'Meet Me in Monaco' is published here
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| Heather Webb and Hazel Gaynor, on research for their 'Meet Me in Monaco' novel. |
Hazel Gaynor recalls one day during the summer which was a true ‘pinch myself’ moment, writes Brian Byrne. “It was surreal, but it was lovely that these were people who had followed me from the very beginning, and now could come to their local bookstore and meet me.”
That event was just one of 15 such, across six US states over a period of 12 days in July. Hazel and her American co-author of ‘Monaco’ Heather Webb were taking part in the promotional tour for the book following its US launch. “It sounds glamorous, but it was fairly relentless, a lot of travel. I imagine it could be very lonely doing it on your own, but with Heather it was just so much fun. We laughed our way through it.”
The UK and Irish launch of the pair’s second collaboration was this week, on 5 September. Just coincidentally, their first one, ‘Last Christmas in Paris’ published two years ago, got into the USA Today Best Seller list last week. “So altogether it has been a very exciting time.”
Heather had previously crossed the Atlantic to meet up with Hazel for some 'on the ground' research for the book. Obviously set in Monaco, so that’s where they went for a week. “We had written the last couple of drafts for revision, and though the book is set in the 1950s, we both knew that if you can actually visit where a story is set, it helps to get a geographical sense.”
The story has as background the ‘whirlwind period’ when Hollywood film star Grace Kelly was getting married to Prince Rainier of Monaco, whom she had met just a year previously at the Cannes Film Festival. Choosing something quite different to their previous collaboration was deliberate. “‘Last Christmas in Paris’ was in WW1, in Paris in winter. This time we wanted something in summer, with Hollywood glamour. When Grace Kelly’s name came up in a brainstorming session, we knew it was the one.”
The fictional characters in the novel are a young French perfumer based in Grasse, the perfume capital of Europe in the hills above Monaco, and a British press photographer covering the fairytale wedding. “They are based on real people who would have been around the situation at the time.”
As part of their Monaco trip, Hazel and Heather visited Grasse, and actually made some perfume. So as they were putting the finishing touches to their novel they were able to inject some real experience. “There was an actual perfume commissioned by the royal couple for their wedding, so this was a great help. The perfumer is struggling to make her reputation, and Grace Kelly is sort of a fairy godmother to her in the story.”
Though the razzmatazz around the latest book has been happening only in the last couple of months, it's in the nature of publishing that both authors are already well into their next works, both solo and collaborative.
“Since my last solo book ‘The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter’ was published, I’ve lost about a year of the Hazel Gaynor books, so I’m very happy to be working on my next solo historical novel. Though not officially announced yet, it is set in WW2 and I’m really excited to get behind the scenes of a different period."
Hazel and Heather are also in the early stages of another collaborative project, scheduled for publication in late 2020 or early 2021. “That’s a writer’s life, always working far ahead of publication.”
Hazel’s own writing life has also developed much further along from when she had just one project on the go, relatively easy to manage. Dealing with what has become a ‘juggling act’ means careful scheduling of her time.
“At the moment I try and work Monday and Tuesday on the next book with Heather, and Wednesday through Friday on my own latest book. Then, maybe if I’m up early or when the boys have finished homework or are at sports, I try and do the adminy stuff.”
That ‘adminy stuff’ can include preparing for The Inspiration Project, a series of writing workshops which Hazel founded with two other Irish authors. “I'm also planning festivals — I’m doing the Kildare Readers Festival in October, and the Red Line and the Maeve Binchy Dalkey Festival. I can also be reading another author’s book in prep for an interview. So there’s a lot of non-writing work that has to be done.”
As well, of course, managing life and family within all that, ‘just like with any other job’. Meantime, though, with some signing of 'Meet Me in Monaco' at Woodbine Books for her many local fans, more of the fun stuff has been happening this week.
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