What is the title of your latest release?
SECRETARY TO THE SOCIALITE (the socialite is Millicent Rogers, a real-life heiress, and the secretary is fictional Violet Redfield!)
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
In glamorous mid-century America, heiress and fashion icon Millicent Rogers relies on her quiet but ambitious secretary, Violet Redfield, to keep her world from unraveling. As their lives entwine amid fame, secrets, and betrayal, both women must choose between loyalty and the lives they truly want. SECRETARY TO THE SOCIALITE is a captivating historical novel about power, desire, and the hidden costs of devotion.
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I’ve been visiting Taos, New Mexico ever since I was about 3 years old, and it’s always seemed like such a magical place to me! So many people, especially artists and writers, agree with me, and it’s a small town with a rich history, full of fascinating characters. I’ve also been visiting the Millicent Rogers Museum for just as long, and she seemed like the perfect figure for a novel. (the museum was founded by her son after her death, with her own collections of Southwestern jewelry, pottery, and paintings as the base)
Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
I definitely would! She was smart and glamorous, as well as tough and complex. But I wouldn’t want to get on the bad side of her temper! It could be–changeable
What are three words that describe your protagonist?
I would say Millicent was elegant, enigmatic, and defiant. She wanted to blaze her own path beyond her wealthy family! And Violet is observant, resilient, and yearning. She also wants to find her own way in the world, be true to herself
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I learned so much! The research was one of the most fun parts of the project. I delved deep into the artistic life of Taos in the 1940s and 50s and discovered a lot about their relationship with the communities that had already been in the area for hundreds, even thousands of years (the Native Americans at the Pueblo, the Spanish families). I learned about mid-century Hollywood glamor and old-school New York society. It was fascinating!
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
By the time I get to the end of a book, I am usually sooo tired, so I write as cleanly as I can the first time around! It always needs tidying up, of course
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
I loooove sweets! Especially chocolate, but also lemon and raspberry and mint. I am not very picky! But recently a fancy cheese shop opened near me, and I have been trying a lot of different cheeses, which I also love. It’s fascinating how terroir affects cheese, just like wine. I may need to write a mystery series set in a cheese shop soon!
Describe your writing space/office!
Ummm—messy! I’ve been waiting for so long to have a dedicated room for my office, and when I finally got one after we moved last year, I swore I would keep it so organized and pretty. But it ends up piled with crates, stacks of research books, purses and shoes, ugh! I do have a lovely antique desk for my computer, favorites paintings and photos, and beds for my dogs, so it’s cozy
Who is an author you admire?
Oh, there are so many! Jane Austen, of course, who made great art in challenging circumstances, and George Eliot, who followed her own heart and path. Right now, I like Ann Patchett, not only for her own writing (Bel Canto is a great favorite of mine!), she opened a bookstore and advocates for other authors
Is there a book that changed your life?
Answer: Several! But one that always stands out is Jane Eyre, which set me on my love of Victorian novels, women’s fiction, and history in general. I first read it when I was about 10, I didn’t know anything about it at all, I just liked the cover (a ruined castle, very intriguing). I found it on my grandmother’s bookshelf, then ended up staying awake all night to read it. I was shocked—shocked!—by the twist.
Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
Oh, it was so much fun! It was many years ago, before social media. I was just out of college, and didn’t really know what I was doing, just sent out manuscripts to publishers whose books I enjoyed. I came home one day to a message on my answering machine (told you it was a long time ago!) from an editor at Kensington who wanted to talk about my story. Alas, she was on her way to RWA and wouldn’t be back for another week! I was on edge all those days waiting to speak to her.
What’s your favorite genre to read?
Answer: That’s a tough one, since I enjoy so many types of books! I will read anything that catches my attention—biography, literary fiction, fantasy, romance. But when I need comfort, I always reach for a mystery
What’s your favorite movie?
Answer: Probably A Room With a View! I re-watch it every year, it’s so gloriously effervescent and young and pretty. I always cheer Lucy forging her own path. Plus, I love the costumes! And Italy! I am also an Audrey Hepburn fanatic and love Roman Holiday (the costumes! Italy! Gregory Peck!)
What is your favorite season?
It will sound cliched, but I do enjoy autumn. I like it when the air gets crisp and cool, Halloween approaches, there’s pumpkin spice candles in the store (though, confession, I don’t like to drink pumpkin spice!). Summer here in New Mexico is very beautiful, too, with so many flowers and the endless blue skies
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Usually just a nice dinner with my family, and of course a favorite cake! I don’t understand people who don’t want to mark their birthdays, I always think if I’m getting older anyway, I might as well get a dinner at a lovely restaurant and some sweets out of it!
What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I’ve been making my way through “All About Agatha,” which is a must-listen for any mystery fans! It started with 2 friends who review every single Agatha Christie book, in depth, and rank them according to favorites. Now there are interviews and features, since they have covered every story. Lucy Worsley’s “Lady Killers” podcast is also fascinating, all about (you guessed it!) female killers and con artists in history. I love anything from Lucy Worsley.
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I am not hugely picky! I like Italian, Asian, steakhouses. Maybe my very favorite is what you might call “classic French bistro”
What do you do when you have free time?
Free time?? What’s that?? I hike and walk with my dogs and husband, I like crafting (cross-stitch, just started trying knitting), listening to music (I live in a great place for classical concerts), planning my next trip.
What can readers expect from you next?
I have a historical romance coming out in November, HOW TO COURT YOUR WIFE, and am planning something a little different! I loved writing SECRETARY TO THE SOCIALITE so I would love to tackle another historical fiction subject
SECRETARY TO THE SOCIALITE by Amanda McCabe
In the glittering world of mid-century America, Millicent Rogers is a woman ahead of her time—Standard Oil heiress, fashion icon, patron of the arts, wife, mother, lover to men like Ian Fleming and Clark Gable. Her beauty and intelligence captivate the world. But behind the scenes, she harbors secrets of ill health and loneliness that only one person knows—her secretary Violet Redfield. A quiet but artistic woman who left her Iowa farm family to pursue dreams of being a writer, Violet navigates a delicate balance between devotion to Millicent and her own dreams of independence.
As their lives become intertwined in a tangle of love, betrayal, and ambition, both women must confront the hidden costs of their powerful alliance. From lavish Hollywood parties to the mountains of bohemian Taos, Secretary to the Socialite explores this intricate bond between a woman of privilege and the one who keeps her world from falling apart.
In this captivating, immersive historical novel, two women from very different worlds find themselves at a crossroads where loyalty and personal desires collide, and where their choices could alter the course of their lives forever…
Non-Fiction Biography [Oliver-Heber Books, On Sale: July 22, 2025, e-Book , / ]
Buy SECRETARY TO THE SOCIALITE: Kindle | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR
About Amanda McCabe
Amanda wrote her first romance at the age of sixteen–a vast historical epic starring all her friends as the characters, written secretly during algebra class (and her parents wondered why math was not her strongest subject…)
She’s never since used algebra, but her books have been nominated for many awards, including the RITA Award, the Romantic Times BOOKReviews Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Booksellers Best, the National Readers Choice Award, and the Holt Medallion. She lives in Santa Fe with a Poodle, a cat, a wonderful husband, and a very and far too many books and royal memorabilia collections.
When not writing or reading, she loves taking dance classes, collecting cheesy travel souvenirs, and watching the Food Network–even though she doesn’t cook.
Amanda also writes as Laurel McKee for Grand Central Publishing, the Elizabethan Mystery Series as Amanda Carmack, and the Manor Cat Mystery Series as Eliza Casey.
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