‘An American Beauty’ author Shana Abé speaking in Naples on April 4

How many novelists have mastered medieval romance, moved on to fantasies that feature dragons and mermaids, and then found great success with two works of Gilded Age historical fiction?

That describes Shana Abé, author of “An America Beauty,” who comes to Naples on Thursday, April 4, to conclude this year’s Author Spotlight series, sponsored by the Friends of the Library of Collier County.

The lecture is part of a busy schedule of events from the nonprofit Friends of the Library, which raises hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund programs and resources for the 10 Collier County Public Library branches.

Abé’s talk at The Norris Center in Naples begins at 2 p.m. April 4, followed by a book signing. (See info box for ticket details.)

'An American Beauty' a book club favorite

Abé’s latest novel, “An American Beauty,” is trending on the book club circuit these days. It and her previous historical novel, “The Second Mrs. Astor,” along with HBO’s fictitious series “The Gilded Age” created and written by Julian Fellowes, have audiences primed for tales of American robber barons and industrialists during the late 1800s.

In “An American Beauty,” Abé vividly portrays the real-life Arabella Harrington, a survivor of crushing poverty in the Civil War South who became the nation’s wealthiest woman during the Gilded Age.

After years as mistress of the married multimillionaire railroad tycoon Collis Potter Huntington, Arabella married the widowed Huntington and established their fabulous city and country estates in New York. Collis died in 1900, leaving Arabella all those millions. A decade later, she married her nephew-in-law Henry Huntington!

But Arabella wasn’t just a spendthrift. She laid the groundwork for cancer research funding that became New York’s Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Works from her massive art collection are mainstays of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut — and the foundation of the Huntington Library and Art Museum in California.

The Texas-born and Colorado-based Abé declared in an interview with the Naples Daily News that she’s sticking with historical fiction for a while, having initially made her mark over the last couple of decades with her successful medieval romances and her fantasy-oriented Sweetest Dark Series and Drákon Series.

'In my books, I am every character,' Shana Abé

Naples Daily News: Do you think you would have liked Arabella if you had met her? She’s so complex: she’s manipulative and transactional, but then so are all the people in her life who hold the real power; she’s fiercely loyal and protective of her family, including her hapless stepdaughter; and by all historical accounts she raised a brilliant and compassionate son.

Shana Abé: I do think I would have liked her, and hope that she would have liked me. Arabella’s surviving personal letters sparkle with wit and humor; I definitely got the impression that she was intelligent, resilient and determined to tackle whatever life threw at her. She single-handedly pulled herself, her widowed mother and her four siblings out of poverty and into the insanely opulent world of the Gilded Age rich. I admire her resiliency, her disdain for the unjust societal norms she was expected to obey and, of course, her unwavering devotion to her family (whether they deserved it or not).

NDN: Once you’ve gathered your historical research, how do you put yourself in the frame of mind to create the intimate, unrecorded moments in your subject’s life? Do you worry about going over the top with the romantic scenes, or do you just let your imagination run free?

SA: In historical fiction, research is always the bones of the story. I find it’s easier to allow the broad, sweeping facts — the facts most people already know — to paint the backdrop, as it were, of the novel. Unearthing the more intimate details of a person’s life is more challenging, and all the more rewarding. But once I have those details, fleshing out the heart of the person, their personality, their soul, becomes the beauty of the story. Even though I’m writing about actual people who lived their actual lives, in my books, I am every character. I have to be. As for the romantic scenes, I try to be respectful but authentic. Madeleine Astor in “The Second Mrs. Astor” was a teenaged debutante deeply in love with her famous, older husband. Arabella in “An American Beauty” was a teen who survived the Civil War by the skin of her teeth, and whose love for her famous, older husband had a very different tint to it, although it was no less genuine.

NDN: “An American Beauty” is very prominent lately on this area’s book club circuit. It seems like the role of local book clubs in the success of a book has really increased in the last couple of decades. What do you and your publishing team do to foster interest with book clubs?

SA: I’m so lucky to have such a terrific team at Kensington to support my books. They reach out to readers and clubs, organize giveaways, drum up publicity and do their best to remind me that I need to be more present on social media, which I freely admit slips away from me in the best of times. I’ve attended a lot of book club meetings over the years, both in person and virtually, and one of the things I find most fascinating about them is that each particular club has their own particular vibe, their own unique way of interacting with me and with each other. And it’s always a joy to be around people who appreciate the common thread that binds us all: our love of books, of compelling storytelling.

NDN: After making your mark as an author of medieval romances and fantasy novels, your last two books have featured real women from the late 19^th and early 20^th century. Are you sticking with that period for your next book? What is your next novel, and when is it scheduled to be published?

SA: I am sticking with historical fiction, certainly for the next two books. My current work-in-progress features a real, turn-of-the-century young actress who was quite famous in her time, but who has since been mostly forgotten. She was born into wealth and blue-blooded privilege. She was lovely and fun and lived an exuberant, fascinating life, starring on Broadway and in silent movies. And then she boarded the Lusitania and become one of the most prominent survivors of that disaster. I’m not sure about the publication date, however. I’m still writing the story! I imagine it will come out in 2025, but, full disclosure, I’m usually the last to know the publication dates of my books, LOL.

NDN: Since the Friends is a nonprofit devoted to supporting the Collier County public libraries, we’ve been asking authors to talk about their own special experiences with libraries, either when you were growing up or in recent years. Do you have any memories you could share?

SA: I was a disastrously shy child. I was also very nearly legally blind, but with heavy corrective lenses, I could read. I loved learning, but every social aspect of school was a predictable hell of mockery and exclusion. My local library in Texas was such a haven for me. Every time my mother took me there, it was like stepping into a wonderland, and I’m not exaggerating. My thick, uncomfortable glasses were a help there, not a mark of shame; my shyness didn’t matter, because the books were for everyone, not just a golden few. I was allowed to read as many as I wanted, as fast as I could. I remember how the air inside always felt blessedly cool and dry, such a relief after the usual sticky heat outside. I remember the curving sweep of beige-carpeted steps I could sit on with my treasured pile of books, trying to decide which ones to take home. I remember the librarians who gently questioned me about the kind of stories I liked, and who steered me in the right direction to find more. I didn’t have many friends, but I had those books, and I had that library, and when I say they sustained me through some pretty dark days, I mean it. I am forever grateful.

The Friends of the Library, by offering the Author Spotlight Events at The Norris Center, encourages ticket-holders to make of a day of it in the downtown Naples area, enjoying lunch and shopping before and after the talk.

Another author: Pulitzer winner, UF prof spoke in Naples about book on bald eagles

Shana Abé, Friends of the Library’s Author Spotlight Event

What: Author lectures that are a fundraiser by the Friends of the Library of Collier County.

Where: The Norris Center, 755 Eighth Ave. S., Naples

When: Thursday, April 4, at 2 p.m., followed by a book signing

Cost: $48 for current members of the Friends of the Library of Collier County; $58 for nonmembers. All seating is general admission. Friends memberships begin at $40/year and provide access and discounts to many other programs throughout the year.

Purchase tickets and become a member: Go to collier-friends.org. Questions? Email Marlene Haywood, the Friends’ Program Director, at mhaywood@collier-friends.org or call 239-262-8135.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: ‘An American Beauty’ author speaks in Naples on April 4