To understand where is coming from as a writer, it helps to see where she is coming from as she writes, which is the porch of a small house near her own in the Sonoran Desert west of 蜜柚直播.
Not near the desert, mind you. In it, in a small clearing surrounded by lush stands of palo verde, mesquite, cactus and creosote.
To find Millet this late afternoon, a visitor winds slowly down a narrow dirt road, carefully threading his way through cholla and prickly pear. A saguaro points the way past a parked sedan the owner has re-painted Forest Service green.
Some people find solace in soothing meadows surrounded by daffodils. Millet finds it here, which may explain the prickly edge to some of her recent books.
Her latest, was released last week by W.W. Norton & Co. It is her first novel since a bestselling finalist for the National Book Award in 2020.
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鈥淒inosaurs鈥 is Millet鈥檚 13th book, all of which have been warmly received and many of which have received national awards. was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2010. was a semifinalist for the National Book Award in 2016.
Eleven of her books were written since Millet moved to 蜜柚直播 鈥 and purchased 14 acres of desert real estate 鈥 in 1999.
鈥淚 just love it here, it鈥檚 my favorite place in the whole world,鈥 Millet said of her arid Shangri-La. 鈥淲hen I first bought it, I was planning to live here part-time. I had a life and a boyfriend in New York City. I thought I鈥檇 be spending some of the year here and some of it there. After I moved in, though, I just loved it so much I stayed.鈥
Millet鈥檚 move to 蜜柚直播 may have surprised some of her Manhattan neighbors. She was a city girl, raised in Toronto and educated at the University of North Carolina. Less well-known was the fact Millet had spent four months in the graduate writing program at the University of 蜜柚直播. Her mentor there was UA professor and National Book Award finalist . It was Williams who suggested Millet get to know her beloved desert.
It didn鈥檛 quite take at first, either the writing part or the desert part. Millet dropped out after a semester, and instead earned a master鈥檚 degree in Environmental Policy at Duke. She then accepted a position with the Natural Resource Defense Council in New York. Life was good, but something was missing.
She came looking for it in 1999, accepting a position as a writer for the in 蜜柚直播. She is still there. Her 30 hours a week at the center are framed by three to four hours of writing in the early morning and late afternoon.
鈥淢y mom doesn鈥檛 live there now, but she has a small house and some property right beside me,鈥 Millet explained. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 where I usually write. I write outside whenever I can, even when it鈥檚 hot. It鈥檚 where I feel most comfortable.鈥
Who knows who might stop by to say hi. Deer, coyotes, foxes and javelinas are regular visitors to Millet鈥檚 outdoor writing studio. Birds play a starring role her new novel. She mentions a different bird in every chapter, and sprinkles in scientific tidbits about them throughout. The book鈥檚 very title comes from the fact birds are descended from dinosaurs.
鈥淭he dinosaurs who could fly were the only ones who survived,鈥 she explains. 鈥淭he next time you see a roadrunner, look how much it looks like the dinosaurs your kids learned about in school.鈥
Asked how she separates her day job from her night job, Millet said she doesn鈥檛. 鈥淢y writing always includes my day job,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 enmeshed.鈥
Millet鈥檚 books are wildly different. No two plot lines are the same, but they all guide the reader into scenes featuring animals, nature and the environment.
In 鈥凄颈苍辞蝉补耻谤蝉,鈥 her protagonist and narrator is Gil, a wealthy loner looking for connection and meaning. The story is set in a prosperous suburb of Phoenix, which is Millet鈥檚 first clue that she will be playing with us some. Gil learns to love his birds.
鈥淚 first wrote the first draft the summer before the pandemic, but I came back to it during the worst times of it in 2020,鈥 Millet said. 鈥淚 just wanted to project myself into a scene of warmth, a scene of companionship. I wanted this book to be company for me that summer and fall, when there was so much hostility all around us.鈥
It鈥檚 not long, only 230 pages. It is written with humor, a light touch and simple, straightforward prose. Still, the takeaways are deeply philosophical, and the book has captured the attention of the literary establishment.
In the last two weeks, Millet and her new book have been featured in and . She appeared at the Harvard Bookstore last Monday night.
Clearly, Millet has become a big deal in the world of letters, but she insists she鈥檚 still the same person who moved to 蜜柚直播 in 1999.
鈥淲henever somebody tells me they like one of my books, I always feel like I鈥檝e been struck by lightning,鈥 she said. 鈥淚f you say you like my book, you鈥檙e my friend for life.鈥
FOOTNOTES
- Oct. 31 is the deadline for the 蜜柚直播 Festival of Books鈥 Literary Awards Writing Contest. Submissions will be judged in fiction, nonfiction and poetry. For more information, visit 听
- and will be in 蜜柚直播 Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. to read at the UA. Learn more at tucne.ws/1lnb.听
- Some people just know people. Millet鈥檚 best friend is fellow author . They met more than 25 years ago, before either had published her first book. They even have matching tattoos.
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