Here, she talks to EW about what it feels like to have predicted the future.
Some of the elements of the book were already in the making.
Just like in the book, we see how certain members of society are seen as expendable.
Credit: basso cannarsa
Is this there we want to go?
What methods did you use to build out this world inThe Resisters?
Obviously I do read the news and in terms of my concerns about technology, I’m paying attention.
But I don’t think I pay attention more than your average citizen.
It hopefully helps us realize what we need to do, and to see ourselves in the characters.
This is not an ideological book, and I don’t believe that model makes for a good novel.
But I do believe that a good dystopian novel, that unsettles people enough, can be effective.
But in the book, I don’t know if there is one thing.
I think the marriage of power and technology is pretty terrifying, especially in the wrong hands.
We can see how technology has amplified and enabled people who previously would not be able to organize.
I don’t think we’ve seen the end of it.
I try not to give data away.
I’m aware that not all data is used for nefarious purposes, but I’m careful about it.
I see the convenience of it, but I ask myself: will this be used to manipulate me?
The Trump presidency impacted your book and has inspired so many novels.
I think it’s wonderful that Trump is leaving office.
A lot of the resistance in my book is not so much political resistance but everyday dissidence.
And now you’re a meteorologist-slash-dissident, at least to a climate change-denying administration.
They’re accidental resisters.
I’m just trying to get a grip.
I’ve been more interested in the interplay between literature and the political reality.
I had COVID in my family my mother died from it.
I haven’t been untouched.
But for whatever reason, this has been a tremendously productive period for me.
And it’s a way that’s turned out to be helpful for me and for others.
