Aimee Agresti, THE SUMMER SET
[0:08]Hi, I'm Zive Owens, and you're listening to the award-winning podcast,
[0:11]Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books. Thanks so much for listening to my podcast.
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[0:29]book bundle is ready on PageOneBooks.com. And the bundle that I've fit together includes three books
[0:35]that I picked, Montauk by Nicola Harrison, more myself by Alicia Keys. And I miss you when I
[0:40]blanked by Mary Lorafilpat, all of which have been on this podcast here. It includes a
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[1:03]Book Summer bundle by it is a gift to housewarming if you actually go somewhere or just give it to
[1:08]yourself. Everybody needs a treat. We've had a long spring. PageOneBooks.com. Welcome to the third
[1:14]day of my July book blast. This is Beech Reads Wednesday. And I'll be releasing lots of episodes
[1:22]this week and next to get all these great Beech Reads out and also books that have come out during
[1:27]the quarantine or books that I think you just need to read at this time. And I just don't want you
[1:32]to miss these authors for any longer. So anyway, here are some great Beech Reads. Each episode
[1:37]this week will have a book that I think you should curl up with and read if you ever find the time.
[1:43]Amy Agresti is a novelist and entertainment journalist, a former staff writer for Us Weekly.
[1:48]She penned the magazine's coffee table book Inside Hollywood. Her work has also appeared in
[1:52]People, Premiere, DC Magazine, Capital File, The Washington Post, Washingtonian, The Washington
[1:58]City Paper, Boston Magazine, Women's Health and the New York Observer. Her latest book is called
[2:04]The Somerset. Amy has made countless TV and radio appearances, dishing about celebrities
[2:09]on the likes of Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, E, The Insider, Extra, VA1, MSNBC, Fox News
[2:16]Channel, and H.L.N. The author of, as I mentioned, The Somerset also campaign widows and the
[2:21]Gilded Wings trilogy for young adults. She graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in
[2:26]journalism and lives with her husband and two sons in the Washington DC area.
[2:31]Hi! I'm so excited to meet you. I'm such a fan as I told you. I just want to put what you're
[2:37]doing and I'm so grateful as a reader even. I love your interviews that you do so much and
[2:41]it's just so exciting to get to meet you and be on the thank you. Oh my gosh, it's my pleasure.
[2:47]And by the way, when I was reading some of the blurbs, I feel like I know everyone who blurved
[2:51]your book. I think you do. I know I'm not so lucky. I have like the world's best blurbers. I mean,
[2:57]oh my gosh, I know you've talked to all of them. Yeah, I think they're all amazing. I got so lucky
[3:02]that they took the time to do that because they're like some busy women. Those amazing writers
[3:07]who were kind enough to read and I'm always so grateful when I mean that but I always feel
[3:11]bad asking for blurbs because I know everyone's in the middle of their own work and to switch
[3:14]gears and read somebody else's and then have to write something about it is like hard to do
[3:19]some always grateful. But yeah, you've got great people on all the time. So I was like, oh my gosh,
[3:23]I was lucky to get those lady stuff. So the summer set. Congratulations on the launch and everything.
[3:31]So exciting. Tell listeners what the summer set is about. That's right. The summer set is about
[3:38]an actress named Charlie Savoy and she was a Hollywood it girl and an on new in her early 20s
[3:44]and then she flamed out and disappeared from Hollywood. And when we meet her at the beginning of
[3:48]the book, she is almost 40 years old and she's been in sort of a legal scrape and she's forced
[3:54]to go back to the summer Shakespeare theater where she got her start as a teen and where her
[3:58]ex Nick is the artistic director. So you know drama and hilarity ensue as they spend this summer
[4:05]together. But you know, it's it's about a Hollywood actress but I really think it's a universal
[4:09]book because it's about old friends, old planes, old rivals and second acts. And I think that's
[4:14]something that a lot of us can relate to, especially sort of the age that I am like early 40s,
[4:19]you know, a lot of us are sort of reinventing ourselves, we become moms or want to make
[4:23]it to this stage in our lives. And I think it is sort of a universal story. Totally.
[4:28]Well, that reinvention in your 40s. Right. Yeah. And what inspired you to write this book?
[4:35]Oh, that's a great question. Well, I got my start in magazines and entertainment journalism
[4:40]and I was a premier magazine right out of college. That was a great movie magazine and it was
[4:44]just such a great place to be like David Foster Wallace wrote for them back in the day and thing.
[4:48]And then most recently I was a writer at Us Weekly. So I've always really love the entertainment
[4:51]world. But you know, it's funny. I think the seeds were really sort of sown early for this book
[4:56]because back in high school, I grew up in this very small town on the Maryland outside of DC.
[5:01]And we were really lucky to have this great theater there. And it was like professional theater.
[5:05]They cast all the actors from New York and they came in. And the really cool thing about this
[5:09]theater was that the actors stayed on the grounds in their own residence together. And you know,
[5:15]I've always had an overactive imagination as novelist tend to have. And even back then in high
[5:20]school, I was like volunteering there always off stage way off stage. But I would volunteer and
[5:25]I was always thinking, you know, the actors were always like, a lot of times they were young and
[5:30]beautiful and living together. And I was like, well, who's friends and who's enemies and who's
[5:34]getting together? And what's going on? I always wanted to know. So I think that sort of has always
[5:39]been in my head a little bit. And I just, yeah, I really love being around that world. I think
[5:43]it's really inspiring. My mom back then was in charge of the welcoming committee for the actors,
[5:48]which was so much fun. So she would enlist me to help her throw parties when they arrived and we
[5:52]would like bake them cookies and have lunch for them and like, you know, make little baskets
[5:56]for their rooms and stuff. So I was always kind of like watching everybody wonder in what was
[6:01]going on and how they were getting along. What was it like writing for us weekly? Like, I always
[6:08]read those articles with so much interest and intrigue. Like, but almost feeling guilty about it,
[6:12]right? Like, because there I am just like trying to pry into fuels, pry with lies. Like, tell me
[6:18]about that. That's so interesting. It was so much fun. It was a great place. And I, and I always said
[6:23]at least, you know, back in the day when I was there, the story is really were true. We had a very
[6:26]solid fact-checking department and thing. But it was a lot of fun, you know? I mean, I really,
[6:33]you know, got my start sort of at premiere and back then when it was all really new to me with
[6:38]extra exciting because I was like 22 had just come out of school. And because I was sort of that age,
[6:43]I was often interviewing up in commerce, which was really cool. And sometimes it would be like my age
[6:48]in their first thing. And you sort of are talking to them before their famous, before they know
[6:53]their famous. And they're really real and genuine. And you know, you're never going to get them that way
[6:58]again. And that was always really fun for me because then I feel like, you know, you spend
[7:01]a little time with someone. And even if you don't talk to them again after that, you kind of
[7:06]always want to follow their career and see where it goes. And with that, some of them like went
[7:10]like straight to the top, you know? And some of them took sort of more winding paths to success.
[7:15]And then some of them hit road bumps that were really rough. And it always made me wish that
[7:21]we actually were friends that I could call them and be like, are you doing okay like what's going on?
[7:25]I saw what happened, but you can't. And so you sort of feel like, you know, you feel this connection
[7:31]from the moments that you sort of spent interviewing them about their life. But then this huge
[7:35]disconnect because then they're gone and you can't get back and touch with them. And to sort of watch
[7:40]these different paths that they took, I thought, was just, you know, really kind of eye opening for
[7:44]me. But it was fun because I got to be back then a party reporter, which I didn't even know was a
[7:49]job. I felt like I should be paying them. And I would be, you know, go to the premieres and stand
[7:54]on the red carpet and ask the questions and then go to the movie afterwards and then go to the party
[7:59]and drink champagne and talk to the stars again and go home and write a story. And it was a job,
[8:02]but it was great, you know. So it was a lot of fun. And I tried to get all of that excitement and
[8:07]passion about Hollywood and that industry into the book because I think we all love it. Right? Yeah,
[8:12]for sure. Guilty pleasure. Yeah. So how did you go from that? I know you've written three
[8:17]YA books and two novels. So how did you switch from that into writing books?
[8:22]Well, I always wanted to write books. I've always loved books. My mom's a librarian. So I grew up
[8:27]reading everything in sight and just like living at the library and things. And I was, you know,
[8:31]how it is. It's like one of those things that you feel like I didn't know anyone who was an
[8:35]novelist. It felt very, you know, very unattainable kind of thing. And I'm a practical girl.
[8:40]So I love writing. So I went into journalism and, you know, went into magazines and things,
[8:44]but I was always writing on the side. And then, you know, when we left New York at one point
[8:50]because my husband's in politics and we sort of came back here when Obama came to town and things,
[8:54]then I was like, well, I was freelance writing. And I thought, you know, I had written,
[8:58]I had written a novel before that because you know how these paths are a novelist. It's like
[9:02]everyone has that one that sucked in a drawer that will never see the light of day. But you
[9:05]learned how to write a book from it, you know. So I have that book that, you know, is the book that
[9:09]I wrote that got me my agent. So I'm so grateful to have found so long ago. But it just wasn't
[9:15]the book that was going to be published. You know, it just didn't work out. But I kept going. And
[9:19]when I, you know, when we moved back here to Washington from New York, I was like, I'm going to
[9:23]try this again and write something very different than the book I had written before. And that
[9:26]just happened to be that time, you know, everything is timing, right? And it happened to be that
[9:30]time and everybody was reading, like, grown ups were reading, Twilight and Hunger Games and all of that.
[9:35]And I just sort of, I always tend to write the book that I most want to read at any given time.
[9:40]And everyone was reading that. And I was having this real feeling of like, I'd like to try writing
[9:45]the kind of book that I would have loved as a kid because I read so much. And I always loved
[9:49]mystery and romance and adventure and strong girls. So, you know, I kind of cobbled together
[9:56]all those elements and that became that trilogy. And I got lucky.
[10:00]it was the right time for that. You know, it's funny when I wrote that book, the first
[10:03]in the trilogy, Illuminate, I had the idea for campaign widows, which was my first adult book
[10:08]at the same time. And I was debating which one to go with the first, but you know, I just got
[10:15]back to Washington even though I'm from here, you know, and the city changes with each administration.
[10:19]I felt like I wanted to kind of live in the city more with the Obama years and really see how
[10:25]that was going to change the city before writing it. And so I went with the trilogy instead.
[10:29]And I'm glad that I did that. But it was funny. I had the book and I was like, which one did you
[10:33]go with first and hard to decide, you know, but I got lucky. I was very grateful. Anytime a book gets
[10:38]published, you feel very lucky, the crazy business as you know, right? I know, it's like amazing. I
[10:44]want to do like a whole other show. I mean, I'm just making this up of all the people out there who
[10:48]wrote books and they can't be on the show because they never got published. Or maybe they're like,
[10:52]you know, maybe they're just not quite here yet, right? Like they've written their first book or their
[10:56]second book. And you know, they don't, you know, I just feel like this obligation to tell people,
[11:01]like you have to write at least a novel or two before you can even contemplate having success.
[11:06]It seems like everybody has to write them. You have to have the ones in the drawer. So I don't know.
[11:10]And I feel like they're the ones that get you to the one that actually works out. So it's all
[11:14]worthwhile. I always like writing because I feel like it's something that you get better at
[11:18]as you go. You know, it's not like at some point you have to stop doing it. Like, you know,
[11:23]we had to send it to be gymnasts or something like you'd have to probably stop that at some point,
[11:26]but writing you could keep going. Totally. You can just keep getting better.
[11:32]So what are you working on now? Now I'm, I'm supposed to be writing the next book.
[11:39]I've not been the best multitasker and quarantine here, you know? So yeah, I know I know
[11:44]with the next book is when I'm mapping it out. I'm a big outliner. You know, so I always feel
[11:48]like I need to have the whole thing mapped out before I actually start writing because then the
[11:52]writing process actually goes pretty fast. So I'm sorting out the pieces right now. And, you know,
[11:57]I've got like the major stuff, but I have to actually just sit down now and start the writing,
[12:02]but again, not the best multitasker. I think you need to write a book about time management and
[12:07]multitasking because I would be the first in line to get that because I don't know how you juggle
[12:11]all the things that you do. I'm always very impressed and inspired by you. Thank you. I don't know
[12:16]how I do it either. Every day is different. I don't know. I don't do. I feel like I don't do a
[12:20]a lot of things very well. Do you know? Like I'm cutting a lot of corners these days and you know,
[12:24]as we were talking about before, like I, you know, I've had to email my kids teachers a couple times,
[12:28]like more times than I can admit being like, we miss this or I'm sorry about that or,
[12:33]you know, I do the best I can. I don't know. I just, and I do things really quickly and I don't know.
[12:38]I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I do that. Well, I'm impressed. I know. And I'm also glad to
[12:42]not be the only one who's emailed the teacher a bunch of times. I've been like, we're doing the work.
[12:46]I promise. We'll be on the call. I think. Oh my gosh. Well, you've already given like such
[12:54]amazing advice to everybody. I feel like is there anything else you would want to say to aspiring
[12:58]authors aside from everything else? Oh, that's a point. I always say just keep writing because it's
[13:03]true. It's like you feel like when you're writing and you're not having the success and the luck
[13:09]and having people pick it up and publish it and stuff and you feel like, uh, how do I keep going?
[13:14]You just never know when it's going to work out and you're getting better all the time. So just
[13:18]keep writing. That's like the one thing I feel like we have control over in the publishing world is just
[13:22]to keep writing and keep making new work. And then you just never know what's going to be the one
[13:27]that strikes a chord with somebody. So keep going. We talked to the beginning about sort of
[13:33]reinvention in your forties. How do you feel that you have reinvented yourself in the last couple
[13:38]Oh, I love that. I feel like the biggest thing is when you become a mom, it changes everything about
[13:43]how you live your life and do your work and everything. And it definitely that has made me a more
[13:49]efficient person for sure. And it's also forced me to sort of figure out how to how to do my work
[13:56]the best that I can when I can do it. Like everything has changed about the way that I work.
[13:59]You know, I mean, I used to think like on the first book that I wrote, I thought, I'm kind of a
[14:04]fast writer. I wrote this pretty fast, but no, no, I just spent every possible minute and didn't
[14:08]need to sleep much. You know what I mean? It's like, and now like I get to I used to have really
[14:13]useful like nighttime hours writing. And I found it very peaceful. And now it's like, I mean,
[14:18]I'm not how you are with your kids. But as soon as I have all this adrenaline right before their
[14:23]bedtime and then as soon as they go to bed, I'm like, yeah, I've been around all these pages. And
[14:26]then I like fall asleep often with my laptop. I mean, I sometimes fall asleep in my laptop on my
[14:31]lap. I'm like sitting in bed, what you know is if you're not going to get worked on that,
[14:34]I'm like, if I can work in bed and the laptop falls on the floor, like I've had everything
[14:38]happen. So now I try to sit down to write when I know that I can, my head is really there and I
[14:44]can crank something out. Because for me, it's always most important to end your writing time
[14:50]excited to go back to it rather than hitting like a word count every day. So I think like,
[14:56]I've learned a little bit about how to change just my writing habits and my work habits to be
[15:01]more efficient. But yeah, I think we're learning every day as moms and as writers. Totally,
[15:08]totally agree. Well, thank you. I'm so glad to have spoken to you. Amy and I hope I get to meet
[15:13]you on person sometime. And I feel like I need a picture of maybe I'll take a picture of my phone
[15:17]of your amazing backdrop here. It's like insane. I think you did a great job with the technology.
[15:25]It was a pleasure to talk to you. Oh, thank you so much for having me. This is so exciting for me.
[15:30]And thank you. Keep doing all the amazing stuff that you're doing. We're so grateful as authors.
[15:34]Thank you. Okay. Have a great day. Thanks. Bye. Thanks for listening to a beach reads Wednesday
[15:41]episode from my big July book blast. I hope you've enjoyed it. And I hope you've enjoyed
[15:46]getting to know some of these amazing authors. Thanks again for listening to my podcast.
[15:52]Moms don't have time to read books. If you liked this episode, please follow me on Instagram
[15:57]at zippyowens and at moms don't have time to read books and sign up for my mailing list at zippyowens.com
[16:04]so you can always hear about the latest things I'm up to you. Thanks a lot. Thanks so much to
[16:08]page one books for sponsoring today's episode. I hope you'll all check out my summer beach bundle
[16:12]at page one books.com. Thanks so much to Steve and Ryan at Texture Sound for the sound editing.
[16:18]And thank you to Morning Moon Productions for providing this fantastic intro and
[16:22]out trim music. Thanks for listening. You could always email me at zippyatzippyowens.com.