Julie Valerie
Author Interview - Julie Valerie
Author of THE PECULIAR FATE OF HOLLY BANKS
“A wife, mother, and aspiring filmmaker clings to the pursuit of perfection only to have fate play with every plan she’s made in this quirky, contemplative, and empowering novel.
Holly Banks is on a desperate mission to have it all, but nothing in life goes according to plan. She’s quickly learning that keeping up with the Joneses is a full-time job, especially when the women of Primm, her new neighborhood, seem to have it together all the time.
With her husband’s job in flux, her daughter’s difficulty with learning to read, and her mother’s new zest for dating, Holly’s life is already anything but picture perfect. Then her dog digs up an old artifact in the village center, and the mishap draws the attention of local media. Because of course it would.
Holly finds herself at the center of a mystery between two rival towns that, if solved, could change the Village of Primm forever. Attention is the last thing she needs as she’s launching a new business, the village-wide “Parade of Homes” is approaching—though she’s hardly unpacked—and she needs to submit her entry for an upcoming film festival. Can Holly still create her perfect (looking) life? Or is fate about to go off script and give her a story she never could have imagined?”
Author Interview - Julie Valerie
Author I draw inspiration from: Series authors like Helen Fielding and Sophie Kinsella inspire me because they've created main characters that not only carry the series and capture the hearts of readers, but they've also created characters that have become household names within their genre (Fielding's "Bridget Jones" of BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY fame and Kinsella's "Becky Bloomwood" from the long-running SHOPAHOLIC series). I also draw inspiration from series authors like Jan Karon (AT HOME IN MITFORD series) for creating an enduring village filled with characters that readers care about and want to return to again and again.
Author Interview - Julie Valerie
Favorite place to read a book: I love reading in the cozy chair beside the fireplace in my family room with a blanket on my lap, a cup of tea by my side, and my two dogs at my feet.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: I'd love to be stuck in an elevator with Kate Reddy, the central character in Allison Pearson's I DON'T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT and HOW HARD CAN IT BE?. I'll read anything by Allison Pearson. And though we don't know each other, I find it so funny that my name appears in this sentence in HOW HARD CAN IT BE?: "So, thinking they might be spared some jealously if I had an investment in the new arrival, my parents christened her Julie Valerie Reddy and she has never let me forget it."
Author Interview - Julie Valerie
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: I grew up writing "novels" in spiral notebooks, but it was in college after reading A.A. Milne's WINNIE-THE-POOH and THE HOUSE AT POOH CORNER (the original children's classic with illustrations by Ernest H. Shepard, not the Pooh created in recent years by Disney) that sealed the deal for me. I couldn't believe how lifelike the characters were. I remember looking closely at the words, thinking how amazing it was that black ink on white paper could create something so real. From that moment forward, I took my writing life seriously and began studying fiction and the craft of writing.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook: Hardback when curating books for my personal library, paperback when reading, audiobooks when driving, walking, or running errands.
The last book I read: Right now, I’m reading an advanced copy of Sara Goodman Confino’s FOR THE LOVE OF FRIENDS. It releases in 2021, and it’s such a great read.
Author Interview - Julie Valerie
Pen & paper or computer: Both. Computer mostly, but I always have pens and paper next to my laptop when I need to sort my thoughts and figure out what I want to say or how I want to say it. I often draw, sketch, and collect words on paper. I find keeping my hands busy with many mediums gives my brain more avenues for expression.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with: Bee Branch, the daughter in WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE by Maria Semple because I love the way she assembles her storytelling.
Author Interview - Julie Valerie
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a: an aspiring author.
Favorite decade in fashion history: Great question! (And I'll use my bachelor of fine arts degree in fashion and my experience as an international trend forecaster and fashion merchandising professor at the college level to answer it.) I think 1960s color-blocking and the high empire waistlines found on both A-line and box-silhouette babydoll dresses popularized by Twiggy during the Second Wave of Feminism are timeless approaches to fashion in both color and silhouette that would look fresh in almost any decade.
Place I’d most like to travel: I've enjoyed extensive travel throughout my life, but there's one place that's always been on the bucket list that I still haven't visited: Alaska. My dream is to spend a year of my life in a small but beautiful Alaskan cabin with a great view. I suspect I'd get a lot of writing done there.
My signature drink: I love and study wine—my favorite red would probably be a Pinot Noir from either Burgundy, France, or Willamette Valley, Oregon. In whites? I've fallen in love with German and Austrian Rhine and Mosel River Rieslings. That said, I think New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs fermented in stainless steel pair beautifully with Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. In dessert wines, I always have a bottle of Paxxito/Malvaxia at the ready from Barboursville Vineyard, one of my favorite vineyards in the Charlottesville AVA of Virginia.
Favorite artist: I studied Art History in college and always found the cave paintings intrigued me most. Who were the men and women who left their mark all those years ago, and what were their lives like? What would they say if someone told them their handprints and depictions of the hunt would be studied by humans 44,000 years into the future?
Number one on my bucket list: Number one on my bucket list has always been to publish a novel. Now that my second novel releases November 24, 2020, I suppose I need to find a new number one!
Anything else you'd like to add: HOLLY BANKS FULL OF ANGST, the first installment in the Village of Primm series, released last year with Lake Union Publishing.
Find more from the author:
Website & Newsletter: julievalerie.com
Facebook & Instagram: @julievalerieauthor
Pinterest & Twitter: @julie_valerie
Author Bio: Julie Valerie is the bestselling author of Holly Banks Full of Angst, Book 1 in the Village of Primm series. She serves on the board of directors for James River Writers; earned an editing certificate from the University of Chicago Graham School; and has a master’s degree in education, a bachelor of fine arts in fashion, and certification in wilderness first aid. A former trend forecaster, Julie enjoys books, the study of wine, hikes on the Appalachian Trail, and travel. She married her college sweetheart, and they live in Virginia with their four children and two English Labradors. The Peculiar Fate of Holly Banks, a standalone second installment in the Village of Primm series, releases November 24, 2020, with Lake Union Publishing. Subscribe to her newsletter and learn more about Julie at julievalerie.com.
