Eric Scot Tryon’s novel, I’m the Undertow (Central Avenue), was released on May 5. Excitement about the book has been building, with stellar reviews from early readers and a flurry of high-profile launch events. I appreciate Eric making time for my questions!
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Myna: Tell us about I’m The Undertow! Who are your characters? What themes do you explore?
Eric: I’m the Undertow follows the unconventional relationship between Conner Robbins and Lauren Thomas. Conner is our narrator. He has just turned 30 and has moved back to the Central Coast of California, where he grew up, with plans to open a restaurant with his best friend, Travis. But all of that is upended one day when he hits and kills a cyclist. A freak accident, he is not blamed, but he cannot stop blaming himself, until the guilt begins swallowing him whole. But soon after he receives a phone call from Lauren. The mother of the deceased young man. She wants to meet. One meeting becomes two, and soon Conner and Lauren seem to have found solace in one another. But at what cost? The novel explores themes of guilt and grief and forgiveness.
Myna: When a reader finishes the last word in the novel, what emotion will they be feeling?
Eric: This is a great question and one I’d like to find out myself! I think every reader brings something all their own to each read, and so each readers’ experience is unique unto themselves. I wouldn’t want to try and plan out a prescribed emotion or even try to predict it.
Myna: How did this book come about?
Eric: This book is decades in the making! The inspiration came from a newspaper headline I read a million years ago. A driver killing a cyclist but no one was at fault. The guilt that driver must carry was a thought I couldn’t shake and became a seed that lodged itself in the back of my brain. Then I went on to do things like get my MFA, get married, publish short stories, raise a daughter, etc. But all the while, this feeling was there and then it became a character which became a story that I had to tell. I began writing it off and on for years. But the catalyst for getting across the finish line was the pandemic. I had lost my corporate job and dedicated myself to writing full time. The novel was finished shortly thereafter. A couple years later I landed an incredible agent, and a couple years later here we are with my book launch just two weeks out, as of this interview!
Myna: I love the way music often threads through your short stories. So, I am curious if you had any specific music in mind as you wrote your novel? If the book had a theme song, what would it be?
Eric: That’s pretty interesting and cool that you bring up music (without having read the novel yet!) Music, and a very particular song, play a pivotal role in the book. There is most certainly a theme song, but revealing it here might be too much of a spoiler. I am a big music person, so whether it’s conscious or not, I think music will always find a way to creep into anything I write.
Myna: How would you describe your writing style, in general? Does that hold true for this book?
Eric: Hmm, I’ve never been asked that before. Seems so self-reflective, like maybe an exercise I should try, haha. I guess, big picture, my writing is always character-driven. I don’t have elaborate plots or twists. I never outline things out. Sometimes I’ll write something and then ask myself, “Damn, does anything even happen?” I find myself much more interested in the interior, in emotions and relationships and whatever it means to be human. On the sentence level, I do love focusing on voice and pacing and rhythm. And I think, or I hope, that all of this stuff carriers through in both my short work as well as my novel.
Myna: What’s your favorite thing about writing?
Eric: Writing that perfect sentence. It certainly doesn’t happen often, and even less so in a first go ‘round. But when that perfect sentence just falls right into place in just the right way where it sings off the page and gives me goosebumps. I love chasing that feeling.
Myna: Do you have other books or stories you’d like to mention?
Eric: After several years of publishing in the amazing online lit magazines, I’ve recently returned to publishing in print journals. I think it’s safe to assume these stories get fewer readers, but there is something very satisfying about having a nice journal in your hands, seeing your words printed on paper with ink. My most recent stories have appeared in the Mid-American Review, Indiana Review, and Passages North. And this most recent one is also available online! Best of both worlds!
Myna: I’m sure readers would also like to learn more about your award-winning literary journal, Flash Frog. What do you publish?
Eric: Flash Frog is an online literary magazine that publishes one piece of flash fiction every Monday. We also commission artists to create original works of art made specifically for each story. Our stories have been selected for the Wigleaf Top 50, Best Small Fictions, and Best Microfiction.
Myna: Any tips for future submitters?
Eric: It’s the obvious answer, but it’s still the truest: the best tip is to read the journal. You should know within a few stories if your work feels like it would fit on the same shelf. That, and please don’t give up after a few submissions. We have published so many incredible stories that would never have reached us if that writer gave up after a few passes from us. If we pass, it’s a no to that story, not a no to you!
Myna: Here’s a bonus question, from Emma Burnett, author of Ex Partum: What would you love to never have to read a story about again?
Eric: Stories that take place in hospitals. There are so many of them in the queue that they all start sounding the same. And if we’re dealing with loss or injury or pain or grief or mortality, there are endlessly more fresh and original places to set these stories.
Myna: Do you have a pet, or other non-writing hobbies/activities? Give us some pics!
Eric: Careful what you ask for! We have one cat (Kona Bean) who is the bright center in which our house revolves around. I will fill up your inbox with pics!
Myna: What’s next for you?
Eric: The last few months have been a busy whirlwind of prep for the release of I’m the Undertow. Otherwise, what’s next for me is finishing my second novel, of which I’m maybe about halfway through, and then praying that my agent loves it!
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Eric Scot Tryon is a writer and editor from San Francisco. His debut novel I’m the Undertow is forthcoming from Central Avenue (May 2026). His short work has appeared in over 50 literary magazines, including Mid-American Review, Indiana Review, Ninth Letter, Florida Review, Glimmer Train, The Los Angeles Review, and others. Eric is represented by Carleen Geisler at Britt Siess Creative Management. He is also the Founding Editor of the literary journal Flash Frog. Find more information at www.ericscottryon.com.
Find Eric on Instagram or Bluesky
Find I’m the Undertow at Central Avenue or wherever books are sold!
Myna Chang 