Interview With Author Vicky Oliver

 

 

1.      What inspired you to write this book? I am a fourth-generation New Yorker whose ancestors lived in Manhattan during 1908. I have all the family trees, photos, and other ephemera handed down from my relatives on both my mother and my father’s side of the family. I have a burning passion for history and for uncovering parts of New York history that few people know much about. In 1908, Manhattan was a cauldron for three movements: the early women’s rights movement, the labor movement, and the anarchy movement. I wanted to set my story against the backdrop of this fascinating time period.

 

2.      What exactly is it about and who is it written for? It’s about the love between two sisters who grew up in the same family but have very different values. Their bond is strong, but they also confound each other. The older sister, my protagonist, Helena James, wants to protect her younger sister, Summer James, from making a terrible life decision.

 

3.      What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book? Some context. My story takes place over a hundred years ago, but we see many of the same issues and conundrums replaying in today’s headlines. I believe that we have to look backwards to make sense of where we are today. All that said, FIREBRANDS is a very fun, accessible, “breezy” read. I tried to inject a lot of humor and fun in the story because I believe that my task as an author is to entertain and inform.

 

4.      How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design? The title came right out of the character’s mouths. Several characters tell Helena not to be such a “firebrand.” When I considered how many times the people around her said that and also how many characters in the novel are firebrands in their own right, it just seemed like the perfect title. I had the initial idea for the design and worked with several artists to create a mock cover, but the folks at Histria Books really improved the design and brought it to a whole new level. My original cover used pastel colors and green, not red. I thought red was too obvious—until I saw it. But once I saw it, I fell in love with it.

 

5.      What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers – other than run!?

I would never tell a fellow writer to run. The truth is: writers are driven to write. They can’t help it. If you’re a writer, you have to get up every day, throw yourself into your words, and love, love, love the process because you will never work harder at anything in your whole life. My advice, based purely on my own experience, is that it will take a lot longer than you ever dreamed to get published; the journey will be rockier and may be harrowing; but if you stick with it, it can feel exceptionally rewarding.

 

6.      What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading?  Because so many writers are choosing to self-publish their stories, the field is cluttered. It’s harder for all writers to get noticed. We have to push much, much harder than even a few years ago. This can feel off-putting at times—to be out there, “selling” each and every day, trying to build our brands. But again, most writers don’t have a choice. They are driven to write, and then they have to be willing to sell.  The expectation is that we will be partners with our publishing companies and that we will amplify all marketing through social media and all means at our disposal.

 

7.      Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book? Yes. I wrote six career books, among them: Bad Bosses, Crazy Coworkers, and Other Office Idiots (Sourcebooks), so I tend to view my protagonist and the people around her through a career lens. My protagonist, Helena James, is ambitious, and that’s one of the aspects I love about her. Before I wrote career books, I was in the advertising business, and one of the characters in my novel is in the advertising business as well.

 

8.      How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to? I believe that I write in a lush, cinematic style. I read all the old masters, but I am not aiming to be any of them. I don’t want to be Henry James. I want my writing to “wink” at Henry James, but have my sentences be fun, easy, and accessible.

 

9.      What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book? Getting published in this marketplace is a bit of a feat. I revised my novel about 300 times. Some of these were small revisions; others large. Today the expectation is that one’s novel should almost be ready to publish when it’s submitted. I kept revising and tweaking mine until it was.

 

10.  If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours?

I feel the characters and the story will resonate—and also, I hope the story will stay with readers. Even though Firebrands (Histria Books, 2026, distributed by Simon & Shuster) is about events that take place in 1908, it’s very timely to today. It’s very much a story of our time.

 

About The Author: Vicky Oliver graduated from Brown University with a double major in English Honors and Political Science and received her MFA in Fiction from the New School in 2022. Her novel, Firebrands (Histria Books, 2026), is distributed by Simon & Schuster, and has won these awards: Killer Nashville Claymore Award Finalist for Best Historical Fiction; Writers’ League of Texas Award Finalist for Best Historical Fiction; and 5 Stars, Reader’s Favorite: “Very Highly Recommended.” Oliver also writes nonfiction and has published six career books, including 301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions (Sourcebooks), which sold 100,000 copies. She is the Nonfiction Editor as well as an Art Editor at LIT magazine, the journal of The New School’s MFA program. Vicky’s savvy career advice has been featured in over 901 outlets, including the New York Times, WSJ, New York Post, and Esquire. Learn more at https://vickyoliver.com/firebrands-fiction-author/

 

Need Marketing Help?

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About Brian Feinblum

This award-winning blog has generated over 11 million page views. With over 5,700+ posts over the past 15 years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2026, 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.”  Copyright 2026.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully) and (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/10-things-my-dog-taught-me-about-marketing-books). He was recently interviewed by the IBPA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0BhO9m8jbs

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, three times at BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association, Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, five times at Morgan James Publishing Red Carpet, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum