Author Michele Kwasniewski Explores The Darker Side of Fame

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Kathleen Basi [: 00:00:00

Welcome to Author Express. Thanks for checking us out. This is the podcast where you give us 15 minutes of your time, and we give you a chance to hear the voice behind the pages and get to know some of your favorite writers in a new light. I'm one of your hosts, Kathleen Bassey. I'm an award winning musical composer, a feature writer, essayist, and, of course, storyteller. Let me tell you a little bit about today's guest. Michelle Kwansniewski translated her career behind the scenes in entertainment into an award winning young adult trilogy that shines a spotlight on the darker side of fame. Starting out as a set production assistant on movies such as Independence Day and Evita, Michele moved to the small screen and worked her way up the ladder to production manager on television shows such as Big Brother.

Kathleen Basi [: 00:00:48

A lifelong Southern California resident, Michele always dreamed of writing books despite almost failing 7th grade English grammar. The rise and fall of Danny Trueheart trilogy consists of books, Rising Star, Burning Bright, and Falling Star. About Rising Star, Publishers Weekly said, Kwasniewski deftly conveys nuance family dynamics and interpersonal relationships from a teen perspective. Kirk has called Burning Bright a realistic and absorbing look at a teen celebrity's struggle with the pressures of success. Kirk has called the final installment of the trilogy eminently readable. High praise indeed. Welcome to Author Express, Michele.

Michele Kwansniewski [: 00:01:29

Thanks for having me, Kavalee.

Kathleen Basi [: 00:01:31

It's so good to have you. We all have, like, this dream of working in Hollywood, and as a person now, I no longer dream of being in front of the camera so much, but think it would be super interesting to be in the support network behind that. So what is that like to be production assistant, production manager? What does that even mean?

Michele Kwansniewski [: 00:01:48

I like it because in the sense, I thought I wanted to be an actor as well. I actually went to college to major in acting. And after my first audition, I was like, this is not for me. I don't have the thick skin. So I ended up transitioning to a technical theater, which is a total major who knew. And I specialized in stage management, set design, lighting design. I built the sets. I did everything, and I fell in love with stage management.

Michele Kwansniewski [: 00:02:10

I really liked being there to coordinate all the bits and pieces to bring the show together.

Kathleen Basi [: 00:02:15

So props and lighting and like you're just in charge of everybody.

Michele Kwansniewski [: 00:02:19

You study all of those aspects and the stage manager is basically like the person who calls all the shots during the show. The lighting cues, the set cues, they talk to the backstage manager who is running the actors and making sure the props are where they need to be. So that's what I majored in. And then I thought maybe I'd move to New York. And then when it came time to move, I was like, oh, I don't know. So I'm a big like pivot girl in my life. Apparently, I do one Peter show here where I worked for 3 months, I made $300 So I was supplementing my job with other shows. And when they had asked me to volunteer because they were doing a show for young adults with special needs.

Michele Kwansniewski [: 00:02:56

And so I said, of course. So I did the lighting and then I called the show for that. It was just a weekend thing.

Kathleen Basi [: 00:03:01

You're hitting all of my heart points because I have a daughter with down syndrome.

Michele Kwansniewski [: 00:03:04

I saw her birthday gift and I was just in tears because she was so excited because I was like, well, what is it that she's gonna be so excited about? So it was it was just very, very sweet. Very sweet.

Kathleen Basi [: 00:03:15

Yes anyways

Michele Kwansniewski [: 00:03:16

and then I met someone he was doing the lighting design and I was helping out with everything else and then he introduced me to my first job. He invited me first to go to Japan, which I was like, no. I don't wanna go to Japan to work because, again, too far. If New York's too far, Japan's definitely too far. And then he got me a job at, a company called Kennedy Marshall, films, like film sets, and then I went to television on top of that, after that.

Kathleen Basi [: 00:03:46

Yeah. Well, you know, you mentioned Independence Day and Evita, and both of those were like, blockbuster things. That's just incredible.

Michele Kwansniewski [: 00:03:53

Really lucky to get on that. And, again, you never really know how it's gonna turn out, and Independence Day was just so much fun and that was my first long term PA gig. And then when I went to Avita, it was like a long shot for me going, so I had to kinda beg to get on. But speaking Spanish was helpful because they had American teams, Argentinian teams, Hungarian teams, and British teams. Every country we went to, every country represented on the set had their own team. So there's so many ADs. And when they were in Argentina, they wanted someone who could speak the dialect. But little did they know, including me, that the dialect for Argentina is way different than my high school Spanish in Los Angeles.

Michele Kwansniewski [: 00:04:29

But we made it work and it was a lot of fun. So but it's you still got a lot of the pressure from, you know, being in front of the camera. There's a lot of pressure. There's a lot of perks. Everyone loves to hear your stories, but at the end of the day, I just found it was really, really long hours. And you really have to have a firm hand on your moral compass because my God, it's true, like what happens on set or on location stays on location. And I came back from location like shook. And I was like, you know what? I just don't know that this is where I wanna be.

Michele Kwansniewski [: 00:04:58

So I stayed another like 8 years and then got out.

Kathleen Basi [: 00:05:01

The name of this podcast is Author Express, and we've already gone on longer about this than we would normally. I'm sorry. No. It's so fascinating. I would love to talk like, we could do an entire podcast episode on that alone, but I think you probably would like to talk about your book.

Michele Kwansniewski [: 00:05:15

Of course. I'm so sorry about that.

Kathleen Basi [: 00:05:17

No. You don't need to apologize at all. Actually, the first question that we normally ask is the most interesting thing about where you're from, and I think you have just, like, really told us all of that in great detail, so that's fantastic. Let's actually kind of move into your You series a little bit. Can you summarize the the whole concept of this series in in one sentence?

Michele Kwansniewski [: 00:05:39

So this series explores the darker the dark shadows that the spotlight cast on a young teenage singer who rises to the pinnacle of international pop star fame and how it affects her development. Her family and friends as she matures in front of the ever present paparazzi and her army of a rabid fans.

Kathleen Basi [: 00:05:57

Yeah. That is so interesting. What made you come up with the idea for this book?

Michele Kwansniewski [: 00:06:01

Pitching different shows, I used to work at a television production company, and they did reality TV. So I, you know, started to get in the habit of trying to pitch little shows here and there. And then when I had our son, I took time off work because it was 14 hour days and a baby don't mix. But I found that I was so used to working long hours, I had extra time in my day. My friend suggested starting to write something and I wanted to write something, but I didn't have a lot of time to do research. So I thought what do I know and I looked at my career and I'm like there's a lot there and really I started thinking about what the things I didn't like because you know we live in West, West Lake Village where like Britney Spears was living and she was just going through her starting her whole long battle with the conservatorship. There was a lot going on, and I think people don't realize all the behind the scenes stuff that happens. You know, you see a red carpet, you see a premier, and you think it's great, but there's a lot of heartache and hardship and jockeying for position when you're in the spotlight.

Michele Kwansniewski [: 00:06:54

And it's not just that once you get there, you have to keep producing to stay relevant. People are ready to snatch your spot. So I kinda wanted to talk about that, but I had, in particular, wanted to deal with teens. It's so hard to be a teenager. Everything is so black and white because you haven't matured yet enough to see the various shades of gray, that not everything is so dire, and you're still trying to figure out who you are and you usually have parents with rules and morals. Do you agree with them? Do you not agree with them? You've got peer pressure from friends. Where are you gonna go to college? Who are you gonna be? It's just so much going on. And in this day and age, it's so easy to be famous with Instagram and everything going on with social media.

Michele Kwansniewski [: 00:07:32

So I just don't think people see think about the full term of what that means to be famous, whether it's social media famous or movie star famous, there's a lot that goes wrong with it that's negative.

Kathleen Basi [: 00:07:42

Yeah. I mean, it's really interesting. I've actually been listening to a podcast about Taylor Swift, and I've heard stories about her as a young as a young girl and how her mother was going on stage with her and, you know, urging her to be polite and and how to deal with things. So that's actually what I first thought about when you when you're talking about a a a teenage pop star. Having watched all of that go through, it it's just a very relevant topic, and I'm sure very interesting to lots and lots of readers.

Michele Kwansniewski [: 00:08:10

Thanks. I hope so. And I think a lot of people have, like, dreamed of being famous, who doesn't sing to their shampoo bottle, you know, and they're in the shower and no one's listening. I mean, I think everyone has that feel. Music really affects people. And I know that you are a choir director and I'm an acquirer too. So well done. And music is really affects people on just such an emotional physical level.

Michele Kwansniewski [: 00:08:28

It's not just the words. It's the way it affects your body and your brain. So I really wanted to try and capture that. And, you know, we all love pop music.

Kathleen Basi [: 00:08:35

Yeah. Well, it looks like judging by Kirkus and Publishers Weekly, you really must have nailed it. So we're we're all looking forward to reading these books now.

Michele Kwansniewski [: 00:08:42

Thank you. Thank you. I've been very lucky. It's been a slow burn. The first book took a while to catch on, but it's now now the 3rd book's out. It's really been catching some momentum. So I'm hoping it ticks off.

Kathleen Basi [: 00:08:51

That's fantastic. What do you hope readers will take away from reading your novel aside from The Dark Underbelly? Is there, is there a a takeaway for the person in their regular life?

Michele Kwansniewski [: 00:09:00

One, I think it's always a safe bet to chase your dreams, but I think you just need to look at the full prospect. You know? It might not always turn out the way you like it, but it doesn't mean that chasing your dreams is a bad thing. And I really just think that everyone could just give a little grace to anyone in the public eye because there's a lot going on. You know, they might have a fight with their mom or they a fight with their boyfriend or, you know, they woke up with a bad hair day or headache or whatever. And I think that a lot of grace could be given went to people in front of the camera or choosing to be in that spotlight because they're humans too. And really, some sometimes, sometimes it's just none of our business. And I think a lot of that could be happening now and it's just kind of not.

Kathleen Basi [: 00:09:37

When did it become our job to to judge everybody

Michele Kwansniewski [: 00:09:40

in life? I think my compass has been I just turn it back on myself. Well, I want someone talking about me like that and I really tried it. I feel like it's a totally simplistic way, but it's a really good guide. I don't want people talking about my marriage or how I'm raising my son or, you know, heaven forbid, what I'm wearing, which is a sweater and then nice sweatpants below because you can't see. I think everyone, because social media, we have access to everyone's inner thoughts, which we should never do. It's the worst idea. And then that makes people feel entitled and privileged to say what really should never be heard by anyone else.

Kathleen Basi [: 00:10:13

That's all very true. Words of wisdom, keeping it real here. What part of writing brings you the most joy?

Michele Kwansniewski [: 00:10:20

I think it's usually in the editing process because the first draft is kind of a wild ride because I'm a pantser. I don't outline. Everything is kinda just in my head. I usually know where I'm going at the end, but sometimes that changes too. So I think in the editing process is being able to polish and find that exact word that I'm looking for to get that emotion or that feeling or or the the look of the room or whatever it is across. That, to me is always such a satisfying moment. And it's doubly satisfying when a reader actually comes back to me with the, Oh, my gosh. Or they like a certain thing.

Michele Kwansniewski [: 00:10:52

And it's happened on a few different points in the series where I really felt like that I nailed that right. So I was happy with that.

Kathleen Basi [: 00:10:58

Oh, gosh. That's gotta feel fantastic. Alright. Awesome. Okay. Well, tell us where's the best place for people to find you if they wanna hear more about your books or about you and this fascinating world that you have, which you, by the way, should totally be sharing about.

Michele Kwansniewski [: 00:11:13

Thank you. I am at my website, which is michele kwansniewski.com. My books are sold around the world. They're available on Amazon, on Barnes and Noble.com, Target, Walmart, in your favorite bookstore, and they're in your libraries too. So they're just everywhere.

Kathleen Basi [: 00:11:32

Excellent. Alright. And so as we close-up today, tell us what book or story inspires you the most?

Michele Kwansniewski [: 00:11:39

Well, I am usually very inspired by whatever I'm reading right now. And right now I am reading the book of accidents by Chuck Wende. And I am so fascinated with how he's telling his story. The way he's unfolding it is very different for me and his character descriptions are beautiful and just his descriptions of it's got a lot of paranormal phenomenon and the way he's describing it, because it's very unique, He does a very good job of putting you in it so you can understand what's going on because I've read books before where the description hasn't been as accurate or descriptive and I've been kinda lost. Almost like Stephen King, but like the next generation of Stephen King. It's been very enjoyable so far, so I can't wait to see what it is.

Kathleen Basi [: 00:12:15

Very good. Alright. Well, thank you so much for being such a great guest, and maybe we'll everybody follow-up with Michelle so you can pick her brain about all of those fascinating stories that we didn't have time for today.

Michele Kwansniewski [: 00:12:26

Well, thanks for having me on. I really appreciate it. It's our pleasure. Hi, sweetie, Kathleen.

Kathleen Basi [: 00:12:31

Thanks for joining us today. We hope you'll take a second to give us some stars or a review on your favorite podcasting platform. We'll be back next Wednesday. And in the meantime, follow us on Instagram at author express podcast to see who's coming up next. Don't forget. Keep it express, but keep it interesting.