Photograph by Taylor Hughes
Cincinnati author Emily Jane wrote 17 books before she sold her bestselling debut, On Earth as it Is on Television with Hyperion Avenue. Since then, she has published two other full-length novels: Here Beside the Rising Tide and American Werewolves. Her latest, Mr. Yay, just released June 2, brings the same weird-and-wacky style she’s known for.
“I can definitely see through all of that time, the progression of my style has changed. I’ve grown as a writer,” says Jane. After her second book, Jane says her publisher went into her back catalog of novels. Mr. Yay, originally written in 2016, is technically the fifth book she ever penned.
“I’ve always loved Mr. Yay,” says Jane. “When I went back and started re-reading it, I felt that it did not represent my current style. I had just changed a lot as a writer since I wrote it. I ended up rewriting the entire book—probably 95 percent of the words—but none of the plot.”
Image courtesy Emily Jane
Expect a genre-bending existential speculative adventure brimming with witty, whimsical writing that doesn’t shy away from reveling in its own weirdness. Following musician Fatty Bratty, the screwball story features a dog that inexplicably appeared; an attempt at a rapping career under the titular name Mr. Yay; multiverse chaos that brings to mind Everything Everywher, All at Once or Being John Malkovich; self-referential humor; interconnected plots; and memory holes so deep that all you can say is: “Huh?”
“At the core, I like the idea of writing a story about ordinary people dealing with something strange as opposed to, like, the alien invasion where the president, Congress, and famous people are dealing with what’s happening,” she says.
Mr. Yay also orbits Bratty’s therapist, Miriam, whose own life unravels as Mr. Yay’s career rises. Her husband, Jack, becomes unrecognizable, and reality becomes ever more slippery.
If you’ve read Jane’s work before, this wily plot isn’t unfamiliar. Her other books feature everything from aliens to sea monsters—a hybrid of sci-fi, fantasy, and speculative fiction that defies being boxed into one genre. It makes sense, then, that a reader referred to Jane as the “Queen of Quirk,” a title she hopes sticks.
“Tonally, it’s very distinct,” says Jane of her writing style. “I know that I have a voice that doesn’t sound like anything else… I would be honored to be the Queen City’s Queen of Quirk.”
Cincinnatians will get a chance to hear from Jane on Saturday, June 6 at 7 p.m. at Joseph Beth Booksellers as part of her road trip tour, which kicked off last week. And, Jane even hit the road with a camper van—an impulsive purchase she made last summer. The idea of taking the camper—bedecked with a Mr. Yay decal and stocked with books and merch—on the road came on the heels of Jane participating in a traveling sci-fi and fantasy festival last fall.
“We traveled around and had different events,” says Jane. “In between tour stops, we would pop into all of these bookstores and meet booksellers. We told a lot of them we were coming ahead of time so we could find stock if they had it. It was a cool experience of visiting bookstores and meeting a lot of people. I wanted to replicate that, but in the van.”
Jane will be in conversation with fellow Queen City writer Jordan S. Keller and attendees will get the chance to get their copy of the book signed.
Mr. Yay’s concept was inspired by a low-stakes internet Mandela Effect-esque conspiracy: The Berenstain Bears rift, a controversy that can be traced back to 2012. Many remember it being spelled as Berenstein instead of Berenstain. Jane was in the former camp.
“I just thought it was a cool idea, so that’s where the story came from,” says Jane. “But I’m also a pantser, so I start writing and then stuff happens.”
Jane’s process starts with sitting down to write with a vague notion of where she’s going and then letting the magic unfurl intuitively. “Sometimes I don’t know why things happen when they happen,” says Jane. “And later on, when reading back, I can see why I [wrote] that.”
Much of the genre bending comes naturally from this process, too. As Jane’s characters grapple with absurd events—be it horror, sci-fi, or fantasy—she leans into what comes out of the story naturally.
Mr. Yay also pulled a page from her own life. The book’s dog, for one, looks like a pup her husband’s parents once had: a pitbull they adopted after he appeared on their porch scrawny and unkempt. Her brother, who used to perform under the pseudonym Deluxe, inspired the rapping. (After the Joseph Beth event, Jane says there will be an afterparty at Esoteric Brewery. Her brother, of course, will DJ.)
And while she’s a transplant from San Francisco, Mr. Yay is set in Cincinnati, like the rest of her published novels. Mr. Yay even includes a psychic who is really into the Cincinnati Reds.
“When I picture the story in my mind, I can see my own street, which is very suburban-ish, old Tudor houses, steep with a hill,” says Jane. “The characters of Miriam and Jack have these relationships with their neighbors that are very community oriented. They’re always hanging out together. It’s very representative of my neighborhood and my experience living in Cincinnati.”
In a political and societal landscape that feels absurd and fragmented, writing that explores life’s inherent weirdness just makes sense. Jane is acutely aware that the future isn’t obvious. In her own life, what she thought would happen doesn’t match with reality. Mr. Yay embraces that uncertainty.
“The other theme that runs through Mr. Yay is the idea of being true to yourself, no matter how weird and wacky you are,” says Jane, later adding that she wants readers to know it’s okay to accept their own strange selves.
What’s next for Jane? She’s currently having fun writing a novella that may or may not be published, but it follows a character from Mr. Yay: Brad Bradford, but in a different Renaissance punk-style universe. There’s also another novel in the works: Give the People What They Want, or How Our Dad Caused the Funpocalypse. Anticipate a bonkers tale of an AI shopping assistant gone rogue with plenty of wild goose chases and, of course, Jane’s signature: quirk.
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