Micaiah Johnson’s debut, The Space Between Worlds, was one of my favorite listens of 2020—I still think about it often and recommend it to every sci-fi fan I know. So I was thrilled to hear that in her new novel, Those Beyond the Wall, she was returning to the vividly imagined world she’d built. In our interview, I asked her why she felt drawn back to Ashtown, what she hopes listeners take away from this gritty story, and what’s next for her writing.
Sam Danis: What made you want to continue telling stories in this universe and with these characters?
Micaiah Johnson: Short answer: My contract said I had to and I’m a sellout. Kidding!! The first draft of Space was something like 120,000 words. Word limits and countless revisions meant a lot of the world was left on the cutting room floor. Those shards began to whisper to me. Interestingly, this was also part of a personal lesson for me. I’ve always said that I’m so desert I’m actually a tumbleweed, always moving forward, never looking back. I’ve long been the embodiment of Maya Angelou’s quote “I didn’t come to stay.” Writing Those Beyond the Wall coincided with me moving back to the northeast, my first time returning to a place and community I had left. And I am so glad I went back in both cases. There are certain magics that need time to ferment, and diving back into the world in a story set 10 years later allowed me to explore character arcs and world elements that needed time and space to truly bloom.
In your Author’s Note, you address the undercurrent of anger in this story—which you conceived of during the Nashville protests of 2020—and write that science fiction is not unlike protest. I love that idea. What do you hope listeners will take away from this story?
When I finished this book almost a year ago I could never have predicted how much hurt and devastation would be in the air, how necessary a rallying call would be. What I hope people take from this book is not that the world sucks, or that suffering is cyclical and inescapable under our current power structures. I think the people I am writing to, and for, already know that. If I could have listeners take anything away it would simply be this: You’re not alone. You’re not alone in your hurt, or your mourning, and especially not in your rage.
Your first novel was performed by the amazing Nicole Lewis, and Those Beyond the Wall is performed by Angel Pean. What do you hope for in the performances for your lead characters?
Oh my god, am I not the luckiest?? Getting to be represented by such talented actors is a gift, I don’t need to hope for anything because I’ve already won. I feel about Nicole and Angel much the same way I feel about the characters they play. They are both so good, and the differences between them are a matter of flavor, not quality. I can’t wait to listen to Those Beyond the Wall to really feel that juxtaposition between Cara’s hope and Scales’s grit.
Do you think you’ll spend more time in Ashtown or Wiley City, or are there other worlds you’re exploring?
It’s a surprise! Though I will say returning to this world feels like putting on a warm glove, and I can’t imagine I’ll be able to stay away from its draw for long.
