With the jam-packed month that is June for LGBT releases, you might be forgiven if you didn’t catch The Infinite Miles the first time around. But fret not! We’re here to make sure it’s squarely back on your radar with an interview with Hannah Fergesen. So, sit yourself down and get ready to find your next must-read!
But first, before we start, you can also follow Hannah on instagram.
Have you always known you wanted to be a writer? How old were you when you wrote your first story?
When I was still in single digits, I used to staple printer pages together and scribble my stories in them. I had a teacher early on who would accuse me of plagiarizing story assignments, so I was very lucky to then have a fifth-grade teacher who encouraged me endlessly. He read all my short stories and even my first “real” novel (75 pages, not bad at ten years old!). He gave me slightly more advanced books to read and, even though I was often too shy to answer questions during lessons, managed to give me the confidence to read books out loud for the class. I’ll always be grateful to him, because the teacher who came before him was so close to ruining writing for me forever.
What pieces of media would you say were formative for you? Do you see any of their features in your own writing?
Sabriel by Garth Nix and A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle were big influences for me growing up, and as I got older, I loved the headstrong leads of Contact and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I certainly think that comes through in the book. The new seasons of Doctor Who didn’t start airing until I was out of high school but once I discovered the show, well. I was immediately a fan, which should come as no surprise given the concept for The Infinite Miles. And more recently shows like Russian Doll and 12 Monkeys showcased very different concepts of time and time travel while still being primarily character-driven stories, and I certainly think they influenced me as I wrote this book, too.
When you close your eyes and imagine an apple, what do you see? An actual apple, a sketch of one, a blackness? Do you think that impacts your writing process?
I imagine an actual apple! My brain fleshes out images well, and this can be both wonderful and terrible for my writing. I want the words on the page to evocatively describe what I’m seeing, so I can get lost in the weeds at times, trying to convey those visuals perfectly. But I do try to keep a writing routine that forces me to put words on the page, even if I don’t love them after the fact. It helps to remind me that the show must go on, the book must be written, and everything can be fixed or zhuzhed in revision.
If you wanted to learn about craft, which three authors would you suggest reading?
Well, in terms of craft books, my go-to is The Anatomy of the Story by John Truby. He’s technically a script doctor, not a book doctor, but I find the methodology still very much applies, especially because I think a lot of prose writers struggle with narrative structure. Danielle Valentine has a great newsletter and Instagram in which she discusses her “tips and tricks” for consistently well-written novels, and I think she’s a great resource for both established writers and novices alike – her advice can serve as a reminder for pros or a foundational lesson for folks who are new to writing. The third author I’d recommend reading is one whose prose and storytelling YOU like. For me, authors whose narrative craft is worth studying with a magnifying glass (at least if you’re in the science fiction/fantasy realm) are (in no particular order) Simon Jimenez, Tamsyn Muir, Nghi Vo, N. K. Jemisin, Catherynne M. Valente and…well I could go on! But these are writers who have studied their craft and know what they’re doing, and it shows.
When you’re building your world, what do you focus on? How do you try to make it come to life?
For me, it’s usually a very short premise or dramatic question that comes first – for The Infinite Miles it was “What if you found out that the protagonist of your favorite sci-fi TV show was real – and he wasn’t the person you thought he was?” From there, you suddenly have a million questions to answer: What is the sci-fi TV show and what are its rules? If the rules in the real world are different from those in that show, how are they different? How does this make that character different from how he’s perceived as a TV character? And so on and so forth. It’s these questions that organically lead into worldbuilding and naturally force you to create a world with lots of layers.
I know for a lot of writers it’s a set piece or a character who comes first, and the worldbuilding springs from that, but I tend to build everything out from the fundamental premise or dramatic question I want the book to ask.
What projects are you currently working on? Can you share any details yet?
I’m working on a couple of things! Nothing I can feasibly share at the moment, but hopefully soon!
Three pictures that capture the aesthetic of your book?
Three songs you would put in your book’s soundtrack?
Space Oddity by David Bowie
Starlight by Muse
Who Knows Where the Time Goes? by Fairport Convention
What would be your dream project?
Honestly, I would love to write for TV someday. My degree focused on writing for film and television, and if you’ve read The Infinite Miles, you’ll know the influences of television come through in a big way. I think there is a lot of current TV and recent TV that is beyond excellent, and I’d like in!
Which of your characters would you most want to fight a zombie apocalypse with?
Honestly, I think this is probably cheating, but I’d say Argo, Harper, and Peggy, because Argo can basically give you any skills necessary to fight, and Peggy has an entire alien species and their knowledge in her mind at any given time.
You’re stuck on a desert island and you’re allowed only three (LGBT) books. What are you taking?
I’m taking Gideon the Ninth, Harrow the Ninth, and Nona the Ninth….is that cheating? Okay, we’ll count the Locked Tomb Series as one, and then we’ll bring along The House on the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune for some lightness, and The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez.
You can collaborate on anything with anyone in the LGBT community: who would it be and why?
I have a dream of writing a lovers-to-enemies-to-reluctant partners-in-crime style narrative (with aliens, of course) with another writer, but there are too many amazing authors to choose from. If anyone has any suggestions, I’m all ears!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hannah Fergesen is a former literary agent who represented New York Times bestselling and award-nominated authors. Now, on the other side of the table, Hannah can be found exploring themes of grief, queerness, and self-acceptance through their own speculative fiction. The Infinite Miles is their first novel.
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