Samantha Kimmey is a woman with many titles: She’s a West Marin local, a former journalist from the Point Reyes Light, the current store manager at Point Reyes Books and, very soon, she’ll be able to add published author to that already impressive list, with the upcoming release of her debut novel, The Extremities!
“I’ve always been a big reader,” said Kimmey. “When I was applying to college, there was no question that I was going to get an English degree. It was my primary interest. It still is. I liked writing, reading, words in general. When you’re young, you might not have as much to write about, but I tried because it has just always been an interest of mine for as long as I can remember. I’ve had ups and downs in terms of the frequency and regularity of my writing, but it’s always been a part of my life in some way or another.”
The Extremities! plunges readers into the vivid world of a young newspaper reporter who loses the ability to type after developing mysterious, debilitating pain in her hands. As she struggles to come to terms with the illness’ lasting, life-changing effects, she embarks on a search for answers, and maybe even a cure. Through her physical pain, the protagonist digs into her own past, questioning whether her symptoms stem from trauma, poor posture or something else entirely. Relatable, right?
“When you work on something for as long as I’ve worked on this book, you can pretty easily lose your sense of objective perspective,” explained Kimmey. “But I think it’s safe to say that the book is a little strange. A little offbeat. So, if you’re into books that get a bit weird, if you’re interested in language or in the unknowable depths of what it means to be alive, you may enjoy reading.”
The Extremities! is a fictional story that is loosely based on Kimmey’s own experience dealing with a mysterious pain that appeared in her hands and, at the height of her journalism career, made typing a painstaking ordeal. Writing is already challenging. But to write professionally without typing is something else entirely.
“I was at The Light in 2016 when, suddenly, I developed this really intense pain in my hands,” explained Kimmey. “It was pretty much immediate with the onset, and I found I couldn’t type through it. When I’d press my fingertips to the keys, I’d get this pain shooting up my hands and forearms.
“At first, I thought or hoped it would go away quickly. I went to a doctor, who wasn’t that concerned. In the end, it lasted in its acute phase for two years, which was much longer than I anticipated or hoped for. I was at The Light for a year after the pain started; I was kind of dealing with that, using voice software to compensate, which was much less prevalent than it is today. I just couldn’t type at all,” she continued.
“Over the course of those two years, I went to quite a lot of people, trying to figure out what was going on,” recalled Kimmey. “Or, rather, I was just trying to find someone who could get rid of this excruciating pain I had whenever I typed. The way it manifested was acute pain if I tried to type, or if I spent a long time washing dishes or other stuff like that … but typing was the worst, and it triggered the pain the most by far.”
In light of her condition, she had to grapple with the profound changes it set in motion. At first, that meant finding alternative ways to work, like using voice-to-text software to keep writing even without the full use of her hands. But after a year at The Light primarily relying on that technical workaround, she made a pivotal decision: She chose to step back from her work as a journalist to instead rest, reevaluate and then decide what she wanted to do next.
As it turns out, leaving the newsroom she knew for the blank slate of an unknown future led her to a role she loves as store manager at Point Reyes Books. And, ultimately, to writing and publishing her debut novel, too.
“I quit the paper, and I think it was the very next week that I started writing a draft of this novel,” said Kimmey. “Though, in retrospect, it probably wasn’t a good idea to start writing all this while I was still in the middle of it.”
While there are many overlaps and similarities between Kimmey and the protagonist of The Extremities!, she is very clear in her stance that the book is solidly rooted in fiction, not fact. Although the circumstances are similar, the person in the story and the one who wrote the story are not the same.
“To be clear, this book isn’t autofiction,” stated Kimmey. “It’s based on my experience, but there are quite a lot of fictional elements, though it was obviously greatly inspired by the health crisis I had.”
With that separation established, there’s no spoiler alert needed to share that she did, in fact, find treatment and relief after two years of acute pain. Whether the protagonist of The Extremities! will be so lucky is another story entirely.
“It took some time to sell the book, which is not unusual, but it’s still a scary place to be when you’ve poured your heart and soul into something like a novel,” explained Kimmey. “For a while, it was unclear if I’d find a publisher to sell the story to, and that was a scary time and very stressful. But when we did sell it, that was just so, so exciting. I’m still super excited, and so glad that I took a chance on it.”
“I got to hold a copy of my book as a physical object in my hands not long ago, and it made me realize the thing I worked on for so long … now it feels like 90% real,” concluded Kimmey. “The official release date for The Extremities! is Oct. 7, but it will probably be more or less available starting in September. Of course, Point Reyes Books will be selling it … which will be funny, having my own book for sale there, since I’m working four days a week and will probably see the people who buy it because I’ll be the one ringing them up.”
To learn more about Kimmey and ‘The Extremities!’ or to preorder a copy of Marin’s new local novel, visit ptreyesbooks.com.
