Contemporary Authors

• April in Paris, 1921 - 2018 Pegasus Books, New York

• Tessa Lunney - https://tessalunney.com/about/

  About

  Tessa Lunney has had her fiction, poetry, and reviews published in Griffith Review, Southerly, Mascara, and Contrapasso, among others, as well as Best Australian Poems 2014. Her first novel, April in Paris, 1921: a Kiki Button mystery is due for release in May 2018 through Harper Collins Australia, and July 2018 through Pegasus Book USA.

  She was awarded a Doctorate of Creative Arts in 2013 from the University of Western Sydney. Her dissertation was on silence in contemporary Australian war fiction, with a basis in trauma theory and close reference to David Malouf, Brenda Walker, and Evie Wyld. She worked as a casual academic at universities around Sydney for many years.

  In 2016 she won two short fiction prizes, the Josephine Ulrick Prize for Literature and the Orlando Prize for Short Fiction. In 2014 she was the recipient of an Australia Council ArtStart grant. She has also been longlisted for the Helen Bell award, shortlisted for the Jean Cecily Drake-Brockman Poetry Prize 2013, shortlisted for the Griffith Review Novella competition 2012, and highly commended in the FAW Unpublished Manuscript award.

  She is currently represented by Sarah McKenzie of Hindsight Literary Agency.

  She works for the LCT Centre for Knowledge-Building at the University of Sydney.

  She lives in Sydney.

  Contact Tessa at tessa [at] tessalunney.com

  Contact Sarah McKenzie at sarah [at] hindsight.net.au

• Better Reading - https://www.betterreading.com.au/news/ooh-la-la-qa-with-tessa-lunney-about-her-book-april-in-paris-1921/

  Ooh La La: Q&A with Tessa Lunney about her book April in Paris, 1921 June 18, 2018
  Why did you choose to write about 1920s Paris?

  It’s so exciting! Paris has always been a magnificent city, and throughout the 19th century it became a magnet for writers and artists from across the world. After WWI, artists came to Paris in droves. Paris was a place where such artists could be free.

  1920s Paris is my ultimate fantasy destination. I had read so much about it but what I really wanted was to live there. I didn’t want to just look through the window of a memoir or a history text, I wanted to meet Picasso and talk with Gertrude Stein and party with Josephine Baker. Writing myself into 1921 Paris, through my heroine Kiki Button, was the best I could do.

  And then, of course, it’s Paris. It is its own reason.

  What makes your protagonist, Kiki Button, a modern woman?

  Kiki is on a mission to be a modern woman for one main reason: she wants to be free. She doesn’t want to be held in place by laws, bonds and expectations, whether they’re of work, marriage, family or bigger institutions like the British Army. Her drive to be the agent of her own destiny is what makes her modern – she makes her own decisions. In doing so, she pleases herself – she drinks and smokes as much as she likes, takes lovers when she wants to, has abandoned corsets and chaperones and other mechanisms for policing the female body. She insists on equality in her relationships and, for the most part, gets it.

  How does this book look at WWI?

  The war cast a long shadow. People grieved for their family, friends and lovers, and a reaction to this was wild partying as though there might never be another party again. Middle and upper-class women had begun working in the war and kept working, their social status changing as they took up careers instead of family life. Working class women moved from domestic service to war production in factories and found it hard to return to service once the war ended. Women of all classes took on jobs that were previously reserved for men during the war and the return to a more constricted life chafed.

  Kiki Button worked as a nurse (among other activities) as a Voluntary Aid Detachment with the British. Her own experience of the war has stayed with her – as bad memories, as a desire never to take orders, as a need to live a life that has meaning.

  My doctorate was on Australian war fiction, in particular looking at the aftermath of war, and I continue to be very interested in how this is represented in literature.

  How did you use genre in April in Paris, 1921?

  I started reading crime and mystery novels, and romance novels, after I finished my doctorate and I was mentally very tired. I loved them pretty much straightaway.

  With crime, I love how so much of a particular society can be analysed through crime and its consequences. It allows for enormous scope to look at social mores and manners, the intersection of politics and emotions, how the motivation of money infiltrates all parts of our lives and yet how people often act against their best interests.

  Romance novels are like a drug. Many times, I’ve been on my way to do something else and read just one page, which has become just one chapter, and before I know it I’m sitting on the stairs for hours speed-reading whatever romance book I had in my hand. As a reader, I wanted the snappy pace of a romance but without the heroine sacrificing everything for love. As a writer, I wanted to examine some of the tropes, to see if I could create that romantic hook without recreating all parts of romance novels that made me angry.

  Do you think Kiki’s dilemmas are still relevant today?

  Most definitely. As the scandals over sexual assault and harassment continue, adding to scandals about unequal pay and conditions, as we still fight for marriage and reproductive rights, we still have much work to do to fulfil Kiki’s goal of freedom.

  About the author:
  Tessa Lunney is a novelist and poet who lives in Sydney. In 2016, she won the prestigious Griffith University Josephine Ulrick Prize for Literature for her book, Chess and Dragonflies. The same year, A Room of Her Own Foundation Orlando Prize for Fiction for her story, Those Ebola Burners Them. In 2013, Lunney graduated from the University of Western Sydney with a Doctorate of Creative Arts that explored silence in Australian war fiction. The following year, she was awarded an Australia Council ArtStart grant for literature. Her poetry, fiction and reviews have been published in Best Australian Poems 2014, Southerly, Cordite, Griffith Review and the Australian Book Review among others.

9/29/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1538254171438 1/2
Print Marked Items
April in Paris, 1921
Jen Baker
Booklist.
114.18 (May 15, 2018): p25.
COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
* April in Paris, 1921.
By Tessa Lunney.
July 2018. 304p. Pegasus, $25.95 (9781681777757).
Katherine King Button, aka Kiki Button, an Australian debutante before WWI, and a nurse and spy during
the war, trades her parents' insistence on a settle-down-marriage-have-babies future for the freedom of
Paris. Wangling a job as gossip columnist for her impeccable friend and newspaper editor Bertie, Kiki
settles into a garret with a bed and very little else, content to smoke and hang her bare feet out the window.
Two parties a week, and she's on her wave--the artists, the authors, the fawning new men in her bed. In the
wake of the war, people are weary of strife, glad to be alive, unwilling to sleep with nightmares, and unsure
of what comes next. Kiki has a past that readers learn about, one aching bit at a time, notably when her
former spymaster demands that she help find a double agent or face arrest. Meanwhile, Picasso hires her,
first as a model and then as a detective, to find a missing painting. Button is naughtier than Kerry
Greenwood's Phryne Fisher, as strong as Suzanne Arruda's Jade del Cameron, and every bit as clever as
Susan Elia MacNeal's Maggie Hope. This thoroughly entertaining, delightfully witty debut is imbued with
Paris' unique ambiance and will have readers eagerly awaiting Button's next adventure.--Jen Baker
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Baker, Jen. "April in Paris, 1921." Booklist, 15 May 2018, p. 25. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A541400811/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=5f9890f6.
Accessed 29 Sept. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A541400811
9/29/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
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April in Paris, 1921: A Kiki Button
Mystery
Publishers Weekly.
265.19 (May 7, 2018): p47.
COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
April in Paris, 1921: A Kiki Button Mystery
Tessa Lunney. Pegasus Crime, $25.95 (304p) ISBN 978-1-68177-775-7
Financially independent Kiki Button, the narrator of Australian author Lunney's entertaining debut and
series launch, served as an Allied spy during WWI, but now she's the quintessential modern woman of
1921. Her flamboyant close friend from the war, London tabloid copy editor Bertie Browne, gives her a job
as a gossip columnist reporting from Paris. There--amid the parties, drinking, and sexual escapades--Kiki
meets and models for artist Pablo Picasso, who asks for her help in finding a painting of his that has been
stolen. On the same day, the elusive Dr. Fox, who was Kiki's spymaster during the war, recruits her to find a
traitor who's spying for the Germans. As she befriends both bohemians and members of high society and
uses her sharp decoding skills, she realizes that these two mysteries are somehow connected. The result is
an intriguing, if predictable spy adventure rather than a whodunit. Lunney's vibrant picture of Paris, chockfull
of flapper fashion and cameos of the Lost Generation, will leave readers eager for more. Agent: Sarah
McKenzie, Hindsight Literary Agency (Australia). (July)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"April in Paris, 1921: A Kiki Button Mystery." Publishers Weekly, 7 May 2018, p. 47. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A538858663/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=0bfc9938.
Accessed 29 Sept. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A538858663

• Historical Novel Society
  https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/april-in-paris-1921/
  Word count: 369

  April in Paris, 1921
  BY TESSA LUNNEY

  Find & buy on
  Katherine King Button, an Australian debutante escaping the marriage market, has reinvented herself in Paris as Kiki Button, socialite and gossip columnist for a London paper. It’s three years after the Great War, and Kiki’s nursing days are behind her. She’s looking forward to parties, coffee shops, and mingling with kindred spirits. Her elation doesn’t last long, as she is tracked down by a wartime nemesis by the name of Fox, with whom she apparently has an unsavory history, and is blackmailed into doing a bit of spying. A Picasso painting has gone missing, and it seems to be related to a mysterious and sinister German figure who has been stirring up political events in Europe. Owing to her professional ability to move transparently in all the party circles, she is asked to keep a lookout for the artwork while working out clues on her mission. Communists, Brown Shirts, and fallen Russian aristocrats collide in this fast-paced and rather detail-laden mystery that has an emphasis on the era’s food, clothing and bohemian lifestyle.

  This story reads like a continuation of a series, which may be problematic for readers, as the main characters refer continuously to previous events. While the well-acquainted characters are capable of witty banter, it can be off-putting to readers, who may feel lost in the mix. It seems the story would be better served to start at the war, which seems central to Kiki’s current personality and frame of mind. It is, however, a character-driven novel and charming in its way. For readers who love 1920s fashion and style, this book is a treat. However, anyone looking for in-depth intrigue may be left wanting.

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  Details
  PUBLISHER
  Pegasus Crime

  PUBLISHED
  2018

  GENRE
  Mystery/Crime

  PERIOD
  Jazz Age

  CENTURY
  20th Century

  ISBN
  (US) 9781681777757

  FORMAT
  Hardback

  PAGES
  304

  Review
  APPEARED IN
  HNR Issue 85 (August 2018)

  REVIEWED BY
  Arleigh Ordoyne

• Criminal Element
  https://www.criminalelement.com/review-april-in-paris-1921-by-tessa-lunney/
  Word count: 1048

  Review: April in Paris, 1921 by Tessa Lunney
  BY KRISTIN CENTORCELLI
  July 5, 2018

  April in Paris, 1921
  Tessa Lunney
  Kiki Button Mystery Series

  July 3, 2018

  April in Paris, 1921 by Tessa Lunney is the first book in a new series featuring Kiki Button―war veteran, party girl, detective, and spy―who finds that she can’t outrun her past exploits, even in the glittering world of Jazz Age Paris.

  Tessa Lunney’s April in Paris, 1921 is one of those rare debuts that absolutely wowed me. If Paris in the bohemian, post-war days of 1921 is your thing, you’ll find a lot to love, but the real treat lies with the delightful Katherine “Kiki” Button. Kiki is an Australian ex-army nurse who is looking to lose herself in the Paris party life. It doesn’t hurt that her good friend Bertie Browne is the copy editor at the Star and is willing to hire Kiki to write a gossip column—which would, of course, require her to be at all the best parties. Kiki rents a tiny little studio apartment and revels in the hope that her new job and the locale will give her the freedom she’s been longing for.

  I never even made it inside, that first evening. I was hailed by an American who’d seen my feet dangling over my windowsill—“Look! Hey leggy lady! Hello! Do you drink champagne? Pink champagne? Of course you do…” No chaperones, no invitations, no introductions. We were all here for the same reason. We were all here for the same reason. We were all here to escape dull parents and scant options and bad memories. We were all here to explore art, music, sex, and travel. We had already begun, just by being here, just by sharing a drink with a handsome stranger for no other reason than fun. Father’s bluster and Mother’s frown were very far away. Bloodied bodies and uniforms were just as lost. My stomach fluttered with excitement, bubbles, kisses and a feeling that I was flying.

  I felt alive.

  Kiki proceeds to settle into a routine of whirlwind parties and short-term lovers, and she’s enjoying every minute of it.

  One invitation would lead to the next, one party to another, the days brightening and lightening as we floated towards summer. I was untethered and delirious on French wine, scurrilous talk, and the view from my little garret. I slipped into this city as though I had never left. As though it had always been home.

  Lunney isn’t afraid to namedrop during Kiki’s extravagant situations, so readers will be delighted but probably not too surprised when Kiki ends up at a gathering where Pablo Picasso is holding court. When Pablo is introduced to Kiki, he’s charmed by the lovely girl with her blond bob and easy grace, immediately dubbing her “Kiki Kangaroo.” Kiki’s gossip columnist gig is an easy one for her—readers love her spin on the excesses of the party scene—but Kiki’s talents go far beyond that. So when Pablo sends a note asking her to find a painting of his wife Olga that was stolen from him, she’s intrigued. She’s also excited to pose for such a talented and famous artist.

  Unfortunately, Kiki’s carefree life is about to be invaded by a blast from her past. It’s during a conversation with Bertie that she realizes things are about to change.

  “Now, Kiki, if I said ‘Fox,’ What would you think?”

  I hadn’t heard the name since 1919. But no, he couldn’t possibly mean—

  “Furry red animal, loves chickens, known for its cunning.”

  “What if I said Dr. Fox?”

  I froze. He did mean Fox. My hands shook.

  “Kiki, are you all right? You’ve become alarmingly pale.”

  “Light me a cigarette.”

  He lit up and waiting for me to gulp a few lungfuls. The tobacco smoke hung between us with everything that was unsaid.

  “Bertie, have you met him?”

  “I was called to his office in Westminster—”

  “Parliament or civil service?”

  “He never said, and I was too embarrassed to ask over the leather desktop and aroma of self-importance. He has the most wonderful silver hair, which really set off his charcoal Savile Row suit—”

  “Did his secretary wear spectacles?”

  “Why … yes! How did you know?”

  “He’s a fox, and bespectacled women are his hens. He likes them in his henhouse where he can get to them. Thank God I never needed glasses.”

  “Kiki, who on earth is he?”

  I gave him a piercing look—what did he know? and how? –and he blushed.

  “He, ah, he gave me a message for you.”

  Something broke inside me and sank to the bottom of my spine. It really was Fox.

  It’s obvious that Kiki is terrified of this Dr. Fox, and as the story progresses, it’s revealed that she used to work with him while she was a field nurse—and that he has a certain hold over her in which Kiki both revels and by which she is repelled. To make things worse, Fox is threatening Kiki’s childhood friend Tom, who is a deserter that she helped. She’ll do anything to make sure Tom doesn’t suffer, even if it means doing Fox’s bidding.

  Tunney has crafted a novel that is exhilarating and atmospheric, perfectly capturing a post-war Paris where people of all types could drown their sorrows and become someone else, even if it’s just for a while. Lunney successfully combines mainstream mystery with spy intrigue, making for an intoxicating concoction, and Kiki is a powerful tour guide. If you like unusual heroines that are the perfect mix of moxie and vulnerability, you can’t go wrong with this one. I can’t wait for more adventures with the fascinating Kiki Button and her singular world.

• Fresh Fiction
  http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=66340
  Word count: 655

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  April in Paris, 1921
  April in Paris, 1921, July 2018
  Kiki Button #1
  by Tessa Lunney

  Pegasus Books
  304 pages
  ISBN: 1681777754
  EAN: 9781681777757
  Kindle: B077J88SM2
  Hardcover / e-Book
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  "A deliciously decadent start to a new mystery series!"
  Fresh Fiction Review
  April in Paris, 1921
  Tessa Lunney
  Reviewed by Magdalena Johansson
  Posted July 12, 2018

  Mystery Historical

  What a deliciously decadent story! As a big fan of historical fiction set in the 1920s, was I instantly intrigued by the story of APRIL IN PARIS, 1921 by Tessa Lunney, and I was thrilled to discover how wonderful the book was right from the very start. Let's start with the fact that very early on in the book there is a ménage à trois between our heroine, Kiki Button, Picasso and another woman. I'm not a fan of reading about very lengthy sex scenes, but Tessa Lunney manages to write this part and other parts with enough sensuality and without being too graphic that even I liked them. Now, this is not a story about just sex, but it's part of the story since Kiki Button is, how shall I put it, not a prude and it's the 20s in Paris.

  As for the main story, it's through Kiki's work as a gossip columnist that she is introduced to Picasso, who requests she find a stolen painting. However, that's not the only assignment in her life! During the war, Kiki worked as a spy and her old spymaster contacts her to find a double agent in Paris. Through attending parties, Kiki is able to gather information that will lead to finding information about both the double agent as well as the missing painting.

  APRIL IN PARIS, 1921 is the first book in the Kiki Button series. It's an exciting and mysterious story that I loved from the very first moment I started the book. Yes, the book made me think of the Phryne Fisher series by Kerry Greenwood since Kiki is a wealthy Aussie that likes sex a lot. However, that's that, the Kiki Button series is definitely something completely different and much darker. Kiki's past as a nurse and spy makes her a very interesting character and I just loved getting to know more about her. Now I'm looking forward to the next book in the series and I really hope that there will be many more in the future!

  Learn more about April in Paris, 1921
  SUMMARY
  Kiki Button—war veteran, party girl, detective, and spy—finds that she can't outrun her past exploits, even in the glittering world of Jazz Age Paris.

  Paris in 1921 is the city of freedom, where hatless and footloose Kiki Button can drink champagne and dance until dawn. She works as a gossip columnist, partying with the rich and famous, the bohemian and strange, using every moment to create a new woman from the ashes of her war-worn self.

  While on the modelling dais, Picasso gives her a job: to find his wife's portrait, which has gone mysteriously missing. That same night, her spymaster from the war contacts her—she has to find a double agent or face jail. Through parties, whisky, and seductive informants, Kiki uses her knowledge of Paris from the Great War to connect the clues.

  Set over the course of one springtime week, April in Paris, 1921 is a mystery that combines artistic gossip with interwar political history through witty banter, steamy scenes, and fast action.