I apologize for the delay in posting; there’s a new version of WordPress in town at WETA.org, and I’m afraid its organization briefly flummoxed me. Here, now, is Frances Kiernan, talking with me about The Last Mrs. Astor: A New York Story. After the interview, I truly wished that Brooke Astor were still alive so that I could meet her; Kiernan makes her sound like such an amazing person.
Happy Post-Fourth-of-July, everyone…this week, we’re featuring a nonfiction title: The Last Mrs. Astor: A New York Story by Frances Kiernan.
Not only that…but we’re giving away ten copies of this biography of one of New York’s greatest philanthropists to ten readers. This time, we’re going to keep it simple: ten copies to the first ten readers to respond and leave a comment telling us what your favorite New York story is. Novel? Film? Apocryphal anecdote? You can choose, but please make sure to leave the comment on this post.
We’ll have an interview with Frances Kiernan posted on Wednesday, too. I hope you’ll come back for it, because Kiernan has some wonderful stories to share about Brooke Astor.
Full disclosure: As I confessed in another blog entry, Kelly DiNardo is my homegirl. We grew up in the same part of New York’s Hudson Valley, and it’s a real thrill for me to be able to showcase DiNardo’s debut book on Author, Author!
DiNardo brings her skills as an established freelance writer to bear on “Gilded Lili: Lili St. Cyr and the Striptease Mystique“, providing excellent research but using it in the service of showcasing St. Cyr, rather than allowing the background to overwhelm her subject. The result is a substantive book with a frothy whip of showmanship on top.
I’m pretty sure Lili St. Cyr would approve of this new biography, and I’m absolutely sure you’ll approve of this interview with DiNardo. Let us know what you think!
Who’s your favorite ecdysiast? (Guess who’s been spending too much time on FreeRice.com?) Kelly DiNardo’s is Lili St. Cyr, and DiNardo’s first book is thus “Gilded Lili: Lili St. Cyr and the Striptease Mystique.”
You’ll definitely enjoy my interview (posted on Wednesday) with DiNardo, who explains the differences between burlesque, striptease, and stripping (bet you never thought you’d be reading about that here). If you want to learn more, you’ll have to read Kelly’s blog, The Candy Pitch — but even better, read her book!
I’ll make the latter easy for you: we’ve got ten copies of “Gilded Lili” to give away, and all you have to do is tell us who your favorite sex symbol is — doesn’t matter if it’s Marilyn Monroe, Brad Pitt, or Olive Oyl (of course, if it’s Ms. Oyl, you might want to use a nom de post). Don’t forget to check out our Guidelines for giveaways before you post, too.
