Bob Proehl dives into the world and characters of The Nobody People

We sat down with Bob Proehl, author of The Nobody People, to discuss how he crafted the world and characters in his science-fiction narrative.

Bob Proehl’s The Nobody People hit shelves this September, introducing readers to a world where humans with extraordinary abilities come out of hiding — much to the dismay of the rest of society. The novel explores the repercussions of such a bold move, diving into the personal stories and overarching politics surrounding the narrative.

We sat down with the author to chat about what went into creating such a complex and layered science-fiction story, and to learn what works inspired him while putting the whole thing together.  When it comes to what sparked Proehl’s vision for The Nobody People, he attributed his vision to two things.

“On the one hand, I started the book the summer of 2016, so I was watching the sort of political climate with a mounting sense of dread,” he explained. “And this idea of demographic displacement and the fact that, in many ways, the empowered majority was freaking out over the idea that they were being [replaced]. You know, I was watching the riots in Charlottesville, and people chanting charitably “You will not replace us!” So, that was the sort of larger idea or sort of anxiety that I was dealing with.”

“And at the same time,” he continued, “my daughter was about two and was starting to become more of a person, rather than just a little lump that you carry around. And she was so weird. You kind of imagine that they’re going to be some version of you and then they’re not; they’re entirely their own people. So, those two things kind of came together, and part of it was imagining a literally empowered minority emerging into a political moment, and part of it was about parenting and how strange your kids just automatically are.”

Of course, maintaining that balance between real-world political issues and the fantastical world of superpowers is no easy feat — even for the most seasoned science-fiction novelists. Given that this was Proehl’s first time dipping into the genre, he was concerned about whether or not his writing skills would be a good match for the story he was trying to create.

“I mean, this was my first time writing sci-fi, and I was really worried about it,” the author explained. “It didn’t seem to me like it was going to play to my strengths. I like writing smaller scene work and doing more interpersonal stuff, and so, when I decided this was something I wanted to do, it was really a matter of like, can I find a way to do this that feels valid to me as a writer — that feels like I’m telling the story in a way that I’m good at and that feels real for me.”

And the toughest part about writing a science-fiction narrative? According to Proehl, it was the action sequences.

“If anything, a lot of those bigger, action set pieces, those were the really tough things for me to write,” he said. “And I remember, when I was in earlier drafts, I used to cut away. I would build up to it like, ‘There’s gonna be a fight, there’s gonna be a fight…’ and then I’d jump to the next chapter and be like, ‘There was a fight.’  And my agent, who’s sort of my first-round editor on these things, was like, ‘You have to actually write those scenes.'”

In addition to the action sequences, mechanical tasks — like keeping track of such a huge cast of characters — were new territory for Proehl. The Nobody People boasts numerous perspectives throughout its narrative, and each point-of-view character has an in-depth backstory, as well as interpersonal relationships and their own power to contend with.

“It’s a huge cast,” Proehl said. “There’s the main, sort of point-of-view characters. I had an Excel spreadsheet. I have a sheet that’s like, ‘This is the person’s name.’ It’s easy to lose track of people’s last names. ‘This is their name, this is their superpower, this is who they’re in these relationships with, are they dead…’ There’s various columns. That was one of the weirdest things, the amount of mechanical work that goes into it.”

Proehl also emphasized how important it was to ensure that every character had their own emotional arc, one that was completed by the time the novel came to an end. And for some characters, like Fahima, that arc became bigger as the story unraveled.

“Carrie and Fahima, particularly, came pretty fully fleshed out in my head,” Proehl said. “And Fahima was not going to be as central of a character — was not going to be a POV character — but she’s the most fun to write. Like, whenever a scene wasn’t quite working for me, I was like, ‘Well, what if she showed up?’”

To be fair, Fahima is one of the more interesting perspectives readers get from The Nobody People. It seems that the book’s author was just as taken by her as we were, and we have her magnetic personality to thank for her larger role in the story.

As far as coming up with what power each character would have, most of that came easy to Proehl. Each character’s ability fits with their personality in some way or another.

“I really wanted to give people abilities that mapped onto something personal for them. So, Carrie having this issue of visibility and that sort of mapping onto her being a bit of an introvert. And you know, being a teenager. And Fahima, the sort of mechanical nature of her ability, I think really affects the way that she sees the world and ties to her her background as a queer, Muslim woman. So those fit together for me really well. She has a certain pragmatism that I think is paralleled by her ability with sort of with technology and mechanical objects.”

Of course, The Nobody People isn’t the last time we’ll see most of these characters and their abilities. Proehl confirmed that the book’s sequel will conclude the story, stating, “It’s just the two. I knew when I started that this was a really long story and I knew the general shape of it. And as I was writing the book, there was a really natural break in the middle.”

As far as what we can expect from the second and final installment, it seems readers will get a history lesson on Kevin Bishop’s character — as well a time skip and some collective group moments.

“It starts a couple years after the end of the first,” the author revealed. “And we also get to see a lot of where Kevin Bishop came from and how the school starts, and we do sort of follow him through the back half of the 20th century. But the main narrative is going to be after. I do finally get to cut away before a fight scene at the end of the first book, and it is the kind of moment of ‘Well, what happens when that minority is fully in power?’ And yeah, it’s got some roadtrip, buddy-movie vibes — this getting-the-band-back-together stuff.”

The sequel to The Nobody People is expected to release during the latter half of 2020 — and we can’t wait to see what Proehl has in store for the band once they’re all finally back together.

The Nobody People is currently available online and in bookstores.