Author Elle van Rijn presented her book ‘Overnight Millionaire’ yesterday. The story of homeless Jerry Winkler who turned out to be the son of a millionaire. For the past few months, Elle has been ‘living’ Jerry in her head, but now everything is finished and she celebrates the weekend as Elle. Although Jerry remains a presence in her life.

Has the weekend already started for you?

“I'm sitting on the terrace at the tennis club and a glass of white wine is just being placed in front of me. So yes, it certainly looks that way.”

A little rest after quite turbulent weeks seems good to me.

“Last week I went to Washington with my oldest daughter Feline, where my oldest son David lived for a year. The three of us went to New York. It was very special to be out and about with my older children. Although I did feel like a walking credit card at times haha. I have a real fashionista as a daughter, so we mainly saw a lot of stores from the inside but also did fun things. This week was of course all about the presentation of my book.”

Did you have time for that, just before the release of your book?

“It worked out perfectly. I've never worked so close to a deadline as I have now, so when the book was finished, I could take a break. I had also just finished the series Dokter Tinus, so it couldn't have worked out better.”

This weekend, is it all about well-deserved rest, with your feet up on the couch and a book in hand?

“Definitely not. Tomorrow morning I first take one of my children to hockey and then I'm the face painting mom at the elementary school party of my children. Can I do that well? Absolutely. If my writing career doesn't work out, I can always hire myself out for parties and events as a face painting lady. On Sunday, I'm with Geert Wilders and Bernard Wientjes at Wakker Nederland and I have a radio interview. Monday morning I'm driving to Hilversum for Koffietijd, so I'm still quite busy.”

If completely trivial matters like deadlines, children's schedules, time differences, and the contents of your purse didn't matter, what would your ideal weekend look like?

“My boyfriend has an apartment at the Italian Lake Como, and a weekend there with him is the best I could wish for. A bit of shopping in Milan, eating antipasti, listening to Italian music or singer-songwriters like Amos Lee, Damian Rice, Eels, and David Gray. Furthermore, enjoying the most beautiful view ever.”

Writing is one thing, but do you even have time in your life to read a book?

“I just finished a book. It's a non-fiction book by Mirjam Hengel, but it reads like a novel because the life story of Leo and Tineke Vroman is so incredibly beautiful. They got engaged during the war, then their paths separated. They didn't see each other for seven years and endured a lot but continued to write to each other. After all those years, they saw each other in New York and eventually got married. What a story.”

What should people especially do this weekend?

“Run to the store, or go to Bol.com and buy my book of course. It's really a very beautiful, poignant, and touching story. Read it.”