Describing Northern Colorado as her “soul home”, local author Laura Pritchett hails from Colorado and couldn’t be more proud of it. Serving as endless inspiration, her home state is the setting of her latest book, Playing With (Wild) Fire, which draws inspiration from the Cameron fire that burned just a few years ago. Pritchett sat down with us at Fort Collins City Lifestyle to talk all about her latest book, how current events have inspired her latest work, and the beauty that lies within even the most devastating circumstances.
FCCL: The characters in your book face significant challenges and personal growth. How did you develop and relate to these characters as an author?
LP: As anyone who lived here knows, 2020 was a challenging year for those of us in northern Colorado. I have seen plenty of wildfires, but 2020 was crazy-terrible. There’s a lot of autobiography in this book. A lot of fiction, too, don’t get me wrong—but also a lot of my life is in these pages. I think others will see a lot of themselves in it too. There is so much we share universally – we are all so very connected.
So I guess what I’m saying is that my characters developed from what I was feeling myself and what I was witnessing. My home is positioned so that I could see the traffic coming off the mountain – trailers filled with horses and goats and belongings, and we could all see the hard work of firefighters and emergency response teams heading up. Helicopters and planes overhead, burned pine needles at my feet.
FCCL: Your writing often explores themes of nature and the environment. How does nature play a role in this particular story, and what messages about the environment do you hope readers will take away?
LP: I feel as attached to this area of Colorado as deeply as the roots of native grass. Each of my novels is set in contemporary Colorado, and each is very place-based. The natural world is one of my greatest loves—and therefore one of my greatest sources of inspiration and worry.
In this novel, I am directly talking about the big topic: climate change. But writing about something as enormous and nebulous as climate change can be hard – it’s like trying to take a sip from a blasting water hose. It’s easier to digest and discuss something so big via small snippets, which is what this book does in its short, varied chapters.
FCCL: "Playing With (Wild) Fire" has been described as a story about resilience. Could you share some insights into how resilience is depicted in the book, both in terms of individuals and communities?
LP: I wanted to celebrate the resilience I saw in our communities and individually. I wanted to give voice to all the heroes (sung and unsung). I wanted to shout out the amount of expertise and knowledge and dedication out there. I wanted fiction to contain the reality we live in—and to show us just how resilient we are.
FCCL: The title of your book suggests a connection between fire and playfulness. What do you intend for readers to understand about this connection, and why is it significant?
LP: Even in tough times, there are people falling in love, delighting in hobbies, forming new friendships, laughing—all the good stuff! Indeed, one of the truths about life is that you can be deeply sad and feeling lousy, and yet you still take delight in the neighbor’s kid, or in the antics of a puppy, or the way the sun-catching mountain mahogany spirals. So, yes, there’s always a playfulness to life.
FCCL: What do you hope readers will take away from your book, especially in terms of the broader themes and messages it conveys?
LP: I hope readers feel seen and heard, and that they leave the book thinking about others, too—the evacuees, volunteers, firefighters, scientists, healthcare workers, animals, and so on. I also hope it leaves people thinking about healing—ourselves and the local burn area. And finally, I hope we all come into wisdom about fires and how to mindfully approach our future.
Come celebrate the release of Pritchett’s latest book, Playing With (Wild) Fire, and meet Pritchett herself at the Old Town Library on February 13th from 6 pm to 7 pm where she will be signing copies of her latest release. Playing With (Wild) Fire is available for presale at Old Firehouse Books, which is sponsoring the event. Old Town Library is located at 201 Peterson St in Fort Collins.
