Hannah Orenstein builds character...plus a book giveaway

Credit: The Deans
Photography (2024)

We're pleased to have Hannah Orenstein back at CLC to talk about her latest novel, Maine Characters. The story sounds intriguing and we are loving the cover! Melissa has it in her five book pile and is excited to read it soon. Allyson read it and enjoyed it! Check out her mini-review. We enjoyed chatting with Hannah and we hope you will enjoy what she had to say. Thanks to Dutton, we have THREE copies up for grabs!

Hannah Orenstein is a writer and editor.

She’s the author of five novels, including Meant to Be Mine, Playing with Matches, and Love at First Like.

At Bustle, she’s the Deputy Editor of Lifestyle & Wellness. She splits her time between Brooklyn and Maine. (Bio adapted from Hannah's website.)

Visit Hannah online:
Website * Facebook * Instagram

Synopsis:
Every summer, Vivian Levy and Lucy Webster spend a month with their father at his lake house — separately. Raised in New York City, Vivian is an ambitious sommelier with a secret that could derail her future. Lucy grew up in a tiny Maine town, where she now teaches high school English while watching her marriage unravel. They’ve never met. While Lucy envied her half-sister from afar, their father kept Vivian in the dark.

When Vivian arrives at the lake to spread his ashes and sell his cabin, she's shocked to find Lucy there, awaiting his return. In an ideal world, they’d help each other through their grief. Instead, forced to spend the summer together, they fight through a storm of suspicion and hostility to untangle the messy truth about their parents’ pasts. While Lucy is desperate to hold onto the house, Vivian is scrambling after a betrayal. After thirty years apart, is it too late for them to be a family?

For fans of Carley Fortune and Elin Hilderbrand, this sister story set on a lush lake brims with the undeniable heart, depth, charm, and humor that have endeared Hannah Orenstein to legions of readers. (Courtesy of Amazon.)

"Every family has secrets, but this father has a whole secret family. Maine Characters is a juicy, escapist read — a grown-up Parent Trap, only with affairs and great wine."

—Jo Piazza, nationally bestselling author of The Sicilian Inheritance

What is one thing you would tell the debut novelist version of yourself?
Yes, you figured out how to write a book. Congratulations! But don't assume the next book will be easier. Ideally, each consecutive one gets a little harder to puzzle out. It's great to challenge yourself — think multiple POVs, interesting structure, etc.

What is something you learned from writing your previous novels that you applied to Maine Characters?
Before Maine Characters, I wrote four books in the rom-com/romance space: Playing with Matches, Love at First Like, Head Over Heels, and Meant to Be Mine. Working in that genre meant thinking a lot about how two characters can grow and evolve in relation to each other. I think (hope!) that experience set me up well for my new book, which is my first time doing dual POV. Even though it's not a romance, it fits into the "enemies to lovers" trope — here, it's enemies to sisters. 

If Maine Characters were made into a movie, what songs would be on the soundtrack?
I'm obsessed with "East Coast Summers," a song just dropped by Kaleb Cohen. It's the perfect ode. We also need Lana Del Rey's cover of "Take Me Home (Country Roads)." Nothing could be more Maine Characters than a New Yorker's depiction of Maine. Here's the full playlist! 

If your life was a TV series, which celebrity would you want to narrate it?
Kristen Bell nailed it in Gossip Girl. No notes.

If we were to visit you right now, what are some places you would take us to see?
Maine Characters is set on a fictional lake inspired by the one I live on every summer. Come join me! I'll pour you a glass of wine in a Mason jar, and we'll head out on the boat at sunset. We might spot some loons, and play some dad rock or country music. This is exactly how I wrote a good portion of the book.

What's the last thing you had a good laugh about?
@gettothepointbro is hilarious. He's a French guy with a face tattoo and strong opinions. I cackled through his entire video about New Yorkers. 

Thanks to Hannah for visiting with us and to Dutton for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway ends May 20th at midnight EST. 

Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us.

Listen to this book on Speechify!