By Matt Martin
Among other things, Susan Lanier is a hustler baby, and she just wants you to know: its not where you been, but where you ’bout to go. That is fitting because Susan Lanier is going places. Fresh off a delightfully creative chap book Felicia Sassafrass is Fiction, it was just announced that her debut short story collection, The Game We Play, is coming out from Curbside Splendor in September, 2014.
Susan and I meandered through the chilly Chicago spring, cruising central loop watering holes before ending at her local option, The Innertown Pub, where we enjoyed shots of various colors and cheap pints of PBR.
MM: First and foremost, congrats on the great news. Talk to me about the process of getting a book published and all you’ve learned so far.
SL: I’ve been a huge fan of Curbside for the last two years or so. In some ways I really hounded them about my book. I love how they have really integrated themselves into the community in such a short period of time and they really do support literature in Chicago. I have seen the hard work they have put into their other titles, and they are of such great quality. It’s so cool when an editor asks you, “What can we do to make this your dream book?” So far the experience has been overwhelming with lots of logistical things. I’m trying really hard to just stay in the moment with it and focus on what I can do right now to make this the best book it can be.
MM: So, the book will be out in September. Very exciting. What can readers of the collection look forward to?
SL: Readers can look forward to some really stellar stories. In all seriousness though, I hope the collection has a broad appeal because when I first started writing it, it was important to me to make sure that there was a variety of points of view. That is a product of of where I grew up. Northern Virginia, and specifically Annandale, Virginia, is really diverse. I started out wanting to represent that but as time went on stories from Chicago and Rochester, New York — two places I have also lived — found their way in the collection. The book focuses a lot on intense moments of connection between people. I was thinking a lot about moments of misunderstanding, where people are unable or unwilling to communicate what they really think and feel, and how brave it is to be honest with others. So much happens in the interior of your own mind that it can be hard, if not down right impossible, to just say what you mean out loud.
MM: I am always curious about each person’s process of writing. What is your process like? Do you write every day no matter what, or are you a binge writer?
SL: Oh, Matt. I wish I had all the answers. I am so incredibly envious of people who can sit down and write for 30 minutes or an hour each day. I need a whole day. People always say you aren’t a writer unless you carve out time every day. I guess that means I’m not a writer? I don’t know. It’s just hard to come home form work and feel like you are in the right head space to write or find the time to really just sit and stew about something. Most of my time spent writing is me sitting in a chair, staring at a wall and you need to be able to find time to do that. It’s not easy when you also have to worry about how you are going to feed yourself next week, or when most of your down time is watching that guy who is picking his nose on the CTA. I’m so not complaining or anything. Oh my god, I sound like I am complaining. It always works itself out. I’m just not one of those people who can write wherever or whenever. I like to stew in it. So I guess to answer your question: I’m a binge writer.
MM: When you decided to go to grad school and finish your thesis you decided to quit your job and exhaust your savings in order to dedicate yourself to writing and finishing your thesis. Now that the book is coming out, would you do it all the same way? Or if you could, would you go back and do it differently?
SL: Wow Matt… you know a lot about me. Haha… Yeah, so I did that. I’m happy to have finished school. I’m thrilled that a publisher I really like also really likes my book. What’s not great about that? That said, it would have been preferable to find a way to keep my job and finish school and my book at the same time. Unfortunately it didn’t work out that way and I was in this place where I felt like if I didn’t take the risk and just find the time to finish this thing then it would be a struggle to get it done and that would haunt me. I don’t regret that choice. But I have to say that there is something to be said for not struggling, you know? The process for me — about finding time and space — is just something I have to come to terms with for myself. I can’t tell you that you should quit your job, take your 401(k) funds and just go off to the southeast to write your novel. Only you can say if it is worth it.
MM: Talk to me about the chap book, Felicia Sassafrass is Fiction.
SL: Shannon Murphy runs Yes Press Books and she is the biggest support system a girl could have. She loves books, and more importantly, she loves the books that I love. So, she just asked me if I wanted to put together this small little book and she letter pressed each cover and hand stitched every one. This crazy talented illustrator and friend of mine, Moa Marslund, did some kick ass illustrations. I couldn’t be happier. It’s just one story. It will also be in my collection but if you want one now they’re for sale at Tusk in Chicago and The Rochester Brainery in Rochester, NY.
MM: Chicago is a great source of independent artists from all mediums who love to collaborate. You’re from the DC area. How has your time in Chicago formed your writing and your life over the last few years?
SL: I grew up in the suburbs of DC on the Virginia side. The thing is that stories are so intrinsically about the place they are set, so in that way Virginia informs my writing in terms of content, but I never thought of myself as a writer while living there. Rochester and Chicago have been way more formative for me and where I found like minded people. That said, I learned to love baseball while growing up in Virginia and baseball is a a beautiful sport in story form.
MM: You’re a die-hard Washington Nationals fan, and no offense, clearly, but you don’t necessarily cut the swath of a “typical” baseball fan. Talk to me about the DH in American League baseball, Steven Strasburg being shutdown for the playoffs two years ago, and the prospects of the Nationals moving forward.
SL: What’s a typical baseball fan? Is it weird because I’m a girl? My mom was the baseball lover in my family. Growing up, the closest team was the Baltimore Orioles — I called them the Oreos when I was a kid — but my mom would have none of that nonsense. Baseball wasn’t baseball if the pitcher didn’t hit. The DH takes out so much strategy from the game and baseball is a game of strategy. So we obviously couldn’t root for the American League O’s which meant I grew up watching and rooting for the Braves on TNT. This is when they had great pitchers. Maddox. Glavine. Smoltz. I cringe now thinking that I rooted for the Braves because I am such a diehard Nats fan and they are such rivals now, but it was a great way to learn the sport. When baseball came to DC it was a no-brainer. Nationals all the way. As for Steven Strasburg, why are we still talking about this? It’s true that you never know when you are going to have a shot at the World Series but keeping Strasburg on the mound doesn’t guarantee anything either. I don’t blame Rizzo for erring on the side of caution.
MM: Have you ever written about baseball in any of your fiction?
SL: Of course!
MM: Wrigley Field or Nationals Park?
SL: Well, Wrigley Field has such great history but I’m going Nationals Park all the way, if only because that is where the Nationals play.
MM: Peanuts or Cracker Jacks?
SL: Cracker Jacks might come with a toy but I think peanuts taste better. Also, you get to throw the shells on the ground.
MM: You went to undergrad in Rochester, NY, hail from DC, and now live in Chicago. What three other places in the lower 48 would you live?
SL: I could live anywhere as long as I felt like I was part of a community I cared about. That’s why I can’t imagine living anywhere other than Rochester or Chicago. Maybe New York City. Maybe Portland, Oregon. Not Maine… but maybe Maine? Who knows.
MM: You write bios and movie reviews for MrSkin.com, a website that accurately, to the second, details the time that an actress either goes topless or fully nude. What’s it like being a freelancer out in the world today?
SL: Well I’ve mainly written for Mr. Man, the male actor nudity sister website (or should I say brother website?) to Mr. Skin. It’s pretty fun. I don’t think I can speak to what it’s like to be a freelancer in general. It’s nice having your own hours and working from home. I’m lucky to have the work when I want to pick up the extra cash and this gig in particular is a good story to tell your friends at the bar.
MM: Obviously your favorite watering hole in West Town is Innertown Pub. What other faves do you have in the hood or downtown?
SL: I don’t actually have a favorite. Innertown is good for cheap drinks and proximity. Inntertown is also the first bar I ever went to in Chicago when I first moved here. Sportsman’s Club and Archie’s are great, too, if you’re in Humboldt or Ukrainian Village.
MM: Once the short story collection is out and the money comes pouring in, what’s next for Susan Lanier? Is there a novel in the works?
SL: Haha. I don’t presume to know… Speaking of money…a novel about the student debt crisis has been percolating in my brain cavity.
MM: Is it hard being a hustler?
SL: It’s easier to live life without suffering fools. If that makes me a hustler, then I am fine with it.
MM: You are the Jay-Z of Washington Nationals fans!
SL: Put a ring on it. A world series ring. Wait…That’s Beyonce. Stop buying my beers.
MM: Thanks, Susan Lanier!
SL: Thanks Matt. You’re the Jay-Z of interviewers.
Susan Hope Lanier earned her MFA from Columbia College in December, 2012, and now lives, writes and photographs in Chicago, IL. Her debut short story collection, The Game We Play, is forthcoming in September 2014 from Curbside Splendor. For more information please visit susanhopelanier.com