AMERICAN HISTORICAL NOVELS discussion

Hello Laurel & thank you for hosting this week! To start, can you please tell us a little about yourself and your novel?


First of all, I am a very, very late bloomer. (See “When did you know you wanted to become a writer,” below). It took me more than half a century to act on my deep desire to write a novel, although it was really the one thing I always wanted to do. Life does have a way of intervening with dreams, doesn’t it? Like all of you, I’ve had many ups and downs: a happy childhood spent in Rhode Island and Oklahoma; a brief marriage when I was young – followed by fourteen years as a single mother; I had many and various jobs, mostly in the educational world; and now have been married to a very good man for twenty-one years (thereby beating my previous record tenfold!).

So, anyway, about the novel! Here is the official publisher’s description:

The Velveteen Daughter reveals for the first time the true story of two remarkable women: Margery Williams Bianco, the author of one of the most beloved children's books of all time,The Velveteen Rabbit,and her daughter Pamela, a world-renowned child prodigy artist whose fame at one time greatly eclipses her mother's. But celebrity at such an early age exacts a great toll. Pamela's dreams elude her as she struggles with severe depressions, an overbearing father, an obsessive love affair, and a spectacularly misguided marriage. Throughout, her life raft is her mother.
The glamorous art world of Europe and New York in the early 20th century and a supporting cast of luminaries—Eugene O'Neill and his wife Agnes (Margery's niece), Pablo Picasso, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, and Richard Hughes, author of A High Wind in Jamaica—provide a vivid backdrop to the Biancos' story. From the opening pages, the novel will captivate readers with its multifaceted and resonates with its multifaceted and illuminating observations on art, family, and the consequences of genius touched by madness.


How were you inspired to write THE VELVETEEEN DAUGHTER?

THE VELVETEEN DAUGHTER was born of a fluke. In the summer of 2006 I was trying to work on another novel, but I was doing more procrastinating than working. One day, to take a “break” I took a favorite childhood book of mine off a nearby shelf. It was “Beginning With A,” written and illustrated by Pamela Bianco. I’d always loved the drawings and thought I’d Google the author’s name to see if she had published other books. One of the first things that came up was a brief bio on a print dealer’s site that said Pamela had been a child prodigy artist in England at the age of 12. So I kept Googling…. I became totally obsessed. And ten years later the book was finished.


Can you give us insight into your writing process?

Struggle. Lots of struggle. But I truly love it. I pretty much do all my writing very early in the morning because that’s when my brain works best. I write on the computer, but when I want to take a close look for editing, I always print out the text so I can read it like a real book. And when I feel it’s pretty polished, I read it aloud – you catch an awful lot of awkward mistakes that way!


What type of research did you do for writing THE VELVETEEN DAUGHTER?

That question would require a book-length answer because I have so many anecdotes – maybe I will be able to share a few during this week. The short answer is: college libraries for letter collections, emails with a rare book dealer, visiting art storage areas at the MOMA and The Smithsonian, old newspapers on microfiche, letters from The Tate Museum in London and, of course, the internet. I drove all over - from NJ to Indiana to upstate NY to DC and more. And I got such lovely things in the mail – nothing beats getting a large envelope from The New York Public Library full of surprises!


Did you find anything in your research that was particularly fascinating or that helped shaped the novel?

Oh my gosh, SO many things! (see anecdote reference above) – but one of the most incredible things was discovering three pages of descriptions (from three different sources) of Pamela Bianco’s wedding in Harlem in 1931 in the back of a very obscure book of poetry written by her husband. Many of the colorful details made their way into the book – and it was so gratifying to know that the wedding scene was accurate, even down to the dialogue.


What was your favorite scene to write?

A scene towards the end of the book when Pamela walks around a corner in Greenwich Village and discovers something that totally shakes her and makes her see everything differently. I can’t say more or it would be a huge spoiler – but I sort of got tingles as I wrote it.


What was the most difficult scene to write?

The opening scene. I probably wrote it 4,523 times. Or more.


When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

The precise moment was when I was on a trip in a car when I was eight years old. Sounds hokey, I know, but it’s more or less true. At least I had a feeling I couldn’t shake, even if I couldn’t really name it. If you are really interested, I tell the story on my website: laureldavishuber.com


What has been your greatest challenge as a writer? Have you been able to overcome it?

Believing in myself. I think most writers would say this. But yes, I am happy to say I’ve overcome it.


Who are your writing inspirations?

I loved A.S. Byatt’s Possession – a very literary mystery. More recent writers are Anthony Doerr (All The Light We Cannot See) – his novel actually had a profound impact on the structure of my novel in its final iteration, and Rachel Kadish – if you haven’t read The Weight of Ink you should!


What was the first historical novel you read?

Clara Barton, Girl Nurse. I was probably nine or ten. Oh, how I wanted to be a brave nurse! It was part of a series and I don’t know the author’s name – it was also so long ago I would be embarrassed to mention the date.


What is the last historical novel you read?

The Masterpiece by Fiona Davis. I love books that combine history with stories of art and artists –this one revolves around an art school that was in Grand Central Station in the 1930s. Susan Vreeland was so wonderful writing in this genre and I miss her.


What are three things people may not know about you?

Well I’m guessing most people reading this don’t know me too well, so the field’s open on that one. Hmm…okay, 1) I eat WAY too many sweet things – I’m more or less addicted to cookies (have you tried Lemon Oreos?!?); 2) I always write notes when I take my daily walks – I can often work out impasses in my writing when I’m out and about; and 3) I don’t have a fear of water but I do have recurring dreams in which, in various scenarios, water is surrounding me and I cannot escape (maybe that’s why I eat so many cookies…). Anyone else have those dreams?


What appeals to you most about your chosen genre?

Writing about actual historical figures has a huge appeal to me yet, ironically, it also poses the most challenges. I try my hardest to write good fiction while sticking as close to the truth as I can. I do not want to falsely represent or do a disservice to my characters who, after all, were real people. In other words, the flow of the story is important but I won’t make up something that sounds like a great plot point if I don’t think the characters would have done/said such a thing in real life.


What historical time period do you gravitate towards the most with your personal reading?

I could never choose one - I am just as fascinated by ancient Egypt or medieval England as I am by Tsarist Russia or the Harlem Renaissance.


What do you like to do when you aren't writing?

Besides eating cookies? A little (really a very little) yoga, a lot of walking, and I’m really good at taking up hobbies and then abandoning them - beading, painting rocks, etc.


Last, will you have more projects in the future?

I am pretty far along on a second novel and have made inroads into a third. Not a good idea probably to have two books swirling around in my head at once, but it just happened. (I am going to leave the topics of these novels a mystery for now.)


The Velveteen Daughter
Laurel Davis Huber

I look forward to reading this book!

Rina wrote: "I look forward to reading this book!"
Thank you, Rina!

Martha wrote: "Hello Laurel & thank you for hosting this week! To start, can you please tell us a little about yourself and your novel?


First of all, I am a very, very ..."

Hi!

Rhonda wrote: "Hi!"
Hi back at you, Rhonda!