October 2024

An interview with Olesya Lyuzna, a spooky Hitchcock-y book event, and please please please don't embarass me mother*cker...by not voting

What’s new

Hello friends! I’ve got some fun things to share this month—earlier in the year, I started partaking in a writing accountability group through the sublime Edan Lepucki, and met my accountability buddy, an excellent writer named Cameron Walker (whose collection of short stories, How to Capture Carbon, just came out!).

Cameron interviewed me (among other writers) for this article about dealing with distractions and interruptions while writing—it’s full of helpful suggestions!

Writers: How to Avoid Constantly Being Interrupted—And When to Embrace It

Narratively also shared the playlist I’m listening to currently as I write (it’s bananas all over the place, good luck picking up a vibe from it) which was cool! I recorded a podcast with Kate from Bookwild about hyped books we haven’t yet read, which unintentionally turned into a platform highlighting men (yikes! If this turns into a men’s rights newsletter, please someone stage an intervention).

Finally, I’m SO excited about the book event I’m moderating for Stephanie Wrobel’s spooky-fun thriller, The Hitchcock Hotel, this Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 6pm at Zibby’s Bookstore in Santa Monica. It’s gonna be fun and free! Join us here!

Olesya Lyuzna lives in Toronto, where she spends her free time hosting murder mystery parties and scouring the archives for unsolved crimes. Her debut 1920s queer noir novel Glitter in the Dark is forthcoming from Mysterious Press in Spring 2025. [Editor’s note: I met Olesya through PitchWars way back in 2020 and am so excited to be sharing these steps in her pub journey!]

Where do you go to refill your creative well?

I love going to the movies. There are a few old theatres in Toronto that hold a special place in my heart, and I visit them with a sort of religious fervor (shoutout to the Revue!). I recently had the time of my life at the Vintage Film Festival in Port Hope, where I got to spend a full weekend watching old films in a theatre restored to its original 1930s charm, the ceiling painted to look like a starry sky, the walls lined with yellow castle turrets. 

I relish the feeling of sitting in the dark, surrounded by strangers, united only by our desire to watch the same film. These old movie theatres also transport me back in time, which is invaluable as I write about the 1920s. In another life, I’d love to own and operate my own vintage theatre, restored to its original splendor, exclusively showing films from before the 1950s—even if it’s highly unprofitable!

What was the last piece of art—book, show, movie, whatever—that made you want to create something?

A fellow film lover recommended Lonesome (1928), a silent romance that follows two lonely working-class people enjoying their day off at Coney Island. They connect instantly—complete with a fortune teller's promise of love, funfair games, a dip in the water, and a frantic search for a lost ring. They share a couple of meaningful conversations, but the film doesn't push the love-at-first-sight narrative. Instead, it presents a fleeting connection, offering a temporary escape from loneliness.

And then they lose each other in the crowd. 

It hits you out of nowhere, and it hits hard. The thought of meeting someone you really like and never seeing them again—it’s not the end of the world, but it stayed with me for days. In today's hyper-connected world, where finding someone online is a few clicks away, this film made me reconsider our fear of missed connections and inspired a new story.

Spoiler alert: they do find each other again. The credits roll on a happy ending. If the spoiler doesn’t deter you, I highly recommend this one. It’s a stunning film from an era when studios were transitioning to talkies, but still had all the equipment and techniques to produce truly poignant silent films.

What factors have to come together for you to feel your most creative?

• Stability. I need a good routine. My most exciting work is created in the most boring environments, when there’s absolutely nothing worthwhile going on in my life (that’s why my writing took off during the pandemic). I need a solid block of writing time every day, otherwise I lose momentum and it takes a while to get back into it. While total isolation is no longer a possibility (or a priority) for me, I do become more selective about the people I interact with when I’m deep in a new project. I’m quite sensitive to other people's energy, so the vibes need to be just right.

• Immersion. Most of my work is set in the 1920s and 1930s, so I love haunting online archives, reading the papers and magazines that my characters might’ve read. While 99% of this research won’t make it into my final draft, it deeply informs my understanding of the era. I also pile up stacks upon stacks of biographies, cultural history books, and anything that could remotely inform my story. I’ve also recently started drafting scenes on an old typewriter. It helps me connect with the tactile aspects of my main character’s life as an advice columnist, letting me slip more authentically into her shoes.

• Community. Writing is such a solitary activity, but I couldn’t survive without my writing friends. I tend to get pretty obsessive about whatever I’m currently working on, and it’s wonderful to have people who understand, and to bounce ideas off each other, share early drafts, and commiserate about various steps of this journey.

What do you think people would be most surprised to discover you're obsessed with?

Letters! Writing, reading, sending, or receiving, I have this fascination with traditional handwritten letters. It started with Letters Against Isolation, a volunteer effort where you can send letters to seniors to help them feel less alone. I try to send a few letters each month, and I highly encourage everyone to sign up (especially if you can write in languages other than English, no matter how poorly - I’ve been sending some letters in Russian). 

I also keep in touch with a few penpals. I enjoy the process of getting to know people at a slower pace. I find that I can be more candid in a letter - something about the process is really therapeutic, almost like writing a diary entry. 

Finally, I recently ordered a mystery lot of vintage love letters off eBay, all of them addressed to someone named Harvey in the 50s/60s. There are some intense confessions in there, and it’s such an interesting way to piece together Harvey’s identity - granted, it’s a limited portrait as each letter writer is an unreliable narrator, but I love the mystery. On a fun note, I now have a full arsenal of quirky vintage signoffs I’m totally going to start using (my favourite is “Love and other indoor sports,”). [Editor’s note: OMG there’s a great book idea in here!!]

Which book would you like to live in for a day, and why?

I love Sara Gran’s Claire DeWitt series, and I’d like to inhabit Claire’s wonderful mind for a day (it would be fun to be known as the World’s Best Detective, even though some might debate that title). This series is weird and wonderful, sort of like a grown-up Nancy Drew reimagined by David Lynch. It’s a meta exploration of detective work, where the facts of the case often take a backseat to more esoteric methods like tarot, the I Ching, and various omens and symbols. I love the odd, winding paths Claire takes to find answers and the unexpected places she ends up.

What draws you to noir?

Noir is a promise of life after tragedy, which hits especially hard during these turbulent times. It understands that happiness is fleeting and doesn't bother chasing it - a refreshing perspective when everywhere else you look, you're hit with messages about how you could be blissfully happy if only you buy this or choose that. 

Noir turns that idea on its head. Maybe you’re not meant to be happy all the time, but maybe that’s not such a bad thing. Suppose the odds are stacked against you, the woman you love is plotting your downfall, and the real criminals walk free while you’re losing bits of your soul chasing a dream that was never yours to catch. But hell, you’re still kicking, still got those sunsets, your old haunts, a stiff drink at the end of the day. And maybe that’s enough.

What would you like to shamelessly plug?

Well, since you asked, I'd love to shamelessly plug Glitter in the Dark, my debut historical mystery novel coming out in April 2025 from Mysterious Press!

The story follows Ginny Dugan, an ambitious advice columnist who witnesses a kidnapping at a Harlem speakeasy, and teams up with a detective to crack the case. It’s my love letter to the 1920s—an era bursting with change and excitement, yet still held back by prejudice and inequality. This book was my excuse to dive deep into research: learning to Charleston, seeking out silent film screenings, and devouring books by rebellious women (I highly recommend Ursula Parrott's Ex-Wife for a bright, brutal take on breakup recovery, '20s style)!

So, if you're into messy heroines, the grit and glamour of show business, and a dash of forbidden romance, I think you'll enjoy Glitter in the Dark!

My tabs

• Election Day is an actual week away! Please, please, please get out and vote, even if you’re ambivalent, even if you don’t think your vote makes a difference: it does. For someone out there, your vote has the power to change lives. If you need voting resources, this is a great roundup.

• If you’re Doomscrolling, why not check out this trippy novella that uses Law & Order SVU as a starting point?

• I usually wind up watching Goodfellas once a year, but I had no idea that Joe Pesci’s ex-wife tried to take out a hit on another of her husbands.

• I have no idea what rabbit hole got me to Michael Rockefeller’s disappearance in the Amazon but I’m now low-key obsessed and if anyone has any recs for more on this story, I will take them.

• I don’t know why, but I find reading these movie terms so fascinating/satisfying.