Episode 88: Kristy Woodson Harvey, New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Veil
Kristy Woodson Harvey is the New York Times, USA Today and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author of nine novels including her latest, The Wedding Veil.
Kristy Woodson Harvey chats about how she serendipitously found inspiration from her own wedding veil as well as a fateful visit to the Biltmore mansion. She also shares her best writing advice, what it was like researching during the pandemic, and a few of her current favorite reads.
Books Mentioned:
The Wedding Veil by Kristy Woodson Harvey (Bookshop.org / Amazon.com )
The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis (Bookshop.org / Amazon.com )
Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover (Bookshop.org / Amazon.com )
Woman on Fire by Lisa Barr (Bookshop.org / Amazon.com )
The Homewreckers by Mary Kay Andrews (Bookshop.org / Amazon.com )
Black Girls Must be Magic by Jayne Allen (Bookshop.org / Amazon.com )
Gilt by Jamie Brenner (Bookshop.org / Amazon.com )
Connect with the author:
Transcript:
** Transcript created using AI (so please forgive the typos!) **
Ashley Hasty 0:00
Kristy, thank you so much for joining me.
Kristy Woodson Harvey 0:02
Oh, thank you for having me, Ashley, I'm so happy to be here. This is so exciting. It's so fun to get to talk about the wedding. Well,
Ashley Hasty 0:08
well, you probably don't know this about me. But I studied fashion history in grad school, I did not know that my thesis and dissertation on wedding customs and traditions and history. So I am really excited to chat about your novel,
Kristy Woodson Harvey 0:24
The wedding veil could not be more perfect for you.
Ashley Hasty 0:27
Let's start by telling our listeners what the book is about.
Kristy Woodson Harvey 0:31
Okay, um, so this is a story about four generations of women and a family heirloom that Bond's them. So the story begins of the historical part in 1914, when George Vanderbilt has just suddenly passed away, and leaving behind a young widow, Edith and his daughter, Cornelia, the two of them sort of make it their life's mission to bond together and that only save Biltmore, which is you know, kind of his life's work, but also to really preserve his legacy. But when the to start to have different ideas about what the future might look like, sort of a struggle ensues between them. And in the present day, Julia are, one of our protagonist is getting ready to walk down the aisle, and her grandmother is putting their fated family wedding veil on her head. When she realizes that if she marries the man she's about to marry, she is going to be the one to solely the name of the good buck veil and their family. And so she ends up running away from her wedding and escaping actually to her honeymoon to figure out what her next steps are. And at the same time, her grandmother, Babs, who is the one driving the getaway car, is making some big decisions about her life and her future in the wake of losing the love of her life, who she has been with for more than 60 years. So this is really a story about these, you know, four very different women and very different time periods who find themselves this veil as at the center of the story.
Ashley Hasty 1:59
I think it's always fun to hear about the initial spark of an idea that inspired authors to write a novel. And of course, given my background I'm particularly interested in inspired you to write the wedding veil.
Kristy Woodson Harvey 2:12
Oh, okay, well, I hope this isn't too long of a story, because it is kind of like a multi layered one. Okay, so, in 2018 20, yeah, 2018, I live on the coast of North Carolina, and there was a big hurricane coming toward the coast. And so my family decided to evacuate to Asheville. And our son was, I guess, seven at the time, and he had never been to Biltmore before. And so we were like, Okay, well, while we're evacuating, you know, we'll go to Biltmore will kind of like pretend we're on vacation, not worrying about, you know, our house and our town and all of these things. So we were at Biltmore, which I had been to many times before, I grew up just a few hours from there. And it just struck me for the first time, like, how young ETUs Vanderbilt was when she was left a widow. And I really didn't know a lot of things about her history in particular, that, you know, you think she would have been left this massive fortune. But in reality, her daughter, Cornelia was left almost all of her husband's assets, and she didn't receive them till she was 25 years old, which was 12 years after he died. So he just had a big struggle ahead of her to try to maintain, you know, this home and this town, that really, she pretty much owned most of Asheville at that point. So excited to be there, and you like go to the gift shop, and you like, buy all these things, thinking like, Oh, I'm really gonna want to remember this trip. And then you get home and you're like, great, it's a bunch of junk that I don't have to store. But So fortunately, I had bought a bunch of books in the gift shop. And I just started reading. And I got him and I started looking for more about Edith because I wanted to read more about her. And I kept saying, handily, no one's written a novel about her, someone should write a novel about her. My husband's family has this beautiful like heirloom wedding veil that a lot of people in his family have worn and friends have worn and you know, things like that. And my sister in law had passed it on to me, and I passed it along to my cousin. And I was sort of putting the veil on her head, and we were the last people in the bridal suite before she was getting ready to walk down the aisle. And I said something like, isn't it neat how this veil it connects us to all these women, and a lot of them who will probably never even know or who aren't even here anymore. We're both kind of like, that's a book. So it's like, okay, this, my next book is going to be called the wedding veil, and I was telling my agent about it. And I had this sort of like sketch of an idea, but the story was going to be about and she was like, I love this. It's perfect for you. And then she was like, what if you wrote about a real historical wedding veil? And I remember almost kind of rolling my eyes because I thought, How am I going to find a real historical wedding veil worn by a woman that I'm so interested in that I want to spend the next year of my life researching her that just didn't really seem possible? But I did a quick Google search one night I was just up kind of not able to sleep and I Googled Edith Vanderbilt wedding veil, and a story popped up about this veil word by eat its mother, her three sisters, Edith, her daughter, Cornelia, and The veil disappeared. And I was like, What happened to the Vanderbilt veil. And this is my story. So it was it was one of those moments where I was like, okay, like, this is the sign. This is the book I'm supposed to write. And I literally started writing the book that night, I write the one of the chapter that you'll see a vidas wedding where she's standing in the back of the church wishing that her mother were there, even though her mother has been dead since she was 10 years old. So that was the beginning.
Ashley Hasty 5:25
That's so serendipitous that was coming together I love.
Kristy Woodson Harvey 5:30
I love when that happens. I really just it was like just little bits and pieces there ever a few years. And I just felt like it was the right time and the right story. And it was, it was great fun to work on.
Ashley Hasty 5:42
Well, it'll probably come as no surprise that research is my favorite part of the writing process. I love learning new things discovering untold stories like Vanderbilt Vale, and figuring out how to fit what I'm learning into a plot. So could you tell us a bit about your research process, any exciting moments you had while researching for the wedding veil?
Kristy Woodson Harvey 6:04
Well, you know, we make plans, and that doesn't always work out. And so, you know, I pitched this story. And I got home from tour on March 9 of 2020. And was getting ready to start researching for the wedding veil, and it was my first you know, true historical novel about real women and you know, all that. So this was definitely going to be, you know, a very different effort than I had ever undertaken before. And I had pictured I was like, gonna buy, you know, the annual pass to build more. And I had made contact with several librarians and like different libraries throughout the state, who, you know, were going to help me with like research and artifacts and things like that. And then of course, we know what happened, the world shut down, I was under contract, and the book had to be written, and there was nothing that I could do about it. So fortunately, you know, I had bought pretty much every book ever written that had the word Vanderbilt in it, even if it didn't have anything to do with these Vanderbilt and I burned my newspapers.com account. I mean, I joke that, like, if you just are Cornelius Vanderbilt, or in a newspaper article, I have read it. There were a lot of them. And it was so interesting, because families that famous at that time were written about all the time, and there were gossip columns everywhere. But a lot of times, what you were reading wasn't labeled as a gossip column. So it was sort of like, you know, our version of the National Enquirer, but it was in like, you know, the Kansas City Star, I'm not, I shouldn't have said their name. Um, they probably did great reporting, but there was something I quoted them saying about the Vanderbilts. But that was an interesting part for me, because I realized pretty quickly that some of this research I was doing, like, wasn't correct, even if it was for me, I went to journalism school. And so, you know, we were always taught to rely on our primary sources, first and foremost. So going into this, I thought, Okay, well, you know, my, my newspapers are going to be my tip top resource. And that didn't necessarily turn out to be true all the time. So, but fortunately, you know, between the internet and bugs, and some amazing librarians who helped me along the way, I was able to, at least figure out, you know, what, what period of these women's lives I was writing about? What is the story that I'm telling, you know, what is the message that I want people to walk away with from this, and I actually had the first draft done before, Biltmore was even open enough that like, I could go, you know, with like permission. So it actually was really helpful in some ways that I wasn't expecting, because I felt like by the time I was actually able to really be like, in the trenches, you know, interviewing people and talking more about the story, I knew what the story was. So I very specifically knew like, this is what I need to fact check. Or this is a part of the story that I'm struggling with, or this is something that I know belongs in the story, but I can't find any research about it, you know, things like that. So it started out as something that really panicked me. But I think it ended up in the end kind of being a gift that I was able to like step into this at the end of the project instead of the beginning. Because I think at the beginning, it could have felt overwhelming to me and would have made it even harder for me to decide. This piece is my story.
Ashley Hasty 9:06
I imagine research changed for a lot of books that are being published right
Kristy Woodson Harvey 9:10
now. Can you imagine I know, when I think about like, like my friend Kristin Hormel, for example. She wrote the forest of vanishing stars. And she was going to go to Poland to do the research for that book. And she couldn't and so she actually, you know, it was funny, because we were like writing these books at the same time. And so everyday, she can like, listen to what I learned about the forest, or, you know, she was able to find some really great resources and people there who like very, very much helped her. Yeah, I mean, it's unbelievable, just to think about, you know, the things that we thought we were going to be doing and then how it changed and like, Thank goodness for the internet, we wouldn't have been able to do all these things.
Ashley Hasty 9:45
Well, this is your ninth published novel. Is that correct? Yes. Yes. makes you the most veteran author I've interviewed for this. Yes.
Kristy Woodson Harvey 9:54
That's amazing. I can't believe that. I feel like I haven't been doing it that long.
Ashley Hasty 10:00
Well, I am new to this. So I've only interviewed like four or five authors. Okay, well, the men say no. But I want to know what advice you have for aspiring authors. Oh,
Kristy Woodson Harvey 10:11
gosh, so many things. This is gonna maybe sound like the most obvious thing in the world. But the question that I get the very, very most from people is, how do you finish the book? Like literally? That is the question that I get the very most, and I think there has to be some sort of like psychological thing that we like, keep ourselves from finishing the book, because when we finish it, then we have to put it out there. And then we have to do the hard part and get rejected. And you know, all of those things. So my like, number one piece of advice is finished the book, no matter what, if it's the wrong ending, if it ends with you know, the hardware store, buy new flags for their front porch, like whatever, like the worst thing in the world, but get there and write the end. Because you can always go back and change it, you can always go back and edit and like personally, I spend about probably three times as long editing as I do writing. So
Ashley Hasty 11:03
finishing a novel. In addition to writing novels, you also are developing a television series with NBC based on your Peachtree bluff books, you run an interior design blog called Design chic with your mom, you have a hit weekly web show and podcast friends and fiction, you write articles for a number of magazines, you serve on boards, speak at conferences, I could go on and on. Not to mention, you're also a mom. So I don't know how you finish at all. What does a day in your life look like? With all of those things happening?
Kristy Woodson Harvey 11:36
Chaos? Just kidding. Um, it kind of depends on like, where I am in my schedule, right now. You know, it's sort of like lunchtime and getting ready. We're pre recording this, I hope it's okay, that I'm saying this, I'm about to head out on book tour for the wedding veil. And so for the next like, you know, month, five weeks, touring for the wedding veil is like basically what I'm doing and a lot of other things just have to go by the wayside because you know, when you're on the road like that, and and fitting in you know, things like this and in between there's that's really all there's kind of time for but and I'll difference eviction, of course, too. But I've tried to write in the mornings, because that tends to be the time where like, the house is quiet and the everything hasn't like erupted yet, if that makes sense. Like everyone doesn't need me yet, you know. And so that's kind of my my first thing that I do in the morning, I tried to write for like an hour or two, but I tried to get it about 2000 words. So sometimes it's 90 minutes, and sometimes it's three hours. And, you know, I never really know how that's gonna fall with the wedding veil, it was usually a lot longer because I was sort of researching as I was writing, I'm trying to make sure that I was getting facts right along the way. But then after that, it's just I don't have like a true, like, I have a big list for the day and I'm just like trying to check it off as I go. But um, but it works out, you know, and I think everything kind of feeds everything else. And my mom and I have actually had the design blog design chic for much longer than I've been an author, my first book came out in 2015. And we launched design she could 2010. So that's been a part of my life for a long, long time. Friends and fiction was a surprise. I mean, it was something we started on a whim if for those people who are listening who don't know about friends and fiction, it's a group that I have with Mary Kay Andrews and Kristen Hormel, and Patti Callahan, Henry, and we go live every Wednesday night at 7pm. With an amazing author. We've had a lot of great people on the show. But you know, that is definitely something that we take seriously. We have like a couple of meetings every week. And it's definitely turned into something that we never could have expected. And this show has been really great fun. We're kind of at a stopping point right now, because we finished writing the pilot, and I think we'll probably have another round of notes for that. So we're just kind of in that in between where we're waiting for sort of like our last round of notes on the pilot and but that's been really exciting. And something that gosh, we've been working on since the last since the southern tide. I was gonna say the last book of the Peachtree bluff series. But that's not true. Because that Christmas and Easter glove came out in October since the southern side of paradise, which was like the third book in the series came out, it got optioned right after that. And so we've been working on it ever since. And of course, again, you know, the pandemic's light things down and made things a little bit different, but But it's been very fun. But all that to say, every day is kind of different. There's no like, you know, there's certain things that are on the list every single day that have to get done every single day. And then you know, beyond that, it's just trying to figure out like, what's next and what I need to be doing. So it's always fun.
Ashley Hasty 14:38
Oh, with all your spare time. I'm sure you do a bit of reading. Can you tell us a bit about your reading world? What do you like to read? What books would you recommend right now?
Kristy Woodson Harvey 14:48
I do a ton of reading. I love to read. I feel like not always I feel like for the most part writers or readers, right? And so recently, some of my favorites. I'm trying to think of things that I've read that are out on the Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis was so so good. She was just on friends and fiction, I will say friends and fiction informs my reading in a big way because I'm always trying to make sure like I'm up to date on, you know, reading our guests work, which is, you know, which doesn't always happen, but certainly if I'm hosting that night, I just read my first Colleen Hoover book for a friends and fiction episode. That was awesome. Reminders of him was so good. WOMAN ON FIRE by Lisa bar is a new release that I just I love Lisa like it's such a great book. And then upcoming things Mary Kay Andrews has the homewreckers coming out in May. It's so great, like, I think one of my favorites of hers.
Ashley Hasty 15:40
I just got my copy and I can't wait to dive in.
Kristy Woodson Harvey 15:43
Yes, I know. It's so good. We just had Jayne Allen on friends of fiction recently. And she's the write the black girls must be exhausted series. And the latest is black girls must be magic. And she's incredible, like just so great. And then guilt by Jamie Brenner is another one coming out this summer. That's just so good and should be on everyone's TBR.
Ashley Hasty 16:00
I always want to know what's next for authors? Can you tell us anything about what you're working on? Or you're working for? I guess
Kristy Woodson Harvey 16:08
I can. So I actually just signed a new two book deal with my publisher. So I'm super excited about that. And it's always fun. I can't tell you too much about the bug. I can say my working title. I don't know if it'll be the title. But the working title is called the summer of songbirds. What I kind of like I love alliteration, so I don't know. And sometimes like when titles come to me randomly, and weirdly, I'm like, oh, that must be the title. And that we came to me randomly and weirdly stuff like maybe that's the title. So we'll see if it ends up being the title. But it's a book about three best friends and one of their aunts who owns a girl summer camp that ended up sort of changing all of their lives in various and sundry ways and the campus in danger, and they are coming back together to try to save it. But at the same time, each of them is facing kind of a big ethical or moral dilemma that affects all the other ones. So there's a lot of complication going on. And of course, some love stories, because I love a good love story. So there's a lot happening in this book. But it was it was really fun for me to write I love the friendships and the book and the and the romances and just the idea of like this sisterhood. And I really, truly I think I was at a time where I was like, Where do I want to go right now. You know, it was like, everything was still sort of shut down. Everything was crazy. And I was like, I don't want to go and I was like, I want to get a camp. And we gone to family camp with a bunch of friends and their families. And I felt like the walls were kind of speaking to me in this camp that had been there for like, you know, generations and generations. I want to write a book about a generational camp. And so it was it was great fun to write and I can't wait to share with everyone.
Ashley Hasty 17:45
I also want to share how people can find you tell us where you hang out on social media is your handles.
Kristy Woodson Harvey 17:51
Absolutely. So my website is Kristy Woodson Harvey calm. And of course, I'm super active over on friends. Its friends and fiction on Facebook and YouTube. My Instagram is at Christie W. Harvey and my Facebook is Kristy Woodson Harvey and my Twitter is Christie W. Harvey. So but Instagram and Facebook are probably where I'm Miss.
Ashley Hasty 18:13
And before we wrap up, is there anything else you wanted to talk about that we haven't covered yet?
Kristy Woodson Harvey 18:17
Oh, I don't think so. I just wanted to say thank you so much for having me and for taking the time to read this book and for all you do to you know, help promote my work in particular and all the authors out there and for sharing, sharing words with people. It's a wonderful gift and I'm very appreciative.
Ashley Hasty 18:33
It's my pleasure, and it's such a pleasure meeting you today. The opportunity to meet in person sometimes
Kristy Woodson Harvey 18:40
I have to thank you ash