The Abduction of Nelly Don Featured on BookGoodies.com
Thank you to Bookgoodies.com for featuring THE ABDUCTION OF NELLY DON on their website. There is an author interview, along with a free excerpt from the book.
Here is one of the questions they asked:
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
It has been an arduous journey. When I first came across the story of Nell Donnelly back in 2013, I found her kidnapping so compelling that I knew I had to do something with it. At the time, I had no idea if it would become a book or screenplay.
As a reminder, Nell Donnelly was a self-made millionaire in the 1930s, during the Great Depression. She made her fortune by creating everyday dresses that had a bit of pizazz. At the time, the only dresses available for women were boxy, unflattering dresses for cleaning in, and glamorous dresses for a night out. She tapped into an underserved market and struck gold.
Nelly was also ahead of her time as an employer. She hired over 1000 employees, mostly women. She made sure they were paid above-average wages, had paid leave, paid vacations, paid higher education and paid childcare. In fact, when the unions tried to come in and organized in her factory, they were unsuccessful. The employees had nothing to complain about.
Her abduction came just before the Lindbergh Baby kidnapping, and after several other high-profile crimes.
But what really sparked my interest was the involvement of a US Senator who moved heaven and earth to find her; even making deals with organized crime figures.
Kidnappers, gangsters, organized crime, politics, all make for a fascinating story.