The second of a series of interviews from the authors contributing to the It Takes A Village anthology.
Story Title: MOUNTAIN VIEW By Assaph Mehr
When asked what inspired this story, Assaph responded:
My mother passed away a couple of months before writing this story. Physically, at least. Mentally she hasn’t been there for a few years, lost to Alzheimer’s. My dad passed away nearly two years ago, and though he was mostly sound in mind, towards the end that cancer the has been eating at his body also started to affect his mind. I’ve seen my grandparents lost to dementia as their age tipped a critical point.
Truth be told, the prospect of getting dementia scares the shit out of me.
Can you give an example of an event where you saw the need for social justice to be better?
Years ago, I got to witness exactly why it’s a “court of law,” and not a court of justice. That bit didn’t make it into the stories I submitted to the anthology, but it hasn’t changed. But one can see injustice and inequality everywhere these days. From people preferring capitalism over socialism (so by definition giving power to those with money rather than the people at large), to the rampant antisemitism raging across the globe, across all countries and political divides.
For the second story I submitted, Quantum Monkeys, I focused on the debate around artificial intelligence. I happen to be exposed to both sides of the AI debate, the technology developers and the creator community side. I’ve been developing AI-powered products for a few years (since before it was cool). I’ve been working in and around information management and data privacy, always considering the ethical dimension of the technology we use. I’ve played around with generative AI when it became all the rage. And, of course, I have my own opinions about digital piracy and the publishing industry.
Having little faith in the capacity current of humanity to think kindly towards each other and about the longer term, I sat down to write a dystopian tale. But the story took turns that surprised me.
In your opinion, what is the most challenging / pressing issue of social justice in the world today?
There are so many. Pick whatever you care about, and do something about it. Even if it’s small. Even just writing a short story for an indie anthology about it. Social change often comes from grass-root movements – and you need a lot of blades of grass to shake the foundations. So, just pick what you care about, and act.
What is one lesson that you learned from your mother/grandmother that you still use today?
My mother was a teacher and, later, a librarian. I’m certain I picked a lot of my love for books from her. Some of my (complex) feeling about her last years are reflected in the other story I submitted, Mountain View.
How have these influenced your other writing projects? Do you cover any social justice in your other writing projects?
In my upcoming release In Victrix, the third novel in the Togas, Daggers, and Magic series, I deal with womanly mysteries (the occult kind) and generally women’s place in Roman society, as well as touching on slavery (which, unlike modern times, wasn’t racially motivated).
When I originally set out to write the series, I tried to add magic to ancient Roman society but leave much of the daily life as close to historical accuracy as I could. That meant exposing a lot of the uglier sides, especially as the series progresses.
Some readers equate the protagonist with the author, or judge them by the sex of the author – same male-character-expressed opinions from female authors do not raise the same objections. I assure you, Though fascinated by the various cultures of antiquity I wouldn’t want to live there. The past is a different country, and rarely a pleasant one when it comes to social issues.
In this novel I wanted to delve a bit deeper into the role of women (and, to a degree, gladiators), and show both the degree of limitations that they had to face as well as (some of) the misunderstanding of modern readers about the reality of daily lives for people of different social classes. This subject runs as a very important undercurrent throughout the novel.
Do you have any other projects in the works that also deal with social justice?
In Victrix mentioned above is due for release later this year, and I’m also writing more novels and short stories. I write what I care about, which encompasses social and environmental justice, so it’s bound to appear in my future works.