Ep 169: From Short Stories to a Debut Novel (with Louise Marburg)
Louise Marburg has spent years devoted to the short story form. So naturally, she accidentally wrote a novel. Her debut, Fancy Meeting You, features Laura Harrigan: a psychiatrist, mother of twin boys, and pathological liar who apparently had too much personality to stay confined to a short story. Louise and I talked about what it was like to finally write a character she didn't want to let go of, and why she'd actually consider a sequel (which, she says, she'd never say about anything else she's written).
We also got into the bigger picture stuff: the current state of publishing, why small presses are having a real moment, and why luck is a bigger factor in this industry than most people want to admit. Louise is refreshingly clear-eyed about the money side of writing (hint: making loads of money isn't the point), and her take on what a publicist is actually for might shift the way you think about hiring one!
Plus we talked AI, the two completely separate industries that both call themselves "the book world," and what Louise is reading right now—including one very famous book she was not a fan of (because no book is for everyone!).
CONNECT WITH LOUISE MARBURG
Website: louisemarburg.com
Instagram: @louisemarburg
Fancy Meeting You: Buy Here to Support Indie Bookstores
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