Monday, October 22, 2018

A Game Of Chance

Mathematicians use numbers to explain the world around us. They spend their time constructing equations that pull together horribly complex concepts into simple lines of code. I’ve always been fascinated by the work they do, the way a bunch of numbers and symbols can explain the movement of the stars, or the number of petals on a plant, or even the way a nautilus creates its shell.

The power of maths will one day explain everything…that’s what they tell us…there will be an equation that sums up the entire universe. And maybe that’s true, maybe everything we are, everything we are ever going to be, will be encapsulated in a line of code.
But will that all-encompassing equation, those strings of numbers and symbols, ever be able to convey the beauty of literature, which is just as powerful as maths but in a completely different way?

A book is an almost magical thing which gives a completely different experience to every reader. We imagine the characters differently, the tone of voice in the lines of dialogue, even the scenery that the author has worked so hard to build. And the emotions…every reader will experience different emotions based on a zillion different things in their own lives. What happened yesterday, what happened the week before, the year before, the decade before…almost an infinite number of events and chance occurrences that influence our experience of the story.

Authors try hard to ensure that we get an emotional reaction from our readers, it’s our job. But we can never be quite sure what emotions we’re going to inspire. I remember a reader emailing me to tell me she had started crying at a certain point in one of my books. I had spent weeks building to that point, hoping the reader did cry there…it felt like a huge triumph that she had! But, equally, I am sure there were other readers who shrugged and tossed the book aside at that point. 

Different experiences, different emotions, the idea that we’ll ever get to a point where that can be summed up by symbols and numbers seems both amazing and ridiculous to me.
But then, there is no stopping the maths, and that concept was central to my characters in my new novel, A Game of Chance. I’m super excited to share it with you, and awed by the idea that you’ll all see something different when you read it, that’ll you’ll hear different voices, experience different emotions…and yes…there is a point where I am hoping you will cry, but also points where I hope that you smile, that you’re happy, that my words have made you happy.

An author and her reader…maybe the equation really is as simple as that.


About the Author:
As a kid Emma wanted to be an astronaut, or maybe Captain Janeway. Because she didn’t really think her career choices through very well she ended up in an everyday geek job, crunching numbers and sighing over syntax. It seemed a long way from the stars and in an effort to remain sane Emma decided to get serious about her other passion. Writing.


She lives on the west coast of England with her awesome family and her many cats. Apart from all things geek reading is her main hobby and she likes nothing better than getting home from a hard day at work and curling up with a book, though sometimes she gets home and writes one instead.
Twitter @emmashortt

1 comment:

Sign up for the JCR newsletter!