Brenda Janowitz knows how to write relationships. The Grace Kelly Dress, her newest novel, is told through three points of view. Each woman’s story takes place in a different decade, but all of the women have a connection to the same wedding dress. In addition to being the books correspondent for POPSUGAR, Janowitz is also an acclaimed essayist. Her recent New York Times Modern Love piece, He’ll Never Put That Shirt Away, captured the nuances of married life in a humorous yet poignant way. Janowitz’s work has also appeared in USA Today, The Washington Post, Salon, Redbook, Publishers Weekly, Writer’s Digest, and The New York Post. She lives in Long Island with her husband and sons. Holly Rizzuto Palker spoke with Janowitz about the art of writing familial relationships, her process for creating robust characters, and her thoughts on motherhood in conjunction with being an author.
Holly Rizzuto Palker: I enjoyed The Grace Kelly Dress. It was beautifully done. The three distinct points of view worked because the characters were so well-defined. It was different than your other books, though. I felt a maturity to it. Did you have fun writing it?
Brenda Janowitz: I had a lot of fun writing it. As you mentioned, it’s different from my other books, and that’s very much by design. I wanted to do something that stretched me creatively, and I think I’ve done that. This book is more complicated in structure, with the three timelines that all connect, and the themes are more complicated as well. I’m tackling heavier issues than I’ve done in the past, and I hope that readers respond to that.
