By THIRSTY
Michelle Gable is a New
York Times bestselling author of four novels. Her latest book, The Summer I Met Jack, is a fictional
story based real events that center around a young John Fitzgerald Kennedy and
the Kennedy clan. A native of San Diego, she attended The College of William
& Mary in Virginia, but now makes Cardiff-by-the-Sea, in Southern
California, her home. After a 20-year career in high finance, she turned her
attention to writing her first novel, An Apartment in Paris, which became an
international bestseller in 2014.
Stay Thirsty Magazine was thrilled to visit
with Michelle Gable at her home for this Conversation and to explore the concepts
behind her style of storytelling.
STAY THIRSTY: Your latest novel, The
Summer I Met Jack, imagines an affair between John F. Kennedy and a young
Polish refugee. What fascinated you about JFK so much that you wanted to spend
time researching and writing this book?
MICHELLE GABLE: I’ve been fascinated by the Kennedys for decades, like
so many other Americans and probably due in large part to the myth(s) they
created around themselves. In college, I read my dad’s copy of Reckless Youth when home on break, and
from that point on, I’d pick up any Kennedy-related book. It can be the
addiction memoir of some second cousin who was born after JFK died, and I’m
still in. I read over two hundred books when researching this novel, and I’d
read at least half of them before.
STAY THIRSTY: What was the genesis of your idea to mix fictional
characters with historical figures?
MICHELLE GABLE: All of my books are based on real people or events, with
facts serving as tent poles and fiction filling in the gaps of what we don’t
know. Often (especially in this book!) dots needs to be connected, and
conclusions drawn. It’s a bit of a sleuthing adventure, which makes it fun.
STAY THIRSTY: Why are people drawn to stories about rich and
powerful people?
MICHELLE GABLE: I think it’s two things: aspirational yet also relatable.
Of course, power is alluring, and it’s intriguing to get an insider view of
that world. On the other hand, the rich and powerful have desires, longings, and
problems like the rest of us, at times far worse problems, because the scandals
play out in public and the participants have further to fall.
STAY THIRSTY: What are the three key elements you believe a
compelling story must have?
MICHELLE GABLE: Any good story must start with a character who wants
or needs something that seems out of reach. And the story must have high
stakes, be it emotional or physical. A man longing for a sandwich isn’t going
to carry an entire novel! Finally, I think an interesting backdrop is key. I
love books where setting is a character, too.
STAY THIRSTY: Is history a character in your story and, if so, what
role does it play?
MICHELLE GABLE: For me history falls into setting, and it definitely
influences the characters and their decisions. If you drop these same characters into some other time and place, their stories
wouldn’t make sense.
STAY THIRSTY: After doing such extensive research about JFK and his
family, what are the most surprising things you discovered?
MICHELLE GABLE: Oh, don’t get me started! As mentioned, I knew quite a
lot about the family going in, but I’ve become a real conspiracy nut these last
two years. They used the mafia to buy JFK’s presidency, of course. And I am
absolutely convinced that Bobby Kennedy killed Marilyn Monroe, to name but one
person that family offed!
STAY THIRSTY: What characteristics do certain women possess that
seem to attract strong, dynamic and powerful men, often one after the other?
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| Michelle Gable (credit: Joanna DeGeneres) |
MICHELLE GABLE: It depends on the man. I think some men want a woman
who will stay in the background, look pretty, and let them shine. In some ways,
even the powerful men who want stronger women still want them to be a
reflection or an endorsement of themselves.
Jackie hated politics and the
limelight but became a great asset to JFK because she was so smart, savvy, and
stylish, and ultimately beloved. There’s a great comment one of his friends made
about her, something along the lines of, “Jack wasn’t interested in Jackie,
until the rest of the world was, too.”
STAY THIRSTY: Does your own life resemble any of the circumstances
in your book?
MICHELLE GABLE: Definitely not! I’m way more boring, and far less
conniving. Although, I was interviewed by the FBI once. Does that count? Also,
like Alicia, my father-in-law was a Polish displaced person who lived in a camp
in Germany, before coming to the United States.
STAY THIRSTY: What do you want your readers to take away from
reading The Summer I Met Jack?
MICHELLE GABLE: If someone says they spent time googling after one of
my books, that is a victory to me. I weave a lot of fact into all of my novels,
and this one more than the rest. So, I hope the reader learns something and is
able to escape to a different world.
STAY THIRSTY: Will you be writing more novels with historical
underpinnings where fictional characters interact with real people?
MICHELLE GABLE: I prefer to base my books on real people and
circumstances, and I have a lot of ideas for stories to tackle! I love to
research and basing a story on real events is a great excuse, especially when
travel is involved. My family can thank my novels for trips we’ve taken to
Paris, Nantucket, and Rome.
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