Introducing the REAL Allison Montclair

DEBORAH CROMBIE: This seems to be my summer for being smitten with books set in post WWII London. First I discovered Natalie Jenner's wonderful Bloomsbury Girls, then a new series by Allison Montclair featuring Iris Sparks and Gwendolyn Bainbridge.

THE RIGHT SORT OF MAN introduces Iris, a former intelligence operative, and Gwen, a widow with a six-year-old son, who open a marriage bureau in 1946 London. I zipped through the first three books, then eagerly awaited the fourth, THE UNKEPT WOMAN. I loved the premise, the characters, the period detail, the witty dialogue!

But who was the woman writing these terrific books? I'd never heard of Allison Montclair. With good reason, as you will see!

 

How Alan Became Allison

 

by Alan Gordon, AKA Allison Montclair

 

Writing, in part, is about ego. As much as we might delude ourselves into thinking we are artists, craftspeople, or merely professionals fulfilling the voracious and unstoppable needs of our readers, there still lies that joyous kick from seeing our name emblazoned across the front cover. And yes, it’s still better with a tangible book in our hands because we know all of the effort from different people it took to produce that precious object just so we could have our name writ large on the front.

But what happens when the book is yours, but the name isn’t? What’s in a name? I found this out unexpectedly when I began writing the Sparks and Bainbridge series. My first series, the Fools’ Guild mysteries, was very much my own creature, and I loved the researching, the writing, and the ultimate glory of declaring myself an author, or [insert food-providing real-life profession]/author on my taxes. When that series came to an end, I wrote other books, stories, and even musicals with varying degrees of success, but enough to justify doing it all.

 Then, out of the blue, Keith Kahla, my editor from St. Martin’s Minotaur, invited me to lunch. I should have been suspicious immediately, but a chance to catch up and, more importantly, free food overcame those suspicions immediately. He had come across a book about a London marriage bureau founded by two women before WWII, and thought it would be a good setting for a mystery series, and that I would be a good fit for it.

 I liked the idea, and wrote a chapter on spec, along with my ideas for Iris and Gwen, the main characters, and the shift of the period to post-war London, an era that I thought would be more interesting. I wanted each of my protagonists to have been traumatized by the war in some fashion, so that the founding of this agency would also be a way for them to reinforce and rescue each other.

I sent it in. A few days later, my agent called and said they loved it. And, he added, they want you to use a pseudonym.

I hadn’t expected that. I was nonplussed. The joy of acceptance was intermingled with the stomping of my ego. But it was quickly resolved by the answer to a simple question: Do I want to be published? The answer was yes, of course. So it didn’t matter what name was on the cover, because the work was all mine.

And that was an interesting realization. Once I had let go of the ego gratification of having my name on the cover, I was able to have the greater gratification of finding out that people liked my book without having any idea it was mine. I had taken my persona out of the equation. It never was about me, nor should it have been. I was able let it go and relax, knowing that only the work was being judged, not the author.

 So, we had to come up with a name. It became a combined effort between my editor, my agent, and me. My first attempt: First name, Lana, which was an anagram of Alan. Last name, St. Clair, because it sounded vaguely British.

 Problem, said my editor. Having the last name of St. Anything confuses the shelving. Really? I asked. [I have recently spoken to a book store owner who confirmed this, so it must be so.] So I tried Lana Sinclair.

 Problem again, said my editor. It sounds too much like another author’s name.

 And so we tossed pseudonyms around like juggling clubs. It turned out that many were already taken by authors, strippers and porn stars. Finally, my agent, who like me had grown up in New Jersey, suggested Allison Montclair. And here I am.

 There were some advantages to being anonymous that I hadn’t anticipated. Since the author was not available to go out and plug the book [and my family and I became quite silly playing with the idea of putting me in drag, or sending my wife out as Allison], Saint Martin’s Minotaur had to do all the publicity themselves. They did a terrific job, as it turned out. Keeping my identity secret was interesting. I had permission to reveal it to a select few. One small website did a deep dive into the copyright to find my true identity, but they were the only one and the vast majority of the readers didn’t know. My favorite moment was when I told a bookseller friend, who turned out to have just finished reading The Right Sort of Man. “I had no idea it had been written by a dude!” she exclaimed, and I felt very proud indeed.

 After A Rogue’s Company, the third book, came out, the publisher finally decided to out me as the author. I’ve started going to conferences and bookstores again, with the AKA scribbled on my name tag under my own name. And I have found that while I enjoyed the secrecy, watching my books bravely go into the world without my help, it’s nice to be meeting people again, especially in these strange, isolating times.

So, if you meet me, call me by either name. I’ll answer to both.

Allison Montclair returns with the fourth Sparks & Bainbridge mystery, The Unkept Woman: London, 1946, Miss Iris Sparks--currently co-proprietor of the Right Sort Marriage Bureau--has to deal with aspects of her past exploits during the recent war that have come back around to haunt her.

The Right Sort Marriage Bureau was founded in 1946 by two disparate individuals - Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge (whose husband was killed in the recent World War) and Miss Iris Sparks who worked as an intelligence agent during the recent conflict, though this is not discussed. While the agency flourishes in the post-war climate, both founders have to deal with some of the fallout that conflict created in their personal lives. Miss Sparks finds herself followed, then approached, by a young woman who has a very personal connection to a former paramour of Sparks. But something is amiss and it seems that Iris's past may well cause something far more deadly than mere disruption in her personal life. Meanwhile, Gwendolyn is struggling to regain full legal control of her life, her finances, and her son - a legal path strewn with traps and pitfalls.

Together these indomitable two are determined and capable and not just of making the perfect marriage match.

DEBS: I was gobsmacked when I learned that Allison was Alan! I would never have twigged! These books are a delight from either gender! 

Signed copies are available from the The Poisoned Pen here.

And you can see the Pen's interview with Alan/Allison and Ashley Weaver here.

Alan will be stopping in to chat, but in the meantime, REDs and readers, any favorite books written under a pseudonym by authors of the opposite gender?