1--What is the title of your latest release?
A PROMISE TO ARLETTE
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
A historical fiction saga that takes you from the seemingly idyllic life of Ida and Sydney in 1950s American suburbia, to Ida’s glistening past in Paris, to the devastation of WWII. It’s a story about love and friendship, trust and betrayal, and how promises made, broken, and ultimately renewed, can determine our fate.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I was intrigued by the stark differences between the 1950s New England lifestyle versus 1930s Paris, so I knew my novel would take place in those two locations. The rest was decided for me as my protagonist became Peggy Guggenheim’s assistant, which meant following Peggy from England to Paris. Later, when my protagonist tracks down Man Ray, the book takes us to California since that’s where the artist was living.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
I wouldn’t be so keen to hang out with Ida when the book opens. She’s a bit of a self-indulgent mess. In her youth, definitely. And by the end I’d have a drink with her.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Yearning, tenacious, bold.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
That the decriminalization of same sex sexual activity didn’t start in the US until 1962, whereas it had been legal in France since the 1700s.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
For the most part I edit as I draft. Sometimes I have to force myself to move on without revisiting material or else I’ll never get through it.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Ice cream. Always. Especially with a shot of whisky poured over it.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
Oh, sadness. It’s my messy dining room table. Or a coffee shop when I can be bothered to leave my house.
10--Who is an author you admire?
If forced to choose one…Arundhati Roy is at the top of my list.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
Changed one’s life is a serious statement, so I’d have to say mine! When The Girl with No Names became a bestseller I quite my mundane job and became a full-time writer and never looked back.
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.
This is my fifth book, but my agent was pitching it to a new publishing house, which felt like starting over and I had the anxious thought: what if no one wants it? When I got the call with an offer from my dream editor at my dream publishing house for a two-book deal, I burst into tears.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
I’m a bit stodgy and always go for literary fiction. Although I recently read a thriller I couldn’t put down and thought, maybe I like thrillers?
14--What’s your favorite movie?
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
15--What is your favorite season?
Whenever the lilacs bloom.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
With friends who are all in for a late-night dance party broken only for slices of flourless chocolate cake.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Japanese
19--What do you do when you have free time?
Escape to my cabin in Vermont for a sauna and cold plunge.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
My next book is inspired by a real event that took place in Washington DC in 1975. It involves the White House, a reporter, her source, and a dead husband. It’s ultimately about two ambitious women fighting for their jobs in male dominated fields, and how far they’re willing to go for success.
With the scope of a saga and the heart of a thriller, this is an evocative historical novel following a married couple whose idyllic 1950s suburban life is threatened by the promises they made during World War II.
Sidney and Ida Whipple are living the suburban 1950s American dream, complete with two children and a white picket fence, which didn’t seem possible when they first met at the height of WWII in France. Reveling in the present, they can almost convince themselves that their past is behind them. But when their neighbors show off a newly purchased Man Ray photograph, Ida comes face-to-face with the person she loved and lost in the war: Arlette.
Only Ida knows the truth about the photograph, and why it can’t possibly be authentic. In an attempt to right past wrongs, she travels to California vowing to confront Man Ray. Sidney wakes to find his wife is missing, the photograph in question stolen, and all the secrets they’ve tried to bury come rushing back. With his daughters in tow, he travels after Ida, hoping to forge a new path together. Instead, their sojourn leads to a shocking discovery that could pull their family apart in this sweeping, unforgettable story about love and friendship, trust and betrayal, and how promises made, broken, and ultimately renewed, can determine our fate.
Saga | Historical [Atria Books, On Sale: June 17, 2025, Hardcover / e-Book , ISBN: 9781668070307 / eISBN: 9781668070321]
Serena Burdick is USA Today, Toronto Star and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of THE GIRLS WITH NO NAMES. She is the author of the novel THE STOLEN BOOK OF EVELYN AUBREY, FIND ME IN HAVANA, GIRL IN THE AFTERNOON, and the forthcoming novel A PROMISE TO ARLETTE. Her books have been translated into multiple languages and published in twelve territories to date. She studied creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College, holds a Bachelors of Arts from Brooklyn College in English literature and an Associates of Arts from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in theater.
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