Holly Black Interviews Steve Berman about his debut
novel, Vintage: A Ghost Story
Holly
Black: Since I know you, I can ask a lot of questions.
Better make some coffee.
Steve Berman: Oh, that reminds me. The coffeehouse
in the novel is based on a real one I went to back in my undergrad
days at Tulane. I actually saw a scary bearded guy behind the
counter scooping whipped cream into mugs with his bare hands.
Black: I guess you’re eager to tell
me about Vintage. How would you describe the book?
Berman: Vintage is my debut novel.
Well, it’s not the first novel I wrote—like so many
other authors, I have a trunk hidden away with old manuscripts.
Anyway, the book is a blend of horror and romance, a story of
loneliness and the wrong assumptions one can make.
Black: The character of Second Mike was
fascinating to me. Like the narrator's lack of a name, Second
Mike has a name that belongs to someone else. How do you pick
names for your characters (when they have them)?
Berman: Second Mike’s name came about
during a conversation with someone. I had a crush on so many boys
named Mike that I started to refer to them by numbers. Fortunately
that streak has been broken and I’m now open to Brents and
Olivers. But, anyway, back to naming characters. In my head, certain
names have physical traits tied to the way they sound. A sort
of onomatopoeia for me, based on past events and the media. For
instance, when I think of an Oliver, I flashback to riding the
New York City subway in my 20s and seeing this sexy guy with straight
hair parted down the middle and… well, that’s another
story.
Black: The narrator’s crush is the
ghost of jock from the 1950s. I've noticed that in many books
about gay teenagers, the love interest is a jock? Tell me, what's
the obsession with jocks?
Berman: Well, the media instructs that every
guy should be masculine, and no boy is more masculine, supposedly,
than the high school jock. Sports are also rough and tumble and
are so easily homoeroticized, it’s hard for any gay teen
not to have a heightened awareness of being so close to attractive
members of the same sex. I mean, the whole locker room becomes
a trove of anxieties and fantasies. I remember vividly my first
wet dream; it took place in the boy’s locker room. One could
also argue that gay teens as protagonists are the outsiders in
the story and, despite the fact that many revel in their anti-establishment
status, they secretly yearn to be accepted by “the team,”
symbolized by the jock.
Black: The book is entitled Vintage
and the narrator works in a vintage clothing store. Many times
he and his best friend Trace imagine the glamour of the past.
As teenagers, does their love of the past express a dread of the
future? An alienation from the present? Or did you just find the
outfits hot?
Berman: For teens, clothing may be the most
important element of their physical being. Dress can accentuate
and hide, be a façade in the literal sense as well as the
superficial. The narrator is unhappy with himself, feels uncomfortable
in his own skin. By slipping on a vintage outfit, he is adding
a protective layer, one that offers a semblance of gravitas that
anything antique possesses. Of course, wearing pennyloafers is
as much an act of rebellion from the standard practice of dress
as boys wearing makeup.
Black: Do you see this book as a book about
teens or a book for teens?
Berman: An unfair question. The characters are
teens but the reader need not be. Originally, I wrote the book
as a young adult novel, but the issues involved can be appreciated
by anyone, queer or not, teen or not.
Black: So was there a soundtrack you played
while writing?
Berman: I tried to play music I thought the
narrator and Trace would listen to. So what would no be considered
as Old School Goth. Siouxsie & The Banshees. Sisters of Mercy.
Shriekback. Hmm, I wonder why I only listened to bands that began
with S. Yes, there was even a Smiths album.
Black: There is a scene where the narrator
and Josh, the ghost from the 1950s, share a hot kiss in a graveyard.
So have you ever done anything like that?
Berman: One Halloween I was driving this straight
guy home from a Philly party and I offered him a blowjob. We pulled
into a graveyard and parked a while. I must have been out of practice
because it took forever.
Black: Really?
Berman: Honest. So long that it became boring.
Though the setting helped. I often find myself doing risky things
all for the sake of telling the tale afterwards.
Black: Then there’s the scene where
the ghost and the narrator fool around. Where did you get the
idea for writing it simultaneously erotic and horrifying?
Berman: That scene was one of the first I wrote
and changed very little between all the drafts. I wanted to offer
a very disturbing sex scene, one that alerts both the narrator
and the reader, to the fact that romanticizing the dead is a poor
choice. It may seem like an obvious thing, but it’s done
in fiction endlessly (do I need to use the v-word? Nah.). The
narrator begins so obsessed with death and suicide that he needs
the reality check that only a horrific encounter brings.
Black: Speaking of reality checks, I know
that a tragic occurrence coincided with your finishing the book.
Mind talking about why a portion of your royalties are going to
charity?
Berman:
A few years back, while I was revising the manuscript, chapter-by-chapter,
I started an email/IM correspondence with a gay teen from California.
He was a sweet guy, who was excited to read each chapter of the
book after I had finished the revisions. I had no idea that he
faced tremendous homophobia in school. He committed suicide at
the age of 14. 14! That’s horrible beyond words. When I
finished Vintage, it seemed natural to dedicate the book to him
and to donate to charities that help
prevent gay youth suicide.
Black: I know that sometimes guys you’ve
brought home have asked about your macabre collections Can you
tell us about some of the stuff you’ve got?
Berman: What, my collection of plush monsters
and Teddy Scares? Or the Department 51 and Target Halloween goodies?
Or the spooky artwork that I have around the apartment (and that
once bothered a guy so much he refused to have a second date with
me). I guess a large part of me has never grown up; my fondest
memories as a kid involve watching the old black & white horror
movies with my mother. So as long as its playful and ghoulish
I find it rather comforting. Hmm, now that I think of it, I have
not had many second dates since I started collecting all this
stuff.
Black: If they don’t love that stuff,
they’re not worthy of you! Tell us what book of yours we
can look for next.
Berman: Well, this fall, right around Halloween
actually, So
Fey releases from Haworth Press. It’s an anthology
of LGBT-themed stories involving faeries that I edited. I signed
contracts with Haworth for a horror novel and a collection of
short stories (which would be my second). I’ll continue
writing short fiction when I can. My website, steveberman.com,
has a list of what’s ahead.
Black: So if I take you out to dinner, will
you tell me the narrator's name?
Berman: Depends on how many drinks you're buying.
I'm may be easy, but I'm no cheap date.
Black: You are too a cheap date. One drink
and you're under the table!
Berman: ::laughs:: How do you think I get my
ideas for writing?
Read more about Vintage at steveberman.com
Read a review
of Vintage
Read an
excerpt of Vintage
1/5 of the royalties from Vintage
will be donated to charities helping gay teens:10% will be donated
to the GSA
Network, which assists Gay-Straight Student Alliances in high
schools; another 10% donated to the Trevor
Project, which works to prevent suicide among gay youth.
Holly Black is the bestselling author of contemporary
fantasy novels for teens and children. Born in New Jersey in 1971,
Holly grew up in a decrepit Victorian house piled with books and
oddments. She met Steve Berman ages ago, when both worked for
a Manhattan-based publishing company. Holly lives in a Tudor Revival
house in Massachusetts with her husband, Theo, and an ever-expanding
collection of books. She spends a lot of her time in cafes, drinking
endless cups of coffee and glaring at her laptop.
