“As soon as I started writing Immersions I knew the bad boy of the novel would be named Johnny. All bad boys are named Johnny: all drifters, no-good charmers, and sweet, shiftless men.”
“When I was writing my debut novel Frida Slattery As Herself, though, things were different. I was thinking about big beautiful pop music – the feelings of euphoria or heartbreak that a key change or a bridge can bestow on you, and the way the best pop music always takes you by surprise somehow.”
“Like a lot of writers, I’m distractable. Scare quotes “Attention Deficit.” Nothing is harder sometimes than just sitting down and writing the thing I am so desperately excited to write—especially when the world gets chaotic and nasty outside. Music is a tool I use to block out the metaphorical and literal noise.”
“I have a DJ past, and the soundtrack was a way for me to add new layers of subtext to the writing.”
“In our hyper-informed digital era of patriarchal panic, climate catastrophe, and historically unmatched migration that frequently confronts unutterable violence, this book foregrounds hope as a form of resistance”
“The devouring monster that my protagonist can seem to be is a reflection on our overwhelming consumption, which will in fact devour our world.”
“As I’ve put this playlist together, and the book for that matter, there’s an obvious trajectory from isolation to connection. Isn’t that what it’s all about?”
“This playlist traces that arc: from heartland rock’s narratives of survival to the hyper-produced imperatives of pop, where freedom is marketed as a reward for submission.”
“Music runs throughout The Soldier’s House as this plot unfolds, played on a little cassette recorder, the car radio, on an iPod (remember those?), or simply in the heads of the characters, especially that of little Tariq, who is only five years old when the novel opens and becomes quickly besotted with American pop music.”
“Music is an amazing tone-setter for a writing day.”