This post contains links to products that I may receive compensation from at no additional cost to you. View my Affiliate Disclosure page here.
Kristy Woodson Harvey is the author of Beach House Rules, which is available now.
Kristy Woodson Harvey is the New York Times bestselling author of nine novels, including The Wedding Veil, Under the Southern Sky, and The Peachtree Bluff series, which is in development for television with NBC. A Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s school of journalism, her writing has appeared in numerous online and print publications, including Southern Living, Traditional Home, USA TODAY, Domino, and O. Henry.
Kristy is the winner of the Lucy Bramlette Patterson Award for Excellence in Creative Writing and a finalist for the Southern Book Prize. Her books have received numerous accolades, including Southern Living’s Most Anticipated Beach Reads, Parade’s Big Fiction Reads, and Entertainment Weekly’s Spring Reading Picks. Kristy is the cocreator and cohost of the weekly web show and podcast Friends & Fiction.
She blogs with her mom, Beth Woodson, on Design Chic, and loves connecting with fans on KristyWoodsonHarvey.com. She lives on the North Carolina coast with her husband and son where she is (always!) working on her next novel.
I adored Beach House Rules! The novel is full of charm, humor, but also quite a bit of depth too. A lovely read all around. Definitely add it to your summer TBR! Check out my review here and book club questions here.
Let’s get to know Kristy more as she talks Beach Houses Rules, the film adaptation of her novel, A Happier Life, her TBR and more!
What inspired you to write Beach House Rules?
Throughout the summer of 2023, I kept seeing articles and TV clips about “mommunes,” which are essentially moms that move in together with their kids for both parenting and financial support. I thought it was a cool idea, but it didn’t occur to me that it could be book material for me. As I was driving home from camp drop off one morning, I heard an interview with two women on a radio show who had started their own mommune—and someone called in to criticize, calling the idea “unnatural.” It made me wonder… What would people in a small southern town, where everyone has an opinion about everything, say about a mommune? And what would the disparity between the truth and public perception be? The idea took off from there!
What can readers expect from the novel?
This novel deals with some similar themes as my other novels—found family, female friendship, mother/daughter dynamics, romance, how we become “mothers” and what that means… But there is also a crime at the center of the story that the novel sort of progresses around, so that was fun and a little bit different for me. I got to rely on my finance background to create this financial crime, so it felt like worlds merging in a way!
What was your favorite part or chapter to write?
I really loved writing the @junipershoressocialite posts from the anonymous gossip Instagram account that narrates this novel. It was so fun to get to take on that voice that was a little bit different for me.
Congrats on the upcoming film adaptation for A Happier Life! How involved will you be in the process, and any hints on casting yet?
Thank you so much! I am going to be very involved and have been up until this point. We won’t have any hints on casting until after the script is finished, but I can’t wait! It has been so exciting to see this book of mine take on a new life.
What are you working on next?
I have two books in the works for 2026, so it is going to be a very busy year! One is still sort of a secret project but the other is about a NICU nurse who forms a special bond with a baby she is caring for, and decides to begin the process to adopt her—until her parents are found and all of their futures are in jeopardy.
What are you currently reading and what’s on your TBR (to be read) list?
I am currently reading THE STOLEN LIFE OF COLETTE MARCEAU by Kristin Harmel, and I just absolutely love it! She’s so talented! Next up for me is an advance copy of THE UNRAVELING OF JULIA by Lisa Scottoline. I’m so excited to dive in!
