Jocelyn Davies One-on-One Interview with Jay Asher Jay Asher Jocelyn Davies JA: The Odds of Lightning feels like a love letter to New York City. What is it about New York that made it such a magical place to set your story? And what are some of your favorite, magical places in New York? JD: New York truly is a place that has its own magnetic force. It’s this big place with some of the tallest buildings in the world, and millions of people living and working and laughing and crying and dreaming and struggling and celebrating in every one of them at any given second. People come here from all over to live out their own stories. It’s a place where stories happen. With so many people living out their own stories simultaneously, it’s impossible not to think about the twists of fate that cause peoples’ lives to intersect. That idea is a big part of what inspired The Odds of Lightning. I think that’s why so many books and movies take place here. There are infinite possibilities, in life and in art. As far as magical places, there are so many—but I have some favorites. Wollman Rink: What’s more magical than ice skating in the middle of Central Park? Nothing makes you feel more like a character in a New York City romantic comedy. The Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art: The ruins of an Egyptian temple transplanted in a giant glass-enclosed room. There’s something about being there that makes you want to whisper. The Museum of Natural History is one of my favorite places in the city. I used to go there all the time as a kid (I really did slide down the giant jade slab in the minerals and gems room like Will and Lu) so it was special for me to include it in the book. Driving across the Brooklyn Bridge in a taxi with the windows down fills me with love for New York, every time. Whether I’m going towards Manhattan, and the famous skyline is backlit by the sun or glittering at night, or toward Brooklyn, it just feels like home. In this story, when lightning strikes Tiny, Lu, Nathaniel and Will, something extraordinary happens: their deepest insecurities become physically real (Tiny turns invisible, Lu turns numb, etc...). If lightning struck you as a teenager, what fear would have manifested for you? What about if lightning struck you now? In the book, Tiny loves this line from The Great Gatsby about “the unreality of reality”, and the rock of the world being founded securely on a fairy’s wing. And that’s how I felt a lot of the time—that life was always shifting beneath me, that things were always one heartbeat away from changing in unpredictable ways. The thing was, I wanted them to. Part of what inspired this book was the memory of how powerfully I wanted things to change. To be better than I was, smarter than I was, cooler than I was, more confident, happier, bolder, etc. The feeling of wanting more was all consuming. So maybe that would have manifested in being constantly, insatiably hungry for more. I probably relate to Tiny more now—that feeling of wanting to be heard and understood (both insecurities are probably why I became a writer!). On a more fun note, if lightning gave you magical powers, what would you want yours to be? And you can't say flying because that's obvious. (It's also my answer, so I want something more creative!) Don’t worry, you can have flying! I would want the ability to teleport anywhere in the world (or out of this world!!) in the blink of an eye. I could see all my friends near and far whenever I wanted, travel to all the places on my international bucket list—even the really far places, like Australia and Japan—at the drop of a hat, avoid the subway rush hour commute. And as a bonus, I’d never be late! Are you more of a Tiny, Lu, Nathaniel or Will? Or are you a bit of each of them? I was involved in my high school literary magazine, like Tiny, and I studied theater, like Lu, but on some level I’ve been a bit of all four of the main characters, at various points in my life. I have this hunch that a lot of readers might feel that way too. I think most people go through phases where they question who they are, hold back from going for what they really want, fear getting hurt, and feel invisible. Tiny, Lu, Nathaniel and Will’s stories are specific to their unique characters, but they also have a somewhat universal quality. Going back to the subject of New York, what are some of your favorite books, movies, or songs about that city? There are so many!! This city has inspired me so much over the years! Some of my all-time favorite New York movies are When Harry Met Sally, You’ve Got Mail, Annie Hall, Newsies, The Royal Tennebaums, and Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist (the movie—and the book!). Favorite New York books also include The Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, A Visit from the Goon Squad, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, The History of Love, Really Rosie, Harriet the Spy, Ezra Jack Keats’ picture books The Snowy Day and Regards to the Man in the Moon—and last but definitely not least, Eloise. New York is a place that can veer in a second from romantic and aspirational and full of magic, to scary and dark, to hilariously funny and absurd. I know you grew up in NYC, like the characters in your book. Do you have a “crazy New York” story that simply would not have happened to those of us who grew up in a smaller town? Because the city is so big and full of possibility, my friends and I did have a lot of weird, random adventures. One time, a very nice older waiter at a restaurant was telling me all about how his son was in this band, and they were playing a show that weekend at this cool music venue, and that I should go. I had never heard of the band and had never met this person before in my life, but I made my best friend go to the show with me. I think I thought it was one of those twists of fate that could change your life, and the waiter’s son and I were going to fall in love, like Lu when she first sees Owen’s band in The Odds of Lightning. In real life, I think my friend and I felt weird and left without even saying hi. You’re also a YA book editor—in fact, you edited one of MY books. (I know I’ve told you this, but you were so wonderful to work with. And yes, you need to print that!) Have you learned anything as an editor that’s helped you as a writer—or maybe the other way around? Thank you! And you were wonderful to work with as well! There were a lot of fun brainstorming phone calls. I’ve learned a lot about the process of crafting a novel from working with so many talented writers and editors over the years! I learn new skills and lessons all the time, both while editing, and while being edited (I am one of those writers who loves the process of being edited and revising—it all helps you get closer to the story you’re trying to tell). Writing and editing are two such different parts of the brain—and you can’t really use both at the same time. Writing is boundless—you do a lot of experimenting, letting your imagination run wild, trying new things and seeing what works. Editing is about reining in, taking all that raw material and helping shape it into a story with a beginning, middle and end, consistent characters, satisfying emotional arc, logical world rules. They’re almost opposites, in a way, but it’s a symbiotic relationship. At the end of the day, they’re both working toward the same end goal.
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