Conversations with Cathy: Simon Stephenson, author of Set My Heart to Five

Join us for a visit from former Pixar screenwriter and author Simon Stephenson-- he and Library Director Cathy Russ will be in conversation about the writing life as well as his new novel, Set My Heart to Five. Delectably entertaining and deceptively moving, Set My Heart to Five is a profound exploration of what makes us human and a love letter to outsiders everywhere.

About the book: Jared works as a dentist in small-town Michigan. His life is totally normal, except for one thing. He is a bot engineered with human DNA to look and act like a real person.

One day at a screening of a classic movie, Jared feels a strange sensation around his eyes. Everyone knows that bots can't feel emotions, but as the theater lights come on, Jared is almost certain he's crying. Confused, he decides to watch more old movies to figure out what's happening. The process leads to an emotional awakening that upends his existence. Jared, it turns out, can feel.

Overcome with a full range of emotions, and facing an imminent reset, Jared heads west, determined to forge real connections. He yearns to find his mother, the programmer who created him. He dreams of writing a screenplay that will change the world. Along the way, he might even fall in love. But a bot with feelings is a dangerous proposition, and Jared's new life could come to an end before it truly begins.