Rebecca's Interview with Lisa Goldstein

Author of Dark Cities Underground

Rebecca :
I know you said you were not great at interviews, I wonder if you realize these eInterviews are all handled via eMail. Then we post the Interview to the site & because I've already reviewed Dark Cities Underground we'll Spotlite it at the same time. I've thought to devote the month of August to THE BRAZEN HUSSIES.
 
Lisa :
If you're going to devote August to us, how can I resist? And this format does seem very easy.
 
Rebecca :
Great! Why subways?
 
Lisa :
Lots of reasons. I was fascinated by the Underground when I was in London -- parts of it are over a hundred years old, an antique by American standards, yet it's still being used by thousands of people every day. There's all this history -- the abandoned stations, and the way stations were used as bomb shelters during World War II -- and a lot of legends, like the persistent one that people live down there and have formed communities and never venture aboveground. I like the idea that there's this whole world existing underneath the one we know, one that we pay little attention to and that -- in my book at least -- turns out to be far weirder than we think.

Lots of people apparently share this fascination. Just when I finished researching the London Underground Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere came out, and I had to run out and get a copy, hoping it wasn't too similar to my story. Fortunately it wasn't -- though I did recognize exactly where Gaiman did his research.
 
Rebecca :
I too would dream of sub-cultures in the tunnels that fell away into dark when I commuted to school in the London Underground & I was also there for the inaugural Bay Area BART rides.

When I thought about Ruthie & her pursuit of her “story” I was surprised by how much I liked her, especially as I don't usually like people so set on snooping into other's pasts. How difficult was it to think like a reporter & keep hunting for clues?
 
Lisa :
Not too difficult. Having her be a reporter was a good way to keep the plot moving, as it turned out -- she could discover answers that would raise more questions, and then discover that answers to those .... I did intentionally make her a little too curious, someone who wanted to get those answers at all costs, but then she does realize at the end that it's wrong to violate other people's privacy the way she did.
 
Rebecca :
What are the differences between writing about the worlds of fantasy & the modernday reality of Dark Cities Underground?
 
Lisa :
Well, there are the obvious ones, of course -- reality is something that's “there”, that exists, that you have to get right and can't really mess with too much. You have to get the dates right (when this underground line was constructed, when this children's book was published) so that people who have been to London (or even people who haven't) will nod when they read your descriptions (or think, well, that sounds right to me) and won't get pulled out of the story. With fantasy, you get to make a lot of it up, though it has to smell and sound and feel right too. There has to be a different sort of consistency, even if it's just one that exists in your head. But the fascinating thing to me is where the two realities converge, where, for example, you can go around the corner and discover a subway station or subway line that's always been there, running parallel to our existence -- and suddenly fantasy and reality don't seem so different or far apart at all.
 
Rebecca :
What is the best time for you to write & do you have music on in the background, if so what kind?
 
Lisa :
I start writing in the morning and go on until I give up -- or until lunch, whichever comes later. If I can't write at all, forcing myself to stay until lunch sometimes gets things going, or makes it easier to start again the next day. I know lots of people who have music on in the background when they write, but I've never been able to do it myself -- the melody and rhythm of the music gets in the way of the rhythm of my own writing.
 
Rebecca :
How long did it take you to write Dark Cities Underground?
 
Lisa :
About two years.
 
Rebecca :
Do you always know where the story is going?
 
Lisa :
I know generally where the story is going, but I'm surprised sometimes by how it gets there. Lately I've tried to plot more and more, so as to have fewer loose ends dangling at the end of the story. It's not fun for me to plot -- my right brain keeps saying, “But I want to write!” -- but I've found it really helps once I get started.
 
Rebecca :
Are your books computer written & do you belong to a writing group?
 
Lisa :
Yes to both. I think I've improved a lot over the years because of the feedback from my writing group.
 
Rebecca :
Your Travellers In Magic is a collection of short stories, other than the obvious one of length, what are the differences between writing short stories & completing books?
 
Lisa :
You have to immerse yourself longer in books. This is fun, of course, because you get to play around longer in your universe, and it also helps in writing because you generally know where the story is going from day to day. On the other hand you can get tired of the universe and the characters and just want to have them all run over by a truck, which has happened to me several times. Short stories are, in a sense, harder, because you have to get across everything in a shorter amount of time -- you have to choose everything you say carefully. But you get that feeling of gratification when it's over much sooner.
 
Rebecca :
Could a sequel to Ruth & Jerry's story be brewing & do you have any new projects?
 
Lisa :
I don't know about a sequel, though I certainly can't rule anything out. I've never done a sequel to any of my books, and I'm always amazed at people who do whole series and manage to keep it fresh.

I just finished a novel called The Alchemist's Door, which takes place in sixteenth-century Prague, a city that was just rife with sorcerers and alchemists and astronomers. A famous Elizabethan student of magic, John Dee, lived there and so did Rabbi Judah Loew, who was supposed to have created a golem, a man made out of clay. In my story they of course meet, though there's no indication they ever really did. There's also a mad king, Rudolf, who wants to collect everything in the world. It was a lot of fun to write.
 
Rebecca :
See, that wasn't so bad! Many thanks, Lisa & great success with The Alchemist's Door and all your future books!
 
You can reach the Lisa Goldstein at her website: http://www.brazenhussies.net/goldstein

(Published August 13, 2000)