407: Public vs. Private Personas: Crafting a Novel Based on Historical Figures - Interview with Leslie Johansen Nack

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Leslie Johansen Nack. 

Leslie’s newest book, The Blue Butterfly, A Novel of Marion Davies, comes out next week and it’s what we are going to be discussing today. Her debut is a memoir titled Fourteen, A Daughter’s Memoir of Adventure, Sailing, and Survival. It received five indie awards, including the 2016 Finalist in Memoir at the Next Generation Indie Book Award.

Leslie says she did everything late in life, including getting her degree in English Literature from UCLA at age thirty-one. Before she started writing, she raised two children, ran a mechanical engineering business with her husband, took care of her aging mother, and dreamed of retirement when she could write full-time. She currently lives in San Diego and—in addition to writing—she enjoys sailing, hiking, and reading.

 

In this episode Leslie Johansen Nack and I discuss: Why she leaned into fiction for this project as opposed to writing a biography. Her research process and how she chose which scenes to fictionalize. How she balanced writing about the public and private personas of her characters.

 

Plus, her #1 tip for writers.

For more info and show notes: diymfa.com/407