Nostalgia Is Heartless was the winner of the Environment category of the 2022 IndieReader Discovery Awards, where undiscovered talent meets people with the power to make a difference.
Following find an interview with author Sarah Lahey.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
Nostalgia Is Heartless, published 2021
What’s the book’s first line?
In 2038, Quinn’s father, Matt Jones, fell in love with an ancient tree—a three-thousand-year-old southern blue gun, Eucalyptus globulus, growing in the wilderness northwest of Hobart.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
Earth, 2050. Pregnant, unemployed, and living back home with her father, climate scientist Quinn Buyers wonders how she got to this point in her life. Her famous scientist mother is mysteriously missing, the planet is at risk from a massive solar storm, the Transhumans want to take a colony to Titan, and her assisted living companion, a robotic meerkat, is showing clear signs of anxiety and depression. But her biggest challenge is her partner. How can she reconcile her long-distance relationship with this reserved, enigmatic cyborg?
Nostalgia is Heartless delves into the world of near future, exploring a society on the brink of climate catastrophe. This time, Quinn’s adventures take her across the globe to Antarctica . . . where it rains all day, every day. Readers will delight in following Quinn’s journey as she races to save her family, her planet, and her love life.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
Climate change was my initial motivation for writing the Heartless Series. I’ve taught sustainable design for over decade, and in the early days I was often surrounded by sceptics. So, I thought if people read my books, they might understand what life would be like in a world affective by rising temperatures and sea levels.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
The main character, Quinn Buyers, is a climate scientist, who knows a lot about science but not much about herself. She takes on too many things, then wonders how her life ended up this way. She reminds me of many women I know, including myself.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
The people at Booklife described the book as, ‘Alternatively funny and philosophical.’ While it asks some fundamental questions about what makes us human, it also takes a light-hearted look at our relationship with technology and machines. The genre is described as science fiction meets speculative fiction with a bit of adventure and romance thrown in.
If they made your book into a movie, who would you like to see play the main character(s)?
The protagonist, Quinn Buyers, has an open, expressive face that reveals exactly what she is thinking without her having to say a word. So, Emma Stone or the Australian actor Lulu Howes would be my choices.
Donald Glover and Daveed Diggs both have classic cyborg appeal, along with the intensity, to play Quinn’s partner, Tig.
For Tig’s offsider, Planck, who identifies as gender neutral, the character requires both depth and levity so Daniel Kaluuya would be my pick.
Viola Davis has an expressive way of reading her fellow actors, and I think she would make a smart and sassy gay leader of the free world.
Timothy Simons (Jonah in Veep) has an erratic stride and great comic timing, as well as the height, to play Aaroon, the self-absorbed Transhuman.
When did you first decide to become an author?
My father and stepfather were journalists, and my mother was chief-of-staff at the local newspaper. My parents often worked at home and the dining room table was their office, so my brother, sisters and I were immersed in a world of words and stories from a very young age. However, I chose a different career and I’ve been an interior designer for over 30 years. Then, several years ago I competed a degree in communication, and I knew I wanted to write, so I started the Heartless Series. I could write all day, every day.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
This is the second book in the Heartless Series, following Gravity Is Heartless.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
I’m a designer, educator, and writer, and I work as a senior lecturer teaching classes on design, technology, sustainability, and creative thinking. Writing is my passion and I hope to one day make it my full time career.