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Q&A With Michelle Gable
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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.