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Joining author Rosie Nixon in Manhattan

2nd July 2017

TalkingLocationWith…. author Rosie Nixon, and it’s all about … Manhattan, the setting for Amber Green Takes Manhattan.

New York has always had a special place in my heart, I’ve had a number of great trips there in the last ten years. I always get a buzz when I land there, I mean I’m real Londoner, a city girl and I love the fact that you can walk everywhere. It happens every time the tires hit the tarmac at JFK airport – I burst into song. Or rather Alicia Keyes does, in my head, belting out Empire State of Mind:

New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of

There’s nothing you can’t do

Now you’re in New York!

Iconic sight!

The city that never sleeps earned its nickname for a reason, and it’s why New York City was the perfect backdrop for my second novel: Amber Green Takes Manhattan. I really like the meat packing district so there are a lot of scenes from the book set around that area which is a quite fashiony, arty, quirky part of Manhattan. I undertook a writing trip out there to research the book, which was great, I had to leave my two little boys at home, pack my suitcase and skip off to the airport. I stayed at The Standard Hotel for half of my trip and then I moved to Soho House, they are both a stone’s throw from each other in the meat-packing district right next to the skyline. There is a key scene in my book featuring the fashion crowd at the Boom Boom Room – a chic bar on top of the cool Standard Hotel, nestling next to the High Line, a stone’s throw from the Whitney, in the trendy Meatpacking District. With spectacular city views, live jazz music and a sophisticated setting, this is the ideal place for chic sunset cocktails so I dutifully had to have a cocktail there for my research. The Hotel overlooks the High Line, which you can follow all the way uptown and is a great way to see the city on foot, away from the roads. When I was last at Soho House New York, which I love, I sat on a table next to Carey Mulligan. They also have a lovely pool on the roof – the perfect place for people watching on a Sunday. The Gansevoort Hotel is very close by, I’ve stayed there before, there’s a great scene at the roof-top bar there too. Soho is really good for shopping as it has lots of independent fashion boutiques.

The View from the Whitney

I have some very close friends who live over in New York, in Williamsburg, and I was really inspired by that area –  it felt like somewhere Amber and her boyfriend would set up home. Williamsburg has a great atmosphere; There’s a very hipster vibe, lots of retro clothes shops and bric-a-brac shops with stalls outside; the area has a reputation for its off-beat, cool-kid appeal. It’s got a great coffee shop culture and lots of small independent bars. It’s a cosy neighbourhood but you are in the heart of Brooklyn, so it’s quick to get around.

Rosie Nixon in Manhattan

WIP in location!

One of my friends who lived there is actually a stylist so she was telling me about some of her experiences of working in New York and where the stylists go to pull clothes so I could fictionalise that aspect and make sure it was authentic.

Thanks to Rosie for sharing such wonderful her experience of being in the city!  You can follow her on Twitter and you can buy Amber Green Takes Manhattan here.

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  1. User: Linda

    Posted on: 02/07/2017 at 10:50 am

    Took me back to living and working in New York for a short while!

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