All about the novel Earl’s Trip
Who is Jenny Holiday?
Jenny Holiday is a USA Today bestselling author whose books have been featured in The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, and The Washington Post, and on Buzzfeed. She grew up in Minnesota and started writing when her fourth-grade teacher gave her a notebook to fill with stories. When she’s not working on her next book, she likes to hike, throw theme parties, and watch other people sing karaoke. She lives in London, Ontario, Canada and can be found online at JennyHoliday.com.
What is Earl’s Trip about?
Even an earl needs his ride-or-dies, and Archibald Fielding-Burton, the Earl of Harcourt, counts himself lucky to have two. The annual trip that Archie takes with his BFFs Simon and Effie holds a sacred spot in their calendars. This year Archie is especially eager to get away until an urgent letter arrives from an old family friend, begging him to help prevent a ruinous scandal. Suddenly the trip has become earls-plus-girls, as Archie’s childhood pals, Clementine and Olive Morgan, are rescued en route to Gretna Green.
This…complicates matters. The fully grown Clementine, while as frank and refreshing as he remembers, is also different to the wild, windswept girl he knew. This Clem is complex and surprising—and adamantly opposed to marriage. Which, for reasons Archie dare not examine too closely, he finds increasingly vexing.
Then Clem makes him an indecent and quite delightful proposal, asking him to show her the pleasures of the marriage bed before she settles into spinsterhood. And what kind of gentleman would he be to refuse a lady?
Interview
What was your inspiration for Earls Trip?
Years ago, I randomly thought of the title and it make me laugh. I actually (sincerely) tried to get friends who are historical romance authors to write it, but I got no bites! The title is of course is a play on the concept of a girls trip, and there is a movie by that title. The idea simmered for a couple years, until I watched Ted Lasso. I was late to the Ted Lasso bandwagon, but I watched the first season in its entirety during lockdown. Like everyone, I was charmed by Ted’s brand of gentle, emotionally intelligent masculinity and by the tightly-knit, supportive group of dude friends at the centre of the show. It made me think of the earls! This path—thinking of the title first, being inspired by a TV show—is not the norm for me.
What drew you to writing romance?
I think I’ve just always been wired for romance. I didn’t read romance until I was an adult—my librarian mother didn’t read it, so I was just never exposed to it—but I was always drawn to romantic subplots in books and movies (hello Mulder and Scully from X-Files!). I had a career as a writer in non-profit settings and I’d published a little bit of literary fiction in magazines. When I finally discovered romance, it didn’t take long for me to put my love for it together with my identity as a writer.
How did you choose which character to centre the story around?
By the nature of the series—three earls take an annual trip and shenanigans ensue—I knew the book needed to centre around one of the earls and that the plot needed to unfold mostly “on the road.” What popped to mind was the stereotypical, Jane Austen-esque plot of trying to intervene in an elopement in progress.
What was your process for writing Earls Trip?
Not that different than writing other books, which means mostly butt-in-chair. I don’t really have a “process.” I just write! I will say, this book required more research than the contemporary rom-coms I usually write.
What is your approach to world and character building?
Again, I don’t really have a process. Kind of a cop-out answer, but it’s the truth. I do try to focus on the emotional conflict between my characters—the thing that is keeping them apart that is deeper than just circumstances. That said, I knew I wanted this to be a relatively low-angst book, so there isn’t a huge conflict in this book.
In terms of world building, with this book, I decided to embrace the fact that I was creating a “modern” take on a historical romance, a bit like the Bridgerton TV adaptations. I leaned into the Ted Lasso inspiration, knowing full well it wasn’t historically accurate for there to be a friend group made up of young handsome earls with feminist sensibilities who sit around talking about how much they love each other. The book is still set in 1821—no one is whipping out a cell phone or anything—but I’m unapologetic about the modern sensibilities of the characters.
How would you describe Earls Trip in five words?
Fun, friendship-driven, found-family, comic, romantic
Did you have a favourite moment in the book to write?
The last bit of third chapter, where the main characters meet in a rather dramatic fashion. I don’t want to give anything away, but they were childhood friends and haven’t seen each other for five years. They meet again under stressful yet comic circumstances. It was fun to put them together again after so much time and have them be familiar with each other yet surprised by each other.
What was your favourite book growing up?
So many, but one that stands out is Emily of New Moon. The Emily series is a lesser-known, three-book series by L.M. Montgomery, who is of course known for the Anne of Green Gables books. I liked those, but I was obsessed with Emily as a tween.
Do you have a favourite genre to read?
The last year or so I have been reading primarily domestic thrillers. They scratch the same itch as romance in some ways: they’re usually about a woman who is caught in an emotionally sticky (often actually dangerous) situation with respect to someone in her life. And she usually triumphs in the end, even if we the readers don’t always know who we should be rooting for like we do in a romance.
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