Sam Lansky is channeling his life story for another compelling and honest story.
Now, he’s making his fiction debut withBroken People.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Why did you decide to make a move to fiction?
Credit: Ryan Pfluger; Hanover Square Press
Was this always something you wanted to do?
There’s such a present autobiographical aspect to the book for those who read your memoir.
What was channeling your experiences into a fictional character like for you?
I’d had relationships, heartbreak, I’d moved across the country.
Something that anyone beyond me and my therapist would ever care to read.
Where did the inspiration for the shaman come from?
Yeah, it did come from my own experience.
I was fascinated by that.
Everyone’s kind of like hustling and grinding to get through their day.
How was rendering pain on the page inBroken People?
What were the challenges in telling this complex, heavy story?
It was really, really hard, and I feel like that’s important to say out loud.
It always feels like more of an exorcism, to be frank.
Is the idea of queer pain something you consider in your work?
You have no models of behavior for what queer love or partnership looks like.
Or what it means to be a queer person in the world.
Especially the queer body.
It feels unthinkable that that would be the culturally agreed-upon ideal, and yet here we are.
What was launching a book right now been like?
It’s been very strange and disorienting, and I feel very unsure of how to be.
It doesn’t feel good to be in the trenches of my promo cycle.
There’s an increase in the range of types of queer literature recently.
Do you feel excited about this moment as a queer writer?
I feel so much excitement about the work that is coming from queer writers.
Having more queer women in the canon is so wonderful as well.
Music is a big part of your career and your character’s life.
Does music play a role in your writing process?
Music has been a huge part of my life.
There’s this sort of evolution to what Sam is listening to as he evolves as a person.
Towards the beginning of the book, it’s very glittery like Carly Rae Jepsen and Kylie Minogue.
Then you go deeper into this relationship; it’s a lot of Taylor Swift.
Is there anything you learned or see differently about your own life experience after channeling your story in fiction?
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