Get ready to learn more about the book One Light: Beyond the Portal in this discussion with sapphic author Michelle Arnold.
Join us for an exclusive peek behind the scenes as we quiz Michelle Arnold about One Light: Beyond the Portal, writing, reading, and more.
This book is part of the Illinois category in the 2026 IHS Reading Challenge.
Why did you write One Light: Beyond the Portal?
This book was positively fighting to get out! The idea of peeling back a wall to discover another universe, of someone having a gift that allowed her to do that, had been knocking around in my head for ages but wasn’t connecting to anything. Unrelated, a friend and I had running jokes about what we were doing in an Alternate Universe – mainly because we live far apart and like to imagine there’s a universe where we live across the street from each other. The imagined universe became more and more elaborate over time, with me making up the perfect wife for myself in this universe. Initially my made-up wife had a lot of money because that would certainly solve a bunch of my problems, but then I saw the movie Everything Everywhere All At Once and was struck by a particular line: “In another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you.” It was a reminder that while we always wish for a life with no struggles, the happiest life might just be one where you have someone struggling alongside you. As I found myself faced with the reality of probably having to leave behind a job I loved because my chronic illnesses were making it really hard for me to do my job, I finally conceived of the character who could peel back walls and see other universes: Ari, who was facing the same struggle I was but with a loving (and not remotely wealthy) wife by her side. I enjoyed contrasting her health and work struggles with her exploration of her gift and how far she could go with it, and a beautiful love story ended up playing out across multiple dimensions. I began writing the book on what ended up being my last day of work and it very much became my coping mechanism as I adapted to not having a job anymore.
Who is your favorite character in the book?
I’d have to say Mandira, probably because I wrote from Ari’s point and view and she’s in love with Mandira. I love how she has a big heart about wanting to help everyone they meet and her determination in believing that if something needs to be done, then there must be a way. I also love the way that everything has meaning to her. She’s always thinking in moral or spiritual terms. She sees every situation as a chance to do good, and we could use more people like that in the world! I saw a joke once though that said authors just split up different aspects of their personality into different characters, and there’s some truth to that. Mandira certainly borrows some things from me. She’s very protective of her wife, which is how I am with people I love, and she’s got some of my weird quirks too. Her reaction to seeing a spider is 100% the way I used to be (I’m better now).
What was the biggest challenge writing this book?
What made this book different from other books I’ve written is that I started writing it with only the concept in my head and no idea where I was going with it. Every time I started a new chapter, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but it just flowed and surprised me many times. Mandira was particularly strong-willed when it came to doing things I hadn’t actually planned for her to do. Normally I have an outline before I start writing a boo, so the whole pantsing thing freaked me out a little, but it just felt right for this book!
What part of One Light: Beyond the Portal was the most fun to write?
Every interaction between Ari and Mandira was a joy to write. It was fun writing an established couple because they already know each other’s quirks and they already have their own couple routines. They know each other intimately from the get go, so instead of writing about two women discovering each other, I got to write about two women who already fit together perfectly figuring out how to deal with some bizarre situations. This is a bit of a spoiler, but there’s one universe in which Mandira caved to family pressure and married a man, and he’s abusive. The Ari and Mandira we know get creative in helping her to escape that marriage and messing with the horrible husband’s head while they’re at it, and that was probably my very favorite bit to write.
How did you come up with the title for your book?
My working title was Beyond the Portal, but when I was nearly ready to publish, it occurred to me to search that title and well…a lot of books are called Beyond the Portal! I decided to go for the romantic angle instead. Since Mandira is Sikh, I had read about Sikh wedding traditions while imagining what her and Ari’s multicultural wedding would have been like. I came across a line from Sikh scripture that said “They are not said to be husband and wife, who merely sit together. They alone are called husband and wife, who have one light in two bodies.” Obviously, this would have had to be paraphrased at Ari and Mandira’s wedding, but the concept of the two of them being “one light in two bodies” is mentioned more than once in the book, so I thought “One Light” would be a fitting title, especially since there is kind of a soul mates theme with them finding al these alternate versions of themselves who also need to be together. I left “Beyond the Portal” as a subtitle both to convey the fantasy/sci fi aspect of the book and to give it a series name should I end up publishing a sequel…
How much research did you need to do for One Light: Beyond the Portal?
The good news is that I didn’t have to research Ari’s medical conditions at all because I just gave her conditions I have (I also gave one of my medical conditions to Mandira, because I’m that generous). So I guess my medical research was very method because I researched it by living it! Yikes. Most of my research was focused on Mandira’s religion and culture, and I did really absorb myself in that for a good year. I read Sikh scriptures, a book giving an overview of Sikh beliefs and practices written by a Sikh feminist, articles on Sikh websites describing beliefs about marriage and arguing in favor of accepting LGBTQ Sikhs. I even wandered onto a Sikh forum one day and read an argument members were having over whether Sikhism should recognize same-sex marriages. That was very useful because seeing the arguments for and against helped me visualize what the family conversations would have been like when Mandira came out. I tried unsuccessfully to find a sensitivity reader (which bugs me to this day), but I did talk my faraway friend into attending a Sikh festival in her area that was open to the public and got her to ask strangers some of my burning questions. I still worry about what I might have gotten wrong, but I built in a couple excuses for this. One is that nearly everything you hear about Sikhism in the book comes from Mandira, who is sharing her own personal interpretation that in many ways differs from the ideas she was raised with. The other is that everything is seen through Ari’s eyes, and Ari is neither Sikh nor Indian, so her understanding may not always be accurate – just like me!
Where do you usually write, and what do you need in your writing space to help you stay focused?
I typically write at my laptop, which I normally keep on a desk in the corner of my living room, next to a window. I’ve worked hard to make this space as comfortable as possible. My laptop is on a little platform so I’m not looking down at the screen, and I use a USB keyboard on a tray. My chair has lumbar support and even a headrest. The window gives me natural light, and I have a perch for my cat next to the window so she can sit beside me. However, with One Light I actually wrote a good bit of the first draft by pen, in a Doctor Who journal. If I’m writing by hand, it absolutely must be with a Pilot Precise rolling ball pen, the kind with a little window where you can see the ink slosh around. I love the way the ink flows with those.
How do you celebrate when you finish your book?
I don’t really celebrate. I kind of mope around asking what people do all day when they’re not writing books because I can’t remember anymore.
Do you have a pet who helps/hinders your typing?
My cat Lily Belle is a long-haired Siamese mix who is very social, so she interrupts my writing a lot! She doesn’t like me being overly focused on anything that isn’t her, so she’ll demand that I pet her or play with her. She’s a total sweetie though. She’s incredibly affectionate and basically Velcroed to me. I don’t know what I did to deserve to be her human.
What do you do to get inside your character’s heads?
When I’m doing regular stuff like household chores or watching TV, I imagine my characters doing the same thing and think about what their houses look like, what conversations they have with each other while doing everyday things, which one is very particular about how the dishes should go in the dishwasher and which one just shoves them in any old way, etc. Maybe none of that will come up in the book, but it makes the character three-dimensional in my mind, which hopefully helps me write them that way.
Have you ever fallen in love with one of your characters?
Mandira. I want her to be real so I can marry her! She’s so beautiful, such a deep thinker, and so patient with her wife’s health issues. I need someone like that!
What type of books do you enjoy reading the most?
I will read practically any genre, but I’m currently on a sci-fi binge. I love to imagine what other planets might be like and all the ways they might be different from Earth, and I especially like it when the planet is actually a nice place to visit and the beings encountered there are welcoming. I want a fun adventure, not something like Alien where it was a horrible mistake to ever leave Earth. I want something that excites my imagination.
What books did you grow up reading?
I grew up reading a lot of different genres, so I guess not much has changed! What’s relevant to this book is that I read a lot of fantasy with characters traveling to other worlds, like The Chronicles of Narnia and A Wrinkle in Time. I loved the idea of another world being right around the corner. I’ve definitely carried that with me over the decades, and that’s obviously where the portal concept in One Light came from!
