RSSOn Seeing Red and (Re)Writing Scarlet: A Sheepish Interview with Hillary Jordan
11 Oct 2011 2 Comments
in beauty, boots, literature, outerwear, Uncategorized Tags: David Meister, Elie Tahari, George Martin, Hillary Jordan, Jane Austen, Mudbound, Tory Burch, When She Woke
I first met author Hillary Jordan over a decade ago, during a time when we were both young novelistas-on-the-verge–though the ”young” part was something neither of us felt that first day at Columbia’s MFA program. In fact, walking into the orientation meeting, I remember thinking that at the advanced age of 32 I was the oldest frickin’ student there. This was apparently obvious to Hillary as well, because at the end of the event she came straight up and and introduced herself with a line something like “I think you and I are the only two grown-ups in here.” Then she told me her age, which shocked me.
At that point, I realized three things: 1) I’d made my first Columbia Writing Program friend. 2) I clearly looked my age, and 2) Hillary most decidedly did not. In fact, she looked nothing beyond a dewy 27 or thereabouts. Think Dorian Gray with glorious red locks and a far better rack than Wilde ever graced him with:
[Dorian Gray and his early precursor to Botox]
[Hillary Jordan, 100% mushroom-free.]
In the twelve years since, Hil’s youthful facade has remained almost infuriatingly unchanged. Her life, however, has undergone a startling metamorphasis, taking her from disillusioned Texan copywriter to celebrated New York writer. She is the author of the bestselling and Bellweather Prize-winning 2008 novel Mudbound and–as of last week–the sure-to-also-bestsell When She Woke, a dystopian riff on The Scarlet Letter that Publishers Weekly has already called “one of the best books of the year” and Booklist “a must-read.”
On the outside of all this, it looks like another fairytale ascendence to the top of the literary pile. But as someone who’s worked with Hillary alot (we’ve exchanged multiple drafts of both of our novels, consumed a lot of wine, challenged each others’ styles and writing foibles and alternately made each other laugh and cry in the process) the most impressive part of the story for me is her resilience. For while Mudbound is doubtlessly the bestselling novel to emerge from our Columbia class, it was initially not an easy sell to agents and publishers. And this is a story I love, because–not unlike J.K. Rowling’s tale of trial to triumph–it demonstrates just how whacky and capricious this whole publishing thing is.
[Rowling at the start of her magical rise to literary stardom]
[Rowling now. Decidedly not mushroom-free....but mrow!)]
So here is the story. Once upon a time, after taking a fair amount of flak from our younger classmates over her multi-voiced, interracial narrative (the book is told from seven different perspectives, several of them African American) Hillary took her debut novel to several agents, all of whom said no with varying degrees of kindness. The very last agent was kind enough not to say no, but also did not say yes–at least, not initially. Instead, she gave it to her then-assistant, a fellow Southerner who’d rescued the Mudbound manuscript from the slush pile, fallen in love with it and made it his mission to see it to print.
[Slush pile--NYC style.]
[Proper NYC slush-pile footwear: Tory Burch "Alicia" boots, $550]
From there, you’d think it would be a cakewalk, right? Or at least a mini-muffin walk. At least in Tory Burch boots. As it turned out, though, most of the publishers approached by Hil’s then agent-in-training (now a highly successful agent in his own right) also had reservations over the manuscript–even after it won the 2008 Bellwether Prize for “socially-engaged fiction.” In fact, Scribner, the publisher normally associated with the prize, decided that they didn’t want it unless Hillary dramatically changed the book, since they felt the public wasn’t ready for Mudbound’s complex narrative structure. In the end, it was Algonquin–an aptly small, Southern firebrand of a press–that finally picked Mudbound up. It did so whole-heartedly, making it the promotional centerpiece of their 2008 lineup and bringing a wrenching, multi-layered tale of sharecropping, war, racism and redemption to a readership that was clearly quite ready for it, thank you very much.
And the rest, as they say, is Herstory–or at least, a story I tell daunted students and fellow-writers a lot, since it always makes me so happy. I could go on about the various other distinctions and rave reviews both Mudbound and WSW have reaped. Now, though, I’m sure you’d like to actually meet the firebrand author herself–so without further ado here you go:
***
SF:How would you describe your personal style? How about your writing style? Is there any connection between the two in your mind?
HJ: Hmm. I guess the word that comes to mind is sparing. I’m not a fan of frippery in either fashion or prose; the one makes me look fat and ridiculous, and the other makes me want to hurl the book across the room.
[Frippery in prose. Or at least in pose...]
SF: Who is your favorite author? Designer?
HJ: Jane Austen, for her wit and keen eye for the ridiculous. And Elie Tahari, for his simple, elegant lines and his luscious but unaffordable leather and suede jackets.
[Elie Tahari Leather Jacket, $798]
[Marcia Cross, another gracefully-aging redhead, in both Tahari and his armpit.]
…Which I must confess I would gladly renounce forever for the chance to dance the quadrille in one of those Empire-waisted Regency ballgowns and elbow-length ivory satin gloves.
SF: What books are on your nightstand?
HJ: Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron, Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones, the manuscript of Allison Lynn’s excellent (50 pages in) second novel, The Exiles, the new George R.R. Martin and about 100 other books I put off reading while I was finishing my own. My nightstand and all my bookshelves and even my floor are groaning.
[I am, as I have noted in previous posts, now wholly addicted to this man's work. Think Tolkein, resurrected....]
SF: What beauty/cosmetic products are on your bureau or in your medicine cabinet?
HJ: Pevonia Botanica Crème Peau Réactif (moisturizer for us delicate, sensitive types).
[Pevonia Botanica Reactive Skin Cream, $55]
This unbelievably rich, all-natural, frangipani-scented body lotion I got in Egypt, made by a company called Nefertari. And blinc mascara, which I love because it rinses off with just a little warm water and a swipe of your fingers (but whatever you do, don’t wear it to Bambi or Crimes of Endearment, because it will end up all over your face).
SF: Who is the best-dressed character you’ve created? How did you come up with and dress them? What does the way you dress them say about them to you?
HJ: Hannah Payne in her violet silk scoop-backed evening gown. I figured I owed her that for turning her skin stop-sign red and then making her spend 58 pages in a drab, prairie-style dress and bonnet.
[Vampal Dress for "Prom, Evening, Homecoming, Formal, Cruise." No idea who this designer is, but the dress works here]
SF: If you could take just one book, one pair of shoes/boots and one clothing item to a desert island, what would they each be?
HJ: Buehler’s Backyard Boatbuilding by George Buehler, a pair of Havianas and a big straw hat to keep my face from turning as red as my heroine’s.
SF: What do you wear when you’re writing?
HJ: An expression of crinkle-browed vexation or, when the words are flowing, a beatific, relieved smile.
SF: What’s your next big fashion purchase? Next literary purchase?
HJ: A slinky red dress for my book party. And I’m not buying one more book until I’ve reduced my towering to-read stack by at least half (promises, promises).
[Hillary at her book party. The dress--a David Meister sheath number--kicked ass.]
SF: What’s your go-to distraction (online or off) when you have writer’s block or are just feeling lazy?
HJ: Online Scrabble and cooking. And the stubborner the writer’s block, the more caloric the cuisine.
SF: What are you working on now?
HJ: Three short stories: one about a comedian who’s lost his sense of humor, one about a naked woman walking into a library and one about the Second Coming of Christ. Just trying to keep my fans as confused as possible.
[Fin]
So there you have it–the story behind the stories behind award-winning novelist Hillary Jordan! Don’t forget to go pick up When She Woke right now–no matter how towering or groaning your bedside table. And check out Hil’s newly-redesigned website here for further reviews, blog posts, trailers and excerpts. Lastly, come back in a few days for a piece on my current can’t-afford-it-but-can’t-stop-shoppin’-it obsession: the classic wrap dress. 
2 Comments (+add yours?)
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Oct 13, 2011 @ 17:30:15
Loved this, Jennifer. You told an interesting, truthful story about Hill’s
breaking into the published author biz. Hope I get to meet you some day.
Anita (Hillary’s mother)
Oct 13, 2011 @ 17:44:29
Thank you, Anita! Your daughter is a wonder
I too hope to meet some day…