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WORK TITLE: Light Years
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://emilyziffgriffin.com/
CITY: Los Angeles
STATE: CA
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
RESEARCHER NOTES:
| LC control no.: | no2016111198 |
|---|---|
| LCCN Permalink: | https://lccn.loc.gov/no2016111198 |
| HEADING: | Griffin, Emily Ziff |
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| 005 | 20180222073231.0 |
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| 040 | __ |a InU |b eng |e rda |c InU |d ICrlF |d UPB |
| 053 | _0 |a PS3607.R5456 |
| 100 | 1_ |a Griffin, Emily Ziff |
| 370 | __ |e Los Angeles (Calif.) |2 naf |
| 371 | __ |m emily@emilyziffgriffin.com |
| 372 | __ |a Motion pictures |a Young adult literature |2 lcsh |
| 374 | __ |a Motion picture producers and directors |a Authors |2 lcsh |
| 375 | __ |a Women |2 lcdgt |
| 377 | __ |a eng |
| 400 | 1_ |a Ziff Griffin, Emily |
| 400 | 1_ |w nnea |a Ziff, Emily |
| 670 | __ |a Jack goes boating, 2011: |b credits (Emily Ziff, producer) |
| 670 | __ |a Light years, 2017: |b title page (Emily Ziff Griffin) book jacket inside back cover (Emily Ziff Griffin ; “Lives in L.A … She cofounded Cooper’s Town Productions with Philip Seymour Hoffman and produced the Academy-award winning film ’Capote’ along with Hoffman’s directorial debut ’Jack goes boating … Find her at emilyziffgriffin.com.”) |
| 670 | __ |a Author’s web site, Sept. 14, 2017: |b (Emily Ziff Griffin ; Lives in L.A., author of ’Light years’, contact her at emily@emilyziffgriffin.com.) |
PERSONAL
Daughter of Charles E. Ziff and Kay Ellen Reinhart; married Nicholas Dodson Griffin (2010); children: two.
EDUCATION:Brown University graduate.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and film producer. Cooper’s Town Productions, Los Angeles, CA, cofounder, c. 2005–. Producer of the films; produced Capote, Jack Goes Boating, and God’s Pocket.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Emily Ziff Griffin is a young adult (YA) novelist and film producer who cofounded Cooper’s Town Productions with the late actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. In an interview with Karis Rogerson for the Ravishly website, Griffin commented on why she writes, noting: “It gives me joy and I have something to say. Without sounding too grandiose, I feel it’s our obligation to share our most authentic selves with others in whatever form. We are here to love and to create.” Griffin also told Rogerson that she writes for young adults because teenagers “are in the process of forming where the culture is going to go,” adding: “I wanted to be part of what influences that.”
In her debut YA novel Light Years, Griffin sets her story in an alternative version of the United States a few years after a presumed terror attack known as the Blackout Bombing killed thousands of people. The terrorists, who were never captured, succeeded in weakening the U.S. government. At the same time, a counter-government organization called Front Line has emerged as a popular organization among the people. Luisa, whose mother is Mexican, is only sixteen years old but already a brilliant coder. Luisa is determined to win a highly sought after mentorship with a computer genius, which not only means funding for a project she is working on but also an opportunity to get away from her controlling mother.
Luisa’s plans, however, come to a halt as a mysterious and deadly virus erupts around the world. It affects thousands of people, including her best friend and her father. Luisa ends up embarking on a mission to find a cure. “I wanted to tell a story inspired by losing my father to AIDS when I was a teenager,” Griffin told Germ magazine website contributor Joshua Flores, noting that she wanted the story to emanate from a girl’s perspective, adding: “I basically wanted to write the book that would have resonated for me when I was a teenager grappling with death and the future and the nature of human existence and what it means to be a girl and a woman and to have big feelings that are often not easy or convenient.”
In the novel, Luisa has a rare medical condition that causes all of her physical senses to go into overload whenever she becomes extremely emotional. Color, sound, taste, and touch all seem to course through her body simultaneously, sometimes leading her to “hear” the sky shift hues or to smell certain things, such as pine trees, whenever she thinks of her crush Kamal. As for the viral outbreak, modern medicine seems unable to come up with an answer, and government sanctions do little to curtail it. Then one day Luisa receives a mysterious email indicating that a cure exists. The message prods Luisa into putting her life on hold in order to find the messenger and the cure that her father so desperately needs.
Accompanied by Kamal, her own brother Ben, and her friend Phoebe, Luisa finds herself on a cross-country quest. In the beginning she and her cohorts are primarily guided by an algorithm that Luisa developed and calls Light Years. Luisa, who developed the algorithm based on her neurological responses to emotion, can use it to scan the Internet for pervasive emotional responses to a specific image. The data can then be analyzed to identify specific geographical locations. Although a scientist by nature, Luisa comes to find that science and logic are not enough. She also must also rely on her intuition and Catholic faith if she is to stop the epidemic.
“Griffin’s near-future world building is stylish, immersive, and entirely plausible,” wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor. Noting the “cliffhanger” ending, School Library Journal Online contributor Margaret A. Robbins went on to note: “Unlike many sci-fi novels, the fast pacing doesn’t come at the expense of thoughtful character development.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2017, review of Light Years.
ONLINE
Emily Ziff Griffin Website, https://emilyziffgriffin.com (May 26, 2018).
Entertainment Weekly Online, http://ew.com/ (April 14, 2017), Sara Murphy, “What author Emily Ziff Griffin learned from her friend Philip Seymour Hoffman,” author interview.
Germ, http://www.germmagazine.com/ (October 26, 2017), Joshua Flores, “Emily Ziff Griffin Interview: Light Years, the World of Publishing, and Inspiration for Writers.”
Ravishly, https://ravishly.com/ (October 18, 2017), Karis Rogerson, “An Interview with Light Years Author Emily Ziff Griffin.”
School Library Journal Online, https://www.slj.com/ (September 13, 2017), Margaret A. Robbins, review of Light Years.
Variety Online, http://variety.com/ (February 24, 2015), Dave McNary, “Producer Emily Ziff Launches Mixed Use Co. (Exclusive).”
YA Books Central, http://www.yabookscentral.com/ (September 7, 2017), Kayla King, review of Light Years; (August 30, 2017) Kayla King, “Author Chat with Emily Ziff Griffin (Light Years), Plus Giveaway!”
Welcome to my website.
I live in LA where I write, produce, teach, daydream, and mother two young kids. When I was 25, I co-founded Cooper’s Town Productions with Philip Seymour Hoffman and produced the Academy Award-winning film, ‘Capote,’ along with Hoffman’s directorial debut ‘Jack Goes Boating,’ and John Slattery’s ‘God’s Pocket.’ I’ve run three marathons, slowly, and hold a degree from Brown University in art-semiotics, the study of how images make meaning. I believe children are way more perceptive, sophisticated, and intelligent than adults typically give them credit for and I write for the teenager who is ready to claim their own worldview and be grounded in their own power. ‘Light Years’ is my first novel.
I would be thrilled to do a workshop at your school or video chat with your book club. Please be in touch, I would love to hear from you!
Producer Emily Ziff Launches Mixed Use Co. (EXCLUSIVE)
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Emily Ziff
Emily Ziff, who ran Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Cooper’s Town Prods. for the past decade, has launched the Mixed Use Company as her own producing banner.
“I am grateful to have spent the past 10 years developing material alongside one of the world’s most creative storytellers,” Ziff said of Hoffman. “And now I am excited to begin a new chapter with a slate of unique and dynamic projects.
While at Cooper’s Town, Ziff worked as an associate producer on “Capote” and as a producer on “Jack Goes Boating” and “God’s Pocket.” Ziff and Sara Murphy are teamed with 2929 Prods. to produce “Black Lung,” a supernatural thriller starring Amanda Seyfried and Theo James that was unveiled earlier this month at Berlin.
Under the Mixed Use shingle, Ziff is producing “The Cavendish Home,” based on Claire LeGrand’s novel “The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls” and adapted for the screen by Liam O’Rourke and Graham Riske. The story is set at a mysterious orphanage, where kids go and come out smarter, prettier, better — or they don’t come out at all.
Ziff is producing “Swan Dive,” written and to be directed by Sara St. Onge (“Molly Maxwell”) in an irreverent story about a young woman who leaps blindly into step-motherhood.
She also developing “Light Years,” based on her debut novel for young adults that is being packaged for publication by In This Together Media and Foundry Literary + Media. The story is set in the near future and centers on a 15-year-old girl thrust into the center of the conspiracy behind a global pandemic that threatens to wipe out the human race.
On the TV side, Ziff is developing the hourlong series “The Fellowship,” written by Sara St. Onge and Mark Van de Ven. It’s based on Roger Friedland and Harold Zellman’s account of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin Fellowship. She is also packaging a half-hour pilot called “Dot Dot Dot…,” a darkly comic chronicle of two estranged half-sisters who move into their recently deceased father’s apartment.
Emily Ziff Griffin lives in Los Angeles, where she writes, produces, teaches, daydreams, and mothers two young kids. When she was twenty-five, she cofounded Cooper’s Town Productions with Philip Seymour Hoffman and produced the Academy Award–winning film Capote, along with Hoffman’s directorial debut Jack Goes Boating, and John Slattery’s God’s Pocket. She’s run three marathons, slowly, and holds a degree from Brown University in art-semiotics, the study of how images make meaning. She believes children are way more sophisticated than adults typically give them credit for and writes for the teenager who is ready to claim their own worldview and be grounded in their own power. Light Years is her first novel. Find her at EmilyZiffGriffin.com.
Griffin, Emily Ziff: LIGHT YEARS
Kirkus Reviews.
(Aug. 1, 2017): From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Griffin, Emily Ziff LIGHT YEARS Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster (Children's Fiction) $17.99 9, 5 ISBN: 978-1-5072-0005-6
A deadly pandemic killing hundreds of thousands can only be stopped by one girl's unique way of interacting with the world. Sixteen-year-old Luisa Ochoa-Jones' senses misfire when her emotions run high. Stress causes her to see flashes of color. She can hear a shift in the hue of the night sky. Her crush, Kamal, causes her to smell pine trees, while a meeting with an eccentric zillionaire triggers the scent of roses. Biracial Luisa is desperate to begin her life--to win a prized mentorship with a computer genius and find freedom from her hypercontrolling Mexican mother, but the outbreak of a deadly virus puts everything on hold. Modern medicine and governmental sanctions fail to curtail the outbreak, so when Luisa receives a mysterious computer message that hints at a cure and her white father falls ill, she decides to risk everything to save those she loves. Luisa draws upon her Mexican Catholicism, Kamal's faith in Islam, and her shadowy correspondent's references to Eastern belief systems and literature to find a deeper path toward a cure. The intersection of spiritualism, physical health, and a global community creates an evocative message that hints at the butterfly effect one person can have. Griffin's near-future worldbuilding is stylish, immersive, and entirely plausible; a jumbled ending does not significantly undercut it. A supernatural romantic thriller that defies convention. (Science fiction. 12-16)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Griffin, Emily Ziff: LIGHT YEARS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2017. Book Review Index Plus,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A499572735/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=3a998ee2. Accessed 18 Apr. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A499572735
2 of 2 4/18/18, 12:41 AM
Light Years by Emily Ziff Griffin | SLJ Review
By SLJ on September 13, 2017 Leave a Comment
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redstarGRIFFIN, Emily Ziff. Light Years. 304p. S. & S./Simon Pulse. Sept. 2017. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781507200056.
Gr 10 Up –A lyrical science fiction novel about a sensitive and creative teenager tasked with saving herself—and the world. In a near future, Luisa Ochoa-Jones, 16, is a brilliant coder and has just been accepted into a high-profile internship program at a leading tech company. She is eager to begin her career and get out from under the thumb of her controlling mother. But Luisa’s plans change abruptly when a mysterious virus erupts that affects thousands of people, including her best friend and her father. Luisa and her brother Ben, along with her crush Kamal and friend Phoebe go on a cross-country journey to find a cure and stop the spread of the virus. The protagonist gets hints in the form of mysterious poems and has to learn to trust faith and intuition that extend beyond science and logic. Luisa also experiences overwhelming sensory effects similar to synesthesia (colors, sounds, tastes) when under stress or in highly emotional situations. Griffin crafts a gorgeously written tale with depth, suspense, intriguing characters, and an engaging plot that moves along like a gripping action film. The ending is a cliffhanger, leaving open the strong possibility of a sequel. VERDICT Unlike many sci-fi novels, the fast pacing doesn’t come at the expense of thoughtful character development. Highly recommended for older adolescents.–Margaret A. Robbins, University of Georgia, Athens
This review was published in the School Library Journal September 2017 issue.
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Author Chat with Emily Ziff Griffin (Light Years), Plus Giveaway!
Wednesday, 30 August 2017
Kayla King, Blog Manager
News & Updates
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Today we're excited to chat with Emily Ziff Griffin, author of Light Years. Read on for more about Emily and her book, plus a giveaway.
Meet Emilly Ziff Griffin!
Emily Ziff Griffin lives in LA where she writes, produces, teaches, daydreams, and mothers two young kids. When she was 25, she co-founded Cooper’s Town Productions with Philip Seymour Hoffman and produced the Academy Award-winning film, ‘Capote,’ along with Hoffman’s directorial debut ‘Jack Goes Boating,’ and John Slattery’s ‘God’s Pocket.’ She's run three marathons, slowly, and holds a degree from Brown University in art-semiotics, the study of how images make meaning. She believes children are way more sophisticated than adults typically give them credit for and writes for the teenager who is ready to claim their own worldview and be grounded in their own power. ‘Light Years’ is her first novel. Find her at www.emilyziffgriffin.com
Meet Light Years!
As a mysterious virus infects the world’s population, a girl embarks on a quest to find a cure in this thrilling debut from Emily Ziff Griffin.
Luisa is ready for her life to start. Five minutes ago. And she could be on her way, as her extraordinary coding skills have landed her a finalist spot for a fellowship sponsored by Thomas Bell, the world’s most brilliant and mercurial tech entrepreneur. Being chosen means funding, mentorship, and most importantly, freedom from her overbearing mother. Maybe Lu will even figure out how to control the rare condition that plagues her: whenever her emotions run high, her physical senses kick into overload, with waves of color, sound, taste, and touch flooding her body.
But Luisa’s life is thrust into chaos as a deadly virus sweeps across the globe, killing thousands and sending her father into quarantine. When Lu receives a cryptic message from someone who might hold the key to stopping the epidemic, she knows she must do something to save her family—and the world.
Suspenseful, lyrical, and thought-provoking, Light Years features a remarkable heroine on an intensely physical and emotional quest for hope and existential meaning.
A Chat with Emily Ziff Griffin:
1. What gave you the inspiration to write this book? The initial inspiration came from losing my father to AIDS when I was a teenager.
2. Who is your favorite character in the book? Oh of course I love them all! Luisa is closest to my heart because she was inspired so closely by my own life experience—she’s who I wish I had been as a teenager. But I also have a real love for Phoebe. Phoebe is in some ways closer to who I actually was, as opposed to who I now wish I could’ve been if that makes sense. Phoebe and Luisa are both young women for whom their strengths and vulnerabilities are deeply intertwined which is something I really relate to personally and I think that duality makes for dynamic character.
3. Which came first, the title or the novel? The novel. I really wanted to call the book ‘The Rest of Ever’ but was given feedback that it was too obtuse (though you will see in the book how that phrase—which a good friend coined, not me—found its place).
4. What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why? The final chapter of the book is my favorite section because I think it’s just so beautiful and surprising and hopefully asks as many questions as it answers without being unsatisfying, which as a reader is something I really enjoy. If I had to choose one scene I would choose the scene when Luisa confronts the man with the gun by the train tracks. That is where I think something really shifts inside of her and her power to connect with people emotionally starts to reveal itself more clearly.
5. Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you've learned as a writer from then to now? So. Many. Things. Perhaps the most important thing is that I can trust my creative instincts. They keep getting stronger and stronger and I keep trusting them more and more which is really gratifying.
6. What do you like most about the cover of the book? I like that when you first look at the cover you think it’s a typical picturesque sunrise or sunset vista. Then you see these odd red orbs that are maybe flowers? Then you look closer and see that they are in fact something rather sinister-looking. I am a fan of anything and everything that subverts expectations and deepens as you engage with it. I think both the cover and the book function that way—they are not what you initially think or expect.
7. What new release book are you looking most forward to in 2017? 'My Absolute Darling' by Gabriel Tallent, Meghan O’Rourke’s 'Sun in Days,' and Emily Henry’s ‘A Million Junes’ which is out but I haven’t read it yet!
What was your favorite book in 2016?
What’s up next for you? I just wrapped production on a beautiful film called 18 TO
PARTY that I produced and I'm writing a top secret interactive project that I’m not
allowed to talk about but I can’t wait to share with its tween girl audience when the time comes.
10.Which character gave you the most trouble when writing your latest book?
Luisa’s parents were tricky. I feel like initially her dad was idealized and her mom was too cold. It took me time to find a deeper, more complex understanding of each of them.
11. Which part of the writing process do you enjoy more: Drafting or
Revising? Revising! I found writing a novel a lot like running a marathon. As
soon as I knew I was going to make it to the end, I could relax and enjoy it. Revising is where I can let go of the pressure of finishing and focus on making the story and writing better and better and better. It’s the final downhill miles and it’s my happy place.
12. What would you say is your superpower? My instincts and my endurance.
13. Is there an organization or cause that is close to your heart? I love the work that girlsleadership.org is doing.
Light Years
By: Emily Ziff Griffin
Release Date: September 5, 2017
*GIVEAWAY DETAILS*
Two winners will receive signed copies of Light Years. (US only).
*Click the Rafflecopter link below to enter the giveaway*
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Featured Review: Light Years by Emily Ziff Griffin
Thursday, 07 September 2017
Kayla King, Blog Manager
Latest Staff Reviews
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light-years
About This Book:
As a mysterious virus infects the world’s population, a girl embarks on a quest to find a cure in this thrilling debut from Emily Ziff Griffin. Luisa is ready for her life to start. Five minutes ago. And she could be on her way, as her extraordinary coding skills have landed her a finalist spot for a fellowship sponsored by Thomas Bell, the world’s most brilliant and mercurial tech entrepreneur. Being chosen means funding, mentorship, and most importantly, freedom from her overbearing mother. Maybe Lu will even figure out how to control the rare condition that plagues her: whenever her emotions run high, her physical senses kick into overload, with waves of color, sound, taste, and touch flooding her body. But Luisa’s life is thrust into chaos as a deadly virus sweeps across the globe, killing thousands and sending her father into quarantine. When Lu receives a cryptic message from someone who might hold the key to stopping the epidemic, she knows she must do something to save her family—and the world. Suspenseful, lyrical, and thought-provoking, Light Years features a remarkable heroine on an intensely physical and emotional quest for hope and existential meaning.
*Review Contributed By Angela Blount, Staff Reviewer*
Sci-fi Light
A dystopian-leaning mid-apocalyptic YA with a pandemic premise and a code savvy heroine.
The book takes place in a slightly alternate version of the present-day U.S., several years after a catastrophic presumed terror attack (referred to as the Blackout Bombing.) Thousands of people died and those responsible were never captured. The result was a weakened central government and the emergence of a popular govern-less organization called Front Line—which seemed to develop from volunteer first-responders who filled the void in the aftermath.
The story is told exclusively through the first-person present-tense eyes of 16-year-old Luisa Ochoa-Jones, a gifted coder with grand ambitions. Though she is tightly controlled and not outwardly very emotional, Luisa’s unusual neurological response to emotion has resulted in her taking a strong interest in the emotional reactions of others. So much so, she’s come up with an algorithm that scans the internet for pervasive emotional responses to a particular image. (A social media scraper, of sorts.) The data can then be sorted into geographical locations. It’s this algorithm, which she calls ‘LightYears,’ that she is (in the first chapter) pitching to a famously successful tech entrepreneur in hopes of winning a highly competitive fellowship. Of course, her priorities are forced to re-order when a deadly mystery illness begins sweeping across the globe…
What I liked:
The heroine is unique in that she apparently has a form of Synesthesia.
Synesthesia being a neurological condition/disorder (occurring in 1-4% of the population) which blurs the distinction between the five senses. Meaning, a person literally perceives something in a sense besides the sense that’s being stimulated (i.e. the sight of certain colors, shapes, or numbers may be perceived along with a particular taste or smell, or vice versa. Certain sounds or smells may concurrently be experienced as colors or textures…etc.)
Depending on the frequency and intensity, this involuntary extra perception can sometimes be overwhelming and/or disorienting for the person affected. And that’s precisely the case with Luisa. She thinks of her condition as sensory misfires, and explains the experience thusly: “Smells come with flashes of color, sounds have tastes, sights bring the sensation of temperature or touch. Certain people or places can spark complex reactions.”
For her, emotions tie in with this cross-perception effect. She indicates early on that her grandmother was the same way, and people viewed her as crazy—and so Luisa hides her condition from everyone but her immediate family.
I appreciated that, while the main character was Hispanic and there was some well-woven and openly translated Spanish involved, her ethnic background served as natural enrichment rather than an artificial focal point.
The prose itself is distinct—a strong voice with sometimes borderline poetic qualities. There were moments that memorable quotes and characterization bits punched through and lodged in my memory. Here’s one particular instance that manages both:
"My dad may be a recovering addict with five years of sobriety under his belt, but my mother is a recovering martyr with two decades of resentment under hers."
(And there you also have Luisa’s parents neatly summed up.)
What Didn’t Work For Me:
I was disappointed that Luisa’s neurological condition wasn’t actually named in the book. Not even when she finally reveals that part of herself to her love interest. She gives him only a few examples, explaining that she always thought it made her “weak” and “weird.” Sadly, this ended up feeling like a missed opportunity to better inform readers about a real neuro atypical issue in an unobtrusive way.
(While there are some great explanations of synesthesia out there, I personally favor the Good Mythical Morning version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj7vukZT9sI )
Unfortunately, this reader wasn’t able to connect with any of the characters as well as I would have liked. Ben was whiny and indecisive, Kamal seemed bland (outside of the novelty of being British and Muslim), Phoebe was domineering, manipulative, and frigid to an unrelatable degree… and Luisa was difficult to empathize with—which is discouraging, given we spend the whole book in her head.
Luisa presents as an aloof, calculating mind and a regular party girl with reverse Peter Pan syndrome. Once the apocalypse kicks in, she also turns out to be the kind of girl who’s apparent first instinct, when gifted a holy book by an uninfected quarantine camp worker, is to throw it in the garbage. And despite her purported high intelligence, she made a number of inexplicably senseless decisions toward the end that—along with a seeming late shift from the apocalyptic genre to the new-age spiritual/paranormal—may cause a distancing rift between the reader and the main character, as well as the reader and overall believability.
This reader’s biggest reservation centers around the perplexingly vague ending. Beyond a simple cliffhanger, it’s the kind of ending that raises more questions than it answers, and perhaps calls reality itself into question. All of the repeated symbols and spirituality never quite congealed into something sensical. (I still don’t understand the significance of the scar on Luisa’s knee, though it was brought up often enough to be blatantly purposeful.) It does at least seem clear that more books must be intended, so readers may simply have to wait to find satisfaction.
Content Note: The first half of this book is pretty laden with coarse language—f-bombs in particular—primarily from the lone viewpoint character. (Oddly, as the situation becomes more dire and apocalyptic, the language eases up—just when it would be easier to contextually overlook.) The book also contains numerous scenes involving casual underaged drinking, including one in which it is encouraged/facilitated by an adult.
The prose in this debut shows a lot of promise, but for me, the narrative didn’t quite come together. Readers who enjoy more in-depth worldbuilding and/or a sense of closure may want to hold out until the next book releases for a better sense of where this may be headed.
*Find More Info On This Book HERE!*
An Interview With Light Years Author Emily Ziff Griffin
People We Love
Karis Rogerson
Karis Rogerson
Karis Rogerson | 10.18.17 12:00am
Emily Ziff Griffin was 25 when she co-founded Cooper’s Town Production with her good friend Philip Seymour Hoffman and produced Capote, a film that earned Hoffman an Academy Award and received a 4/4 rating from influential film critic Roger Ebert.
Long before becoming a producer, though, Emily was a young girl whose parents split up when her father realized he was gay; they maintained a close relationship, however, and she says she “was lucky to feel very nurtured by both of them growing up.” Some of her favorite memories include a sleepaway camp in Maine that truly nurtured her sense of independence.
On top of the career she’s already built for herself, Emily’s debut young adult novel Light Years released from Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster in September. From the publisher: "Luisa is ready for her life to start. Five minutes ago. And she could be on her way, as her extraordinary coding skills have landed her a finalist spot for a fellowship sponsored by Thomas Bell, the world’s most brilliant and mercurial tech entrepreneur. Being chosen means funding, mentorship, and most importantly, freedom from her overbearing mother. Maybe Lu will even figure out how to control the rare condition that plagues her: whenever her emotions run high, her physical senses kick into overload, with waves of color, sound, taste, and touch flooding her body.
But Luisa’s life is thrust into chaos as a deadly virus sweeps across the globe, killing thousands and sending her father into quarantine. When Lu receives a cryptic message from someone who might hold the key to stopping the epidemic, she knows she must do something to save her family—and the world."
I had the pleasure of reading an advance copy and found it intriguing and thought-provoking on many levels, from its premise to the spiritual elements embedded in the story. It’s a truly fascinating read.
I got to chat with Emily over email about how she got started producing and then writing, and about the story at the heart of Light Years. I’m so excited to share her answers with you!
Where and how did your introduction to the world of film production come, and how did you meet and befriend Philip Seymour Hoffman?
When I went to college it was with the intention of becoming a photographer. That shifted into a real passion for film, but by the time I graduated, my confidence in myself as an artist had eroded some. I have various theories about why. But I was afraid to declare myself an artist. And so producing seemed like the next best thing — a way to be creative but not responsible for the big vision.
My first job in the business was as a producer's assistant, then a talent manager's assistant, and on from there. Over time, though, that initial compulsion to create my own work re-emerged and I started to write. I met [Phil] through his former manager for whom I worked as an assistant shortly after college. I started as Phil's assistant, and within a year of working together we decided to start a company and produce movies. He really empowered me from the place of, "You wanna produce? Produce." And he gave me the platform to try and to learn.
Why do you write?
It gives me joy and I have something to say. Without sounding too grandiose, I feel it's our obligation to share our most authentic selves with others in whatever form. We are here to love and to create. I really believe that! It took me a while to find the form that seems to allow me to do that. I take pleasure in my voice, not in a narcissistic way, but because its ability to connect with, move, and entertain people thrills me. It's my small way of changing the world. And therefore, it's my duty.
If you knew the world were ending next year, would you continue to write and tell stories?
Probably, because I think it would take the world ending for me to believe that it actually would. So I'd be writing with hope for a miracle, for one thing. But also, I think sharing writing helps us all, reader and writer both, to make sense of things. And as the world were ending, I would need a way to make sense of it all.
Why did you choose YA for your noveling debut?
I think teenagers are just so wildly sophisticated, and they sit right at the pivot point of culture. They are in the process of forming where the culture is going to go. I wanted to be part of what influences that. I wanted to say, here are some ways to think about death, about loss, about media and technology, about creativity and emotion, about your own agency — maybe even about the nature of time and space that you haven't considered.
I also think they are pandered to by so much of the media that's made for them, and I wanted to offer something really different and unexpected with this book. And of course, I was writing about my own experience as a teenager.
What was it like taking such personal experiences you’ve had — death of people close to you, first love, and all the spiritual elements — and fictionalizing them?
It was so healing. I really learned so much about myself and those things by writing about them. And I deepened the thing I learned from Phil over and over, which was how to make work that's always really real and vulnerable and personal without just being literal. Those experiences were like the wood frame of a house, they give the house its shape but you don't actually see them in their literal form when you look at the finished product.
What was the hardest thing about writing this book? What was the hardest thing about the publishing experience?
The length of time it took and the uncertainty about the outcome. It was a huge investment on many levels. I wrote most of it with an infant and a three year old at home, after moving to LA without any source of income. Letting go of the pressure and expectation that created was really hard. [And] so far, it’s proving tougher than I’d hoped to get people to pay attention. There are so many books and so much content vying for our focus, but I believe in this book so fully. It’s not what you expect it to be, it really has to be read I think. It has to be experienced, and it’s hard to get people to read.
The twist at the end was wild and unexpected — at least to me. Did you know going into the book that would be the cause, or did you discover as you wrote? Why is it that you chose this?
It definitely evolved as I wrote, but I did begin with an interest in somehow talking about how I experienced the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, which was that certain people were dying and certain people were OK with and maybe even glad about that. The amount of creativity the world lost to that epidemic was something I was thinking a lot about. I’ve also studied yoga for a long time and I really wanted to explore the connection between mind and body because I think our culture tends to be in denial about that, and I wish we weren’t.
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Emily Ziff Griffin Interview: Light Years, the World of Publishing, and Inspiration for Writers
Lit Tips & Interviews
Oct 26, 2017
Emily Griffin is the author of the new release Light Years, which defies genres, provides both action and heart, and gives readers a gripping narrative from authentic teen voices. I had the honor to ask Griffin a few questions about her writing process, the authors who have shaped her work the most, and what she has next for readers. Not only does she provide great insight into the industry and the positive and negative aspects of writing, but she also has plenty of wisdom to share with the next generation of writers, seeking to write diverse and realistic teen stories.
What first inspired you to tell Luisa’s story in Light Years?
I wanted to tell a story inspired by losing my father to AIDS when I was a teenager. And I wanted to tell it from a teen girl’s point of view, for a teenage audience. I basically wanted to write the book that would have resonated for me when I was a teenager grappling with death and the future and the nature of human existence and what it means to be a girl and a woman and to have big feelings that are often not easy or convenient.
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In the book, Luisa has a condition that was very intriguing to read about. At what point did you know this would be a significant aspect of Light Years?
Her condition came about during the writing of my second draft but then didn’t really become what it became in terms of its connection to Luisa’s emotional state until much later. That was a key turning point in the book’s evolution. I was always writing about a girl finding her way toward embracing her authentic self, her emotional self, but connecting that journey to her condition was one of those “finally seeing the forest through the trees” moments of writing.
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Do you consider yourself a plotter or a pantser? How did your method of choice affect the overall structure and flow of your book?
Mostly a plotter, like I need the security and confidence that come with a solid outline. BUT I am learning to trust that I can also rely on a fair amount of discovery along the way, and, in fact, that is vitally important. I think because I’ve spent the past nearly 20 years working in film, the basics of the ‘hero’s journey’ three-act narrative structure are burned into my brain, and I do instinctively follow those signposts. But then I leave room for a deepening of the story and characters and themes to occur and evolve as I go.
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How similar are you to your main characters? Do you add aspects of yourself to every character, or are there certain ones that reflect more of your personality than others?
I believe all creative work must be deeply personal while striving to be non-literal. So Luisa and I have a lot in common. We both have had to learn how to embrace our emotions as powerful tools, as opposed to trying to hide them. We have both come to recognize our instincts and creativity as having world-changing potential. We have both lost a father to a devastating disease. But Luisa is also present to her experiences in a way I was not at her age. That is one of the biggest differences between us. And she’s also half-Mexican and a world-class coder, which are not things I can claim to be! I do have things in common with all the other characters too: Thomas Bell, Kamal, Phoebe, Evans, Lu’s brother and parents. I use elements of my own psyche to help me understand and bring to life all my characters.
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Which writers and books have influenced your writing the most?
Jennifer Niven really thrilled me with All the Bright Places. The suspense and emotional impact she created around real life, around incredibly accessible, honest love and loss was so artful and surprising and thrilling to me as a reader. She really honors her readers’ intelligence too, which I appreciate. I also found Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone inspiring from a world-building and thematic point-of-view when I was working on Light Years. But I tend to read a lot of things that are not YA because I am newer to the YA world. So I love Joan Didion and Dana Spiotta and George Saunders and Meghan O’Rourke and the mythologically-rooted storytelling of Clarissa Pinkola Estes (her work has been a HUGE influence on my writing). And then, of course, a childhood favorite: A Wrinkle in Time, which has much in common with Light Years for me.
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How would you describe the publishing process? Do you have any tips for teens and young adults in regard to the world of publishing?
The publishing process has been frustrating, to be honest. It should not be surprising coming from the film business where the challenge is the same, i.e. that there is so much competition for the audience’s attention, and it is very hard for most books to gain a foothold. What has been gratifying is that people who have no connection to me seem to love and really respond to the book, but I wish more people knew the book existed. My approach has been to see myself selling one book at a time, connecting with one reader at a time, and taking satisfaction from those connections. I think that’s my best advice: Connect with as many people as you can, and be grateful for those exchanges and the chance to share your work in whatever form you can find.
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Do you ever see yourself writing in a different genre or for adult audiences?
Absolutely. I am a content creator and storyteller, and for me that takes many forms: on screen, through teaching, through the creation of products, books, games, stories of various kinds. I have no shortage of ideas of things I want to put into the world! That said, I think I have a deep connection to teenagers, particularly teenage girls because of how significant that period of my life was for me. It is an audience I am drawn to over and over, and it feels like an important place for me to center a lot of my work.
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If you could cast a celebrity to play Luisa, who would you choose? Why?
This is tough because there aren’t a ton of teenage Latina celebrities. That’s part of why I wrote Luisa as half Mexican, because I want young girls of color to be able to see heroines of epic stories who represent them. That said, I’m super into Dafne Keen, and even though she’s currently too young, things take so long in Hollywood maybe she will end up being the right age at the right time. She has a ferocity and strength but also a kind of otherworldly quality that I think could be amazing for Luisa.
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Your bio on Amazon describes that you produced the film Capote and worked closely with Philip Seymour Hoffman. How would you describe this experience, and do you have any interesting stories to share from your time in the film industry?
My work with Phil for over a decade was incredibly rich and rewarding, not always easy, but it made me who I am in so many ways. It is the blessing of a lifetime to work closely with an artist at his level, and it taught me so much about how to think about storytelling and art-making and character and why all of it matters.
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What has been the highlight of your time as an author? Do you have any memorable or funny stories from your time on tour?
I had some really wonderful exchanges with my Lyft drivers, which I wrote about on Instagram. I think I was in a state of such openness sharing my book with people at events that I was able to really connect with my drivers and hear their extraordinary life stories. It was kind of profound!
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Are you currently working on another book? If so, what details (if any) can you share with readers?
I am working on another book, set at a summer camp in Maine. Like Light Years, it is high concept with a metaphysical/supernatural component but also very grounded in the real-life experiences and emotions of the characters.
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Finally, what advice do you have to share with aspiring young writers?
Make your work personal, write from your heart, from the center of your emotional experience. Stay away from “good ideas” and veer toward the undeniable feelings you’ve felt and want to say something about to your readers. Don’t get trapped by what actually happened; expand beyond it by letting your emotional truth dictate the narrative on the page. Find the people who truly wish for your success, and ask them for honest feedback. And finally, after opening up to that feedback, take what you like, then leave the rest. You and only you are the author of your own work.
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Joshua Flores
Joshua Flores currently lives in Tustin, CA, and attends Arnold O. Beckman High School. When he is not busy doing homework or cramming for math tests, he can be found dreaming up ideas for his book, obsessing over YA fiction, attending book signings, or discovering new and exciting places in LA. He is currently an editor for the Entertainment section of The Beckman Chronicle and a contributing editor for the blog Food, Fitness and Fiction. Follow him on Instagram and on the blog Food, Fitness and Fiction to hear more about anything book related.
What author Emily Ziff Griffin learned from her friend Philip Seymour Hoffman
Sara Murphy
Isabella Biedenharn April 14, 2017 AT 01:55 PM EDT
Emily Ziff Griffin will publish her debut YA novel, Light Years, this September — but this is hardly the beginning of her career. Griffin has spent years working as a movie producer, from running Cooper’s Town Productions with the late Philip Seymour Hoffman and to producing such films as Capote, God’s Pocket, and Jack Goes Boating.
Griffin’s grief over two events in her life — her father’s death from AIDS when she was 14, and Hoffman’s death in 2014 — helped inspire Light Years, the story of Luisa, a young girl with synesthesia, who ends up on a personal spiritual quest while also trying to stop a global pandemic. Griffin explains that in EW’s exclusive excerpt from the book, below, Luisa “starts out as someone who is driven by logic, rationality, and her intellect… and what she eventually gets to uncover is that there are other parts of herself, her emotional self and her creative self, that are equally important.”
The author spoke with EW about the book’s genesis and what Hoffman taught her about art. Check out the interview and excerpt, below.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What inspired this book?
EMILY ZIFF GRIFFIN: The real seed of the book was my father’s illness and death when I was a child. I had always been interested in the idea of telling that story, but I never wanted to tell the literal story of what happened. I didn’t want to tell the story of a young child in the 1980s whose father gets AIDS and dies. I always felt like that wouldn’t allow me to get to the elements of the story that, to me, are most resonant for other people, not just for myself.
Like what?
The things that have come with the distance from it. I was almost 14 when my father died. So at that age, I had no bigger perspective other than just fear, and kind of an inability to even process what was happening.
Telling that story would have been the story of a young child who’s sort of disconnected from this impending loss. But as an adult, with all of the distance and time and work that I’ve done, and all the other life experiences that I’ve had since then, I have the ability to think about my own death and the loss that we all experience when people around us pass away in a totally different way. There are a lot of ideas in this story, but the central ideas have to do with the ways in which the darkest moments of our lives actually become the most transformative, empowering, revealing, and impactful in a positive way.
Light Years was also influenced by your creative partnership and friendship with Philip Seymour Hoffman, right?
Yeah. I think, as creative people, these huge turning points — and sometimes very small turning points — become these anchors in our work. They are too influential, in terms of how we experience life and how we view the world, not to become huge factors in the work that we do. I had actually started this book shortly before he died. But at a certain point, I really started to view this book as a kind of metaphorical journey for a girl who’s coming into her own power, specifically her own creative power. And that was my own journey with Phil — it’s like a torch I feel like I picked up and am trying to carry on. I worked with him for 12 years, and that relationship influenced the way I view art and storytelling and character. Anything I know about those things is because of working with him. The continuation of our relationship, to me, is actually being able to put this book in the world.
What are some of the specific things you learned from him about character and art?
One of the biggest things is the idea that all creative work must be personal, but it should rarely be literal. I started to observe that he chose even the projects that bore no external resemblance to his own life because they were about him on some level. And as we built a production company and both made choices about what to take on, I learned from him to always be looking for that: Why am I attracted to this story? What is it about me that I can bring to the telling of this story that’s going to make it resonate for other people? That’s really what I think he did so beautifully, always connecting his own experience and his own perception of people and humanity to the character he was playing. I think that’s why his characters produce so much empathy, even when he was playing someone who was not nice, or not a “good guy.” You always felt for those characters, and I think it’s because he could see himself in them.
How do you flex different muscles as a novelist than as a producer?
The main attraction, aside from feeling that I have this thing I want to share and express, is the fact that producing requires a lot of other people to say yes to you, to give you money, and to agree to participate. The amazing thing to me about writing is that it requires none of that: I can literally sit down and do this thing, and no matter what anybody else says, whether it gets published, it exists in the world. I wrote the book and it’s a complete thing. I felt the most “in my element” writing this than I ever did producing someone else’s movie.
Simon Pulse
Excerpt from Light Years by Emily Ziff Griffin
Chapter 1
It was that time of day, when the light hits everything sideways. The sun was casting its final gleam of golden warmth and the sky was going from blue to purple. We went down to the beach, my young mother smiling and laughing, her dark chestnut hair falling down her back in wavy curls, and my father carrying me in his arms. We braced against a sheet of wind that hit with the force of a clanging church bell when we cleared the top of the boardwalk and saw the ocean spill out before us.
My mother ran ahead, flinging her sandals onto the sand and stripping off her emerald green dress. My father set me down, grabbed my hand, and we ran after her. I was all of two or three years old, but I remember. The waves seemed like mountains, but as my mother charged into them, they shrank. My first lesson in scale and perspective. My father pulled his T-shirt off over his head and stooped down to my level: “Stay here, lamb. Okay?” I nodded and watched him go.
The two of them sank under the warm summer sea, then reappeared, kissing, as I stood on the wet beach, the frothy water rushing up and over my feet. I smiled and took a step toward them. And another. They looked back at me and began to swim to shore. I took another step. Suddenly a wave rushed in and knocked me down. I felt the water all around me, filling my ears and pulling me as the wave ebbed. And then, my father’s hands, lifting me to him and my mother swooping in. She grabbed me and held me as I cried. I don’t know if I cried from upset or relief. But I cried and my mother kissed my face, wrapped me in her green dress, and carried me all the way home. That is my first memory.
*
The sound of the city dissolves into a hum. I stare up at the gleaming glass tower and a torrent of blue pours down. The building’s edges blur against the cloudless sky—nature and the man-made becoming one. Blue always tastes like chocolate when I’m nervous, and I’m nervous. I swallow, then will the sensation away with the sound of my own voice.
“This is it,” I say to my father as the white-gloved doorman beckons us inside. We enter the marble lobby and the temperature drops about twenty-five degrees. A rush of magenta sweeps across my eyes. My skin erupts in goosebumps and the trickle of sweat that has been nagging its way down my spine dries up in the cold air.
I step toward a bright-eyed man behind a reception desk. “How can I help?” he asks.
“I’m Luisa Ochoa-Jones,” I reply quietly. My father mops his sweaty brow with a handkerchief.
“Yes, of course,” the man says, nodding. “Seventy-fifth floor.”
“Thank you.” I turn toward the long, mirrored corridor that leads to the elevator bank.
I’ve been blonde for exactly nine hours and even though I’d never felt more like myself as when I stepped out of the shower with my new hair, my reflection is kind of a shock. I guess I’m still getting used to it.
My father and I arrive at the elevator. I glance down at my black lace dress and chunky, high-heeled ankle boots. I press “up” and focus on the shape of the arrow on the button. It’s short and squat. A fat little arrow.
“Before a concert,” my dad says as we wait, “I like to think about how the music isn’t for me; it’s for someone out there listening, someone who needs it. That always makes me less nervous.”
Okay, that’s nice and all, but Thomas Bell doesn’t need anything from me. It’s the other way around.
The elevator car shakes gently against its surrounding walls as we rocket up the seventy-five stories to the penthouse. My ears pop and my stomach rolls over on itself. I clutch the handrail, wanting both to get there and never arrive. A ding as we level off. I shift my posture, tilt my chin slightly upward, roll my shoulders back. Breathe, I tell myself. The doors open with a wave of cold air. Another flash of pink reminds me that I am not at ease.
These sensory misfires have been with me all my life. When my emotions run high, my senses get muddled. It’s like the wires get crossed and my brain sends the wrong messages to my body, or vice versa. Smells come with flashes of color, sounds have tastes, sights bring the sensation of temperature or touch. Certain people and places can spark complex reactions. My grandmother is the same way and all her life everyone has treated her like she’s crazy. She doesn’t seem to mind the condition, but I do. I keep it hidden. Most of the time, I can think my way back to normal. Most of the time, I can keep my feelings in check.
We come out into the hall. The walls are papered in pale grey velvet and lit by small chandeliers that look like they were salvaged from the Titanic. A light-haired, boyish-looking man stands waiting in crisp khakis and a white dress shirt. “Hello, Luisa,” he says. “And good afternoon, Mr. Jones. I’m Joe Anderson, Special Assistant to Mr. Bell.” He shakes our hands and leads us to a door at the end of the luxe hallway.
We step through. Below us, Central Park’s lush meadows and plump trees spill out, surrounded on three sides by the gray and beige concrete of an older New York, the one that existed before the skyline was swallowed by glass and steel. I stand and look down from this 200-million-dollar apartment nearly 1,000 feet in the sky. I feel like I can hold the entire world in my palm.
My father takes in the space. “Jesus,” he mutters. It’s easily twenty times the size of the biggest room in our house. Leather sofas. Thick, plush rugs. Two walls of floor-to-ceiling windows, a third with a series of closed doors, and a fourth covered by a massive painting of a shirtless figure superimposed over a satellite image of a city.
“Is he falling or flying?” I wonder aloud.
“What do you think?” replies Joe. His expression is unnervingly flat. “Please sit,” he offers after a moment. “Something to drink?”
My father clears his throat. “I’d like some water, please.” Now he’s nervous. Which somehow makes me calmer. I watch Joe move briskly to one of the doors, then vanish behind it with barely a sound.
My watch buzzes with an incoming text. My mother: In a cab. Be there ASAP. She’s late, like always. I sit down and look over at the wall of closed doors. How many rooms are back there? Who’s in them? What does Bell keep in his fridge?
I cross my legs and direct my anxious mind to the scar on my knee from when I fell horseback riding in Mexico. My grandmother says it looks like Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Mexican Virgin Mary. She says it signifies my closeness to God. Like I said, people think she’s nuts. Maybe she is.
I rub the scar with my thumb. My shrink, Dr. Steph, says that the more I can engage my senses deliberately, the less they will take on a life of their own.
“She’s late,” I report.
My dad shakes his head. “I told her, not today. Not to this.”
“I don’t care,” I respond quickly. “It’s better she’s not here. She’d only make me more stressed.”
He sits down and hooks his steady green eyes to mine. “You have nothing to lose here, whatever happens. You just be yourself and let go of the results.”
But I have everything to lose.
Thomas Bell is the most brilliant and successful tech entrepreneur in the world and the Avarshina Fellowship means funding, mentorship, and most importantly, freedom. Yes, the fact that I’ve made it to the final round will most definitely help get me into college, if I wanted to go to college. But I don’t. College is just a bubble, a delay.
I want my life to start now. Five minutes ago. I want to know what it’s like to turn the lock on my own apartment door, to work all night and sleep all day if I feel like it, to not have to explain myself to anyone. Plus, my mom would be paying for college and I don’t want to owe her anything.
“Mr. Bell is ready to see you.” I look up. Joe is back. He sets a crystal-clear glass of water on a heavy coaster. I watch the liquid settle in the glass. I look down again at my scar. All the days between splitting my knee and dyeing my hair are imbedded in my cells like bits of rock in a mountainside: my body as time capsule.
My father and I stand.
“Sorry, the meeting is between Luisa and Mr. Bell,” Joe says.
I hesitate. My father looks at me. His eyes are searching, uncertain, then they shift.
“You’re very tall in those shoes,” he says after a moment. I soften into a smile. I grab my bag and follow Joe to the wall of closed doors.
My watch buzzes again. My mother: In the lobby.
I quicken my pace. My pulse quickens with it and my mouth becomes so dry I imagine any words I form will come out as imperceptible gasps. I take one look back at my dad and cross into the next room.
The door clicks behind me and a wave of bright yellow gives way to pitch black. As my eyes adjust to the darkness, I see a large desk at the center of the room. Two slick black chairs stand next to it facing a monitor that seems to float on the surface. Joe leads me to sit and a moment later I am alone.
My chest constricts. A hissing sound envelops me, like I’m surrounded by snakes. This isn’t real, I tell myself. But my body doesn’t believe me.
I leap to my feet. My eyes search for the door. I have to go. I have to get out. I take two clumsy steps and the screen lights up behind me. I turn back. The Avarshina Industries logo fills the void: an abstracted image of a flaming match.
I struggle to draw breath. I zero in on the match’s orange tip. Orange: bright, harmless. I track the edges of the match from one end to the other and back again. I start to relax. I remind myself that 2,300 people applied and only five of us made it this far.
I picture the apartment I will have. It’s one big room. Bright light and a couch for reading. A place to work, a bed. All grays and white. I’m making coffee in the morning quiet. Maybe there’s a bird on the window ledge. Maybe it chirps like it understands the value of solitude.
I go back to my seat. I wrap my hands around the armrests and wait, steeping in the amber glow of the monitor. Moments later, I am overwhelmed by the smell of roses. I sense a figure standing in the corner. The room brightens. The figure is Bell.