Laura Picklesimer

Laura Picklesimer’s debut novel Kill for Love will be released on September 12 by Unnamed Press. The book was the winner of the Launch Pad Prose Competition Top Book Prize and the Book Pipeline Grand Prize for Best Thriller/Mystery. Laura’s writing has appeared or is forthcoming in the Kenyon Review, Electric Literature, the Arkansas International, and the Santa Ana River Review, among other publications. Laura earned a B.A. in Creative Writing from UCLA and an MFA in Fiction from Cal State Long Beach. She lives in Pasadena, CA.

Instagram: @killforlovethebook

Are there particular films that have influenced your writing?

Films are a wonderful portal that have helped inspire the tone, emotions and character development of my writing. For my debut novel Kill for Love, many films influenced me: some were book adaptations like American Psycho, Gone Girl and A Clockwork Orange. Other original titles like Heathers, Promising Young Woman, and Jennifer’s Body helped me get into the mind of my narrator and strike a balance between black humor and horror. I’m always looking for films that showcase women in all their glory and complexity. Examples of specific movie characters that shaped my main character Tiffany include Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman, Alicia Silverstone’s Cher, and Uma Thurman’s The Bride. For my latest project, which is a speculative fiction collection, I’ve been influenced a lot by L.A. classic and neo noir films like Sunset Boulevard, In a Lonely Place, Blade Runner, Strange Days and Drive.

Is there a genre of music that influences your writing/thinking? Do you listen to music while you write?

I develop a playlist for every work that I produce. The genre and tone of each playlist varies wildly with whatever I’m writing. For Kill for Love, it was a lot of contemporary synth rock. I especially like to listen to music when I’m brainstorming and writing those early drafts; a glass of wine and a booming track get me spilling words onto the page every time. Classical music and film soundtracks are great for when I don’t want to risk getting too distracted. In the later stages of the revision process, I prefer complete silence, so I can hear the voice of my narrator. 

Is your go to comfort food sweet or savory? Is it something you make yourself? Does food inspire your writing?

Savory all the way. I’m not much of a sweets person and rarely find myself craving dessert. I’d much rather have some cheese, charcuterie and fruit than cake or cookies after a good meal. And the great thing is no cooking required. 

Food is a huge part of our lives, and it’s such an effective way to develop character. I often ask myself, “What would my narrator eat today? What food comforts them? What do they avoid?” It reveals so much: personality, culture, hang-ups, preoccupations, time, resources. For my narrator Tiffany, she begins the novel in a state of deprivation, denying herself so much for a perfectly sculpted and starved body. She then starts to give in, feasting on decadent items from chicken wings to double-double cheeseburgers and French toast sticks. The food symbolizes her growing power as she gives into bodily, increasingly dangerous, urges.

What do you worry about?

I worry about many things, but one worry that’s wound its way into my writing is the environment and the current climate crisis. Disaster events like wildfires, heat waves and flooding have insinuated themselves into most of my writing in the last couple years. Climate disasters used to be the place for speculative fiction, but now it’s impossible for me to imagine a contemporary plot line no matter the genre that isn’t somehow impacted by the realities we’re facing as a country and planet. Living in L.A., where the summers are growing more and more unbearable, and we experience decades of droughts followed by devastating mudslides and floods, that threat is always there. Folding these truths into my fiction can be depressing but seems all the more imperative. 

Have you ever experienced Imposter Syndrome?

Definitely. My debut novel was long in the making. It took years to find its home. Throughout it all, you wonder if the book is good enough, and in turn, if you are. I remember enrolling in my first creative writing workshop back at the age of 19. It was so intimidating to sit in silence at a round table while colleagues unpacked the work. It was a tough adjustment going from writing alone at night in a dorm room to sharing with a room full of people. I experienced a lot of self-doubts, a lot of stumbles. But I also had so many people who believed in me and encouraged me to move forward. I wouldn’t have continued writing without that support.