Interview: Gina Butson talks about The Stars are a Million Glittering Worlds

Gina Butson is a former lawyer who completed her MA in Creative Writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML) in 2023. Her short fiction has been published in Newsroom, Salient and Turbine / Kapohau. Gina won the Salient Creative Writing competition and was Highly Commended in the Sargeson Prize in 2024. Gina has recently moved back to Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland after 17 years in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington. Gina talks to NZ Booklovers.

Tell us a little about your novel.

The Stars are a Million Glittering Worlds is set in Guatemala, Australia and New Zealand over a fifteen year period, including the global financial crisis and the Covid pandemic lockdowns. It’s about how things from our past continue to affect us years later, particularly when you don’t take the time to process things or if we’re not open and honest about them: guilt, grief, mistrust of a partner. It’s also about the idea of home and all that it means – not just where we call home, but the people and experiences that give us a sense of home.

What inspired you to write this book?

I didn’t set out to write this book. I wrote the first draft as part of an MA at the International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML). I originally had another project in mind for the MA, but just before starting, I wrote a short story that drew on experiences I’d had almost 20 years beforehand. Even though I was really happy with the short story, it felt like, now that I’d finally given voice to those experiences and memories, I needed to stay with them for longer; it felt like there was more to say. The other project felt a bit forced – like the body of a story but one that didn’t yet have heart or soul. The Stars are a Million Glittering Worlds (or, Cumulus, as it was called at the time) felt like the story that I needed to write at that time.

What research was involved?

Mercifully not too much. I really admire authors who undertake detailed and extensive research, but I actually wanted to avoid it. A lot of the novel draws on my own experiences, to one degree or another. I did make a trip to Tasmania after writing the first draft, which was part holiday, part research trip. In the first draft, the Tasmania chapters were all pretty much set indoors, so it didn’t matter that I hadn’t been there. But after the MA, I needed a break and I’d always wanted to go to Tasmania. Plus, although those scenes were set inside, I felt like I needed to go and get a first-hand sense of the place. It was such a great trip: Tasmania is a stunning place and Hobart has a great vibe. It also meant that, when I was writing new chapters during editing, I could draw on that trip and take some of the story outdoors – put more of Tasmania’s spectacular landscapes into the book.

What was your routine or process when writing this book?

I’m not a planner / plotter. The short story gave me a sense of direction – or perhaps more accurately, a feeling – to follow. But beyond that, it was mainly just a lot of time spent at my desk, discovering where the story wanted to go and a bit of googling to help with the details. Like many writers, I find walking an incredibly effective way of problem-solving. It’s amazing what even a quick jaunt around the block will do when you don’t know what to write next. While I was editing, I was also working four days a week, so I would really try to immerse myself in “being a writer” when I did have a day off – which was really just an excuse to write from a café up the road for a hour or to start the day with a pastry.

If a soundtrack were made to accompany this book, name a song or two you would include.

The book is structured in parts and each has a distinctive setting (time and place), so I think that the soundtrack would have to reflect that. Guatemala would be a mix of Bob Marley and other music typically heard at backpacker hostels, early 2000s house music for the scenes in the bar, and traditional Guatemalan music when they’re outdoors. In the Australian scenes, I imagine some Angus & Julia Stone and maybe Crowded House. On Ruapehu, Across the Universe by The Beatles would have to feature because it’s referenced in the book. And I could also imagine some more instrumental, atmospheric music.

If your book was made into a movie, who would you like to see playing the lead characters?

Ahhh, I’m so bad at questions like this. I think maybe Michelle Langstone for Thea, Samara Weaving or perhaps Anjourie Rice or Lucy Fry for Sarah, and Chris Hemsworth for Chris – because why not make it a blockbuster?! (Seriously, Chris Hemsworth is not the absolute best match, but as well as sharing a name and nationality, both Chrises are good-looking, funny and charismatic).

What did you enjoy the most about writing this novel?

So many things! My classmates at the IIML were the best and I really enjoyed the hours we spent together in the workshop room as well as the coffees and drinks before and after class. It was so valuable to have their insights, but also a treat to see their stories and novels develop throughout the year. It was also such a privilege and a joy just to spend a year focusing on writing – I’ve wanted to write a book my whole life, but I let other things take over. It feels so good to finally be doing something that I’ve wanted to do for so long. Even though it can be really hard, it makes me very, very happy.

What did you do to celebrate finishing this book?

When it was completely done and dusted – as in, off to the printer, I went to Brisbane for a long weekend. For a while, one of my characters was going to be from Brisbane, so it almost felt like a sense of closure to go there. The glass of bubbles in the departure lounge was especially sweet.

What is the favourite book you have read so far this year and why?

Ohhh this is such a hard question. I wish it were January – by this point in the year, I’ve read too many brilliant books, and it’s more like I have a box of Cadbury’s Favourites, but one that’s getting more full than empty. I’ve just finished Dusk by Robbie Arnott and that’s in the box. It was one of those books that called out to me from the title alone. Then, right from the first sentence, you’re in a world that is at once very real but also has a folkloric, fairytale quality to it. I’m in awe at how Robbie Arnott achieves this. The story is original and intriguing and is told in the most beautiful language, especially in the descriptions of nature. But it’s not that old-school exposition-style nature writing; it’s much more immersive and is a kind of magic.

What’s next on the agenda for you?

I’ve had another novel swirling around in my head for a while now. It’s actually a variant of what I thought I was going to write for the MA. It’s evolved a lot, but some of the key components are still there. I’m not sure what it will end up being, but at the moment it’s feeling like an environmental thriller with a hint of magical realism. I find it really exciting that, although it wasn’t the story I needed to write a few years ago, it’s still there waiting to be written. I also really enjoy writing short stories so I’d like to write a few more of those with the aim of pulling together a collection.