What's the story behind the story? What inspired you to write this book?
The series was supposed to be a classic hero's journey for Bob Foxen in the form of a space opera. But it's called Saabrina. This book needed to be about Saabrina and bring her journey to a close. Although originally intended to be the completion of Bob's hero arc, I wanted it to be equally about her and how she becomes a mature person. I gave her more voice throughout. Most importantly, I brought out in this book that the series is their love story.
If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of your book, what would they be?
Given how much time passes in the series (Rebecca is a college student in book 1 and a grandmother in book 4), the characters’ personas and musical tastes change over time. That said, Bob listens to classical and rock, and Saabrina has really gotten into David Bowie.
What's your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?
Fiction. Right now, I’m reading twentieth-century and modern Japanese novels, exploring the nature of the narrator’s personhood and how they portray that, and the impact of the West on Japan. Some Prefer Nettles, Confessions of a Mask, Norwegian Wood, and Convenience Store Woman are amazing.
What books are on your TBR pile right now?
Up next are The Silent Cry, Territory of Light, A Wild Sheep Chase and The City and Its Uncertain Walls, and Butter. But first, I’m taking a break from Japanese fiction to read I Married a Communist to finish his “Newark Trilogy.” I loved both American Pastoral and The Human Stain; his books make an interesting contrast to the writing styles and selves portrayed in the Japanese literature. Roth also brings back family memories, he having been roughly the same age as my parents with similar experiences.
What scene in your book was your favorite to write?
Honestly, I don’t remember! The book went through so many revisions that probably the happiest moment came when I finally cut through the BS of the earlier drafts and came to terms with the story I really had to tell. I have to thank my editor, Lauren Humphries-Brooks, for pushing me.
Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)
I often do my best thinking on a bike ride. Sometimes I have to stop to write a dialogue or a scene down on my phone.
Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?
Be good. Start by saying please and thank you.
If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?
For all the science fiction/space opera elements of the plot, the book is grounded in the moral and ethical behavior of its characters. If you want a society to operate with a utopian outlook, the American dream in space, you have to start with the people who inhabit it.
