Kay Smith-Blum is the author of the new novel Tangles. It focuses on the Hanford nuclear site in Washington state. A former business owner, Smith-Blum lives in Seattle.
Q: How did you create your character Luke, the protagonist of Tangles?
A: A real-life activist who was ridiculed much of his adult life for saying “something’s not right here” – Tom Bailie – inspired much of Luke. Giving Luke a career in science allowed me to divvy out scientific info in a “non-teachy” way – at least I hope I did!
Q: How did you research the book, and what did you learn that especially surprised you?
A: Eight months of research, including reviews of classified materials that were released in the late ‘80s, reading a dozen nonfiction books published on Hanford between 1992 and 2012, and having conversations with over 20 experts in the nuclear and history of science fields created the basis for the novel.
Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: The “dreamed” tangled mass of hair begat the title and ultimately the theme of the story: the intricate web of government and corporate deception in the name of war which lasted long after the Cold War ended.
Personal “tangles” – the complicated relationships of the characters and all their various frustrations are the “through thread” of the tale. I’ll spare you the web cliché.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the novel?
A: Many things but probably the two most important are 1) the debunking of tropes of the mid-20th century. Women were still quite restricted in the 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s and I hope to educate – in a non-teachy way – young women today about how recent our freedoms are.
And 2) the origins of the radioactive waste that now comprises the largest environmental disaster site in the Western world. Hanford is three Superfund sites and the waste tanks are leaking relatively close to the Columbia River, but more worrisome is the lack of actual knowledge of what each tank contains and how combustible they might be as hydrogen builds up inside.
There is NO effective process yet defined to deal with nuclear waste, which is why the state of Oregon passed a law barring any nuclear plants being built without a waste disposal plan (and that doesn’t exist).
Q: What are you working on now?
A: Two things: I’m reworking my second manuscript about the civil rights movement “landing next door” to an iconic female jurist in a restricted neighborhood in Dallas, Texas, and a new tale based on my mother’s time as a teacher – with five lifelong friends in rural Texas – that involve their personal stories and graft and corruption around water rights and the state highway system. Stay tuned!
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Yes! Thanks for asking – I’m thrilled to announce that all preorder royalties (books ordered prior to December 3) benefited the Heart of America NW (hanfordcleanup.org). This important watchdog advocacy organization is holding the US Department of Energy accountable. Hanford is every American’s problem.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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