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| Credit: Yoshie Villarie |
Nicola Harrison is the author of Montauk, The Show Girl, Hotel Laguna and The Island Club. Born and raised in England, she moved with her family to Southern California when she was 14. She is a graduate of UCLA and received her MFA in Creative Writing from Stony Brook University. Prior to writing novels she worked as a fashion journalist in New York City, where she lived for 17 years. Now she resides in Manhattan Beach, California, with her husband, two sons and a high maintenance chihuahua named Lily.
1956: On idyllic Balboa Island, just off the California coast, life seems peaceful and welcoming. But when the lives of three women begin to unravel in shockingly different ways, an unlikely friendship—and the game of tennis—may be the only thing that can save them.
Milly Kinkaid's plan to fix her crumbling marriage seems to be falling apart before it even begins. She believed that moving her young family from Hollywood to Balboa Island might entice her increasingly distant husband to come home earlier after work. Instead, he's barely coming home at all.
Society matriarch Sylvia Johnson and her husband have been pillars of their community for decades, and have just recently begun a new business venture: The Island Club, a place for members to swim, play tennis and dine in style. But when she learns that he has been risking their financial security and putting their family's future in grave danger, she's not only poised to lose the club, but the entire community she holds dear.
Meanwhile, standoffish loner Adele Lambert's entire world is on the brink of being destroyed if the dark secrets of her past and her hidden identity is revealed. Twenty years ago, she ran from a shameful scandal and left behind the only thing she ever loved. Now, terrified that the anonymity she's spent decades guarding will be exposed, but desperate to stay afloat, she risks everything to return to the game that brought her to her knees all those years before.
Set against the sun-drenched beaches of Balboa Island, with its prim and proper 1950s facade, The Island Club is a story of love, loneliness and the lies we tell ourselves—and what can be gained when the truth is finally revealed. (Courtesy of Amazon.)
"The Island Club is a Carrie Soto is Back meets Big Little Lies delight that will exceed all reader expectations!"
―Lynda Cohen Loigman, USA Today bestselling author
"A story of the power of friendship, the defiance of societal expectations, and the finding of one's true self."
― Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author
"A beautifully written nuanced story that explores the power of female friendship."
―Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author
"The perfect summer read . . . for anyone who loves a smart, juicy escape!"
―Kristy Woodson Harvey, New York Times bestselling author
What is one thing you'd tell the debut novelist version of yourself?
I would say: Trust your instincts. You’ll spend a lot of time second guessing yourself, but that original spark of an idea, that reason you starting this story, is usually right. There’s a subconscious reason or need for you to delve into this story at this time in your life. Writing is how you figure out the world around you.
I would say: Trust your instincts. You’ll spend a lot of time second guessing yourself, but that original spark of an idea, that reason you starting this story, is usually right. There’s a subconscious reason or need for you to delve into this story at this time in your life. Writing is how you figure out the world around you.
Which of the three women in The Island Club did you identify with the most?
Oh, I think there’s a little of all three women in me for different reasons but I identify most with Milly the young hassled mother to two. Her story is set in the 1950s a time when the idealized image of the selfless, smiling housewife was at its height. Women were expected to raise perfectly well-behaved children, maintain immaculate homes, and keep up appearances, all while suppressing their own dreams. And while we have certainly come a long way since then, women still carry the weight of the world of their shoulders, maintaining households, raising children – there so much unseen labor that goes into being a woman and mother these days. I wanted to explore the pressure women feel to be everything to everyone.
If The Island Club were made into a movie, what are some songs that would be on the soundtrack?
If The Island Club were a movie, I’d lean heavily into that dreamy, nostalgic 1950s beach-town energy. In the novel – and in real life during the forties and fifties - college students flocked to Balboa Island for Spring Break spending their nights at the iconic Rendezvous Ballroom where big bands played and everyone danced until the wee hours. I’d definitely include "Earth Angel" by the Penguins, "Little Darlin'" by The Diamonds, "Fever" by Peggy Lee, and "Jailhouse Rock" by Elvis Presley – all songs that capture the mix of romance, rebellion and late night magic on the dance floor.
What is something you are looking forward to this summer?
I’m really excited about my book tour (my mom is coming along to keep me company which makes it even more special). We’ll be visiting thirteen different cities in fifteen days, so it’s going to be a whirlwind but a fun one. After that I’m very much looking forward to a slower pace, a relaxing, hopefully beachy family vacation where no one needs anything from me, I don’t have to nag my kids about homework, and I can sit in the sun and read books all day someplace warm.
If your life was a TV series, which celebrity would you want to narrate it?
If my life were a TV series, I’d choose Julia Whelan to narrate it. She’s technically an audiobook narrator, but in my eyes she’s absolutely a celebrity. Her voice just brings stories to life in such a compelling, emotional way. I feel like she’d add the perfect mix of warmth and wit to all the highs and lows.
If we were to visit you right now, what are some places you would take us to see?
I would definitely take you to Balboa Island, the setting of my novel, a tiny, walkable island in Newport Beach, California, just forty-five minutes from where I live. First we’d cross over on the historic ferry, which has been running since 1919, just eight-hundred feet across the harbor and I’d show you the charming cottages from the 1920s and 1930s on the streets are named after gemstones. We’d walk to the main street and try the famous Balboa Frozen Banana dipped in chocolate and nuts, then we’d rent a little Duffy boat to cruise around the island and check out the million-dollar yachts while sipping Rose. How does that sound?
Thanks to Nicola for chatting with us and to St. Martin's Press for sharing her book with our readers.
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4 comments:
My ideal vacation would be to go to a mountain cabin by a running stream, where I can sit on the porch and read and watch my granddaughter play in the wildflowers.
My ideal vacation would be cruising with family.
My ideal vacation would include sunshine, sand and endless stacks of beach reads! My family could come along too, but they would need to be quiet.
My ideal vacation would be to go to the mountains and experience nature.
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