In this funny and poignant novel, two strangers learn that their soul mate might be both as close as breath and as distant as a star, from British Fantasy Award recipient Sarah Lotz.
We chat with author Sarah Lotz about her latest novel The Impossible Us, along with 2022 book recommendations, writing, and more!
Hi, Sarah! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m a full-time writer, part-time wildlife preservation activist, caffeine-addicted bookaholic who hasn’t had a proper haircut for two years. I was born in the UK, but being a bit itinerant I’ve lived (among other places) in France, Israel and South Africa. I currently live on the Welsh borderlands with my daughter and a large pack of rescue dogs.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing something. Most of it was/is rubbish of course, but it’s always been my go-to coping mechanism and escape hatch.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.
- Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter.
- Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado.
Your latest novel, The Impossible Us, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
A f**ked-up speculative love story.
What can readers expect?
A f**ked-up speculative love story! Seriously though, if I have one wish, it’s that the book takes readers out of the ‘real world’ for a little bit. I think we all need a bit of escapism right now.
Where did the inspiration for The Impossible Us come from?
I’ve always been fascinated by the classic spec-fic parallel universe trope and I wanted to see if I could put a character-driven spin on it. It was initially conceived as a horror novel, but when the protagonists started coming to life, it morphed into more of a romcom with a speculative twist (no one was more surprised than me when this happened!)
Can you tell us a bit about the challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
I can’t honestly say there were any challenges (or any worth going into). The bulk of the novel was written during the U.K’s first lockdown, and considering the living hell that so many people were going through at the time, and the key workers who daily put their lives on the line, having the luxury of sitting in my writing shed and disappearing into another world seemed like an insane privilege. On a more trivial note, because the novel is set contemporaneously, my editors and I struggled to decide whether or not to include the pandemic in the narrative. When the book was being edited, we had no idea if the C-word would still be dominating our lives, and if it wasn’t, if readers would prefer not to be reminded about it. (I won’t tell you what we decided…)
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
One of the protagonists, Nick, is a struggling freelance editor who gave up on his dreams of being an author when his debut novel was critically trashed. Several of my novels have crashed and burned spectacularly (I don’t think anyone except my mum bought a copy of my first book), and it was cathartic delving into how it feels to fail at something you love doing, and facing the fear of it happening again in the future. We’re bombarded by success stories (especially online), but I don’t think we talk enough about failure and how it doesn’t – and shouldn’t – define you. It happens and will happen to all of us at some point and it absolutely sucks but it’s also okay. If you let it, it can be the catalyst to look at things in a different way and as the impetus to fight on (apologies if this sounds too much like a soundbite out of a self-help manual!)
What’s next for you?
I’m tinkering with several different projects at the moment (the freelancer’s curse – I have no life), but as Stephen King counsels in On Writing, if you talk about your ideas before they’re down on the page then they lose their power. So I’d best keep schtum.
Lastly, do you have any 2022 book recommendations for our readers?
So, so many, but I will choose three if that’s okay. Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough (she’s incapable of writing anything less than brilliant). All The White Spaces by Ally Wilkes (a stunning, immersive read). Shit Cassandra Saw by Gwen Kirby (a brilliantly inventive collection of short stories with a feminist slant).
