E.A. Smiroldo’s First Book, Called The Silent Count with a Theme Centered on Climate Change, Hits Shelves

In the new cli-fi thriller, main character Dara Bouldin proposes a plan to mitigate the consequences of climate change.Her idea is bold, daring, it just might work, but the problem is, nobody is listening. 

Dara works for the government, but unfortunately none of her superiors even know she exists. Until someone at the CIA takes notice. 

While Dara struggles with a rockstar ex-lover, a father who she needs to take care of, and her own crushing student loan debt, she gets  sucked into the center of a global conflict.

The Silent Count is a dramatization that examines how leaders react to a situation that may be horrifyingly real. Think of the hit movie: “Don’t Look Up.”

In the Netflix sensation, “Don’t Look Up”, two astronomers end up going on a public relations media tour to warn the world about a planet-killing comet that they discover is hurtling toward Earth. However the response from a world more concerned with pop stars and making money, is not what they expect.

 The movie features Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep and many other celebrities. It has similarities to “The Silent Count” in many striking ways. One of the first questions we asked author E. A. Smiroldo is about the similarity between her book and the theme of the film.

Question: If The Silent Count were to be made into a film or television series, who would you want to play the lead role? Why?

Answer. Dara Bouldin could be played by Millie Bobby Brown from the Netflix series “Stranger Things,” who currently portrays Eleven. In my book, Dara learns to harness her inner strength as the story progresses. Millie Bobby Brown has shown this emotional complexity in her portrayal as Eleven in the television series “Stranger Things.”

Question: What is the most crucial lesson you want readers of your book, The Silent Count, to learn and what do you want to impart to the rest of the world?

Answer. Why can’t we take action against climate change that truly resolves the issue? After all, we created the atomic bomb, we sent a human to the moon, and our scientists have developed vaccines during the epidemic in record time.

Question: Ms. E. A. Smiroldo, author of The Silent Count, please share with our audience a truth about yourself that no one else is aware of…

Answer. I secretly love collecting Barbie dolls and even making outfits for them.

Question: We asked E. A. Smiroldo what book actually made her cry while reading it, and why did she feel that way while reading it?

Answer. Halldor Laxness’s book “Independent People” won him the 1950 Nobel Prize for Literature. The book is about a poor Icelandic sheep farmer. His own self-destructive independence turns out to be his tragic flaw. In the end when he reconciles with his dying, estranged daughter, it is absolutely heartbreaking.

Question: What would your perfect getaway entail?

Answer. Confessing my dream get-a-way would be Antarctica.

Question: What if a genie gave you three wishes, Ms. E. A. Smiroldo?

Answer. Obviously the first wish would be a real and workable solution to the climate crisis. Second would be for us to develop a cure for cancer. And the third wish is peace around the world. .

Question: What inspires you to write?

Answer. The human condition.Themes of heartbreak, jealousy, and grief all work their way into my writing.

Question: Who should read your book “The Silent Count“? Why is this book so important for readers around the world today?

A. I think readers who want a better world and dream of bringing about change through their ingenuity will find a kindred spirit in my book’s protagonist. They will be able to identify with and relate to the emotional highs and lows of dreaming big. And I sincerely hope there will are lots of people who fit this description!  

Q. E. A. Smiroldo, could you please explain how you came up with the title for your novel, The Silent Count?

A. “The Silent Count” refers to a countdown of time happening all around us but that we cannot hear. Time is slipping away from us, whether we realize it or not, because we have spent years doing nothing to address climate change and making very little progress in that direction.

You can check out The Silent Count on Amazon.

For more information about E.A. Smiroldo, you can visit her website or find her on Facebook and Instagram.