Interview - The Glamorous Life

 

Q: What was the genesis of TGL?

A: I'm a huge fan of Armistead Maupin's TALES OF THE CITY. I was doing LES MIS in San Francisco and re-reading his books and thought it might to fun to do a serial about being on the road. The concept gelled pretty quickly for me. I pitched it to an established website and they immediately said they wanted to publish it. But then negotiations bogged down and after six months, I decided to self launch @www.theglamorouslife.net. The first episode appeared in April of 2001.

Q: So has the serial basically followed one story?

A: Well, the first two "volumes" focused on ingenue Lori Newton who was cast in the touring company of the fictional longest -running show in Broadway history, THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO. After finishing TGL2, I wanted to start a volume that new readers could easily start with and not feel they were missing lots of backstory. TGL3 is set in 1999 and is a prequel to the other volumes.

Also, TGL1&2 were done in "real time"- that is, written to reflect what was going on in the real world. I also believe mine was the first fiction to deal with the horrible events of 9/11.

Q: So how does TGL4 fit into the continuity?

A: TGL4 picks up a year after TGL2 ended. Lori is back in NYC doing the out of work actress routine. Some characters introduced in TGL3 will appear, as well as new characters. Again, I wanted TGL4 to be easily accessible to people who might not have read TGL1&2.

Q: Is TGL3 over?

A: No. I had reached the halfway point when I started talking with Rob Diamond about TGL appearing on BWW. So the way it will work, is that one week five new episodes of TGL4 will appear Monday-Friday on BWW. The following week, five new episodes of TGL3 will appear Monday-Friday on www.theglamorouslife.net.

All of the previous episodes of TGL3 are cached on my site so anyone new to it can start at the beginning and catch up.

Q: How would you summarize what the stories have been about?

A: TGL1 was about the reality, albeit a heightened one, of what happens once the dream of getting a big show comes true. TGL2 was about familial relationships, both ones of blood and the "family" dynamic that happens within a cast.

I had been reading Colleen McCullough's MASTERS OF ROME series and "I, Claudius." I loved them. So much treachery, plotting, backstabbing- throw in some power ballads and it could be show biz. TGL3 was inspired by that so I guess the theme of TGL3 is "betrayals."

As for TGL4, right now, it's about appearances vs. reality. I'm looking forward to it.

Q: How much of what you've written is based on fact? Will readers recognize anyone?

A: Well, it's fiction. Some things may have been inspired by things that have happened to me or to friends, but it's definitely fiction. One really cool thing is that with TGL4 taking place in real time, the fictional characters will get to interact with some celebrities. In TGL2, Lori "met" Dee Hoty because I saw Dee in MAMMA MIA and was so blown away by her. I asked Dee if she'd agree to making a cameo and she agreed. So I'm hoping that other well known real people will pop up from time to time. I'm also looking forward to writing about places and things I love in New York.

Q: How has the response been?

A: Really lovely. I have readers in Japan and Australia and France and Germany and England from whom I've gotten fan mail . The response has been so overwhelmingly positive. I've gotten letters from other writers whose work I was a fan of and that was thrilling. It's been satisfying to find out I have readers who are in the biz and not in the biz- it's nice to not just be a "niche"

writer and to find the stories appeal to all kinds of people. I do get letters telling me off if I do something to a character that someone disapproves of- it's really gratifying to have people become that involved.