Interviewing Award Winning Author, Jessica Mann, & Her Latest “Uplift”-Another Award Winner!
I’m both a writer and a naturalist, and I wanted to embrace my love for animals and nature in a new novel. Ecofiction is a growing genre, but as I looked around, I noticed that the narrators and central characters were still mostlypeople. Why do all stories have to be told from a human point of view, I wondered. There are plenty of other sentient, thinking and feeling beings in the world with stories to tell. Would people pay attention or care more about them if we could see the world through their eyes?That was my goal and inspiration for the book: to give nature a voice that we humans could understand and sympathize with.
At first, I had envisioned the book as an epic mythologicalfantasy, complete with capricious wind and water spiritsand flowers (yes, flowers!) as the main speaking characters. But as I began to plot out the story, my great idea ran into a brick wall: how can there be action in abook where the main characters are literally rooted in one spot? That sounded terribly boring. So the idea kept evolving. Maybe birds could come visit the flowers, like, for example, when a hummingbird collects nectar. Birds travel all over; and some are intelligent, highly social creatures.I’ve had dreams since I was a kid about flying, and the idea of life in the air sounded cool, not boring! So, birds it was. (Though I did keep in one important plant character: Albrea, the Whitebark pine tree, mystical and wise from her centuries of life, yet longing to fly free like her friends.)
Yes! It is so much fun as an author when the charactersyou are writing become fleshed out enough that they start to jump off the page and take on a life of their own. It is almost like they are calling the shots from then on, and you never quite know where that day’s writing session will end.
In addition to personalities, the real-life traits of each species affected character development as well — thingsthat you don’t have to even think about when writinghuman characters. I needed to consider their physical bodies (wings and feathers!), and senses (can a bird smell?) Lifespan was an interesting one, too: centuries for a Whitebark pine, years for the birds, but only weeks for a dragonfly. These things formed the starting place for each character. Then I got to have the fun of setting my diverse cast loose in their wilderness home and watching them interact and grow!
I wrote Uplift to be a book of hope, as an antidote to the ecological despair that many people (including me) have felt these past years about how much has been lost. To give people a new outlook on things. And as a reminder of the beauty and good that are still very much present in the world, and worth saving and fighting for.
Uplift is about birds and other creatures in a mountain wilderness, so the book will clearly appeal to those who care about nature, from teens through adults. But what has been so interesting to me is that other readers — people who don’t call themselves nature-lovers, or those who told me they were initially leery of a book about talking birds and trees — have ended up loving the book!People tell me they found the story engrossing andengaging; they quickly forgot it was “about birds and trees,” and just enjoyed it as a relatable story of family and friendship. Turns out a good story can capture people’s imagination no matter what the species!
No plot spoilers here… but as the book unfolds it becomes clear that in many fundamental ways, these birds are not so different from us. Columbina, the main protagonist and hero of the book, is a Clark’s Nutcracker—a member of the corvid family of birds known for their intelligence and highly social existence. She and her large family have strong bonds of love, but there is also conflict betweensiblings, and the questioning of authority and tradition by the younger generation — family dynamics that might feel familiar to many readers!
Several other themes are woven throughout the book, including cooperation and the need to work together. The book also explores death as a natural and accepted part of life in the wild. It delves into intolerance and prejudiceagainst those who are not from one’s own clan or are otherwise seen as “different.” And finally, Uplift carries a strong environmental message as it plays out against the backdrop of a changing climate and the threat of human encroachment.
I’ll let my readers answer that question! Here is a selection of words or phrases that have appeared (some of them multiple times) in Uplift book reviews:
Uplifting, uplifted, enlightened, pure joy, a delight, compelling, amazing, a new outlook, new perspective, makes you smile, sense of wonder, greater appreciation for the natural environment, treasure this book, wonder around us all, connections we all share, leaves a lasting impact, see nature in a whole new way, captivating, reminded that other creatures not so different from us, animal voices rang true, relatable and inspiring, eyes opened.
Really interesting question! Humanity has been trying for centuries to distance itself from nature, believing we are somehow different or better. We isolate ourselves, sheltering inside houses with running water and travelingby car to the grocery store for food. No wonder we forgetthat we are animals, too!
Why the growing interest in other-than-human perspectives? Maybe the twin climate change and biodiversity crises are bringing home the reality that we have only one Earth. Or that people have rediscovered the positive impact of nature on our own health. Maybe it’s the explosion of studies revealing how many species display complex emotions. But whatever the reason, there is a large and growing movement of people who embrace theidea that in saving nature, we save ourselves.
Writing from another creature’s point of view turned out to be quite a challenge! Since I wanted each species to be as realistic as possible, I did a great deal of research on the life histories, behaviors, senses and modes of perception for each species in the book. I also got to do some of my research outdoors (how great is that?) I would go on hikes to look for birds and animals, putting myself in their world as I tried to capture the images and beauty of their wilderness world.
My research left me amazed and delighted by many real–life stories, some of which I put into the book. Take, for just one example, the Clark’s Nutcracker: they really do live together in big intergenerational families, with siblingshelping parents raise the next generation. They grieve for their dead and will hold ceremonies for them. They’re playful and very intelligent. And that’s just one species!
First, to clarify the term: anthropomorphism is attributing human qualities to animals, and has historically been considered unscientific or inappropriate. OK, does Upliftuse anthropomorphism? Definitely! For one obvious thing, the animals speak our language (though in my defense, I don’t know how to speak nutcracker or pine.)
Many scientists and others are now challenging the idea that anthropomorphism is always a bad thing or inherently unscientific. Why is this? Because science has shown thata number of bird and mammal species have more intelligence than we ever realized, and experience emotions that range from happiness, anger, and sadness, to jealousy and embarrassment. It would be inaccurate (wrong) to deny this fact.
Appropriate use of anthropomorphism lets us relate to these nonhumans and creates the basis of empathy. Whereas the opposite — anthropodenial, the denying that animals have emotions when it’s clear they do, or saying,“We don’t know, so let’s assume they don’t” — can be much worse, and used to rationalize mistreatment of animals. Food for thought…
Yes! Uplift got such great response, and I enjoyed writing from a nonhuman perspective so much, that I am currently at work on a new novel. My ultimate plan is to write a series of three books called The Habitat Trilogy. Uplift wasset in the air; the next book will be set in the ocean; and the third on land. I’m excited about this next one sincethere are so many intelligent and fascinating nonhumans living in the sea. Stay tuned!
I love to hear from readers! Please visit my websiteJessicamann.org or my Goodreads author page. Or justdrop me a line at jessica@jessicamann.org
Tags: #authors, #Bookclubs, #bookpublicity, #inspiration, #nature, #relationship, #sherrirosen, #spirituality, 3
This entry was posted on Monday, April 21st, 2025 at 7:52 am and is filed under Industry News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
April 21st, 2025 at 9:12 pm
“Uplift” is a fabulous book! I am now going to read it for a second time, knowing that I will see so many wonderful things that I missed in the first reading. There are now many books and nature series on TV that document so many different intellectual and emotional responses by animals: feelings, making tools, responses to death, recognition of old human friends after many years of separation in the wild, etc.
April 27th, 2025 at 4:30 am
hi