Renee Rosen’s latest book has been described as “Mad Men meets The Devil

Wears Prada,” and explores Helen Gurley Brown’s first brazen year as Cosmo editor.

And while the most scandalous woman in 1960s New York dares to talk to women

about all things off-limits, her young PA Alice is pushing boundaries of her

own.

Hi there, I’m your host Jenny Wheeler and Renee Rosen talks about what Gurley Brown would have made of Me Too, the legendary brothers who created the Chicago Sound, and the thing she loves most about writing.

Six

things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode:

The "bottom drawer' novels that will never be seenWhy re-writing is Renee's favorite thingWhat she learned from the Blues Helen Gurley Brown and Me Too?The literary fiction she most admiresRenee's latest project

Where to find Renee Rosen:

Website: http://reneerosen.com/

Facebook: @reneerosenauthor

 Twitter: @ReneeRosen1

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/412370.Renee_Rosen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reneelrosen/

What

follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for

word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.

Jenny: But now, here’s Renee. .  Hello there Renee and welcome to the show, it’s great to have you with us.

Renee: Thanks, Jenny, it's good to be here.

Writing 'a life-long dream'

Jenny: Renee, was

there a Once Upon A Time moment when you decided you wanted to write fiction,

as distinct from any other writing you might have been doing? And if so, what

was the catalyst for it?

Renee Rosen - always wanted to be a writer.

Renee: You know,

it's weird. I've known that I've wanted to be a writer ever since I was a

little girl. I'm not even sure exactly where this came from, because I wanted

to be a writer before I was a reader, which is so backwards. I was writing ad

copy for a long time, but I was always working on a novel. And I would get up

at 4:00 in the morning to write. And I was always late for work because I would

get carried away with whatever book I was working on. And lot of 'bottom

drawer' novels, lots of books that didn't go anywhere. But it's just something

I've always known since I was a little girl. It's weird. I have no idea where

it came from.

Park Avenue Summer

Jenny: It is

unusual that you think about writing almost before you could read, but I'm not

surprised because your books read as if you are someone who has had a

professional career as a writer. That's for sure.

Renee: Thank you.

Jenny: So the latest one. Park Avenue Summer has been described as Mad Men meets The Devil Wears Prada. And it focuses on Helen Gurley Brown, Cosmopolitan's first  editor. And it brings the New York of the 1960s very much alive. I mean, to someone who actually is old enough, I hate to admit, to have read Sex and the Single Girl first time round, even in New Zealand, it had an impact. What drew you to Helen and Cosmo as a story?

Renee: Well, it's interesting. I'd been binge watching the TV show Mad Men and I really just fell in love with New York during that time period. I knew I wanted to set a book in New York. I thought, well, I'll do it during the 60s.

Helen Gurley Brown 'obvious'

I was searching for another glamorous type of industry - ...