Maria Semple, This One is Mine

The problem with discovering an author you like is that when you find out there's not another book readily available to read by said author, you have to sit on your hands and just wait until they produce another one. Maria Semple's debut novel, This One is Mine,

left me longing for another good story. I didn't even realize this until yesterday but Maria is an Emmy nominated producer who worked on such shows as Arrested Development, Mad About You and Suddenly Susan.

Here's what I wrote on my review on GoodReads.com (and if you aren't a member, you should be- its a great way to see what people are reading)-

I began this last night and read until the wee hours of the morning. It was just the type of book I was in the mood for. Set in Los Angeles, the story is about Violet and David Parry. They live a charmed life- a big house high in the hills of Hollywood, millions of dollars in their bank account, a nanny and fancy cars. But naturally all is not what it seems as Violet becomes increasingly depressed and finds solace in a low life ex drug addict named Teddy. Meanwhile, Sally- David's sister, wants to get married and live a rich and fabulous life, something like what Violet has. I love the contract between Sally and Violet, each striving for what they don't have but want. The author is brilliant at criss-crossing the lives of the characters until they are intertwined and unexpected things happen. I was sad to see this end. If you are looking for a modern story set against the backdrop of Los Angeles with tragic and quirky characters, well written and intriguing, this is your book!

Maria so kindly answered some of my questions. I was thinking about all the things I wanted to ask her while I was reading the book. And just so you know, some parts of the book had me laughing out loud. That's not easy to do. Long after I closed the book I was pondering the characters and the things they did. I'm still thinking about the story.

The characters are quirky and relatable. Is there anyone in your real life that you patterned these people after?

I knew the main stories I wanted to tell-- Violet's and Sally's-- and in serving those, I grabbed details from people I knew, but nobody in particular. A cursory reading of my bio will tell you that, like Violet, I was a TV writer who lived in Los Angeles and had a baby. Other similarities: I lived along Mulholland, am kind of compulsive about remodeling houses, am a vegetarian, am really into RIE, and at one point weighed more than Alan Iverson.

I love the way you made all the characters lives come together in unexpected ways. I thought it was rather brilliant. How did you plot or outline the novel?

First of all, thank you. Like I said, I had the skeleton of Violet's and Sally's stories before I began. And I knew how I wanted David to fit in-- that I wanted him to be dormant throughout the book, for the reader to think of him as an jerk. Then, half-way through, I wanted the reader to realize that they had him all wrong. But scene-by-scene, I was constantly surprising myself with details that I knew would have to reappear, somehow, later in the book. So the outline was a breathing, changing document, even more than the manuscript itself.

You've written for television- how different is it to write for tv versus writing a book?

I'm a freak for plot and story, which totally comes from TV. A large part of TV is "breaking stories"-- or outlining. Because in TV you only have 22 minutes to tell a story. (I fear I just dated myself. I think these days they only have 18 minutes!) So you spend a whole lot of time examining scenes and making sure they're as tight as possible. I also got became accustomed to telling a story in dialogue and facts. There isn't a lot of description in my book. Mainly because I didn't know if I had the chops to fill the book with long flowery descriptions.

The biggest and scariest difference between books and TV is that with a book, there's no one to blame but yourself! In TV, if the work isn't great, you can always hide behind the network notes or the actors or the constraints of the medium. But the book is like me handing you something and saying, "Here. Here's the best I can do."

There are bits of humorous one liners and funny scenes but its not always obvious. Did you ever worry that the reader won't "get it"?

No. And I think that was a reaction to my years in TV where the network always wants you to write down to the lowest common denominator. (I'll add that most of the great shows, like Arrested Development did no such thing and got taken off the air for it!) What I was concerned about was telling my story in the most accurate way possible. I trusted my instincts and never worried about the reader "getting" it. What I did worry about was the reader putting down the book.

What was your path to writing a novel? Was it hard to find an agent?

I always wanted to write a novel, but I thought novels were for other, smarter people to write. And then, one day, I thought, screw it, I'm just going to give it a try. I had been rereading Anna Karenina at the time, and was about to reread The House of Mirth. So I thought-- Hey, maybe I should try to write something like that. I wrote THIS ONE IS MINE in about a year. I tried to get an agent after the fourth draft. I knew from TV that agents don't matter as much as the strength of the material. So I worked really hard to make it good before looking for an agent. My agent, Kassie Evashevski, was a friend of a friend. So I called her up and, lucky for me, she really dug it.

Can you see your book as a movie? Who would play the key roles?

I'm in my mid-forties, so when it comes to a heroine, I always think of Meg Ryan. But a big part of Violet is that she's let herself go. So I don't know what actress out there is brave enough to let herself look fat and disgusting. Of course, by fat and disgusting, I mean, wear a size 10 and not be completely disfigured by botox.

Have you been swept up in the Twilight phenomenon?

I'm waiting for my daughter to be old enough and read them with her. No doubt we'll both become complete addicts.

What's the last book you read?

WHEN WE WERE ROMANS by Matthew Kneale. Just so so fantastic. It's a real charmer, told from the point of view of an eight year old boy, about his trip across Europe with his mentally ill mother. It's funny and suspenseful and written in a voice you won't forget.

And what's next for you?

I'm working on my second novel. It's about two adult sisters who grew up in Aspen, Colorado. (Like I did.) One sister is a mother of twins and has lived the life that her prestigious family has passed down to her. The other sister is a screw-up who has rejected her family identity but has never found another one. It's similar to THIS ONE IS MINE in that it's detailed and funny and complex plot-wise. And it's also very much a novel of place, this one being the Rocky Mountains. I love writing novels more than anything and can't wait to devote all my time to this next book.