Erin Singer’s first published short story, “Bad Northern Women,” was inspired by her native Saskatchewan. It earned her a 2019 PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers.
Her debut novel, “Dangerland!,” was inspired by Las Vegas, her home for the past 19 years and, more specifically, the lengthy, bitter fight over the future of the shuttered Badlands golf course.
“Dangerland!,” described as “Nora Ephron meets ‘The Hangover,’” will be released Tuesday.
Neon: What’s your connection to Las Vegas?
Erin Singer: I visited here in 2007 to cover the World Series of Poker for a Swedish online gaming website. That’s how I came to meet my now-husband at the Rio. Three months later, I was living in Las Vegas and traveling to poker tournaments all over the world. It was a super fun time, but things have calmed down a lot since then. I’ve been in the Summerlin area for 19 years. My oldest child just graduated from West Career and Technical Academy in May, and my youngest is a sophomore at Las Vegas Academy of the Arts.
What should potential readers know about “Dangerland!”?
It’s part romantic comedy, part heartfelt family drama. The main characters, Eugenie and Kurt, are Vegas suburbanites whose 40-year will-they-or-won’t-they relationship is having repercussions on their children. Eugenie and Kurt both grew up in Vegas and love living here. I think locals will have fun recognizing places in the book and seeing some of the city’s quirks through the characters’ eyes.
What inspired you to write this?
Setting! I was living in Queensridge when a developer bought the Badlands golf course. Ironically, the company doing security for Queensridge at the time accidentally exposed every resident’s email address. I started getting anonymous messages from people on both sides of the dispute that got increasingly wild and accusatory. At the same time, the entrance to the community started to look less like a country club and more like a scene from a dystopian movie. I couldn’t look away from the comedy and the drama of it all.
What did you learn during your transition from short stories to your first novel?
Ten points of view is too many points of view. I’m always trying to write chapters as their own little short story. I had to kill some darlings to make this really come together as a novel.
What’s next for you?
I’m finishing up a fun, campy novel also set in Las Vegas. I love writing about this city! There’s no other place like it.