An Interview with Jennifer E. Smith

I recently had the opportunity to ask Jennifer E. Smith, author of The Statistical Probability of Love Sight, a few questions. Here is the interview-

1. Personally, I feel like having The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight set in London made a huge impact on how I viewed the book. Why did you choose to have London as one of the main settings of the story?

When I first started writing this book, I’d just returned from a year in the UK for grad school, and I’d spent a lot of time in London. It’s such a great city, and it seemed like the perfect place for two people to get lost. I also really liked the idea of Oliver and Hadley being from different countries, and meeting each other in no man’s land, while flying over the ocean in the middle of the night. There’s something almost magical about – as Oliver says in the book – being neither here nor there, but sort of suspended in time like that.

2. Do you have anything in common with Hadley? If so, what are the most prominent similarities between the two of you?

I definitely have some similarities with Hadley – I’m just as stubborn, for one thing – but there are little pieces of me in each of my characters, whether it’s a personality quirk, a terrible joke I love, or an anecdote from my own childhood. My friends and family always have a lot of fun picking these out and trying to separate truth from fiction.

3. If you were stuck on a plane for 24 hours, what two authors (dead or alive) would you want sitting next to you?

One of them would definitely be JK Rowling. I’d love nothing more than to pester her with about a thousand questions for the duration of a flight. And then maybe Charles Dickens too, just because I love his books, and they play a pretty prominent role in Statistical Probability. Plus I’m sure he’d have no problem filling the time with stories!

4. Do you believe in love at first sight? Why?

I’d like to believe it’s possible, though I’ve never experienced it myself. But what fun would the world be if there was no hope of something like that?

5. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you want to go?

At the moment, I’m weirdly obsessed with going to Iceland. I’m lucky enough to have checked off many of the places at the top of my list in the last few years – South Africa, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia – but I absolutely love the travel, so the list is still pretty long. Hopefully there will be many more plane rides in my future!

I want to thank Jennifer for taking part in this interview (and writing the amazing book that is The Probability of Love at First Sight).