The Big Idea: Clara Ward

“What belongs to the sea will always return to the sea.” Author Clara Ward has always been drawn to the ocean, spent time teaching others about the ocean, and now has featured the ocean in their newest novel, Dream the Deep. Dive into their Big Idea to see how deep the water goes. CLARA WARD: Science tells us cephalopod arms use decentralized neural processing. I changed things up by adding a human dreamer to the mix. My first challenge in writing Dream the Deep was to create a human point-of-view character whose shared control of a limb might benefit a cephalopod. As a neurodivergent researcher, Ryn already views everyday life as a puzzle spiked with inherent obstacles. Being called upon to adjust and flatten a long, thin body/arm to retrieve a fragile crustacean from a crevice with sharp edges turns out to be easier for Ryn than navigating breakfast with humans. Folks in 2139 may not fault Ryn for being neurodivergent or nonbinary, but Academy society is structured to manipulate…