I’m so excited for the upcoming release of Anna Godbersen’s Beautiful Days.  I reviewed it yesterday (check it out!) and think that if you haven’t yet had a chance to get in on this series you should.  It’s a fantastic look at the temperance era that I think lovers of historical fiction and romance will enjoy.  As part of the release I have been lucky enough to ask Ms. Godbersen some questions.  Please join me and welcoming her to Galleysmith.

MF:  What draws you to writing historical fiction?
AG:  When I was a bookish teen, I loved novels set in other times, other realities, other universes. So that’s part of it—being able to create this world that looks and smells and sounds different than the one my readers and I walk around in every day. I want to transportthem, and myself. And then, once you’re there, the historical setting means that the realities of life, the situations my characters are going to find themselves in, will often be ones you couldn’t have in a contemporary setting, which is exciting stuff for a writer! Very plot-friendly.

MF:  You’ve written the gilded age and now the roaring 20′s.  What time period are you hopeful to write about next?  Anything in the works already?
AG:  I love the 1960s, that transition from a really uptight culture to one that was free to the point of chaos, and all in a decade! So I’ve got that on the brain. Nothing in the works yet, though.

MF:  If you could be one character in Beautiful Days who would it be and why?
AG:  All of my characters are pretty close to my heart, and I’d say there are bits of me in all of them.  But if I got to just drop into one of their heads for a little while? Probably Astrid Donal, because she really doesn’t care what anyone thinks, and is just all about being light and free all the time.  Also for, you know, reasons of wardrobe.

MF:  If you lived in the 20′s what would you miss most about the lifestyle you leadnow?
AG:  This is going to make me sound like such an old lady, but… I’d really miss the yoga.  Not that there wasn’t yoga, obviously, but the easy access to it.

MF:  If Astrid traveled through time to land in modern NYC what would be the one thing she’d love?  One thing she’d loathe?
AG:  I think she’d love the things about New York that were true in her time, too—that it’s a city full of strivers and eccentrics and beauty-seekers, that there’s so much to look at and smell and be transported and horrified by. But I think she would see how some parts of the city are Disneyfied versions of their old selves, and she’d be super bored by that.

MF:  What’s in store for Astrid, Cordelia, & Letty?  Can you share a little about where they are when we next see them?
AG:  I’m working on the third book now, and the scenes I’m writing these days are ones in which the girls are really on top of their games—Astrid and Charlie are in a super romantic place, Cordelia is ruling New York nightlife, and Letty is making inroads to being a star. But I don’t want to give away too much! It will be fun, I promise.

Thank you for visiting Anna, I love hearing about what’s coming up next for the girls!  I’m eagerly anticipating the next book in the series.  For those of you interested in picking up a copy check out my giveaway.