Amberlight may be different from other novels labeled feminist. It’s not essentialist feminist, at least, not to my understanding, because women are not intrinsically good and men intrinsically bad. And though there’s a matriarchy, I regard a fully-realised matriarchy as no better than a patriarchy. Both are forms of gender-based oppression. In fact, Amberlight’s mostly heterosexual gender politics and its -- almost -- Happy Ending might get it frowns from some feminists, though I can’t say much more without spoilers here.
As for men reading it, I would hope they would -- although some might be uncomfortable, at least at the start -- experience what a lot of women experience every day, that is, being on the lower end of the gender hierarchy. And I would hope that it might actually prove an enlightening experience. But I’m not in favour of wholesale “men-bashing.” In my experience, given power, either gender can behave as badly. And I would hope that, rather than leave feeling pissed, male readers would keep going, and find the end of the novel, if not the sequels, makes them feel happier.
What do you think is the power of art in our society? What do you aim to do with your writing?
I think art – including literature, film, painting, music, etc., I presume? – especially in the parts of the world that share the electronic global village, has enormous power. Whether it’s for bad or good, whether it can be consciously directed toward a good aim, is another matter.
I don’t think I aim, yet, to do anything with my writing, in the sense of a conscious political goal. I’ve always wanted, basically, to produce something that satisfied my inner image of its potential, and to have an audience receive it that way. If what’s in some of these books carries an extra message, then I would hope it was good, but you can’t control what happens once your work reaches someone else’s head. It might start the American Civil War. It might get John Lennon assassinated. If you considered the might-bes, you’d probably never publish anything. But most writers are driven by a selfish gene that says, I need an audience response to feel this work is complete. So we try to get it out there anyway.
I downloaded a sampler from the Juno Books website, about forty pages of your novel. I see it’s written in the present tense. I like that tense. Very immediate. Is that why you chose that tense? I’ve never read any of your other stories. Who has been your writing influences?
I didn’t choose the tense, it chose me. Or, more correctly, it was a Black Gang choice. If I’d been writing consciously and market-aware, I’d recall that publishing lore says present tense is a bad idea. But that’s the way it came out, and I’m glad that you find it immediate and positive.
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