Set against the dazzling backdrop of Golden
Age Hollywood, Platinum Doll tells the enchanting story of Jean Harlow, one of
the most iconic stars in the history of film.
It's
the Roaring Twenties and seventeen-year-old Harlean Carpenter McGrew has run
off to Beverly Hills. She's chasing a dream—to escape her small, Midwestern life and see her name
in lights. In California, Harlean has everything a girl could want—a rich husband, glamorous parties,
socialite friends—except
an outlet for her talent. But everything changes when a dare pushes her to
embrace her true ambition—to be
an actress on the silver screen.
With
her timeless beauty and striking shade of platinum-blond hair, Harlean becomes
Jean Harlow. And as she's thrust into the limelight, Jean learns that this new
world of opportunity comes with its own set of burdens. Torn between her family
and her passion to perform, Jean is forced to confront the difficult truth—that fame comes at a price, if
only she's willing to pay it.
Featuring a glittering cast of ingénues and
Hollywood titans—Clara Bow, Clark Gable, Laurel and Hardy, Howard Hughes—Platinum Doll introduces us to the star
who would shine brighter than them all.
Publisher:
MIRA Books – Debuts January 26, 2016
What readers are saying . . .
“A fascinating, page-turning,
behind-the-scenes look at what it took to be a celebrity in early Hollywood.”
— Lynn Cullen, bestselling author of Mrs. Poe and Twain’s End
“An engrossing look at a Hollywood icon. I
couldn’t put it down.”
— Karleen Koen, New York Times bestselling author of Through A
Glass Darkly
"Platinum Doll
will entrance readers as Harlow entranced the world."
—
Heather Webb, author of Rodin's Lover
About the Author
Diane Haeger, who
currently writes under the pen name Anne Girard (Madame Picasso), holds a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology
from Pepperdine University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from
UCLA. A chance meeting with the famed author Irving Stone 25 years ago sharply
focused her ambition to tell great stories from history, and write them only
after detailed research and extensive travel to the place her character lived.
That determination has provided a fascinating journey that has taken her from
the halls of Chenonceaux, to a private interview with one of Pablo Picasso's
last surviving friends, and most recently an invitation inside Jean Harlow's
home.
Since the
publication of her acclaimed first novel, Courtesan, in 1993, a novel that
remains in print today, her work has been translated into 18 different
languages, bringing her international success and award-winning status.
Platinum Doll, a novel about Jean Harlow, is her 15th
book. She lives in Southern California with her husband and family.
Some Q & A with Anne:
Tell
us a little bit about yourself, and how you started writing.
I’ve been writing
for 25 years. I sold my first novel, Courtesan,
in 1993 and have been telling true love stories from history ever since. I
always wrote growing up, and my bachelor’s degree is in English literature, but
I never thought I could actually make a career of it early on. What started me
writing professionally was finding the amazing true story of Diane de Poitiers
and the young prince she captivated for more than a quarter century during the
French Renaissance. When I realized, at the time, that the story was not well
known in America, I became driven to be the one to tell it. After four years,
here and in France, researching and writing, I’m proud to say I sold it to
Simon & Schuster. That book really was a great labor of love.
What
are some things you enjoy when not writing?
My family and I travel quite a lot, which we really
embrace, so it really has become a hobby. Both of my children grew up going
everywhere with us to research my books; France, Spain, Italy, England and
Scotland. It’s only now that they are grown they are looking back at all the
places they have been and wishing they had complained less, and that they could
remember more! I also enjoy cooking—usually French recipes, and of course
number one is, I love to read!
Where
do you get your ideas?
I do a lot of reading and searching for historical
characters in my leisure time. I am most attracted to misunderstood characters
in history, or their misunderstood relationships. I guess I think of myself as
a bit of a champion for them, and it’s not only a challenge—but a privilege—to
me not only to bring their stories hopefully to a new audience, but in some
cases to make people think about the way they have previously perceived them.
Is
there a particular author or book that influenced or inspired your writing or
decision to write?
I love this question! Yes, there are two. First,
many years ago, when I had just begun writing Courtesan, and I really had no idea at all about how to do that, or
sell it, assuming I even finished, I was privileged to meet the iconic author
Irving Stone, who wrote the classic The
Agony and the Ecstasy, about the artist Michelangelo. The advice he gave me
about how to bring characters from history to life, and how to go about
researching them to make them authentic, has stayed with me. The second is the
author Karleen Koen. Her historical novel Through
A Glass Darkly, while not based on real characters, was so realistic and
compelling that when I was beginning, I really idolized her and was even more
driven to try my best to tell a story that was as sweeping and memorable.
Can
you tell us about your challenges in getting your first book published?
The biggest challenge for me, I think, was being an
unknown, and writing the story of my heart, which was a novel that did not have
an obvious path toward publication. My editor at the time told me after she
bought it that she had not wanted to buy it, since it was set in the French
Renaissance, and she didn’t think that was a sellable setting for a novel, but
after she’d read it she ‘had to buy it’. Not a ringing endorsement to a new
author’s ears, believe me! I’m happy to say, however, that after 22 years, Courtesan is still in print, has been
translated into several languages and, of my 14, it is the one readers most
often say they remember.
Is
anything in your new book, Platinum Doll,
based on real life experiences?
Not my life, but yes, the book is based on the life
of Hollywood icon Jean Harlow. It’s about her as a young girl first arriving in
Hollywood full of idealistic hope, her fragile teenage marriage at the time,
the choices she makes regarding that, and what happens as she first finds fame
as the original blonde bombshell. Hers is a story that I don’t think a lot of
readers know, or would even guess at. I also loved discovering that Jean Harlow
was an idol for a future famous blonde… Marilyn Monroe who, when she was
starting out in Hollywood, wanted to be just like her.
Do
you have a favorite chapter or scene?
I do love the scene where Harlow is first discovered
at a Hollywood studio. It is a true story and, unbelievably, she really was
sitting waiting for a friend to finish an audition when several casting agents
approached her, not the other way around. She was actually wary of the
movie industry after her mother—the first Jean Harlow—had tried and failed to
become a star herself. But Harlow was just naïve and fresh-faced enough to make
her natural sex appeal less threatening to female moviegoers and a draw for
men. She was also funny, smart and very charismatic on film. But she paid a
high price for her swift rise to fame.
Do
you have any advice for aspiring writers?
My favorite piece of advice, the one I got from an
author when I was starting out, was in regard to the first draft. Many new
writers get stuck on trying so hard to make it perfect that they give up and
never even finish, or even see a second draft. I never forgot what I was told:
The purpose of the first draft is not to get it right—it’s to get it written.
You can’t edit or improve something that isn’t there on the page. I still love
that and think of it often!
What
are the downfalls of your writing career? The best parts?
I would have to say that one downfall (or perhaps a
more accurate word for it in my case is “challenge”) is that, for a historical
novelist, it is not a 9 to 5 job. There is the endless research, writing,
editing, more editing and then the marketing. If I could just learn how to do
without sleep, I think I’d be pretty good at juggling it all! As to the best
parts, there is the idea of doing something that I love, and which I am
passionate about. Trying to bring those historical characters to life for a new
audience, and hopefully to bring some empathy for parts of their lives that
might have been misunderstood, is infinitely rewarding.
Is
there anything you would like to say to your readers and fans?
I am so privileged, and humbled, to have so many of
you who kindly followed my earlier Diane Haeger novels, give the books under my
Anne Girard pen name a read, and tell me about it. I love hearing from
everyone, and it’s always a thrill to know that a reader took the time to reach
out, either via email or social media. I hope you will all have a look at Platinum Doll and let me know what you
think!
Website: dianehaeger.com
Facebook: facebook.com/annegirardauthor
Twitter: @annegirard1
Thank you, Anne, for taking the time to share a bit about your book and writing life!
