Q&A: Tahereh Mafi, Author of ‘An Emotion of Great Delight’

The Nerd Daily contributor Mimi recently had the chance to sit down with Tahereh Mafi, bestselling author of the YA dystopian series Shatter Me, the middle-grade duet Furthermore and Whichwood, and the YA contemporary A Very Large Expanse of Sea, which has been optioned by Levantine Films! We got to ask Tahereh all our burning questions about her new novel An Emotion of Great Delight, her writing routine, genre favorites and so much more!

Hi, Tahereh! Thanks so much for joining us! Why don’t you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hi there! I’m the author of a dozen books for children and young adults. Very happy to be talking to you today.

Since this is The Nerd Daily, share your latest obsession with us!

This is probably boring, but I’ve been taking a lot of supplemental vitamins and minerals lately, and I’ve been very interested in reading about the transformative power of magnesium in the body. On a very different note, I’m also fascinated by disruptive technologies, about which I read a great deal. Right now I’m reading the Bitcoin white paper, which was first published in 2008. It’s riveting.

Now onto An Emotion of Great Delight! What can readers expect from this story?

Oh, it’s a very sad story. Hopeful, in the end! But I suppose I expect you to be sad. I also happen to think it’s the most ardent love story I’ve written to-date.

An Emotion of Great Delight is your second contemporary novel – what were challenges you faced switching genres from your more supernatural earlier novels (e.g. Shatter Me and Furthermore)? What were the best parts of writing a contemporary story?

Writing realistic fiction surprised me; it’s at once easier and much harder than I thought it might be, because it requires of me a great deal of emotional investment, which usually leaves me scarred.

I think the best part is just the gratification of representing a seldom-represented life on the page. We’re forcing opening doors and windows when we write stories of underrepresented characters; there’s immense gratification in that.

Speaking of genres – you’ve been a staple in the YA genre for a long time now – what are the things that always draw you back to YA? And what would you love to see more of in the genre?

I love the hope you find in YA novels. I absolutely love [and read a great deal of] adult fiction, but often adult literary fiction leaves me feeling a bit hollowed out. Heavy. I think hope is essential to the survival of humanity, and I love that we never seem to lose that in YA.

You definitely know how to tug at the heartstrings with your beautiful and immersive writing that draws readers in and doesn’t really let them go. Do you have any tips for aspiring writers on how to improve on their narrative voice?

I have no tips, no. I’ve never taken a creative writing class, and as a result don’t know how to name the things we do when we write–which means I don’t know how to explain the process to others. I suppose the only thing I will advise you to do is read. Read a lot, read widely. Read everything.

Shadi has a lot to navigate in this novel – from not quite belonging, first love and first heartbreaks, messy friendships and unspeakable loss. Without giving too much away, what was your favorite scene to write for Shadi? And is there one that took a while to get right?

My favorite scene? Oh, I don’t know that I have one. Maybe the end? The whole book was hard to write. I wrote the first draft in a week, in a kind of daze, half-drowned in the viscous emotional depths of the story. It was difficult.

Your husband Ransom Riggs also writes quite the extraordinary novels – what’s it like to have two authors under one roof? Do your writing routines complement each other or how do you make writing on separate projects work?

We work side by side in the same office, and nearly always during the same work hours. Ransom is an incredible writer and an even more remarkable human being. It’s a delight to have him beside me as I work, and as I work through a story. He’s always my first reader, my first cheerleader. I’m very grateful.

With the pandemic, a lot of writers have found themselves struggling to keep on writing – how did/do you manage to keep writing? What advice helped you to keep putting pen to paper?

I have no advice here; only a great deal of sympathy. This has been an utterly insane, devastating time, and like many working parents, my days are very, very, very busy. As a result, I get most of my work done before dawn, often waking up at around 3, or 3:30 in the morning to get started. I’d never have gotten anything done otherwise.

With An Emotion of Great Delight releasing soon, you’ve teased readers on Instagram about your upcoming projects – can you share a few tidbits about your future writing journey with us?

Oh, yes. Early next year I’ll be publishing the first book in my new fantasy series. It’s like if Game of Thrones was set in the Persian Empire, with a bit of a Bridgerton vibe. It’s also loosely inspired by Shahnameh, an epic work by Ferdowsi. I’m excited to share it with everyone!

Last but not least, do you have any bookish recommendations for our readers?

Yes! Read SKYHUNTER by Marie Lu; read YOLK by Mary H. K. Choi; read PACHINKO by Min Jin Lee. I adore these incredible women, and love their books.

Will you be picking up An Emotion of Great Delight? Tell us in the comments below!