On Second Chances and the Brittany Coast

Anne Morenn is an award-winning contemporary romance author whose Brittany Series began with Second Chances in Brittany. We spoke about the pull of Saint-Malo, the courage it takes to begin again, and why she trades glamour for salt air.

DORX Chronicle: Why set the series in Saint-Malo rather than one of the glamorous capitals romance so often loves?

Anne Morenn: Because starting over rarely happens under bright lights. It happens in slow mornings and long walks by the water. The Breton coast gives my characters room to breathe — and to change.

DORX Chronicle: Second Chances in Brittany follows Sarah Pullen, who thought she had finally settled. What drew you to her?

Anne Morenn: I wanted to write about the moment the life you built begins to unravel — the headaches you ignore, the marriage you tell yourself is fine. Sarah is brave not because she avoids the fall, but because she gets up afterward.

DORX Chronicle: Betrayal, resilience, and hope all sit close together in the book. Is that balance hard to strike?

Anne Morenn: It is the whole job. Heartbreak without hope is just despair, and hope without heartbreak is not earned. I try to be tender and clear-eyed at the same time.

DORX Chronicle: What do you hope readers carry away?

Anne Morenn: That it is never too late to begin again — and that second chances, when they come, are worth the courage they ask of us.