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WORK TITLE: Dinner at the Brake Fast
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WEBSITE: https://www.reneebeauregardlute.com/
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COUNTRY: United States
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PERSONAL
Married; children: three.
EDUCATION:Hamline University, M.F.A.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer.
MEMBER:Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Renee Beauregard Lute is a Washington State-based writer of children’s books. She got her start as a writer publishing several books in the “Winicker Wallace” series in 2018. This was followed by the middle grade novels The Exceptional Maggie Chowder and Dinner at the Brake Fast. In an interview in KidLit 411, Beauregard shared her journey to becoming a children’s author. She recalled: “I’ve always loved writing, and went to grad school to write edgy poetry and short fiction. I took a class on writing for children, and loved it so much that I took another kidlit class, and another. I realized pretty quickly that that was what I wanted to do.”
In an interview in CanvasRebel, Beauregard discussed her writing routine and the importance of writing in a way that works for the individual. She admitted that “a lot of writers write every single day. Kate DiCamillo (one of my favorites) famously writes at least two pages a day. I think that works for many writers, but it doesn’t work for me. If I don’t have a deadline, my writing schedule is all over the place. Fifteen pages one day, no pages for two days, three pages that following day, etc. I’ve always felt kind of undisciplined in that way…. There’s no shame in taking writing breaks. Go out and do something else and come back to the writing when you’re ready.”
The Exceptional Maggie Chowder centers on young Maggie Chowder, who aspires for nothing more than to be exactly like Exceptional Eagirl, her favorite superhero. Maggie’s friend leaves on a summer vacation, one which she believes will be very normal. Unfortunately, Maggie’s father loses his job, causing the family to move from its large house to a small apartment. Maggie decides she needs to step up and help her father in any way possible. She also wants to help her brother ease into his new school setting. She’s also present for her best friend, whose father was promoted to professional football coach. Maggie then learns that she must bring joy to her own life no matter what is happening around her. Writing in School Library Journal, Tegan Anclade labeled it “a heartwarming, funny story about family and friends.” Anclade opined that The Exceptional Maggie Chowder would be “a worthy addition to middle-grade collections.”
In Dinner at the Brake Fast, twelve-year-old Tacoma Jones’s parents manage the Brake Fast Truck Stop. The Washington State diner serves breakfast seven days a week, which provides an appropriate venue for her interest in various cuisines. When her father’s favorite photograph goes missing, Tacoma decides she will find it, hoping that it will bring him out of a depression. She gets help from sarcastic trucker Denver Cass and travels across the state following clues to find the photograph. She learns much about herself and makes friends, even with the school bully. A Kirkus Reviews contributor called it “an uplifting caper for readers who don’t mind some emotional shortcuts.” Booklist contributor John Peters described it as being “a sweet, far-from-bland tale rich in food, family, and freshly made friendships.” A contributor to Publishers Weekly remarked that Lute writes “with standout compassion and candor.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, May 1, 2024, John Peters, review of Dinner at the Brake Fast, p. 50.
Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 2024, review of Dinner at the Brake Fast.
Publishers Weekly, March 11, 2024, review of Dinner at the Brake Fast, p. 63.
School Library Journal, October 1, 2020, Tegan Anclade, review of The Exceptional Maggie Chowder, p. 76.
ONLINE
CanvasRebel, https://canvasrebel.com/ (June 20, 2024), author interview.
KidLit 411, https://www.kidlit411.com/ (September 1, 2020), author interview.
Renee Beauregard Lute website, https://www.reneebeauregardlute.com (January 1, 2025).
Renee Beauregard Lute is the author of Dinner at the Brake Fast (Quill Tree Books / HarperCollins), The Exceptional Maggie Chowder (Albert Whitman & Company), and the Winicker Wallace series (Calico / ABDO). She lives in a blue house outside of Seattle with her husband, three young children, four ducks, two cats, and a cockapoo.
Renee Beauregard Lute
Series
Winicker Wallace
Winicker Hates Paris (2018)
Winicker and the American Boy (2018)
Winicker and the Baby Wait (2018)
Winicker and the Christmas Visit (2018)
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Novels
The Exceptional Maggie Chowder (2020)
Dinner at the Brake Fast (2024)
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Author Spotlight
Renee Beauregard Lute
Author Spotlight: Renee Beauregard Lute
September 25, 2020
We are excited to feature author Renee Beauregard Lute and her debut middle grade novel, THE EXCEPTIONAL MAGGIE CHOWDER (Albert Whitman, October 1, 2020).
Enter to win a copy!
Illustration by Luna Valentine. Cover Design by Valerie Hernández
Tell us about yourself and how you came to write for children.
I've always loved writing, and went to grad school to write edgy poetry and short fiction. I took a class on writing for children, and loved it so much that I took another kidlit class, and another. I realized pretty quickly that that was what I wanted to do.
Congrats on your recent middle grade book, THE EXCEPTIONAL MAGGIE CHOWDER. Tell us about the story and what inspired you.
Thank you so much! The Exceptional Maggie Chowder is about a twelve-year-old girl who wants to be just like her favorite forest ranger superhero, The Exceptional Eagirl. (You'll find Eagirl comics in every chapter of The Exceptional Maggie Chowder). Her dream is to attend Junior Forest Ranger Camp.
When her dad loses his job and her family has to move from their house into a small apartment, Maggie has to deal with some big feelings. Her best friend LaTanya moves from her house into a mansion after her own dad's glamorous new job, and suddenly Maggie's big feelings double in size. Maggie is faced with the idea that her life is turning into a giant bummer while LaTanya's life is getting really amazing.
Maggie makes some big mistakes and deals with her giant feelings, but with the help of her family, LaTanya, and Eagirl, she is able to turn her summer around and become the hero she wants to be.
I was inspired to write this book when my family moved from our house in Rhode Island to an apartment in Washington. I was an adult at the time, with kids of my own, but those feelings that Maggie has in the book are exactly the feelings that I had during the move! I missed my house. It was a bummer. (It all worked out. We've lived in Washington State for seven years now, and I just love it here.)
Was your road to publication long and winding, short and sweet, or something in between?
It was probably something in between, but it sure felt long and winding. I had a spreadsheet where I kept track of my querying for Winicker Hates Paris, the first book in the Winicker Wallace series. I received about one hundred rejections! I found my first agent when another agent said "I think this might be what my friend is looking for," and it was. I sent Winicker out to agents over the course of two years before finding representation. I was pretty focused, and learned to treat querying like a job.
What projects are you working on now?
Right now I'm on submission with another middle grade novel, and I'm writing a holiday rom-com for grownups! It takes place on Whidbey Island, and it's so much fun. (I love a holiday rom-com.)
What are some favorite recent MG reads?
I'm obsessed with the Vanderbeeker series by Karina Yan Glaser.
What advice would you give to your younger self? Is this the same advice you'd give to aspiring authors?
Keep writing! Keep sending that work out! And try to think of publishing and writing as separate jobs. Publishing is submitting, rejections, offers, marketing, so many things. Writing is just sitting down with my laptop and doing the work. It really helps with my productivity if I think of them separately.
What is one thing most people don't know about you?
I once performed with Kenny Rogers in his Christmas concert in Worcester, MA.
Where can people find you online?
Twitter: @ReneeBLute
Instagram: @reneeblute
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReneeBeauregardLute/
Website: https://www.reneebeauregardlute.com
Renee Beauregard Lute is the author of The Exceptional Maggie Chowder and the Winicker Wallace series. She lives in a blue house just outside of Seattle with her husband, three young children, two cats, and cockapoo.
Meet Renee Beauregard Lute
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Stories & Insights
June 20, 2024
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Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Renee Beauregard Lute. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Renee, thanks for joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.
A lot of writers write every single day. Kate DiCamillo (one of my favorites) famously writes at least two pages a day. I think that works for many writers, but it doesn’t work for me. If I don’t have a deadline, my writing schedule is all over the place. Fifteen pages one day, no pages for two days, three pages that following day, etc. I’ve always felt kind of undisciplined in that way. Like “If a writer doesn’t write for a solid week, are they even still a writer??” Well, yes. They are. I was at a fantastic author event a couple of months ago, and heard Angie Thomas (another one of my favorites) talking about this exact thing. She said she doesn’t force it. If she’s not in the mood to write, she reads instead. She does something else that she enjoys, or something that inspires her, and then gets back to the writing when she’s ready. That was one of the most helpful things I’ve heard in my life. There’s no shame in taking writing breaks. Go out and do something else and come back to the writing when you’re ready.
Renee, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m a children’s book author! I write mostly middle grade novels, for ages 9-12, but am currently working on a young adult novel that has been a lot of fun to write.
I’ve been writing forever, but realized that this specific thing — writing books for kids — was what I wanted to do during grad school. I went to Hamline University to get my MFA in creative writing, and I assumed I’d be writing mostly short stories and longer adult fiction while I was there. But I stumbled into a “Writing for Young Readers” class, and that kind of writing felt completely different from the other kinds of writing I had been doing. I loved it. So I took another class on children’s literature, and another, and in one of those classes I began writing the chapter book that would eventually be my first published book: Winicker Hates Paris.
After graduating with my MFA, I joined a critique group where I met other wonderful writers who helped shape that first Winicker book into what it would eventually be. I joined SCBWI, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and started querying literary agents. Eventually, after years of revision and querying and working on new projects, I signed with a literary agency, and then got a book deal. And then another, and then another, and I hope to keep going as long as possible, because writing books for kids is just about the most fun thing I can think of.
My new book, Dinner at the Brake Fast (out with Quill Tree Books / HarperCollins on June 25), is about a twelve-year-old girl named Tacoma who runs a truck stop diner with her parents in North Bend, Washington. Tacoma is kind of desperate to have an adventure, and that’s exactly what she gets to do when a tour bus breaks down in the parking lot of the Brake Fast. She takes an accomplice-turned-friend from the bus through some hairy situations while trying to a.) pick up ingredients for her first-ever dinner at the all-breakfast Brake Fast truck stop and b.) steal back her dad’s prized possession with the intention of helping him through a particularly hard day.
I am unbelievably proud of this book. There are some big themes throughout — friendship, family, food, mental health — and it’s set in the North Bend / Snoqualmie area, which I love. I dragged a dear friend with me to walk the intensely dark and eerie Snoqualmie Tunnel, as it appears in a major scene, and there are a number of other Western WA landmarks in this book. If all books are a love letter to *something,* this one might be a love letter to Washington State.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
I’ve been a major reader since early childhood, and I realized at some point that the books I was drawn to were books about kids who did the wrong thing at least some of the time. I felt that way a lot. Like I was constantly making mistakes, even if I was trying as hard as I could. Reading about Ramona Quimby (Beverly Cleary), Anastasia Krupnik (Lois Lowry), Anne Shirley (Lucy Maud Montgomery), and other “kindred spirits” who struggled with mistake-making, anxiety, and giant imaginations that got them into some amount of trouble — I felt absolutely seen. I write characters with anxiety and who make mistakes for the same reason. In my upcoming middle grade novel, Dinner at the Brake Fast, twelve-year-old Tacoma Jones has big anxieties and makes some questionable choices, all with the intention of helping her dad, who is struggling with depression, or of taking care of other people through her cooking. She’s a mistake-maker, like me. Like lots of people. Like Ramona and Anastasia and Anne. I’d love for readers to have the same kind of joyful “hey, I kind of feel like that, too” moment while reading my books, because I loved stumbling across that moment as a young reader.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
As strange as it is to say out loud, my head is a really interesting place to live. Even when I’m not at my desk, I’m thinking about a scene I’m working on, or a character in a current project. I think I would get awfully bored if I didn’t have all of that going on in my head all the time. My husband will walk into a room and say, “Were you talking to me?” And I realize that I’ve been thinking out loud — talking through a conversation that a couple of my characters need to have in a later scene. While that’s vaguely embarrassing, it highlights for me the fact that my job keeps me preoccupied in the best possible way.
Contact Info:
Website: https://www.reneebeauregardlute.com
Instagram: @reneeblute
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReneeBeauregardLute/
Twitter: @ReneeBLute
Other: TikTok: @reneeblute
Amazon Link to Dinner at the Brake Fast:
https://www.amazon.com/Dinner-Brake-Fast-Renee-Beauregard/dp/0063324903/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2DEU7Q3TOTU4&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.cg8iMMd0Td_oo_XdMER1DQ.XlbYPTZnVoByDpnSNtRWQsekZacqXYnK4SfcLvO3LPA&dib_tag=se&keywords=dinner+at+the+brake+fast+lute&qid=1717780980&sprefix=dinner+at+the+br%2Caps%2C193&sr=8-1
Image Credits
Dinner at the Brake Fast cover art by Oriol Vidal
Suggest a Story: CanvasRebel is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
LUTE, Renee Beauregard. The Exceptional Maggie Chowder. illus. by Luna Valentine. 256p. Albert Whitman. Oct. 2020. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9780807536780.
Gr 4 Up--This is the story' of Maggie Chowder, who longs to be just like her favorite superhero, the Exceptional Eagirl. When her best friend leaves for a month in the summer, Maggie assumes nothing new will happen to either of them and cannot wait for her friend to return. Little does she know that both of their worlds are about to shift. This novel is all about change. Readers will empathize with the upheaval of Maggie's life when her father loses his job and they have to move from their large home to an apartment. While this novel speaks to change, it also spotlights the power of platonic and familial relationships. Maggie must find a way to support her dad in his new job, her brother in his new learning environment, and her best friend in her new life as a professional football coach's daughter. She must also learn how to bring joy to her life amidst everything going on around her. The addition of the Eagirl comics at the start of each chapter is sure to attract readers of graphic novels, as well as introduce them to new readers. VERDICT A heartwarming, funny story about family and friends; a worthy addition to middle-grade collections. --Tegan Anclade, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., IL
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
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Anclade, Tegan. "LUTE, Renee Beauregard. The Exceptional Maggie Chowder." School Library Journal, vol. 66, no. 10, Oct. 2020, p. 76. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A638792781/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=2f45761d. Accessed 23 Oct. 2024.
Dinner at the Brake Fast
Renee Beauregard Lute. Quill Tree, $18.99 (208p) ISBN 978-0-063324-90-9
Tacoma Jones and her parents run the Brake Fast Truck Stop, a diner in Washington State that only serves breakfast. But the straitlaced 12-year-old yearns to eat something other than "eggs or oatmeal or pancakes," and has been collecting cookbooks from different states and dreaming of meatloaf. After her father's treasured photograph goes missing, Tacoma resolves to track it down, believing that its retrieval will help her dad navigate his latest depressive episode ("If I don't need to be sorry for having asthma, you don't need to be sorry for having depression," Tacoma tells him). Enlisting help from Denver Cass, a fellow loner with a sarcastic streak, Tacoma sets off on a spirited odyssey through Washington following the photograph and assembling ingredients for her long hoped-for dinner, along the way forging a friendship with Denver, as well as an unexpected alliance with her school tormentor. Rich characterizations, an electrifyingly original yet believable plot, and a perceptive voice distinguishes this captivating road trip tale by Lute (The Exceptional Maggie Chowder). With standout compassion and candor, Lute explores the sometimes heartbreaking reality of living with a depressed parent and the joy that friends and cooking can bring. Tacoma and Denver read as white. Ages 8-12. Agent: Samantha Wekstein. Thompson Literary. (June)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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"Dinner at the Brake Fast." Publishers Weekly, vol. 271, no. 10, 11 Mar. 2024, p. 63. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A787043955/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=79f7fd56. Accessed 23 Oct. 2024.
Dinner at the Brake Fast. By Renee Beauregard Lute. June 2024. 208p. HarperCollins/Quill Tree, $18.99 (9780063324909). Gr. 5-7.
Having never been far from the Brake Fast, a small-town truck stop run by her parents where only breakfast dishes are served, 12-year-old Tacoma has two dreams: to drive a food truck around the country and, more immediately, to make and eat, just once, a dinner. First, she has to shop for ingredients, a short expedition that extends into a tense and sometimes terrifying odyssey, due to complications ranging from a murderous rooster to a ride hidden in the cab of a trucker with a serious mean streak. Fortunately, Tacoma has allies in two boys--one lonely but game overnight visitor and one bully who turns out to be not so bad--who wind up firm friends and, come the exhilarating climax, able sous chefs. Readers may feel that Tacoma has a lot on her plate, as she has to cope with not only the task at hand but also the pain of living through good days and bad with her clinically depressed father, plus her own struggles with panic attacks. Still, the joy she takes in feeding people is just one expression here of a winningly huge heart. As she puts it, echoing her equally loving mother, everything may not be all right, but it's "all right enough." A sweet, far-from-bland tale rich in food, family, and freshly made friendships.--John Peters
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
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Peters, John. "Dinner at the Brake Fast." Booklist, vol. 120, no. 17, 1 May 2024, p. 50. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A804016110/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b4cc683c. Accessed 23 Oct. 2024.
Lute, Renee Beauregard DINNER AT THE BRAKE FAST Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins (Children's None) $18.99 6, 25 ISBN: 9780063324909
Twelve-year-old Tacoma spends her evenings and weekends working at her parents' Washington state truck stop, the Brake Fast.
Socially isolated due to her work schedule and some bullies at school, Tacoma becomes cautiously excited when a musician's tour bus breaks down at the truck stop, stranding the driver's 13-year-old son, Denver, along with the band. The two kids team up on a quest to retrieve a stolen Brake Fast memento from an adult bully named Crocodile Kyle and then buy groceries for Tacoma's first-ever dinner menu at the Brake Fast Truck Stop, which serves only breakfast foods all day long. What begins as hijinks turns to melodrama as the pair absorb a third member--Tacoma's mean classmate and Crocodile Kyle's nephew, Hudgie--and each begins to reveal their personal challenges and traumas over the course of the day. The author treats issues such as anxiety, parental depression, and verbal abuse with sensitivity, though the kids divulge their vulnerabilities with implausible speed, blunting the power of the emotional arc. The rural Washington setting provides a wealth of quirky characters and locales, and the one-day time frame lends a satisfying immediacy to the kids' adventures. It also requires a time warp, allowing three kids to cook a multicourse dinner for 18 people in just a couple of hours and leaving time for a public showdown with Crocodile Kyle. Physical descriptions are minimal; most characters are apparently white.
An uplifting caper for readers who don't mind some emotional shortcuts. (Fiction. 8-12)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Lute, Renee Beauregard: DINNER AT THE BRAKE FAST." Kirkus Reviews, 15 May 2024, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A793537084/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ba7f3dd6. Accessed 23 Oct. 2024.