The Contemps: Steve Brezenoff

Steve Brezenoff and I go way back, so I'm thrilled to give you a preview of his upcoming novel, Brooklyn, Burning, which comes out in September.

When you’re sixteen and no one understands who you are, sometimes the only choice left is to run. If you’re lucky, you find a place that accepts you, no questions asked. And if you’re really lucky, that place has a drum set, a place to practice, and a place to sleep. For Kid, the streets of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, are that place. Over the course of two scorching summers, Kid falls hopelessly in love and then loses nearly everything and everyone worth caring about. But as summer draws to a close, Kid finally finds someone who can last beyond the sunset.

As the title suggests, Brooklyn itself is practically a character in Steve's novel, so he's with us today to tell us more about the setting he chose for his novel.

The lovely and talented Micol Ostow asked me host a Brooklyn photo tour, in light of my upcoming novel Brooklyn, Burning. However, before we start a little photo tour, I should admit: I’m no Brooklyn native.

Strictly speaking, I’m a Queens native. I was born in Queens and lived in the Laurelton neighborhood until I was about two. Then the Brezenoffs moved out to Nassau County—better schools, crappier pizza. But there you have it. It was the thing to do among middle-class whites in the mid 1970s, after all. But, living out here in the Midwest, when I think about New York and how much I miss it, it’s Brooklyn that sits heavily and wistfully on my mind. I lived in Gowanus, Windsor Terrace, and Greenpoint, and rehearsed with various bands in Williamsburg on and off for about ten years. Each of those neighborhoods is drastically different from the others, and even within one, there are often great divides just a few blocks apart. Williamsburg, for example, when I last visited, was an ever-shifting combination of a Hassidic enclave, a Latino working class neighborhood, and an insurgent hipster scene.

North Brooklyn—specifically Greenpoint and Williamsburg—is as crucial to Brooklyn, Burning as any of the characters, probably more crucial than some. Obviously, Brooklyn is right there in the title. But since the story itself is based on an actual fire—the Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse burned for days in May of 2006—it really couldn’t take place anywhere else.

That’s all well and good, but if I’d decided to write about a similar fire, and set the book here in St. Paul, Minnesota, for example, no one would have cared, or probably even known, except for one thing: the characters were clearly not from around here. They were Brooklynites.

Like a lot of writers (I think), I start with a character, maybe two. Hopefully, as they develop, they’ll tell me what I want to know about plot and setting. It usually works, at least partially. In this case, I got lucky.

During the first scene I wrote (it’s now somewhere past the middle of the book, I think), the two main characters were out walking, and I knew at once they were on Driggs Avenue in Williamsburg, and walking toward McGuinness Boulevard in Greenpoint. So that was settled. What I didn’t know is, in my hunt for photos of my old neighborhood, I’d stumble upon a story in the news (that big fire in 2006, natch) that would help me fill out the plot.

Well, without further ado, here are some photos of Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

That’s me, walking past one entrance of the Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse. From this angle, you can’t tell how huge the warehouse is, and how the fire gutted it.

Another angle of the warehouse, and it’s a little clearer how wasted the warehouse really is.

I didn’t take this one; it’s from the online magazine Gothamist. From this angle, the devastation is breathtaking.

This one is a pizzeria! Much nicer than a burnt-out warehouse, isn’t it? This is the most classic-looking pizza joint in Greenpoint, and inspired the pizzeria patronized by main character Kid.

If you want to see more (even hundreds) of photos of the warehouse fire, check out this Flickr collection: http://www.flickr.com/search/q=greenpoint+warehouse+fire&w=all&s=int&referer_searched=1

Thanks so much, Steve! I love seeing real-life images that inspire a story.

What do you think, readers -- has Steve piqued your curiosity about Greenpoint? What are some other of your favorite settings in contemporary novels?

The absolute value of any number, positive or negative, is its distance from zero. So what's the absolute value of a friendship? Of love? Just how far apart are we, anyway?

Noah, Lily, and Simon have been a trio forever. But as they enter high school, their relationships shift and their world starts to fall apart. Privately, each is dealing with a family crisis divorce, abuse, and a parent's illness. Yet, as they try to escape the pain and reach out for the connections they once counted on, they slip like soap in a shower. Noah's got it bad for Lily, but he knows too well that Lily sees only Simon. Simon is indifferent, suddenly inscrutable to friends. All stand alone in their heartache and grief.

I'm so excited to be spotlighting [-1] here today! Steve Brezenoff and I go way back to my very first job in publishing, working on many a media tie-in and even, once, collaborating on the same. Steve's been working on chapter books (written under a pen name) for a few years now, but when it came time for his YA debut, he went full-on contemp. Naturally, I wanted to know why.

Here's what he had to say:

Micol asked me to explain why, since I come from a background of paranormal, I decided to launch my novel-writing career with a contemporary, realistic, edgy cuss-fest like |-1|. The simply answer is that I didn't decide to. In fact, the first novel I completed was a middle-grade fantasy! So was the second. The next three I started, and outlined, and wrote tens of thousands of words on were speculative fiction, top to bottom. But they were never good enough even for me, never mind the rest of the world. Something wasn't clicking.

Meanwhile, there was this story I'd written, and expanded, and revised, and expanded some more, since I was still in college. It was clicking. And I kept going back to it over the years, even though I didn't want to write it. Confusing, I know. But when the time came to submit my work to an open-minded editor, it was that book that was farthest along, and that book that had the strongest voice, so I sent it. Obviously, that book was The Absolute Value of -1.

Will I ever finish all those middle-grade fantasies? Who knows. That trilogy had some cool stuff in it. But I'm feeling super dedicated to young adult, and to realistic fiction, so it might be a while.

Who knew? (Well, actually, I kinda could have guessed that Steve had some fantasy tucked in a drawer somewhere.) First of all, I love the term "cuss-fest," and am definitely going to work that into conversation sometime this week. But more than that, what I think Steve is saying is what we Contemps have been going on about all along: sometimes, realistic fiction is what gives our authorial voice the most confidence and authenticity. We have to keep it real to tell it like it is.

Check out the awesome [-1] trailer:

But it's not just any old Spotlight Wednesday here at The Contemps - because Steve is made of awesome, and because his trailer and guest post have obviously made you want to IMMEDIATELY run right out and read his book - he's giving one away!

That's right, people - post a comment here, letting us know what YOUR favorite YA contemp friendship story is, and you'll be entered to win a signed copy of [-1]. You lucky ducks!

Thanks so much for coming by, Steve, and good luck, commenters! The giveaway will be open through the end of the week (Friday, 12/3).