Rachel Hochhauser was killing time on her phone in a hospital waiting room — her husband recovering from emergency brain surgery, her 18-month-old at home — when a meme of Cinderella’s evil stepmother stopped her cold. “This isn’t a villain. She’s just trying to take care of her two daughters.” That spark became “Lady Tremaine,” her debut novel, a Reese’s Book Club pick and instant New York Times bestseller. And that’s only one of her jobs.
In this week’s conversation, Rachel walks us through a day split between two full careers — novelist and founder of the design company Piecework (which just acquired Areaware) — all run inside the hours her childcare allows. She’s refreshingly candid about the half-premade dinners, the outsourcing that’s keeping the train on the tracks, and why she’s stopped apologizing for any of it.
What We Cover:
How a meme spotted during her husband’s recovery became a New York Times bestselling novel
How she runs two careers — author and design-company founder — entirely within childcare hours, and calls the system “designed so no one will thrive”
Her honest take on dinner: Trader Joe’s goat cheese ravioli, roast vegetables, and zero guilt
Why lunch is non-negotiable, and what it means on the rare day she skips it
Reframing outsourcing from “luxury” to “mental health” — the nanny who comes early, the cleaner, the handyman
The analog notebook sorted by role, her inbox-zero system, and the $5 recipe app that holds it together
Why “forced” creativity inside tight constraints is just as valuable as the lightning-strike kind
Her most middle-aged joys: fancy grocery runs, pickled beans, and collecting 19th-century Blue Flow pottery
Connect with Rachel:
Instagram: @hochhauser
Substack: Great Fanfare
Read her debut novel: Lady Tremaine
Listen and Review
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loved this one, ellie!