What Nora Knew (30 page)
Authors: Linda Yellin
Molly says in the novel that writers are always asked about their process. What’s your writing process?
There tend to be two camps. Neither of which is in Wisconsin. The first is writers who make thorough story outlines. The second is all the writers who believe that, if there’s no surprise for the author, there’s no surprise for the reader. They start with a premise and a few characters and see where it takes them. I fall somewhere in-between. I make a rough list of possible scenes that might create a story flow. But no roman numerals are involved.
When Harry Met Sally
was made in 1989.
Sleepless in Seattle
in 1993.
You’ve Got Mail
was 1998. Why do you think Nora Ephron’s movies are still so beloved even decades after she made them?
Who doesn’t love a love story? And her characters are totally endearing. You can’t help but root for everyone to end up happy. But the movies aren’t just romantic; they’re filled with all that witty banter and repartee. So even though you’re sitting there crying at the end, you feel sophisticated.
Did you ever meet Nora Ephron?
No. When I first moved to New York in 1996, we lived in the same apartment building, this big kinda famous courtyard building on the Upper West Side, but I never ran into her. All sorts of celebrities lived in the building and I never ran into any of them. Cyndi Lauper. Bob Balaban. But every morning I’d watch Rosie O’Donnell through my bedroom window when her limo picked her up for work.
You spied on her?
That’s one way to put it. I’d prefer to say I
observed
her. Spying would be if I broke into her apartment and hid behind her dining room curtains.
So, Linda, having written this novel, is there any way you feel you’re at all similar to Nora Ephron?
Yes. I have a long, skinny face. Other than that, I remain forever in her awe. She was a genius.
LINDA YELLIN
is the author of
Such a Lovely Couple
about her first marriage, and
The Last Blind Date
about her second marriage. No new husbands were involved in the making of this novel. Visit her website at
www.lindayellin.com
.
FOR MORE ON THIS AUTHOR:
authors.simonandschuster.com/Linda-Yellin
MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT
Also by Linda Yellin
Such a Lovely Couple
The Last Blind Date
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2014 by Linda Yellin
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First Gallery Books trade paperback edition January 2014
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Designed by Jill Putorti
Cover design by Zoe Norvell
Cover photograph by Getty Images
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
ISBN 978-1-4767-3006-6
ISBN 978-1-4767-3008-0 (ebook)