A visit with the Rebel Debutante

Author Anna Fields was in town recently to read from her upcoming book, “Confessions of a Rebel Debutante.” The memoir tells the story of the North Carolina native’s brief affiliation with the debutante process.

We caught up with her for a quick chat.

“I went through all of cotillion, learned how to bow and curtsy,” she said. “I did want to be a debutante but I had a little rebel in me.”

Guess how things worked out?

“I was too rebellious,” said Fields, 27.

Not that her post-deb life ended badly. An Ivy League grad, she is based in New York now, having spent time in Los Angeles. She who has written for soaps like “Guiding Light,” “As the World Turns,” and “One Life to Live.”

Fields is expanding her Rebel Deb line to feature clothing, jewelry and stationery.

“My business now is all about empowering the hearts and minds and spirits of young women,” said Fields. Although she never took that final curtsy, she says her debutante experience had its benefits.

“I feel like I wouldn’t be where I am today without that basis,” she said. “You can’t bend the rules without learning them first.”

Her book, billed as a cross between “Pledged” and ”Gone with the Wind,” comes out next year. Fields’ visit to the ATL happened right about the time some folks were hyperventilating over First Lady Michelle Obama’s visit to Queen Elizabeth, so we asked for Fields’ take.

“Yes, she absolutely broke protocol, and thank goodness!” she said. “So what if it’s technically inappropriate to jump to PDA’s with your “betters,” like, say, the Queen of England? Michelle Obama isn’t English, isn’t inferior to the English Queen, and thus, doesn’t need to worry about maintaining a protocol she had no part in designing. Like any true Rebel Debutante, she took the situation into her own hands, followed her instincts and showed the old monarch some love. I now consider Michelle an official Rebutante!”