“Queen Charlotte” author Julia Quinn visits NSU

By Yasmin De Andrade Rodrigues •

Julia Quinn, best-selling historical romance fiction author, visited the Alvin Sherman Library on Sept. 10 to discuss her latest book, “Queen Charlotte.” For her visit to NSU, Quinn received a $25,000 speaking fee, which she donated to Equality Florida.

“All the money from my speaking engagements here in Florida is being donated to Equality Florida, which is the state’s largest group dedicated to protecting the rights of the queer community,” said Quinn. “And NSU said, ‘We think this is great. We’d love to have her.’ So I was like, I’m in.”

During the conversation, Quinn talked about the beginning of her career, in which she mentioned being a bookworm since she was a little girl.

“I think every writer started out as a reader. I was certainly one of them,” said Quinn.

Her father did not support her reading romance books if it would not help her academically. When she told him that she was going to be a writer someday, he challenged her to write a book in an hour to prove her statement. Therefore, an hour later, she had written two chapters.

She instantly felt that writing was something she was meant to do, and she finished a teenage romance novel when she was 16-17.

“I am convinced that that manuscript was how I got into college,” Quinn said.

When she finished college, Quinn decided to attend medical school at Yale University, already having three books published. But after some months, she left Yale, realizing that being a writer was what she was really meant for.

After 22 years of writing and publishing, while she was at Starbucks, Quinn received a call from her agent, who told her Shonda Rhimes wanted to create a TV show based on one of her most famous novels, “Bridgeton.”

“I couldn’t say anything publicly until 18 months,” said Quinn. “My life is pretty different now. I’m here talking to you, which is pretty exciting.”

During her speech, she also mentioned how delightful it was to meet the actors and even made a joke about meeting Regé Jean Page, who played Simon Basset, the main character from season one.

“He honestly is that handsome in real life; when I met him, he smiled, and all I could think was, ‘How do you go through life like that?'” said Quinn.

While writing “Queen Charlotte,” Quinn received Rhimes’s scripts for the show and adapted them into a novel. Quinn said that it was the first time she had written a book with source material.

“It was a different but also a fun process,” said Quinn.

She also talked about her inspirations for the book and for the main character of her book, “Because of Miss Bridgerton,” which is a prequel to the “Bridgerton” series.

“The Rokesby’s series started because I wanted to do one where I could have Violet and Edmund in it as secondary characters since I didn’t want to write a book about their tragic past,” said Quinn.

“And for Billie, I just had this idea for her character, and I thought she would be a bit of a tomboy. I just wanted to write about the girl that should have inherited it all, but didn’t because of stupid laws, and how that affected her because she is so well suited for it.”

Quinn enjoys talking to and inspiring fans at every event she attends, which is the case for her last event in Brazil.

“Oh my gosh, the fans are amazing; they treat authors like rock stars, and it is something I have never seen,” said Quinn. “The energy is incredible, and then, of course, I love the pão de queijo and the brigadeiro.”

For fans who are interested in becoming authors, Quinn suggests that they try to find a writing process that works for them.

“Remember that there’s no one right way to write a book,” said Quinn.

Historical romance novelist Julia Quinn makes a visit to NSU Alvin Sherman Library, Research, and Information Technology Center and the Rose and Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center. Quinn is best known for her Bridgerton book series that was later turned into a television show on Netflix. In the library, she held an intimate book signing with guests. In the theater, there was the author book talk and audience Q&A session.