John Searles has worn just about every hat the publishing world offers: novelist, editor, book critic, television pundit, and, perhaps most importantly, a passionate reader. After years of helping shape books and magazines, including a long stint at Cosmopolitan, he has written five unforgettable novels: Boy Still Missing, Strange But True (later adapted into a feature film), Help for the Haunted, Her Last Affair, and now Single Girls, a sharp, funny, and heartfelt fictionalization of Helen Gurley Brown’s (HGB) first years at the helm of Cosmopolitan.
Lucky for us, John will be joining me in conversation at the Fire Island Synagogue in Seaview on Thursday, August 27, at 5 p.m., for wine, cheese, and lively conversation. All are welcome.
Consider Single Girls your August reading assignment. I promise it won’t disappoint!
Jane Rosen (J.R.): Single Girls doesn’t read like someone simply writing about a former workplace. It feels like a love letter. How long has this novel been brewing?
John Searles (J.S.): I’ve wanted to write Single Girls for decades! Late nights in the Cosmo office, when I’d be waiting to sign off on what we called finals to ship to the printer, I’d pull old issues from the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s off the shelves, stare at the outrageous fashions, provocative overlines, and stunning models, and think someone should write a novel about this world… which eventually became I want to write a novel about this world.
J.R.: Which character are you secretly most like?
J.S.: I have HGB’s scrappiness, determination, love of words, and admiration for ambitious women, as well as a sense of grief over our less-than-glamorous early years. I’ve also got a bit of Belinda Sue in me, since I love books and I’m more than a little forgetful. Finally, I definitely have Liz’s gift of gab.
J.R.: Will you continue in this genre or go back to leaving us in suspense?
J.S.: I’ll leave you in suspense on that one!
J.R.: Your dialogue is consistently fabulous. Are you an unapologetic eavesdropper?
J.S.: I eavesdrop obsessively! Thomas, my husband, has accepted it by now… he marvels at how I can get such a level of detail from people’s overheard conversations… and all the while, keeping our conversation going, too! My sister once gave me a shirt that says, “CAREFUL OR YOU’LL END UP IN MY NOVEL!”
J.R.: If you could have dinner with the women of Single Girls, who would dominate the conversation, who would order the second martini, and who would quietly steal dessert?
J.S.: Liz Smith was a big talker who loved to hold court. The hilarious story she tells in the novel about Joan Crawford is one she used to tell in real life. And HGB would totally sneak off with the dessert… I remember having lunch with her, and she’d insist I get a plate of cookies, and she’d steal them off my plate when she thought I wasn’t looking!
J.R.: You’ve been a book critic, editor, interviewer, television personality, podcaster, and novelist. Which role has come most naturally?
J.S.: I always wanted to be a novelist. Those other things happened along the way, and I feel really lucky to have had those experiences in my life. I will tell you that in the beginning I was terrible on TV. I thought the hosts were going to quiz me on every page of the book, so I was terrified! Then I started appearing on Regis and Kelly, before moving to the Today Show, and the hosts were so playful it made me realize, “Oh, this is just a fun chat about a topic I love: Books!” Since then, I’m way more comfortable and love being able to champion books by my fellow writers for millions of viewers. All of it has brought me joy.
J.R.: Looking at the world today, what do you think would surprise Helen Gurley Brown most? And what would disappoint her?
J.S.: The reversal of key women’s rights and the trad wife movement would sadden and perplex her. On a much lighter note, she’d be thrilled with the advancements in synthetic hair and extensions. HGB loved a good fall!
J.R.: What’s one piece of advice Helen Gurley Brown gave that still holds up today?
J.S.: She believed in self-improvement in all areas… and that when you’re working hard to be your very best self, you attract the very best things in life. Also, she was obsessive about good posture! No slouching!
J.R.: If Helen Gurley Brown could read Single Girls, what’s the one thing you’d hope she’d say?
J.S.: I really do think she’d give me a great big hug and say, “Oh, pussycat! It’s an absolutely delicious read! Thank you!”
J.R.: Single Girls is an unusual blend of history, personal experience, and fiction. If we were drawing a pie chart, which slice empowered you the most as you were writing?
J.S.: Oh, gosh. A pie chart! I’m bad at math! Let’s just say that so much is based on the facts of Helen’s life and Liz Smith’s life, as well as certain things I knew about various editors who worked for her…Plus, I drew inspiration from the stories they ran in the magazine.
J.R.: And, finally, on the subject of pie, Cake or pie?
J.S.: Cake (I’m a carrot cake junkie!)
Jane L. Rosen is the author of six novels, three of which are set on her beloved Fire Island.
