Q&A With Michelle Gable 

Tonight I’m doing a Q&A with author Michelle Gable. Michelle Gable is the New York Times Bestselling author of “The Book of Summer,” “I’ll See You in Paris: A Novel,” “A Paris Apartment,” “The Summer I Met Jack: A Novel,” “The Booksellers Secret: A Novel of Nancy Mitford and WWII,” and “The Lipstick Bureau.” 

Q: What do you love most about writing historical fiction? What do you find most challenging about writing historical fiction? 

A: What I love most about writing historical fiction is also what’s most challenging—the research! I have so much fun learning about a time and place, to the point I have to remind myself to stop researching and start writing. For any given book, I’ll read dozens (sometimes hundreds) of books and hundreds of articles. This can lead to a lot of procrastination and it’s also extremely tempting to cram interesting factoids into a novel that don’t move the story forward. I also tend to go down rabbit holes in search of very specific information. Again, I have to remind myself that I write fiction and if I don’t know where a real person was on some random Tuesday, I can just make it up! 

Q: What is your advice to anyone wanting to be a writer, especially someone who wants to write historical fiction like you do? 

A: Writers must be readers first. Someone who wants to write historical fiction should read extensively in the genre, but I am a fan of reading widely, too. You can learn a lot about structure and what you like (and don’t) in a story subconsciously. 

Q: If you had to choose, which books were your favorites to write?

A:  My favorite’s books to write were The Book of Summer and The Lipstick Bureau. The Book of Summer was pure joy, start to finish, I think because all the characters were made up, so it was easier to research! I’ve never had a favorite overall book I’ve written until The Lipstick Bureau. Although, I have to say, I adore the characters in I’ll See You in Paris.

Q: Does Hollywood have the rights to any of your novels?

A: We previously sold the rights to A Paris Apartment, but the option has expired. 

Q: Are you writing a new novel now? If so, can you spoil what it’s about? 

A: Yes, I am working on a new novel! I’m not too far along, but it takes place in the Jet Setting 1960s (Palm Beach, mostly) and features the famed photographer Slim Aarons and Lilly Pulitzer.