407: Public vs. Private Personas: Crafting a Novel Based on Historical Figures - Interview with Leslie Johansen Nack

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Leslie Johansen Nack. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Leslie’s newest book,</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Blue Butterfly, A Novel of Marion Davies,</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">comes out next week and it’s what we are going to be discussing today. Her debut is a memoir titled</span> <em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Fourteen, A Daughter’s Memoir of Adventure, Sailing, and Survival.</span></em> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">It received five indie awards, including the 2016 Finalist in Memoir at the Next Generation Indie Book Award.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Leslie says she did everything late in life, including getting her degree in English Literature from UCLA at age thirty-one. Before she started writing, she raised two children, ran a mechanical engineering business with her husband, took care of her aging mother, and dreamed of retirement when she could write full-time. She currently lives in San Diego and—in addition to writing—she enjoys sailing, hiking, and reading.</span></p> <p> </p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this episode Leslie Johansen Nack and I discuss:</span></h3> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Why she leaned into fiction for this project as opposed to writing a biography.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Her research process and how she chose which scenes to fictionalize.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">How she balanced writing about the public and private personas of her characters.</span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></p> <h4><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Plus, her #1 tip for writers.</span></em></h4> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For more info and show notes: <a href= "https://diymfa.com/podcast/episode-407-leslie-johansen-nack" target=