Lian Dolan is the author of two novels, Elizabeth the First Wife and Helen of Pasadena. She and her sisters created the radio show The Satellite Sisters, and she also is the creator of the website The Chaos Chronicles. She lives in Pasadena, California.
Q: Shakespeare's plays have a big role in Elizabeth the
First Wife. Why did you decide to make your main character a Shakespeare
scholar?
A: I’ve had a lifelong fascination with Shakespeare’s work
and I knew I was writing a novel about family relationships, so it seemed like
a good fit....
But I wanted to find a pop culture angle to make the
material accessible. That’s why Elizabeth Lancaster is equal parts Shakespeare
and US Weekly. Yes, the Bard is
important to her, but so is the Brad (Pitt).
Q: How did you choose "Elizabeth the First Wife"
as the title?
A: I thought it was a nice play on Queen Elizabeth the
First, one of Shakespeare’s muses and patrons and the role that my Elizabeth
created for herself, for better or worse. She married her college sweetheart
and that failed spectacularly, but after the divorced, she was stuck in that
role, the “Wife of” role. A little history, a little modernity.
Q: Do you have a favorite character that you've created?
A: I think it would be hard to sustain writing characters
you didn’t like or enjoy in some one. You live with these characters for a long
time, like years! But, of course,
certain characters seem to write themselves or sneak into your heart in a
certain way.
In Elizabeth the First Wife, I’m partially to the two
romantic male leads, FX and Rafa. FX is a movie star and the ex, so it would
have been pretty easy to make him an egotistical jerk.
But I wanted to capture the idea that people do change and
mature. The guy you dated (or married!) at 20 is probably a very different man
at 35, even if he is an action star.
I’ve met actors and directors who seem to have a little
lucky shadow following them, allowing them to get the work, the fame and the girl
and still be a good guy. That’s what I wanted FX to project, that lucky
confidence.
And with Rafa, the political operative and policy wonk, I
wanted him to be a real man, not perfect, but a grown-up with a demanding work
and a personal life that took a back seat to work. I wrote him for all the
women I know looking for a guy who appreciated their life experience.
Rafa can cook, get his hands dirty and has a romantic
history that’s a little patchy, but he has great forearms, so that’s a plus. I
ended up liking both men a lot—and so do readers.
On the fun side to write, I love Candy, the Disgraced Rose
Queen who is now a society columnist. That’s why she appears in both Helen of
Pasadena and Elizabeth the First Wife. She been to the top of the mountain as a
17-year-old Rose Queen and then travelled down the fast way, an unfortunate
nude photo that went public. As a result, she has nothing to lose. Candy says
everything I think but have too much restraint to say.
Q: Do you know when you start writing a novel how the plot
will develop, or do your characters sometimes surprise you?
A: I am an avid outliner. I have about 70 percent of the
book “figured out’ before I start. But the other 30 percent is the work of
inspiration, unexpected turns and the magic of imagination. It’s the good stuff
that shows up when I’m in the middle of the writing process and the story
starts to overtake my life.
Q: What are you working on now?
I’m working on another novel that I’m calling an art history
caper. I’m just working on the plot now. I’m also developing a TV show that
involves history, romance and archaeology, but I live in Los Angeles where
people do steal your ideas, so that’s all you’ll get out of me.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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