Totally Booked with Zibby: Deborah Goodrich Royce on "Best Boy"

Date: March 9, 2026
Host: Zibby Owens
Guest: Deborah Goodrich Royce

Episode Overview

In this episode, Zibby Owens welcomes celebrated author (and former actress) Deborah Goodrich Royce back to discuss her latest novel, Best Boy. The conversation explores how personal memories, trauma, and the unreliability of our recollections shape both fiction and real life. Royce shares the inspirations for her book, her process, and how her experiences as an actress and in her family life inform the stories she writes. The episode also touches on balancing appearances and hidden pain, the complexities of trauma, and the supportive community she has found among writers and readers.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Inspiration Behind Best Boy

• Autobiographical Elements & Memory:
  Royce confirms the book draws loosely on real events, notably a mysterious outreach from someone claiming past acquaintance and the way memory colors our experiences.

  • “I think all fiction writers draw from life… We use what we have.” —Deborah (05:12)

• Plot Overview:
  The story centers on Vivica Stevenson, a woman vigilantly controlling a seemingly perfect suburban life in Greenwich, CT. Her orderly world unravels after a home invasion and a strange letter from a man claiming to be "best boy" on a film she acted in, prompting explorations of memory, trauma, and identity.

  • “She’s a former actress… and she has a flawed memory anyway, for a couple of reasons. She had a big trauma when she was a teenager…” —Deborah (05:33)

• Real-Life Parallels:
  Royce discusses receiving a similar letter and reflects on the unsettling aspects of people recalling versions of shared experiences that the other person doesn’t remember.

  • “The most unsettling thing… is they’re remembering your actions or your words that you don’t necessarily remember. And it got me thinking about memory and how flawed it is.” —Deborah (06:52)
  • Reference to Rashomon: “A rape occurs in a forest… three eyewitnesses… three completely different things. So I think that’s life.” —Deborah (07:45)

Structure and Themes

• Narrative Construction:
  Zibby notes the slow reveal of Vivica’s past allows readers to experience her attempts to outrun trauma and concealment, including adopting a new identity and appearance.

  • “She starts with a new name and identity and some plastic surgery. I don’t think I’m giving too much away…” —Zibby (09:17)
  • “Her face is damaged…her vocal cords are damaged…And that’s one of the ways she is able to reinvent herself as an actress.” —Deborah (09:24)

• Ocular Migraines & Memory Loss:
  Royce draws on personal experiences with migraines as inspiration for her character’s dissociative episodes.

  • “The ocular migraine is the weirdest thing because I would be looking at you and suddenly it’s like a scrim appears…” —Deborah (10:21)
  • “Once I relaxed with that. That was very helpful.” —Deborah (11:29)

• Surface vs. Reality:
  The conversation touches on the dichotomy between external appearances and internal struggles, echoing the book’s themes of masking trauma and maintaining facades.

  • “She’s just doing all the right things…And yet carrying around the secret…who knows what is really going on beneath the surface…appearances essentially can be deceiving.” —Zibby (11:51)
  • “There’s something about…being in certain spaces. It’s different now…but back in the day…there was a sensation that you could, for a time, just leave the real world…” —Deborah (12:36)

The Author’s Writing Community & Creative Life

• On Hosting Authors and Book Events:
  Royce is deeply involved in literary community building, hosting author series at Ocean House and organizing retreats.

  • “It has enabled me to build this relationship with other writers…It’s very fulfilling.” —Deborah (21:46)
  • “Deer Mountain Writers Retreat…a solid week of writing and then lovely dinners and wine…everybody comes out a little different from when they entered.” —Deborah (22:54)

• Acting vs. Writing:
  She reflects on her transition from acting to writing and its joys.

  • “I do not [miss acting]. I feel like I can say more what I want to say…through writing. And I feel like I’m at an age…where it’s really all about doing what I’m called to do.” —Deborah (20:59)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Trauma & Carrying the Past:
  “There’s generational trauma, for sure… but there’s also conferred trauma. You know, things that happen to us, things that happen to our loved ones…how do we cope? How do we go on? How do we make sense of it?” —Deborah (18:03)
  “This notion of regret, friendship, loyalties, memory…there are a lot of big topics here.” —Zibby (18:57)

• On Her Next Book:
  “I’m writing a ghost story. My mom died two years ago and…after she died, I got this idea of…a mother daughter ghost story…more like Terms of Endearment meets The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.” —Deborah (19:12)

• On Childhood and Trauma:
  “Childhood is psychedelic…The adult world is so weird…My mother’s best friend was murdered when my mother was a child…when something like that happens, you are changed in what you consider as being possible.” —Deborah (24:32)

• On Modern Information Overload:
  “We are inundated with these news slash non-news chatter cycles…some of it can be entertaining…and I feel very sorry for people much younger because I don’t know how they make sense of it.” —Deborah (26:32)

Upcoming Author Series and Events (at Ocean House & Beyond)

• Jenna Bush Hager will be presenting with two of her authors on July 16th. Other guests include Chris Bajalian, Annabel Monaghan, Beatriz Williams, Luann Rice, and possibly Mary Kay Andrews (28:10).
• Ocean House rooms are being redecorated with three fresh palette schemes (29:22).

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Deborah introduces Best Boy & its inspiration: (05:33)
• Discussion of memory, trauma, and identity: (06:52 – 09:24)
• Migraines and their significance in the book: (10:21 – 11:29)
• On facades and emotional reality: (11:51 – 14:18)
• Deborah’s upcoming ghost story: (19:12)
• Transition from acting to writing: (20:59)
• On building writer community (retreats, Ocean House): (21:46 – 22:54)
• Exploring childhood and generational trauma: (24:32)
• Deborah’s author series and upcoming literary events: (28:10)
• Room renovations and design discussion: (29:22)

Notable Quotes (with Attribution & Timestamp)

• “The most unsettling thing about it is they’re remembering your actions or your words that you don’t necessarily remember. And it got me thinking about memory and how flawed it is.” —Deborah (06:52)
• “Childhood is psychedelic…The adult world is so weird.” —Deborah (24:32)
• “There’s always truth in fiction. I think there’s great human truth in fiction, but it’s not really giving you the factual details of what’s going on in the world around you.” —Deborah (27:48)
• “I feel like I can say more what I want to say and what I need to say through writing.” —Deborah (20:59)
• “We are inundated with these news…chatter cycles about everything. And…I feel very sorry for people much younger because I don’t know how they make sense of it.” —Deborah (26:32)
• “With all of the trauma that you write about, where does it come from? …Is that your real nose now?” —Zibby, joking (24:15)

Tone and Style

The exchange is warm, conversational, and thoughtful, with Zibby offering familiar encouragement and Deborah providing candid, introspective reflections on memory, trauma, and the writer’s life. The conversation is peppered with playful moments, thoughtful literary references, and a sense of camaraderie between two book lovers.

For Listeners

• Themes to watch for when reading Best Boy:

  • The slipperiness of memory
  • The ongoing impact of trauma and secrets
  • The contrast between surface perfection and hidden pain
  • Reinvention and the cost of concealment

• For aspiring writers:
  Take note of the value Deborah places on literary community and the creative process over competition, and her encouragement to face and process one’s own history.

Recommended Next Steps

• Read Best Boy (and Deborah’s other works, like Ruby Falls and Finding Mrs. Ford)
• Check out her author events at the Ocean House or attend a retreat
• Follow Zibby Owens (@totallybookedwithzibby) for more bookish insights and episode releases

This episode is rich in personal storytelling, insightful commentary on the writing life, and a nuanced exploration of memory and trauma, all delivered in a friendly, engaging manner. Perfect for lovers of suspenseful literary fiction and those interested in the intersection of art and real life.