It
has been a long road to say the least. While hardly a serious tome, 24 Karat Etiquette, was a labor of love many
years in the making. Apparently, I was supposed to labor through many different
concepts and meet with a number of talented collaborators to discover that
ultimately I wanted this to be a project of my own. Truly it was my passion for manners that was the
driving force, and after many years, pitches, and passes from publishers, we
are finally celebrating my debut book release.
It was summer of 2012, when I bumped into an old
friend at my tennis club who had started a new gig as a book agent. She asked me if I’d ever thought of writing a
book. “Had I?” “YES!” I shouted
emphatically. Within a couple of weeks
we met for lunch to hash through some ideas, she connected me to an amazing
editor who helped put my tips into witty prose, and I never looked back!
With this book, I wanted to embrace what was right under my nose –
Beverly Hills. Growing up in 90210 with
Hollywood at my fingertips, it made the most sense to write about my little
neck of the woods inhabited by the rich and famous to offer an insider’s peek
into how this privileged set operates, what makes them tick, and what irks them
(or us). What I quickly discovered during the process was that while the lens
was tightly focused on this unique world, the tools were applicable and
beneficial to anyone, anywhere.
Hallelujah,
I had found my niche and now we were ready to pitch it. The proposal and one sample chapter were
submitted to a number of publishers in November. Thankfully, two New York
publishers responded positively, and I decided to go with Skyhorse
Publishing. The serious writing began in
January, and it was a race to the finish to turn the final pass of the
completed manuscript in by the end of June.
Meanwhile,
there was great discussion over what the book cover would look like. My editor
friend came up with the idea to recreate a famous Jackie O photograph of her
lighting candles on a dining table set for dinner. Using this photo as our
inspiration was significant. Not only
was Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis an icon in American culture, she was the
epitome of elegance, grace and style forever associated with all that was
correct and appropriate. This was something I certainly wanted to emulate,
however, with a modern twist paying homage to the old—but acknowledging that we
live in a new normal. We took the Jackie O shot as inspiration, and added a new
twist. Lighting a candle with a sparkler (instead of a match), represents the
idea of igniting a new conversation about manners—one that would dispel the misperception
that they are formal, tedious and only for the chosen few.
In
the end, all of the elements came together as planned and I was thrilled to
learn that the photo would be used in full on the back cover. To complement the photo, the publisher used
an image of a chandelier for the front cover tying the two themes together and also
satisfying the need to find a singular image that encapsulated manners. I
think we did it justice.
24 Karat Etiquette is available for purchase online at http://www.beverlyhillsmanners.com/index and in stores. Please feel free to reach
out to me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/24KaratEtiquettebook, Twitter @90210manners, or via email at
lisa@beverlyhillsmanners.com with your questions, reactions, and
thoughts. And, if you feel so inspired to write a quick (and glowing) review on
Amazon and/or Barnes & Noble, I would be most grateful.
Many,
many thanks in advance and best wishes always!!
Lisa
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