Olivia Worley is an author born and raised in New Orleans. A graduate of Northwestern University, she now lives in New York City, where she spends her time writing thrillers, overanalyzing episodes of The Bachelor, and hoping someone will romanticize her for reading on the subway. Her novel The Debutantes is now available from Wednesday Books.
Alexandra Brown Chang grew up in Los Angeles, in a family of four daughters and four rescue dogs. She graduated from Stanford University, where she majored in art history. Alexandra is also a member of the Princess Grace Foundation Guild, which champions emerging artists in all fields. By Invitation Only is her debut novel.
Olivia Worley: Okay, first of all, can I just say how excited I am to chat with you? I devoured By Invitation Only—it’s such a fun, glamorous escape into the romance and drama of high society, but at the same time, it’s also a really wonderful story about friendship and two young women finding themselves. There’s so much I want to ask about, but first, I saw that your book was inspired by your own debutante experience (which is something we have in common!) Can you tell me a little bit more about that and how it led to By Invitation Only?
Alexandra Brown Chang: I’m so excited to chat with you, too! I’m also incredibly flattered to hear your reaction, because I just blew through The Debutantes and absolutely loved it. As for By Invitation Only, I’ve known for a long time that I wanted to write a story set at a debutante ball in Paris— it just felt like the dreamiest backdrop! When I was 18, I was supposed to participate in a debutante ball in New York City, which involved months of preparation: dress fittings, waltz lessons, portrait sittings, and a packed calendar of pre-ball events. Although I ultimately ended up becoming a debutante dropout, the experience left a lasting impression on me. It made me realize just how fascinating that world is and how strong the sense of camaraderie can be among debutantes. The themes of female friendship and connection really inspired the core of By Invitation Only. I figured if I found this world so compelling, perhaps others might too, and that planted the initial seed for the book. And speaking of settings, I loved how The Debutantes brought New Orleans to life. The city is the perfect place for a thriller, with its gothic atmosphere, complex history, and the fact that dead bodies can never truly be buried, as the city sits below sea level (a chilling fact you mention in the book!) Can you tell me a bit more about how New Orleans’ own distinct debutante culture — and culture in general — shaped the characters and dynamics in The Debutantes?
OW: Ahh, thank you so much—I’m so glad you enjoyed The Debutantes! And I love this question: I was born and raised in New Orleans, and I always knew I wanted to set a book there one day. There’s really nowhere else like it—and the same goes for our debutante culture. For any readers who may not know, debutante balls in New Orleans are closely tied to Mardi Gras, so there’s an added element of history, culture, and even secrecy. There are elaborate costumes meant to invoke royalty, and many of them feature masks to hide members’ identities. Between the ballgowns, creepy masks, and high-society secrets, it was basically begging to become a thriller!
With The Debutantes, though, I also wanted to include some of my own personal experience. When I was in college, I participated in a few debutante balls during my official “season.” I’d always been really uncomfortable with the roots of these balls: like New Orleans itself, many of them have a dark history of racism, classism, and misogyny, and I honestly found them kind of creepy. That said, it was a really important tradition to my dad’s side of the family, so I decided I’d push through my reservations and give it a try. The experience was even wilder and more fascinating than I could have imagined, and now, seven years later, my feelings haven’t gotten any less complicated. Through the characters in The Debutantes, I wanted to explore those warring feelings of loving my hometown while also understanding its darker, thornier pieces. Ultimately, though, I really think of the book as a love letter to New Orleans.
While we’re on the subject of setting, I adored all of the places By Invitation Only takes us to, particularly Paris. What about the city inspired you, and did you do any research to get deeper into the glamorous, high-fashion world of La Danse des Débutantes?
ABC: I love that you drew on multiple debutante ball experiences for The Debutantes! Even within New Orleans, each ball clearly has its own unique traditions and personality. The way you wrote about the city really made your love for it shine through. I’ve been meaning to visit for years, and now it’s officially at the top of my list!
Also, I’m so glad you enjoyed the setting of By Invitation Only. Fashion has always played a major role in my life. In middle school, my best friend and I even started a fashion blog together, and when I was fifteen, I interned at Zac Posen’s atelier, which was a transformative experience that deepened my appreciation for fashion as an art form. I also majored in Art History in college, so I’ve always been drawn to design more broadly. It was such a joy to bring that passion into the book, through fashion, as well as art and architecture. I also did quite a bit of research into haute couture and fashion history, digging into old archives, reading up on iconic vintage pieces, and even creating fashion mood boards for each debutante’s look and aesthetic. Speaking of fashion, one of the most exciting moments of my publication journey was receiving blurbs from Christian Siriano and Paul Tazewell, whose work I admire so deeply. That was truly a surreal moment! And then there’s Paris—what can I say?! The city is inherently cinematic. I found inspiration everywhere: the winding cobblestone streets, the ornate architecture, the rich fashion history, the food, the light—everything. Writing about it felt like pure wish fulfillment.
Going back to The Debutantes: the mystery pulled me in right away (especially after the jester crashes the debutante ball!) I’ve always wanted to write a thriller, and I’m so curious how you approached crafting this one. Did you create a highly detailed roadmap from the beginning, or did the twists and turns evolve as you wrote?
OW: Okay wait, that is SUCH a cool backstory to have for this book! I’m kind of starstruck! Your passion came through so clearly in By Invitation Only, both in the rich descriptions and in your characters—I especially loved Chapin’s outlook on fashion as an art form that’s too often misunderstood or even belittled.
To answer your question, I’m definitely a big outliner! I’m always totally mystified (and very impressed) when other thriller writers are able to craft the story as they go. While I go into a first draft with a roadmap, though, I don’t always stick to it. With The Debutantes, there actually ended up being quite a bit of evolution once I started writing and revising. In fact, some of the biggest twists in the book weren’t in the first outline at all, or if they were, they were totally different. A lot of those changes came from conversations with my wonderful editor, and I think they made the book much stronger! Writing a book can feel so solitary, so I always love the moments where it gets to feel more collaborative, especially when it takes you somewhere you hadn’t originally expected.
Speaking of unexpected, one theme our books have in common is unlikely friendship, and I really loved the back and forth between your two POV characters, Piper and Chapin. They come from such different backgrounds, and the evolution of their initially adversarial relationship was so fun to read. Can you talk a bit more about how you developed those two characters and what it was like alternating between their perspectives?
ABC: That’s so well-said about the editing process! I felt the same way. Once my manuscript reached that stage, it became much more collaborative, which I loved. I’m also glad you brought up the theme of unlikely friendships! It’s one of my favorite tropes as both a writer and a reader. I always wanted to give Piper and Chapin equal narrative weight. Writing in their distinct voices was truly so much fun, and alternating between their POVs just felt natural. It also allowed me to fully explore their individual arcs, while also capturing the evolution of their friendship.
Their tension really begins with misplaced assumptions: Chapin thinks Piper is judging her world, while Piper sees Chapin as the embodiment of everything she actually resents. Their initial turning point comes when they realize neither of them truly wants to be at La Danse des Débutantes in the traditional sense. After facing a series of high-stakes situations that force them to rely on one another, an unlikely but genuine friendship begins to emerge.
It was also rewarding as a writer to use their alternating perspectives to show La Danse from two very different angles: Piper, as the fish-out-of-water newcomer, and Chapin, as a seasoned veteran of high society. That stark contrast adds a layer of tension and humor and gives readers an insider/outsider view of the whole experience.
While we’re on the topic of POVs, I was so impressed by how seamlessly you juggled four distinct voices in The Debutantes, especially in a thriller, where each character’s secrets and memories are crucial to the central mystery. That structure is incredibly tricky to pull off, and you did it so well. I genuinely loved all the Maids, but April’s perspective stuck with me the most, as she felt like the biggest outsider. How did you approach balancing the four main characters’ voices — plus Margot’s in flashbacks — while still maintaining suspense? Did one character’s voice come to you more naturally than the others?
OW: Thank you so much! I knew I wanted The Debutantes to be multi-POV for a few reasons, one of which was to show a range of perspectives on the debutante world, much like you did. April is definitely the character I feel most attached to because her experience is the closest to my own: like her, I was very uncomfortable with being a debutante and really only participated because I love my dad and it was important to him. I also had pretty severe social anxiety in high school, which made her voice and perspective come more easily to me! That said, I also wanted to include characters like Piper (shout-out to our shared name choice!), who is deeply entrenched in and even enamored with Mardi Gras deb culture.
In general, I have such a soft spot for multi-POV books. Very rarely in my own writing do I stay in one character’s POV for the whole book! It can definitely be tricky, like you mentioned, but I also find it can be a fun tool for building tension (which we definitely saw in By Invitation Only as the rivalry developed!) In a thriller especially, it’s fun to play with secrets the POV characters are keeping from each other and the reader, and I find it helps create end-of-chapter cliffhangers as you jump from one POV to the next, which can be so addictive.
I feel like I could keep chatting with you about books and debutantes forever, but in the interest of time, I know we should probably wrap things up! I’ll end with one more fun question: as a fashion expert, do you have any predictions for future formalwear, debutante or otherwise?
ABC: This conversation has been such a blast! I love hearing how personal April’s story feels to your own, and I totally agree about how the multi-POV structure can make an already great thriller even more propulsive. As for your question about formalwear predictions, I’m seeing a major resurgence in vintage and vintage-inspired fashion, both on the red carpet and in everyday life. One recent standout for me was Natalie Portman’s recreation of a Dior haute couture gown from the Fall 1951 collection, which she wore at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. Elle Fanning also stunned at the Oscars in a breathtaking Givenchy gown, reimagined from Hubert de Givenchy’s 1952 debut collection. There’s something really special about wearing a piece with history or a story behind it, as it feels one-of-a-kind. Plus, with growing awareness around sustainability, I think we’ll continue to see people turning to vintage or secondhand formalwear as a way to express individuality, while also making more conscious fashion choices. Thank you for such a fun, thoughtful discussion — I’d happily keep chatting! I can’t wait to see what you write next.
OW: Thank you so much! I’m so excited for everyone to read By Invitation Only this fall, and I’ll definitely be on the lookout for these formalwear trends on the red carpet!
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