Olde

Turudich says she's met people who believe they were reincarnated into the present from the '20s, '30s or '40s. I find that incredibly creepy, just like I find World War II re-enactments (for which her books can be used) creepy—and "re-enactment" in general kind of creepy.

"You know, whatever floats your boat. The world's a big place," she says in a most diplomatic way. "It doesn't creep me out. If you're interested in it, go do it—as long as you're not hurting anybody." Kind of creepy.

She will meet me halfway on the whole creepy thing in one area, though. "You know what I find creepy? When people claim they're being individuals, but they're just copying someone else. It's one thing to find someone pretty and to emulate them, but it becomes a problem when they're actually seriously trying to be someone else—like trying to be Betty Grable or Marilyn Monroe or Louise Brooks. They're human beings, and they're dead, and there's only one of them, you know? Appreciate that style, and think it's pretty, and adapt it to your life without trying to be it. I think there's a fine line between appreciating the beauty and re-creating a certain person."