Nicola Harrison, an author with short stories published in The Southampton Review and Glimmer Train and articles in Los Angeles Magazine and Orange Coast Magazine, will promote her new novel “The Island Club” with a stop in Greenville.
Before writing each of her books, Harrison normally picks a location she wants to focus on before conducting research. For “The Island Club,” she knew she wanted to set it the story in the 1950s on Balboa Island, which is just off of the California coast.
The book follows the lives of three women, which begin to unravel in shockingly different ways, an unlikely friendship —and the game of tennis—may be the only thing that can save them.
Milly Kinkaid moves her family from Hollywood to Balboa Island to fix her crumbling marriage. Society matriarch Sylvia Johnson and her husband have recently begun a new business venture, The Island Club, a place for members to swim, play tennis and dine in style. But when she learns that he has been risking their financial security and putting their family’s future in grave danger, she’s not only poised to lose the club, but the entire community she holds dear. Meanwhile, standoffish loner Adele Lambert’s entire world is on the brink of being destroyed if the dark secrets of her past and her hidden identity is revealed.
“I learned that in the 1920-1950s, Balboa Island used to be the destination for college kids to go to for spring break,” said Harrison. “I learned that in Life magazine at the end of the 1940s, they had a 21-photo spread of Balboa Island (and) of all of these college kids at the beach, dancing, out on boats and driving their cars down the main street. This is all taking place at the time of this story.”
As Harrison crafted her story, she decided she wanted to incorporate an element of tennis because she found that playing the sport gave her a sense of community that she wanted to incorporate in “The Island Club.”
“As women get older, you lose this element of playfulness,” Harrison said. “We get so wrapped up in adult responsibilities that we tend to lose our sense of play. I just thought it would be explore something like that in this book and what happens when women get permission to try something new.”
Harrison will participate in M.Judson Booksellers’ Lunch and Lit series May 7 from noon to 1 p.m. at Soby’s. Admission is $60 per person and includes a three-course meal and a signed copy of “The Island Club.” For more information, visit mjudsonbooks.com.
