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INTERVIEW: Fern Ronay Says There’s A Reason Things Seem Better in the Morning
- Christina Boyd
- Dec 30, 2025
- 4 min read
CHRISTINA: I connected with author, podcaster, and spiritual explorer Fern Ronay through the Facebook group ChickLitChat HQ. She writes Women's Fiction with a spiritual element, featuring signs from the other side and messages in dreams from those who have died. I am fascinated to learn more about this, as some of my own experiences and dreams color my unpublished novel Woman in the Painting. I was thrilled for this interview with Fern.
Do you put people you know, or their characteristics, in your book?
FERN: I’m an Italian American lawyer who believes my grandparents send me signs from the other side, particularly pennies, and meet with me in my dreams even if I don’t remember it—there’s a reason things often seem better in the morning—and my husband is a creative director in advertising. We met in NYC.
My first novel is the story of a single, 29-year-old Manhattan lawyer guided in her dreams by her dead Italian grandparents. There is an ad exec love interest, and the title of the book is Better in the Morning. There is a penny on the cover.
So, in short, yes, but I always say Better in the Morning is not my, or our, story. The main character, Veronica, can be immature and reckless, and does things I would never dare to do. It is very much fiction!
CHRISTINA: Pennies, dreams—signs, stories, and timing all seem to be doing their work around you.
Dreamcast your most recent book:
FERN: My last novel is called Better Believe It and is the story of an unhappily married mom guided in her dreams by her dead, chain-smoking cousin. I always envisioned Mila Kunis for the main character of Jada, and Emma Stone for the cousin Gina.
Jada’s character arc goes from fearful, angry, and cynical to, among other things, self-aware and faithful, and I can see Mila Kunis making that journey believable. Gina is a funny, quirky, but wise soul with a signature pixie cut, and Emma Stone can pull all of that off, including the haircut.
CHRISTINA: Mila Kunis and Emma Stone feel exactly right for that mix of vulnerability, edge, and wit. I’m already picturing it on screen.
Is there a time period you would like to set a future story or genre you’d like to write next?
FERN: Yes, my current WIP is the story of two souls, a 19th-century English maid and a gentleman barrister who meet again in 2004 at an investment bank in New York City. It is a story of reincarnation and an invisible string between soulmates.
CHRISTINA: Sounds exactly like my kind of read.
If you could have dinner with three people, who would be at your table—and how might that go?
FERN: I’m assuming these people must be currently living. If not, I would say I already meet with them in my dreams. So, I would love to sit down at Il Cantinori with Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael Patrick King and my dear friend and former co-host from AfterBuzzTV Matthew Evan Paine. Matthew and I will go through each character of Sex and the City from the first episode of the first season (Darren Starr is invited too) to the last episode of And Just Like That, and respectfully ask some questions.
Matthew and I will get answers to some inconsistencies and enlightenment regarding some choices made. We will all have a grand time and toast Candace Bushnell. I will thank them for contributing to the change in the collective consciousness that went from single women of a certain age must be washing their hair on Saturday nights to the reality that life doesn’t have to look the way we were told it had to, and it can be fabulous.
CHRISTINA: That sounds like a dream roundtable. A thoughtful deep dive and a well-earned toast to Candace Bushnell. Perfect.
Best advice for new writers:
FERN: Let it out. Let it all out. Spill it. Don’t worry about editing as you go. Just write. Even if it’s one page a day, by the end of the year, you’ll have a first draft and will have something concrete to sculpt from there.
Also, never stop learning. I love audiobooks and podcasts about writing and recommend, not surprisingly, Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, and the podcast The Essential Guide to Writing a Novel hosted by James Thayer, who gives weekly tips and tricks that serve as excellent reminders as I’m working on my third novel.
CHRISTINA: That’s great advice—On Writing is such a classic for a reason, and pairing it with a practical, weekly resource like James Thayer’s podcast feels like the perfect balance of inspiration and discipline. It’s encouraging to hear how those reminders are fueling your third novel.
If you could tell your 21-year-old self anything, what would you share?
FERN: You’re going to pass the CPA exam. You’re going to go to Boston College Law School and pass the NY and NJ bar exams. You’re going to meet your soulmate—he’s been waiting for you too—and live in NYC, and Chicago and Los Angeles. There will be good times and terrible times, and you will learn what you came to earth to learn. And you’re wrong about something: you are actually extremely creative. You’re going to take all of those lessons and write some books.
CHRISTINA: How poignant—equal parts reassurance and revelation. Thank you for your time. Your reflections on creativity, love, and learning were generous and inspiring, and it was a pleasure to hear the story behind the stories. Best wishes to you, for all of us, in 2026!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Fern Ronay has lived in Manhattan, Chicago, and now sunny Los Angeles with her husband, but she will always consider herself a Jersey girl. She is the author of two novels, Better in the Morning and Better Believe It, and is the host of the podcast Signs from the Other Side.
