October's Monthly Digest ... In November!
What can I say – a mammoth book tour and then having only a week after I returned home to submit my next manuscript mean that I'm a bit late for October's update!
If you read my mid-tour post, you’ll know October was something of a whirlwind. A fabulous whirlwind, backed up by a deadline for my next book, which was due at the publisher on Oct 31. Did I make the deadline? Of course I did – I’m such a rule-follower that my soul would never let me submit late!
All of that means I missed my Monthly Digest, which I usually send out in the last week of the month. You’re getting it a few days late, for which I apologise. But to make up for it, November is going to be a fabulous month. My next post will be all about Mizza Bricard, building from this piece I wrote for Sunday Life. I want to take you more deeply into how I researched and built up an alternative and much truer version of her than the version that’s generally served up in the media and in books about Dior. And then paid subscribers will receive the Magazine mid-month, which will be my pre-departure edition – I’m off to Europe in just a couple of weeks!
I’m not travelling for research this time, but to celebrate the end of schooling for my seventeen-year-old daughter. She’s chosen the itinerary, so we’re visiting Germany, Italy and Spain and I can’t wait to not do any writing, to immerse myself in travel and to refill the creative well, which is running a little dry right now!
I promise to send at least one dispatch from Europe, and then I’m pausing paid subscriptions for December. What that means is that if you have a paid subscription, it will automatically extend by one month to make up for the month when I’ll be posting infrequently at best and, at worst, not at all.
So, what’s been happening in Natasha Lester-land in October? A better question might be – what hasn’t been happening? While on tour, I’ve simultaneously juggled, in the back of the car on the way to events, my daughter’s asthma attack, which was happening thousands of kilometres away and which landed her in hospital, and trying to secure university accomodation for her for next year in Sydney and Melbourne, as you have to book the accomodation before you even know if you have a place. So my multi-tasking skills were well and truly honed by the end of the tour!
My New Manuscript
In my main news, as I mentioned, I submitted a manuscript to my publisher on Tuesday night. Does that mean the book is finished? Far from it!
It just means that I’ve taken it as far as I can on my own. It means that I’m super happy with my main character and her journey – I feel like I climbed into her skin and inhabited her in this book. There’s also a very personal connection between me and this main character, which helped me pull her down off the pedestal I’d put her on and feel the world through her heart. Yes, I’m excited about this book!
But now I need my editors’ expert eyes to read it and ask me all the right questions, such as – why is this character doing this in that scene? And to point out the places where the narrative might be a bit slow or the characters underdeveloped or the story is getting lost in the research. The editing process is huge and exciting and scary and exhausting and I’m looking forward to having a holiday before I dive into it, refreshed and with just the right sense of focus and creativity to take the book to the next level.
This book has a working title of THE SECRET LIFE OF MARIE-MADELEINE, although I don’t know what the published title will be. I promise to keep you updated on both that, and the publishing date. It’s unlikely to be 2024, I’m sorry! That would require a much too quick turnaround of the edit and I need a break! First half of 2025 is a safe bet, so mark your diaries. More soon!
A New Paperback
In other news, the paperback edition of THE THREE LIVES OF ALIX ST PIERRE was published in North America, following on from the publication of the hardback in January.
For those of you who haven’t read it yet, let me just say that Alix reappears in THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ASTRID BRICARD, which lots of readers have really enjoyed. It doesn’t matter if you don’t read ALIX before ASTRID, but it’s kind of fun if you do!
Things I’m Looking Forward To
Top of the list for me is visiting the famous Libreria Acqua Alta in Venice, which looks like heaven! I’ll be in Venice for about four days, so expect lots of glorious pics, so long as it doesn’t rain!
Reading Wifedom, by Anna Funder, which so many readers have recommended to me after hearing me talk about THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ASTRID BRICARD, or after having read my book, including my friend
who wrote this insightful Substack about Funder’s bookKate Winslet’s star turn as Lee Miller in the film, Lee, which has premiered at the Venice Film Festival but doesn’t have an Australian release date yet. Fingers crossed that it’s soon!
Fashion Moment of the Month
The thing I got asked the most questions about on tour – after my book, of course! – was the sparkly sequinned blue skirt that I wore to a couple of events. It’s by Rodarte, whose clothes are normally too flashy for me, but I do like the occasional bit of wardrobe bling and I figured it fitted in well with a book about the 1970s! It is a few years old though so, if you’re after something similar, you might have to scour Vestiaire or the RealReal. I mostly have blurry photos of it though, like the one below!
For Your Listening and Reading Pleasure
If you weren’t able to catch me on tour, or if you’ve read the book and just want to know more about the research and writing of the book, you can listen to me talk about elements of THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ASTRID BRICARD on the fabulous Tsundoku Podcast.
Or you can read a preview of the book here, thanks to Better Reading, which will take you through the Prologue and Chapter One of the book to whet your appetite!
Thank You!
That’s all for this (belated) October Wrap-Up. Thanks to everyone for coming to my tour events; it was such a highlight to meet so many amazing readers over the past few weeks. I’ll be back next week with a deep dive into the fascinating and incredible Mizza Bricard and how I tried to resurrect her from the role history wanted to reduce her to. Until then – have a fabulous week!
Thanks for the shout-out! I have no doubt you're going to love Wifedom. And I just handed my book in too on the same day! We'll have to celebrate when you're back from your trip. Have an amazing time!
Enjoy your time OS - precious moments with your DD.
Your next book will have personal connections between you and the main character - I am more than intrigued now.
Enjoy your well earned rest - of sorts - still so much to going on.
PS. I have a photo of you in your Rodarte skirt - happy to forward should you wish 👍🏼