Jennifer Vido: What inspired your new holiday release, CHRISTMAS AT THE SHELTER INN? RaeAnne Thayne: From 2014 to 2019 I wrote a long-running series, HAVEN POINT, set on fictional Lake Haven in Idaho, loosely based on McCall, Idaho. The series featured eleven titles, starting with SNOW ANGEL COVE and ending with SUMMER AT LAKE HAVEN.   As I was creating Haven Point, for various plot-related reasons I needed a neighboring larger town, so I came up with the town of Shelter Springs, which was only referred to in passing. When I was thinking about where to set a new holiday-only trilogy, Shelter Springs immediately came to mind. The Lake Haven area feels so real to me and creating a spinoff series to Haven Point really offered me the best of both words. I had the fun of coming up with an entirely new community and cast of characters while staying in a setting I know and love.   Jen: What brings Natalie Shepherd back to Shelter Springs? RaeAnne: Natalie is a digital nomad who has created the perfect life for herself, house- and pet- sitting for others around the world while freelance editing and writing. She always tries to stay…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE CAFE AT BEACH END 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A woman who has lost everything escapes to Cape Sanctuary, the one place she always found peace as a child, though that means she must confront her cousin, who despises her with good reason. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? This is the final book in my Cape Sanctuary series set on the northern California coast, where each book is only connected by geography. I knew I wanted to write one more book here, a fictional place based on two of my favorite beach towns, Cannon Beach, OR and Pacific Grove/Carmel, California. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Yes, though I expect it would take time for us to become friends. Meredith doesn’t make friends easily! 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Defeated, desperate, resilient 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I heavily researched forensic accounting and developed a great appreciation for the behind-the-scenes work that goes into solving many financial crimes. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?…

Jennifer Vido: For readers unfamiliar with the Cape Sanctuary series, please give us a brief overview. What makes it such a special place? RaeAnne Thayne: Cape Sanctuary is a fictitious town in northern California, roughly based around Trinidad. It’s a community made up of sometimes quirky, always caring people who consider themselves fortunate to live in a place of beauty and peace, where neighbors help each other. I call Utah my home, eight hundred miles from the nearest beach, but I absolutely adore beach towns. I took two of my favorites, Cannon Beach, OR and Pacific Grove/Carmel, CA, and combined them to come up with Cape Sanctuary, a place beloved equally by artists, writers and those who love the outdoors. Each of the five books in the series (THE CLIFF HOUSE, THE SEA GLASS COTTAGE, THE PATH TO SUNSHINE COVE, SUMMER AT THE CAPE and now THE CAFÉ AT BEACH END) is a standalone title, connected to the other books in the title only by geography. It doesn’t matter which book readers start with!   Jen: What inspired THE CAFE AT BEACH END? RaeAnne: I love reading about characters who have reached rock bottom, with nowhere else to go, so…

Jennifer Vido: What inspired you to write SUMMER AT THE CAPE? RaeAnne Thayne: I have been fascinated for a long time by the unique relationship between twins. I was interested in exploring what happens to one twin when their “womb-mate” dies. Factor in another older sister who was not part of that twin relationship and I wondered how the dynamics of a family would change with the death of one of the twins. A big subplot of this book involves glamping, something that definitely appeals to me. I love the outdoors and camping, escaping the hectic pace of life in the outdoors, but I must admit I’m of a certain age where I also enjoy my creature comforts. LOL. Glamping seems like a way to have the best of both worlds.   Jen: The novel is set in the fictional town of Cape Sanctuary. From where did you draw inspiration to create this welcoming place? RaeAnne: I live in the mountains of Northern Utah, far from the ocean, but when my family vacations, we tend to head to the coast. Two of our favorite places are Cannon Beach, OR and the Monterey/Carmel-by-the-Sea areas of Central California. When I was trying…

Jen: What inspired you to write Coming Home for Christmas? RaeAnne: I’m very intrigued by stories of women who go missing and the impact that has on their loved ones. Usually, the boyfriend or husband is blamed (often correctly). But what if a woman goes missing, her husband faces accusations and suspicions, and she shows up again–alive and mostly well–years later? After everything they have been through and all the pain of the past seven years, is it possible to reconnect? How does losing her parents and postpartum depression affect Elizabeth Hamilton’s relationship with her husband and children? Despite various treatments, Elizabeth continued to spiral downward after her beloved parents died suddenly in a boating accident. Postpartum depression made everything worse until on one desperate wintry night, she didn’t feel she had any other choice but to flee to protect her family. The ramifications of that decision have lasting effects on Elizabeth and for everyone she loves. How does a fateful event change her life forever? On the night she runs away to protect her family, Elizabeth is in a terrible car accident where she suffers severe injuries and almost dies. She loses her memory for a long time. Only…

Last year, my family spontaneously decided to take a cruise over Christmas. With six of us – including a married daughter and son-in-law who live in another state – it can be tough to juggle schedules in order to find a time when we can vacation together. Christmas break is usually the only time that consistently works, so we decided to take advantage of the chance. This was a celebration trip to honor several momentous event in our lives – our daughter was graduating from college with a teaching degree, our middle son graduated from high school earlier in the year and my book SNOWFALL ON HAVEN POINT hit #5 on the New York Times bestseller list. We opted to leave on a 7-day cruise out of New Orleans for the Western Caribbean, leaving two days before Christmas and returning two days before New Year’s. It was surreal being on a ship with 3500 strangers over Christmas, but the vacation had its unforgettable moments, too. On the morning of Christmas Eve, I woke up early and walked out to our fore-facing balcony and for nearly an hour I watched the sun rise over the vast ocean, feeling as if I…