Tonight’s Meet a Mom, Elizabeth Staple is the first time author and local Mom behind, “The Snap”, a novel full of Dangerous secrets. A toxic workplace. And an unsolved murder. . . . A football professional reckons with the choices that made her career in the boys’ club world of sports possible in this riveting and sharp Friday Night Lights meets I Know What You Did Last Summer debut.
In her first career, she worked in PR for the New York Giants, New England Patriots, and NFL Europe. But now, her genuine love of books and reading, makes the idea of knowing she has contributed to the literary world, and seeing her books on bookshelves, genuinely thrilling.
Elizabeth shared with us how she finds balance as a Mom, Author and as General Counsel for a company in the healthcare sector, the best advice as a first time author, and who inspires her.
Can you please tell us a bit about yourself personally?
I’m an author and lawyer originally from Upstate New York. My stepson Elliot is 19, and my daughters, Annie and Rose, are 8 and 5.
Where do you live in Greenwich and what do you love about Greenwich and your neighborhood?
We’re currently in Stamford and are in the process of relocating to Greenwich. My stepson went to Greenwich schools and both daughters went through preschool there. I love the sense of community, and that we can more often than not expect to run into people we know when out and about. To me, after growing up in a small town, that’s a really important element of making a place feel like home.
We can’t wait to read “The Snap”: what can readers expect from your new book?
It follows Poppy Benjamin, Director of Media Relations for an NFL team. In real life there are 32 of those jobs in the entire world, and you can probably guess how many of them are held by women. On the same day the team’s head coach is found dead, Poppy receives an anonymous note alluding to a misdeed in her past and insisting it be made public. The story is told in two timelines, with the earlier set fifteen years prior, when Poppy first started with the team as an intern. It’s a look at how women existed in the workplace on either side of the MeToo movement, and what’s improved and what hasn’t. Most of all, it’s an acknowledgement that as young people we’re often faced with really tough situations before we’re equipped to handle them, that sometimes we mess up, and that we have to live with the fallout from those mistakes even after we know better. And not to worry if you’re not into football–this is a Ted Lasso situation.
This is your first novel, how did you come to write this book and what was your career previously?
In my first career, I held various public relations roles with the New York Giants, New England Patriots, and NFL Europe. I was very low-level but got to have some incredible life experiences, like spending a season answering Tom Brady’s fan mail (immediately after the Bridget Moynahan breakup!) , and being on the field at the Super Bowl helping to gather quotes. For NFL Europe, I lived for months in a hotel in Frankfurt with my entire staff and team. I was 23 years old and the only woman on staff. In one stadium, there was no ladies room on the locker room level, and so I had to use the cheerleaders’ locker room. Another time, leaving the Patriots team bus at a visiting stadium, my female co-intern and I were the only two people stopped and asked to show an ID badge. I wanted to write this book to sort through all of those experiences and make sense of how I could have genuinely fond memories of that time and be so grateful to have worked in sports, but also just incredulous at some of the things that happened.
What do you find the most challenging and most rewarding parts of being a first time author?
I definitely struggle with confidence, so that’s the most challenging. Women talk a lot about imposter syndrome and feeling that they’ll be somehow “found out” for faking it. I’ve been trying to reframe that lately to think instead that I don’t know everything and am figuring it out, and that that’s a very valid way to build a skillset and a career.
In terms of the most rewarding part, I love books and reading so much that the idea that I’ve contributed something to that world is genuinely thrilling. I will never get over seeing The Snap in bookstores.
How do you balance being an author and a parent?
With great difficulty! I get up at 5:00 seven days a week to make sure I’m at my desk by 5:15. It’s quiet then, with the kids asleep and no one pinging me at my day job, where I’m General Counsel for a company in the healthcare sector. I also work best with some kind of deadline, and so knowing that I only have until whatever time the girls wake up keeps me focused and motivated.
Other than that, I have to fit it in between the cracks. You’ll find me pecking away at my Notes app anytime I have a few minutes of downtime.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve gotten about writing “The Snap”?
I try to make sure that every one of my characters thinks they are the hero, and that they’re thinking and acting accordingly. I stress-test that by going through the story from each of their perspectives to see if it still makes sense, because there’s nothing worse than a side character who’s just a support beam holding up the porch.
Who are some of the authors that inspired you?
I really love the way Patricia Highsmith uses internal monologue to reveal things about her characters that the characters do not realize themselves. Tom Ripley believes himself to be a perfectly reasonable person. Ira Levin’s characters feel incredibly real to me, even though they’re far from contemporary at this point. And no one beats Mick Herron for dialogue. He makes every single word count.
What do you like to do to relax/have fun for yourself and as a family?
I’m a huge reader and typically have at least an upstairs book, downstairs book, and purse book going at once. Our family loves sports, so of course this summer we were completely swept up in the Olympics. It’s the first time the stakes of it all really registered for the girls, and watching them become so engaged was really fun.
We love to support local businesses. What are your fave places when you are in Greenwich to:
Grab coffee: Sweet Pea’s, ideally along with something from the bakery case
Workout: Club Pilates
Go on a date night: The Avon Theatre. It’s such a beautiful space, and they do special screenings of throwbacks like Jaws or Raiders of the Lost Ark that are just meant to be seen on a big screen.
Go out for a girls night: Moli
Go out to dinner as a family: Pizza Post. Mila greets each of my kids by name and has their orders down pat. It’s such a great, family-friendly spot.
Get your hair done: Cadre Salon – Sara is unbeatable!
Get your nails done: I have to admit, I never get my nails done. Please do not look at them.
Have fun as a family: We live right next to Mianus Park, so family hikes are a big thing for us. We also cycle through all of the area libraries, although Perrot is definitely the girls’ favorite. I actually work a large chunk of this book there!
