Ellen Meister is the author of the new novel Joyride. Her other books include the novel Divorce Towers. She lives in New York.
Q: What inspired you to write Joyride, and how did you create your characters Joybird and Sid?
A: These characters came to me years ago, nearly fully formed as a father and daughter locked in battle over different worldviews.
Before I even had a story, I knew it would have to be comedic, and that I would put them together in a hipster environment that would drive the anti-PC father half-crazy. To me, that meant Brooklyn.
Everything else—including Joybird’s desire to be a life coach—grew out of my hankering to play out this intergenerational Odd Couple conflict.
Q: How would you describe the dynamic between them?
A: They’re such opposites. Sid is in the waning days of what was a glorious career, feeling bitter and cynical. Deep down, he knows his downfall is his own fault, but he’s too busy blaming everyone else to accept it. Joybird—who sees the world through gloriously rose-colored lenses—is at the beginning of realizing her dreams.
He’s pessimistic and sarcastic. She’s optimistic and earnest. The only thing they have in common is their love for one another, and the desire for the connection they never had. They each have a lot to learn—about themselves and each other—and that’s at the heart of the book’s journey.
Q: As you mentioned, you came up with the idea for what became Joyride years ago. What was your writing process like, and how did you know you finally had the story you wanted?
A: This was a tough one, Deborah! I knew from the beginning I had the bones of something wonderful, and was driven to make it work. But the first draft failed, because I hadn’t quite nailed the point-of-view.
Even though it’s really Joybird’s story, I didn’t think I could write the novel from her perspective, as she has no sarcastic edge. And without that, who am I as a writer?
So I first tried writing the whole book from Sid’s point-of-view, but it turned out he had too much edge, and readers were uncomfortable being inside his head for so long.
At that point, I put the manuscript aside and wrote another novel, Take My Husband—a dark comedy borne of the pandemic. After that, I went back to tinkering with Joyride, but still couldn’t nail it, so I wrote another book—Divorce Towers. It was the escapist romp I needed at the time.
Finally, I was determined to work on Joyride until I nailed it. I tried something experimental, and rewrote the entire book from the point-of-view of someone outside the main action. The result was interesting, but it couldn’t explore the father-daughter dynamic in full complexity.
Then, at last, I understood that I had to write the book from two points of view—Sid’s and Joybird’s. But even after I finished that, it took a year of rewrites to get the book to sparkle.
Q: What do you see as the role of humor in your writing?
A: I’m a writer who’s driven to entertain. In fact, I think it’s my duty to readers. Toward that end, humor is the sharpest tool in my box.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: Something very different for me! I got the idea for a dark and twisted thriller, and I’m trying it out to see if I can pull it off. (And yes, it has humor, too!) I do love a challenge.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I’m very excited and honored that Joyride was chosen by Zibby Owens as one of the most anticipated books of the year!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Ellen Meister.