Kathleen Reidy is the author of the new novel Engineering a Love Story. She is a reference librarian and former tech professional, and she lives in the Boston area.
Q: What inspired you to write Engineering a Love Story, and how did you create your character Chelsea?
A: Engineering a Love Story was inspired by events in my own life, though its specifics aren’t mine, exactly.
Chelsea is a young woman who has made a significant shift economically, and now she’s grappling with a question: how much is she allowed to want? Once basic needs around safety and security are met, how much risk can you take on for things like love and passion? How do you give yourself permission to seek a bigger life?
Chelsea isn’t me (she’s much smarter than I ever was), but her struggle with these questions mirrors my own.
Q: The novel is set in 2000--why did you choose that time period?
A: Y2K was a tumultuous year for me personally, and I was anxious to recapture it. But it was also a turning point in this country, which is great fodder for fiction. It was the end of a century—and a millennium! And there was tremendous optimism, particularly with the advent of the internet and cell phones.
But in 2000, we also had a major stock market correction and an unsettling, chaotic presidential election. This mix of enthusiasm and pessimism make 2000 a fascinating time period to revisit.
Q: What do you think the novel says about women in STEM fields in 2000--and do you think things have changed at all?
A: Unfortunately, I don’t think things have changed for women in STEM as much as they should have in 26 years. There are more women in STEM fields than ever, but too often we still hear stories of misogyny and abuse that are worse than even what Chelsea endures in this novel. The Gamergate ordeal from a couple of years ago comes to mind.
Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?
A: My goals with this novel were to have a swoony love story between real-world characters feeling real emotions, a suspenseful plot, and a hopeful ending.
So yes, I did know that Chelsea would be a strong female character seeking the courage to go for what she wants—and unearthing that courage is her victory. There’s no guarantee you’ll always get all the things you try for, but you definitely won’t if you settle too soon.
I wanted this victory to be Chelsea’s hopeful ending, though the specifics did evolve as I wrote (and rewrote and rewrote) this novel.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: My second novel, How to Believe in Forever, will be published by Sibylline Press in the fall of 2028. This will be a contemporary story with a more explicit mystery at its core. It relates to Engineering a Love Story thematically, but it will be a stand-alone novel.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I’ve been so pleased by early-reader feedback for Engineering a Love Story. I expected it to resonate with Gen-X women or with those who’ve maybe worked in tech. But the response has been broader than that, and I think this is due to reader interest in love stories that feel real and ones that take place in more unusual professional fields, time periods, and settings.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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