A Nora Ephron Film Come to Life: Authors Fiona Davis and Greg Wands' Bookstore Meet-Cute (Exclusive)

Authors Fiona Davis and Greg Wands couldn’t have written a better encounter if they tried.

Davis is the author of beloved historical fiction such as The Lions of Fifth Avenue, Spectacular and upcoming The stolen queen (January 14) and Wands, the author of the thriller The woman inside under the name EG Scott as one half of the writing duo with Elizabeth McCullough Keenan, both of whom are also behind the upcoming album Trust issues (January 28). The couple met in their natural habitat: bookstores.

Specifically, Davis was doing a book signing at the Upper West Side Shakespeare & Company and their mutual publicist suggested they give Wands a swing. Neither was really looking for romance at the time; both of them ended their long-term relationships and were not actively on the market. But their connection was instant: Nora Ephron could never.

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“It’s really like a Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks movie,” Wands joked. He hung around the store — “finding a way to look busy,” he added — until Davis finished signing copies, got her number, and the rest, as they say, is history.

That was six years ago and the couple has been together ever since. Wands supported Davis in the diagnosis and treatment of her Parkinson’s disease, and the two saw each other through book research and writing, book launches, reviews, and things in between. Watching them laugh next to each other in front of the bookshelf that holds both of their books, their connection shines through.

Greg Wands (left) and Fiona Davis.

Courtesy of Fiona Davis

While conventional wisdom often advises against dating people from the same field—especially creative ones—Davis and Wands find that they feed off each other well. It helps that they write in slightly different genres: Davis in historical fiction, and Wands in thrillers. They bounce ideas off each other while working on their manuscripts, and even wrote a novella together, Gimlet Slipwhich came out last summer.

“There’s really no ego,” Davis says of their creative and romantic partnership. “We are in different phases of our careers, and they are cyclical. Book publishing is like that. We really support each other because we know what it’s like to be in this business.”

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Wands, who is used to writing with a partner, explained that working together means they can both bring their strengths to the table. Davis, thanks to his historical background, is a meticulous researcher, while Wands pumps up the fast-paced drama. They also put little Easter eggs to find in their books and help each other talk through sticky plots, stuttering dialogue, and other problems that come up as they work.

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Both authors are expecting a busy January, with Davis’ new book coming out on January 7th and Wand’s on January 28th.

“We didn’t plan it that way,” Davis laughs when asked if the estuary was accidental. “But it works well. It’s going to be a busy month.”

‘Stolen Queen’ by Fiona Davis.

Dutton

Her new book, The stolen queenis a slight departure from her usual Manhattan-centric histories, taking readers from the glittering 1978 Met Gala in New York to the labyrinthine streets of Cairo and the dusty 1936 archaeological digs that soon turn to tragedy.

Davis promises that readers can expect the same immersive setting, more real characters, and high-society drama centered on a sharp mystery.

‘Trust Issues’ by Elizabeth McCullough Keenan and Greg Wands.

Dutton

The latest Wands and McCullough Keenan, Trust issuesfollows a pair of siblings who find themselves on the suspect list after their mother dies under mysterious circumstances. In order to clear their names and restore the family fortune, they go in search of a con artist who has escaped and find themselves more entangled in the family’s web of fraud than ever before.

It’s a family story as dysfunctional as it is, with plenty of suspense to keep the pages turning.

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While the research process was different for everyone — they traveled to Egypt to capture the sights, sounds and smells of the desert to increase the realism in The stolen queen and Wand’s book takes place closer to home — the couple said the writing of their two books has more in common than it first appears. Both have an element of mystery, complex relationships and characters striving for something, sometimes literally.

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As they look forward to letting them out into the world, they continue apace and as a couple. They both laughed when asked if they had any advice for people like them, looking at each other for a long moment. Patience is one thing. The sense of fun is something else. And whatever comes their way, side by side.

The stolen queen and Trust issues both are now available for pre-order, wherever books are sold.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education