Tod Goldberg is the author of the new novel Only Way Out. His many other books include The Low Desert. He is a professor of creative writing at the University of California, Riverside.
Q: What inspired you to write Only Way Out, and how did you create your characters Jack, Penny, and Mitch?
A: A relative told me a story about a law firm he knew about that had a floor of safe deposit boxes…and that turned on my criminal brain. Who was in charge of those boxes? What was his story? What would be the circumstance that he’d heist them? You know, the normal questions a person asks…
Creating characters really comes first for me in most cases. But here, since I found out about this plot point first, I sort of worked backwards to figure out the triangle of motley folks who’d be after that money.
I knew, too, that I wanted to write about a small resort town and the kinds of places that get famous because of nefarious things. From those notions, these characters were born.
Q: The Kirkus Review of the novel says, “Warped family histories, the trivializing effects of social media, and an occasional jab of emotion are all in the mix.” What do you think of that description?
A: Sounds like a novel I’d like to read!
Q: The novel is set in a resort town in Oregon--why did you choose that setting, and how important is setting to you in your writing?
A: Setting is hugely important to everything I write. People are who they are because of where they’re from, where they’re going, or where they find themselves stuck.
So writing about a dying – and then thriving – fictional resort town felt like just the kind of place some beautiful losers would find themselves. There’s something insidious about resort towns, some dark underbelly often lurks in places of hospitality, and I like exploring that. It has a nice metaphor for people revealing themselves.
Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?
A: I almost always know how a book is going to end long before I write it. Same case here. I knew how I wanted it to end, but wasn’t sure how I’d get there.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m in the midst of some screenwriting work…and then I’ll finish a new novel about organized crime at the Salton Sea in the 1960s.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Always get the bread bowl. I’ve never regretted it.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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