by: Patricia Leavey
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: October 10, 2023
Publisher: She Writes Press
Controversial filmmaker Jean Mercier is shooting a film on location in Sweden. While spending the summer creating his latest work of cinematic art, he lives in a nearby inn with his lead actors: Albie Hughes, British veteran of stage and screen; Charlotte Reed, British indie film queen; Michael Hennesey, American TV heartthrob; Willow Barnes, fallen former teen star looking to make a comeback; and Finn Forrester, legendary Hollywood movie star. Mercier invites his friend Ella Sinclair—a beautiful, bohemian-spirited American philosopher known for her provocative writing—to stay with them for the summer. When Ella arrives, Finn is instantly enchanted by her, and soon they fall madly in love. Finn wants to plan a life together, but Ella harbors fears and convinces him to wait until the film wraps to decide their future. In a case of life imitating art, the film they are creating explores “the big questions” and prompts the stars to reflect on the crossroads they face in their own lives. How will their experiences on location affect them when they return home? The answers won’t come until months later, when the cast and crew reconvene on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival—but their revelation will make for one unforgettable night.
I thought it would be fun if Jean Mercier, the filmmaker, was a controversial, eccentric, avant-garde artist; the very kind of filmmaker who would tackle a film about the meaning of life. He’s French with a dystopian worldview. He’s also known for having a questionable reputation with women. This allowed me to create a discourse about the art versus the artist, and our public and private selves as artists. These are conversations that need to happen, especially in the age of cancel culture, and I think these issues are far more complicated than we’d often like to imagine. Making Jean a bit dark, but in a sarcastic way, also created balance between him and his dear friend Ella, who he invites to stay with them for the film shoot. Ella is a philosopher and because they are exploring “the big questions” of life, having her point of view is important. It was more than that though. I always knew at the center of the book was the love story between her Finn. I saw Finn as an all-around dreamy guy, the kind of celebrity people fantasize about, but with depth. He cares about art, relationships, and he’s not interested in fame. A guy like that could have his pick of women, so Ella needed to be more than beautiful. She’s smart, funny, talented, and marches to her own beat. For me, it made it easy to see why Finn would be bowled over with her from the start.
I learned so much from these characters, as well as the supporting cast. On one hand, things are often more complicated than they appear on the surface. Life is messy. People are imperfect. On the other hand, things are often simpler than we make them. Love is everything. If only we can lean into it.
The characters in this novel are each at a crossroads in their lives. How they handled those choices taught me a lot about how to handle big decisions in my own life. They also taught me to make sure to have lots of fun along the way. Life is short. It’s temporary. There will never be enough time. Best not to squander it getting in our own way.
She paused and said, “Albie, tell them about how you met Margaret. It’s such a wonderful story. I’m sure everyone would love to hear it.”
“I would,” Finn said as he and Ella exchanged a smile.
“Me too,” Charlotte added. “In the many years we’ve known each other, I don’t think I’ve ever heard this story.”
Albie smiled. “All right,” he said. The waitstaff returned and passed around plates, each with a slice of tart and generous dollop of freshly made whipped cream.
They all began eating and Albie said, “I met her at a party in London thrown by some aristocrat. Completely pretentious. I was the lead in a play on the West End, and the director invited me. You know how that blue-blooded set loves to have a celebrity in their midst, something to gab about when they’re at their holiday homes.”
Everyone laughed.
Albie took a bite of his tart and continued, “I brought a girl with me, some actress, can’t even remember her name. We were all dressed in absurdly formal attire, could hardly tell the guests from the waitstaff, eating catered, crustless watercress sandwiches or some such rubbish. All of a sudden, in walks a stunningly beautiful woman wearing a simple, sky-blue frock and holding a pie. It’s hard to overstate how extraordinarily out of place she looked. I was immediately transfixed. She had the biggest, most beautiful eyes, and her hair fell in waves.” He paused, as if reliving every detail. “Anyway, the host’s wife ran over, greeted her, and ferried the pie over to the dessert table. I couldn’t take my eyes off this woman. The way she moved, her smile, the way her eyes sparkled when she laughed. I watched her for hours. I asked someone about her, and they said she was an elementary school teacher who happened to know the sister of the host. Eventually, I saw her standing alone at the dessert table and decided to make my move. The table was covered in mile-high meringues and fancy chocolate tortes encased in sugar domes, no doubt from the finest bakery in London, and there was her humble homemade pie off to the side. I sidled up to her and said, ‘Everything looks good.’ She smiled at me and I felt like I was struck by lightning. I picked up a plate and a serving utensil and said, ‘I think I’m going to try this one,’ and I took a slice of the blueberry pie. She looked at me and said, ‘I made that. To tell you the truth, I feel like a bit of a fool. I didn’t know what kind of party it was.’ I said, ‘I’m Albie, what’s your name?’ In her angelic voice, she said, ‘Margaret.’ I’ll tell you, I fell completely in love with her then and there.”
“What about your date?” Michael asked.
“Broke up with her at the party. I called a car for her and sent her home. Felt terrible about it, but when you meet the one, you can’t let anything stand in your way. True love is the greatest gift in the world; one mustn’t squander it or be foolish enough to think it will simply wait until it obliges our schedules.”
“So, it really was love at first sight,” Charlotte said wistfully.
“Indeed. Anyone who tells you that love at first sight isn’t real, well, those unlucky bastards have just never experienced it. Take it from an old fucker like me: when you get hit by lightning, you surrender to it. All the details, the little things you don’t know about each other, you’ll learn those over time, and if you really love each other, most of it won’t matter. There’s no replacing that inexplicable, inconvenient, all-encompassing feeling of love. Standing there in that moment, holding that slice of pie, I knew I couldn’t live without her. These days, people court each other like they’re applying for a job or running through a checklist. But this is where the artists—the poets, the novelists, the filmmakers—have always known better: true love has no reason.”
“I would,” Finn said as he and Ella exchanged a smile.
“Me too,” Charlotte added. “In the many years we’ve known each other, I don’t think I’ve ever heard this story.”
Albie smiled. “All right,” he said. The waitstaff returned and passed around plates, each with a slice of tart and generous dollop of freshly made whipped cream.
They all began eating and Albie said, “I met her at a party in London thrown by some aristocrat. Completely pretentious. I was the lead in a play on the West End, and the director invited me. You know how that blue-blooded set loves to have a celebrity in their midst, something to gab about when they’re at their holiday homes.”
Everyone laughed.
Albie took a bite of his tart and continued, “I brought a girl with me, some actress, can’t even remember her name. We were all dressed in absurdly formal attire, could hardly tell the guests from the waitstaff, eating catered, crustless watercress sandwiches or some such rubbish. All of a sudden, in walks a stunningly beautiful woman wearing a simple, sky-blue frock and holding a pie. It’s hard to overstate how extraordinarily out of place she looked. I was immediately transfixed. She had the biggest, most beautiful eyes, and her hair fell in waves.” He paused, as if reliving every detail. “Anyway, the host’s wife ran over, greeted her, and ferried the pie over to the dessert table. I couldn’t take my eyes off this woman. The way she moved, her smile, the way her eyes sparkled when she laughed. I watched her for hours. I asked someone about her, and they said she was an elementary school teacher who happened to know the sister of the host. Eventually, I saw her standing alone at the dessert table and decided to make my move. The table was covered in mile-high meringues and fancy chocolate tortes encased in sugar domes, no doubt from the finest bakery in London, and there was her humble homemade pie off to the side. I sidled up to her and said, ‘Everything looks good.’ She smiled at me and I felt like I was struck by lightning. I picked up a plate and a serving utensil and said, ‘I think I’m going to try this one,’ and I took a slice of the blueberry pie. She looked at me and said, ‘I made that. To tell you the truth, I feel like a bit of a fool. I didn’t know what kind of party it was.’ I said, ‘I’m Albie, what’s your name?’ In her angelic voice, she said, ‘Margaret.’ I’ll tell you, I fell completely in love with her then and there.”
“What about your date?” Michael asked.
“Broke up with her at the party. I called a car for her and sent her home. Felt terrible about it, but when you meet the one, you can’t let anything stand in your way. True love is the greatest gift in the world; one mustn’t squander it or be foolish enough to think it will simply wait until it obliges our schedules.”
“So, it really was love at first sight,” Charlotte said wistfully.
“Indeed. Anyone who tells you that love at first sight isn’t real, well, those unlucky bastards have just never experienced it. Take it from an old fucker like me: when you get hit by lightning, you surrender to it. All the details, the little things you don’t know about each other, you’ll learn those over time, and if you really love each other, most of it won’t matter. There’s no replacing that inexplicable, inconvenient, all-encompassing feeling of love. Standing there in that moment, holding that slice of pie, I knew I couldn’t live without her. These days, people court each other like they’re applying for a job or running through a checklist. But this is where the artists—the poets, the novelists, the filmmakers—have always known better: true love has no reason.”
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Looks like a interesting book.
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How did you decide on the cover for this book?
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ReplyDeleteWhat part of the book did you have the hardest time writing?
ReplyDeleteWhen did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
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