Authors Interviewing Characters: Leslie Hooton

We’re delighted to share this Authors Interviewing Characters piece by Leslie Hooton!

Leslie was inspired to write an interview with the novel’s protagonist–wife, mother and murder suspect, Bailey Edgeworth–where Leslie poses as a writer for Architectural Digest magazine and discusses career goals, relationships, family history, and more with her character.

About AFTER EVERYONE ELSE

Bailey thought she’d gotten her happy ending. She is married to the man she loves and her design business is flourishing. But when Bailey’s ex-husband, a famous TV chef, is found murdered with her DNA all over his apartment and body, she is suddenly facing murder charges in a high-profile case. Already burdened by the demands and challenges of marriage, motherhood, and her career, Bailey now must do everything she can to prove her innocence. But it’s the ones she thought would surely be on her side—her enigmatic lawyer and her husband—who might be doubting her innocence the most.

Alternating between the past and present, AFTER EVERYONE ELSE chronicles the grip of the past, the challenges of forgiveness, and the resilient love we save for the person we love after everyone else.

                                                        Designing Woman

Leslie Hooton is a staff writer for Architectural Digest Magazine. Here are selected portions of her interview with restaurant designer (and AFTER EVERYONE ELSE protagonist) Bailey Edgeworth.

Leslie – Your design work has been featured twice in our magazine. First, you were featured with your brother and his partner, your husband, Henry Edgeworth and Griffin Hardwick.They were nicknamed the “color wheel boys” Because of their colorful and successful restaurants in the Atlanta area like NOIR and VERT. I think our readers would like to know why design over the family business of being a chef.

Bailey – The short answer is I can’t cook. Blame it on my father who didn’t think a woman’s place was in the kitchen. I didn’t have a mother growing up so that sounded perfectly normal to me.  I was innately drawn to restaurants. It was your magazine that actually fueled my imagination. You featured my old boss, Julian Palmer. The idea lit up inside me and I thought… Wait. What? This is a profession. Where do I sign up?

Leslie – You mentioned growing up without a mother. How do you refer to your dad, your brother and your husband?

Bailey – I always refer to them as my men.

Leslie – Talk about the male influence in your life.

Bailey – All three men were very influential. (She laughs.) I am related to two of them and  I married the other one. We didn’t have babysitters so after school dad made me come to the restaurant and sit in the back booth and do homework. I was easily distracted because I found myself rearranging pictures and putting things on the hostess stand that looked distinctive.

Leslie – Can you speak to your love of vintage?

Bailey – How long do you have? I was not one of those girls who liked the mall.  The mall bored me. It still does. I think I discovered my style of dressing and appreciated all things vintage. Dad gave me an allowance, not very much, and I found that it went further at these funky vintage thrift shops.  I had a cashmere sweater collection to rival anyone. It was all purchased at these stores.  My dad was happy because I was out of his hair for a little while. He didn’t really know what to do with a girl. So it made him happy to think I was shopping. It made me sound like a normal girl. But when I wasn’t with my dad, I was with my brother and Griffin. They had some not “age-appropriate” adventures for a teenage girl.

Leslie – What is an inappropriate adventure?

Bailey – I’ll give you the PG version. (She laughs.) My brother who was hungover at the time took me to buy my first bra at Victoria’s Secret. He was so disheveled, they asked me if I wanted a policeman, fearing that I had been kidnapped. And then there was the time that he and Griffin told me the facts of life from a decidedly male point of view. It got exceedingly funnier and more shocking the more beers they consumed.

Leslie – It sounds like you had a very interesting childhood. But it also sounds like if they weren’t around, it could’ve been lonely. Did you have friends?

Bailey – I didn’t have friends back then. I have the best village now. Without sounding too dramatic, I think it was your magazine that saved my life. I would get into bed and flip through your pages and just be blown away by all the interiors. My favorite issue of the year was the Before and After. Every transformation was just amazing and breathtaking. I wanted to do that to restaurants – to transform them from dumps into places that were memorable. From wallflowers to the belle of the ball. If I am being honest I wanted the transformation to occur in me. Don’t we all want a transformation at one time or another? When I was in college, Julian Palmer was on a panel titled Cooking and Design. After seeing him, it made me focus on getting a job with him. At the time, Julian was one of the premier restaurant designers.

Leslie – And you did. You got your first big break designing cafeteria restaurants in small liberal arts schools. And then you met your first husband.

Bailey – (Her eyes get very far away and she ponders how she is going to answer this question.) Yes. Designing cafeteria restaurants has been one of the purest joys of my life. I didn’t sit with anybody in the high school lunchroom and I think it made me very conscious of designing all spaces in the cafeteria with interest. Sometimes it is those things that haunt us that propel us to create something beautiful, something better. After I went out on my own I got my first big break by designing for my first husband. (She takes a sip of her cappuccino.)

Leslie – You had an acrimonious divorce and then later you were charged with his murder.

Bailey – Yes. (She is still clutching her cappuccino. Leslie changes subjects.)

Leslie – You were the first restaurant designer to ever grace the cover of this magazine. How did it make you feel?

Bailey – That has been one of the high points in my professional career. It was one of those things that I remember exactly where I was when I got your call.

Leslie – Where?

Bailey – I was in Mac Whitney’s office. We were collaborating on Zebra in Chicago. 

Leslie – Have you made it a policy not to design restaurants in Atlanta because of the competition with your husband and brother?

Bailey – I designed Whitney’s for Mac Whitney in Dunwoody which is a suburb of Atlanta. I have also refurbished Henry and Griffin’s restaurants. And we are about to collaborate again.

Leslie – That is big news. What kind of restaurant will it be?

Bailey – That is probably news for them to share but it is a project near and dear to our hearts. They are jumping off the color wheel and retiring their nickname.

Leslie – Interesting tease. Both you and your husband, Griffin Hardwick, have very demanding careers and you have managed to make your marriage and raising a child work.

Bailey – MOST of the time. We’re lucky.

Leslie – How do you juggle it all?

Bailey – (She laughs.) I think that is a struggle that many women can relate to who are balancing work and family.

 Early in our marriage, we figured out how to navigate everything. (She laughs.) It is the “figuring things out” that is always the hardest part. Right? Our situation wouldn’t work for everybody.

Leslie – Now your daughter is writing a memoir about your relationship.

Bailey – Writing is Charlotte’s creative outlet.

Leslie – You have really made a success of being a woman in a man’s world… (Bailey interrupts)

Bailey – I am currently designing for a female chef and entrepreneur. I predict she is going to be the next “big” thing.

Leslie – Care to elaborate?

Bailey – You’ll just have to stay tuned.

—

Advanced Praise for AFTER EVERYONE ELSE:

“Leslie Hooton’s latest novel begins as a whodunnit, but quickly delves into the intricacies of relationships. When workaholic wife and mother, Bailey, is accused of a heinous crime, her estranged daughter, Charlie, and devoted husband, Griffin, must come to terms with how they arrived in this dark place. Hooton weaves together the past with the present and the nuances of marriage and mother/daughter bonds with tremendous depth. Readers looking for a big-hearted book that strikes the right emotional chord will devour this one.”

—Rochelle Weinstein, USA Today Bestselling author

“With After Everyone Else, Leslie Hooton has delivered another gem of Southern literature: funny but heartfelt, plot-driven yet profound. I can’t wait to see what she gives us next.”

 —Amy Greene, nationally bestselling author of Bloodroot

“After Everyone Else brings us back into the life of Bailey Edgeworth, Leslie Hooton’s memorable, sparkling character from her first novel, but Hooton is such a gifted writer and natural storyteller that this story brings us new twists, new drama, new terrain, all in that witty, emotional resonant writing style. And, always, at the heart of Hooton’s writing, there is an exploration of the past, how we are made, and how family and love open up new possibilities that we never expected.”

  —Kevin Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of Nothing to See Here and The Family Fang

“Marriage, mother-daughter bonds …. and murder. Acclaimed author Leslie Hooton’s new novel After Everyone Else packs a powerful punch. Alternating between the past and present, what begins as a mystery quickly deep dives into the intricacy of relationships. Hooton doesn’t miss a beat as she deftly explores how far we go to protect those we love—a Must-Read.”

—Lisa Barr, USA Today bestselling author of Woman on Fire

—

ABOUT LESLIE

Leslie Hooton is many things: a fabulous friend, a powerful speaker, a flower enthusiast, and a lover of language. Her debut novel, Before Anyone Else, garnered a Zibby nomination.  Leslie’s second novel, The Secret of Rainy Days was a book club favorite, and her third novel, After Everyone Else, the sequel to Before Everyone Else, will be published on June 28th.

Leslie attended the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and studied with Alice McDermott, Jill McCorkle, and Richard Bausch. Growing up in a small Alabama town, Leslie went on to earn her B.A. and M.A. from Auburn University and J.D. from Samford University. She became intrigued by people and discovered everyone has their own unique stories. Originally from Alabama, Leslie resides in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is at work on her next novel.

Connect with Leslie!

Website: https://lesliehooton.com/

Instagram: @lesliehooton

Twitter: @LeslieHooton

Facebook: Leslie Hooton

 

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: Interviews, On Writing