At the beginning of the book [The Dissemblers], Ivy [Wilkes] has a long way to go in order to achieve self-sufficiency. Although she is very independent, even somewhat of a loner, she is very affected by other peoples' opinions. At the opening of the book, her ideas of success and achievement are largely defined by the approval of others; over the arc of the story, I think that begins to change a little.
Liza CampbellI read letters and journal entries by [Georgia] O'Keeffe (which were infinitely more useful than any critical analysis of her work).
Liza CampbellI was loosely aware that most of my characters were fundamentally selfish people, but I didn't intentionally make that a theme.
Liza CampbellWhen Ivy [Wilkes] begins her work in forgery, she doesn't yet know the toll that it will take on her own original work. She even thinks it might be a way to find inspiration. By the time she realizes that she has lost her own voice, she is thoroughly entangled in the forgery mess.
Liza CampbellFinally, I found a wonderful agent who wanted to work with me, and she sent it to one billion publishers and received one billion rejections, until I was fortunate enough to be matched up with the Permanent Press.
Liza Campbell