Margarita Montimore is the author of Acts of Violet, Asleep From Day, and Oona Out of Order, which was a USA Today bestseller and Good Morning America Book Club pick. After receiving a BFA in creative writing from Emerson College, she worked for more than a decade in publishing and social media before deciding to focus on the writing dream full-time. Born in Soviet Ukraine and raised in Brooklyn, she currently lives in New Jersey with her husband and dog. Her latest novel is The Dollhouse Academy and she recently talked about it with Daryl Maxwell for the LAPL Blog.
What was your inspiration for The Dollhouse Academy?
For a number of years, I knew I wanted to write a story about a former child star—I've always been fascinated with the inner workings of the entertainment industry and wanted to explore that further while putting my unique spin on it. Meanwhile, I was also reading various dark academia books and separately considering writing a campus novel. Eventually, I got the idea of combining these two ideas into a single story, and that's when I knew I had my next book.
Are Ivy, Ramona, Grace, Mason, or any of the other characters in the novel inspired by or based on specific individuals?
Not really. While Ivy is an amalgam of numerous former child stars, I made sure to make her experiences distinct and not attributed to anybody specific. None of the other characters were based on anyone. I'm sure there's a little bit of myself in some of them, but I try to develop them to be distinct in their own right.
Same question for Genevieve Spalding (because I think there may be a story here).
I imagined Genevieve as someone who started out on the same road as Judy Garland, being a performer in a tightly controlled studio system, but broke free and established herself as someone to help usher in the next generations of talent. However, while Genevieve sees herself as a figure who nurtures and protects young performers, she ends up developing a system that is even more controlling than the one she escapes.
How did the novel evolve and change as you wrote and revised it? Are there any characters or scenes that were lost in the process that you wish had made it to the published version?
The very first version of the book had both Ramona and Grace as POV characters, along with Ivy's diary entries. I loved Grace's voice but as the story evolved, it made sense for Ramona to be the central POV character. Nevertheless, I made sure Grace's bold personality was ever-present in the story, and the friendship between the two young women remained a key element.
What was your inspiration for the Dollhouse Academy and Owls Point, New York? Are they based on or influenced by a real place, or are they entirely your creation? If it is based on a real place, what is it, and where is it located?
I've always romanticized the idea of boarding schools, probably because I was obsessed with The Facts of Life as a kid. Between that show being set in upstate New York and having spent a few summers in the Catskills while growing up, I found it to be a good geographical setting for my story—it was close to a major city but still somewhat remote. As for Owls Point and the Dollhouse Academy itself, those are both my creations, though I may have been influenced by other fictional boarding schools, like the ones in A Separate Peace, The Secret History, and Dead Poets Society.
In your Acknowledgements, you mention that you've had a long-time fascination with the stories of child actors and their memoirs (which you describe as ultimately being a form of research for this novel). How long have you been interested in the careers and lives of child actors? Are there any favorite memoirs or documentaries you can share?
It's been an interest of mine for as long as I can remember, but more so in the last five or six years. I'm Glad My Mom Died is raw and fantastically written; for me, that's become the gold standard for memoirs. Another one I enjoyed was Lisa Jakub's You Look Like that Girl: A Child Actor Stops Pretending and Finally Grows Up. As for documentaries, Hollywood Kids and Kid 90 are worth watching.
What is the most interesting or surprising thing that you've learned about a child star?
Honestly, I was surprised to learn just how many survive the industry and go on to lead well-adjusted, normal lives. The most publicized stories of former child stars are often the most sensational, with their addictions and traumas mined for headlines. I wanted to make sure the story I wrote didn't feel like it was exploiting young performers as much as celebrating them and honoring their talent and hard work.
Can you tell us "That story about Jim Carrey and the Tap Shoes"?
Someone who works in Hollywood shared this story with me, though I don't know whether it's true. Apparently, when Jim Carrey was a child, his mother was frequently sick. He used to sleep with his tap shoes on so that he could wake up at a moment's notice to entertain her and cheer her up. I was so touched by that when writing The Dollhouse Academy I incorporated something similar into Ivy Gordon’s backstory.
The Dollhouse Academy is set in the late 1990s, and some of the characters' lives encompass as far back as the end of the "Golden Age" of Hollywood. What drew you to set the novel at this time?
I originally set it in the present day, but my editor pointed out that nowadays, the concept of celebrity is much more diluted. Not only is there an influx of famous people, between influencers and reality TV stars, but being famous isn't as special these days, and there's more transparency in the lives of celebrities. It made more sense to have the story take place in the 1990s, an era when stars still had tightly controlled images and were something of a commodity. Back then, there was still an aura of mystery around famous people, and something like the Dollhouse Academy could feasibly exist. Plus, in all honesty, it's a time period I enjoy writing about because I get to revisit my formative years.
Ramona is a big music fan, and you reference a lot of bands and performers from the 90s. Do you have any favorite 90s bands?
Radiohead, Suede, Catherine Wheel, Sneaker Pimps, Massive Attack, Pulp, Belly. I actually have a Spotify playlist for The Dollhouse Academy that include many of these artists.
What's currently on your nightstand?
I'm about to finish Noah Hawley's Before the Fall. I already knew he was a talented screenwriter from his work on Fargo, but it turns out he's an excellent novelist, too) and up next is Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor (one of my favorite book formats is the novel-within-a-novel and I have a feeling this one will be special).
What is the last piece of art (music, movies, TV, more traditional art forms) that you've experienced or that has impacted you?
I rewatched Whiplash late last year and I'm still thinking about it months later—it's such an intense, breathtaking movie. There's something about observing people in their pursuit of excellence that I find endlessly fascinating. Another great example of that—and one of my favorite shows in recent years—is The Bear.
What are you working on now?
I'm halfway through writing my next novel. It's been my happy place, a way to channel my creative energy when the rest of the world has felt chaotic. When it's eventually published, I hope readers also find it a source of comfort and positive escapism.
