Lo Denham blames The Unity Project for taking her sister away and she will stop at nothing to expose the organisation that the media has branded as a cult. In order to expose them, she must get close to their leader first – something that might prove more dangerous than she believes. Courtney Summer’s riveting novel, The Project is a story about cults, sisterhood and the human need for belonging.
Recently I had the opportunity to chat with Courtney about what made her write a novel about cults, whether there’s any chance of her revisiting characters from her older works, and more!
Hi Courtney! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer some questions for The Nerd Daily. To start off, tell us a bit more about The Project, what should readers expect from your novel?
Thank you for having me! I love The Nerd Daily. The Project is a book about an aspiring young journalist determined to save her sister from a cult. It follows their individual journeys, over two periods of time, as they cross the path of Lev Warren, its charismatic, mysterious—and potentially dangerous—leader. Any reader who sits down with The Project can and should expect to be devastated by it.
What made you want to write a book about a cult?
Most people don’t believe they’d join a cult. When we hear about cults in the news and media, it’s usually when these organizations have imploded, resulting in death and destruction. When your introduction to something is the moment it all goes bad, it’s very easy to use that information to support the argument or belief that we’d never walk so willingly into such an obviously terrible situation. I think there’s an overall lack of empathy in that response and I wanted to write a book that challenges that perception and reminds readers of the very real people at the heart of these tragedies.
What did you struggle with the most in your writing process? Did you have any insecurities regarding the way the readers might perceive certain plot-lines or characters?
I constantly struggle with untangling my thoughts and getting distracted by minor details and this held true while writing The Project. Luckily, I have a great editor who helps me narrow my focus and get to the meat of what I’m trying to say.
I’m very satisfied with and proud of what I’ve accomplished in The Project, and that gives me the space to let other people receive and perceive it however they want without worrying about it. I do always hope readers feel the time the spent with my books was worth it.
Most members of the Unity Project seem to have a deep need to belong, to be seen and Lev Warren is always there for them and knows exactly how to satisfy those needs. Were those dynamics inspired by your research into real-life cults or did you know from the very beginning that this was the way you wanted to depict those connections?
I did a lot of research for The Project and a characteristic most successful cult leaders shared was their ability to be all things to all people. Once I realized that, I had to ask myself what it was that Bea and Lo needed from Lev the most. It’s really interesting to me because the same reason cult leaders are successful is the same reason most people can’t see themselves as potential victims to a cult—they’re not connecting with the individual reasons members signed up. They think that lack of specificity is in their favor. But that’s the point—a cult leader would not give you someone else’s reasons for joining. They’d give you yours.
Speaking of the research you’ve done, were you dissatisfied with the way members of cults were represented in the media and perceived by everyone else? Did that prompt you to look deeper into what it really takes for someone to join a cult?
I was heartbroken by it. Much of my research was centered on Peoples Temple and Jonestown, and after remaining members returned from Guyana—after losing everything they had and everyone they loved—the media was aggressively cruel to them and sensationalistic about life inside the cult. I think we’re so determined not to see ourselves in the choices that lead up to this kind of tragedy, we do everything we can to distance ourselves from it, even if that’s at the expense of others. In this case, the humanity of the survivors is the first thing we sacrifice to comfort ourselves with. That’s what I feel the media did to Jonestown survivors and this absolutely influenced my approach to The Project. It was important for me to write about the subject with empathy and care.
Who was the hardest character to write? And were there any characters that came alive on page almost effortlessly?
Lev Warren, the leader of The Unity Project, was difficult to pin down—but that almost seems like it should be the case. Once I realized that Lev believes everything he’s saying, he unlocked for me. Bea felt a little effortless. I really loved the poetic and dreamlike quality of her perspective.
Something I loved very much about both Sadie and The Project was that while they deal with very dark and gritty subjects, sisterhood lies at the heart of both novels. When you came up with the idea of The Project, did you know right away that it was going to be a story about sisters as much or even more than a story about a cult?
Thank you! I love to write about female relationships. I think there’s so much depth and complexity there to explore. This marks my third time writing about sisters, so I obviously feel there’s a lot there to mine. Two sisters were always at the heart of The Project, but they didn’t both have a POV until the second (and final) draft.
What do you hope your readers will take away from reading The Project?
Whatever they want! That’s the beauty of this part.
Your books are mostly standalones, do you ever think about revisiting some of your old characters?
Those characters have been through so much, I feel they’ve earned never having to deal with me again. If, one day, I’m feeling particularly cruel, they might resurface—but right now I have my eyes on new characters to destroy.
And lastly, what 2021 releases are you looking forward to?
I have had the luck of reading many of my anticipated 2021 book ahead of the year, so I’m going to pick one I haven’t and am excited about: Trouble Girls by Julia Lynn Rubin!
