Jennifer Vido: Wow, what a premise! How'd you come up with the idea of a makeup artist turned vengeful in 1950s Hollywood?
Katherine Blake: Thank you for asking! It came about very organically, as I was propped up in bed one evening scrolling YouTube. I knew I wanted to write something a bit “crime-y” set in Golden Era Hollywood but didn’t really know what that might be. Then, I found myself watching make-up tutorials to fall asleep to (there is something very meditative about watching someone having their make-up done) and stumbled across a make-up artist to the stars, Lisa Eldridge. She has her own collection of vintage make-up. In one of her videos talking us through the collection, she mentioned how the Hollywood make-up artists had to start mixing potions from scratch, once the industry moved from black-and-white to Technicolor. My brain exploded! Anything could go into a make-up potion, including poison. Only a few extra moments of research showed me that make-up and poison have a rich heritage, stretching back to Egyptian times. I was off and running!
Jen: Loretta sounds like quite a character. What was your favorite part about writing her?
Katherine: Her voice! I’m not sure I wrote Loretta, so much as channeled her. I’ll never forget the moment when I sat down to write the first chapters. My hands flew across the keyboard as this voice and attitude appeared from nowhere. I arrived at the end of 3,000 words, sat back and thought, Yes, we have something here. Loretta Darling had been born! I also really enjoy the fact that she’s a straight-talking British northerner who calls a spade a shovel, arriving in the land of “Have a nice day!”. That was a really fun anomaly to explore, an illegal alien in California.
Jen: The dark side of Hollywood is a big theme here. Did any real-life scandals or stories inspire parts of your book?
Katherine: For sure. I began writing THE UNFORGETTABLE LORETTA DARLING when the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke thanks to some extremely brave actors and actresses and the rise of the #metoo movement. Indeed, I was advised to get the book out as quickly as possible in case that movement fell off people’s radar. I didn’t write quickly, and the movement didn’t disappear. Every few months, a new scandal broke, and I could see that this theme wasn’t going anywhere. And, of course, there are horrendous stories from the past that informed the novel, from a sixteen-year-old Judy Garland being groped on the set of Somewhere Over the Rainbow to Ginger Rogers being chased around a desk by head of Columbia. It was kind of depressing to see that not much had changed, but that’s where Loretta came in – she wasn’t going to stand for any nonsense!
Jen: I love Loretta's misfit crew. Which of her sidekicks was the most fun to write?
Katherine: I’m not sure Sally Dee would ever tolerate being called a sidekick, but this aging starlet was the most fun to write. In real life, she’s not that old – early forties – but by 1950s Hollywood standards she’s long past it. And Hollywood has not been kind to her, with all the surgeries, medication, alcohol, husbands and a studio system that could kick her out on her butt any time they liked. Loretta meets Sally when she’s working on her last movie. Of course, Sally doesn’t know it’s her last movie. She’s vicious, cruel and usually drunk. But for some reason, she and Loretta connect. She recognizes Loretta’s talents; Loretta recognizes the person Sally once was. Their friendship culminates when Loretta is invited to Sally’s home for martinis and advice. Loretta gets a glimpse behind the façade of stardom and sees someone who was put on the stage as a child and knows nothing other than acting. Sally might be bitter, but she still loves her cruel mistress, Hollywood. Loretta’s the same. She sees that Sunset Boulevard is littered with broken dreams and broken people, but she can’t help loving the city all the same. In short, Sally is a mirror to Loretta, showing her what she could become … or not. Fame and bitterness? Or obscurity and always wondering what might have been? Only Loretta can decide.
Jen: Your book touches on some heavy themes. How did you balance that with the more thrilling, entertaining aspects of the story?
Katherine: This was one of the most challenging aspects of the novel. If I was going to deal with issues of abuse, I wanted to do it properly. The language of Hollywood exploitation can often be superficial and coy – the casting couch, the ‘being nice’ to moguls or the descriptions of ‘wide-eyed hopefuls’ where it’s insinuated that these young actors are somehow complicit in their abuse. Loretta isn’t wide-eyed by any stretch of the imagination, and she can talk a good talk – but when she finds herself alone with two determined and spoilt men, there’s an awful moment of realization. She can’t talk her way out of this. It all comes down to power – both physical and societal – and there’s every danger that this scene won’t have a good outcome. I won’t say much more to avoid spoilers, but even the way she’s helped gave me a lot of pause for thought. In short, there are no easy answers to writing an authentic scene like this and only the sincere belief that you have aimed to do your best by a female character and your readers.
Jen: The 1950s setting is so intriguing. What drew you to that particular era of Hollywood?
Katherine: Movies and books! Hollywood loves a story about Hollywood and there are some great ones out there. I adore the film, LA Confidential, and Primrose is my homage to the character Lynn Braken, played by Kim Basinger. Then there are the novels such as The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo – adore! – and some interesting memoirs including Beloved Infidel, Sheilah Graham’s recollections of living in Hollywood with F Scott Fitzgerald. One big stroke of luck was stumbling across the only existing anthropological study of Hollywood – The Dream Factory – published in 1950 by an author called Hortense Powdermaker. (What a name!) She asked all the shameless questions I needed answering, including what people earned and where they lived.
More generally, I find the 1950s fascinating because as a society, so much is changing. We’re post-war but with memories still raw and fresh. Women have re-discovered makeup and dresses after years of austerity. The teenager is born, along with rock and roll. It’s a time of stability, but also conformity. And, of course, there’s the Cold War.
Jen: Without spoiling anything, is there a scene you're particularly excited for readers to experience?
Katherine: Yes, there is, and it’s almost impossible to discuss without giving away spoilers! It opens on page 69, that’s all I’ll say, and is my homage to The Great Gatsby, my all-time favorite novel. I vividly remember sitting down to write this scene, rubbing my hands together in anticipation of creating my own party that was equal parts glamorous and corrupt.
Jen: Your book has been compared to some pretty cool works, like "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" and "Killing Eve." How do you feel about those comparisons?
Katherine: I’m delighted by the comparison with The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo as that was a definite inspiration. I may be one of the few people in the world who hasn’t seen Killing Eve! I’ve caught snatches of it and understand the base principle of the main characters, so I’ll take that as another compliment. There seems to be a real appetite right now for strong female leads who take no prisoners. I wonder where that comes from. Another outcome of the #metoo movement?
Jen: Makeup artistry plays a significant role in the story. Did you have to do a lot of research into 1950s makeup techniques?
Katherine: Researching the novel was an absolute joy and I gathered quite the book collection! I read several books about the history of makeup, biographies of famous makeup artists such as Elizabeth Arden, gossipy memoirs and contemporary handbooks for makeup artists. I also spoke to makeup artists about their film set experiences. There were so many fascinating details to explore. For example, during the black and white movie era, actors would be made up with green face paint as that worked best on film. Up-and-coming actresses would regularly have their hairlines adjusted with electrolysis. Marilyn Monroe would smear her face in Vaseline to make it glow in front of the camera. The mascara wand wasn’t invented until 1957 by Helena Rubenstein. And so it goes on! You underestimate makeup and its advertising at your peril; what people painted on their faces reflected society’s concerns at the time. The 1950s was all about post-war glamour, but women were also using makeup to please themselves rather than their husbands. A red lip became the symbol of a new war – the battle of the sexes!
Jen: This is your debut novel, right? What's been the most surprising part of your publishing journey so far?
Katherine: It’s my debut adult novel, but I’ve written over twenty-five children’s books and spent my entire career working in book publishing as an editor. So there weren’t that many surprises! The one detail that did strike me is how often you don’t really feel as though you know what’s going on at a publishing house, even when your editor and her colleagues are working hard to keep you informed. There are long stretches of silence and then a flurry of emails, so my advice to new authors would be to make sure you have other interests to occupy yourself with. Being an author is so satisfying and great fun, but don’t make it the be all and the end all.
Jen: Thanks so much for stopping by to chat about your thrilling novel set in the glitzy yet dangerous world of 1950s Hollywood. I wish you all the best with your book launch.
Katherine: Thank you for inviting me! You’ve asked some great questions and prompted a lot of thoughts. It’s also really lovely to look back on a once-in-a-lifetime experience. You’re only a debut once!
An aspiring makeup artist takes on predatory Hollywood in this addictive debut novel with bite—a sultry, thrilling blend of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Killing Eve, and A Promising Young Woman.
It’s 1950 and Loretta Reynolds is newly arrived in Hollywood, fresh off a con that brought her from England to the sunny shores of California. She’s running away from a complicated past to fulfill her ambition of becoming a makeup artist to the stars.
When her new husband, a would-be actor, takes her to a sex-fueled Hollywood party on their wedding night—hoping to trade her to a powerful director for a favor—she discovers the dark side of Tinseltown and sets out on a path of revenge against the cruel men who use their money and power to play with lives and dreams.
In her quest for vengeance, Loretta gathers a band of La-La-Land misfits: a fading starlet past her prime, a friendly neighborhood sex worker, and a brooding screenwriter who proves yes, not all men are evil—just most . . .
Now, Loretta is about to get her big break—and Hollywood better beware. Loretta has learned a lot about makeup, and more. . . and some of her clients might not make it out alive.
Women's Fiction Historical | Women's Fiction Psychological [Harper Paperbacks, On Sale: July 9, 2024, Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9780063342200 / eISBN: 9780063342231]
Katherine Blake is a pseudonym for Karen Ball, an author who has written over twenty-five children’s books and was a Bookseller Rising Star thanks to her publishing consultancy, Speckled Pen.
She regularly appears on podcasts, including The Bestseller Experiment and SJ Bennett’s PrePublished. She lives in London and runs a biweekly newsletter filled with fun news, book reviews, and regular updates about her miniature schnauzer.
Jennifer Vido writes sweet romances set in the Lowcountry filled with southern charm and hospitality. In between chapters, she interviews authors for her bi-weekly Jen’s Jewels column on FreshFiction.com. Most mornings, she teaches an arthritis-friendly water exercise class for seniors before heading to the office to serve as the executive director of a legal non-profit. A New Jersey native, she currently lives in Maryland with her husband and two rescue dogs and is the proud parent of two sons who miss her home-cooked meals. To learn more, please visit her website.
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