鈥淚'm jealous you get to meet her,鈥 an employee working behind the scenes at a recent press opportunity for 鈥淒aisy Jones & the Six鈥 told some journalists.
The 鈥渉er鈥 in question was not Riley Keough, the star of the Amazon limited series, or any of the show's other female stars. It was Taylor Jenkins Reid, the bestselling author behind a celebrity-infused, decades-spanning literary universe suffused with glitz and grit: 鈥淭he Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo,鈥 鈥淒aisy Jones,鈥 and 鈥淐arrie Soto is Back.鈥
鈥淒aisy Jones,鈥 debuting Friday on Prime Video, is the first Reid adaptation to hit the screen and others are in the works.
Reid and her husband, Alex, adapted an early book, 鈥淥ne True Loves,鈥 which stars Phillipa Soo and Simu Liu and opens April 7. She's also written a screenplay with her best friend, which Kay Cannon ("Pitch Perfect") is slated to direct.
Reid says she always knew she wanted to work in Hollywood and calls writing books 鈥渁 happy accident.鈥 She originally moved out to Los Angeles to work in casting but when she wrote her first novel, 鈥淔orever Interrupted," she knew that was what she was meant to do.
鈥淚 found this piece of myself I never anticipated,鈥 she says. Now, to have Hollywood come calling for her work, Reid says, is 鈥渞eally fun.鈥
Reid spoke with The Associated Press about the future of her book series, the intertwining threads and the status of that 鈥淓velyn Hugo鈥 adaptation. The transcript has been condensed for brevity.
AP: You've said that your most recent novel, 鈥淐arrie Soto is Back,鈥 is the last in your series of books about celebrities. Is that true?
It鈥檚 not something that I come to easily. I ache to return to this world. I ache to return to each one of these books. I miss them when I鈥檓 done with them. And they never feel like they never feel over for me. It always feels like an opportunity to go back to them is so welcome.
But I have likened it a little bit to, you know, it鈥檚 senior year of high school and .. it鈥檚 important that we go expand and do other things and find new challenges. That is what I am planning to do. It is not because I鈥檓 ready to go as much as I just know it鈥檚 time.
AP: The character of Mick Riva, a playboy, smooth-talking crooner shows up in each of those books. Why?
First and foremost, I write about women and I鈥檓 interested in women, but women are very affected by the decisions of men and a lot of time women are left holding the bag. When men make the decisions that they do, that they sort of escape unscathed. There are a lot of men in our culture who keep making pretty big mistakes, and it doesn鈥檛 stick to them, but there are women behind those men dealing with the consequences of those men鈥檚 actions.
While I do write about women, I wanted to put forth a man who gets away with it. I know people hate him. And I know when they see his name in books, they get mad. But I want you to be mad because there are many, many, many Mick Rivas in the world. I think we would all do well to look out and see if we can spot any of them, because they鈥檙e getting away with a lot and they鈥檙e allowing the women around them to be the one to pick up the pieces, whether it鈥檚 whether it鈥檚 Nina Riva or it鈥檚 Evelyn Hugo or it鈥檚 Daisy Jones at a party or it鈥檚 Javier Soto finally being the person who calls them out.
Not every man is Mick Riva, but there are a lot of Mick Rivas in the world.
AP: Do you agree that there was a change in tone to your writing from 鈥淓velyn Hugo鈥 on? If so, was it intentional?
Absolutely. I鈥檓 not sure it was intentional as much as it was honestly not too similar to how I feel now with the end of 鈥淐arrie Soto.鈥 It was just time. I want to tackle new and different things, and it鈥檚 really wonderful when you find this pocket of creativity where you feel like, 鈥淥h, I can live in this space for a little while and I can tell a lot of stories here,鈥 but I never want to stay at the party too long.
AP: 鈥淭he Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo鈥 blew up, in large part due to readers on TikTok posting about it. What was that experience like for you?
You probably heard about it before me, because what happened to me was I鈥檓 sitting at my computer. I get an email from my agent with the New York Times list, and she鈥檚 like, "'Evelyn Hugo' just made The New York Times.鈥 I yelled in my office and my husband comes rushing in ... and I鈥檓 like, 鈥淚 must be misunderstanding this, right? Can you read this?鈥
The book had come out many, many years before and had not hit the list when it first came out. My husband read it and he鈥檚 like, 鈥淣ope, I think this is real. I think you鈥檙e understanding this.鈥 It took us probably two weeks to figure out how it had happened. Everyone kept going, 鈥淲hat led to this bump?鈥 And I鈥檓 like, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know.鈥 Then my manager, Brad, he goes, 鈥淚 think it was something called BookTok.鈥 I was like, "What鈥檚 that?" And he started showing me that there were all these young women talking about 鈥淓velyn Hugo鈥 on TikTok. I felt very seen because I鈥檓 very, very proud of that book and to have it take off with readers, especially young women, just felt really good.
AP: Netflix is adapting 鈥淓velyn Hugo鈥 into a film. Did you ever wonder how they're going to fit a story of a woman who had seven husbands into a movie?
I did. Then I read the script and I鈥檓 not concerned, but I get it. I understand. It鈥檚 not dissimilar to the experience on 鈥淒aisy Jones.鈥 You have to pick the right people and trust them. Liz Tigelaar, who wrote the script, is a phenomenal talent, and I said, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how you鈥檙e going to do this. I think you need to condense the story.鈥 And she said, 鈥淣o, I don鈥檛.鈥 ... And then she turns in the script and I was like, 鈥淚 was wrong. You were right. You got it.鈥
AP: Can you share where the casting process is at for 鈥淓velyn Hugo鈥?
There is no news but I will say that who is going to play Evelyn Hugo and who might play Celia St. James are always on the forefront of my mind. There is no definitive answer (but) there鈥檚 just a short list of women that I am incredibly, incredibly excited about.
AP: During the height of the pandemic you also wrote a screenplay with your best friend Ashley 鈥 who was not a writer prior to this 鈥 sold it, and Kay Cannon will direct. Not everyone would take a chance like that.
I grew up with very little, and I have so much more than I ever dreamed. I never thought people would read my books at this rate. I never thought that Hollywood would come calling. I have been so blessed that if all I鈥檓 doing is taking that in and I鈥檓 not using that light to bounce it on others, I鈥檓 not sure why I鈥檓 doing this.
