Bookwild - Eliza Jane Brazier: Good Rich People

Episode Date: March 2, 2022

On this episode, I talk to Eliza Jane Brazier about her domestic thriller Good Rich People.You can also watch the episode on YouTubeAuthor LinksInstagramGoodreadsWebsiteCheck out the book hereGood Rich People SummaryLyla has always believed that life is a game she is destined to win, but her husband, Graham, takes the game to dangerous levels. The wealthy couple invites self-made success stories to live in their guesthouse and then conspires to ruin their lives. After all, there is nothing worse than a bootstrapper. Demi has always felt like the odds were stacked against her. At the end of her rope, she seizes a risky opportunity to take over another person’s life and unwittingly becomes the subject of the upstairs couple’s wicked entertainment. But Demi has been struggling forever, and she’s not about to go down without a fight.  In a twist that neither woman sees coming, the game quickly devolves into chaos and rockets toward an explosive conclusion.Because every good rich person knows: in money and in life, it’s winner take all. Even if you have to leave a few bodies behind. Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

Hi, my name is Kate and I love to read. Like, I was carrying books around with me before Kindles were a thing. So I decided to start a podcast where I interview the authors of some of my favorite books, ask them all of my questions so that I can read between the lines of the books. Welcome back to another episode of Between the Lines. I'm here with Eliza Jane Brazier, the author of good rich people that I read just a couple weeks ago. I could not put it down. I finished it so quickly. I had to know what was going to happen. So thank you for being on the podcast, Eliza. Thank you so much for having me. It's my pleasure to be here. So before we get into talking about the book, let's talk about you a little bit. So when did you know that you wanted to write a book or

when did you know you wanted to be an author? I mean, I, you know, when I was like really, young. Like I totally like made up books like in my head like all the time. I like read a lot. So I think that like, you know, I had that when I was super young. But then like when I got into like being in my 20s and stuff, I don't know. I just had like a huge confidence loss for some reason. I think a lot of people go through that. Yeah. So I definitely never thought that it was really possible. I think the industry felt really hard to get into like back then. I think before like the internet really started kind of like opening doors for people. it was so like you just didn't know how people even did it like you know i think people are still kind of like that a little bit like i get asked questions sometimes and i'm like oh my gosh the people really don't know yeah um but then it was probably what was like seven years ago or something i was living in london um i was married and like we just didn't have like any money like we're really struggling um and my sister-in-law is a really successful author and i kind of like saw her her come up and what she did to get to that position. And I kind of just like copied her. Like I was like,

okay, I'm going to go on, I'm going to join Twitter. I'm going to like read every, you know what I mean. Like I'm going to like engage with other authors. I'm going to like read every blog post and every, you know, every book, every piece of advice I can find about, you know, how to like make this happen. Like how do you write a query? How do you get an agent? How do you get an editor? How do you write a book. You know, so I just went super hard for like a year. I was in her like contest and stuff and wrote a book. This is like, so this is a lot long time. This is my YA books. And I wrote a book. I sent it out to agents and they liked the pitch. But whenever I sent them the book, they were like, no. So I was like, oh, I was like, but wait, they liked the idea. So like that means that's like a good

idea, which now I don't know if I would still think that. But back then I was like, oh, this must be a good idea. Right. So I was like, let me. rewrite the whole book, but kind of like keep that idea. So I did that. And then I was able to get, like I got like multiple agent offers, picked an agent, got like, you know, um, like we went to auction with the book and everything. So yeah, that was like, I guess when I officially, like was a published author, I guess. Yeah. Um, but that was a long time ago. And then there was like a huge gap where, like I, you know, like really struggled to be honest. And then I came back to it again as an adult or wait, adult writer. I was already adult before. I've got like an adult fiction. Yes. Yeah. Yeah.

It's a long odyssey. It is. I mean, you just kept coming back to it though. So clearly, it was kind of what you wanted to do. I can't quit it. Yeah. So what is your writing process like then? So do you know how a story is going to turn out or do you just kind of start and see where it ends? Yeah, honestly, I, yeah, I'm kind of more like in the pancer vibe, I think. I, find that when I do try to plot, like it usually doesn't really work. Like, I just get kind of more in the flow. Like, to me, it almost feels like you're like kind of composing music. And you're just kind of like letting it like sort of naturally flow. Right. I think the problem, like, it's fun as a creative person to do that. But like the problem with that is like sometimes you'll go back and be like,

whoa, you went way off on this one. Right. What did you do? Um, but I've just found like when I try to outline that also doesn't really work. Like I end up, it. It, ends up feeling really forced and like unnatural and like I can't even like have like my voice is like completely different. It's so so it's really interesting. I'm honestly still like learning. I guess. Yeah. What at what am I like what's the best way for me to write? How can I like make this easier? Because I don't know if my process is the best. Yeah. Everyone has had like really different answers. So clearly like different things. Yeah. I mean vastly different things work for different people. So I do think it is about figuring out what works for you instead of just like, oh, I heard this person does this. So I guess

that's the only way I can do it. That's so true. Yeah. I think it's good to stay open too. I think when maybe we sometimes assume that we're always going to be the same writer for every book, but maybe we're not. Yeah. I mean, kind of hopefully you're not. Like, hopefully things are happening and you're growing and you're changing. So it would be hard to be the exact same person every time you wrote a book. What about your characters? Do you mostly, know who they are or is that something too that like you just kind of write and figure out. I definitely like write and figure out. Okay.

For sure. Like I was just writing right now. What? Before this, right before this podcast. So I was like quickly like I'm trying to like do like a draft on something. Yeah. And like I started writing something about a character and I was like, oh, oh, okay, wait. I didn't put that like at all before.

Like it was like this just total realization that I was like, yeah, no, that's better. So I might have to go back and kind of like put that. in but yeah i like to feel like i'm like sort of like discovering the character a little bit like as i go yeah um but i always like try to have like i try to know like what they want i think that's always like a big thing i think just to come in with right um as much as i can yeah but it just i think it takes drafts and time yeah yeah to get to know them yeah i mean that makes sense given how you said your writing process works too so i'm not too surprised so how would you describe good rich people and just like a couple sentences.

Oh, a couple sentences. Or three or four. I'm just like try. That was a sentence, like music. Yeah, no, it's basically just about like this bored, rich couple that live in Los Angeles. And they kind of invite people to live in their guest house, like in order to sort of like play games with them. And basically they sort of invite someone to live there, but then it's not who they think it is. and the game just very rapidly spins out of control to an explosive conclusion.

I mean, that works. I think that's a pretty good couple sentences about it. Where did you get the idea for it or what prompted you to write this one? I think the big thing that drove me, honestly, is like that I lived below the poverty line for like a decade in London. and so that really like fueled me wanting to write this and also like that for me it was very especially like the initial drafts it was really like kind of therapeutic um to talk like to talk about that kind of stuff right and just to think about stuff that maybe i hadn't thought about a long you know in a long time and and think about it in a different way from a different perspective yeah

um but then also during that time when when like i didn't you know have any money um my late husband. He was like a musician. So he had like all these connections to like Uber wealthy people. Oh, okay. And so we would sometimes go to like these houses or like he'd play shows. Like we'd go to these like houses or penthouses. These just insanely wealthy people's houses. Or they'd come to our house. And so we'd be interacting with these people like in a completely different world. And it was just so it's just so like sort of strange, I guess. You know, there's a lot of like conflict, I think under the surface is a lot of, like, differences in the way people act is a lot of just contrast. So I think that's kind of what inspired me to write this story. Yeah, that's very

apparent throughout the book that you're kind of exploring that for sure. Who would you cast for the main characters if it was a TV show or a movie? Well, so I am actually like working on the TV show. So hopefully there will be. Nice. But so yeah, I never really say people's, names because you know I guess yeah because you like want to be like open like there's been like you know random sort of like people throwing out um ideas and stuff like that but I think there's so many people that could do it and I used to do I used to do acting like in high school like I'm really super into actors and like acting so like to me personally it's like there's certain people that you know they're so talented they would bring something just everyone would bring something different

you know which is I think a really cool part of like the whole TV or film process, you know? Yes. So I always think you stay open is the best way to go. Right. What about you? What would you cast? Give me some ideas. That's a great question. See, I hadn't thought of it either. It's tricky. I also think about it. Because some people think of, some people clearly think of people. Yeah. Like I sometimes will give traits to people. Like I gave like Michael, you know, people, this random, but like people used to make fun of Ryan Gosling for talking like he was Robert De Niro in the 70s. So I literally put that in my book. Like there's just like random things. Yeah. Like random, you try to take, like, details from, like, real people, even though I don't, well, no, that's necessarily a true detail.

Right. Just funny things that make people seem more real. Right. Yeah. Not that I think Brian Gossling would be right for that role because he wouldn't. No, not that one. Definitely not that one, at least. I just thought that was a funny thing to say about.

It is. So I did see in your bio that you're a screenwriter as well. So how are your approaches to screenwriter? screenwriting and book writing different or are they pretty much the same? Oh man, it's so different. I feel like, you know, I try to bring elements of both to each one, but like screenwriting is super hard because you have to use, you have to have such economy of like, you know, obviously like words or of action just to bring something across.

And it can, it's really hard not to like be really like clunky. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like you can't like hide behind stuff like you. can with writing, you know, like if I make something sound pretty, like people might not notice that like, oh, that was like a pointless scene or nothing happened or, you know, or like that dialogue is really bad. But like if you have like a pretty description mixed in there, people won't notice. Yes. So it's harder like to get away with stuff, you know. And I also think you

realize when you're adapting something, you're like, God, I did this totally wrong. Or you're like, man, I just could have done that in such so much less time. So I don't know. They both make, they inform each other, I think, and make me hopefully better. That's what I figured. So are you adapting years then as well? Yeah. Yeah. No, that's like, yeah, I've been primarily what I do. So it's cool because it's like, it's just fun to like be involved in because you, you get to have a great experience and learn a lot, even if something never gets to the point of being made. You know what I mean? Yeah. That's really cool.

So we're going to start talking about the book. So we are going to get into spoilers. So if you haven't read the book, just pause this and go read it and then come listen. But if you're listening because you did already read the book, you can just keep on listening. So you've kind of talked about it already, but there is like very much an examination of like the very stark difference between being extremely wealthy and extremely poor. And you kind of said that probably was what motivated you to write it. Did you know how much kind of like social satire and commentary you were going to include in it from the beginning?

Or did you kind of have fun with that once you started? No, I really didn't. So I actually rewrote this book like two times. And the first two versions of it, it wasn't really like that. And it was just kind of like almost more like it was called the book was called Beachwood Canyon. like it took place in Beachwood Canyon. It was much more like people were way less rich. I don't even think Graham, like Graham wasn't even handsome.

It was just like kind of like an annoying guy, like rich guy. Like it was just a lot more like down to earth. And then I just didn't really feel like that it was working. And I was like getting like edit letters that were very broad. And I feel like when you get a really broad edit letter, you're like, this is maybe not working at all. Who knows? So I kind of like got that.

to this point where I was like, dude, I need something like a hook that's really going to make this kind of like lift this up a little bit. So it just feels like it has more of a direction. And I kind of like came up the idea of having the game element. And then from there I was like, I had to write, I had to write it in like, I think I had like four or five weeks and the entire book, right? And I really love black comedy. Like I love that kind of humor. And so I kind of, and it's kind of like the British humor, I think, in a way, too. I kind of was just like, dude, let me just do it that way because, like, that will be fun. It's also, you know what?

It's also hard when you're dealing with such heavy subject matter and then when it's personal to you, sometimes it's like you can really like bog down a book with that. So for me, it was also kind of about like just like taking control of the book and making it like more fun, you know? So when I went in that time, that's when I was just like, let's go crazy. It was, that was like one of my favorite parts. I had so many things highlighted, like, just a few chapters in that made me just like laugh out loud because Lila's perspective is probably, I mean, not exactly the most lovable character, but was my favorite perspective and I was definitely laughing the most. Because it's like, she was basically so self-important that she like didn't even know. She really felt justified in some of her terrible thoughts.

So, like, I even, like, saved a couple of them. Like, at one point, she says, sometimes I'm scared by how beautiful I am. And I was, like, cracking up. And then, like, in the next page, she's like, I hate listening to people when they talk. Oh, my gosh, I love that sentence. And then, like, I think a couple paragraphs later, she's like, how rude. I hate when people don't want to know everything about me. So she, go ahead.

I was like, yeah. And I was just going to say it was cracking me up for me to. I imagine. Like, you just don't know people are really going to get it. Like, especially like the line like I hate listening to people when they talk. Like what the freak. Yes. Yeah. She had one too. She's like, what I hate about people. What I really hate is that they can make up their own minds about you. If I want a jacket, I just buy it. And the jacket doesn't have to want me back. I was I was literally reading them out loud to my husband. I was like, this is like the funniest thriller I've ever read in my life. life. So did you? Thanks. I feel like most thrillers don't try to be funny. No, they don't. So it's always really refreshing when it is. Yeah. So you did say you kind of rewrote it a couple times. So to get into Lila's state of mind, did you like ever go back and like punch up those things? Kind of like you wouldn't comedy to make it even funnier or were you just kind of writing those in the moment? I think it was once I just had settled on what I wanted to be the tone. It was. It's just kind of like in a moment. I don't, yeah, I find that usually for me, it's really hard to like edit something

like later almost. I don't know. I can like, I guess like punching it up is different. But for like just like starting over like, I feel like sometimes it's just so tricky, man, because sometimes it's like it feels really hard. It's almost like you know that you're not going the right direction, but you don't know how to not do. But that like felt like it was like, even though, oh yeah, it was hard.

because I was writing a lot. Like I wrote it really fast. It still felt like it was just like flowing. You know what I mean? And that's like the best I feel like. Yeah, that makes sense. Because it felt all of it felt as like out there as it was. It felt true to her character the whole time.

But in contrast, Demi is basically just trying to stay alive is basically her main struggle. And a lot of her thoughts are kind of stuck around like safety. staying alive and trying to deny how bad her life is a little bit. So there's kind of the example of when her dad brings someone over and she breaks the toilet. And she, Demi basically realizes that was the night I became poor. And the idea is like it was something that made her, like she was forced to see that she actually was. And then kind of later on she keeps moving from place to place when she doesn't have a place to sleep because she doesn't want the whole.

homelessness to like catch up with her. It sounds like you're writing probably from like some of your perspective, but how did you like dive into Demi's perspective? Yeah, no, a lot. Well, like everything that's in her backstory is like from like real life. Wow. So it's like I'm definitely like taking like, yeah. Or even like just talking about like stuff like walking. Like I've totally, I mean, I've done I had many, many times when I've done that when you have nowhere to go and you just keep walking from like one place to the next and you'll walk like 15 miles in a day. Like it's crazy, like just going back and forth. Yeah. So I just definitely took all that from like my own experiences in all honesty. Well, that makes that work then. So both of them though, Demi and Lila, are like

super desperate for something. So Demi is basically desperate for a safe place to live. And Lila is really desperate to win the approval of her husband and crazy mother-in-law. So were you kind of trying to show the contrast of what you're desperate for, kind of depending on your financial situation? Yeah. I mean, that makes sense. It's like the hierarchy of needs, you know? Right?

They say, like, once you get everything, then you just want, you know. And I think that, like, in some ways, like, there's, I mean, like, is like the most impossible thing to get in a way because it's like you never really feel it from someone else so yeah i think lila's especially lila really picked her in person but she's got a really special guy yeah so do you think lila's desperation was out of control enough that if dimmy didn't get the gun from her do you think she was going to kill demi well i think there's a point okay if i'm like trying to remember my own book so lila's like there's like there's a point when she's like could have shot graham and she didn't so that kind of makes me think she

maybe doesn't have like quite the killer instance yeah it didn't it felt i don't know just like thinking about it now reading it i was like how is she going to do this but she was acting like she was so sure that she could do it i was like she doesn't seem like a person who could actually do this though yeah she'd hire someone else to do that would be much more likely that's a really good point yeah and a lot easier yeah yeah yeah yeah Yeah, she's definitely not. There was kind of like a poetic justice, though, to Graham dying from drinking his precious Moe.

Did you know when you started writing the book that he was going to die? And did you know that Demi was going to do it? Well, I guess I don't think I didn't know that. I just think I wanted to give people like a more satisfying ending. I felt like if I disappeared, people weren't as like satisfied with the ending in some ways. Like they're like, it was one of those endings that like makes you go, oh. And I was like, I wanted people to go like, ah, you know, because I feel like you have to be like so careful with endings because if you like end a book wrong, then people hate the book, but he's so mad

of you. Although I guess like you can't really ever win any in that kind of battle. But I was just, I just wanted it to feel like, okay, like there was some justice. But I realistically, I don't think in real life, like, he wouldn't be dead. You're like, I just did it for the people. Like if there's a season two, he's coming back. That makes sense. Yeah, I was talking to, I think I was talking to Jamie Lynn Hendricks about that, about, like, there are plenty of books that I love that don't end well at all, but it still feels fitting to the book. And then sometimes you're like, oh, it was kind of nice that there is kind of a happy ending. But like in this genre, you're typically not necessarily having what you would call an actual happy ending. But it's kind of nice having a difference. But there are people who like, if they don't have closure at the end, like there's all all this buildup and then they get really mad and i i used to be a little bit more

like that or like when i first started reading books and similarly was like not rich at all not that i'm rich now but when it was like i would have to like research the book and be like what am i going to spend my money on then you get to the end and you're like what so i think i used to be like that more and then now i'm like if for 98% of the book i was so hooked and like thoroughly enjoying it and like it was very entertaining why am i going to throw a fit if like i didn't love 2% of it at the end but i might be in the minority there yeah it's it's hard to like know how to end something it is like that's why tv shows the tv shows are that same way where like the shows that know to ended at like five seasons like breaking bad ozark is what i was thinking

about too they're ending at four like knowing when to end too can be like what saves the show from seeming like it went on for too long too. Yeah, so true. Well, thank you for talking to me about the book. Thank you for having me. And then where can people find you? You just kind of plug whatever you want. I am on Instagram and Facebook and Twitter.

And I always try to follow people back on Twitter because I follow so many people. So if you're like a real person, I'll be like, oh, I'll follow you. Awesome. Well, I will, those will be in the show notes. So if anyone wants to go find those and follow them, they can. But hopefully they do so they can keep track of everything else that you're working on.