1--What is the title of your latest release?
BEFORE DOROTHY
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
BEFORE DOROTHY is the imagined life story of Aunt Em from The Wizard of Oz, set during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl of the 1930s. It was inspired by the following lines from the original L. Frank Baum book: ‘When Aunt Em came to live there, she was a young, pretty wife. The sun and wind had changed her, too.’ In BEFORE DOROTHY, I explore who Em was before Dorothy came into her life, and how life on the prairie - and Dorothy - change her.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
Of course the book was always going to be set in Kansas, but my story also moves from Ireland and then to Chicago. The locations were inspired by linking the Emerald City with the Emerald Isle (where I live), and Chicago being where L. Frank Baum wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. There is now a yellow brick road on the site of his home at Humboldt Avenue.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Absolutely! I feel that I’ve walked beside Emily, Henry, and Dorothy in Kansas while researching and writing this book.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Courageous, resilient, determined.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
That ideas are never fully lost. I wrote the start of a contemporary Oz reimagining over ten years ago, but abandoned it to work on what would become my debut historical novel. BEFORE DOROTHY is my twelfth novel, and the idea for an Oz reimagining came back to me at the perfect time. I couldn’t have written this book all those years ago.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I edit as I write. Even when getting the first draft down, I can’t help editing and polishing as I go. It helps me understand my characters and the tone of the book. I struggle to move forward until I feel the opening chapters are clear (aka, procrastination!).
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
I spent a weekend in San Sebastian in Spain last year and have been thinking about the burnt Basque cheesecake ever since. So good! Their tapas style pintxos are also amazing. I like to graze rather than face a big plate of food so this style of eating suits me perfectly.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
We moved into our home five years ago and my office has been the dumping ground ever since. Last month, I finally got round to decorating it. I painted it a gorgeous shade of muted pinky brown called Sulking Room Pink and added wall paneling and hummingbird wallpaper. I love it so much!
10--Who is an author you admire?
I admire anyone who has the courage to write and share their work and I especially admire authors who have stuck with it for many years and keep delivery amazing books. Hilary Mantel was a remarkable writer.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
Honestly, my debut novel, The Girl Who Came Home. It changed everything for me – gave me a second career and allowed me to finally do the thing I’d believed I could for so long.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
It was almost twelve years ago to the day. After five years of rejection, losing an agent, and self-publishing my debut novel, that same novel and one other went to auction with publishers in the USA. I had the most surreal afternoon of updates on offers from my agent! When the deal was done, I had a glass of champagne and sat in a quiet room alone to process let it sink in. That ‘yes’ silenced all the devastating “nos” and everything fell into place. Proof that it is only over when you stop trying.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Historical fiction, although I’ve recently enjoyed a lot of non-fiction nature writing. Many of my Irish author friends write thrillers, so I’ve become partial to those, too.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
My answer to this was always The Wizard of Oz but Wicked is now a very close contender. I recently watched Interstellar and found it incredible. The ‘dust dowl’ setting was especially fascinating having just written a book set during the 1930s dust bowl. I also have a soft spot for Jojo Rabbit.
15--What is your favorite season?
Fall. No further questions.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
With family and friends. Lots of little celebrations with small groups rather than a big event. More like a birth-week than a birthday.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
TV show: The Great Pottery Throwdown (it’s a British show, like the Bake Off, but with ceramics. It’s so wholesome!)
Movie: Wicked
Book: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby van Pelt
Podcast: Off Menu (celebrities choose their dream menu).
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
See above. Everything in San Sebastian!
19--What do you do when you have free time?
Free time?! Mostly, I go for a walk with friends.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
A surprise! (Literally, I don’t know!) Suggestions welcome.
Long before Dorothy visits Oz, her aunt, Emily Gale, sets off on her own grand adventure, leaving gritty Chicago behind for Kansas and a life that will utterly change her, in this transporting novel from New York Times bestselling author Hazel Gaynor.
Chicago, 1924: Emily and her new husband, Henry, yearn to leave the bustle of Chicago for the promise of their own American dream among the harsh beauty of the prairie. But leaving the city means leaving Emily’s beloved sister, Annie, who was once closer to her than anyone in the world.
Kansas, 1932: Emily and Henry have established their new home among the warmth of the farming community in Kansas. Aligned to the fickle fortunes of nature, their lives hold a precarious and hopeful purpose, until tragedy strikes and their orphaned niece, Dorothy, lands on their doorstep.
The wide-eyed child isn’t the only thing to disrupt Emily’s world. Drought and devastating dust storms threaten to destroy everything, and her much-loved home becomes a place of uncertainty and danger. When the past catches up with the present and old secrets are exposed, Emily fears she will lose the most cherished thing of all: Dorothy.
Bursting with courage and heart, Before Dorothy tells the story of the woman who raised a beloved heroine, and ponders the question: what is the true meaning of home?
Historical [Berkley, On Sale: June 17, 2025, Trade Paperback / e-Book , ISBN: 9780593440339 / eISBN: 9780593440346]
Hazel Gaynor is an award-winning New York Times and internationally bestselling author of historical novels which explore the defining events of the 20th century. A recipient of the 2015 RNA Historical Novel Award (The Girl Who Came Home) and the 2024 Audie award for Best Fiction Narrator (The Last Lifeboat), her work has also been shortlisted for the 2019 HWA Gold Crown, the 2020 RNA Historical Novel Award, and the Irish Book Awards in 2017, 2020 and 2023. Her co-written historical novels with Heather Webb have all been published to critical acclaim. Hazel’s work is translated into 20 languages and she is published in twenty-seven territories to date. She lives in Ireland with her family.
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