by Gill Paul
When to retell history, when to imagine new scenarios, and who’s safe to use as a subject—author Gill Paul shares 7 tips for fictionalizing real historical characters. View the full article here, published to writersdigest.com.
ABOUT THE MANHATTAN GIRLS:
It’s a 1920s version of Sex and the City, as Dorothy Parker—one of the wittiest women who ever wielded a pen—and her three friends navigate life, love, and careers in New York City. Perfect for fans of Fiona Davis, Beatriz Williams, and Renée Rosen.
NEW YORK CITY 1921: The war is over, fashions are daring, and bootleg liquor is abundant. Here four extraordinary women form a bridge group that grows into a firm friendship.
Dorothy Parker: renowned wit, member of the Algonquin Round Table, and more fragile than she seems. Jane Grant: first female reporter for the New York Times, and determined to launch a new magazine she calls The New Yorker. Winifred Lenihan: beautiful and talented Broadway actress, a casting-couch target. And Peggy Leech: magazine assistant by day, brilliant novelist by night.
Their romances flourish and falter while their goals sometimes seem impossible to reach and their friendship deepens against the backdrop of turbulent New York City, where new speakeasies open and close, jazz music flows through the air, and bathtub gin fills their glasses.
They gossip, they comfort each other, and they offer support through the setbacks. But their biggest challenge is keeping their dear friend Dottie safe from herself.
In this brilliant new novel from the bestselling and acclaimed author of Jackie and Maria and The Secret Wife, readers will fall right into Jazz Age New York and into the inner lives of these groundbreaking, influential women.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Gill Paul is the bestselling author of twelve historical novels, many of them describing real women she thinks have been marginalized or misjudged by historians. The Collector’s Daughter was longlisted for the Historical Writers’ Association Gold Crown in 2021; Women and Children First was shortlisted for the 2013 RNA Epic Novel of the Year award, and No Place for a Lady was shortlisted for a Love Stories award in 2015. Her novels have reached the top of the USA Today, Toronto Globe & Mail and kindle charts, and been translated into twenty-two languages. Gill also writes historical non-fiction, including A History of Medicine in 50 Objects, and she speaks at libraries and literary festivals on subjects ranging from Tutankhamun to the Romanovs. Gill lives in London, where she swims daily in an outdoor pond.
AUTHOR VISITS:
Author visits with Gill Paul are available via NovelNetwork.com.