Sarahlyn Bruck joins me today to talk about her new release, Daytime Drama. Her debut novel, Designer You, won the 2019 Indie Star Book Award and was included on the 2018 “35 Over 35” list. Sarahlyn grew up in the Bay Area and spent a great deal of time in Southern California, where she attended college before moving to West Hollywood. The years of living and working in L.A. gave Sarahlyn a taste for the fun, fast, ambitious, and creative people involved in the entertainment industry. When Sarahlyn and her family moved to Philadelphia in the summer of 2007, she fell in love with the east coast feeling of being close to the center of politics and culture, but she never forgot or lost her affection for the buzz of the entertainment industry. Daytime Drama was born of that love and the cold Philadelphia winter.
SS: Do you have a day job? If so, is it a distraction, or does it add another element to your writing?
SB: I do have a day job. I teach writing and literature full-time at a local community college and I find it both adds to and distracts from my writing. One really lovely thing about my chosen careers is that my brain is almost always working on writing. I don’t have to make a giant mental shift from my job as a writing professor to my job as a writer. Staying in that mental space surely helps keep the creative juices flowing. But there are moments in the semester when I must prioritize my job over my writing. I often have stacks of papers that I need to grade before I can work on my own projects. Usually I can find a balance that works for me, but sometimes my job must come first.
SS: What are you working on at the moment?
SB: I’m currently editing my next novel that’s set in the world of high-level girls’ and women’s soccer. Here’s the pitch: An injured professional soccer player wants nothing more than to get back in the game, but when her father suffers a stroke, she returns home and confronts a horrible past secret. Coming clean will upend her soccer dreams and destroy her relationship with her best friend. But she realizes only honesty can make her whole.
I’ve especially enjoyed writing about soccer because the sport has been part of my life for forty years! I played as a kid and all through high school. And then I picked it back up again as an adult after I had my daughter. And now my daughter plays travel league and high school soccer, so I’ve experienced the sport from all these vantage points.
SS: What is your most recent book? In twenty-five words or less, tell me why your book should be a reader should start your book next.
SB: I think anyone looking for a fun literary escape will be drawn in by Daytime Drama.
SS: Do you generally write in one genre? If so, what is it? And what can readers expect from one of your books?
SB: I write contemporary fiction. Some classify my writing as “women’s” or “book club” fiction. I think my books are stories told with heart and humor, about relatable characters forced in some way out of their comfort zone. They’re great beach or pool reads and also make for good book club conversations.
SS: How did you make the decision regarding point(s) of view?
SB: Daytime Drama’s main character is Callie Hart, but the story is told through multiple points of view. I found each of the cast of characters enjoyable to write and really wanted to get in their heads. Telling the story in this way allows me to reveal certain parts of the plot strategically. Sometimes the reader knows more than other characters and can anticipate how they’ll react. I know as a reader, I love to play along as I read and try to guess where the story will go.
SS: Where is your book set? How did you decide on the setting? When is it set?
SB: Daytime Drama is set in contemporary Hollywood and revolves around people related—directly and tangentially—to the entertainment industry. Callie is a soap opera actress. Her boyfriend, Paul, is a screenwriter. Her young son, Jonah, wants to do stand up.
During a cold winter in Philly in 2017, I made the decision to set this story in Hollywood. I’m a California native and spent a lot of time in the Los Angeles area. Before we moved to Philly in 2007, my husband worked as an editor and assistant editor, and most of our closest friends were involved in the entertainment industry. We knew actors, editors, directors, set and prop designers, comedians—an incredibly sharp, hilarious, creative bunch. I missed that world. And I missed the warm weather! I can’t say writing about Hollywood helped with the cold, but it was fun to live there in my head for a little while.
SS: Which scene did you find the most challenging to write and why?
SB: I found the climax of the book to be the most challenge. This is the critical point in the story where so many of the character arcs must intersect. I love this point in the story, but there must be a payoff for the reader.
SS: How do you feel when you’ve finished writing a novel? Are there any particular characters that you have found it hard to let go of?
SB: I’ve honestly felt very bonded to my characters in Daytime Drama. Finishing this book was very bittersweet. I loved writing each of these characters and wonder where they are in the lives now. Of course, jumping into a new story with new compelling characters is a perfect way to let go of the novel you’ve just finished. But now that I’m promoting Daytime Drama, I quite like thinking about them again!
SS: What do you think are the guidelines for successful women’s fiction?
SB: I go by the WFWA guidelines which say women’s fiction is “stories in which the plot is driven by the main character’s emotional journey.”
SS: What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters of the opposite sex?
SB: For me it’s the voice. I strive to get in their heads and try to portray the male characters as multi-dimensional as I can. And when in doubt, I ask questions. My husband has been very helpful in providing insight into the male brain.
SS: Do you believe in real-life happily-ever-afters? Does women’s fiction have to have a HEA?
SB: I don’t think women’s fiction needs to have a happily-ever-after ending, but most books in the genre do. Or a hopeful ending—a sense that there’s happy out there somewhere.
LIGHTNING ROUND:
SS: Describe your books in 3 words: real Hollywood mom
SS: Favorite thing about your genre? There’s a lovely balance between plot and character
SS: When writing, are you a night owl or morning person? Morning
SS: Pantser or Plotter? Plotter
SS: Book you’re currently reading: The Upstairs House
SS: Your favorite guilty pleasure: Real Housewives of New York
SS: What’s your favorite political movie? Election
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Daytime Drama is available through:
You can see my review of Daytime Drama here.
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