Jessica Brockmole is the author of the novels Letters from Skye, At the Edge of Summer, and the recently released Woman Enters Left. From the author's Q&A with Deborah Kalb:Q: How did you come up with the idea for Woman Enters Left, and for your character Louise?Learn more about the book and author at Jessica Brockmole's website, and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
A: When researching and writing historical fiction, I always have more material than I can use in the work-in-progress. Uncovered history, unused bits of research, and unexpected ideas all get jotted on blank index cards and tucked into a box.
When I’m brainstorming a new novel, I pull out my cards, spread them out, and pull together ones that could make a whole story.
Woman Enters Left was the intersection of a few of those cards. Golden Age Hollywood, the House Un-American Activities Committee, Route 66, road travel in the 1920s, the Radium Girls. I plucked these index cards from my stack and thought of how I could tie them all together to make what I hope is a compelling story.
I knew my main narrator would be from the ‘50s and would be from Hollywood, but the story of her genesis...[read on]
The Page 69 Test: Letters from Skye.
Writers Read: Jessica Brockmole (July 2013).
My Book, The Movie: Letters from Skye.
--Marshal Zeringue