The Heiresses by Allison Rushby
Publication date: May 7th, 2013Publisher: St Martin's PressPages: 352Genre: New Adult HistoricalBuy Now: Amazon | Barnes & NobleIn Allison Rushby's Heiresses, three triplets--estranged since birth--are thrust together in glittering 1926 London to fight for their inheritance, only to learn they can’t trust anyone--least of all each other.
When three teenage girls, Thalia, Erato and Clio, are summoned to the excitement of fast-paced London--a frivolous, heady city full of bright young things--by Hestia, an aunt they never knew they had, they are shocked to learn they are triplets and the rightful heiresses to their deceased mother's fortune. All they need to do is find a way to claim the fortune from their greedy half-brother, Charles. But with the odds stacked against them, coming together as sisters may be harder than they think.
The
Heiresses
Q&A
Q.
Where did you get the inspiration for The
Heiresses?
A.
This
is extremely embarrassing, but I think it was actually from watching
a Dr Phil show, years ago. I can't say too much as it will spoil the
plot completely, but I saw a segment that involved a family and their
genetic makeup and asked my husband (a medical specialist) about it
all that evening. This led me to wondering how this family's scenario
might have played out if genetic testing was not available to them,
which is the case in The
Heiresses,
set in 1920s London.
Q.
What other novels in the New Adult genre would you compare The
Heiresses
to?
A.
I
think the obvious comparison is Anna Godbersen's The
Luxe
series, because of the historical setting and the saga-like plot. I
love all her books!
Q.
What's The
Heiresses
about?
A. The Heiresses revolves around triplets Thalia, Erato and Clio. Estranged since birth, they are thrust together in glittering 1926 London to fight for their inheritance. They quickly learn they can't trust anyone in their new lives – least of all each other.
I
had an absolute ball writing The
Heiresses
with all its dramatic highs and lows. I was even lucky enough to be
living in Cambridge at the time, so had the advantage of being able
to research in London whenever I needed to.
Q.
Who are your favourite authors?
A.
My
very favourite author is P.G. Wodehouse. So much so that for
Christmas I received the five book The Jeeves Omnibus set because I'd
worn my old five book set out! Some other favourites are Stella
Gibbons and anything at all Mitford.
Q.
How long did it take to you to complete The
Heiresses?
A.
The
Heiresses
was a little different for me because it was contracted from only a
short writing sample and a series guide. I wrote it very quickly, in
under nine months (altogether, it's roughly 120,000 words). Usually I
wouldn't be anywhere near this fast!
Q.
What was the hardest part about writing The
Heiresses?
A.
The
most difficult part was the historical research. Although I love to
read historical books and watch documentaries and historical dramas
on TV, I hadn't actually written anything historical before. When I
started writing, I found myself stopping after every second sentence
or so to research this point and that point. After a while, I
realised I had to write on and put little 'x' signs where I needed to
research and go back later to do all my research in one session, or
I'd never get anywhere!
Luckily,
I wrote The
Heiresses
while living in Cambridgeshire in the UK (I usually live in
Australia), so could pop on a fast train and be in London in under an
hour to research anything I liked. Being so close to London was an
enormous bonus – from the London Transport Museum, to simply
walking around Belgrave Square, it really brought the story to life
for me. I even managed to crash the village set of Downton Abbey,
which was a hugely exciting day, despite the fact that it snowed
(Australians don't do snow well…)!
Q.
Why New Adult?
A.
I think it's just a fascinating time in life -- a time that's
difficult to bridge and often scarier than any other change you've
been through. You don't necessarily feel like an adult, but you have
sudden adult responsibilities (working, studying in the kind of way
where no-one cares if you go to classes or not, maybe being a parent
if you have children early…). Everyone has a different experience
and everyone deals with that experience differently. There are
endless story-telling opportunities!
Q.
What do you feel the major differences are between New
Adult and Young Adult?
A.
For
me, it's all about bridging that gap between childhood and adulthood
and the more I see people discuss New Adult, the more this is firmed
up in my mind. I do think people focus too much on the sexual content
of books when talking about the New Adult genre. For me, The
Heiresses
is New Adult because of how the girls deal with the sex they are
having in the book (and, to be honest, there isn't a whole lot of
sex) and how it changes them from girls into women, along with all
the other happenings in their new lives.
Q.
So much New Adult work is self-published. Is there a reason you chose
the traditional publishing route?
A. The
Heiresses
was a bit of a different publishing experience for me as my agent
approached me and mentioned St Martin's Press was actively looking
for New Adult ideas that could work in serial form. I had the basis
of an historical idea that I'd been thinking about for years and the
timing was great as Downton Abbey (set in a similar time period) was
really taking off. Thus, The
Heiresses
began to take shape very, very quickly. I'd love to say all my ideas
pull off so easily, but unfortunately that's not quite true (I
sold my first chick-lit novel out of the slush pile and agent-less in
2000 and have many a manuscript in my bottom drawer)!
Q.
Most New Adult books seem to be set in college. Can you tell us more
about writing historical New Adult?
A.
As it happens, when I first had the idea for what would become The
Heiresses
(years ago), there was no such term as New Adult. The idea itself
meant that the story required three 18-ish year-old heroines (they
needed to be able to inherit money, be of marriageable age, live away
from home and be generally young and fabulous in 1920s London etc.),
so it simply happened to fall into the New Adult genre naturally. As
for the world, I've always adored reading about London in the 1920s
and it's a perfect fit for the New Adult genre -- the years between
WWI and WWII were a very heady, unstable time to be young in England,
with death looming and a 'live for the moment' motto.
Q.
What are you reading at the moment?
A.
I'm
actually on a short New Adult/Young Adult reading break (might have
gorged myself a little there) and am reading Rebecca Skloot's The
Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,
which is absolutely fascinating and horrifying all at the same time.
Q.
What are you writing now?
A.
I've just finished a contemporary New Adult novel. While it's set in
the present day, it's not college-based, but is about a charismatic
modern artist and a young woman who becomes his muse. It's set in
Paris, London and New York. My next New Adult novel will most likely
be historical, though.
Q.
Do you have any advice for aspiring New Adult writers?
A.
Read
widely and write what you'd love to read. I think it always shows if
you're writing something you're excited about, rather than trying to
write to a trend.
About the Author:
Having
failed at bec
oming a ballerina with pierced ears (her childhood dream),
Allison Rushby instead began a writing career as a journalism student
at The University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Within a
few months she had slunk sideways into studying Russian. By the end of
her degree she had learned two very important things: that she
wasn't going to be a journalist; and that there are hundreds of types of
vodka and they're all pretty good. After several years spent whining
about how hard it would be to write a novel, she finally tried writing
one and found it was quite an enjoyable experience. Since then, she has
had nine novels published. She keeps up her education by sampling
new kinds of vodka on a regular basis.
oming a ballerina with pierced ears (her childhood dream),
Allison Rushby instead began a writing career as a journalism student
at The University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Within a
few months she had slunk sideways into studying Russian. By the end of
her degree she had learned two very important things: that she
wasn't going to be a journalist; and that there are hundreds of types of
vodka and they're all pretty good. After several years spent whining
about how hard it would be to write a novel, she finally tried writing
one and found it was quite an enjoyable experience. Since then, she has
had nine novels published. She keeps up her education by sampling
new kinds of vodka on a regular basis.
Nice work ladies. :-)
ReplyDeleteFun read.
This one sounds like a lot of fun! I'll definitely be picking it up at some point.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to reading it for myself soon. :) It does sound so good.
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