Ruby's parents have come to New York and are living as squatters in a condemned building. The reporter knows he has a potentially earthshaking story. Her parents were living like squatters downtown with no electricity or running water. I was shocked. Furthermore, her celebrity friend received calls from a reporter who had met her father exactly as happens in the novel.
True life can be more unbelievable than fiction.
And by the way, somehow Pryor's friend managed to persuade the reporter not to print the story. Because her friend seemed to make no effort to help her parents, Pryor broke off contact with her. My biggest problem was making Ruby redeemable and loveable to my readers even though she has done something really reprehensible,'' she said. Pryor wanted to use a similar milieu to the place where her friend grew up, yet conceal her identity. So she chose eastern Kentucky.