Welcome to BookView Interview, a conversation series where BookView talks to authors.

Recently, we talked to Sarah Magee about her debut novel, Never Said I Love You, a beautifully crafted story that delves into the intricacies of human relationships and self-discovery. (Read the review here).

What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

A lot! My favorite genre is probably narrative non-fiction; I love learning something and simultaneously getting lost in a story. That was one of my goals for readers of this book and my own research on Laos, for example, as a really important part of that.

Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

I write the books I like to read. As I’ve heard from many, many publishers, those are not mass market best sellers. If I were looking to make a career of writing, that would be a problem. Fortunately, I’m not, which allows me more freedom in my work.

What is your favorite childhood book?

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Tell us a little about how this story first came to be. Did it start with an image, a voice, a concept, a dilemma or something else?

This book is based, in parts more and in parts less, on a true story. As I shared the story with friends, they encouraged me to turn into a book. Seeing as we were in the middle of a pandemic and I didn’t have a ton of other pressing demands on my time, I decided to see what I could do.

Are any of your characters based on real people you know?

Most of them, though in many cases they’re composites of multiple people. A few are named for real people, too. One of the great parts of writing this book initially for my friends was being able to take requests, from the name of a character, to the inclusion of an inside joke.

What do you hope readers will take away from this story?

I hope this book will give readers food for thought. I hope it will leave them with questions about life, about love, about the cascading ripples left by every choice we make. I hope readers will think about the red threads in their lives, how they are connected, directly and directly, tightly and loosely, to everyone whose path they’ve crossed, and I hope they will think about how tenuous those connections can be. I especially hope they will think about the complexities of life, and how seldom even straightforward problems have clear cut answers.

What makes this book important right now?

When I wrote this book, I didn’t know that we, in the States, were reaching the end of an era in terms of Roe v. Wade and women’s rights in general. I did know that we were at a crossroads in terms of globalism and nationalism. As a lifelong globalist, I hope this book highlights the ways in which a global perspective can enrich life. I hope it highlights the experiences and talents of prospective immigrants, and what we as a country lose when we erect unnecessarily high barriers to entry. I also hope it serves as a clarion call, of sorts, for women’s rights.

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