Tag: Iris Green Unseen

Tell us a little bit about Iris Green, Unseen.

Sure! Iris Green, Unseen is about a talented, but shy street photographer who, on the day she discovers her boyfriend is cheating on her with her best friend, starts turning invisible. As she tries to put herself and her life back together, Iris has to work out some difficult truths about herself and the people around her as well as trying not to fade away entirely.

It’s a novel about self-discovery, self-confidence and allowing yourself to be really seen.

The novel cleverly weaves art and photography throughout. Where did this idea come from? Is it also something you are interested in?

First of all, I have to confess that I’m actually married to a photographer! So that was not only immensely helpful when it came to some of the technical questions, but also certainly contributed to the inspiration behind Iris’s art.

Also, although I’m not a particularly good photographer myself, I have always been interested in art and studied History of Art at uni. One artist whose work and story really inspires me is Vivian Maier, and she features quite prominently in the novel. Maier was an amazing and prolific street photographer who was entirely unknown in her lifetime, but her posthumous discovery has brought not only acclaim and recognition for her work, but also a lot of interest and speculation about her life. Her story raises so many interesting questions about why we make art and the exposure that comes with sharing it, which are certainly things Iris grapples with.

I also dabbled with a little darkroom photography once upon a time too and remain fascinated by the process. That moment when the picture begins to develop really is special and reminds me of how ideas arrive for novels – emerging on the blank page seemingly out of nowhere, but actually with a lot of hidden work and time to get to that stage.

What comes first for you when coming up with an idea for a book: the character, the concept, a setting, something else? Do you tend to plot or pants your way through writing a book?

I am a pantser to my core, unfortunately, writing my first drafts in a sometimes quite fragmented and chaotic way before going back through and attempting to impose order through edits. I’d love to be able to piece together a plot without writing the whole thing down scene by scene, but that doesn’t seem to be how my brain works.

Similarly, my ideas can start from anywhere and aren’t usually something I sit down and try to make happen. With Iris, the concept arrived first, but it brought the character along with it, because I knew immediately the kind of girl who would be manifesting her own invisibility.

Iris Green, Unseen deals with different types of relationships such as friendships, family and romantic relationships, whilst also looking inwards at loneliness, self-confidence and personal identity, among other things. What was most important to you when writing this book? How much of this did you know when you started writing it? Did anything appear and surprise you during the process?

What felt important to me was to focus on the interaction between all those relationships and how Iris feels about herself. From the start this was always about being seen and known by yourself and others, why that matters and how much it hurts when people get it wrong. While I had a sense of that when starting to write, I did end up going off on tangents during the writing that were less relevant and eventually had to be cut, which I think is inevitable when you’re not a plotter.

One thing that emerged during drafting which I enjoyed exploring was all the contradictions in Iris’s character and her relationships. For example, she’s someone who feels unworthy and doesn’t want to ask for anything from anyone, but ends up needing people to be there for her quite a bit. She’s hyper observant when it come to small slights, or the detail of a street scene, but fails to see Baker’s genuine interest in her.

I’m always mindful that, while my characters aren’t real people, my readers are.

This book covers emotions and feelings that we and many other people will be able to relate to, and it does so with such sensitivity and skill. Do you have any advice for writers who would like to write about similar topics, especially for young readers?

My main advice is to be as honest as possible while also offering hope and empathy. I’m always mindful that, while my characters aren’t real people, my readers are. I believe that when writing about emotional real-world issues, writers have a responsibility to leave readers feeling safe and with a sense of optimism, even if things aren’t perfect in character’s lives by the final page.

Other than that, it’s always a good idea to ask trusted readers for feedback, because none of us can never see all angles of our own work. I’d be nowhere without my brilliant writer friends!

Both The Eternal Return of Clara Hart and Iris Green, Unseen deal with very realistic topics, but with a speculative twist. Do you have any other ideas like this up your sleeve? Can you tell us about anything else you’re working on?

I do! I’m currently working on a horror novel, which is a slight change of direction, but not a total departure as it weaves together some real-world horrors with their supernatural counterparts.

Louise Finch

Louise Finch is an autistic author who lives on the Surrey/Hampshire border with her partner and two dogs surrounded by vintage furniture and too many houseplants. The Eternal Return of Clara Hart, Louise Finch’s YA debut, was published by Little Island Books in 2022. It was shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing, the Branford Boase Award, the Great Reads Award, and the Bookseller YA Book Prize.

http://www.louisefinch.co.uk