Author Katie Yee on the power of mythology and milkshakes

In writer Katie Yee’s debut novel, the primary character finds out her husband is having an affair. Then she’s recognized with breast most cancers.

“If you happen to have been to explain this to somebody in actual life, they’d be like, ‘That will by no means occur that means,'” Yee advised IPR. “However I believe in actual life it truly is an onslaught of the great and the dangerous.”

When Yee started writing “Maggie; or, A Man and a Girl Stroll Right into a Bar,” she envisioned a brief story. However she quickly discovered extra to say about this story and the ebook took her to some shocking locations.

She’ll discuss that at the National Writers Series on July 25, in a dialog with IPR’s Ellie Katz. Right here, Yee talks with IPR’s Ed Ronco upfront of her go to.

Take heed to their dialog within the audio participant above.

Interview transcript

Fiction authors most likely get this query loads, however is your story taken from actual life in any means?

I believe individuals often count on debut novelists to write down slightly little bit of autofiction. And I imply, completely, I like so many unbelievable books which have come out not too long ago which might be primarily based on the info of an writer’s life. However for me, breast most cancers, divorce, motherhood, these weren’t issues that I personally have skilled firsthand, however I’ve seen so many family members undergo all of this stuff. And I needed to form of honor their tales with this one.

You might have performed a variety of brief story work, and this ebook began that means. Is that? Proper?

Sure, she began as a brief story that form of simply bought slightly bit too massive. She saved rolling away from me.

I’ve heard authors say that they get to know their characters. They get to overlook their characters after they cease writing them, they need to spend extra time with them. Did you’re feeling that means with this course of versus, say, a brief story?

I positively did. I imply, I used to be engaged on this ebook on and off for the previous like 5 years. Undoubtedly, when she began, it had far more to do with the divorce and with the most cancers. The youngsters have been truly like an actual shock to me after I was after I was writing it, I used to be stunned at how a lot I loved, form of embodying the expertise of motherhood on the web page.

Once I was taking this novel fairly significantly, two fairly main issues have been taking place: The primary being that I entered my late 20s and moved in with my boyfriend, who, by the best way, is from the Midwest. He is bought household in Michigan. Everybody’s very excited that we’re coming to Traverse Metropolis. We moved in collectively, and I began to get all these questions on once we have been going to get married, if we have been going to have kids. After which the second factor that occurred was the pandemic, and with that got here all this violence that was taking place towards Asian People.

The completion of those two issues made me actually take into consideration what it could be wish to convey kids into the world who even half appeared like me, who I could not shield from these bigger wounds of racism or analysis or heartbreak.

Did writing the ebook educate you any classes as you stay up for your future?

I am undecided. I am nonetheless undecided. I believe the best way that I course of a variety of life is thru writing is on the web page. So I believe that is, it is a query that I’d maintain returning to. However I had a variety of enjoyable writing the youngsters, proper? Like, I believe whenever you’re younger, earlier than any of your mates have had youngsters, you are perhaps eager about motherhood when it comes to, are you able to afford childcare? Or, does childbirth damage? Issues like that.

And I believe this ebook was actually a possibility for me to take a seat with, like, the day-to-day of it proper, to be like, what would it not be wish to be checking their homework on the finish of the day and watching the best way that they cross their t’s and dot their i’s. Like, how does that change?

Do you keep in mind whenever you first realized you appreciated writing? Possibly not, whenever you determined I’ll be a Author with a capital W, however when was the second in your life the place you have been like, “Hey, I like this, and I am form of good at it?”

I’ve by no means needed to do the rest. I went to my dad’s home not too long ago, and I discovered this outdated diary from elementary college, and I had a listing of profession choices for myself. Primary was author. I believe quantity two was pop star. I am a horrible singer in order that was a non starter. I believe three was gardener, which, I imply I do love flowers, however I believe I had the priorities, proper from a younger age.

However I credit score a lot of my love of tales to my mom. We had this unbelievable ritual after I was in preschool the place on Mondays, she would take me to this diner that’s not round — the Seaport Diner. It was like a 5 minute stroll from our home, and we might sit there after after preschool, and I might have a plate of french fries and a vanilla milkshake.

My mom was a classics main in school, so she loves mythology. She loves Greek myths particularly. And she or he would simply sit there and inform me tales whereas I used to be consuming my french fries and after which she would form of flip it round. ‘Hey, you inform me a narrative now.’ And that’s utterly the place my my love of writing got here from.

We inform tales in journalism. You are telling a narrative as a novelist. We’re in a society proper now that feels prefer it’s transferring very quick, and there is all these items taking place. Can we spend sufficient time with story, doing the issues that you just simply described on the diner, sitting and telling one another tales, whether or not that is via a ebook or a radio broadcast or over a milkshake?

I am an optimist, so I am gonna say sure. I imply, I believe within the age of social media, there’s a lot in regards to the clickbaityheadline, Concerning the fast one liner, that hook. However with it, I do see a deep love of like, sharing bits of your day, sharing, sharing humorous tidbits on Tiktok. And particularly as a result of I believe we have been gravitating a lot away from textual content once more, again into podcasts, again into radio, you recognize, Tiktok or Instagram reels being like a visible, video-first medium — I form of suppose we’re coming again to an age of nice orators, and I am actually enthusiastic about that.

All people experiences books in several means, however for you because the writer — how would you advocate individuals learn this ebook? Is that this a curl up on the sofa ebook? Is that this a go to a espresso store ebook? Park bench? Trip learn? Proper earlier than mattress? What’s your best setting for any individual to expertise your work?

I like this query. I believe it is a purchase a duplicate at a bookstore together with your greatest pal, and perhaps each sit down with a giant spicy Margarita.

That is a unbelievable reply.

This transcript was evenly edited for readability.