Interview with the author Julia Soplop
Meet Julia Soplop, author of Equus Rising: How the Horse Shaped US History.
CF: Just reading your bio, you’ve spent a lot of time documenting animal behavior around the world. What made the horse such an attractive subject for you?
SOPLOP: Something that fascinates me about the horse is that, unlike most domestic animals, the horse exists as the same species in nature. Selective breeding by humans has really only resulted in superficial changes in horses. We can observe how horses naturally behave in their bands in the wild, then turn around and observe how they behave in the barn in their artificial social settings and indoor environments.
At the same time that I was becoming interested in observing and photographing wild horses, my young daughters begged me to sign them up for riding lessons at a local stable. I’m not an equestrian, and the idea scared me! However, they were relentless in their plea and I finally relented. What I hadn’t realized was how much I would enjoy lounging around the stable watching house horses one morning a week for the last four years while the girls rode. It is interesting to see how the natural behaviors of horses evolved over thousands of years to stay alive on the Great Plains, such as being startled by a loud noise or an unfamiliar sight, still exist and wreak havoc in a domestic environment. A domestic horse that has never encountered threatening wildlife is still on guard at all times for the possibility of a mountain lion leaping on its back!
FQ: Is there a place you’ve been to, or a specific animal/mammal you’ve researched, that you’ve loved? Along the same lines, is there a place/animal you long to travel to and investigate that you haven’t done yet?
SOPLOP: When I was in college, I traveled to Madagascar for a couple of months as a field research assistant to study the behavior of sifaka lemurs. Look out for sifaka, because they are adorable and have the most interesting way of moving called vertical clinging and jumping. Lemurs are endemic to Madagascar and are critically endangered due to habitat destruction and climate change. I’m honored to have spent time watching them, because sadly they may not last much longer.
I have a cousin who is a great white shark researcher. In better times, he travels to South Africa to study them. I would love to go with her one day to watch her work, when travel is safe again, and when I have the guts to climb into a cage in shark-filled waters.
FQ: As an author and photographer, how do you feel about the “team” of illustrator and writer? His equipment certainly worked well; Have you done other projects together?
SOPLOP: I had been a fan of Robert Spannring’s art for several years before we started working together. As soon as the manuscript began to take shape, I realized that the particular style of it could help bring to life some of the historical events and scientific concepts it was addressing. I was very honored when he agreed to illustrate it, and I think we both came away from the project proud of the final product. His art really elevated the manuscript. I hope we can find an excuse to work together in the future!
FQ: When did you become a lover of history? Is research something that has always fascinated you?
SOPLOP: I’ve always loved reading about history, whether it’s nonfiction or historical fiction. But when I began homeschooling my children several years ago, I began to think more deeply about how limited my traditional schooling history had been, as it was for most people in my generation and still is for many children today, and how I needed to do better for my children. I made it my job to make sure that when we study a historical event, we read numerous perspectives, not just the traditional party line that dismisses the experiences of many actors in history. Curating my children’s history education prompted me to want to help amplify the stories of those largely left out of the historical narrative.
CF: What inspires you to sit down and do all this studying? Are you excited about books, music, travel, something specific that makes you want to start writing a book?
SOPLOP: Equus Rising grew out of a history curriculum I wrote for my children. When we decided to spend a year studying United States history, I wanted to do it in a way that would hold our attention. Our mutual interest in horses gave me the idea to tell the story of our country using the horse as a common narrative thread to tie together events that we normally study in isolation but are highly connected. This approach also allowed for the inclusion of figures often written outside of traditional stories: women and people of color. Once I started collecting the information, I realized that there really was a story in there that hadn’t been told in a coherent way. The curriculum was transformed into a book idea.
In general, I am very curious and can find inspiration in almost any direction I look. My background in documentary photography and writing has shown me that there is always a story in the making if you are willing to listen hard enough to hear it.
CF: What advice would you give someone who wants to start a career like yours: field study/research/writing?
SOPLOP: The path to becoming a nonfiction writer isn’t as clear cut as many career paths. If you want to be a lawyer, you take the LSAT, go to law school, and then pass the bar. Congratulations, you are a lawyer. My professional path has been much more tortuous. I have always had an interest in research, especially in the fields of biology and public health, as well as writing and photography. But towards the end of university I realized that I didn’t want to be a practitioner of science; I wanted to be a writer who could communicate research in a way that would help non-specialists understand the important technical issues that influenced their lives.
Becoming a credible communicator on any topic requires understanding the basics well enough to identify the experts in the field and ask them the right questions so that you can accurately write about the significance of your findings. Looking back, I would say that my courses as an undergraduate and then as a graduate student in medical journalism were split fairly evenly between content courses, such as biostatistics, epidemiology, neuroscience, animal behavior, and courses on how to effectively communicate evidence to a broad audience.
My main advice for nonfiction writers is this: Follow your curiosity by working to gain both content knowledge in your subject area and writing skills. Allow yourself to pivot. Take advantage of exciting opportunities when they arise—Madagascar!—even if you’re not sure if they’ll help you advance your career. They probably will. And if not, they’ll be a great conversation starter. Also read widely. Write constantly. There hasn’t been anything traditional about my career, but every class I’ve taken, every book I’ve read, every professional experience I’ve had has contributed to my ability to chart my own path, which has been quite satisfying.
FQ: Are you interested one day in writing fiction? And are you currently working on something that you can inform readers about?
SOPLOP: Actually, I’ve had a draft of a novel sitting on my shelf for six or seven years that I furiously wrote during NANOWRIMO while my kids were in preschool two mornings a week. There’s a reason it’s still on the shelf. You need serious help! Every few years, I pick it up and do some tuning. Then I get overwhelmed and put it away again. Let’s just say I’m a better fiction editor than a writer. Although I think I’ll finish it at some point.
I am currently working on two projects. One is an ebook called Untangling the Self-Publishing Process that I plan to publish soon to empower freelance authors. The other is a much bigger project that I’m still researching and sketching out. It is a book to help non-scientists become more effective and responsible consumers of health and science news. I started planning this book before the pandemic, but now it seems more timely than ever. I think some people are realizing that they could probably use a little help in this area, even if they are generally educated and informed. Part of me wishes I had finished the book before the pandemic, so that it can help people navigate the deluge of research thrown at them. The other part of me has been fascinated to keep a close eye on the publicly developing science surrounding COVID-19, as well as the intense disinformation campaigns surrounding it. The book practically writes itself.