February 3, 2025 • 31 mins
In this episode, I chat with Marissa Stapley about her novel The Lightning Bottles. The story navigates the intertwined paths of love, fame, and addiction through the lens of the 90s music scene. The episode explores themes of identity, media scrutiny, and the struggle for redemption, highlighting the complex dynamics between its characters.
• Discussion on the transition from journalism to fiction writing
• The role of deadlines in fostering creativity
• Key themes of addiction and codependency in relationships
• Exploration of media representations of women in music
• The significance of fan relationships and personal growth
• Insights into the writing and publishing journey
• Sharing of personal anecdotes related to addiction and redemption
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Hi, my name is Mandy Jackson-Beverly and I'm a
bibliophile.
Welcome to the Bookshop Podcast.
Each week, I present interviewswith authors, independent
bookshop owners and booksellersfrom around the globe and
publishing professionals.
To help the show reach morepeople, please share episodes
with friends and family and onsocial media, and remember to
(00:33):
subscribe and leave a reviewwherever you listen to this
podcast.
You're listening to Episode 282.
Marissa Stapley is the New YorkTimes bestselling author of
Lucky, which was the first everCanadian Reeses Book Club pick
in December 2021, as well asbestsellers Mating for Life,
(00:57):
things to Do when it's Rainingand the Last Resort.
Her next novel, the LightningBottles, a story of 90s rock and
star-crossed love, waspublished by Simon Schuster in
the fall of 2024.
She has also co-written thebest-selling holiday rom-coms
the Holiday Swap, a book of themonth pick, and All I Want for
(01:18):
Christmas, under the pen nameMaggie Knox.
Her next rom-com, threeHolidays and a Wedding, was a
collaboration with best-sellingauthor and playwright Uzma
Jalaluddin.
Many of Marisa's novels havebeen optioned for television and
her journalism has appeared inpublications across North
America.
She has also worked as a sportsreporter, cemetery gardener,
(01:40):
bartender, destination travelrep, stable hand and magazine
editor, but becoming an authoris a dream she has harbored
since the age of seven, when shedecided she was going to be the
next LM Montgomery.
She lives in Toronto with herhusband, two children and the
best cat in the world and ishappiest while lakeside in
(02:00):
Northern Ontario, a good novelor notebook and pen in hand.
Hi, marisa, and welcome to theshow.
It's lovely to have you here.
Oh gosh, it's so great to behere.
I thoroughly enjoyed your novel, the Lightning Bottles.
I thought it was wonderful.
But before we go there, let'sbegin with learning about you
and your work as a magazineeditor and how that led you into
(02:22):
writing and becoming an author.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
So I think you know, even before I was a magazine
editor, I worked at newspapersand you know, even all through
high school my dad was a smalltown newspaper man and I he'd go
away on vacation, I'd take overhis column.
So I was always a writer.
There were a lot of writers inmy family.
But the interesting thing aboutcoming at it from a journalism
(02:44):
background is that I alwaysunderstood the power of a
deadline and I knew that.
You know, you can think thatyou don't have it, you don't
have it, you don't have it, andthen it's like half an hour to
print and you're like, oh youknow, like Stephen King says,
the muse has arrived in the formof an unbreakable deadline.
So people do often say to me wow, you're so prolific.
(03:06):
But I think it's just because Idon't sit down and feel lost in
front of the blank page.
And when I do, or I feel likesomething's not coming, I know
that it will eventually.
And generally, the morepressing a deadline becomes, the
more I'm able to get thingsdone.
So I think that's how mybackground kind of complements
(03:27):
being a novelist, but franklythere was never anything else.
It was always my dream andbecause I did have writers in
the family, I was always reallyencouraged to do it.
Sometimes I'm like, wow, what akind of ridiculous thing to try
to do.
Nobody ever told me it would behard.
They were just like you know,kind of ridiculous thing to try
(03:47):
to do.
Nobody ever told me it would behard.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
They were just like you're so good at it, you have
to do this.
I like what you said abouthaving a deadline, even if it's
a deadline made up by yourself.
It's important that you knowyou have a certain amount of
time to get something done.
Otherwise, time just gets awayfrom you.
You know the laundry gets inthe way the beds need changing.
Time gets away from you.
You know the laundry gets inthe way the beds need changing.
Time gets away from us andbefore you know it, that
deadline that you thought youhad in your head, it is long
(04:10):
gone.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Oh, it's so true.
And I often tell aspiringwriters you know it's partly,
you know, get your butt in theseat, get the work done.
But it can be very challengingto be motivated if you don't
have a deadline.
So it's okay to set and youshould set self-imposed
deadlines.
You know, like you know, secondweek of January you're going to
do, you know, have your outline, done, that sort of thing.
(04:32):
And, of course, be easy onyourself.
If you need to move thatdeadline Because the other thing
is in publishing, I can say, oh, you know, I understand the
power of a deadline.
Talk to my editors how I'malways like, but I need an extra
week, you know.
Or I need a little extra time,that's okay.
But working towards a deadlineis certainly.
It's a good way to get draftsfinished, and if you don't have
(04:55):
a draft finished, you don't haveanything to edit and work with
and pursue your dreams with.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Before we get into talking about your book, the
Lightning Bottles, can you giveour listeners a short synopsis
please?
Yeah, so the Lightning.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Bottles follows Jane Pyre and Elijah Hart, who are a
married couple and sort ofsoulmate lovers, who are the
Lightning Bottles, which is arock duo in the alternative 90s
music scene.
They skyrocket to fame andalmost just as quickly begin to
fall from grace.
And during this time Elijahgoes missing and we meet Jane
(05:30):
five years later when he's beengone and she's been blamed,
which is a story as old as timefor the wife to be blamed for
the tragedies and failings ofher partner, and she's just
trying to get out of thespotlight and really can't but
ends up in the trajectory ofsomeone, a young teenage super
(05:52):
fan, who feels she has evidencethat Elijah is still alive,
leaving clues for Jane in theform of Banksy-esque street art
across all the European citiesthey toured.
So that's the sort of longelevator pitch.
It's a mystery and a story andit's about music and art and
fate.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
And it's fun that some of the story is set in
Europe.
I thought that was interesting.
Now, alcohol and drug addictionplays a large part in the story
, but it's Jane's addiction toprotecting Elijah that is
perhaps the most detrimental totheir relationship and how the
world sees them.
Can you expand on this?
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Well, I mean, I guess I'm not 100% sure that I
totally agree that that would bethe most detrimental.
I think, you know, with Jane,when they came together she was
so young and you know, so was heright.
And I did an interview recentlywhere the interviewer said you
know, elijah's so great, he's socharming, he's so talented, but
(06:50):
I'm not introducing him to anyof my friends and I was like
gosh, that's just so true, right, he's sort of unsuitable at the
beginning and she certainlyfalls into such deep love with
him and it does becomecodependent because of her need
to save him, which becomes partof, you know, her, her identity,
(07:10):
um, and that's the journey thatshe has to go on.
Um for sure, and you're right,like it is a bit of an addiction
.
But I also think there's apurity to that love and and um
and a complicationicationbecause of the fame.
And she is doing her best andElijah, in a way, isn't because
(07:33):
he doesn't have to right, partlybecause of her, partly because
of the way the world is set up.
Everyone is just so quick toaccept his foibles and his flaws
and then blame them on her, andthey certainly are not her
fault, but with the drugs andalcohol.
That was a real challenge for me.
I have, you know, friends andfamily members who have
struggled with addiction andmental illness.
I think you're lucky if youdon't.
(07:55):
And in the world of thealternative scene 90s music
scene and the 70s scene, youknow, the drugs and alcohol are
just like a terrifyinglydestructive element of that.
But I wanted to write a storythat was entertaining and
redemptive and mysterious andromantic.
And then you have the drugs,which are just like a lead
(08:18):
balloon, and it was tough.
I would write scenes and I wouldpull back on it and I did so
much research into addiction andI will tell you that almost
every single memoir I read, theperson eventually died.
And I was so depressed by thisand I just kept thinking what am
I doing?
And that is, you know, it wasearly days in the novel and I
(08:41):
think that that is when Irealized one day days in the
novel, and I think that that iswhen I realized one day, escape
is the only option, in a way,escape from the scene and from
fame.
So I really focused on that forElijah and for Jane, even if
you could argue that's notrealistic, but it isn't.
But this is like the differentway of ending the story,
(09:01):
rewriting the story, because theactual way that this story
would end is probably in deepheartache and tragedy, and that
was not what I was wanting.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Yeah, I've been sober 37 years and for a big part of
my life I was in that industryand my experience was that on
most music videos we did in thelate 80s and early 90s, there
were drugs everywhere.
I mean, it was just how it wasin LA during that time probably
in most major cities, I'm sureand by the time I realized it
(09:33):
was time for me to get sober andstop drinking alcohol and doing
drugs, I had to let go of allmy friends who were still
drinking or doing drugs.
I just couldn't be around it.
I couldn't have it in the house.
While I know I wanted to gethealthy, there was a part of me
that was sad, sad of sayinggoodbye to my friends and that
(09:54):
part of my life.
And of course, I didn'tactually say goodbye to my
friends physically, it was justsomething that I knew I had to
do.
It's kind of like one doorcloses and another one opens, I
guess.
But it's only been recently,actually over the last few years
, that I've been able to catchup with friends from that era in
my life in Los Angeles and it'sbeen lovely.
(10:14):
But I couldn't have done itthen.
It just wasn't something Icould do.
I would have partied hard again.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Of course, yeah, and you had to disappear in a
slightly, potentially lessdramatic way, but it was
probably quite dramatic for you.
Yeah, I really saw that and Iknow I certainly I tried in some
ways to give addiction a lighthand, not because I don't see
the seriousness of it, butbecause I just thought.
I think it's okay to presentescape as an option here and
(10:47):
because I don't think there'sany other way.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Yes, I think that everybody who needs to get sober
or get off drugs escapes insome way.
Mine was to kind of close thedoors of my house and my social
life abruptly and to do it thatway house and my social life
abruptly and to do it that way,whereas for Elijah it was the
true escape, which we're notgoing to go into.
(11:11):
No spoilers Now, a focus of thestory is how young female
musicians in the grunge era,such as Sinead O'Connor and
Courtney Love, were judged bythe media.
But this is nothing new.
I mean, women in general havebeen judged and misread
throughout history and continueto be your character.
Jane Pyre accepts her fateuntil a fan, hen, helps her
(11:32):
realize the story she's believedis not the story of her fate
and that she's deserving of somuch more.
What is it about Hen that makesJane take notice, and how long
into writing the originalmanuscript did Hen appear?
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Oh, yeah, it was a while.
I mean, the lightning bottlesJane and Elijah, came to me
maybe six years ago, pre-lucky.
I was trying to figure theseones out and they were like
people who wanted therapy fromme.
So they would come to me andthey're like here's everything
that's wrong with us.
And I was like, okay, butwhat's your story?
And they were like our story iswe're very messed up people.
(12:09):
So I was like, yeah, that's nota book though.
So I couldn't.
I had to find my way in and itwas, I would say, a good two or
three drafts.
I mean.
I abandoned the whole thing andwent and wrote Lucky.
Thank goodness I did.
That changed my life.
But I came back to that kind ofthinking, okay, we need a way
(12:31):
in.
And also thinking about my ownfandom as a teenager and how I
felt that I was a part of.
You know, kurt Cobain's deathaffected me.
It was a part of my life.
Like these things felt likethey happened to me and they
didn't.
But and Sinead O'Connor even Imean she died halfway through
(12:53):
when I wrote the book.
She was my first concert.
I was just a huge fan of hersand I was quite heartbroken and
so I thought to myself, okay,fans have a place in the story.
That's often in a differentrealm, but let's just like we're
giving the escape hatch, let'sput a fan into the story in a
way that would be just soincredible.
(13:15):
So that was maybe draft two, andI think it just sort of
naturally followed that Janebegan to soften to her because
of the similarities because theywere.
You know, they were bothteenagers who are very focused
on music and and very shelteredin a way, and they had these
(13:35):
similarities.
I didn't set out necessarily tojust to do that.
Sometimes stories just taketheir path and and these, these
similarities started cropping upand they, um, it just it helped
, but it helped.
But it was challenging becauseI decided also that it was
Jane's story.
Jane Pyre was the only narrator.
Um, so everything that I had toget into that prologue where we
(13:58):
really are close to hand forthe first time.
I probably worked on theprologue I wouldn't say as much
as the entire novel, obviously,but it really it took many like
30, 40 different rewrites ofthat to make it.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
I'd like to stress about what you said regarding
Hen coming up in the seconddraft.
I think that's a really goodthing for anyone listening who
is a writer a beginning writerto understand that if you really
listen to your characters, youmight be four or five drafts in
before you suddenly think ohokay, I know what's going to
(14:35):
happen now because thecharacters have just told me and
I think that's something thatyou need to remember because
only by doing that will theperfect story appear and I think
also, going into writing astory with the understanding
that the first time you write itisn't going to be the last time
you write it.
There's going to be lots ofdrafts, lots of changes, right?
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Yeah, it is okay.
I think it's definitely okayand it's certainly something
that you learn is along the way,right?
You can only learn by doing,and I think it's.
I love that part where you'relike, oh my gosh, like with
Lucky, I wrote the entire novelin the present timeline.
I didn't have any of the sceneswhere she was a child and I kept
(15:19):
thinking I need people to lovethis flawed con artist, and it
wasn't until one day somebodysaid something about how you're
always, you know, give love toyour inner child.
People will always give love toa child and I was like, oh,
bingo, I need she needs to alsobe in the past timeline as a
child and that again, you knowtwo or three drafts in.
You're writing your way arounda lot, a lot.
(15:47):
So, yeah, I think it's soimportant to be open to that.
And also, don't be preciousabout scenes that you've written
or characters that you've putin, and just because that's, you
know 20,000 words that youmight have to cut.
That's okay.
No writing is ever wasted.
It's all practicing your craftand the more you allow yourself
to do it, the better you'll getat it.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Yeah, that's great advice.
What's unique about bands suchas Nirvana is that they went
viral without the internet.
Mtv played a huge part inbreaking a song or a band.
My husband worked on the musicvideo Smells Like Teen Spirit
and shared with me that the bandwas nothing but professional
and kind of kept to themselves.
The punk crowd around them inthe music video were predictably
(16:26):
crazy and true to their name.
One member of the audience kepton trying to steal the hi-hat
from the drummer and you can seethis in the video.
So can you talk about theresearch you did for this book,
particularly regarding addictionand the grunge era?
Speaker 2 (16:41):
I'm sure that the books I read would stack up to
the ceiling.
I'm a huge fan of libraries andI was able to go to my library
and get endless books out inaddition to the ones I bought.
I thought I knew the scene.
I grew up in it, it was a bigpart of my life.
(17:01):
But I did need to do a lot ofresearch.
But the biggest and most usefulpart of my research was speaking
with a radio personality herein Canada named Alan Cross.
So we talked years ago when Ihad first started
conceptualizing the novel and hesat down with me and just told
me his stories.
Alan Cross, you know he has ashow I think it's a podcast now
(17:25):
the Ongoing History of New Music, but that used to be on the
radio and that he's the voicewho told me you know, kurt
Cobain had died, all of that.
So we would sit down and talk.
So he told me.
He told me a great story aboutNirvana and it's interesting,
you say, like the pre-internetfame, so the how huge this was.
He said that um he was workingat cfmy, toronto alternative
(17:45):
radio station, and um he had thecd.
I guess you would might knowexactly what this is, but the
cds that the record companieswould put out with what they
were hoping to highlight.
And, um, the segment producerkind of came to him and said,
hey, track four smells like teenspirit, um, by this band called
nirvana.
It's.
The album is coming out TuesdayI think this was Monday.
(18:07):
You should play this.
Just play the song.
It's really good, it's a real,it's a good one.
So he said okay, he played it.
He left the room during thesong.
By the time he came back thelines were completely jammed
with callers.
He said everybody, and for therest of the day, what was that
song?
Can you play that song?
He said everybody, and for therest of the day, what was that
(18:39):
song?
Can you play that song?
And the album came out the nextday.
He did an alternative club onFriday called Club Energy that
we all used to go to and he saidevery single person in that
club knew all the me to have andI loved that story.
But because this is whathappens to Jane and Elijah and
my editors would say, well, Idon't know, can this really
happen and they become famous sofast.
And I was like, no, this iswhat happened, like it was
really like the fact that yousay that they were pros by the
time they were doing that video,that's because they'd been
around already.
(19:00):
They you know they were.
They had already been in thislevel of whatever was happening
to them.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Yeah, it's easy to forget that before a band makes
it, so to speak, they've playedin hundreds and hundreds of
dives and garages and whereverthey can play, so that by the
time they're offered a recorddeal and a tour, then they've
kind of got their act togetheremotionally.
Now, if they haven't, thenthat's when the cracks appear.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Right, I mean, even if they didn't, you know, I mean
Kurt really didn't, and I readtoo that he really found that
video very overwhelming.
I think he didn't feel safe.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
My husband said that the band pretty much stayed off
away from everyone on their own,which is good.
I mean they needed to keepcentered to be able to do the
video, but everyone was safe,Thank goodness.
Now tell us about your writingprocess, from idea to research,
writing and editing.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
So when I get an idea normally like what I was doing
with the lightning bottle sixyears ago I'll allow myself to
explore it and just kind ofstart writing about the
characters.
So with Jane and Elijah,whatever came to me it was
letters, memoir I like to doproofs, questionnaires for my
characters, just to try to getto know them, and I really like
(20:22):
to walk around with it for acouple of months.
I always kind of imagine it'shappening above my head and
that's when I figure out if thestory has legs or not.
And honestly, with thelightning bottles I wasn't sure.
Right, I was like but again,I'm getting a lot of details
about your inner lives.
So with Lucky it was verydifferent, because this
(20:42):
situation came to me.
I heard something on a radioreport about a lottery ticket
that hadn't been redeemed, andthen I was able to fit a
character into an, a kind of preconceived plot, which is just
such a gift it happens veryrarely and then you can kind of
be off to the races.
But usually you're just kind ofwaiting.
You get to know the people, youfigure out what you can do with
(21:03):
them Actually, I shouldn't sayusually, it's different every
time, but with this one.
And then I like to do I now Ilike to slash, must do an
outline, because of the way thatmy career is set up Generally.
I'm working on a contract.
I'm already contractuallyobligated Okay, to write my next
book and the publisher wants tosee what it is, and so, and if
they like it or not, so you know, I write the outline and then
(21:25):
we go from there and then Ialways do a fairly bare bones
first draft, just allowingmyself to move through the story
, and if there are parts thatdon't feel like I know what's
going to happen, I have noproblem.
Just going okay, tk, we'llfigure it out later to see if I
can get to that ending.
And if the ending works, then Ihave my first draft is just for
(21:49):
me, sometimes it's only 40,000words and then I'll go back,
adjust the outline again becausethings have changed and then do
a more polished draft which isshareable.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Marissa, how do you cope with the pressure of
contracts and deadlines?
Speaker 2 (22:04):
I mean I guess for me I don't, I, that's my
superpower.
I think it's ideas and outlines.
So it's more like how do youcope with the fact that you've
sold something and everyone'slike, yes, we love it, we're
super excited, and then I haveto actually deliver on that with
the draft and so I don't.
I mean that is just the funpart for me.
(22:26):
I have ideas coming out my earsand which is why I do so much
writing.
I also write holiday romanceunder a pseudonym and I almost
can't keep up with myself interms of ideas.
I think it's more just sometimesit's saying you know, okay,
stop coming up with ideas,because I'll be like, oh, I have
a film, TV idea, I have thisand that, and just focusing on
(22:47):
what I have already sold.
But I know that's kind of agood problem to have and I think
my advice for anyone who'sfeeling that pressure is you
have got to find a way to justshut your door of your office,
either physically or mentally,and write for yourself.
And maybe like that one idealreader, like I swear I was
(23:08):
writing the lightning bottles toSinead O'Connor.
I was like this is for her andit's between us, or if you have
a great relationship with youreditor, or if you're writing it
because your husband is yourfirst reader, just be writing it
for him and just try to keepeverybody and all the
expectations out, because youcannot With pressure and
expectation.
It is the enemy of creativity.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
Yeah, I mean, let's face it, where would creative
people be without sticky notes?
I mean, let's face it, part ofbeing a creative is the fact
that ideas just flow, so youhave to just take a minute and
scribble it down and put it on asticky note or carry a notebook
around so you can always betaking notes or just do a
(23:49):
message on your phone.
But, yeah, just about everysingle author I have spoken to
well-established authors alwayssay you know what I put this
sticky note on my board about Idon't know 20 years ago, and I
woke up one day and just went ohyeah, now that story's come to
life.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
Yeah, I'll just walk into my phone, I'll just go,
okay, I'll walk down the streetand I'm like blah, blah, blah,
blah, and then sometimes theadded bonus to that is that you
get some weird garbled thingthat you tried to code later and
you can share the funnyscreenshot.
Yeah, I think I used to alwayscarry around a notebook and now
I just do it on my phone.
I just because I remembersitting at this literally on a
(24:28):
curb once, like in the rain,trying to write the idea down
and I was like, okay, you knowwhat I can just give in and you
know what sometimes giving in iswhen the process begins, which
is exciting.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Can you share your publishing story, from your
first finished manuscript tofinding an agent and landing a
publishing deal?
Speaker 2 (24:48):
I can, but how much more time do we have?
It was complicated, which Ithink is inspiring for some
people.
I know very few authors who arelike oh, I had an idea, I got
an agent and I got published.
So gosh, I mean, I wrote anovel when my kids were super
little and they're now 16 and 17.
And it was environmental,romantic, like eco fiction.
(25:11):
It was called Saving the Worldin Sensible Shoes.
It still has a place in myheart.
It'll never get published, butthe publisher who bought it was
a small Canadian publisher.
They went out of business.
I was over the moon that I wasgetting published and then
absolutely devastated wheneverything kind of fell apart.
I had gotten an agent with thatbook, but our relationship, you
know we kind of things got alittle tense there too.
(25:32):
So then I was sort of lookingfor a new agent and I ended up
with the agent I'm with now,who's Sam Haywood, and she's
just incredible.
We worked together.
I wrote another novel, but Ifelt so much pressure I was, I
had told every woman I wasgetting published, you know I
was doing.
So that novel, I will say, wasobjectively, I mean I shouldn't
(25:53):
say it was terrible, because Samhas good taste and she tried to
sell it.
But it certainly wasn't my best.
We couldn't sell it, but I did.
I would go to events in theindustry and editors would say
to me you know what you're closeLike, you're so close.
So I, but I still felt verydisheartened.
I took that was when I startedworking as a magazine editor,
actually because I felt I justneeded a real job.
And then over my lunch hours Iwould sometimes just close the
(26:17):
door and write short stories andthese were just for me.
I was just writing them becauseI needed to write creatively
and Sam would call me every fewmonths and ask what I was
writing and I would tell her Iwasn't writing anything.
And then one day she saidreally nothing and I was like,
well, I'm writing these terrible.
I didn't say terrible becausethey were pretty good.
I'm like short stories, but Idon't know they're about these
(26:38):
women and don't know what theirmother is, their wives, it was
all what I was going through andshe asked if she could see a
few of them.
So I printed them off and wentto lunch with her, thinking she
would let me know later that weno longer had a, you know, agent
, author relationship and shecalled me a few days later and
said you're writing a book,you've got to figure out how to
(26:59):
get these characters to beconnected in these short stories
.
And I said, well, they'll never.
They would never they're sodifferent, like they would never
be friends.
So I made them sisters and thenit turned into Mating for Life,
which was my first novel.
Simon and Schuster that's oneand honestly it's.
(27:20):
You know the process, therejections.
I've been through it, monthsand months of being on
submission and it was my thirdtime around and it sold within a
week and just everythingstarted from there.
And I've been with SimonSchuster pretty much ever since,
at least here in Canada, youknow.
But there still have been upsand downs and good moments and
hard moments.
And then Reese Witherspoon camealong and picked Lucky and
(27:45):
everything changed and you havesome exciting news about Lucky.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Would you like to share it?
Speaker 2 (27:50):
Yes, so when Lucky was picked, they were very
interested in the TV.
This was TV rights as well.
This was three years ago andthrough strike, through all
sorts of different difficultiesin Hollywood, they Hello
Sunshine kept going with it.
So now it has just beenannounced last week, as
something that I've known for awhile, that Apple TV will be
(28:11):
filming in March JonathanTropper, who's incredibly
talented as the writer, andTaylor Joy is lucky, which I
always thought she would make aperfect lucky.
They asked me who and I said Isaid her.
So it's kind of a fever dreamthat she is going to be and,
yeah, this will be.
This will be on the smallscreen soon, which is such a
(28:36):
dream and yeah, it's justwonderful.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
It's just, it's so great.
Yeah Well, congratulations,because I know how much work
you've put into this.
Thank you, it's talk books.
What are you currently reading?
I'm reading oh gosh.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
Okay, you may have heard of this one because it's a
huge, like I said, arc ofFlorence Knapp's the Names it's
called.
It comes out in May.
It was one of those likejillion dollar bidding war books
and I got a handle on an arcfrom one of my publicists and
it's just so great.
It's about a young child whowhat the different trajectory of
(29:08):
his life would be had he had adifferent name.
So there's three differenttimelines and three different
lives.
It's just fascinating and it'swonderful storytelling and, awe
of this, it's a debut as well,but it's not her first novel.
I think it's at least hersecond.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
Marissa, I thoroughly enjoyed your book, the
Lightning Bottles Greatcharacter development and
beautiful writing and thank youfor being a guest on the
Bookshop Podcast.
I thoroughly enjoyed chattingwith you and getting to know you
.
Oh, thank you.
Yeah, no, this was great.
You've been listening to myconversation with author Marissa
Stapley about her book, theLightning Bottles.
(29:46):
To help the show reach morepeople, please share episodes
with friends and family and onsocial media, and remember to
subscribe and leave a reviewwherever you listen to this
podcast.
To find out more about theBookshop Podcast, go to
thebookshoppodcastcom and makesure to subscribe and leave a
review wherever you listen tothe show.
(30:07):
You can also follow me at MandyJackson Beverly on X, instagram
and Facebook and on YouTube atthe Bookshop Podcast.
If you have a favorite indiebookshop that you'd like to
suggest we have on the podcast,I'd love to hear from you via
the contact form atthebookshoppodcastcom.
The Bookshop Podcast is writtenand produced by me, mandy
(30:31):
Jackson-Beverly, theme musicprovided by Brian Beverly,
executive assistant to Mandy,adrian Otterhahn, and graphic
design by Francis Perala.
Thanks for for listening andI'll see you next time.
Hi, my name is Mandy Jackson-Beverly and I'm a
bibliophile.
Welcome to the Bookshop Podcast.
Each week, I present interviewswith authors, independent
bookshop owners and booksellersfrom around the globe and
publishing professionals.
To help the show reach morepeople, please share episodes
with friends and family and onsocial media, and remember to
(00:33):
subscribe and leave a reviewwherever you listen to this
podcast.
You're listening to Episode 282.
Marissa Stapley is the New YorkTimes bestselling author of
Lucky, which was the first everCanadian Reeses Book Club pick
in December 2021, as well asbestsellers Mating for Life,
(00:57):
things to Do when it's Rainingand the Last Resort.
Her next novel, the LightningBottles, a story of 90s rock and
star-crossed love, waspublished by Simon Schuster in
the fall of 2024.
She has also co-written thebest-selling holiday rom-coms
the Holiday Swap, a book of themonth pick, and All I Want for
(01:18):
Christmas, under the pen nameMaggie Knox.
Her next rom-com, threeHolidays and a Wedding, was a
collaboration with best-sellingauthor and playwright Uzma
Jalaluddin.
Many of Marisa's novels havebeen optioned for television and
her journalism has appeared inpublications across North
America.
She has also worked as a sportsreporter, cemetery gardener,
(01:40):
bartender, destination travelrep, stable hand and magazine
editor, but becoming an authoris a dream she has harbored
since the age of seven, when shedecided she was going to be the
next LM Montgomery.
She lives in Toronto with herhusband, two children and the
best cat in the world and ishappiest while lakeside in
(02:00):
Northern Ontario, a good novelor notebook and pen in hand.
Hi, marisa, and welcome to theshow.
It's lovely to have you here.
Oh gosh, it's so great to behere.
I thoroughly enjoyed your novel, the Lightning Bottles.
I thought it was wonderful.
But before we go there, let'sbegin with learning about you
and your work as a magazineeditor and how that led you into
(02:22):
writing and becoming an author.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
So I think you know, even before I was a magazine
editor, I worked at newspapersand you know, even all through
high school my dad was a smalltown newspaper man and I he'd go
away on vacation, I'd take overhis column.
So I was always a writer.
There were a lot of writers inmy family.
But the interesting thing aboutcoming at it from a journalism
(02:44):
background is that I alwaysunderstood the power of a
deadline and I knew that.
You know, you can think thatyou don't have it, you don't
have it, you don't have it, andthen it's like half an hour to
print and you're like, oh youknow, like Stephen King says,
the muse has arrived in the formof an unbreakable deadline.
So people do often say to me wow, you're so prolific.
(03:06):
But I think it's just because Idon't sit down and feel lost in
front of the blank page.
And when I do, or I feel likesomething's not coming, I know
that it will eventually.
And generally, the morepressing a deadline becomes, the
more I'm able to get thingsdone.
So I think that's how mybackground kind of complements
(03:27):
being a novelist, but franklythere was never anything else.
It was always my dream andbecause I did have writers in
the family, I was always reallyencouraged to do it.
Sometimes I'm like, wow, what akind of ridiculous thing to try
to do.
Nobody ever told me it would behard.
They were just like you know,kind of ridiculous thing to try
(03:47):
to do.
Nobody ever told me it would behard.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
They were just like you're so good at it, you have
to do this.
I like what you said abouthaving a deadline, even if it's
a deadline made up by yourself.
It's important that you knowyou have a certain amount of
time to get something done.
Otherwise, time just gets awayfrom you.
You know the laundry gets inthe way the beds need changing.
Time gets away from you.
You know the laundry gets inthe way the beds need changing.
Time gets away from us andbefore you know it, that
deadline that you thought youhad in your head, it is long
(04:10):
gone.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Oh, it's so true.
And I often tell aspiringwriters you know it's partly,
you know, get your butt in theseat, get the work done.
But it can be very challengingto be motivated if you don't
have a deadline.
So it's okay to set and youshould set self-imposed
deadlines.
You know, like you know, secondweek of January you're going to
do, you know, have your outline, done, that sort of thing.
(04:32):
And, of course, be easy onyourself.
If you need to move thatdeadline Because the other thing
is in publishing, I can say, oh, you know, I understand the
power of a deadline.
Talk to my editors how I'malways like, but I need an extra
week, you know.
Or I need a little extra time,that's okay.
But working towards a deadlineis certainly.
It's a good way to get draftsfinished, and if you don't have
(04:55):
a draft finished, you don't haveanything to edit and work with
and pursue your dreams with.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Before we get into talking about your book, the
Lightning Bottles, can you giveour listeners a short synopsis
please?
Yeah, so the Lightning.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Bottles follows Jane Pyre and Elijah Hart, who are a
married couple and sort ofsoulmate lovers, who are the
Lightning Bottles, which is arock duo in the alternative 90s
music scene.
They skyrocket to fame andalmost just as quickly begin to
fall from grace.
And during this time Elijahgoes missing and we meet Jane
(05:30):
five years later when he's beengone and she's been blamed,
which is a story as old as timefor the wife to be blamed for
the tragedies and failings ofher partner, and she's just
trying to get out of thespotlight and really can't but
ends up in the trajectory ofsomeone, a young teenage super
(05:52):
fan, who feels she has evidencethat Elijah is still alive,
leaving clues for Jane in theform of Banksy-esque street art
across all the European citiesthey toured.
So that's the sort of longelevator pitch.
It's a mystery and a story andit's about music and art and
fate.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
And it's fun that some of the story is set in
Europe.
I thought that was interesting.
Now, alcohol and drug addictionplays a large part in the story
, but it's Jane's addiction toprotecting Elijah that is
perhaps the most detrimental totheir relationship and how the
world sees them.
Can you expand on this?
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Well, I mean, I guess I'm not 100% sure that I
totally agree that that would bethe most detrimental.
I think, you know, with Jane,when they came together she was
so young and you know, so was heright.
And I did an interview recentlywhere the interviewer said you
know, elijah's so great, he's socharming, he's so talented, but
(06:50):
I'm not introducing him to anyof my friends and I was like
gosh, that's just so true, right, he's sort of unsuitable at the
beginning and she certainlyfalls into such deep love with
him and it does becomecodependent because of her need
to save him, which becomes partof, you know, her, her identity,
(07:10):
um, and that's the journey thatshe has to go on.
Um for sure, and you're right,like it is a bit of an addiction
.
But I also think there's apurity to that love and and um
and a complicationicationbecause of the fame.
And she is doing her best andElijah, in a way, isn't because
(07:33):
he doesn't have to right, partlybecause of her, partly because
of the way the world is set up.
Everyone is just so quick toaccept his foibles and his flaws
and then blame them on her, andthey certainly are not her
fault, but with the drugs andalcohol.
That was a real challenge for me.
I have, you know, friends andfamily members who have
struggled with addiction andmental illness.
I think you're lucky if youdon't.
(07:55):
And in the world of thealternative scene 90s music
scene and the 70s scene, youknow, the drugs and alcohol are
just like a terrifyinglydestructive element of that.
But I wanted to write a storythat was entertaining and
redemptive and mysterious andromantic.
And then you have the drugs,which are just like a lead
(08:18):
balloon, and it was tough.
I would write scenes and I wouldpull back on it and I did so
much research into addiction andI will tell you that almost
every single memoir I read, theperson eventually died.
And I was so depressed by thisand I just kept thinking what am
I doing?
And that is, you know, it wasearly days in the novel and I
(08:41):
think that that is when Irealized one day days in the
novel, and I think that that iswhen I realized one day, escape
is the only option, in a way,escape from the scene and from
fame.
So I really focused on that forElijah and for Jane, even if
you could argue that's notrealistic, but it isn't.
But this is like the differentway of ending the story,
(09:01):
rewriting the story, because theactual way that this story
would end is probably in deepheartache and tragedy, and that
was not what I was wanting.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Yeah, I've been sober 37 years and for a big part of
my life I was in that industryand my experience was that on
most music videos we did in thelate 80s and early 90s, there
were drugs everywhere.
I mean, it was just how it wasin LA during that time probably
in most major cities, I'm sureand by the time I realized it
(09:33):
was time for me to get sober andstop drinking alcohol and doing
drugs, I had to let go of allmy friends who were still
drinking or doing drugs.
I just couldn't be around it.
I couldn't have it in the house.
While I know I wanted to gethealthy, there was a part of me
that was sad, sad of sayinggoodbye to my friends and that
(09:54):
part of my life.
And of course, I didn'tactually say goodbye to my
friends physically, it was justsomething that I knew I had to
do.
It's kind of like one doorcloses and another one opens, I
guess.
But it's only been recently,actually over the last few years
, that I've been able to catchup with friends from that era in
my life in Los Angeles and it'sbeen lovely.
(10:14):
But I couldn't have done itthen.
It just wasn't something Icould do.
I would have partied hard again.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Of course, yeah, and you had to disappear in a
slightly, potentially lessdramatic way, but it was
probably quite dramatic for you.
Yeah, I really saw that and Iknow I certainly I tried in some
ways to give addiction a lighthand, not because I don't see
the seriousness of it, butbecause I just thought.
I think it's okay to presentescape as an option here and
(10:47):
because I don't think there'sany other way.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Yes, I think that everybody who needs to get sober
or get off drugs escapes insome way.
Mine was to kind of close thedoors of my house and my social
life abruptly and to do it thatway house and my social life
abruptly and to do it that way,whereas for Elijah it was the
true escape, which we're notgoing to go into.
(11:11):
No spoilers Now, a focus of thestory is how young female
musicians in the grunge era,such as Sinead O'Connor and
Courtney Love, were judged bythe media.
But this is nothing new.
I mean, women in general havebeen judged and misread
throughout history and continueto be your character.
Jane Pyre accepts her fateuntil a fan, hen, helps her
(11:32):
realize the story she's believedis not the story of her fate
and that she's deserving of somuch more.
What is it about Hen that makesJane take notice, and how long
into writing the originalmanuscript did Hen appear?
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Oh, yeah, it was a while.
I mean, the lightning bottlesJane and Elijah, came to me
maybe six years ago, pre-lucky.
I was trying to figure theseones out and they were like
people who wanted therapy fromme.
So they would come to me andthey're like here's everything
that's wrong with us.
And I was like, okay, butwhat's your story?
And they were like our story iswe're very messed up people.
(12:09):
So I was like, yeah, that's nota book though.
So I couldn't.
I had to find my way in and itwas, I would say, a good two or
three drafts.
I mean.
I abandoned the whole thing andwent and wrote Lucky.
Thank goodness I did.
That changed my life.
But I came back to that kind ofthinking, okay, we need a way
(12:31):
in.
And also thinking about my ownfandom as a teenager and how I
felt that I was a part of.
You know, kurt Cobain's deathaffected me.
It was a part of my life.
Like these things felt likethey happened to me and they
didn't.
But and Sinead O'Connor even Imean she died halfway through
(12:53):
when I wrote the book.
She was my first concert.
I was just a huge fan of hersand I was quite heartbroken and
so I thought to myself, okay,fans have a place in the story.
That's often in a differentrealm, but let's just like we're
giving the escape hatch, let'sput a fan into the story in a
way that would be just soincredible.
(13:15):
So that was maybe draft two, andI think it just sort of
naturally followed that Janebegan to soften to her because
of the similarities because theywere.
You know, they were bothteenagers who are very focused
on music and and very shelteredin a way, and they had these
(13:35):
similarities.
I didn't set out necessarily tojust to do that.
Sometimes stories just taketheir path and and these, these
similarities started cropping upand they, um, it just it helped
, but it helped.
But it was challenging becauseI decided also that it was
Jane's story.
Jane Pyre was the only narrator.
Um, so everything that I had toget into that prologue where we
(13:58):
really are close to hand forthe first time.
I probably worked on theprologue I wouldn't say as much
as the entire novel, obviously,but it really it took many like
30, 40 different rewrites ofthat to make it.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
I'd like to stress about what you said regarding
Hen coming up in the seconddraft.
I think that's a really goodthing for anyone listening who
is a writer a beginning writerto understand that if you really
listen to your characters, youmight be four or five drafts in
before you suddenly think ohokay, I know what's going to
(14:35):
happen now because thecharacters have just told me and
I think that's something thatyou need to remember because
only by doing that will theperfect story appear and I think
also, going into writing astory with the understanding
that the first time you write itisn't going to be the last time
you write it.
There's going to be lots ofdrafts, lots of changes, right?
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Yeah, it is okay.
I think it's definitely okayand it's certainly something
that you learn is along the way,right?
You can only learn by doing,and I think it's.
I love that part where you'relike, oh my gosh, like with
Lucky, I wrote the entire novelin the present timeline.
I didn't have any of the sceneswhere she was a child and I kept
(15:19):
thinking I need people to lovethis flawed con artist, and it
wasn't until one day somebodysaid something about how you're
always, you know, give love toyour inner child.
People will always give love toa child and I was like, oh,
bingo, I need she needs to alsobe in the past timeline as a
child and that again, you knowtwo or three drafts in.
You're writing your way arounda lot, a lot.
(15:47):
So, yeah, I think it's soimportant to be open to that.
And also, don't be preciousabout scenes that you've written
or characters that you've putin, and just because that's, you
know 20,000 words that youmight have to cut.
That's okay.
No writing is ever wasted.
It's all practicing your craftand the more you allow yourself
to do it, the better you'll getat it.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Yeah, that's great advice.
What's unique about bands suchas Nirvana is that they went
viral without the internet.
Mtv played a huge part inbreaking a song or a band.
My husband worked on the musicvideo Smells Like Teen Spirit
and shared with me that the bandwas nothing but professional
and kind of kept to themselves.
The punk crowd around them inthe music video were predictably
(16:26):
crazy and true to their name.
One member of the audience kepton trying to steal the hi-hat
from the drummer and you can seethis in the video.
So can you talk about theresearch you did for this book,
particularly regarding addictionand the grunge era?
Speaker 2 (16:41):
I'm sure that the books I read would stack up to
the ceiling.
I'm a huge fan of libraries andI was able to go to my library
and get endless books out inaddition to the ones I bought.
I thought I knew the scene.
I grew up in it, it was a bigpart of my life.
(17:01):
But I did need to do a lot ofresearch.
But the biggest and most usefulpart of my research was speaking
with a radio personality herein Canada named Alan Cross.
So we talked years ago when Ihad first started
conceptualizing the novel and hesat down with me and just told
me his stories.
Alan Cross, you know he has ashow I think it's a podcast now
(17:25):
the Ongoing History of New Music, but that used to be on the
radio and that he's the voicewho told me you know, kurt
Cobain had died, all of that.
So we would sit down and talk.
So he told me.
He told me a great story aboutNirvana and it's interesting,
you say, like the pre-internetfame, so the how huge this was.
He said that um he was workingat cfmy, toronto alternative
(17:45):
radio station, and um he had thecd.
I guess you would might knowexactly what this is, but the
cds that the record companieswould put out with what they
were hoping to highlight.
And, um, the segment producerkind of came to him and said,
hey, track four smells like teenspirit, um, by this band called
nirvana.
It's.
The album is coming out TuesdayI think this was Monday.
(18:07):
You should play this.
Just play the song.
It's really good, it's a real,it's a good one.
So he said okay, he played it.
He left the room during thesong.
By the time he came back thelines were completely jammed
with callers.
He said everybody, and for therest of the day, what was that
song?
Can you play that song?
He said everybody, and for therest of the day, what was that
(18:39):
song?
Can you play that song?
And the album came out the nextday.
He did an alternative club onFriday called Club Energy that
we all used to go to and he saidevery single person in that
club knew all the me to have andI loved that story.
But because this is whathappens to Jane and Elijah and
my editors would say, well, Idon't know, can this really
happen and they become famous sofast.
And I was like, no, this iswhat happened, like it was
really like the fact that yousay that they were pros by the
time they were doing that video,that's because they'd been
around already.
(19:00):
They you know they were.
They had already been in thislevel of whatever was happening
to them.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Yeah, it's easy to forget that before a band makes
it, so to speak, they've playedin hundreds and hundreds of
dives and garages and whereverthey can play, so that by the
time they're offered a recorddeal and a tour, then they've
kind of got their act togetheremotionally.
Now, if they haven't, thenthat's when the cracks appear.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Right, I mean, even if they didn't, you know, I mean
Kurt really didn't, and I readtoo that he really found that
video very overwhelming.
I think he didn't feel safe.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
My husband said that the band pretty much stayed off
away from everyone on their own,which is good.
I mean they needed to keepcentered to be able to do the
video, but everyone was safe,Thank goodness.
Now tell us about your writingprocess, from idea to research,
writing and editing.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
So when I get an idea normally like what I was doing
with the lightning bottle sixyears ago I'll allow myself to
explore it and just kind ofstart writing about the
characters.
So with Jane and Elijah,whatever came to me it was
letters, memoir I like to doproofs, questionnaires for my
characters, just to try to getto know them, and I really like
(20:22):
to walk around with it for acouple of months.
I always kind of imagine it'shappening above my head and
that's when I figure out if thestory has legs or not.
And honestly, with thelightning bottles I wasn't sure.
Right, I was like but again,I'm getting a lot of details
about your inner lives.
So with Lucky it was verydifferent, because this
(20:42):
situation came to me.
I heard something on a radioreport about a lottery ticket
that hadn't been redeemed, andthen I was able to fit a
character into an, a kind of preconceived plot, which is just
such a gift it happens veryrarely and then you can kind of
be off to the races.
But usually you're just kind ofwaiting.
You get to know the people, youfigure out what you can do with
(21:03):
them Actually, I shouldn't sayusually, it's different every
time, but with this one.
And then I like to do I now Ilike to slash, must do an
outline, because of the way thatmy career is set up Generally.
I'm working on a contract.
I'm already contractuallyobligated Okay, to write my next
book and the publisher wants tosee what it is, and so, and if
they like it or not, so you know, I write the outline and then
(21:25):
we go from there and then Ialways do a fairly bare bones
first draft, just allowingmyself to move through the story
, and if there are parts thatdon't feel like I know what's
going to happen, I have noproblem.
Just going okay, tk, we'llfigure it out later to see if I
can get to that ending.
And if the ending works, then Ihave my first draft is just for
(21:49):
me, sometimes it's only 40,000words and then I'll go back,
adjust the outline again becausethings have changed and then do
a more polished draft which isshareable.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Marissa, how do you cope with the pressure of
contracts and deadlines?
Speaker 2 (22:04):
I mean I guess for me I don't, I, that's my
superpower.
I think it's ideas and outlines.
So it's more like how do youcope with the fact that you've
sold something and everyone'slike, yes, we love it, we're
super excited, and then I haveto actually deliver on that with
the draft and so I don't.
I mean that is just the funpart for me.
(22:26):
I have ideas coming out my earsand which is why I do so much
writing.
I also write holiday romanceunder a pseudonym and I almost
can't keep up with myself interms of ideas.
I think it's more just sometimesit's saying you know, okay,
stop coming up with ideas,because I'll be like, oh, I have
a film, TV idea, I have thisand that, and just focusing on
(22:47):
what I have already sold.
But I know that's kind of agood problem to have and I think
my advice for anyone who'sfeeling that pressure is you
have got to find a way to justshut your door of your office,
either physically or mentally,and write for yourself.
And maybe like that one idealreader, like I swear I was
(23:08):
writing the lightning bottles toSinead O'Connor.
I was like this is for her andit's between us, or if you have
a great relationship with youreditor, or if you're writing it
because your husband is yourfirst reader, just be writing it
for him and just try to keepeverybody and all the
expectations out, because youcannot With pressure and
expectation.
It is the enemy of creativity.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
Yeah, I mean, let's face it, where would creative
people be without sticky notes?
I mean, let's face it, part ofbeing a creative is the fact
that ideas just flow, so youhave to just take a minute and
scribble it down and put it on asticky note or carry a notebook
around so you can always betaking notes or just do a
(23:49):
message on your phone.
But, yeah, just about everysingle author I have spoken to
well-established authors alwayssay you know what I put this
sticky note on my board about Idon't know 20 years ago, and I
woke up one day and just went ohyeah, now that story's come to
life.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
Yeah, I'll just walk into my phone, I'll just go,
okay, I'll walk down the streetand I'm like blah, blah, blah,
blah, and then sometimes theadded bonus to that is that you
get some weird garbled thingthat you tried to code later and
you can share the funnyscreenshot.
Yeah, I think I used to alwayscarry around a notebook and now
I just do it on my phone.
I just because I remembersitting at this literally on a
(24:28):
curb once, like in the rain,trying to write the idea down
and I was like, okay, you knowwhat I can just give in and you
know what sometimes giving in iswhen the process begins, which
is exciting.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Can you share your publishing story, from your
first finished manuscript tofinding an agent and landing a
publishing deal?
Speaker 2 (24:48):
I can, but how much more time do we have?
It was complicated, which Ithink is inspiring for some
people.
I know very few authors who arelike oh, I had an idea, I got
an agent and I got published.
So gosh, I mean, I wrote anovel when my kids were super
little and they're now 16 and 17.
And it was environmental,romantic, like eco fiction.
(25:11):
It was called Saving the Worldin Sensible Shoes.
It still has a place in myheart.
It'll never get published, butthe publisher who bought it was
a small Canadian publisher.
They went out of business.
I was over the moon that I wasgetting published and then
absolutely devastated wheneverything kind of fell apart.
I had gotten an agent with thatbook, but our relationship, you
know we kind of things got alittle tense there too.
(25:32):
So then I was sort of lookingfor a new agent and I ended up
with the agent I'm with now,who's Sam Haywood, and she's
just incredible.
We worked together.
I wrote another novel, but Ifelt so much pressure I was, I
had told every woman I wasgetting published, you know I
was doing.
So that novel, I will say, wasobjectively, I mean I shouldn't
(25:53):
say it was terrible, because Samhas good taste and she tried to
sell it.
But it certainly wasn't my best.
We couldn't sell it, but I did.
I would go to events in theindustry and editors would say
to me you know what you're closeLike, you're so close.
So I, but I still felt verydisheartened.
I took that was when I startedworking as a magazine editor,
actually because I felt I justneeded a real job.
And then over my lunch hours Iwould sometimes just close the
(26:17):
door and write short stories andthese were just for me.
I was just writing them becauseI needed to write creatively
and Sam would call me every fewmonths and ask what I was
writing and I would tell her Iwasn't writing anything.
And then one day she saidreally nothing and I was like,
well, I'm writing these terrible.
I didn't say terrible becausethey were pretty good.
I'm like short stories, but Idon't know they're about these
(26:38):
women and don't know what theirmother is, their wives, it was
all what I was going through andshe asked if she could see a
few of them.
So I printed them off and wentto lunch with her, thinking she
would let me know later that weno longer had a, you know, agent
, author relationship and shecalled me a few days later and
said you're writing a book,you've got to figure out how to
(26:59):
get these characters to beconnected in these short stories
.
And I said, well, they'll never.
They would never they're sodifferent, like they would never
be friends.
So I made them sisters and thenit turned into Mating for Life,
which was my first novel.
Simon and Schuster that's oneand honestly it's.
(27:20):
You know the process, therejections.
I've been through it, monthsand months of being on
submission and it was my thirdtime around and it sold within a
week and just everythingstarted from there.
And I've been with SimonSchuster pretty much ever since,
at least here in Canada, youknow.
But there still have been upsand downs and good moments and
hard moments.
And then Reese Witherspoon camealong and picked Lucky and
(27:45):
everything changed and you havesome exciting news about Lucky.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Would you like to share it?
Speaker 2 (27:50):
Yes, so when Lucky was picked, they were very
interested in the TV.
This was TV rights as well.
This was three years ago andthrough strike, through all
sorts of different difficultiesin Hollywood, they Hello
Sunshine kept going with it.
So now it has just beenannounced last week, as
something that I've known for awhile, that Apple TV will be
(28:11):
filming in March JonathanTropper, who's incredibly
talented as the writer, andTaylor Joy is lucky, which I
always thought she would make aperfect lucky.
They asked me who and I said Isaid her.
So it's kind of a fever dreamthat she is going to be and,
yeah, this will be.
This will be on the smallscreen soon, which is such a
(28:36):
dream and yeah, it's justwonderful.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
It's just, it's so great.
Yeah Well, congratulations,because I know how much work
you've put into this.
Thank you, it's talk books.
What are you currently reading?
I'm reading oh gosh.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
Okay, you may have heard of this one because it's a
huge, like I said, arc ofFlorence Knapp's the Names it's
called.
It comes out in May.
It was one of those likejillion dollar bidding war books
and I got a handle on an arcfrom one of my publicists and
it's just so great.
It's about a young child whowhat the different trajectory of
(29:08):
his life would be had he had adifferent name.
So there's three differenttimelines and three different
lives.
It's just fascinating and it'swonderful storytelling and, awe
of this, it's a debut as well,but it's not her first novel.
I think it's at least hersecond.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
Marissa, I thoroughly enjoyed your book, the
Lightning Bottles Greatcharacter development and
beautiful writing and thank youfor being a guest on the
Bookshop Podcast.
I thoroughly enjoyed chattingwith you and getting to know you
.
Oh, thank you.
Yeah, no, this was great.
You've been listening to myconversation with author Marissa
Stapley about her book, theLightning Bottles.
(29:46):
To help the show reach morepeople, please share episodes
with friends and family and onsocial media, and remember to
subscribe and leave a reviewwherever you listen to this
podcast.
To find out more about theBookshop Podcast, go to
thebookshoppodcastcom and makesure to subscribe and leave a
review wherever you listen tothe show.
(30:07):
You can also follow me at MandyJackson Beverly on X, instagram
and Facebook and on YouTube atthe Bookshop Podcast.
If you have a favorite indiebookshop that you'd like to
suggest we have on the podcast,I'd love to hear from you via
the contact form atthebookshoppodcastcom.
The Bookshop Podcast is writtenand produced by me, mandy
(30:31):
Jackson-Beverly, theme musicprovided by Brian Beverly,
executive assistant to Mandy,adrian Otterhahn, and graphic
design by Francis Perala.
Thanks for for listening andI'll see you next time.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.