Character Interview: Dana McGarry from Lynn Steward’s literary fiction novel, A Very Good Life

We’re thrilled to have you here today Dana McGarry from Lynn Steward’s debut novel A Very Good Life.  Dana is a twenty-nine year old public relations and special events coordinate at B. Altman department store, living in New York City, New York.

It is a pleasure to have her with us today at Beyond the Books!

Thank you so much for this interview, Dana.  Now that the book has been written, do you feel you were fairly portrayed or would you like to set anything straight with your readers? 

Yes, I was fairly portrayed. Lynn understood the unexpected and sudden challenges in my life, and she gave me the time I needed to work through them.

Do you feel the author did a good job colorizing your personality?  If not, how would you like to have been portrayed differently?

Lynn had the same problem, people underestimated her, so she did an excellent job painting the two sides of my personality: I am accommodating but at the same time ambitious and determined.

What do you believe is your strongest trait?

Fortitude and independence.

Worse trait?

Too intense.

If you could choose someone in the television or movie industry to play your part if your book was made into a movie, who would that be (and you can’t say yourself!)?  Kristen Bell.

Do you have a love interest in the book?

My husband, Brett McGarry.

At what point of the book did you start getting nervous about the way it was going to turn out?

When I learned my husband took the free-spirited junior litigator from his law firm shopping for a professional wardrobe.

If you could trade places with one of the other characters in the book, which character would you really not want to be and why?

Janice Conlon, the junior litigator who seduces my husband, Brett.

How do you feel about the ending of the book without giving too much away?

Sad, but hopeful.

What words of wisdom would you give your author if s/he decided to write another book with you in it?

I want to have a little more fun, be adventurous.

Thank you for this interview, Dana.  Will we be seeing more of you in the future?

Yes you will! Lynn has written the synopses for four more novels in the Dana McGarry Series, and I was told to expect an exciting career in the fashion industry, and a handsome and charming love interest!

About the Author

Lynn Steward is a successful business woman who spent many years in New York City’s fashion industry in marketing and merchandising, including the development of the first women’s department at a famous men’s clothing store. Through extensive research, and an intimate knowledge of the period, Steward created the characters and stories for a series of five authentic and heartwarming novels about New York in the seventies. A Very Good Life is the first in the series featuring Dana McGarry.

About the Book

Although Lynn Steward’s debut novel, A Very Good Life, takes place in 1970s New York City. it has a timelessness to it. Dana McGarry is an “it” girl, living a privileged lifestyle of a well-heeled junior executive at B. Altman, a high end department store. With a storybook husband and a fairytale life, change comes swiftly and unexpectedly. Cracks begin to appear in the perfect facade. Challenged at work by unethical demands, and the growing awareness that her relationship with her distant husband is strained, Dana must deal with the unwanted changes in her life. Can she find her place in the new world where women can have a voice, or will she allow herself to be manipulated into doing things that go against her growing self-confidence?

A Very Good Life chronicles the perils and rewards of Dana’s journey, alongside some of the most legendary women of the twentieth century. From parties at Café des Artistes to the annual Rockefeller Center holiday tree lighting ceremony, from meetings with business icons like Estée Lauder to cocktail receptions with celebrity guests like legendary Vogue editor Diana Vreeland. Steward’s intimate knowledge of the period creates the perfect backdrop for this riveting story about a woman’s quest for self-fulfillment.

Purchase on Amazon.