Gaia’s Revolution follows a brutalized climate scientist, a fanatical deep ecologist, and two exploited orphans through the birth of a future Gaian order where the dream of saving Earth mutates into ecology, surveillance, and authoritarianism. What drew you to the idea of ecological devotion becoming a form of authoritarian power?

As an ecologist and environmental activist, I’m intrigued by the notion of what a caregiver and protector of the environment would do when pushed beyond their limits. Ecological devotion is a form of passion, borne and nurtured by strong and complex emotion; strong emotion—like love—can be subverted when threatened, and this can lead to a corruption of fair-mindedness, ultimately resulting in tyranny. Passion and rage are emotional cousins.

As climate change and habitat destruction foment chaos and uncertainty, our sense of democracy and fairness will erode even as protectionism and fanaticism increase—a result of our increasingly fractured and polarized societies. Fanatics prefer to see the world in binary form—black and white—often with marked boundaries of inclusion and exclusion. This “all or nothing” attitude can easily morph into an authoritarian approach that refuses to recognize compromise and leads to extremism. I wanted to explore that possibility by featuring actors deeply involved through their convictions in the big decisions that face humanity.

It was easy to come up with characters like Eric Vogel and Monica Schlange, who both exercise authoritarian power over humanity on behalf of an oppressed and silent environment. Eric escaped the shadows of an oppressive Stasi mother and restless regime to witness the inaction of North America’s oligarchs. Monica had grown up on a small farm in Ontario with a strong tie to the land when she was orphaned and ‘betrayed’ by an exploitive and deceitful government. She found and rekindled her power when she became the environment’s fierce champion.

Monica Schlange is both visionary and monstrous. How did you approach writing a character who believes so completely in her own necessity?

Monica’s personal history created motives for her extremism, fanatical directive, and warrior spirit. Seeing herself as a hero and champion for all who were silenced and ‘othered’ gave Monica a righteous strength and a conviction that she was an important arm of the “right side” in an environmental war. Ripped from her peaceful life on her father’s farm by loss and treachery beyond her control, Monica witnessed how selfish and unconnected humanity could be. Her passion for life, family, and the environment armed her with an incredible conviction to make a difference as she vowed to rise out of the oppression and doom that befell her feckless parents. She became a warrior and championed the ‘other’: those without a voice—the environment and the orphaned children who—like her—lost their innocence far too young. She never stopped believing that she was right. This belief gave her both incredible vision and clarity to act, but also gave her a blind arrogance in her faith that she was always right.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

The main theme of the novel is the loss of our innocence in a world in which humanity becomes increasingly separated from Nature—with devastating consequences. Gaia’s Revolution is foremost a cautionary tale that explores possible scenarios of our lack of connection and respect for the environment. The book is the first of a trilogy that explores many themes within this larger one: themes that investigate our use and abuse of various technologies such as artificial intelligence, genetics & cloning, bioengineering, and behaviour modification—all overseen by catastrophic climate change.

Gaia’s Revolution feels part thriller, part manifesto, and part warning. How did you balance storytelling with the book’s scientific, philosophical, and political ideas?

Gaia’s Revolution is essentially a climate thriller and a story with a large scope—invoking large societal considerations, from science to politics. The novel covers upheaval, change, war, and great struggle on an epic scale. I balanced the large scope with compelling storytelling by focusing on the personal experiences of both main and minor characters. Each character experienced the revolution and its aftermath differently, each according to their own place, personal history, and character—and ultimately their relationship with the natural world. Given the circumstances, virtually all the characters had to transform in some way to simply survive.

The effects of climate change, societal upheaval, revolution, and war all created a world that was itself a strong character. Much like Thomas Hardy’s Egdon Heath in The Return of the Native, the world of Gaia’s Revolution is an imposing character, exerting great influence on virtually all the characters of the novel. And in a world torn apart by environmental calamity and war, innocence is the first casualty. The true—and only innocent—protagonists in this story are the three orphans, who must navigate the harsh environment their elders have created for them. In some ways they—and the loss of their innocence—are at the heart of the story.

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