Kristin Harmel, ‘'The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau’ – The Girlfriend Author Interview (January 2026)
30:01
In this Girlfriend Book Club author talk, executive editor and moderator Shelley Emling interviews bestselling novelist Kristin Harmel about The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau. Harmel explains how real resistance-era jewel theft helped inspire Colette’s morally complex story, and shares the unusual research she did to write convincing sleight-of-hand scenes (including studying magician videos). She also discusses the most emotionally difficult moments to write, why she chose to portray late-in-life love, and what keeps drawing her back to World War II as a setting for stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Harmel opens up about her writing process as a detailed outliner, the long road of adapting books for film and TV, and her experience being diagnosed with breast cancer—plus her message about the importance of annual mammograms. The conversation wraps with what she’s working on next (Meet Me in Paris) and her recent reading recommendations.
In this Girlfriend Book Club author talk, executive editor and moderator Shelley Emling interviews bestselling novelist Kristin Harmel about The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau. Harmel explains how real resistance-era jewel theft helped inspire Colette’s morally complex story, and shares the unusual research she did to write convincing sleight-of-hand scenes (including studying magician videos). She also discusses the most emotionally difficult moments to write, why she chose to portray late-in-life love, and what keeps drawing her back to World War II as a setting for stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Harmel opens up about her writing process as a detailed outliner, the long road of adapting books for film and TV, and her experience being diagnosed with breast cancer—plus her message about the importance of annual mammograms. The conversation wraps with what she’s working on next (Meet Me in Paris) and her recent reading recommendations.
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