Interview with Perrin Pring

“This may not be the future we want, but it feels right, which is sort of terrifying, sort of exciting, and, in Perrin Pring’s hands, nothing short of spectacular.” – Stephen Graham Jones

Travel to the edge of time where the future of America is on the brink. Corporations dominate the White House and Chevy Cole, a Launch-Tech marine is about to find a piece of technology that will launch humans into space and also start a war between two corporations looking to get their hands on it first. Cash and Gravity (Diversion Books, May 26, 2026) by Perrin Pring is a hopeful look at the world during unhopeful and unprecedented times. Using her love for the American West as its setting, Cash and Gravity is an action-packed chase across the country that is haunting, suspenseful, and uplifting in a time when the world feels like it’s falling apart.

An Interview with Perrin Pring

How does advocating for public land influence your writing and what does that look like? 

I spend so much of my free time recreating on public lands, and I have challenging adventures on them. Those experiences shape my worldview. I am usually doing something hard and on public land, and that helps me write characters doing hard things. While my job is all about protecting public lands, outside of my work I call my reps regularly to tell them I want them to protect OUR public lands.

Can you dive deeper into why you love the American West and how it plays a role in your futuristic story?

I was born and raised in the American West, and no matter where I go, I can’t get it out of my system. The vast stretches of wild land live in my bones, and when I write, I always end up writing about the American West. I’m not sure if this is how everyone feels about the landscape they grew up in, but for me, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to totally shake the West from my writing.

How has your work as a park ranger helped develop your characters and the world they exist in?

I get to experience so many new things through my job. My job has allowed me to learn skills which many people never get to acquire. I get to talk to people from all over the world, and I learn through others. And I get to spend time in places which are so special, our country has set them aside to be conserved. All of this finds its way into my writing.

How has your experiences seeing climate change firsthand helped to explore the futuristic world you’ve set in  your book?

I’ve seen a lot of ‘unprecedented’ weather/fire events in the past few years, and I’ve also read a lot of cli-fi/distopia novels, and they are just so very depressing to me. I wanted to combine the facts that things are changing, and bad things are happening, BUT I don’t want to write about a hopeless world. I want to write about people succeeding even when things are bad or changing for the worst, and that was a guiding tenant of Cash and Gravity. 

You live in a pretty rural part of America and prefer to live that way. How has that informed you on creating a sci-fi story with a piece of technology being the focus of your book?

My favorite times in my life have been when I am less connected to the internet, and I say this knowing I am fully addicted to checking my phone. I find the desire for a less connected life compelling, and at the same time, the internet has made living rurally so much easier. So connectivity vs lack of connectivity is a balance I strive for, but don’t often find, and I think that comes through in my writing. 

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A former white water kayaker who competed on the World Cup circuit, Perrin Pring is now a park ranger. She has worked and lived across the U.S., riding horses in the Rocky Mountains, driving Jeeps in the wilds of the desert, greeting the sunrise in Hawaii, and running chainsaws in the Sierra Mountains. She holds an MFA in creative writing and screenwriting from UC Riverside Palm Desert and a BA from Tufts University. Her writing has appeared in Backcountry Journal, the Coachella Review, and Kelp Literary.

Follow Perrin on Instagram: @perrinpringauthor

CASH AND GRAVITY

A thrilling sci-fi western and the first in a genre- and mind-bending series bearing shades of Old Man’s War, The MurderbotDiaries, and The Monkey Wrench Gang.

A high-stakes chase across the American West. A device that could change the world. Three unlikely allies thrown together by fate.

In the not so distant future, six mega corporations and their privatized armies have supplanted the American government. They compete for resources, market position, and the ultimate long game prize of colonizing the stars.

Chevy Cole left her conservative family behind for life as a Launch Tech marine and never looked back, proud of her role as a first-into-the-fire grunt, even if she were well below the revered female super soldiers known as Aces. When rumors spread that one of the Big Six has created a fusion device that would put the stars within reach, all-out war looms.

After the catastrophic failed siege of a Nevada mine leaves most of her comrades dead, Chevy encounters a dying Ace in possession of a mysterious package and a surprise: this Ace is a man. Joined by Dolon, an aging mercenary “phantom” sent by Launch Tech to transport the package to an Idaho safehouse, the three form an uneasy alliance.

As they try to outrun a rival corporation’s ruthless agents across the desert in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse, Chevy realizes that their survival may also determine who controls the future. But when greed is the only rule of law, who can she trust?

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Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing