Historical accuracy was very important to me, so getting locations and timelines of major events, even word choice, was something I had to spend quite a bit of time on.
Robert Gomez – 29 March 2020
The Back Flap
Inspired by true events, Society Girl is a melancholic tale of power, loyalty, and survival. Follow Eric as he guides us through what should have been his love story—maybe it still can be—and explore how gender and social class shape our response to desperation.
Eric Mihlfried knows he owes everything to family friend Philo Olin for keeping him off the streets during the Great Depression. When he was unemployed and alone, the elderly millionaire put a roof over Eric’s head and granted him access to the Havens, the most exclusive gentlemen’s club in Chicago. That’s why Eric goes to great lengths to cover up Philo’s near-affair with the charming, though troubled sales girl named Annabelle. Although Eric willingly pretends to be Annabelle’s lover to protect the Olins’ 35-year marriage, he is silently frustrated by Philo’s insistence that their relationship never becomes a reality.
A blindsiding betrayal nearly pushes him over the edge until an unlikely ally reveals a scandalous truth about Eric’s past that has him questioning everyone. Mysterious letters, secret codes, and the male libido drive Eric to choose between love, sanity, and revenge—but is it his to make?
About the book
What is the book about?
Society Girl is a historical fiction novel that follows our narrator, Eric Mihlfried, after he is rescued from the Great Depression by a wealthy family friend, Philo Olin. Suddenly, Eric finds himself navigating one of Chicago’s most exclusive gentlemen’s clubs, but when he thinks he finds love in the crass-yet-charismatic Annabelle, his loyalty to his benefactor, Philo, gets in the way. The deeper Eric gets, the more secrets and lies are exposed, until he is faced with the choice between love, sanity, or revenge.
When did you start writing the book?
May 2015. I had quit my marketing job in Chicago knowing that I would be moving to Los Angeles to pursue my MBA at UCLA that August. I took a few months off to travel, complete my Chicago bucket list, and write the first draft of Society Girl.
How long did it take you to write it?
The book was primarily written over a course of two and a half years. The first draft took me three months, and most of the subsequent edits and rewrites were done in my spare time while at UCLA. What I consider the final draft was completed in December 2017.
Where did you get the idea from?
The primary basis for Society Girl is inspired by the true life story of a distant relative, also named Annabelle, and focused on her time living in Chicago during the Great Depression. As a young child, I had met Annabelle a few times in her older years, but it was not until I was in my mid-twenties that my relatives starting telling me their wildest Annabelle stories. The woman was quite the character and embodied living life to the fullest, but she was not without her faults. As I dug deeper into the stores about Annabelle, especially those told by my grandparents and great-aunt, a bigger story started to emerge about why Annabelle became the character she would become. That became the basis for Society Girl, as told through the eyes of one of her potential suitors.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
Historical accuracy was very important to me, so getting locations and timelines of major events, even word choice, was something I had to spend quite a bit of time on. Fortunately, I was living in Chicago when I was outlining and writing the first draft, so visiting many of the book’s settings was possible, but it took time. The historical details that gave me the biggest challenge, however, were the courtroom chapters. Without giving too much of the plot away, I spent hours reading up on how a certain type of trial was conducted in the 1930s, which is very different than how it would be done today. Thankfully, there are some great archival resources in Chicago, which allowed me to reach the level of verisimilitude that I was striving for.
What came easily?
Scene-setting was the easiest and most fun part of writing this book. I loved the contrast of the story taking place during the Great Depression, but focusing on the upper-upper class’ lifestyle. As a result, I was able to guide the readers through the 1933 World’s Fair, Chicago’s most elite hotels and ballrooms, and even a few more obscure pastimes of the era, such as the Pansy Craze—truly wild stuff when considering half the City at the time didn’t know where there next meal was coming from.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
While the story is inspired by the real Annabelle’s life, all characters in Society Girl are fictional. Several characters had roles or traits borrowed by real world people in Annabelle’s life, but the ultimate story and characters are fictional.
Do you have a target reader?
While history buffs are going to be naturally drawn to the story, the plot contains so much relevance to today’s #metoo movement, that Society Girl has been resonating with a broad audience since its release in December 2019.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
I start with an opening scene and at least one climax in mind, and then I create an extensive outline to tie the two together. I progressively beef up the outline until it has enough details that I feel like I just need to add dialogue to make the story flow. From there, I can write the first draft relatively quickly, before embarking on the editing and rewrite process until the story is ready to share with the world.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
I used an extremely light outline for my first novel (Keeping Atlantis), but found that I was writing myself into holes at times. For Society Girl, I wanted the outline to be my “story bible,” which is why I wanted to make it as robust as possible. While I was actually writing, if I wanted to stray from the outline, it was easy to see where it would impact the story later and then decide if my changes were worth it or not. The more robust Society Girl outline definitely saved me a few headaches.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
I would re-read every chapter after I finished writing it, but mostly to disaster check details and catch glowing errors. The more significant editing came after I finished the first draft.
Did you hire a professional editor?
Society Girl was primarily edited with my talented cousin, Tina Levitt, who gave me some great constructive criticisms and redlines to build off of. I also received feedback from my longtime songwriting partner, Joe Dowd, who has never been shy about telling me what’s good and what’s trash. My wife, Camila, and mother also got to read the first draft and contributed several edits that made up the final draft.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
I built an entire Spotify playlist with songs of the 1930s that I thought my characters would be listening to—Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, and Billie Holiday to name a few.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
I did, but never gained much traction. Admittedly, since I work full-time in real estate development, my “writing time” is limited to nights and weekends, and I always have felt more motivated to use that time to actually write. Querying agents is an important part of being a writer (if having an agent is beneficial to your literary goals), and putting forth the proper time and effort to effectively query is something I want to improve upon for my next novel.
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
While the book was completed in December 2017, after spending a very on-and-off year querying agents, I decided to look into ways to just get Society Girl published. I did have strong interest from a few independent publishers, but they would have added at least another six months to my release timeline. After having this book sit on my hard drive for almost two full years, I decided it was time to release it to the world and self-publishing seemed to be the quickest way to get it there.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
As you may have noticed, I am a big proponent of leveraging the talented people around me—the book cover was created by a longtime friend of my wife, Nara Motoyama, who is a design professional in São Paulo. I gave her the general concept that I had in mind and she made it so much better than what was in my head.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
I am trying to get the word out in as many appropriate ways as possible, including local newspaper articles, book reviews, and even a short blurb in my parent’s HOA newsletter—hey, you’ve got to give the parents an opportunity to brag every once in a while!
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
If you have a unique story, opinion, or perspective, share it. If you love to write, becoming an Indie author is one of the best ways to get those ideas into the world. While it’s challenging if you don’t have the budget or social media following to immediately get the word out to everyone, I would like to believe you can always find a way to get your book into the hands of at least one person who will be moved by your work.
About You
Where did you grow up?
Troy, MI (a suburb of Detroit)
Where do you live now?
Los Angeles, CA
What would you like readers to know about you?
My life is very much a balance of left-brain vs. right-brain. I work in real estate development in a project management and analytics role, but I spend almost all of my free time pursuing creative endeavors such as writing books and music, and I have recently taken up improv comedy. With that, it should come as no surprise that my outline for Society Girl is spread across twenty-one Microsoft Excel tabs.
What are you working on now?
While I do have two rough outlines for sequels to Society Girl, based on later years of Annabelle’s life, I am working on three completely different story ideas that I am outlining until I am ready to make a final pitch to myself of which to move into the draft phase. Goal is to make that decision by Summer 2020, and then I’ll be off to the races on writing novel number three.
End of Interview:
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