Episode Summary

What started as an Instagram friendship turned into a podcast, a publishing journey, and now a live book launch celebration.

In this special first-ever live recording of Margs & Manuscripts, Jenna sits down with co-host Cait Waynelovich to celebrate the release of her debut novel, Places We'll Go. Together, they look back on the unexpected path that brought them here—from meeting online and bonding over the chaos of writing, to launching a podcast, building a creative community, and finally holding a published book in their hands.

Cait shares the decade-long journey behind Places We'll Go, including how a difficult season of life inspired the first scene, why the story became a love letter to travel, and how real-life adventures across Barcelona, Morocco, Paris, and Normandy shaped the novel. They also discuss the realities of writing, navigating creative ambition, finding your voice, and learning that art doesn't need to please everyone else to matter.

Plus: Romance-writing confessions, questionable community theater productions of Mamma Mia!, camels, World War II Jeeps, and the kind of off-the-rails conversation you've come to expect from Margs & Manuscripts.

In This Episode

•  The origin story of Margs & Manuscripts 
•  How Cait and Jenna became friends through Instagram 
•  Why writing can be surprisingly lonely 
•  The inspiration behind Places We'll Go
•  Travel, self-discovery, and the "age 27 crisis" 
•  Writing romance and intimacy on the page 
•  Twenty-plus drafts and the reality of revision 
•  What Cait wishes she could tell herself five years ago 
•  Audience Q&A from the live event 
•  What's next after Places We'll Go

About the Book

Places We'll Go follows a travel influencer whose carefully curated life begins to unravel, sending her on a journey across Europe in search of something she didn't realize she'd lost: herself.

Set against the backdrop of Barcelona, Morocco, Paris, and Normandy, this heartfelt debut explores friendship, ambition, identity, love, and the courage to choose your own path—even when it looks nothing like the one you planned.

📖 Places We'll Go is available now wherever books are sold.

Connect with Margs & Manuscripts

🍹 Follow the podcast for honest conversations about writing, publishing, creativity, and all the messy moments in between.

Website: MargsAndManuscripts.com
 Instagram: @margsandmanuscripts

Mentioned in This Episode

• Places We'll Go by Cait Waynelovich 
•  Rick Steves 
•  Elizabeth Gilbert 
• Under the Tuscan Sun
• Eat, Pray, Love
• Mamma Mia! (the community theater edition) 😅 

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