1–What is the title of your latest release?
My latest novel is called THE NIGHT SHIFT.
2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
THE NIGHT SHIFT is about Jean, a young bartender, who discovers bends in time and space through secret passages hidden throughout NYC. The story tracks the disappearance of a friend through the mysterious shortcuts, and Jean’s attempt to find him.
3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
New York is my favorite city in the world. I’ve lived here for over twenty years, and it still holds many mysteries for me—setting Jean’s mystery here was a no-brainer.
4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
I love this question! Jean is a little skittish, so I think any hanging out would require a foundation of trust. But, once that trust is established, I bet Jean would be a loyal friend and a good time.
5–What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Introverted, bright, brave.
6–What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Music plays a significant role in this story, and I listened to so many new songs and albums I’d missed in the past. It was a delight!
7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
Oh man, I always have to wait until I’m done. Things get really convoluted for me if I try any funny business and edit too early.
8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
I’ll never say no to any lobster-based situation. I’m also completely obsessed with ice cream.
9–Describe your writing space/office!
Part of my process is being able to write literally anywhere. I wrote a big chunk of my first book while nursing my infant in the middle of the night. My writing space is, honestly, anywhere I can sit down for five minutes. (Once, when I had a deadline, I wrote in a Disney World hotel room with my head under a blanket while the rest of my family was sleeping!)
10–Who is an author you admire?
How much time do you have? I admire so many people specifically, but I have a profound appreciation for anyone who can open their heart and mind to the world to share a story.
11–Is there a book that changed your life?
There are so many books that have changed my life at different times, but the first one is definitely E.L Konigsburg’s From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
12–Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I was actually on a plane! It was amazing to turn my phone back on once we’d landed on the tarmac and receive the world’s best news. It was surreal but amazing.
13–What’s your favorite genre to read?
I’ll read any genre any time—I think reading widely makes you a better writer and a better person. But I have a soft spot for biographies and forgotten classics.
14–What’s your favorite movie?
I love movies so much! I have way too many favorites, but I think I’m going to have to go with Rear Window.
15–What is your favorite season?
I love the summer, and not just because it happens to coincide with my birthday! I love the long days, the fact that it is—by far—the most relaxing season, and the time of year with the best produce. Also, you can never say no to an ice cream.
16–How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I am a big fan of birthdays. I experienced several losses in my family as a young person and have always seen adding another year as a triumph and an accomplishment. Gathering with loved ones in any way is the best way. And if there’s an ice cream and meringue dessert in the mix, even better. My husband has become an accomplished baked Alaska maker.
17–What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I just finished watching Severance, and holy moly, it isn’t one to be missed!
18–What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I’m very lucky to live in a city where every type of cuisine imaginable is available pretty much 24/7. I’m also a big fan of eating. I guess you could say I’m a mood eater—I go through phases where I crave certain things. Right now, my family is in a big Vietnamese food-appreciating period.
19–What do you do when you have free time?
Traveling is one of my favorite things to do, so when I have free time, I daydream a lot about where I’d like to go next!
20–What can readers expect from you next?
I’m excited to say I have a few new and fun ideas on the back burner—but trying to figure out what to move to the front burner is really one of the most difficult things. I will say, though, if readers enjoyed THE NIGHT SHIFT, I bet they’re going to like both of these ideas that are laced with mystery and magical realism.
THE NIGHT SHIFT by Natalka Burian
A Novel
Hidden behind back doors of bars and restaurants and theaters and shops all over New York City are shortcuts—secret passageways that allow you to jump through time and space to emerge in different parts of the city. No one knows where they came from, but there are rules—you can only travel through them one way and only at night.
When Jean’s work friend Iggy introduces her to the shortcuts, it’s to help shorten her commute between her night shifts bartending and her work at an upscale bakery. Jean is intrigued but has a hard time shaking the side effects—the shortcuts make her more talkative, more open to discussing her past and recalling memories she’s tried hard to forget.
When Iggy goes missing, Jean believes it’s related to the shortcuts and his growing obsession with them. But as she starts digging into their origins, she comes to find a strange connection between herself and the shortcuts.
Fiction Adventure [Park Row, On Sale: July 12, 2022, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9780778333043 / eISBN: 9780369718235]
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About Natalka Burian
Natalka Burian is the co-owner of two bars, Elsa and Ramona, as well as the co-founder of The Freya Project, a non-profit reading series that supports community-based activism and annually awards five unrestricted grants to further the work of women and non-binary writers. She is the author of Welcome to the Slipstream, a young adult book, and the cocktail cookbook, A Woman’s Drink. Her novel, Daughters of the Wild, will be out this September with Park Row. Natalka, her bars and books have been featured in The New Yorker, Elle, Vogue, The New York Times, and elsewhere. She grew up on a farm, but now lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two daughters.
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