Conducted over Email by Gary Miller
Hailed as “One of the best technical painters of our time” by an L.A. Times critic, 27-year-old Aubrey Johnson is finally gaining traction with her work. But as she weaves through what should be a celebration of her art, a single nagging echo of her doctor’s words refuses to stay silent—there is no cure. In less than eight weeks Aubrey is going blind.
Traveling on a one-way ticket around the world with childhood friend Jeff Anderson, Aubrey is in complete denial. But a blindfolded game of tasting foreign foods in China jolts her into confronting the reality of her situation. So begins her quest.
In this adult coming-of-age story, Aubrey struggles to make sense of her crippling diagnosis. But on her journey she finds a deeper understanding of herself and her life—sometimes fragmented and complex, but always with relentless truth.
1. What are you reading currently?
I'm currently reading TRAIL OF BROKEN WINGS, by Senjal Badani. A marvelous look at the unraveling lives of the adult women who were abused by their father and husband. I thought a story like this might be trite, but I've been surprised so far at how human the book is.
2. What was your process like for writing your novel Blue Sun, Yellow Sky?
I wrote the first draft in 3 months, then spent the next 3 years rewriting. The first draft was really rough and not just in the sense that it was littered with grammatical errors, but the story was all over the place. I didn't have a B-plot and I didn't really know what I was trying to say. It was in the research phase that I really found the backbone of the story. When I was "done" with the book (about a year later) I paid for a story edit and was told that I was a long way from the finish line. The 2000+ edits the story editor suggested seemed daunting at the time, but I took it one edit at a time. And about a year and half later, I had a finished product.
3. What kinds of discoveries did you make about yourself along the way?
The first thing I learned after years of writing in school, was that I still had so much more to learn. Conversely, I also discovered that I knew more than I thought. My life experiences help shape my work, and it is that trust in my gut that really makes the book what it is. The most critical thing I learned was to trust myself. Every time I let a beta reader sway what my gut told me was right, it turned out to be a mistake. Unfortunately, these are time-consuming mistakes but they're part of the learning process and what I got out of it eventually was the confidence in knowing that I should trust my gut.
4. How did you begin writing?
I have always loved telling stories, but it wasn't until I school at UCLA that I really considered it as a career. There I was, a bright-eyed freshman ready to start a career in medicine or pharmacy, when I stumbled into the school of Theater, Film, and Television. I picked up an application thinking I had no chance of ever being accepted and I applied. When I got my letter of acceptance I thought, Oh, crap. How am I going to explain this to my parents? Ha! Even still, I don't think it was a singular moment, but long periods of starting and stoping and then reaching a point where I'd written so much of the book that I just had to see it through.
5. What is some advice you would give to beginning writers looking to write a book?
Don't get hung up on the perfect first draft. This is the single greatest reason, most people never complete their books. If you can't give yourself the freedom to write a crappy first draft then I hate to say it, but you're going to shoot yourself in the foot before you can even begin the journey. Also, writing is a discipline which means you have to show up consistently. Be it every day or every third Saturday, whatever your schedule allows, but you'll never finish if you continue putting chores and errands before your writing.
6. You mentioned in your promo that you wanted to create a strong female protagonist and what would happen if someone's life is upended by career, relationship or otherwise, what were some inspirations in creating your protagonist?
I was inspired by Cheryl Stayed's novel "WILD." Also, my early twenties were made up of a series of adventures and mistakes for which I am eternally grateful. I hit a low point in life where I found myself complete at a loss for who I was. At the time I had no real career prospects and my only accomplishments were the ones I'd purchased via traveling. It was simultaneously the best and worst time of my life. So when I began writing the book, I wanted to capture that essence, to show that there was beauty in loss and that every challenge can be met with optimism if you look at the situation from the right perspective.
7. Are there any other projects you are currently working on?
I have two different projects I'm tackling at the moment, but both are in such early stages that I'm not entirely sure what they'll end up being about.
8. What are some writers that you really admire or love reading?
I don't have authors I admire so much as books that I love. I love reading non-fiction so WILD and IT'S WHAT I DO are two which had a great deal of influence on me recently. I also enjoy a good beach read and Liane Moriarty is fast becoming a favorite. I love books which connect us with humanity. ALL THE LIGHT YOU CANNOT SEE, which happened to also be about a blind girl, was also a favorite this past year.
9. Do you think it's possible for your book to be filmed?
I would love to see my book on the big screen, but I come from a screenwriting background and I know that purely from a structural standpoint getting to 8 different places in the course of 90-120 minutes is too much for an audience to digest. So, while I think the story can certainly be adapted for the big screen, it wouldn't be a straightforward adaptation.
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