Robin Jones Gunn is the bestselling and award-winning author of more than one hundred books, including Tea with Elephants, the Sisterchicks Series, and the Christy Miller Series for teen girls. Her books have sold more than six million copies worldwide. Robin and her husband have two grown children and four grandchildren and live in Southern California, where she cohosts the Women Worth Knowing podcast.
Robin talks about the universal themes of friendships and common life struggles that resonate so deeply with her millions of readers.
FF: Please provide a brief summary of your new novel, Gelato at the Villa.
A girls’ getaway to Northern Italy is just what friends Grace and Claire need. As they immerse themselves in the culture and laid-back way of life, both women see how God is revealing His purpose in the lives they left at home…lives in desperate need of focus and peace.
FF: Gelato at the Villa is the second book in your Suitcase Sisters Series. How does this book build on or differ from Tea with Elephants?
Each of the Suitcase Sisters novels is a stand-alone, so this second book in the series is about two different characters, Grace and Claire, who go on an adventure to Italy. They discover touches of God’s presence everywhere they go, and like the characters in Tea with Elephants, they return home changed by the experience.
FF: What inspired you to write about friendship between women in their later years rather than focusing on younger protagonists?
I’ve heard from many readers who are now in their forties that life didn’t turn out the way the expected. They are trying to figure out who they are as they enter midlife. I wanted to write stories that provided role models who are facing the same life struggles, and while experiencing the luxury of a visit to a beautiful corner of God’s world, they realign their hearts with His and begin to see what He has next for them.
FF: The story takes place in Venice, Tuscany, and Lake Como. What drew you to set this particular story in Northern Italy?
I’ve visited that part of Italy twice. My memories are rich and romantic, and certain places still linger in my thoughts. There is a blend of art and natural beauty in every corner that points to our Creator. And the food! Of course the characters in the story had to take a cooking class!
FF: Food plays a significant role in the novel, from gelato to pasta. How do you use food to enhance storytelling and character development?
It was fun to pair a foodie (Claire) with a woman who isn’t fond of cooking. Grace grows in her appreciation of all things food related while watching her friend flourish in her element. Grace has a passion for gardening, so when the two friends are able to follow their bliss while they stay at the villa, they reignite hidden loves that had been buried in their busy lives at home. When they return, a bit of Italy and the Italian way of doing things comes with them and begins anew.
I love seeing women rediscover something they are good at and making time in their lives to pursue those things that bring them delight and are a blessing to others. I hope that as I showed that reawakening in Grace and Claire, readers will feel prompted to do the same.
FF: Grace and Claire bond over their love of reading. What inspired these friends to move beyond their armchair adventures to actually experience a real-life adventure?
Part of the enjoyment for readers is to open a book and be introduced to a new place and vicariously experience all the wonder of that location along with the characters. For Grace and Claire, the dream of actually getting out of their armchairs and going to Italy was doable, so they put feet to their growing plan and were glad they did.
FF: What made you decide to explore the theme of wrestling with personal beliefs through Claire’s character?
I pay attention to what readers tell me. Over the last few years, more women have shared with me how they are struggling with their faith because some of the things that happened to them make them doubt that God really cares about them. I’ve also seen how women who have hidden hurts from their past get to a point where they have to get it out and tell someone so they can deal with the wrong. I wanted to show how a woman could share her pain with a trusted friend and also show how a true friend could respond.
This theme was more difficult to write about than I thought it would be. It took a lot out of me emotionally, but when I finished the book I prayed again that God would use the story to bring hope and healing to a woman who needs it.
FF: The book touches on the difference between being tourists and being pilgrims. Can you elaborate on the spiritual significance of this distinction?
A friend of mine hosts spiritual retreats in Italy. I haven’t been to one yet, but I love the way she writes about her experiences as a pilgrim because she is on a journey with Christ and He is beside her each step of the way.
Her view of life has influenced me to see myself as a pilgrim whether I’m traveling in a foreign country or traveling through my days at home. I’m not just going through the motions and taking quick pictures of moments, trying to freeze them in time. I’m in the flow of the journey each day and paying attention to even tiny details that speak of God’s love and His presence. Seeing myself as a pilgrim makes me more aware of the fullness of God’s presence.
FF: Your work often features deep female friendships. What do you think makes these relationships particularly compelling to write about?
Close friendships between women became the pocket I fell into as a writer, and it became a welcome niche for readers who are longing to experience the same closeness with a friend in real life. The stretch of isolation we all experienced during the pandemic presented an opportunity to explore how to reconnect and how to deepen friendships that we’d taken for granted. Writing travel stories about close friends who are discovering what God has next in their lives felt like a natural way to encourage readers to strengthen their friendships.
FF: After you’ve written so many beloved series like Christy Miller and Sisterchicks, what unique elements does the Suitcase Sisters Series bring to your body of work?
The Suitcase Sisters adds to my other stories by presenting a sense of hope and possibilities for early-midlife readers who feel stuck in their routines or befuddled about their future. I love opening readers’ eyes to the world beyond their current circles and nudging them to dream a new dream.
FF: Having authored over 100 books and sold more than 6.5 million copies worldwide, how do you keep your stories fresh and engaging?
I wonder if that happens because of having a pilgrim mindset and asking Jesus every day, “What’s next? What direction should we go today?” Women and their stories are always coming to me. If I pay attention and take mental notes on what women are going through or what topics are preeminent in their lives, it fills up folders of possible stories in my mind. I seem to never be at a loss for ideas.
The issues I write about are universal and generational. I will never forget when I gave the first Christy Miller novel to my grandma over thirty years ago. She read it and said it was exactly like her teen years. She said she was Christy. I thought that was funny because she was raised in the Midwest, not in Southern California like Christy. And my grandmother never surfed. How could she think she was Christy? Then I realized she was relating to the themes of moving and trying to fit in and feeling self-conscious and having a crush on a boy. None of that had changed over the decades.
FF: What are you working on next?
I have a gift book called By the Sea releasing in May 2025. It was fun to branch out and write true stories about the beach and see the pieces and my poems complemented by art on every page. The next Suitcase Sisters novel is in the works too!
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Gelato at the Villa
Suitcase Sisters #2
Robin Jones Gunn
Publisher: Revell
Genre: Contemporary
Released: August 19, 2025
Available Formats: Paperback, Hardcover, Audiobook, eBook
ISBN-10: 0800744837
ISBN-13: 978-0800744830
Book Summary:
Traveling to Venice, Florence, and Bellagio, the Suitcase Sisters find themselves immersed in the magnificent works of art, scrumptious gelato flavors, and endless pasta variations of Italy. And they discover a vulnerability to disclose their struggles in ways they never did at home. As Grace experiences a newfound freedom and confidence in who she is, Claire wrestles with painful memories of her teen years.
A special dinner party brings unexpected revelations about faith and God’s nearness. Then a life-changing moment on the shores of Lake Lugano causes Grace and Claire to discover they are not just tourists but pilgrims on a path to becoming all God created them to be.
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