Interview with Georgie Lee

I had great fun interviewing Georgie Lee. It's amazing how different our worlds are, the worlds where we live and create our stories . . . so - drum rolls, please - here comes Hollywood!

1. Please tell us about your latest book, Labor Relations.
Labor Relations is about two labor relations attorneys on opposite sides of a major arbitration facing a passionate conflict of interest. The heroine, Sarah Steele, is the newest member of the Movie Actors Guild legal team and new to Hollywood. The hero, Jake Rappaport, is the head of Labor Relations at Lion Studios, a veteran movie industry man enjoying the perks of Hollywood but wondering if there isn’t something more. There is an instant and powerful attraction between them but a personal relationship during the arbitration could ruin both of their careers.

2. What do you personally like most about this novel?
I had a lot of fun creating a fictional version of Hollywood and
then seeing the glamour of the city and the entertainment industry through my heroine’s eyes. The reality of living and working in Hollywood is not always as exciting as people think, but through the story, I was able to make everything from premieres, Hollywood hotspots and walking across a studio lot magical and I really enjoyed it.

3. Have you developed the plot from something you've experienced personally?
I used to work at an entertainment union in Hollywood. I’d been writing historical romances and wanted to try my hand at a contemporary. While I was brainstorming for ideas, the old maxim, “write what you know” kept plaguing me. What did I know? Finally, the obvious hit me. I knew about labor relations in Hollywood and all the conflict involved. I began to ponder different fictional situations until I discovered the one that would ultimately become my novel. What would happen if a lawyer at an entertainment union and a lawyer working for a studio fell in love while they were both working opposite sides of a major arbitration? That’s when the story began to take shape.

4. You have also written two other novels. If you compare the creation process, was writing this novel different?
My historical novel involved a lot of research. When I wrote Labor Relations, I was writing about something I knew, set in a city I’d been living in for many years. In some ways it was easier than writing historical but in other ways it was difficult. The conventions of a specific time period can work against the hero and heroin in a historical. In a contemporary, there aren’t as many social conventions keeping them apart so I had to be more creative when it came to putting obstacles in their way.

5. When did you start to write your first novel and how long did it take you to become published?
My background is in screenwriting and in 2005 I started writing a romance novel. I didn’t get very far in the first one when I started my Regency romance. That story flowed really well, but I had to learn to write a novel as I went. It took a long time to polish the book before I sold it in April 2007.

6. What is the funniest thing that ever happened to you as an author?
The morning I received the call from Avalon, I was changing my son, who was four months old at the time. The diaper was off, it was a chilly morning and I got hit. That’s when the phone rang. Being severely sleep deprived, I answered it instead of letting the machine pick up. I received the exciting news that Avalon wanted to publish my book, all while cleaning up myself, my son and the changing pad. It was a funny reminder that being a writer is fun and exciting but not always glamorous.