Photo by Will Tee Tang
Sheila Yasmin Marikar is the author of the new novel Friends in Napa. She also has written the novel The Goddess Effect. Also a journalist, she lives in Los Angeles.
Q: What inspired you to write Friends in Napa, and how did you create your cast of characters?
A: A few years ago, my husband was on a tear of reading murder mysteries that were set in Napa, and it got me thinking about whether I could do something similar, but with my own spin — a murder mystery wrapped in a dark, satirical comedy.
When it came to characters, I looked to my own group of friends, many whom have known me for 20+ years, since our college days. The characters in Friends in Napa are more evil and awful than anyone I know, but they are loosely inspired by people I’ve met.
Q: Can you say more about why you chose the Napa Valley as the setting for your novel, and how important is setting to you in your writing?
A: I’ve lived in California for more than a decade, and I’ve been to Napa more times than I can count. I am friends with winemakers, hoteliers, and chefs who live in the valley, and while it has never been my home, it feels familiar to me in a way that other wine regions do not.
Thus far, if I’m going to set a book in a place, I need to have experienced it myself, firsthand. It’s impossible for me to capture the essence of a setting otherwise.
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 knew the victim, the murderer, and how I wanted the pieces to come together in the end. Getting from point A to B, though, required several reroutes.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?
A: That no one is all good or all bad, and that our conceptions of good and evil are fungible. Context matters.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: Several journalistic projects and one fictional idea that’s still simmering :)
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Visit Napa! It’s delightful, and there are so many different ways to experience it. You don’t have to go all-out opulent — though you certainly can if you want to. It’s one of my favorite places in the world.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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