Check out our interview with Emily Zipp, author of "Alice Rue Evades the Truth."
What was your inspiration behind your most recent book?
I was always obsessed with 90s and 00's romcoms. I loved how they made me feel while I watched them, and I wore out some of those DVDs. But as a queer kid who didn't know I was queer, I was always unsure if I wanted to be Meg Ryan or Sandra Bullock, or if I wanted to be with them. When I realized I could try to capture that feeling, but make it queer, it was a no-brainer.
What does Reading Rainbow mean to you?
There is something so special and meaningful when I read a book about someone I can relate to so deeply, someone who reminds me of myself, or my friends. I love being queer — I wouldn't change it for anything — and I think queer love is so special and beautiful. I'm so thrilled to see how many queer and trans romances are being published now, and I'm incredibly proud to be part of that.
Why do you feel representation of a variety of people is so important when it comes to writing books?
I think reading is one of the huge ways that we build empathy. I'll never be an ancient Egyptian or a Holocaust survivor or a cowboy, but I can imagine their lives in rich detail, I can understand their plights and struggles and successes, I can care deeply about the issues they faced. If we're only reading books about people just like us, we're missing out on so much of the world. I think for many people, reading fiction gives us a different, or deeper, understanding of people than non-fiction, or a documentary, or a Wikipedia rabbit hole, and that's so important, especially now.
Tell us a little more about the book and why you decided to write it.
What really gripped me about the concept for "ALICE RUE" was the idea of standing still while everyone around you is moving forward. This woman, living a life paralyzed by grief, painfully alone, who has been spinning her wheels like a car stuck in the mud for years and years with no progress. And then, suddenly she's propelled forward at lightspeed. What happens when everything she wants is handed to her on a platter, and all she has to do in exchange is tell one teeny, tiny lie? That's so compelling to me. And I'm a real sucker for a slow-burn, so the idea that Alice has to decide between this new, beautiful life she's found and this new, beautiful, handsome, incredible woman she's falling in love with? The decision between lying to this family or lying to herself? That's messy, and I love it.
What can fans expect from your book?
Fans can expect big laughs and maybe a cry or two. I always want to write books where the emotional payoff feels earned, there's a healthy dose of longing, and the going gets tough before it gets better. Also, and possibly most importantly, there's a really big dog in the book, and he's a very good boy.
What's up next for you in the bookish world?
I'm currently in revisions for my second novel "THE TWO LIVES OF AMELIA WAXLER," a Sliding Doors-style romcom about two different versions of the same adult woman: one of whom kissed her high school friend Grace during a party, and one of whom didn't. I'm calling it a romcom about regret!
