Kara Gnodde
The Theory of (Not Quite) Everything
(Book club fiction, February, HarperCollins)
“Mimi is the devoted sister of genius mathematician Art, who has agreed to help her find love if she follows his strict mathematical plan—but life and love don’t work like that.”
Hampshire in the U.K., and a lot of time in London and in South Africa when I can. My first book was like a jumper knitted with no pattern. Too many arms.… I spent a month experimenting—writing fresh, unrelated scenes daily, before starting the Faber six-month novel writing course. One scene with these siblings… hovered in my imagination, taking up more and more space. The first draft took me 11 months write.… an editor told me I had a good skeleton, but it Charlotte Seymour from Johnson & Alcock. I wrote her a targeted letter, based on books we love in common—she posts hers on a Pinterest page. When a couple of other agents showed interest, I emailed her again to let her know, and she was then very quick to ask for the full manuscript. for feedback is agony, but actually getting it, and working with it, is the best part of writing—such fun and so collaborative after all that work on your own. I thought I could a be a role model to my children about doing something I loved after not working for a while… I’m 55! I was a role model for perseverance instead. There was a period when I got bounced around like a pinball, listening to too many people with advice that didn’t quite resonate. You have to hone the skill of who to listen to, but I’m not sure you can accelerate that process. … There seems to be a warm community of writers and readers on Instagram, so I’m trying that… .
