Interview With Author Arielle Emmett
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a career science journalist specializing in aerospace, aviation, medicine, and Asia-Africa political affairs. As a Fulbright Scholar, former Contributing Editor to Smithsonian Air & Space magazine, I’ve taught and researched in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Europe, and Africa., Though I’ve and edited several nonfiction books, The Logoharp: A Cyborg Novel of China and America in the Year 2121, is a premiere novel.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Logoharp: A Cyborg Novel of China and America in the Year 2121 (Leaping Tiger Press, 2024), is inspired by 12 years of living, teaching and writing in China, Hong Kong, Europe, Indonesia and Africa.
The Logoharp title comes from the Greek word “Logos,” which means the
rational principle of divine order. In the Heraclitean view, the logos is the
flux, the constantly changing process of the universe. Naomi, the lead
character in this novel, is equipped with a “Logos harp” (shortened to
“Logoharp” for branding purposes to the masses) which allows her to
foresee the future on behalf of the State; to detect mysterious harmonies
and instructions, some from extraterrestrial sources, and some from extant
voices of conscience—hers or someone else’s—she can’t recognize.
My exposure to current media in China and the West was inspiration. The line between fact and fiction has become perilously thin; the media now uses its powers of “forecasting” to actually influence future political events and outcomes. The fundamental question I tried to explore in this book goes deeper:
What would it take to reclaim your voice when every word is scripted for you? In a future where language itself controls power, my cyborg journalist hero, Naomi, born American, eventually morphing into a Chinese elite ‘Reverse Journalist,’ must decide whether to predict the world’s fate or rewrite it.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. I write and re-write until every word and phrase appears as close to the truth and emotional effect that I’m looking for and then I look again…for comfort, sometimes I’ll resort to classical music, coffee, green tea, pretzels, sometimes chocolate-covered cranberries, tangerines (yum).
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Dozens. Most recently I’ve come to admire Adam Johnson’s The Orphan Masters Son, about a North Korean orphan who is trained as an assassin, enduring unspeakable torture when he decides to rebel and protect a woman he loves. Another is Liu Cixin’s Trilogy, The Three Body Problem, a classic blend of cultural history (esp. China’ s Cultural Revolution), alien invasion, and the contradictions of humans who invite the aliens to invade since humanity can’t save itself.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a sequel to The Logoharp. Naomi’s son grows up to be a pilot, refuting every value his mother stands for until he crashes, barely survives, and discovers the power of the Gyroscope.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My own website, https://leapingtigerpress.com, has a wealth of information about The Logoharp, which is also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble Press, IngramSpark, and has received top editor pick citations on The Reader’s House (UK) and Publishers Weekly Booklife.
Frankly, I find in-person readings and radio interviews very helpful with direct connect to readers. After The Logoharp was named Silver Winner in the Nautilus Book Awards 2025 competition, I’ve appeared on internet radio (The Authors Show) and KMET”s “Moments with Marianne.” In addition, The Logoharp is a brand-new Audible audiobook, which is available free for 30 days. On Amazon Author Central and You Tube, there are a number of videos and reviews that readers will find very helpful:
“…The Logoharp chronicles the secrets, heartache, and rebellion of Naomi, a young American reporter who morphs into China’s elite “Reverse Journalist.” Her job isn’t to report current events. She’s a mistress of prophecy and disinformation, extrapolating the future algorithmically, from a “Database of Crowds” — millions of scenarios drawn from mass actors and the blood of history.
“Surgically transplanted, Naomi gains extraordinary powers of foresight and physical strength. Hearing street conversation and government instructions in her Logoharp, an AI-driven translator of 104 human languages, Naomi predicts political events with deadly precision.
“But she also hears voices she can’t identify. Naomi believes they come from the Logos, the divine principle of order and change in the universe. These strange, contradictory voices sing to her of other worlds, other freedoms. When she’s tasked with finding a flaw in a State system that balances births and deaths—a system devised by a Chinese architect, Naomi’s lover who abandoned her in youth—she grows uncomfortable, then furious. The rest isn’t silence. She acts.”
WINNER, Nautilus Book Awards 2025 Silver (Science Fiction)
WINNER: Literary Titan Gold Book (2024)
FINALIST: American Fiction Awards (2024), Science Fiction/Cyberpunk
EDITOR’S PICK: Publisher’s Weekly Booklife (2024)
EDITOR’S CHOICE: The Reader’s House (UK, 2025)
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Pay attention to the concrete, sensory world. Believe in the power of time and unconscious thought(even dreams) to help solve problems. Be honest about how much you love and hate certain people,places, and things. And be aware that acutely observing others doesn’t mean you know yourself.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Q. “Mr. Hemingway, what is the hardest thing about writing?”
A. “Getting the words right.”
Read and keep reading…everything you can get your hands on. Do your research. Make sure your facts and details are right. Persist and trust your instincts, but everyone needs an editor. Writing by formula will produce the kind of manufactured drek that populates too much of American fiction. Incidentally, The Logoharp went through 12 years of evolution, 5 editors, 1 agent, and dozens of drafts, proofing, formatting, before it was ready for prime time. Writing is really hard work.
What are you reading now?
William Gibson’s Mona Lisa Overdrive. Several critics have compared The Logoharp to that book, but I think that isn’t right. Mona Lisa is a 16 year old hooker, and Naomi, in the Logoharp, is an elite, cyborgian ‘Reverse Journalist’ with brains and heart to boot. Also reading The Sungod’s Journey through the Netherworld by Andreas Schweizer, a brilliant explanation of the dimensions of Egyptian mythology.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Just keep writing. Work on second novel. Return to Kenya to do an update on Fulbright research on the Chinese and effects on local economy, labor, and human rights.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Adam Johnson’s The Orphan Master’s Son, Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged (abridged), Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain, the Diary of Anne Frank, Shakespeare (complete set), complete Jane Austen, Story of Civilization by Will Durant, Carl Sandburg’s Abraham Lincoln series, Liu Cixin’s The Three Body Problem and other works.
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Arielle Emmett’s Social Media Links
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