I shared my thoughts about Rise of Gaia by Kristin Ward yesterday. Today, I have her on the blog to talk about the book. Even though the book itself did not resonate with me, I believe it still has a lot to offer and I am hoping that Kristin can shed some light on the things that I missed. A little about Kristin first:
Kristin Ward has loved writing since middle school but took thirty years to do something serious about it. The result is her Best Indie Book Award-winning novel, After the Green Withered, followed by the sequel, Burden of Truth. She lives in a small town in Connecticut with her husband, three sons, and many furry and feathered friends. A SciFi geek to the core, she is fueled by dark chocolate and coffee and can be heard quoting eighties movies on a regular basis.
It was wonderful to connect with her! Enjoy the interview, and get some insights about the book, without any spoilers! 🙂
- What inspired you to write this book?
The youth of the world are our hope for the future. To that end, my work is geared toward a younger audience to provide this group of readers with ideas to consider as they look at the world around them. What if the earth rose up to fight against the relentless onslaught of pollution and decimation? What if Mother Earth was a sentient being? How would she feel about a species that has strayed so far from a connection with her? These are things many of us might wonder.
There is a great deal of awareness right now and I hope to tap into the various youth movements and provide a message with a storyline that readers can relate to. Many of us feel anger and helplessness at the state of the environment and policies that don’t protect it. In the end, Terran is the saviour of humanity and we can all be a beacon of hope as she is. As for the writing of this particular tale, it began with a scene in my head and grew from there. I honestly had many stops and starts before the characters and world of the book took hold.
- You explore Irish mythology at the beginning of the book. I know in Hinduism, we have a goddess representing the Earth as well. Did you also research other cultures for their take on Mother Earth?
The Irish mythology that I researched stems from my own affiliation with Irish lore. I love the symbolism and myths of Ireland and wanted to infuse pieces of them into the story to lend credibility to the fictional beings that are Gaia’s true children in the book. As for Mother Earth research, Gaia is my own construct within the context of this story and likely seriously deviates from most versions of her representation. I imagined an entity that had simply reached a point of such poisonous saturation that wrath overrode reason and tipped the balance to annihilation of a species she saw as no longer within the fabric of her being. Through her rage and will, Terran is manipulated by those closest to her, and by Gaia herself, to fulfill a vengeance so great that the landscape of the world will be forever altered.
- You are passionate about the environment and you mention in the acknowledgements that your books are a way to showcase that passion. What is one thing a person can do to help the environment in your mind?
We are all part of the solution. While it may seem like recycling a plastic bottle or picking up a piece of trash in the woods or at the beach is a small thing, collectively it makes a large impact. We should lead by example. Our voices are also powerful tools. We can raise awareness by sharing knowledge, educating friends and colleagues who may not be aware of the state of things on a global scale or who may feel powerless to take a small step toward a better future. Baba Dioum said, “In the end, we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand and we will understand only what we are taught.”
- Are there any organizations that you would recommend people should follow to be active in the movement for awareness about climate change and the environment?
Climate change is real. As Neil deGrasse Tyson said, “The good thing about science is that it’s true whether or not you believe in it.” The most powerful thing we can do is stay educated. Do the research. Believe the science. I have found that many of the important environmental articles that are published do not make the headlines. Sadly, we must seek them out to find out what policy makers are doing and what is going on environmentally.
Greta Thunberg has been instrumental in raising awareness through her Climate Strike movements. I follow her on IG and Twitter and am so impressed with the work she is doing to validate the science and make positive change. There are numerous organizations that people can follow such as National Geographic, Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund, and Greenpeace. Unbiased news outlets, like Rueters and Associated Press, also release informative articles that capture the latest environmental news. I suggest reading these as there have been many recent articles on sea ice loss and global climate studies that may not hit the front page.
- If someone could take away one thing from your book – a lesson, an inspiration, anything – what would you hope it to be?
Rise of Gaia has numerous themes that it explores within the context of an environmental tale. The power of friendship is a key component of the story as this is an innately human trait that transcends events in our lives that may pull us away from who we really are. Friendship is one of the ties that bind and it is this unconditional love that can become a powerful force. In this case, it is a force of redemption for a species that has wreaked havoc on the planet.
Another idea I hope readers connect with is that what we do to the planet has an impact and we have to be voices for the voiceless. Wendell Berry, an environmental activist in the 70s, said “…the world is not given by his fathers, but borrowed from his children…” As stewards of the planet, we have a responsibility to protect it for future generations.
Want to connect with Kristin? You can find her on her website, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
**Rise of Gaia is available in stores. **
Amazon Print
Amazon Kindle
(available on Kindle Unlimited)
A number of my peers on this blog tour really liked this book and I highly recommend checking out their posts!
Cover image: Photo by Matthew Smith on Unsplash
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