Author Interview + Behind the Scenes of Lucky’s Release Party

Last week I was interviewed by the amazing Shannon Lane for her new bookish YouTube channel. Shannon is another independent author of contemporary fiction. Check out Shannon’s book, Soul on Fire! Make sure you like the video above and subscribe to Shannon’s channel!

In the interview, we talked about Lucky: A Novel (inspired by Taylor Swift’s folklore and the incredible true story of Standard Oil heiress Rebekah Harkness). Lucky is my first book which I published this June!

One of my readers (and a friend!) sent me this adorable of their cat with my book. She said, ‘Syd wants to read your book!’

Lucky is the story of the American Dream, an epic juxtaposition of glitter and tragedy: the tangled stories of two powerful women who are connected through the transcendental nature of time and space. In Lucky, the reader tumbles down the rabbit hole with America’s favorite pop-star, Rhea Harmonía as she dives deep on a journey through American history, Western thinking, modern philosophy, mythology, math, music, and time.

Lucky was inspired by 2020 Album of the Year, Taylor Swift’s folklore. On folklore, is a song called the last great American dynasty, which was also inspired by the true story of Standard Oil heiress Rebekah Harkness.

I dove into Taylor Swift’s lyrics to help me make sense of some of the tragedy I found myself surrounded by (as an essential healthcare worker during the pandemic).
Kristina Parro in an interview with Shannon Lane

In the first verse of the song, the last great American dynasty, Taylor introduces the main character with the lyrics: ‘Rebekah rode up on the afternoon train, it was sunny. Her salt box house on the coast took her mind off St. Louis. Bill was the heir to the Standard Oil name and money. And the town said, “how did a middle class divorcé do it?”’

Throughout the song, we learn that Rebekah married Bill and they bought the largest, most spectacular house on the Eastern seaboard: Holiday House. Swift sings, ‘Their parties were tasteful if a little gauche,’ which was a little tongue-in-cheek. Everyone wanted an invite to Holiday House. Rebekah Harkness felt like she was the queen of the world.

Then, Bill died, and the tides turned. Rebekah quickly became the ‘maddest woman the town had ever seen.’ Swift sings that ‘she had a marvelous time ruining everything.’ Rebekah’s story ultimately ends in an epic tragedy.

By the end of the song, Swift reveals that after Rebekah died, she bought Holiday House. Almost immediately, Rebekah’s story began to manifest in Taylor’s life. I read more about Rebekah’s story and learned that there are many interesting parallels between the lives of Taylor Swift and Rebekah Harkness. Their stories are a perfect example of an adage echoed throughout Lucky, ‘stories repeat, almost cyclically, throughout history.’

I uncovered this magical story that helped me, as the author, navigate and cycle through a really dark time in my life and bring me to the other side.
Kristina Parro in an interview with Shannon Lane

Learn more about Lucky, my publishing process, the release of my book (including my release party!), the importance of writing, why I chose the name Lucky, and so much more in Shannon’s interview!

Let me know in the comments: did you learn anything new about me from Shannon’s interview?

P.S. I just wanted to take a moment to say, ‘thank you,’ to everyone— my family and friends of old and new— who has purchased my book, read it, provided me with cool opportunities, written reviews, and overall supported me in person or on social media during this process! It has been so much fun to take on this new life path, and I know it wouldn’t be possible without you. I appreciate you all more than you know.

The Fun Stuff!

Bonus content: photos from my release party! A HUGE ‘thank you’ to my parents (for having the party), my brother for coming out, my boyfriend Matt for everything, and everyone who came to the party! It was the best birthday ever!