Authors Answer: Juliet Izon
Authors Answer Q&A #593
Author interviews almost always focus on questions regarding an author’s latest publication (and that’s great because it’s how readers discover new books!) but sometimes it’s fun to ask authors to talk about their lives beyond the book they’ve just written. Authors Answer (started as a blog in 2020, moved onto Substack in 2025), is an attempt to give authors space to wax eloquent about the other influences on their writing. The questions posed here move beyond the formulaic classics like, “What books are on your nightstand?” or “What book inspired you to be a writer?” and even “You’re having a dinner party….which three authors (dead or alive) do you invite?” There are 20 standing questions. Authors pick FIVE that they want to answer.
Are you an author? Visit the Questions page to learn more about participating.
Today’s post features Juliet Izon.
Juliet Izon is a New York City and Hudson Valley-based journalist and author. Her work has appeared in national newspapers such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, and magazines like Travel + Leisure, Vogue, Food & Wine, and Architectural Digest. Her first novel, The Encore, will be published by Union Square & Co./Hachette in March 2026.
Instagram: @julietizon
Is there a genre of music that influences your writing/thinking? Do you listen to music while you write?
I listen to different genres of music depending on what type of scene I’m writing. Sometimes it’s very obvious, like blasting electronica if the scene is in a club. Others, like romantic scenes, I find it’s more a specific song that chooses me. And listening and relistening to that track will help me craft the dialogue or narrative arc. Essentially, I score the whole book (and I have the playlists to prove it!) as I’m crafting it. However, I cannot listen to any music, except maybe light classical, while I’m writing. I need exterior quiet to hear all my interior thoughts.
Favorite non-reading activity?
I’m a huge fan of the performing arts, whether that’s seeing Broadway, Off-Broadway, or Off-Off Broadway shows (I even wrote a whole play while I was on submission with my novel!); concerts (the smaller the venue, the better), art exhibits at galleries and museums, or ballet performances. And after writing a fiction book, I have an even greater respect for creative artists of all stripes.
Is your go to comfort food sweet or savory? Is it something you make yourself? Does food inspire your writing?
Definitely savory: cheese is my best friend. Macaroni and cheese is my ultimate comfort food, but I couldn’t live without pizza, grilled cheese, lasagna, quesadillas … I do have a pretty great mac and cheese recipe (the secret ingredient is buttermilk), but I also enjoy the boxed kind, I won’t lie. And I wouldn’t say food inspires my creative writing, but I am also a journalist who specializes in writing about chefs, restaurants, and food trends, so I certainly spend a lot of time thinking about it both for work and for fun.
Is there a work of art that you love. Why? Have you ever visited it in person?
Many! But the first piece that I fell in love with that I wanted to see in person was Marcel Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2.) I call it loosely Cubist—since most Cubists disavowed it—but there’s something about its stop-motion, jerky quality that fascinated me from the first time I saw a photo of it. It was also the first time I connected with a non-figurative piece; I think because its form contains so many possibilities. I was lucky enough to get to see it in Philly, but writing this reminds me it’s high time I visited it again.
Vacation druthers… City or Rural destination? Why?
I’m also a travel journalist, so it’s rare that my vacations don’t end up morphing into work trips. So if we’re talking a blue-sky scenario where I actually put away my laptop for its duration, I’d still prefer a city trip to something rural or remote. I’ve learned as an adult that I need a lot of daily stimulation (hence why I live in New York City), so nothing excites me more than a vast, brand-new city to explore. I love to eat. I love to find cool boutiques for souvenirs. I love exploring contemporary art museums. I love finding a cool neighborhood and wandering its streets, picking out where I’d live and what coffee shop would be mine.
Endnotes!
This newsletter is a passion project started by me, Elizabeth Rynecki, to try to help shine a light on new-to-me authors. I am also an author (and a documentary filmmaker and podcaster) and if you want to learn more about me, you can visit my website or read my personal newsletter, Ink Trails: A Chronicle in Creativity.
I’ve never made Authors Answer specific social media accounts, but you can find me on Instagram, Threads, and BlueSky.