An Interview with Jeff about writing The Dying Party…

What inspired you to write this book?

The fact that my research revealed just how critical the need for action on climate change has become inspired me to write this book. At our current rate, we are not going to reduce carbon emissions enough or stop deforestation in time. In fact, these things are increasing, we are rushing headlong toward the tipping point, and reaching it will mean there is no turning back and the cause is lost. Clearly, our only hope is to convince enough people in the world of the urgency, that enough of us may act and turn the tide in time. As I was casting about to find what I could do to contribute to this crucial objective, aside from reducing my personal carbon footprint, I realized that using my skill and experience as a writer and researcher is my best option, and I knew that only a full-length literary treatment of the subject matter would suffice. Whereas non-fiction may be the best way to get a detailed list of all the cold hard facts about an issue in front of people, I have always believed that the majority of people access these facts more readily and enjoyably when conveyed in the context of a fictional story. Moreover, a fictional narrative permits the writer to illustrate the impact of these facts on the human condition, and this is the most important factor if the novel is to have the desired effect. I decided to write a climate-fiction novel.

What did you do in preparation for writing the book?

My preparation for writing this book was the same thing that inspired it – a sufficient level of research on many levels. But the research needed to do more than reveal the impacts that climate change is and will have on the planet and the natural world, though these facts are certainly crucial to any comprehensive understanding of the seriousness of the situation, and to what the consequences of inaction will look like. Writing a story about the devastating breakdown of the planet and the corresponding deterioration in the quality of human life means absolutely every facet of earthly life and human society will need to be addressed if it is to achieve its objectives, while also being a complete and satisfying book for the reader. This is at once the challenge and the fulfillment in writing such a book. Therefore, aside from the impactful features of climate change in terms of the planet and the natural world, I needed to conduct research on virtually every aspect of human society and psychology, as well as the many economic and political structures that underlie human civilization, as the changes that are taking place in these areas will reveal the profundity and complexity of the book’s central message.

What was your experience of writing the book?

From the research to the finished work, writing The Dying Party was a difficult and distressing experience. Any degree of serious contemplation regarding the collapse of the planet and the end of humanity will be unpleasant, to say the least. Researching and writing a book about it, then, was a challenging, protracted, and necessarily stressful experience – fascinating and terrifying at once. When writing about the near future, involving such an all-encompassing subject as the impact of advanced climate change on humanity and our planet, I needed to address an equally wide range of matters with respect to the main features of individual human life (i.e. psychology, relationships, sexuality, childhood, etc.) and the complex structures upon and with which civilization is built (i.e. geopolitical forces, the economy, the law, militarism, science, art, etc.). Furthermore, based on extensive research and a close monitoring/reading of contemporary events and trends on a daily basis, which needed to accompany the writing through to completion, the author was compelled to deal with how each of these aspects of human life and civilization could evolve in the near future as the climate change crisis worsens.

Writing about the possible end of the planet and all of humanity, and seriously contemplating such things every day, was extremely unsettling. It influences one’s outlook on reality and life in general. Thinking deeply about innumerable individual aspects of the climate change crisis is troubling on many levels. The most unsettling aspect of writing this book, however, was waking every day to headlines that indicate that the book’s thesis, which reaches the worst of all possible conclusions in terms of the climate crisis and the corresponding change in human behavior, is proving to be all too accurate.

What is the specific message you wish to convey to readers with this book?

The primary message is driven by what my research showed me, and it is as simple as it is brutal – the climate crisis is as bad or worse than science has been warning, the point at which it becomes too late to save the planet and ourselves is coming sooner than we realize, and taking drastic action immediately and universally is our only hope. The secondary message, flowing from the implications of the primary message, is that a deep, genuine appreciation of all that will be lost if we fail to meet this challenge may be the only thing that can ultimately spur enough people to action and turn the tide.

Who is in your target audience for this book?

The target audience for The Dying Party is not people who already know and appreciate the gravity of the climate change crisis. But neither is it composed of climate change deniers who either believe the crisis is a hoax of some kind or thinks the science is exaggerated and wrong, as these people are determinedly unreachable. Members of the target audience for this novel are those people still on the fence, as it were; those who seem to be oblivious to the crisis and/or don’t seem to have an opinion on the subject one way or the other. As with most critical issues, the agents for change are not to be found in the ranks of those dwelling at the extremes, but rather in those who occupy the middle ground. They are almost always the majority. Winning these people over has the power to change the status quo and bring about the universality we need if we are to act substantially and in time to turn the tide on climate change. In all humility, it is my hope that The Dying Party can make a significant contribution to the solution by showing the undecided and the uninspired what our failure to address climate change will mean for us all. This also means that members of the target audience will be comprised of people who, whether they realize it or not, possess the mettle to stare into the abyss that is the future of climate change. They know that even if the facts show that the end game for climate change is indeed the worst-case scenario, it is more important than most people realize for us to understand not just what is happening, but how and why it is turning out this way.

What makes your book different from other books dealing with the same subject matter?

Whereas most contemporary climate-fiction stories in books, television, and films seem to center around one or two aspects of the climate crisis, to my knowledge The Dying Party is the only story about the climate change crisis that a) attempts to address all aspects of the crisis, and b) has the courage to depict the worst case scenario, that readers may see what we are facing if we continue on the way we are going. Despite this, it does so with a surprising degree of tenderness and compassion, and it achieves a degree of redemption along the way. It is important to stress, however, that this story is anything but a flight of fictional fancy. Again, based on in-depth research, the author insists that The Dying Party is not designed to shock readers with a sensationalist story spun out of a writer’s wild imagination, but rather to show readers what will actually happen if we continue on our current course of confusion and inaction. Indeed, the seeds of this story lie dormant in our current reality, and if we allow the trajectory of recent history to lead us into the near future, the story will play out in actuality. Ultimately, it remains to be seen if The Dying Party is a fictional story or a preview of future fact.