Nicola Harrison
Author Interview - Nicola Harrison
Author of Montauk and The Show Girl and The Island Club
Nicola Harrison at the Chicago Literary Salon on May 6
Nicola Harrison at the Chicago Literary Salon on May 6
About The Island Club:
Three women on idyllic 1950s Balboa Island find their lives unraveling in unexpected ways—Milly, a young hassled mother, struggles to save her crumbling marriage, Sylvia, a society matriarch on the island, fights to protect her family's legacy, and Adele, a disgraced former tennis champion who’s living as a recluse on the island, risks everything to keep her past buried. As secrets unravel and tensions rise, an unlikely friendship and the game of tennis may be their only salvation. The Island Club is a tale of love, ambition, and the dangerous truths we tell ourselves.
About Hotel Laguna:
About the book: In 1942, Hazel Francis left Wichita, Kansas for California, determined to do her part for the war effort. At Douglas Aircraft, she became one of many “Rosie the Riveters,” helping construct bombers for the U. S. military. But now the war is over, men have returned to their factory jobs, and women like Hazel have been dismissed, expected to return home to become wives and mothers.
Unwilling to be forced into a traditional woman’s role in the Midwest, Hazel remains on the west coast, and finds herself in the bohemian town of Laguna Beach. Desperate for work, she accepts a job as an assistant to famous artist Hanson Radcliff. Beloved by the locals for his contributions to the art scene and respected by the critics, Radcliff lives under the shadow of a decades old scandal that haunts him.
Working hard to stay on her cantankerous employer’s good side, Hazel becomes a valued member of the community. She never expected to fall in love with the rhythms of life in Laguna, nor did she expect to find a kindred spirit in Jimmy, the hotel bartender whose friendship promises something more. But Hazel still wants to work with airplanes―maybe even learn to fly one someday. Torn between pursuing her dream and the dream life she has been granted, she is unsure if giving herself over to Laguna is what her heart truly wants.
Author Interview - Nicola Harrison
Author I draw inspiration from:
2026: I love all of Fiona Davis’s books. Like me, she often begins with a place she’s fascinated by and then builds a story around it, whether that’s the New York Public Library or Radio City Music Hall. I especially enjoyed her most recent novel, The Stolen Queen, which moves between The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Egyptian collection in 1978 and an archaeological dig in Egypt in 1936. I love the way she seamlessly intertwines the two timelines and immerses the reader so completely that you feel as if you’re standing right there alongside the characters.
2019: Such a tough question – so many to choose from. In contemporary writers I’d have to say Jennifer Belle – she’s a friend and mentor - her writing is dry and witty and brilliant. And from the classics – F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Author Interview - Nicola Harrison
Favorite place to read a book:
2026: I love to read in bed before I fall asleep at night. But also, nothing puts me in vacation mode like devouring a book poolside.
2019: The beach or the pool – that’s the ultimate luxury, but in real life I get most of my reading done these days while nursing my baby! It’s the perfect time when there’s nothing else I can or should be doing.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
2026: Ooh! Good question. I think Beth Johnson from Broken Country by Claire Leslie Hall. I would have so many questions for her about why she did what she did. I know that was explored in the book but I found some of her actions unthinkable and I would want to grill her on those.
2019: Amina from The Newlyweds by Nell Freudenberger – that novel stayed with me for a long time after I read it and I’d have so many questions for her.
Author Interview - Nicola Harrison
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
2026: When I was about ten years old, growing up in England, I lived on the same street as a well-known children’s book author, Margaret Greeves. I devoured all of her books, and still have them to this day, but what meant even more to me was her kindness. She welcomed me into her home, listened to my very earnest “works in progress,” and offered feedback and encouragement. It was incredibly generous. Knowing an actual author, and being taken seriously by her, planted a seed in me early on that this wasn’t just a dream, but something that might one day be possible.
2019: When I took Carolyn See’s creative writing class as an undergrad at UCLA.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
2026: I love to read a physical copy of a book far more than an ebook, I don't care if it's paperback or hardback. I also love listening to an audiobook even if it's just ten minutes at a time while I'm tidying up the kitchen or folding laundry. I am far less resentful about doing household chores if I'm wrapped up in a good story.
2019: Hardback – I like to be one of the first to read it. Audiobook when I’m on the subway.
The last book I read:
2026: I recently read Jojo Moyes’s We All Live Here. As someone who’s been married, divorced, dated again (ugh), and, thankfully, found true love, I felt deeply, deeply seen. It was such a gift of a book. I highly recommend.
2019: The Subway Girls by Susie Orman Schnall
Author Interview - Nicola Harrison
Pen & paper or computer:
2026: I write on my laptop, but one thing I’ve found incredibly helpful lately is keeping a journal alongside my work. It’s a bit like talking to myself, but I start each session by writing down what I want to accomplish, sometimes that’s a specific scene or chapter, and other times it’s simply a word-count goal. When I’m done, I recap what I actually achieved. It also holds me accountable; I don’t want to let myself down or walk away without doing what I set out to do. It’s a mental game, really. I only started doing this in the past year, but there’s something deeply satisfying about it, and it’s become an unexpectedly grounding part of my writing process.
2019: My laptop
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
2026: Definitely Patrick from Steven Rowley's The Uncle. We'd be sipping mimosas in caftans all over Palm Springs.
2019: Dolly from my novel, Montauk.
Author Interview - Nicola Harrison
If I wasn’t an author, I’d be a:
2026: If I weren’t an author, I’d probably be a stylist. Before publishing my first book, Montauk, I ran a personal styling company, after previously working as a fashion journalist for Forbes. That experience naturally transitioned into a successful styling business. It was a lot of fun - shopping for a living and helping people feel like they were putting the best version of themselves out into the world each day. But once my dream job, writing novels, took off, there was no going back.
2019: A stylist – well that’s what I do in real life when I’m not writing. I help men and women dress better.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
2026: Definitely the roaring twenties. I had a blast researching all the styles and changes in women's fashion during that time for my second novel The Show Girl.
2019: 1920’s hands down.
Place I’d most like to travel:
2026: Paris. I think I was a teenager when I last visited France, so I’d love to see it through a new perspective, and take my kids.
2019: India but more immediately I’d like to take my husband and kids to see the beautiful little villages of the Cotswold’s in England where I lived when I was young.
My signature drink:
2026: Tea. And I do love a glass of expensive champagne.
2019: A gin martini or a glass of rosé depending on my mood. PG Tips tea every morning.
Favorite artist:
2026: I'm a relatively newly converted Taylor Swift fan.
2019: My Dad – Michael Harrison
Number one on my bucket list:
2026: Having one of my books on the New York Times Bestsellers list. I think that might be on every author's bucket list.
2019: Buy a beach house.
Find More from the Author:
Instagram and TikTok: @nicolaharrisonauthor
Twitter: nicolahauthor
Substack: https://substack.com/@nicolaharrisonauthor
About Nicola Harrison:
Nicola Harrison is the author of Montauk, The Show Girl, Hotel Laguna and The Island Club. Born and raised in England, she moved with her family to Southern California when she was 14. She is a graduate of UCLA and received her MFA in Creative Writing from Stony Brook University. Prior to writing novels she worked as a fashion journalist in New York City. Now she resides in Manhattan Beach, California, with her husband, two sons and a high maintenance chihuahua named Lily.
