Kristy Woodson Harvey: On the Power of Public Perception

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. 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 co-creator 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. Follow her on X (Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram.

In this interview, Kristy discusses the role of social media and public opinion in her new novel, Beach House Rules, her advice for other writers, and more.

Name: Kristy Woodson Harvey
Literary agent: Elisabeth Weed, The Book Group
Book title: Beach House Rules
Publisher: Gallery Books
Release date: May 27, 2025
Genre/category: Women’s Fiction
Previous titles: A Happier Life, The Summer of Songbirds, The Peachtree Bluff Series, and others.
Elevator pitch: “Southern bestselling sensation” (Katie Couric Media) Kristy Woodson Harvey returns with a delightfully moving new novel about a mother-daughter duo learning to lean on their community of women—and each other—after their world is turned upside down.

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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!

I’m on a book-a-year schedule in general, so it’s usually about 18 months from the time I start a book until the time it comes out, and about a year from the time I turn it in to the publisher until it releases. The idea definitely evolved! One of the things I really wanted to explore was how opinions and gossip shape public perception, but when I finished the first draft, that didn’t feel as evident to me as I wanted it to. So, in a subsequent draft, I added the point of view of @junipershoressocialite, an anonymous (but not for long!) Instagram account that becomes the Greek chorus and voice of the people in the novel. It was a big shift, and it changed everything!

This was my first title with my amazing new editor, Carrie Feron, so it was our first time editing a book together. Every editor has his or her own process, so learning how we work best together was a very fun part of this book. She had amazing suggestions, we hit our stride quickly, and I’m so happy with the end result!

There is a white-collar crime at the center of this story, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure whether I wanted Charlotte’s husband to be guilty or innocent. With the help of my brother-in-law, Taylor Coleman—who also used to be my boss!—and my cousin-in-law, Amy Bower, who is an assistant federal prosecutor, we worked on the book both ways. Taylor helped me create this crime, and Amy helped me prove Bill both guilty and innocent. It was such an interesting process. I learned so much about our criminal justice system, and I am forever indebted to both of them! And… you’ll have to read to figure out whether Bill did it or not!

When writing The Wedding Veil in 2020 about Edith and Cornelia Vanderbilt, who were two of the most recognizable and written-about women of their time, it struck me that not much has changed in the past 100+ years. Even then, the media could make a person a hero or a villain in a matter of a few newspaper articles. Now, with social media and a 24-hour news cycle, it’s almost impossible to discern what is true, especially when it comes to celebrity culture. So, I hope readers think about the power social media has to shape our perceptions. And maybe even how we can manipulate that!

I think a lot of being a writer is getting comfortable with uncertainty. In the beginning, with 400 blank pages ahead of us, there’s uncertainty. When a storyline is heading in a different direction than we might have imagined, uncertainty. When we get feedback and are deciding what to implement and what not to, uncertainty. And, of course, when a book is about to release and we’re awaiting those first reader reviews … uncertainty! I am constantly reminding myself that I have been here before, and, if all goes well, I’ll be here again. The uncertainty never changes, but my ability to push through it continues to improve with each book.