Today we are chatting with Nina de Gramont about her new novel, The Christie Affair, which was just selected as the Reese Book Club February pick!This episode is sponsored by the audiobook edition of The Christie Affair, published by Macmillan Audio.** Nina starts by giving us the scoop on what it’s like to be picked by Reese for her book club, complete with the street cred it earned her with her teenage daughter. (03:35)** The Christie Affair is a reimagination of the 11 days Agatha Christie went missing in 1926. Nina shares her relationship with Christie, a woman well ahead of her time, and how the idea for this novel came about. (06:38)** We talk about the chief narrator of the novel, Nan O’Dea, who is a fictional character based on someone real – the mistress of Agatha Christie’s husband Archie! (10:11)** Nina explains how she skillfully avoided the dreaded “unlikable” label that could carelessly be ascribed to the “mistress” by making Nana a three dimensional character. (12:12)** There are a lot of reasons women go missing in fiction and in real life, many times for dark and troubling reasons. And many times they don’t make it back. This is a different kind of story —  what these women have is agency. (14:39)** Nina discusses the writing process, which involved many years and lots of revisions. (17:44)** The Christie Affair has a complex structure. Nina discusses the evolution of the story and how it had to be told, including how she wrote an entirely different book in between drafts. (19:25)** We talk astrology and are so surprised to hear Nina’s unlikely relationship with the stars! (21:36)** Nina shares what she is loving right now. (24:26)Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @popfictionwomen and on Twitter @pop_women. To do a full deep dive, check out our website at www.popfictionwomen.com. Stay Complicated!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.