We chat with author Sara Read about her latest release Principles of (E)motion, which is Lessons in Chemistry meets advanced mathematics where a female genius who solves a famously elusive math problem only to struggle with anxiety and prejudice when challenged to prove that the work is her own.
Hi, Sara! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m an unfiltered, tattooed, sweary GenX mom, raised on adventure, stern judgment, and a probably inappropriate degree of freedom, given it was the 80s and Washington, DC, was the murder capital of the US. I’m a serial monogamist when it comes to careers. First I was a musician (traditional Irish fiddle), then a nurse, now an author. Although I guess I’d have to say I’m cheating on nursing with writing, so not exactly monogamy. My mother’s side of my family is in Finland, and I go there every year. It’s like a second home to me. I am fanatically devoted to coffee and a wood-fired sauna by the river, so that tracks. (Fun fact: Finland consumes more coffee per capita than any country in the world.) I like to be challenged, and I’m a bit driven, but I have an incredibly low tolerance for boredom. Achieving competence is fun; achieving mastery is hard. Like Meg in Principles of (E)motion, I struggle with anxiety (not as intensely as she does) and tend to self-isolate. I’m also a breast cancer survivor. So yeah. Life’s been interesting.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I’ve loved creating stories since forever. I dictated to my mom, wrote in high school, and took creative writing workshops in college, but somehow I never got the memo that there was a path forward into adult life as a writer. MFAs weren’t such a big thing when I graduated, and I didn’t know publishing could be an actual career. I think if I had known I’d be an editor or an agent right now. So I took a long dogleg into music—which is of course such a great career choice if you want to make money. Not. But I did love it and had a great time.
It wasn’t until my early forties that writing insisted upon itself again. The character that became my first book, Johanna Porter is Not Sorry, arrived in my head and demanded to be written. Since then it’s been a bit of an obsession, learning how to do this very hard thing of writing novels.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: My household was full of the European version of graphic novels—Tin Tin, Asterix & Obelix, Babar. We also had this horrible 19th century German book ostensibly for children called Struwwelpeter which I think traumatized an entire generation. That’s what I remember, but I’m sure there were earlier ones.
- The one that made you want to become an author: North & South, by Elizabeth Gaskell
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula Leguin
Your latest novel, Principles of (E)motion, is out January 9th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Conditional love will fuck you up. (That’s six, and it has a curse word, so…)
All the feels, plus intelligence
What can readers expect?
People have such different responses to books so it’s hard to say.
- An emotional story about a woman overcoming the damage left by her prodigy childhood and the highly conditional love she had to fight for.
- Insight into the creativity of a scientific mind.
- A nuanced look at mental illness and how it doesn’t need to be ‘fixed’ for a person to triumph and thrive.
- A soulmates-level love story that nonetheless takes the characters a lot of emotional work to get right.
- A decaying Victorian mansion in the city and a hand-built log cabin in the mountains.
Where did the inspiration for Principles of (E)motion come from?
Principles of (E)motion is very, very loosely inspired by Elizabeth Gaskell’s North & South, a brilliant, Victorian era novel which has a love story at its heart, but also deep commentary on the industrial revolution and labor-vs-capital. In order to come together, her characters Margaret Hale and John Thornton must truly understand one another and themselves, and ‘complicate’ their fixed positions on their most cherished beliefs.
There’s a sense of longing to be understood in North & South that carried all the way through to Principles of (E)motion.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Isaac, Meg’s great love who returns to her life in a surprising way, was such a fun character to write. I loved his sense of humor. I also loved writing his sister, Kate. In a much earlier version of this book, she died, and I just couldn’t bear it. She was too vital not to have her on the page. The final ‘showdown’ scene involves her and Meg’s cousin Lizzie, and that was a blast.
I also really enjoyed learning what the mind of a high level mathematical researcher might be like, and how similar it is to the creative mind and the creative process. How you need to learn to dwell in uncertainty and ambiguity to really break new ground.
This is your second novel! What are some of the key lessons you’ve learned between writing the two?
These two novels overlapped in the writing. I wrote one, shelved it, wrote the second, shelved it, came back to the first, etc. My first two books sort of ‘grew up’ together. I was really learning from each try.
I have learned how much I like hearing from readers! If you loved a book, look up the author! Send them a note! It is the most gratifying thing about this whole slow, solitary business of being a writer. I’ve also met incredibly wonderful independent booksellers, and I love indie bookstores more than ever!
With it being the new year, have you set any resolutions or goals for 2024?
Resolutions aren’t really my jam. Last year there was a little bit of a trend for a ‘word of the year’ for the year ahead which, being a word person, I loved. My word for 2024 is LIGHTNESS. I.e. the light hold an experienced rider has on the reins, the lightness of a great teacher applying just the right guidance at the right time. Also keeping a lightness of spirit. Things can get so heavy. I’m a pragmatic, earthy person (Capricorn sun/Taurus rising, IYKYK), and I can easily get bogged down by my own gravity.
What’s next for you?
A bunch of indie bookstore events for Principles of (E)motion! I love meeting readers and talking books, and there are so many great bookstores within a few hours drive of where I live. I’ll be continuing throughout the spring, possibly going up the east coast a bit.
Creatively, who knows? I’m working on something new that involves some speculative/fantastical elements which is new for me. I’m really excited about it, but there is a definite element of dear-god-what-am-I-getting-myself-into?
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
- The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Leguin (literary sci-fi)
- The Modern Library Writers Workshop by Stephen Koch (writing craft)
- Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher (fantasy, fairytale-ish)
- Bend Toward the Sun by Jen Devon (romance)
- North and South by Margaret Gaskell
- This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede (YA fantasy)
- The Lucky One by Jessica Payne (thriller)
- Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (contemporary)
