Behind The Book With Annie Rains 

Last year I did a Q&A with USA Today Bestselling author Annie Rains & I was fortunate to read an early copy of The Finders Keepers Library which came out on April 16th and is available to read now! You are in for a treat with romance, books and it’s just the right book to get you in the mood for spring and summer! 

Q: Annie, would you like to give a brief description of The Finders Keepers Library for those who haven’t read it yet?

A: Thank you so much for reading! I’m so glad you enjoyed the story. I really appreciate you having me on your blog and sharing my book with your followers!

For those who haven’t read The Finders Keepers Library, this is a story about Savannah, a woman in her late twenties who is engaged and planning to marry at the end of the summer. After that, she plans to work with her future husband in his upstart business while pursuing her love of flowers on the side. 

Then Savannah gets a life-changing diagnosis, Lupus, and her future husband, the man who is supposed to love her unconditionally bails.

Devastated, Savannah heads to Bloom, North Carolina to visit her aunt. This is the place of her childhood summers and she knows she’ll find healing here. What she’s not expecting is that her Aunt Eleanor has been secretly dealing with her own struggles. Aunt Eleanor needs Savannah as much, maybe more, than Savannah needs her.

There’s also the boy next door, all grown up and raising a grieving preteen daughter on his own. There was always an unspoken crush between Savannah and Evan. Maybe this summer, they’ll explore it—if they can risk their hearts. 

Q: In the acknowledgement section, you wrote that a piece of your heart goes into each of your books. Where did the idea for the book come from?

A: Well, all of my books come from various aspects of my life of the lives I witness around me. Savannah’s autoimmune journey is something I have been dealing with myself for several years now and I felt compelled to write a heroine going through the journey. Savannah’s ex breaks up with her because he thinks she’ll be a burden. Also, a botanist having Lupus isn’t ideal because she works with flowers in gardens during the day. 

Aunt Eleanor is inspired by my own aunt and my mother-in-law. She’s kind of a mix of the two, but has her own personality as well. My heroes always walk on the page from somewhere in my psyche, haha. I love a noble, hard-working man, especially when he’s a single father (one of my favorite tropes). 

Q: What lessons do you hope readers learn after reading The Finders Keepers Library?

A: I’m not sure if there’s anything to learn exactly. I think there are multiple themes in this book. Everyone is struggling with something, whether it’s visible or hidden. We all have our storms. Also, everyone is deserving of love, but it has to start with yourself. Savannah’s ex made her feel like she wasn’t deserving of love. She needed to realize that wasn’t true before she could fully let Evan in. 

Q: How long did it take you to write The Finders Keepers Library?

A: Oy, you ask the HARD questions! I can honestly say I’ve never written a book like The Finders Keepers Library. My editor was particularly hard on edits and wrote, rewrote, and rewrote some more for this book. All the deleted words and chapters could probably make up two whole other books. That’s okay though. Seeing the reviews and how much readers are enjoying this story makes it all worth the effort (sweat and tears). 

Q: If there were to be a sequel to The Finders Keepers Library, what would Savannah, Evan, June & Aunt Eleanor be up to?

A: Well, Savannah would be working at the local plant nursery in Bloom, North Carolina while continuing to vlog and write botanist articles. She would also be teaching June (Evan’s daughter) about everything planting while furthering their bond. 

Evan would still be teaching and passing on his love of literature to his students, and he’d be enjoying every second he has with his daughter. And with Savannah. 

Aunt Eleanor would be on-the-go these days, attending the Farmer’s Market every Saturday morning, church on Sundays, and her book club and gardening clubs (in person). And, if you read the epilogue, we already know who she’d be attending all of these places with 😉 

Q: If/When Hollywood gets the rights to do an adaptation of The Finders Keepers Library, who would be your dream cast?

A: Oh gosh. I am not up to date with all the popular actors and actresses. Pull some of the popular actors from recent Hallmark movies and I think it’d turn out well. In fact, if Hallmark wants to go ahead and start casting for the movie version, I’d be thrilled.