Annie Hartnett discusses the inspiration behind her quirky road trip novel The Road to Tender Hearts and why she breaks all the rules in writing her stories. 

Annie Hartnett joins me to discuss her latest bestselling novel, The Road to Tender Hearts, and the inspiration behind this road trip story. We explore the heartfelt and humorous moments that showcase a wonderfully quirky found family, which even includes a psychic cat.

She also shares the surprising real-life inspirations for her unforgettable characters and explains how literary mischief is woven into their worlds.

In this quirky conversation, Annie and I discuss: 

• Why Annie made a death-predicting cat named Pancakes the emotional engine of the novel—and how a real-life nursing home cat named Oscar inspired this unforgettable character.
• How playing with point of view and narrator's voice keeps her writing fresh, and why she's unconcerned with grammar "rules."
• How Annie's own cross-country trip in her twenties helped shape the emotional core of this incredible road trip story.

BONUS BOOK LIST: This week, I'm sharing an accompanying book list of 29 books about road trips, including new releases and backlist titles, that speak to the ripple effects of substance use across families and generations.

Meet Annie Hartnett

Annie Hartnett is the author of Unlikely Animals, which won the Julia Ward Howe Prize for fiction and was longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize.She is also theauthor of Rabbit Cake, a finalist for the New England Book Award and a Kirkus Reviews best book of the year. Hartnett has been awarded fellowships and residencies from the MacDowell Colony, the Sewanee Writers' Conference, and the Associates of the Boston Public Library. Along with writer Tessa Fontaine, she co-runs the Accountability Workshops for writers, helping them commit to routines and embrace the long, slow, joyful, terrible process of doing the work. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, daughter, and dog.

Mentioned in this episode:

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BONUS BOOK LIST: 29 Books About Road Trips to Read Now

Download Today's Transcript

The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett

Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett

Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett

Red Dog Farm by Nathaniel Ian Miller

Married with Children

Jane the Virgin

Fargo

Raising Arizona

Karen Russell

The Frightening and Wonderful Things That Will Happen to You When You Publish Your First Novel by Rufi Thorpe

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