Gill Paul
Author Interview - Gill Paul
Author of THE COLLECTOR’S DAUGHTER, THE LOST DAUGHTER, JACKIE AND MARIA, THE MANHATTAN GIRLS, A BEAUTIFUL RIVAL and SCANDALOUS WOMEN
About SCANDALOUS WOMEN:
1966, NYC: Jacqueline Susann’s Valley of the Dolls hits the bookstores and she is desperate for a bestseller. It’s steamy, it’s a page-turner, but will it make the big money she needs? In London, Jackie Collins’s racy The World Is Full of Married Men launches her career. But neither author is prepared for the price they will pay for being women who dare to write about sex.
Jacqueline and Jackie are lambasted by the literary establishment, deluged with hate mail, and even condemned by feminists. In public, both women shoulder the outcry with dignity; in private, they are crumbling—particularly since they have secrets they don’t want splashed across the front pages.
1965, NYC: College graduate Nancy White is excited to take up her dream job at a Manhattan publishing house, but she could never be prepared for the rampant sexism she will encounter. While working on Valley of the Dolls, she becomes friends with Jacqueline Susann, and, after reaching out to Jackie Collins about a US deal, she is responsible for the two authors meeting.
Will the two Jackies clash as they race to top the charts? Will Nancy achieve her ambition of becoming an editor, despite all the men determined to hold her back? Three women struggle to succeed in a man’s world, while desperately trying to protect those they love the most.
Author Interview - Gill Paul
About A BEAUTIFUL RIVAL:
This is the story of two self-made millionaire women who founded global beauty empires in an era when women were expected to prioritize being wives and mothers. Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein were determined to succeed and convinced women to buy their skincare products. Despite their similarities and shared industry, they became bitter rivals, engaging in cutthroat business tactics and personal attacks. This novel explores the passion, ambition, and bitterness of these two iconic women as they each try to live the American dream.
Author Interview - Gill Paul
Author I draw inspiration from:
Hazel Gaynor. I love everything she writes, from novels to social media posts.
Author Interview - Gill Paul | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
In bed, with tea.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
Hermione Grainger from the Harry Potter series because she could magic the elevator into moving again (Harry’s spells too often went wrong).
Author Interview - Gill Paul | Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
When I was eight and wrote a magazine for the neighbors, the die was pretty much cast.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
Paperback for pleasure, ebook for research, hardback for the authors I love so much I just can’t wait.
The last book I read:
Author Interview - Gill Paul | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
Both. I alternate between them for each draft.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
Can I choose Alice Roosevelt from Stephanie Marie Thornton’s American Princess? I’d love to be best friends with her.
Author Interview - Gill Paul | Book character I think I’d be best friends with
If I wasn’t an author, I’d be a:
Doctor. I studied Medicine at uni before managing to leap sideways into the arts.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
The 1930s. I’m a sucker for a bias-cut tea dress.
Place I’d most like to travel:
I have a hankering to visit Burma, but back in the 1930s, as it is portrayed in Dinah Jefferies’ The Missing Sister.
Author Interview - Gill Paul | Place I’d Most Like to Travel
My signature drink:
It changes but this summer it’s the Aperol Spritz.
Favorite artist:
My partner, Karel Bata.
Number one on my bucket list:
I want a bigger apartment, but it has to be in the exact same area, close to the beautiful pond where I swim every day year round.
Anything else you'd like to add:
“The universe is made of stories, not atoms.” Love this quote from Beat poet Muriel Rukeyser.
Find more from Gill Paul:
My website is at www.gillpaul.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GillPaulAUTHOR
Facebook: www.facebook.com/GillPaulAuthor/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/gill.paul1/
Gill Paul is also the author of The Lost Daughter: The book discusses two different time periods and the lives of two different women. The first woman is Grand Duchess Maria Romanov, daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, who lives in isolation with her family in 1918. Her life is filled with boredom and fear, and she engages in secret flirtations with some of her guards. The second woman is Val Doyle, who discovers a mysterious confession from her father in 1973. This confession leads Val on a quest to uncover the truth about her past, which ultimately involves the mystery of what happened to Grand Duchess Maria.
Author Interview - Gill Paul
