About Tiffany Scandal
Tiffany Scandal is a good-for-nothing broad. Writer, Suicide Girl, photographer, shitty painter, she dabbles with too many other creative outlets to have them be worth listing.Her first book THERE’S NO HAPPY ENDING (Eraserhead Press) was released as part of the 2013/2014 New Bizarro Author Series, and placed in Brian Keene’s Top Ten Books of 2013. She has also had fiction and non-fiction published in Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Ladyblog, The Magazine of Bizarro Fiction, Living Dead Magazine, and a handful of anthologies. Her modeling and photography have appeared both online and in print.
She currently resides in Portland, Oregon with three black cats.
Round 10
Sam: Can you tell me a little bit about how you came to Jigsaw Youth (Ladybox Books, 2015)?
Tiffany Scandal: Jigsaw Youth is a book that I wish existed when I was younger. I wanted to write something that felt a little more grounded, personal. I had demons that needed exorcising. I wanted to write a story that people could relate to, even if it’s just for a moment. I wanted to show the struggles of being young and living in the world that exists today, all while playing tribute to the Riot Grrrl movement.
SS: What drove you to write the book?
TS: An invitation. I had just contributed a chapbook to the limited edition Ladybox Box Set (now sold out). Shortly after its release, Constance Ann Fitzgerald announced that she’d be launching Ladybox Books, an imprint of Broken River Books, and that she’d be happy to consider pitches from any of the authors that were a part of box set. So I pitched Jigsaw Youth to her in October, wrote the book in three months, and had it out by March.
SS: The title reminds me of any number of bands I saw when I was a kid. Where does the title come from?
TS: The title comes from a Bikini Kill song. I was obsessed with that band growing up, and naturally, they provided much of the soundtrack during the writing of the book. Cool note: Kathleen Hanna has a copy of Jigsaw Youth. Constance and I saw her lecture here in Portland and we had the chance to give her a copy after the show. She looked at the cover, smiled, said my name out loud and mentioned that she knew who I was. I don’t know if she’ll ever read the book, but it was an awesome exchange. Felt almost like I leveled up or some shit.
SS: How do you feel when you finish a book? Then, what is it like to see it a few months/years later in print?
TS: Tired? Relieved? Scared? Hahaha. Writing a book is a lot like how I imagine giving birth is. It starts as an idea in my head, and I nurture its growth and development. Then it becomes a story with distinct features and characteristics. Then I labor over the actual writing and editing, and this part sucks because I have to keep finding the strength to keep pushing forward. Then I have the book in my hands. I’m happy, relieved; I feel lighter, accomplished, proud. Then I feel fear. How will people react to it? Will it do okay? But at this point, the book is already out of my hands, so all I can do is sit back and drink while I watch it go off into the world.
My first book, There’s No Happy Ending (Eraserhead Press), came out a year and a half ago and I’m so happy that people are still buying it, reading it, and talking about it. Jigsaw Youth came out a little over two months ago, but it feels like it’s been out for ages. Looking through both books, I kind of forget about some of the things in there. Sometimes I’m impressed. Sometimes my eyes hone in a typo and it’s all I can see on that page. But I’m happy and proud that they both exist and are doing relatively well.
SS: What drink would you say best characterizes the work?
TS: The first drink that came to mind was an Adios Motherfucker. But if we’re talking solo liquor, it’s a toss up between whiskey and tequila.
The Jigsaw Motherfucker
Inspiration: The Adios Motherfucker is a drink that’ll knock you on your ass. Think Long Island Iced Tea, but blue. The Jigsaw Motherfucker is that drink, deconstructed. Piece the ingredients together and take them in an order that you think fits. I wanted to create something that would change every time, as one’s palate develops. If you do two in a row, even in the same order, it will not taste exactly the same.
Ingredients:
- .5 oz vodka
- .5 oz white rum
- .5 oz silver tequila
- .5 gin
- .5 oz raspberry liqueur
Method: As mentioned above, this is about putting a puzzle together. Take the shots in quick succession. Repeat, if desired, in a different order.
