Jen: What inspired you to write Meg & Jo, a contemporary retelling of Little Women? Virginia: I think we need stories about strong women and families pulling together in tough times. There’s so much warmth and joy in Little Women! When I first read the book—my grandmother gave a copy to my sister and me when I was about ten—I wanted to go live with the March family and act in plays and write a newspaper and all the rest of it. But as I grew up, things I’d sort of skipped over in the story struck me for the first time or in a different way. And I wanted to tell Meg and Jo (and Beth and Amy) in a way that reflected that perspective. As the author of over thirty novels, how did writing your first women’s fiction book differ from your previous works? I’m still writing about families and relationships. I’m still drawing on classic stories of my childhood for inspiration (I always imagined Sea Witch as a sexy, feminist version of The Little Mermaid). But the emphasis in this story is very different. Meg and Jo isn’t so much about if or who the sisters will…

There I sat, in my dining room, ready to cast my first spell. My daughter was with her father for the night, as we were recently separated–I had left him six months before, and had filed for divorce despite his desire for us to stay together. The usually warm Texas fall air had finally begun to get crisp, and I drew my legs up into the chair and into my cardigan. I had gathered the few necessary tools required- a hexagonal crystal I had purchased at a local crystal shop, his picture, a candle. And most of all, I knew what I wanted–I wanted for him to let me out of this marriage without a fight. I wanted magic. I wanted the easy way. I wanted to conjure anything I could and believe that my troubles, and this divorce I was in, could dissipate, and end in my favor. As I conducted the spell, I moved the carved crystal over his picture, just as instructed in whatever spell I had dug up online and was following. I don’t remember any words or anything about that spell anymore, but I vividly remember one thing about this moment as I ran the…

The not-so-tough go to the beach, which is exactly where my main character Celeste Jones in The Summer Retreat goes after her latest true love turns out not to be so true. This is another story set in my new fictional town of Moonlight Harbor, which I based loosely on the charming beach town of Ocean Shores, Washington. Ocean Shores offers visitors an impressive system of canals for kayaking and a funky downtown that is a mix of both new and vintage buildings, many leftover from the sixties when the town first came into being. You’ll find any number of shops, including one with a storefront shaped like a giant shark. Shoppers enter through the shark’s mouth. You can enjoy an ice cream cone at the ice cream parlor, then ride bumper cars or go-carts, play miniature golf or enjoy a full-sized golf course. Tennis and pickleball courts abound as well, and locals who join the community club (almost anyone who buys property there can join the club) can choose between two outdoor pools or one indoor pool for swimming. Then, of course, you have the beach and those gorgeous sunrises and sunsets. Beach fires, surfing, storm watching, beach combing,…

Enjoy this chat between bestselling author Sarah Morgan and Fresh Fiction Editorial Manager Danielle Dresser! The unlikely friendship between Grace and Audrey is my favorite part of this novel. How did these two characters come to life for you? I’m pleased you enjoyed that part of the book because it was my favorite part to write! I knew from the start of this book that I wanted to write an inter-generational friendship. I felt it would add a richness to this story that would be missing if Grace had, for example, befriended someone her age. Right from the start, I could see the potential for humor and emotion in the relationship between these two. They are different in personality and life experience, and yet they form a deep and lasting bond. Playing with their dialogue, and watching each character push the other out of her comfort zone, was great fun. Paris is a wonderful setting for this novel. What do you love most about the City of Lights? There’s the food of course, and the wine, but as well as that Paris is a pretty city, light and airy with beautiful buildings, wide open boulevards, and an energy that is…