Welcome Back, Booklovers! Today I'm coming at you with an interview with Sarah Lyu whose YA thriller I Will Find You is out this month. So get to know a little bit about the author behind the book and how she crafts a thriller.
What was the inspiration for I Will Find You Again?
Set in an affluent Long Island commuter town, I Will Find You Again is the story of Chase Ohara and Lia Vestiano, two childhood best friends who fall in love before falling apart, and when Lia goes missing nearly six months later, Chase tries to uncover what happened in the weeks leading to Lia’s disappearance. As she begins to put the pieces together, she discovers secrets about their relationship that shock her. Not everything was as it seemed, but one thing is certain: if she can’t make sense of the past, she might not get a future.
I was inspired by so many things—the films Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Better Luck Tomorrow, the personal history I have with depression and anxiety—but I was most inspired by the question of how to feel enough in a world that often tells us we can never be enough. By the idea of sacrificing happiness for the idea of mainstream success. The novel explores these ideas and how they manifest not only for Chase, the main character, but for Lia and all the secondary characters.
Were there any parts of I Will Find You Again where you drew on real life experiences?
Lia’s struggles with depression drew from my own history. One experience I lent her was my in-patient treatment at a psychiatric hospital. It was one of most difficult times in my life and slipping it off like a jacket and giving it to a fictional character was a way for me to process what had happened. This is what I love so much about fiction, both writing and reading it. It’s a way to safely explore painful and traumatic moments, to use imagination to understand ourselves and others.
Both I Will Find You Again and The Best Lies have unreliable narrators. What do you enjoy about writing unreliable narrators?
I promise I didn’t set out to only write unreliable narrators! While Remy from The Best Lies and Chase from I Will Find You Again are classic unreliable narrators, I do think we’re all unreliable narrators in subtle ways. The lives we live depend so heavily on the story we tell ourselves about everything that happens and the older we get, the more our past colors the lens through which we see the present. Maybe what I love most about writing unreliable narrators is how honest they are in their deception, how close we stick to their point of view that we’re with them every step of the way as they uncover the innermost truth about themselves.
How has the publishing experience for book 2 been different than book 1?
It’s so fun being a debut where everything is new and shiny, but it’s also been really amazing coming out with a second book and having readers who already love your first book. Hearing from readers is always the biggest highlight of any publishing experience, and I just genuinely feel so lucky that I get to tell stories.
How do you get in the creative headspace to sit down and draft a story?
This can be tricky, and I love Liz Gilbert’s TED talk, “Your elusive creative genius,” as a starting point for creative work. For me personally, it means nurturing a healthy body and healthy mind first and foremost, almost treating writing as a form of exercise (but without the intensity of athletic competition). Then I try to show up even if I’m not feeling very creative. Sometimes that means I sit there staring at the blinking cursor and sometimes that means I get words down on the page, but it means I’m not avoiding it and I’m here if inspiration answers my call. The last thing is to encourage my mind to wander and think about the story and characters in all hours. I get some of my best breakthroughs on the road, before bed, in the shower. The immersion in a story is crucial for me and often I’m thinking and daydreaming about a story for months and months before I start drafting. But maybe the most important of all is understanding that every book is different and what worked for one may not work for another—be open to the process and let it carry you through instead of fighting against it. Much easier to say than do, of course!
When you’re writing do you have a clear picture in your head of what the characters look like?
I’m almost afraid to admit it, but I have no idea what the characters look like. I almost never describe facial features or hair or clothes unless it feels essential. Despite being a visual learner and being able to fully imagine a variety of apples, writing probably comes mostly from the language part of my brain. I hear dialogue first and sometimes it comes so fast I just jot it down and have to go back to think through the positions of characters, their actions, and their expressions/gestures. Very rarely, I can picture a scene clearly as it unfolds, and it’s usually an action sequence. Always fun when that happens.
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Have you read any recent books that inspire you?
I loved E. Lockhart’s Family of Liars, the follow up and prequel to We Were Liars, and was really inspired by the way she deepened and explored the origins of the Sinclair family, how trauma moves through generations. I also loved Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, about two video game creators who build worlds even as their real-world lives crumble. In thrillers, I really enjoyed Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, The Honeys by Ryan La Sala, and The Restless Dark by Erica Waters—all the twists and turns, so good!
I noticed you also are very into painting. How did you get into it and do you have a preferred medium?
Painting started as my pandemic hobby, and I really love oils because of how forgiving they are—you can completely wipe away a section and restart. What I love the most about painting is how similar it is to writing, and it taught me so much about nurturing creative pursuits and self-forgiveness, one of the antidotes to my lifelong tendency toward perfectionism.
Is there anything you enjoy doing outside of your art when you need to de-stress?
I love turning off my phone and going for a hike, alone or with others. There’s something so lovely about being outside and taking a break from our electronic lives. I also love playing video games to destress. Some favorites include Hollow Knight and Stardew Valley.
Are there any other upcoming projects you’re able to talk about?
I’m working on something that may become my first adult novel. It started as a YA idea but I couldn’t make the ages work. So much of it will change, but it’ll still feature intensely close relationships, tragic love, and a bittersweet ending. Though it may be the first story I write without an unreliable narrator!
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