Allow me to introduce you to Alison Pace, who has just published her first novel, If Andy Warhol Had A Girlfriend; it's a humorous story about Art-gallery assistant Jane Laine, whose life has recenlty taken a downward turn after her boyfriend dumps her for another girl. As if that wasn't bad enough, she's then forced to go on a five-month international art tour with famed sculptor Ian Rhys-Fitzsimmons, a guy whose art she doesn't quite understand, and whom she suspects is just a big fraud. But perhaps the trip won't be a complete nightmare, since she at least will be getting away from the clutches of her wretched boss, Dick Reese. What starts off as a punishment in Jane's eyes ends up being a liberating learning experience in art, travel and love.
Alison Pace knows a few things about the art world; she holds a degree in Art History from American University in Washington, D.C. and received a graduate certificate in American Art from Sotheby's Institute in New York. She has worked at Sotheby's and has also been an independent fine art researcher. She lives in New York City.
Alison very kindly set aside some time for me, to answer a few questions.
BL:If Andy Warhol Had A Girlfriend is a great title for a book. I'm curious. What came first, the title or the idea for the book? Is there a story as to how the title came to be?
AP:Thanks. The idea came first and the title didn't come until I was almost done with the first draft. Close to the end of the book, someone asks "Did Andy Warhol have a girlfriend?" This question gets my narrator, Jane, to thinking about the fact that some things just aren't meant to be. As I intended that to be a theme of my book, as soon as I wrote that dialogue, I just knew I had my title.
BL:When I was a teenager, I didn't 'get', or like, a lot of abstract art. My tastes have changed as I have gotten older, but there is still a lot of abstract art that I don't understand, so I appreciated Jane not 'getting' the art that Ian created. From your own experience in the art world, is there a lot of art that you don't 'get'?
AP:Definitely. I think with a lot of contemporary art, you really do need to put some time and work into understanding it and appreciating it. In a way that can be challenging and stimulating, but in other ways, it can be a bit frustrating, too. Working in the art world, I was constantly asked, "what's so good about that?" or told, "I could do that!"...answering those questions / statements often made me yearn for a time / art that was simply instantly understandable. I tried to get at that a bit with Ian's art and Jane's reaction to it.
BL:I love the work of Alexander Calder, Joseph Cornell, Robert Rauschenberg and Jackson Pollock. Who are some of your favourite artists?
AP:I love those artists, too. I am a big fan of anything that was done in the 60s, 70s. I also love Ed Ruscha, Bruce Nauman, Jenny Holzer, Lorna Simpson....I'm very drawn to artists who use words in their work, which I guess makes sense as words and art are of two of my favorite things.
BL:Have you always wanted to write, with the ultimate goal of publishing something?
AP:I have always wanted to write, and actually always have. For most of my life though, it was always something I did on the side, almost in a journaling sort of way. I never tried to publish short stories or anything like that. I never really thought I could get published. Once I started working on this novel though, as it started to turn out in a way that I thought worked really well, I built up a certain level of confidence in my writing and started showing it around, and once I was finished, decided to look for an agent.
BL:Did you get an agent before you got published, and if so, what was your experience like, in your search for an agent?
AP: I got an agent before I was published, yes. I made a list of agents who represented books that I thought were similar to my book (that's easy to find out with publishersmarketplace.com and google and many times by looking in the acknowledgments sections of books) and by doing a little research, I narrowed down that list to who was accepting queries (again, publishers marketplace was extremely helpful). In most cases, I sent emails titled Did Andy Warhol Have a Girlfriend? I think it's quite fitting that I got my agent via email, as now I email him constantly.
BL:So.... was any part of this story cathartic? Basically, have you ever encountered a Dick Reese in your own career?
AP:I have encountered Dick Reese-like people in my career, yes, but no one exactly like him.
BL:Who are some of your favourite authors?
AP:I like Pam Houston because I think she has a beautiful style, and she loves dogs, and she has bad taste in men. When I first read her, it was like the mother ship calling me home. I told her this when we met. I also love Ann Patchett who writes wonderfully and is so brilliant at keeping a story moving along; Darin Strauss because he is so imaginative and so talented and because we were next door neighbors growing up; Anthony Lane, more of a critic than an author, but I love everything he writes. On the lighter side, Jenny Colgan makes me smile.
BL:These days, authors are expected to help out in the promotion of their novel. What are your feelings about being closely involved in the promotion of your book?
AP:I have enjoyed tremendously being involved in the promotion of my book. Writing can be such a solitary experience that it has been wonderful switching gears and brainstorming and being out there trying to drum up publicity.
BL:Are you working on a 2nd novel, and if so, can you say anything about it?
AP:I'm working on my second novel now. For any schnauzer fans, there are many more dogs in this one.
BL:Any pearls of wisdom for aspiring writers out there?
AP:I think the most important thing is to stick with it and to believe in what you are working on. And make sure you like spending a lot of time alone with imaginary people, because as far as I can tell, there's a lot of that.
