often do, the version of Cleo, the Senator, struck me one night, and from there, I looked for an interesting way to examine her life. Not as a politician, but as a human, and I settled on exploring her regrets, which wasn’t an approach I’d ever read. And thus, Cleo McDougal, unapologetic Senator, was born. What role does the word “power” play in relation to the story? Oh great question! For me, this book is not about politics at all. I worked hard to ensure that. Rather, it is about power in all of its iterations, which is something that I think so many women are considering now too. Who has it, who abuses it, who gives it generously, who takes…