Exploring Danielle Steel’s Life with Glitter Cocktails
Even if the romance novel genre isn’t typically your go-to, I’d wager you already know her name. She’s omnipresent – at the airport book stand, on the magazine rack at the check-out aisle in the grocery store; you might not even realize you have a copy of one of her books on your shelf right now.
Danielle Steel, a prolific author, producing literary works at an alarming speed, her name a staple on New York Times bestselling lists – you recognize her name the moment you see it. She is a powerhouse in production, often juggling many projects at a time. Mother of nine (that’s right, nine) children, author of 190+ books, 141 novels, roughly 800 million copies of her works sold, and several of her books have been adapted for television and movies, a few received Golden Globe nominations. Danielle Steel is arguably one of the bestselling contemporary authors to date. She holds a Guinness World Record for being on the New York Times bestseller list for the most consecutive weeks (381).
“I’m astonished by my success. I wrote because I needed to and wanted to. It never occurred to me that I’d become famous.”
Danielle Steel
In honor of her recent book launch “Happiness, and not one but two upcoming book launches, Second Act (October 2023) and The Ball at Versailles (November 2023), I crafted a cocktail to celebrate her incredible success called “All That Glitters” made with Brew Glitter, and based on one of her many best-selling books, “All That Glitters.”
Fun fact: Steel reportedly doesn’t care for alcohol. However, she does enjoy a good virgin mojito in the summer, which I can appreciate. You can find my recipe for a not-so-virgin mojito here, made with agave syrup.
This page contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn commissions from qualifying purchases through my links. If you click on a link and purchase, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I have used or would use, and I always disclose when using an affiliate link.
Cliff’s Notes on “All that Glitters”
Shining a Spotlight on “All That Glitters”
“Sometimes, if you aren’t sure about something, you just have to jump off the bridge and grow your wings on the way down.“
Danielle Steel
“All That Glitters” is a story of a young woman with her whole life about take off. Nicole “Coco” Martin was in her final year at Columbia University and landed a job working at a magazine. An only child of successful and doting parents, she was their whole world, and they were hers.
Until tragedy struck, and her parents were killed in a terrorist attack while vacationing in France. Left to navigate the world alone and determined to make her parents proud, Coco pursues the life she dreamed of and meets fascinating and charming men along the way. Each relationship becomes a stepping stone, teaching her invaluable life lessons and ultimately leading to self-discovery.
Get a copy of the book here.
early life & career
Becoming Queen of the Romance Novel
“It’s all about fate and destiny, and opening the right door at the right time, and having the guts to walk through it. It’s amazing how everything changes in the blink of an eye.”
Danielle Steel
I’m not sure what’s more impressive: Steel’s hulk-like productivity when it comes to producing novels that seemingly all are best-sellers or the fact that she produces these novels on her old late-40s model Olympia typewriter.
When her children were little, she did all the mom things during the day (school pick-ups and dropoffs, practices, recitals, appointments, etc.). She wrote while they slept, reportedly only sleeping four hours a night while juggling several projects simultaneously. She still managed to publish about four books a year. Now, she’s publishing a book every few months. She says that the inspiration for her novels “fall from the sky,” and about two and a half years later, a novel is complete.
Steel grew up in both the U.S. and France. Her parents divorced when she was very young. She was an only child, and when her mother left, Steel lived alone with her father.
Steel initially thought of being a nun or a fashion designer and attended Parsons School of Design when she was 15. After a soul-crushing critique with a designer from Seventh Avenue, Steel changed gears and worked at a boutique ad agency for a few years while freelancing at the Ladies Home Journal. The Ladies Home Journal publisher encouraged Steel to write a book, so she did. Steel was 19, just married with a new baby, and published her first book, which was sold to Simon & Schuster. She wrote about six more books, but those never went anywhere. Her first husband, 20 years her junior, did not support her writing career. She spent much time writing secretly so she “didn’t bother anyone with it.”
She eventually divorced him and went on to marry someone else. Steel’s life can be its own book, having been married a handful of times, including to an inmate she met while interviewing another inmate for her book. That marriage inspired her bestsellers, “Now and Forever” and “Passion’s Promise.” It turns out that art imitates life as Steel uses her real-life relationships to inspire the storylines in her novels. At least three of Steel’s five husbands have served time for one crime or another.
Celebrating Perseverance
In Tribute to a Remarkable Journey
What I love best about having children is that they fill your life with joy, love, and hope.”
Danielle Steel
Then Steel suffered a significant tragedy with the suicide of her son, and she wrote a book about his life to cope and to shed light on what it was like to be a parent of a bipolar child. In the 90s, mental illness was stigmatized. Living with bipolar disorder wasn’t something people talked about. Doctors didn’t have enough information to diagnose the issue properly, and drugs to help manage it were largely experiments to see what worked. Steel fought for her son, trying to find a treatment therapy that worked, and he finally received medication at 16, which was unheard of at the time. He improved briefly but ultimately took his own life at 19. Steel’s book, “His Bright Light,” is an open and honest account of what it is like to live with untreated bipolar disorder and has been required reading in medical school psychiatry departments.
Besides her bestselling romance novels, Steel has a few children’s book series, Freddie, Max & Martha, and Pretty Minnie. She also has two foundations. One is the Nick Traina Foundation, after her son, which helps prevent suicide and child abuse and provides hands-on support to people with mental illness. The other foundation, Yo! Angel! serves people experiencing homelessness by directly providing food, clothing, bedding, and supplies. Her son also inspired this foundation, as he cared deeply about the welfare of the homeless population and wanted to help.
As illustrious as her writing career is, Steel is a dedicated and devoted mother, fiercely proud and protective of her children. Her love for her children supersedes all of her achievements, and as a mother of adult children, Steel often wrote on her personal blog about how she longs for the day she had all her children under one roof and all the sounds a house full of children brings.
Cheers to Danielle Steel
Raising a Glass to Danielle’s Success
“Writing is a solitary endeavor, but not a lonely one. When you write, your world is populated by the characters you invent, and you feel those people filling your life.”
Danielle Steel
Is it possible to be a huge fan of someone whose books you never read? If so, consider me a Danielle Steel fan. I’m a fan of her boundless energy to write, to chase excellence, and her commitment to better herself with each novel. I’m a fan of her love of her children, her desire to help others, and how honest and vulnerable she has been in hopes that her experience can help others.
Danielle Steel’s legacy is firmly established in the realm of contemporary authors. Her stories are more than tales of romance; they reflect the human experience.
Her journey as a writer, mother, and cultural icon is a story worth celebrating, an invitation to explore the power of storytelling in all its forms. So here’s to you, Danielle Steel – we raise our glitter-filled glasses to the chapters yet to come.
Click the link below to learn more about Danielle Steel’s latest and upcoming releases and the Nick Traina Foundation. Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest as we continue to explore the worlds created by literary luminaries, one cocktail at a time.
Proudly powered by WordPress
