A sparkling contemporary retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in the tantalizing world of New York City burlesque, perfect for fans of The Kiss Quotient and The Roommate.
We chat with debut author Vanessa King about her novel A Certain Appeal, along with writing, book recommendations, and more!
Hi, Vanessa! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi, Nerd Daily! I’m Vanessa King, author of A Certain Appeal. A native Arizonan, I’ve recently moved to Austin, Texas, but I’ve lived all over the US. Most of my professional life has been spent in aquatics, where I taught swim lessons and lifeguarded, with the exception of a year teaching high school English and an almost-year of working as a glorified receptionist for a DOD contractor.
When not writing, I enjoy reading, championing my favorite audiobooks, crafting, and the privilege of choosing my form of suffering with my fellow meatheads at Crossfit.
As the year draws to a close, how has 2021 been for you?
2021 has been A LOT.
On the creative side, I’ve been editing/promoting/launching A CERTAIN APPEAL, as well as writing and overhauling and re-writing my follow-up.
In the “everything else” column, my husband and I spent much of the year house hunting, finally buying a place in August. Turns out, when you do that, you then have pack up all of your stuff and get it there… just to unpack it all again. Seems silly. And I still don’t know where the measuring spoons are.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
It wasn’t until that brief receptionist stint after college that I tried my hand at writing for myself; I was always a reader more than a writer. But for Christmas 2010, my mother-in-law gifted me an intro to novel writing course with NYC’s Gotham Writers’ Workshop, and that was it. I wrote most of a novel, only for my writing group to inform me I’d written a sequel and needed to write the “first” book (they were not wrong) and did so, getting as far as querying and receiving a handful of full requests before retiring it to the proverbial drawer. That’s when I started on what would become A CERTAIN APPEAL.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
(groans in lit degree) You can’t just ASK me that!
I can’t say for sure what my first book memory is. A Frog and Toad, maybe?
Bridget Jones’s Diary had a big impact on me as far as writing. I read it in high school, and while I wouldn’t end up writing creatively or a decade, the style and candor were so fresh and unexpected, I was shocked that writing that way was even an option.
As for something bookish I can’t stop thinking about, I have to say the staggering injustice that Melina Marchetta’s novels haven’t gained traction in the US. Jellicoe Road holds a special place in my heart, and The Lumatere Chronicles should be required reading. Some streaming service needs to get on that adaptation, stat.
Your debut novel, A Certain Appeal, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Early critics have used “dazzling” and “delightful,” and I’m fully supportive of those adjectives. “Cheeky” is also fitting, and I’ll round this out with “steamy” and “irreverent.”
What can readers expect?
A Certain Appeal is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in the contemporary NYC burlesque scene. Readers can expect no shortage of Pride and Prejudice names, references, and plot points, a healthy dose of body positivity, a well-informed peek into the world of burlesque, enemies (but not really)-to-lovers enduring a relentless pull of attraction, a Moonstruck reference, and an unforgettable, supportive, found family.
Where did the inspiration for A Certain Appeal come from?
I spent two years working as the stage kitten at Duane Park, a burlesque supper club in Manhattan, where I picked up the peelings of the best in the scene. I knew it would be a great setting for a story, but never could figure out how to get started. After a baby, three moves, and four years of other writing projects, I was commiserating with a friend about needing to start a new project while another lingered in querying hell. My friend mentioned she was working on a Wizard of Oz retelling set at a music festival, and the idea of using a pre-existing plot clicked with me.
I knew I’d use Pride and Prejudice— I didn’t even consider an alternative—and got started that same evening. The Bennet sisters became the performers at the show, their suitors, a potential investor and his grumpily appealing best friend, and the writing took off!
Can you tell us a bit about the challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
The biggest challenge wit this project was deciding which story beats from P&P to keep and which to leave unexplored. Ultimately, I picked the ones that would best progress the relationship between Darcy and Bennet. Sadly, that means there’s no parallel for Mr. Bennet, neither Darcy nor Bingley have sisters, and, to my dismay, my Mrs. Bennet-inspired character doesn’t get in any reference to her nerves.
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
One of my favorite moments was written during the revisions I did at my agent’s suggestion before we went on submission. In it, Bennet explains to Darcy the value she sees in burlesque and why it has come to mean so much to her, and, thinking on it now, there’s no way the book would work without it. If there is to be any kind of intimacy between Bennet and Darcy, he has to understand the significance of burlesque in Bennet’s life. At the same time, articulating how she feels about burlesque prompts a realization Bennet has long been avoiding, progressing her development as a character.
In a similar vein, I loved describing a routine by Ming DyNasty, one of the show’s performers. It’s the first peel in the book and conveys so much of what I love about burlesque, and also shows what Bennet is talking about in that later scene with Darcy.
What’s the best and the worst writing advice you have received?
I once attended a workshop titled, “Avoiding the ‘Write What You Know,’ Trap.” The presenter admitted that you actually can’t avoid writing what you know, but you can expand what you know, so your writing won’t be limited. In short: read. Read everything you can. Memoirs in particular are so helpful. You only have your own perspective to work from, but you can broaden your perspective by exploring others’.
As far as worst writing advice, I’m not sure. Once, in an online feedback group, a reader railed against my use of first person present and went through my entire submission and changed every single verb to the past tense. That was interesting.
What’s next for you?
That massive overhaul of book two I mentioned earlier? It’s still in the notes stage; between moving, settling in, and launching A Certain Appeal, I’ve had zero bandwidth for my work in progress. But I’m really excited about it! It’s another Austen-spin, and takes place in the same “world” as A Certain Appeal, with a bunch of familiar characters, though the main couple is totally new.
Lastly, what have your favourite reads of 2021 been?
I’ve had the pleasure of reading a lot of books this year. Malibu Rising is an absolute favorite; Taylor Jenkins Reid is an auto-buy for me at this point. I have been carefully recommending Crying in Hmart to anyone who can handle it in these strange times, and another memoir, Party of One, by former MTV VJ Dave Holmes, felt like it was written for me. His time at the network overlapped with my high school and college years, and his recapping touched on cultural gems specific to that period of my life like no other media I’ve experienced.
Right now, I’m listening to Iron Widow. Pitched as The Handmaid’s Tale meets Pacific Rim…well, that’s all it took to get me to buy it. And I’m glad I did. The book is merciless. I am regularly floored by author Xiran Jay Zhao’s gift with words. The way they describe emotions and sensations, and the cool, reasonable way the protagonist is able to convey her deeply unconventional (for the setting) perspective is nothing short of masterful.
