Q&A with Marisa Kashino, Author of December Indie Next List Top Pick “Best Offer Wins”

Bookselling This Week: I read that your time reporting on the housing market during COVID was sort of the inspiration for this story? I’d love to hear more about that. Was there anything in particular that stuck in your head as the starting point for this?

Marisa Kashino: You’re right that I spent many years covering housing and real estate, including during the pandemic and its aftermath. Though I didn’t realize it at the time, that’s definitely when the seed for this novel was planted.

During that period, I was constantly hearing stories about properties getting 50 or 60 offers and going for hundreds of thousands over list price. Buyers, meanwhile, were waving every contingency and writing gushing letters to sellers, and still losing every bidding war. As a millennial, the housing crisis has always felt like a defining problem for my generation, but this was the moment when it became truly absurd.

It wasn’t until a couple years later that I decided to try writing a thriller, but when I did, an extremely competitive house hunt seemed like such an obvious setting for one. I was actually quite surprised no one had beaten me to it!

So, while I can’t peg the book’s origins to one specific anecdote or story, I would absolutely credit the general desperation and chaos of the pandemic market with inspiring much of it.

BTW: Even though Margo is making some questionable choices, we’re still rooting for her. I mean, with every step she takes I would find myself thinking, “Man, she better get that house.” And that seems to be the main reaction from readers. Which is a wild response to achieve.

Do you want to tell us a little about Margo’s character creation and how you balanced making her empathetic and endearing despite her actions?

MK: I can’t tell you how happy that reaction makes me!

As I was writing the first draft, there were many moments when I wondered if I was making Margo too despicable. But I hoped that building out her backstory and giving her a wicked sense of humor would generate some empathy and induce readers to stick around. Because yeah, she does some horrible things and has some appalling views, but funny people are usually at least a solid hang! She’s also self-made, having come from humble, somewhat tragic beginnings, which I personally admire about her and hoped others would, too.

The other thing — maybe the most important thing — is that she harbors a constant, boiling rage as a result of the immense pressure she feels as a late-30s woman trying her damnedest to have it all. Creating that part of her character was incredibly cathartic for me, and I do think many women will relate to it…even if the rest of us don’t get to act on our rage quite to the degree that Margo does!

BTW: This is your debut novel! Congratulations! What has been the biggest challenge in writing fiction, or in moving from journalism to fiction?

MK: This is honestly such a tough question, because the experience so far has been overwhelmingly joyful.

But I guess it has been something of an adjustment to transition from working for a media company to becoming my own business. There are definitely days when I miss having an IT department, for example.

The part of book marketing that requires self-promoting on social media also still feels a bit cringe, but I’m trying to get over that!

BTW: Would you talk a little about the role of books and indie bookstores in your life?

MK: I grew up mostly an only child, so I spent a lot of time reading in my room, then imagining stories of my own. Which is to say, books have always felt like some of the very best, most satisfying company.

These days, living in the DC area, my local indies have become a refuge from the uncertainty and heartache swirling around this city. Even as our local economy bears the brunt of a government shutdown and massive government layoffs, when I visit Wonderland Books or Politics and Prose, they’re almost always bustling with customers. I think that’s because they supply more than books — they provide community and escape. More than ever, I believe booksellers are heroes for their communities.