A Goodreads user
asked
Renée Rosen:
Hi Renee! Thanks for the friendship! Yes! I do have Dollface on my shelf to read and I DID READ White Collar Girl and I posted the review on it's release date of Nov 3, 2015! You can find it here on Goodreads OR go to my blog here: http://www.lauriehere.com/2015/11/review-white-collar-girl-novel-by-renee.html Which did you prefer writing the most?
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!
More Answered Questions
The Reader
asked
Renée Rosen:
This is a reading and a writing question. As a writer, how do you decide what to read next? And why? And as a reader, like the rest of us, how do you decide what to read next? And why? Any examples? Hope these questions make sense. I ask because you post what you read here on the site, which is cool.
Rosemary
asked
Renée Rosen:
I enjoyed "Let's Call Her Barbie" and wondered what year you were born?That author information used to be on the "Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data" on the Copyright Page and I am just curious. I was born in 1951 and got one of the first Barbies. Thank you from Rosemary
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