We were lucky to catch up with Laura Jerrolds recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Laura, thanks for joining us today. Is there a historical figure you look up to? Who are they and what lessons or values have you learned from them?
Ahh, I have so many! Can I have more than one?
First and foremost, the silent film actress Laura La Plante—my kindred spirit. I am her biographer, and my biggest takeaway from Laura is that family matters more than anything. Laura may have been the biggest star at Universal in her day, but that meant little to her compared to the love she had for her mother, Lydia, and her sister, Violet.
Another historical figure I admire is Lilian Garis, a prominent children’s author in the early 20th century. She paved the way for women as the first-ever female reporter of the Newark Evening News. I love her work so much and was honored that The New York Public Library gave me permission to publish her unreleased manuscript from 1944, “The Riverton Mystery.”
Women in history will never fail to inspire me!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Hi there! My name is Laura Jerrolds, and I’m an author, biographer, and historian.
I began writing stories when I was a little kid, but I really started taking my writing seriously in 2021 when I finished my first book, “Help…! It’s 1928!,” a tale of time travel. While researching the first book in the trilogy, I discovered a deeper love and connection to the 1920s, deciding to write a biography on a silent film actress, Laura La Plante.
The biography, “Laura La Plante: Silent Cinderella,” will be arriving in 2024 with BearManor Media, a publishing company that specializes in the entertainment industry. I feel so honored to be Laura La Plante’s first biographer. Researching her and “getting to know her” was the greatest joy of my life.
I’m already planning my next biography—another 1920s actress. Stay tuned!
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
As an author, rejection is a big part of the industry. One of the biggest lessons that I had to unlearn was that all rejection is a bad thing. In 2021, I received a rejection letter for a ghostwriting job with one of the Big Five publishing houses.
For a while, I felt utterly defeated, but this drove me to work harder and focus on projects that would be released under my own name, not a pseudonym. Less than a week later, I started the manuscript for my first book, “Help…! It’s 1928!,” which eventually led me to research and write “Laura La Plante: Silent Cinderella.”
I feel grateful for that rejection letter now, as I think it helped my career more than anything. As Taylor Swift says, “Everything you lose is a step you take.”
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
My main goal and mission is to continue researching and writing about the powerful women of the past, primarily those who still need full-length biography books. I believe it is my calling from God to chronicle their personal histories and share their life, lessons, and triumphs with the world.
I love the 1920s and long to experience the decade, which I know is not possible in the way my time travel fiction books portray. However, researching the era, whether through film viewings, museum visits, newspaper and magazine archives, letters, etc., I am able to experience the 1920s as closely as I can.
History drives me, and I never intend to stop learning.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/laurajerrolds
- Instagram: LauraTheLostPrincess https://www.instagram.com/laurathelostprincess/
- Facebook: Laura Jerrolds – Author https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082666236718&mibextid=9R9pXO
- Twitter: FearlesslyLaura https://twitter.com/fearlesslylaura
- Youtube: LauraJerrolds https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjDMmttcUpIEQWJW9He435A