Q&A with Carlyn Greenwald

 

Photo by Molly Pan

 

 

Carlyn Greenwald is the author of the new novel Director's Cut. It's a follow-up to her novel Sizzle Reel. She is the lead content development coordinator for Cake Creative/Electric Postcard Entertainment.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Director’s Cut, and how did you create your character Val?

 

A: Director’s Cut the story came when two moments collided in my brain. I attended USC as an undergrad and it was this known thing that celebrities sometimes guest taught at the film school.

 

One day as a student I went onto the course registration and noticed that the celebrity guest professor at the time was paired up with a well-established member of the film school faculty (and someone who studied films rather than made them) and thought that must be such an interesting combination of personalities.

 

Then, after writing Sizzle Reel, when developing the character of Val, I thought that would be the kind of scenario that she’d get herself into. Thus, Director’s Cut was born.

 

In terms of where Val came from, in Sizzle Reel, I was mostly playing with the idea of seeing Val through the lens of someone who admired/crushed on her and Director’s Cut was my space to get in her head and find out what made her tick and what her actual flaws were.

 

I watch a ton of celebrity interviews, read memoirs, and generally am very interested in how fame messes with people’s brains, from everything from an inability to do basic tasks after not having to do them for so long (and what kind of personality fights back against that and still does their own budgeting and grocery shopping) and then the darker stuff — how it affects your self-esteem, your sense of safety and privacy, all that.

 

So with Val, I didn’t want her to be this larger-than-life figure anymore, I wanted to write a flawed person who’s been affected by her place in life — but still be someone who was witty, fun, and generally lovable enough to follow through her own love story.

Q: The writer Susie Dumond said of the book, “Despite being a massive star, actor-turned-director Val is grounded and relatably messy, and her journey to finding love with Maeve -- and with her authentic self -- makes this story sing.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I absolutely love it! As I was saying in my previous answer, I really wanted Val to feel like a real person who was affected by the larger than life she fell into/created for herself.

 

And with her relationship with Maeve, I really wanted to create a dynamic that was both fun to read and felt realistic when you put two flawed people into each other’s lives.

 

It’s always such a delight to develop the banter, the incorrect assumptions characters make that fade into going “oh, that person isn’t so bad” to “wow I really like this person!” into love. I adored writing the first kiss, the first time they had sex — and then the catharsis of what happens to them after the climax of the book.

 

To me, I love seeing couples in romance who don’t break up, but a part of me also loves seeing them go through a huge trial together where all hope seems lost — but then they work on themselves and come back together even stronger than ever.

 

Q: Did your experiences in the film world help you write this novel? Did you need to do any additional research?

 

A: I went to film school at USC and while there I worked a handful of development internships that turned into a few short-lived assistant stints. That along with growing up here and being immersed in celebrity and Hollywood culture made me feel pretty good about getting the film industry aspects right.

 

I always go into any research into a field I don’t totally live in from a psychological standpoint — how would this job affect a character’s brain? In my ideal world, I find out just enough to sell their expertise and the psychological effects of said job. So, like, I said, a lot of celebrity memoir reading, a lot of interview watching and reading, that sort of thing.

 

For the academia, I’ll admit that as much as I tried to look up how syllabi are made and academic structures are set up, I’m sure there were some liberties taken for the book that aren’t accurate. But I did my best, for what it’s worth.

 

There was also a fair amount of research into how one teaches film theory and some more fun research, like re-familiarizing myself with all the movie musicals mentioned.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the story?

 

A: Ultimately, I hope that readers can see Val, her personal journey, and her romance with Maeve and think that you don’t have to be a perfect person — in fact, you can be as flawed as anyone — and still be able to better yourself, find inner peace, and a relationship where you’re loved wholly.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m actually in a bit of a genre pivot right now! I’m working on the second book in my contract with Sourcebooks Fire, a YA mystery/horror book. It’s sapphic, though, so I suppose there will always be that connective thread between it, my 2025 book Murder Land, and my sapphic romances.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Just that if you love messy characters, you’ll love my books! Thank you so much for interviewing me!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Carlyn Greenwald.