Author Q&A: Stephanie Dray
Stephanie Dray is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal & USA Today bestselling author of historical women’s fiction. Her award-winning work has been translated into eight languages and tops lists for the most anticipated reads of the year. Now she lives in Maryland with her husband, cats, and history books. Her latest novel, based on the life of Frances Perkins, is scheduled for release in the spring of 2024.
In this interview, I ask Stephanie about how she got her start, her approach to writing multiple novels, and fiction as a unique lens on history.
How did you become a professional writer, and in particular, a novelist focused on historical fiction?
My first big passion project came about because of a novel I read on my honeymoon by Margaret George, called “The Memoirs of Cleopatra”. I was startled to learn at the end of that novel that Cleopatra had a daughter who went on to become a successful queen in the ancient world. Why hadn't I ever heard of her? The answer is that so much of women's history has been obscured, and I felt a passion to tell that story and many more since then. But that novel, LILY OF THE NILE, was not the first book of mine ever to be published. I had a hard time finding an agent and a publisher for it. I found my entree by writing genre fiction--mythological romance. And that taught me a great deal about the professional writing business, publishing in general, and how to write in a new art form generally. Eventually, my first novel did get picked up, and the rest, as they say, was history. (See what I did there?)
Why do you think fiction is an effective medium for explaining history?
People tend to think of history as a boring subject in school where they were forced to memorize a list of dates about events and people who seemed to have nothing whatsoever to do with their lives. That's absolutely the wrong way to learn history, in my opinion. History is filled with drama and wild human characters whose choices can teach us a great deal today. We haven't changed that much as a species in thousands of years. We can learn from the past if we understand the human stories behind the events that shaped the world we now live in. As has been said by others, the novel is an art form that allows us to go where historians fear to tread. We can speculate about motives and emotions; we can test theories; we can make readers feel something about the past. In fact, we haven't done our job if we don't. And historical fiction writers tend to ask questions that historians overlook, so I know for a fact that we make contributions to the historical record and I'm so very proud of what I do!
Who has been your favorite historical figure to write about and why?
Don't make me pick just one! It's like being asked which child you love best. I can say that writing about Frances Perkins has been the most illuminating experience. I started the project knowing that I was going to be writing about a great lady, but I finished it in a state of indignant rage that there isn't a street named after her in every town in this country. She was, to my mind, the most important American woman in history, and most people don't even know her name.
How do you typically start a new book and what is your process for completing it? What tools or practices are essential to your novel writing process?
When I'm formulating new ideas, I begin by looking for an operatic life or event; something quite dramatic. I also try to make sure that it's a story that would make sense with my personal brand. For example--as much as I would love to write about male protagonists, and someday maybe I will--I feel driven to bring women's history to life and that's what my audience currently expects from me. Another thing I consider is the state of the market. Is a certain time period overcrowded? Is it too niche an audience for me? For example, one reason I moved on from the ancient world is because it isn't a big seller for women writers in the USA. It does better in Britain. So if I want to expand my audience I want to find something that resonates with more people.
I consider, too, the scope of the project. Is this going to be too long and complicated of a life story to cover in a novel of less than 140k words? I have broken that guideline before--and would again, for the right project--but there's always a price to be paid for it because the public currently prefers shorter books.
After that, I write a proposal for my agent outlining the idea, the selling features, etc. Until she gives her approval, I don't write another word. And to be honest, I rarely start a project until after it has sold because that's a gamble. But once all the stars align and I have that advance money in hand, then I break out Aeon Timeline and Scrivener, my two best writing tools. The timeline program is especially important for historical fiction because it allows me to see a shape of a story visually, and it helps me to understand which events I must emphasize or slide past in the narrative. Then I fire up Scrivener, tell it my deadline, and it tells me how many words a day I have to write.
What's your next project?
I'm currently working on a novel called A FOUNDING MOTHER about Abigail Adams and her daughter Nabby. Abigail was wife to one president, and mother to another. She was also the most delightful early feminist. A shrewd woman of high moral character who helped shape the nation and what it means to be an American woman. I'm co-authoring this novel with my dear friend Laura Kamoie and we couldn't be more excited about it.
What are three favorite historical fiction novels?
I have so many favorites, I'm going to name the three most influential that come to mind. First, I've already mentioned Margaret George's MEMOIRS OF CLEOPATRA. Then there's QUO VADIS. It's an oldie but I was reading it as a kid and loving it, so it probably inspired my ancient world books to some extent or another. And more recently I'm going to name THE FLIGHT PORTFOLIO by Julie Orringer because it blew me away. Her talent made me sulk with jealousy.
