Guest Post

Guest Chick: Iris Yamashita

Chicks on the Case is thrilled to bring you Iris Yamashita and her fascinating road to becoming a mystery author.

Remember that Friends episode where Ross kept yelling “Pivot!” as he, Chandler and Rachel tried to get a couch around a bend in the stairs? Well, “Pivot!” is what I hear in my head when I think about my road to becoming a book author.

I have always loved writing since I could remember, but I had Asian parents who didn’t believe a career in the arts was tenable, and I understand now their concerns given how completely unstable and rarely profitable this path can be, so I ended up getting a B.S. degree in Bioengineering and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering.

I worked full time for the research arm of a Japanese construction company and then at an engineering software company, but I continued to pursue my passion by taking night classes in writing. My dad had a “talk” with me to let me know that he thought I was wasting my time. But since I was an adult who no longer relied on him financially, I ignored the talk.

Then I got my big break. I won a screenwriting contest, which got me an agent at CAA and landed a job writing a film called Letters from Iwo Jima directed by Clint Eastwood. For that, I received a nomination for an Academy Award and my dad suddenly changed his tune when he told me he had bought a tux to be my date.

I pivoted hard from engineering to screenwriting. I thought I was set. I had already quit my day job for what I thought would be a lasting career in Hollywood. But I had been pegged as the writer who wrote Asian historical films. I got sent every Hiroshima story, internment camp story, and other historical pieces set in Asia, and I quickly discovered that these were topics that no studio wanted to make back in 2007. “Who is going to be the A-lister to headline the movie?” is where the conversation usually ended. I was stuck in unproduceable movie limbo. Perhaps my father had been right after all.

I decided to try pivoting again and came up with a musical stage play which I had never attempted before. The sample landed me a job writing a musical fantasy for Tokyo DisneySea, and it was produced! Alleluia! But these types of opportunities don’t come up very often, so I knew it probably wasn’t going to sustain as a career.

Once again, I decided to pivot—this time to writing a mystery novel. And guess what? I landed a two-book deal! My first novel, called City Under One Roof, is about an investigator named Cara Kennedy, who is looking into a gruesome murder that takes place in a city in Alaska where everyone lives in a single high-rise building and the only land route in is through a single-laned tunnel carved through a mountain.

It was liberating to be able to write a contemporary mystery with a diverse cast. Among the characters in the book are a surly innkeeper, Ellie Wright, in her 60’s with a southern drawl and a Bonnie and Clyde past, Mariko Ishida, a 50+ Asian Madonna who wears a red dress, feather boa and Barbarella styled wig.

My just released second book, Village in the Dark, continues to follow Cara Kennedy, who is now investigating the deaths of her husband and son, and brings back those characters from the first book while introducing some new ones including Mia Upash–a young woman who is half Ainu (Japanese Indigenous).

Pivoting your career may not be as easy as I might have made it sound in this brief article, but with a little bit of luck and a lot of hard work, it’s possible. Although my father passed away not long after the Academy Awards, I’d like to think he’d still be proud of me!

Readers … how have you had to pivot in your life or career?

Iris Yamashita is the Academy Award-nominated writer for the movie Letters from Iwo Jima, directed by Clint Eastwood. The film received a Golden Globe award and was nominated for 4 Oscars®, including Best Original Screenplay. Her debut novel, City Under One Roof, was released in 2023 and received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly and Library Journal. It was the Editor’s Choice for Best Debut Crime Novel by Crime Fiction Lover and named one of the Best Thrillers of the year by the Washington Post. Her latest book, Village in the Dark is the second book in the Cara Kennedy series, and is an Amazon Editor’s Pick for Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense for new and continuing series. 

Book purchase link: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/673428/village-in-the-dark-by-iris-yamashita/

For social media:

Website: www.irisyamashita.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/irisyamashita/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IrisYamashitaAuthor

26 thoughts on “Guest Chick: Iris Yamashita”

  1. Wow! How cool that your dad got to be your date for the Academy Awards.

    I’ve done a little pivoting, most notably when my employer of nearly 12 years fired me. Of course, that’s what led to me getting serious about writing, so I look on it as a good thing.

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    1. Yes, we both had a blast! My father even did an interview on the red carpet with a newspaper when I wasn’t looking! Congratulations on turning a bad situation into something positive! I think that’s exactly the right attitude that’s carried me through.

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  2. I spent most of my career as a scientist and a technical writer. When my last employer laid me off, I decided to start a freelance science writing business. That went OK for about three years, ut then I became a full time novelist, and my science writing business became my publishing company.

    Tom Burns

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  3. Thanks for sharing & being a guest on the blog, Iris! It’s amazing how creatively gifted you are!

    I’ve pivoted in different areas. I changed areas of study in college and beyond. Then I shifted career focus from working at a nonprofit to working on novels. Plus, I switched from being single to married with kids. All interesting & happy changes!

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    1. Thank you so much for having me as a guest blogger! Aww, that’s so nice and likewise! I look forward to our joint talk at Octavia’s Bookshelf!

      Happy changes indeed! And I’ll have to ask you about the nonprofit when we meet on 3/16.

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  4. Iris, thank you so much for guesting with us! Fellow Hollywood vet here, although in TV, not film. I totally relate to your industry pivot. As I aged and remained female in the TV business, the jobs dried up. Luckily, I worked long enough to earn a WGA pension, which helps support my own pivot to writing mysteries. I’ve never been happier.

    Congratulations on all you’ve accomplished against enormous odds. You’re an inspiration.

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    1. Thank you so much, Ellen! Kudos to you for having made it through and survived Hollywood! Earning that pension is a huge accomplishment and I’m also grateful that I can look forward to that in the future. I’m also happy to be able to write mysteries!

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  5. Iris, it’s wonderful to “meet” you–and thanks so much for being our guest on Chicks today! Your books sound amazing, and they’ve gone straight to my TBR list. Your descriptions of the characters and set-ups are so vivid I can see the movies already in my head–and some new noms in your future! I have no doubt whatsoever that your dad is cheering you on.

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  6. Thank you so much for visiting us today, Iris! Sounds like you have had some fascinating experiences–congratulations on all of your successes! Your series sounds amazing and I can’t wait to read.

    (You made me laugh with that reminder of “Pivot!” which we quote every time we are moving something from one place to another. Can’t help it.)

    Yes, I pivoted into academia, but I still use marketing skills from the early years more often than you’d think. 🙂

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    1. Thank you, Cynthia! I envy you for having marketing skills! (Something I definitely need to work on.) Pivoting into academia is quite an accomplishment! Kudos to you!.

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  7. Oh, boy, have I ever pivoted. After college, I decided I wanted to be a rock star. You can imagine where that went. But I did have a lot of fun writing songs and playing in a New Wave band at a bunch of clubs in Northern California.

    Next pivot: a “real” job. So I went to law school and worked as an attorney for 20 years.

    But I quickly realized that the law was not my vocation, my passion. So my next pivot was to get a degree in culinary arts from my local community college (while still working as a lawyer).

    Realizing that I was far too old at this point to become professional chef, I continued working the the law until I could afford to retire, then did my most recent pivot: to writing mystery novels. I think I’m done pivoting, but who knows….

    Thanks so much for visiting the Chicks today, Iris! I’ve been reading about “City Under One Roof,” and now I’m going to go out and buy it–it sounds terrific! And yay for number two!

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    1. Amazing! From rock star to law to culinary arts and now an author! Those are some really hard pivots and so much material to pull from for your books, I’m sure! What an interesting life! My nephew is a bit like that where he was a bartender and a bassist for a band on tour for a while before he landed in law school and says he loves it! Really admire people who can be good at so many diverse things.

      Thank you so much for having me as a guest here!

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      1. I’m curious: Did you live in Alaska? I spent five months (March-June) in Fairbanks 12 years ago (to see the aurora, ice carving, and dog sledding), and it was an amazing experience. And I can totally imagine the building described in your book!

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        1. I did not live in Alaska, although I did visit and stay in the city and building that inspired my fictional one. It’s a beautiful place with residents who came from all over the world. But I’m not sure I would want to be stuck there in the winter!

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          1. Yeah, it was great being in Fairbanks where there’s a lively arts and cultural scene, but being cooped up in a small town during an Alaska winter–no thanks.

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  8. Pivoting is always hard, especially if you don’t see where you should turn. Glad you’ve found mysteries, and I hope this is the last pivot you must make for a while. (Pivoting because you want to is always a fun thing.)

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  10. Welcome, Iris, and congratulations on your many wonderful successes–both pre- and post-pivot!

    I pivoted from a brief stint in education (helping at-risk youth) to the world of advertising. Twenty-five years later, I’m still loving it!

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  11. Wow, Iris — an Academy Award! Where do you display your Oscar? Thanks for hanging out today with the Chicks!

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    1. Thanks, Vickie! I was only nominated and didn’t actually win, but I did get an official looking certificate. There was a pre-Oscar luncheon where all the nominees in all categories are there and called up to receive their certificate (just like a graduation ceremony). The “class” photo is really something surreal and I get a kick out of looking at it. Right now both the photo and the certificate are packed in a box as I prepare to move.

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