Lakeside Romance: Erin Hahn Completes Her Spicy Trilogy with New “Catch and Keep” Novel

WRITTEN WORD INTERVIEW

 

A portrait of Erin Hahn and the cover of "Catch and Keep."

 

With the release of a new friends-to-lovers romance this month, Catch and Keep, Ann Arbor author Erin Hahn completes her spicy trilogy. The novels in this series are dual point-of-view and feature couples in the same friend group. Prior installments were Built to Last and Friends Don’t Fall in Love.

 

The main roles in Catch and Keep go to Josiah Cole, also known as Joe, and Maren Laughlin, whom Joe calls “Jig” for her penchant for fishing. Couples Shelby & Cam and Craig (Huck) & Lorelai from the previous books of the trilogy make cameos in this third novel.

 

Many years after knowing each other while growing up, Maren and Joe immediately take notice when they run into each other again. The location where they reconnect is the same place where they interacted in their youth: Cole’s Landing Resort, a lakeside getaway in Wisconsin. Joe’s parents own the resort, and Joe now works and raises his kids there.

 

Maren grew up going to the resort and vacationed and developed her excellent fishing skills on the lake. In a flashback to an earlier visit, Maren reflects that there is, “Just … something about this place. It makes me feel right. I’m more myself here than anywhere else in the entire world.” It takes a special place to have that effect. Maren and Joe’s shared appreciation for the location becomes part of their fast-growing spark.

 

Several barriers get in the way of their instant mutual attraction, though. Joe is the best friend of Maren’s older brother, Liam, who is protective of Joe after Joe’s dramatic divorce. Joe was left by his wife, Kiley, whom he had known since they were teens when the two started dating. Furthermore, Joe has custody of both of their kids, whom Kiley abandoned when she got the heck out of dodge.

 

One of the things that Joe has going for him, in addition to the resort, is that he is single. When his dad, Simon, finds out that Maren is in the area, the gears start turning, and he asks Joe:

 

“So is she cute now?”

 

Actually, she’s beautiful, I think. Long, wavy auburn hair, choppy bangs over hazel eyes, trim figure with gorgeous curves. Freckles and a summer tan.

 

And I’m scrubbing her from my brain again.

 

 

“And … I lost you,” my dad says with an amused grin. “I’ll take that as confirmation.”

 

“Confirmation of what?”

 

My dad’s grin grows into a full-blown smile, “That yes, Maren Laughlin grew up cute. Never mind,” he says.

 

That moment is not the only time that Joe daydreams about Maren or vice versa.

 

The hurdles, however, are just as plentiful for Maren. She is running away from her boyfriend of one year who just proposed, very shortly after which she unceremoniously dumped him, rendering herself likewise single. Maren is only in the Northwoods to recover from the disastrous proposal. And while she does, she fixes up and sells the apartment and bait shop that she inherited from her long-time, former fishing partner, Fost. She does not know what direction to go next with her career; she only knows that she no longer wants to work for her now ex who would be her supervisor back in Michigan and that she might apply for an out-of-state job in the park service. Plus, her older brother, Liam, tells her to leave Joe alone. Liam seems to think that Maren needs to grow up despite her 33 years.

 

Maren nevertheless can and does live her own life—thank you very much. As she gets to know Joe and his kids, Lucy and Anders, she feels at home and sees how, “It’s as easy as breathing, being with Joe.” Maren is nevertheless torn about Joe and the place:

 

I want to jump across this bar and wrap my arms and legs around him and never let go. I want to run straight out the door and pack my shit and drive to Arizona and the Grand Canyon and beg them to hire me.

 

I want to stay here forever, watching him be this happy and relaxed.

 

Hahn has perfected her art of dialing up the romantic tension even more, just when it seems like cannot possibly build higher. Whether Maren stays or goes becomes clear by the end of the novel.

 

Hahn and I talked about her new book, Catch and Keep, shortly after it was published this month.

 

Q: It is great to talk with you again about your latest book, the last in your trilogy. How does it feel to complete this trilogy of Built to Last, Friends Don’t Fall in Love, and the newest addition, Catch and Keep?

A: It’s been bittersweet. On the one hand, it’s the end of an era. I’ve truly enjoyed the challenge of writing happily-ever-afters and the escape that they have offered not only me but my readers as well. It’s been particularly powerful during the last five unprecedented years! On the other hand, I never really set out to write romance novels in the first place, so I’m looking forward to potentially shifting gears in the future and seeing where my imagination takes me!

 

Q: What did you learn about romance novels through writing this trilogy?

A: I’ve learned so much, but one of the most important takeaways for me has been the duty placed on an author to model healthy relationships on the page. Especially in young adult romance, but I have felt that burden in adult romance as well. There are so many toxic or red flag romances out there, and to each their own, for sure, but I think it’s so important to clearly delineate those for your potential audience. Present-day romance novels are often displayed with cute illustrated covers that can hide nefarious plots or characters. I have worked really hard to create authentic healthy relationships for my characters.

 

Q: Let’s also talk about the setting. In your acknowledgments, you share that “This book came together quite quickly, and I think it did because I know the characters well, as it is the third book in a series, but also because I know the subject matter so well. I’m a proud lake girl, and if you’re reading this book, you are automatically an honorary lake girl, too.” Catch and Keep has a cozy tone set on a lake in Wisconsin and in the fall. In what ways is this novel more personal to you?

A: I’ve been visiting the same family-owned lakefront resort with my (now) husband’s family for the last 20-plus years. Our children have grown up visiting it every summer alongside their cousins and friends and it’s become a safe haven. There are lots of stories set on the coast and while those have a similar feel, there is something so special about growing up at the lake. It’s charming and simple and much more rustic than say a beach-side cottage. I wanted to capture that feeling and immerse my readers in the setting.

 

Q: Catch and Keep brings the characters Maren Laughlin and Josiah Cole, or Joe, both of whom are less in the spotlight than reality TV stars Shelby and Cam in Built to Last or country music singer Lorelai and producer Huck in Friends Don’t Fall in Love. Maren did have her earlier fame with her “Musky Maren” YouTube channel that still trails her, though. Yet, the focus is more domestic, as Joe has already settled down once, and the setting is a family resort. How does less fame and more family affect the story?

A: I think this is an easier sort of romance. Maren and Joe really find themselves in the middle of it before they even realize they might be falling for each other. This feels authentic to the experience most of us live through while finding our someones. Very rarely are our personal love stories fraught with fame and celebrity. Those are super fun to imagine and escape inside but they aren’t always relatable. Joe and Maren could be any of us. They have real-life problems like settling into a career, nosy siblings, prickly relationships with exes, and raising a neurodivergent child.

 

Q: Still, “Musky Maren” haunts Maren in more ways than one. An over-eager fan expresses an inappropriate level of interest in her, including in her love life, well after she stopped broadcasting. On a less sinister note, it turns out that Joe watched Maren’s videos as a reminder of home when he was in the Marines. Is Maren’s Internet fame meant to illustrate the issues with our online lives? How so?

A: Absolutely, her fame is an illustration of the perks and downfalls of social media, particularly for someone who utilizes the Internet to grow their personal brand/career. I have a love/hate relationship with social media as an author. It’s something that has recently become a requirement of published authors, and we are, in general, a population of very private, mostly introverted people. I love the access to readers and other authors, but there have been more than a few instances where boundaries have been crossed. The Internet can make everyone accessible and as though they might be your friend in real life. In fact, those who really thrive at social media do so because they are really good at making themselves wholly relatable. But the consequence of that is a lack of privacy. Strangers start to feel like they can say things or do things that they never would in person. They feel like they own a piece of you, and for Maren, that drove her away from public life.

 

Q: Joe and Maren were in the background for the first two books of this trilogy, so in some ways, you have known them for the longest time of all three couples. How did you go about developing yet another pair?

A: Technically, we’ve only known Maren for the last two books, but I always knew who she was and what she was about. I intended for her to have her love story take place at a lakeside resort in northern Wisconsin from the very first time you meet her. Through Shelby and Lorelai, we meet Maren and get to know her voice and backstory, but we never got to see inside her brain. Turns out, her brain is a pretty delightful place to be. From there, I wanted to find an easy compliment to low-key, caretaker Maren, and from that came Josiah Cole. Oldest brother’s best friend, resort owner’s son, and divorced dad of two. Chill, responsible, handsome, and maybe needs a little help that only Maren can offer.

 

Q: Maren is an expert fisherwoman. How did you familiarize yourself with fishing, or were you already knowledgeable from experience or proximity?

A: I do not fish. This is a point of contention with my husband because apparently, I told him I did when we first met as teenagers. That said, I come from a family of fishermen, am married to one, and have raised another generation of them. It’s impossible to escape, even if my only contribution these days is “looking pretty on the boat” as I read. I’m a student by nature so while I didn’t research too heavily, I didn’t need to look far for inspiration.

 

Q: Joe’s four-year-old daughter, Lucy, is autistic. When his ex-wife Kiley criticizes the schedules that he has made to give Lucy structure, Joe reflects, “I do what needs to be done for Lucy to be successful now. It might look different as she gets older; in fact, it probably will, but this is the only way I know to give my child peace.” At what point in the writing did you decide to include an autistic character? How did it change the course of the novel?

A: I decided pretty early on that Lucy would be autistic. In my day job, I’ve worked closely with many autistic kids and have a neurodivergent child. It was important to me that I carefully, thoughtfully, and respectfully represent both the autistic child and their family around them. I don’t think much changed over the course of writing the novel, but I was diligent about requesting an authenticity reader to make sure I did my very best with Lucy and her brother and dad.

 

Q: In our last interview, we talked about the misunderstandings and unrequited love that makes romance novels so compelling. This time, I would like to ask about how spicy Catch and Keep is. This novel dives into the domestic life with Joe’s well-established family, but Joe and Maren find many steamy moments together. Could this book be the spiciest one of the trilogy?

A: It might be! Though I tried to keep the spice pretty uniform between the three stories. I think that because Joe and Maren have to be more intentional about their time alone together, at first sneaking around and then later, setting moments aside, they make the most of it.

 

Q: Wrapping up, what is a book you have read recently that you are excited about?

A: I am currently reading The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, and it’s incredibly immersive and imaginative.

 

Q: What direction will you go with your future novel(s) now that your trilogy is written?

A: The world is my oyster, as they say! I think romance will always have a small part in all of my stories, but I am excited to take a chance on some magical realism and maybe even delve into comedic thrillers.


Martha Stuit is a former reporter and current librarian.