Ask the Author: Renée Rosen
Answered Questions (21)
Renée Rosen
Thanks so much for reading Let's Call Her Barbie. We're of the same generation although I was born a bit later than you. But my older sister had Barbies and I inherited her dolls and then acquired my own along the way. Thanks for your question!
Renée Rosen
Hi and thanks for your question. What to read next is always a challenge because my TBR pile is out of control. I keep an eye on lists and reviews from people I respect. That can move a book closer to the top. I don't make a huge distinction between reading as a writer or as a reader. In most cases, I do like to "read up," meaning I enjoy reading authors whose work I consider to be really well crafted and well structured, etc. I'm also always looking to improve my own work, so "reading up" is helpful. Hopefully, I've answered your question. Happy reading to you!
Renée Rosen
Hi Susan,
Thanks for reaching out and thanks so much for reading and support my books. I'm so glad you've enjoyed them. I'm having so much fun with Ruth Handler and Barbie and as I say to people, whether you loved Barbie or shaved off all her hair in a fit of protest, I promise this book will speak to the feminist in all of us.
As for the master class, I would love to do something along those lines. I've led a few writing workshops and have found it so rewarding. In fact, I'll be leading a workshop at the Verna Area Public Library in July. But aside from that, I don't have anything formal lined up.
Thanks again for contacting me and happy reading!
Renee
Thanks for reaching out and thanks so much for reading and support my books. I'm so glad you've enjoyed them. I'm having so much fun with Ruth Handler and Barbie and as I say to people, whether you loved Barbie or shaved off all her hair in a fit of protest, I promise this book will speak to the feminist in all of us.
As for the master class, I would love to do something along those lines. I've led a few writing workshops and have found it so rewarding. In fact, I'll be leading a workshop at the Verna Area Public Library in July. But aside from that, I don't have anything formal lined up.
Thanks again for contacting me and happy reading!
Renee
Renée Rosen
THE SOCIAL GRACES is "clean". There's a bit of kissing but that's about it. This book is really more about the women and less about the men. My other novels definitely have more heat.
Renée Rosen
Hi Marila --thanks for your question. I always knew I wanted to be a writer and always felt like I was a writer inside, but honestly, I wasn't comfortable calling myself a writer until I published my first novel in 2007. Prior to that, whenever someone would ask me what I did, I would say I was an advertising copywriter who was writing on the side. Even today when someone asks what I do, I say I'm a writer. If they ask for more details, I'll explain that I write fiction. If they want more, then I tell them I write novels, etc.
Renée Rosen
Hi Cat! Welcome to the wonderful world of historical fiction. I have learned so much by reading in the genre. Thanks for reading WHITE COLLAR GIRL. I first got the idea of using a newspaper as the backdrop for a novel and then the story really started to come together when Jordan appeared on the page. She was inspired by Marion Purcelli who was a "copy boy" at the Chicago Tribune in the 1940s and worked her way to being an editor. Marion is 90 years young and was so gracious with her time and input. I can't wait to go visit her once it's safe to do so. Thanks for your question and for reading!
Renée Rosen
Hi Mary,
All my books are available at all major book retailers and through independent booksellers. If you're ordering online, I highly recommend Bookshop.org and IndieBound as they support the local booksellers who so desperately need our help these days. If you're looking for a signed copy of The Social Graces, you can pre-order it here: https://www.bookcellarinc.com/book/97... They ship anywhere in the US. Thanks and happy reading! Renee
All my books are available at all major book retailers and through independent booksellers. If you're ordering online, I highly recommend Bookshop.org and IndieBound as they support the local booksellers who so desperately need our help these days. If you're looking for a signed copy of The Social Graces, you can pre-order it here: https://www.bookcellarinc.com/book/97... They ship anywhere in the US. Thanks and happy reading! Renee
Renée Rosen
Hi Kelly,
Thanks so much for taking the time to reach out to me and I apologize for the delay. I've been traveling a lot with Park Avenue Summer and am still playing catch up with emails and such. I'm so glad you've enjoyed the previous book and especially the strong female characters. I have more coming up for you. Right now I'm finishing up my next novel, The Social Graces (coming 1/21) and it tells the story of Mrs. Astor and Alva Vanderbilt vying for control of New York society during the gilded age. These are two very different, but equally strong women. I'm having great fun with the research and the writing. Learned so much about that very rich (no pun intended) time period. Stay tuned for more details! Thanks again and happy reading!
Thanks so much for taking the time to reach out to me and I apologize for the delay. I've been traveling a lot with Park Avenue Summer and am still playing catch up with emails and such. I'm so glad you've enjoyed the previous book and especially the strong female characters. I have more coming up for you. Right now I'm finishing up my next novel, The Social Graces (coming 1/21) and it tells the story of Mrs. Astor and Alva Vanderbilt vying for control of New York society during the gilded age. These are two very different, but equally strong women. I'm having great fun with the research and the writing. Learned so much about that very rich (no pun intended) time period. Stay tuned for more details! Thanks again and happy reading!
Renée Rosen
Oooh, that's a really interesting question. One unresolved possibility could be... What really happened to my grandmother's harp and grand piano? She was my father's mother. Studied at Julliard and was an enormously talented harpist and pianist. She died young and tragically (which could be another book) and they sold her harp and piano. My father was on a quest for years trying to find them and buy them back. They're still out there somewhere.
Renée Rosen
What a fun question! While I can't say it's the healthiest of relationships. I have to admit that I've always been enthralled by Pip and Estella in Great Expectations.
She's positively horrid to him and yet poor Pip can't stay away from her. This is one of those "crazy, madly in love, going out of my mind without you" kind of love story. Thanks to Dickens' immense talent we feel Pip's frustration and pain over his pursuit of this bad girl.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that at some point we've probably all gone a little off the deep end in pursuit of love so we can identify with Pip's desperation. I'm thinking this might just be the perfect read in time for Valentine's Day.
She's positively horrid to him and yet poor Pip can't stay away from her. This is one of those "crazy, madly in love, going out of my mind without you" kind of love story. Thanks to Dickens' immense talent we feel Pip's frustration and pain over his pursuit of this bad girl.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that at some point we've probably all gone a little off the deep end in pursuit of love so we can identify with Pip's desperation. I'm thinking this might just be the perfect read in time for Valentine's Day.
Renée Rosen
Hi Laurie--thanks for the question and thanks also for your thoughtful review of WHITE COLLAR GIRL. You raised a lot of interesting points that I'll keep in mind for the future.
As for which book I preferred writing--that's really hard to say. Both books were written under such different circumstances. I worked on DOLLFACE for ten years while I was trying to find an agent and publisher. Compare that to working on WHITE COLLAR GIRL which I wrote in about a year--since I was working on that full time. My gangsters and gun molls in DOLLFACE were living in my head for a decade. But...I had a great time diving into the world of newspapers in the 1950s. There's a thread of a mystery in WHITE COLLAR GIRL that took me by surprise and that was a fun challenge to figure out.
I think what happens for me is that the book I love writing the most is the book I'm currently working on. I've just finished WINDY CITY BLUES which comes out in February. I LOVED writing this book about Chess Records and the Blues. Chess Records was started by two Polish Immigrants who knew nothing about music and went on to produce Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Chuck Berry, Etta James, etc. etc. Their true story is amazing in and of itself and then I wove two fictional characters around that, the story of a white woman who works at Chess who falls in love with a black blues man. Being an interracial couple in the 1950s was not an easy thing to do. Together they find themselves on the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement. This book changed the way I listen to music and opened my eyes to issues of race, then and now.
As you can see, I could go on and on about WINDY CITY BLUES. But to circle back around to your question, I think both books presented challenges and opportunities. I loved writing both of them, but for very different reasons.
Can't wait to see what you think of DOLLFACE--keep me posted and thanks again for the question and your review!
As for which book I preferred writing--that's really hard to say. Both books were written under such different circumstances. I worked on DOLLFACE for ten years while I was trying to find an agent and publisher. Compare that to working on WHITE COLLAR GIRL which I wrote in about a year--since I was working on that full time. My gangsters and gun molls in DOLLFACE were living in my head for a decade. But...I had a great time diving into the world of newspapers in the 1950s. There's a thread of a mystery in WHITE COLLAR GIRL that took me by surprise and that was a fun challenge to figure out.
I think what happens for me is that the book I love writing the most is the book I'm currently working on. I've just finished WINDY CITY BLUES which comes out in February. I LOVED writing this book about Chess Records and the Blues. Chess Records was started by two Polish Immigrants who knew nothing about music and went on to produce Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Chuck Berry, Etta James, etc. etc. Their true story is amazing in and of itself and then I wove two fictional characters around that, the story of a white woman who works at Chess who falls in love with a black blues man. Being an interracial couple in the 1950s was not an easy thing to do. Together they find themselves on the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement. This book changed the way I listen to music and opened my eyes to issues of race, then and now.
As you can see, I could go on and on about WINDY CITY BLUES. But to circle back around to your question, I think both books presented challenges and opportunities. I loved writing both of them, but for very different reasons.
Can't wait to see what you think of DOLLFACE--keep me posted and thanks again for the question and your review!
Renée Rosen
Ha! Gotta have a question mark, right?
Renée Rosen
Hi Elizabeth--I already have you on the galley list for WINDY CITY BLUES. You've been so supportive of all my books and I truly appreciate it. I hope you'll enjoy this new one just as much---I just turned in the first draft and am now eagerly awaiting revisions. I really fell in love with the Blues while working on this book--I'll never hear music quite the same way again.
Stay tuned for updates--we'll have a cover coming soon!!! :)
Stay tuned for updates--we'll have a cover coming soon!!! :)
Renée Rosen
Hi Amanda--I usually start with a basic google search of the subject just to see what's already out there and from there I go down the rabbit hole! I'll read any biographies or non-fiction that's out there and then I get a sense of my next step. Maybe there's a building I need to go see or track down a person or their relatives.
I've also found that once I "put it out there" and let people know what I'm writing about--help comes from the most unexpected places. For example, when I was researching for my new book WHITE COLLAR GIRL about the newspaper industry in the 1950s, out of the blue I was invited to "crash" a reunion party of ex-Tribune reporters from the 50s, 60s and 70s. Now that I'm telling people about my next on the Blues and Chess Records--people are "showing up" again to help connect me to the right people.
I'd say get a basic understanding of your subject and the people and then drill down and be open to anyone and everyone who can point you in the right direction. Hope this helps! Good luck!
I've also found that once I "put it out there" and let people know what I'm writing about--help comes from the most unexpected places. For example, when I was researching for my new book WHITE COLLAR GIRL about the newspaper industry in the 1950s, out of the blue I was invited to "crash" a reunion party of ex-Tribune reporters from the 50s, 60s and 70s. Now that I'm telling people about my next on the Blues and Chess Records--people are "showing up" again to help connect me to the right people.
I'd say get a basic understanding of your subject and the people and then drill down and be open to anyone and everyone who can point you in the right direction. Hope this helps! Good luck!
Renée Rosen
Hi Amber--
Thanks for your question! I'm so glad you enjoyed Dollface. I fell in love with the Roaring Twenties and was fascinated by the research for that book!
As for what you should read next... What The Lady Wants is currently out in paperback. It was published last November (also from Penguin/NAL) Like Dollface it's set in Chicago and tells the story of retail tycoon, Marshall Field and his 30 year love affair with his neighbor, Chicago socialite, Delia Spencer Caton. It opens with the Great Fire of 1871 and spans through the early 1900s. Lots of history on the 1893 World's Fair, the Haymarket Riots and the growth of Chicago's beloved department store (Marshall Field's & Co.)
And lastly, I can't believe I'm only three months away from the publication of my newest novel, White Collar Girl--out November 3rd. We pitched this as Mad Men meets House of Cards. It's set in Chicago in the 1950s against the backdrop of the Chicago Tribune and the Daley Machine. It deals with an ambitious female journalist trying to break into the male dominated world of reporting. It's full of lots of juicy real-life scandals and has a bit of a mystery running through it. I'm told it's my best writing to date so I'm very excited to tell people about that one. (BTW--I heard Amazon had it marked down to $7.99 for the e-book.)
So that was a long winded answer for you! :) In the meantime I hope you'll check out What The Lady Wants and that you'll enjoy it as much as you did Dollface.
Thanks again for your question--happy readings to you!
Thanks for your question! I'm so glad you enjoyed Dollface. I fell in love with the Roaring Twenties and was fascinated by the research for that book!
As for what you should read next... What The Lady Wants is currently out in paperback. It was published last November (also from Penguin/NAL) Like Dollface it's set in Chicago and tells the story of retail tycoon, Marshall Field and his 30 year love affair with his neighbor, Chicago socialite, Delia Spencer Caton. It opens with the Great Fire of 1871 and spans through the early 1900s. Lots of history on the 1893 World's Fair, the Haymarket Riots and the growth of Chicago's beloved department store (Marshall Field's & Co.)
And lastly, I can't believe I'm only three months away from the publication of my newest novel, White Collar Girl--out November 3rd. We pitched this as Mad Men meets House of Cards. It's set in Chicago in the 1950s against the backdrop of the Chicago Tribune and the Daley Machine. It deals with an ambitious female journalist trying to break into the male dominated world of reporting. It's full of lots of juicy real-life scandals and has a bit of a mystery running through it. I'm told it's my best writing to date so I'm very excited to tell people about that one. (BTW--I heard Amazon had it marked down to $7.99 for the e-book.)
So that was a long winded answer for you! :) In the meantime I hope you'll check out What The Lady Wants and that you'll enjoy it as much as you did Dollface.
Thanks again for your question--happy readings to you!
Renée Rosen
Hi Lisa--I'm so glad you enjoyed WHAT THE LADY WANTS and thanks for reaching out to me. As someone who has a great deal of respect for people who write narrative non-fiction, I tried wherever possible to stay true to the facts. However, Marshall Field and Delia Caton were notoriously private people and that's where the fiction came in. I just had to put some meat on the bones of those characters, but tried to do so in a way that seemed plausible. At the end of the book, you'll find an author's note where I tried to separate the fact from the fiction. Hope that answers your question and again, thanks for reaching out to me!
Renée Rosen
Working from home in my bathrobe! No, seriously, the best part is the writing. The actual crafting of the story, and getting to know new characters. They become like friends and they take you on a journey. It's a pretty extraordinary way to spend your day.
Renée Rosen
Aside from the usual, read, write, repeat, I think you have to truly believe that it's going to happen for you. You need to learn from every rejection and setback and keep forging ahead. If you need to hire an outside editor, or need to find a critique partner--do it. Do whatever it takes and never, ever stop believing in yourself.
Renée Rosen
Right now I'm working on my next book, ABOVE THE FOLD about a young female reporter at the Chicago Tribune during the 1950s who struggles to cover hard news in her male dominated field. I'm super excited about this book. It'll be published in November 2015 by Penguin/New American Library.
Renée Rosen
Reading! Each time I sit down with a good book, I find myself inspired. The poetry of the language, a certain character, a plot twist--all that I find really inspirational. Oh, and I also can't not write. I've tried and it doesn't work for me.
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