"How long did it take you to write it?"
It's a question I get all the time since my novel American Socialite was published this summer. The answer is harder to give than it seems. Although I started writing American Socialite in December of 2018 and finished my final revision in June of 2020, there's a lot more to the story. For the publication of American Socialite marked the end of a journey that began in November of 1997. That may have been a long time ago - who am I kidding, it was - but to me it still seems like yesterday.
It was right around Thanksgiving. Princess Diana had died a few months earlier and the Lewinsky Scandal was a few months away from exploding. I remember it as being a period of brief respite from a deep depression I was in, a time of impending holidays, Jamiroquai, and rumors that James Cameron's upcoming historical film about an ill fated voyage was about to become a box office bomb (so much for the accuracy of box office predictions). Overall, however, I look back on it as a time when I received the most recent issue of American History Illustrated. Actually, it's an article from that particular issue that stays in my mind the most.
For, in the pages of that edition, was a story about an obscure woman who had every right to be well remembered, a scandalous American girl who had made her way into the glamour of European high society. It was a story I found both tragic and comical. Most importantly, though, it was a story that had the WOW factor about it. Here was a person who was bold, charming, glamorous and stubborn all at once. Never had a I read of someone like this before. Her name was Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte, and I was hooked.
I knew right away I had to write about Elizabeth - or Betsy, as she was commonly known. Yet, strangely enough, I never wanted to write a nonfiction work about her. Betsy, who left America on the arm of Napoleon's brother, only to be abandoned, deserved more. After all, even as a deserted wife and mother, Betsy had managed to make herself world renowned - a true celebrity if ever there was one. How then, I wondered, should the subject be treated?
For years, I dreamed of and dabbled with writing out Betsy's story as a screenplay. The whole thing just struck me as very cinematic. The script never came to fruition, though. All these years later, I know why - it's a hard story to write. There isn't only Betsy the scandalous socialite, but also Betsy the political pawn, Betsy the parent, Betsy the business woman and, eventually, Betsy the aging celebrity. No wonder there's so few novels and movies about her - her story is a monster to write in narrative form.
Once I decided to present Betsy's story as a novel, however, the narrative finally took shape. Even more importantly, I was able to see myself in the story. The truth is, I put myself in my fiction. I'm there, whether it's the ballroom, the battlefield, the bedroom, or the kitchen. Fiction isn't only art and entertainment, it's therapy for the author. .
If I can add anything else to this rather odd tale, it's that sometimes it's worth the wait. Whether it's twenty minutes or twenty-plus years, timing can be essential. We writers have to make sure we're writing the right thing at the right time. Also, we can never be afraid to recognize when something - be it an article, situation, or moment in time - grabs us. That something may prove to be invaluable.
*You can buy American Socialite by clicking on the link below:
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