writing, stuff and nonsense: Author Interview; Jade Kerrion

Jade Kerrion is the Author of the award winning Double Helix series and as being kind enough to stop by and answer some questions.

How did you come up with the Double Helix series?

My undergraduate major from the Johns Hopkins University was in Biology and Philosophy, and I thought it was finally time to make some money off my college degree! On a more serious note, I wanted to write a novel that challenges our definitions of perfection and of humanity (without once mentioning the word “vampire.”) Science has been making one breakthrough after another in the area of genetic engineering, and the future depicted in Perfection Unleashed is more likely than most of us would believe.

Your love of science is evident in your books but well explained to novices like me, how easy/hard was it to write in terms that people without your knowledge would understand?

It’s like packing for camping. Pack everything you think you need, and then eliminate half of the things from the list. Likewise, for the scientific explanations, I wrote as much as much as I thought was necessary, and then deleted half of it.

How do you juggle your writing life with your family life?

With a fair amount of difficulty. I’m fortunate to have a very understanding and supportive husband. None of what I’ve done could have happened without his partnership.

If you could invite one author dead or alive to dinner who would it be?

I would love to talk to Neil Gaiman. His Sandman series is fantastic. I love the way he weaves reality and mythology from a variety of sources into a seamless whole. It’s flawlessly put together. At first, you see only the threads, many of which do not seem to make sense, but at the end, it always comes together in a breathtaking tapestry of stunning complexity.

What is your favorite writing ritual? Is there a Favorite place beverage/snack/music that gets you writing?

I don’t really think I have a writing ritual. I’m fairly well-trained to write at any place and any time. That said, I love writing to the soundtrack from Final Fantasy: Advent Children. The music is triumphant and heroic—the celebration of the unlikely hero who finds a way to forgive himself and in so doing, saves himself and the world. I think it captures the essence of Danyael Sabre (the protagonist of the Double Helix series) Also, I think the chorus of the song Beautiful World, from Westlife, exemplifies Danyael’s courage and compassion:

I never thought that I was that strong to carry on, carry on tonight

Forgiveness in your eyes, with nothing to hide

All I know is you've shown me it's a beautiful world, it's a beautiful world

What is the last book you loved reading?

I really enjoyed Linell Jeppsen’s most recent novel, Onio. It’s a beautifully written fantasy about a Sasquatch and a young woman who cannot hear. I highly recommend it.

Have you got a favorite character from the Double Helix series that you loved to write?

Zara’s always fun to write, but I think my favorite is Danyael Sabre. Danyael has many facets. On the one hand, he is a doctor who works insane hours for little pay at a charity clinic in Brooklyn, New York. On the other hand, he is an alpha empath. He controls emotions and channels pain. Physical and emotional pain fuels his deadly mutant powers; with a touch, he can heal or kill. Craving privacy and solitude, he shields both his mind and emotions, but we catch tantalizing glimpses of his courage and compassion.

Even among the alpha mutants who redefine the boundaries of power in a world transformed by the Genetic Revolution, Danyael is rare and coveted by many who desire to control him and his power. His hard-won normal life is upended when Zara Itani, a mercenary whose abrasive attitude exceeds even her beauty, frees Galahad, the lab-created perfect human being from his laboratory prison. Danyael learns that his genetic code was used as Galahad’s physical template; that kind of news is enough to wreck even the best day…

What's next? More Double Helix?

Yes! More Double Helix. When the Silence Ends, a YA novel featuring Dee and Dum (with significant guest appearances from Danyael and Zara) will be released shortly. Earth-Sim, an occasionally whimsical and frequently irreverent novel about Earth’s history as seen through the eyes of the two students and android assigned to manage it, will be coming out in 2013, and I’m currently working on a new novel tentatively titled City of Eternal Night. Once that’s done, I’ll turn my attention back to the main Double Helix series and start working on the fourth novel in the series.

What advice would you give to wannabe writers?

keep writing, and be committed to excellence. Whether you choose traditional or self publishing, writing requires dedication to the art, a dedication to always getting better.

There is much to learn from other authors, from writing manual' seminars, from critique groups, from editors... the list goes on.

Finish this sentence. When I am not writing I am...

…thinking about writing. It’s terrible, I know. I think I’m well past the stage of needing inspiration; writing is more of a compulsion now. In general, I have a compulsive personality; people like me should never get exposed to alcohol, cigarettes, or recreational drugs—we’re easy prey. Years ago, computer gaming and writing used to go hand-in-hand for me. My characters from my computer games inspired my writing. Since then, however, my characters have taken on a life of their own and thus, I have been freed to happily obsess about them without needing the occasional computer gaming boost to sustain them.

Thank you Jade for stopping by :)

Author Bio:

Jade Kerrion unites cutting-edge science and bioethics with fast-paced action in her award-winning Double Helix series. Drawing rave reviews for its originality and vision, and described as “a breakout piece of science fiction,” Perfection Unleashed, and its sequels, Perfect Betrayal and Perfect Weapon, are available in print and e-book through Amazon and other major retailers.

Synopsis

His genetic code sourced from the best that humanity offers, Galahad embodies the pinnacle of perfection. When Zara Itani, a mercenary whose abrasive arrogance exceeds her beauty, frees him from his laboratory prison, she offers him the chance to claim everything that had ever been denied him, beginning with his humanity.

Perfection cannot be unleashed without repercussions, and Galahad’s freedom shatters Danyael Sabre’s life.

An alpha empath, Danyael is rare and coveted, even among the alpha mutants who dominate the Genetic Revolution. He wields the power to heal or kill with a touch, but craves only privacy and solitude—both impossible dreams for the man who was used as Galahad’s physical template.

Galahad and Danyael, two men, one face. One man seeks to embrace destiny, and the other to escape it.

The award-winning Double Helix series, consisting of Perfection Unleashed, Perfect Betrayal, and Perfect Weapon, will challenge your notions of perfection and humanity, and lead you in a celebration of courage and compassion. Science fiction, urban fantasy, and action-adventure readers will enjoy this thrilling roller-coaster ride as it twists and turns through a world transformed by the Genetic Revolution.

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