Okay, you know how they always say you can't be friends if you just know the person on social media? So, so not true. That's how I met Yvonne Prinz and I am telling you, we must have been sisters in a past life. We love the same things, especially movies, and whatever Yvonne tells me to watch, I immediate do, because she's got an instinct for greatness. She's the co-owner of the uber-cool Amoeba Music and the author of All You Get is Me, The Vinyl Princess, Still There Clare, Double Dare Clare, Not Fair Clare. I'm absolutely jazzed that Yvonne and I now share the same publisher, Algonquin! And I'm thrilled to have her here to talk about her haunting new novel, If You're Lucky. Thank you for everything, Yvonne.
I always have to ask, what sparked this book? What was the
thing haunting you so you felt you had to write this?
There were several things that came together in me to write
this story. Over many years of working on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley I
noticed that a lot of the homeless people showed signs of Schizophrenia. After
some research I found that approximately 200,000 individuals with schizophrenia
or manic-depressive illness are homeless, constituting one-third of the
approximately 600,000 homeless population in the U.S. That’s a staggering
number and indicative of a broken system. I read a lot about the illness and I
felt that it would make a great book if I could somehow incorporate it into a
thriller. I wasn’t looking to write a Gone Girl type of book, I wanted to write
something that could get a little more inside the head of a schizophrenic.
I love the
northern California coastline. As you travel north toward Oregon on Highway 1,
the hamlets become increasingly secluded but so beautiful. The fog blankets
that coast almost every day in the summer. I’ve long wanted to create a story
around one of these hamlets and I felt this was the perfect story to place
there.
I watched
an Andy Griffith episode called “The Stranger” where a man arrives in town and
he seems to know more about the locals than they’re comfortable with. He wants
to make it his new hometown. Turns out he subscribed to the local paper for
years. Of course Andy steps in and makes the folks in Mayberry feel ashamed for
not embracing the guy. I kept thinking about
working with this theme but then I arrived at a version where the stranger
is loved by everyone in False Bay, (because their prodigal son has just died
and they are vulnerable), everyone, that is, but my main character, Georgia.
What I particularly loved about this book--among many
things--is the whole issue of Georgia taking meds to still the voices in her
head. And when she stops, to try and solve a crime--she can never be sure if
her interpretations are real or the result of her hearing voices again. It was
chilling, real and moving. And Georgia is just a brilliantly realized
character. Did you do research on this?
What surprised you about it?
Schizophrenia, I found, is a very difficult illness to
treat. What works for one person might not work for another. Also,
schizophrenics are notorious for going off their meds because of the negative
side effects or because they don’t actually believe that they’re ill. I was
very moved by a couple of TED talks, and a book written by a teenage
schizophrenic. All of these people were incredibly bright and all three had
been off their meds at one time or another and the results were disastrous. I
wanted to give my character a solid reason for wanting to get off her
meds. Georgia believes that her dead
brother is trying to tell her something important and she can only hear him if
she’s un-medicated. This seemed like a perfect jumping off point for the abyss
she eventually falls into.
The most surprising thing I discovered in my research is the
number of people who struggle with this illness and how little it’s talked
about and how misinformed the general public is about it. Writing this book
created empathy in me for people who endure the illness and especially toward
the schizophrenics who are homeless, undiagnosed, un-medicated, and live that
nightmare daily. The most important thing I learned that I would hope to impart
on my readers is that these people are hardly ever dangerous except to
themselves. The media has created a lot of misconceptions about this.
I also love the tagline on the jacket--Who Decides What’s
Real? It’s really a book about trusting yourself, no matter what anyone else
says or thinks, isn’t it?
Yes. In Georgia’s case though, the struggle to make people
believe what she’s convinced is the truth is almost insurmountable because of
her past reputation for not trusting strangers and her tendency to fabricate
stories about newcomers. She’s the ultimate in unreliable narrators. As a
reader, you want to believe everything she tells you but…
What kind of writer are you? Do you outline and map things
out, or do you just sort of follow your pen?
A bit of both. I start with an outline. I write elaborate
character sketches. And then I start building. I rarely stick to my outline and
I often write secondary outlines as I go just to keep myself somewhat on track.
My books never turn out how I initially visualized them. This is especially
true for “If You’re Lucky”. I did eleven complete rewrites on it. It’s the only
book I’ve ever cried over (out of self pity mostly, but also frustration) My
editors at Algonquin had some fabulous insight and really helped me find the
best way to tell this story. I am so grateful.
You’re also the owner of the very famous Amoeba Records and
you’re a film buff. How do those two
impact your writing--and your writing life?
I’m not sure this is because of Amoeba or because I’m just
generally a music person but I write to a soundtrack that plays in my head, not
a musical score but real songs. I often stop while I’m writing to find a song
that speaks to a scene. I listen to it a couple of times and get back to work.
It’s like my writing adrenaline. Also, every one of my books has a musical element.
In “If You’re Lucky” it’s Gypsy Jazz. My character Fin is the son of a famous
Gypsy Jazz guitarist and this has a strong bearing on how Fin came to be what
he is.
The film buff thing is torture. I write (and rewrite) overly
cinematic scenes. I inevitably have to shave them down but ultimately I think
it’s a good thing to have great films running through your head while you
write. I am annoying in my conversations with people about film. I honestly
don’t understand people who don’t go to the movies. Who doesn’t want to escape
for two hours? I certainly do.
What’s obsessing you now and why?
I obsess over everything. There is no such thing as mild
interest in the way I live. If I read a good author I want everything they
wrote, same with music, art, photography, film. Even a color, when I like it,
becomes an obsession. Right now I am also obsessing over a YA novel rewrite,
which will hopefully be finished by the time people are reading this. My
character is a violinist in a Celtic Punk Band so there’s a lot of listening to
music. Her baby brother is autistic so that too is consuming me these days. I’m
also an obsessive food forager, but I think that’s healthy (maybe?) If you tell
me what you are looking for food-wise, I can probably find you a source, no
matter how exotic it is. There is an actual food forager job these days: People
who source foods for chefs. This is what I’m going to do if no one likes my
book. I will be the best damn food forager in the nation and possibly the
world.
What question didn’t I ask that I should have?
You’ve been away from the world of YA writing for a while.
How does it feel to be back?
I feel like the old dancer in A Chorus Line who says “Can
the adults smoke?”
And finally, when are you coming to visit?
Soon, Darling, soon. And we’ll tear it up. We’ll hit every
movie theatre in every borough.
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