The Luminaries has a very unique story behind its origination. Could you share what happened and how it influenced the novel today?
I first wrote a proposal of The Luminaries in 2013 and tried to sell it--but with no bites. So, I set the project aside until 2019, when I was bored at the airport...and honestly, I was also grieving a miscarriage, so I didn't want to be alone with my thoughts. To fill the void, I dashed off a quick tweet: On the morning of your sixteenth birthday, you awaken to a crow tapping at the window. Then I added a poll giving people two options to vote on: open the window or go back to sleep.
People chose "open the window," and the adventure began. Everyday, I would add a new part of the story + a new poll, and it was all set in the Luminaries world with the characters from my first proposal. I expected the #ChooseWithSooz to fizzle out in a few days, but instead thousands of people participated daily and the adventure continued for six whopping months! It was so much fun. We, of course, deviated almost immediately from my first proposal's story, but that was fine! The joy for me was in no idea what they'd vote or where we would be going tomorrow.
When I sat down to try to write an actual book a year later, I again took the world and the characters...but again, I made up a new story for them. There are plenty of easter eggs, of course, for all the original #LumiNerds, but I also wanted something totally fresh for them to read.
And now I'm doing another #ChooseWithSooz--this time on Instagram. It's been a blast to engage again with the #LumiNerds as they make the most chaotic choices imaginable for our characters in Hemlock Falls.
The Luminaries opens with: “The forest comes for the boy on his thirteenth birthday. He is not the first to catch the forest’s notice. He will however, be one of the last.” Why do you think forests are so linked with supernatural creatures and stories?
Well, forests and the untamed wild have existed far longer than villages and civilizations did. Homo sapiens evolved between 90-160,000 years ago. Meanwhile, the first civilizations weren't until 3-4000 BC. So that's a longtime existing right next to the things that could kill us.
On top of that, it's human nature to fill in gaps with story and to attribute magical, mythical powers to creatures that are probably quite mundane (or are they?). So, I think this instinct to connect with forests with story is literally coded into our DNA. We evolved in a world where death was only one misstep away. That respect for the dangers of the world has never left us.
You have a degree in marine biology and Winnie has a similar interest in science, do you think there any other parallels between you both? How does your scientific background influence the way you write?
Of course! I view the world through a scientific lens at all times--I can't help it. My friends are just used to it at this point, and I don't think we've ever had a conversation where I didn't reference natural selection, biological morphology, or the amazingness of evolution at least once. So it was truly easy and natural for me to have Winnie be the same. I was her when I was an undergrad, constantly spouting off facts and identifying animals. Just replace "fish" with "nightmarish monster."
The Luminaries is very dark at times, you write that “whenever an a non is allowed into the Luminaries’ world, they’re always horrified that corpse duty goes to the thirteen-, fourteen-, and fifteen-year-olds. The children! they say. Their impressionable minds! To which Luminaries snort and reply, Exactly. Why did you decide to have the teenage characters do ”corpse duty“? Do you think it’s important to write about and discuss death frankly and openly with young people?
I do, and I think it's important for adults as well. Stories and especially written stories provide us with a safe place to explore subjects our brains naturally want to reject--and death is one of those subjects. I say written stories because there's an extra layer of protection with words: I can decide how detailed I want to be with my imagination. I don't get that same shield when I'm watching a show or playing a video game. So, for example, I myself read some pretty gritty, gory books...but I cannot watch it on TV. It's too much for me.
Another thing to consider is that when we read, our brains process the story as if it's happening to us. This is incredible! Simply by reading, I'm creating neural pathways as if I were in the same situation as the character. So while I may never fight nightmares in a terrifying forest like Winnie, my brain stores that memory as if I had--and more importantly, it stores the memory of how she processed her challenges and responded to them.
By reading, we literally expand our understanding of others and our understanding of the world.
