Sci-Fi Month: Interview with Janet Edwards + Giveaway

EEEEEE! On this second Saturday of November, I have one of my ABSOLUTE favourite sci-fi authors: Janet Edwards! Janet is the author of the amazing Earth Girl- which has some of the most incredible world building ever (and being a world building nerd...*FLAIL*). Anyway, Janet has generously donated a signed copy of either Earth Girl or Earth Star, so read the interview (these answers seriously have to be some of my favourites EVER), then enter the giveaway!

A sensational YA science fiction debut from an exciting new British author. Jarra is stuck on Earth while the rest of humanity portals around the universe. But can she prove to the norms that she’s more than just an Earth Girl?

2788. Only the handicapped live on Earth. While everyone else portals between worlds, 18-year-old Jarra is among the one in a thousand people born with an immune system that cannot survive on other planets. Sent to Earth at birth to save her life, she has been abandoned by her parents. She can’t travel to other worlds, but she can watch their vids, and she knows all the jokes they make. She’s an ‘ape’, a ‘throwback’, but this is one ape girl who won’t give in.

Jarra invents a fake background for herself – as a normal child of Military parents – and joins a class of norms that is on Earth to excavate the ruins of the old cities. When an ancient skyscraper collapses, burying another research team, Jarra’s role in their rescue puts her in the spotlight. No hiding at back of class now. To make life more complicated, she finds herself falling in love with one of her classmates – a norm from another planet. Somehow, she has to keep the deception going.

A freak solar storm strikes the atmosphere, and the class is ordered to portal off-world for safety – no problem for a real child of military parents, but fatal for Jarra. The storm is so bad that the crews of the orbiting solar arrays have to escape to planet below: the first landing from space in 600 years. And one is on collision course with their shelter.

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As this interview is a part of Sci-Fi Month, I'm going to start by asking a few questions about science fiction:
1. What do you think is the appeal of Science Fiction?

 For me, I think it’s the endless number of possible world settings for stories. Earth Girl is set in the future Earth of the 28th century, but Science Fiction settings aren’t limited to this planet, or even to the future. You can have worlds almost exactly like Earth today, or wildly different alien planets, or an Earth in an alternate time line where key historical events were different. As both reader and author, I feel like a child let loose in a huge sweet shop.

2. Why did you decide to write Science Fiction?

I don’t know if everyone has a tendency to write a genre they read as a child, but it was very natural for me to write science fiction. I read so much of it as a child, that it has seeped into my bones.

And now onto the more random questions:
3. AH! You've just noticed both Jarra and Fian are hanging from the edge of a cliff and there are only seconds before they're about to fall. You can save only one of them. Who would you save?

When I first read this, I thought it was an evil question, but actually there is only one possible answer. I would have to save Fian, because otherwise Jarra would kill me. Of course, Fian would probably want to kill me too, but I’m more scared of Jarra.

4. Which of the off-world sectors would you like to live in? Or would you prefer to live on Earth? 

Tricky decision, but I think I’d choose to live on Earth. I’d love to walk through the sprawling wildernesses of the partially abandoned Earth of the 28th century, and visit some of the settings for scenes in the books. Particularly the reclaimed, flower covered deserts of the Pyramid Zone, and the glowing ruins of the last city built on Earth.

5. Can you give any hints of what's to come in the third and final book of the Earth Girl series? 

At the start of the trilogy, Jarra broke the rules of a society that doesn’t just consider people like her to be second class citizens, but barely human. She joined a class of norms, pretending to be one of them. By the start of book three, she thinks she’s met every sort of insult and prejudice, but she’s no idea about the scale of the storm heading in her direction. An Earth girl is famous now, and that changes everything. Oh and funnily enough, someone really does fall off a cliff!

6. If you could put Jarra into any other book, which book would it be and why? 

I could imagine her in the Hunger Games. With her temper, Jarra could never stand by watching kids being sent off like human sacrifices. She’d be fighting to free the districts from the cruel rule of the Capitol.

7. Would you consider writing genres other than sci-fi?

I love sci-fi, but I’d certainly consider writing fantasy. In fact, I’ve already experimented with writing in the areas of both fantasy and urban fantasy.

8. Since this blog is named Looking for the Panacea, what would be your Panacea Candidates? (One general, one sci-fi, if possible) 

Aagh, this is the question I always hate. I’ve read so many books, and I’ve loved so many books at different times for different reasons. Choosing is always impossibly hard. Whatever I pick now, I know I’ll change my mind within minutes, but at this particular second . . . For a general Panacea Candidate, I’ll go for something old that I’ve read dozens of times. Pride and Prejudice. For the other, I’m very tempted by several fantasy candidates, but I think I should pick something that’s science fiction. There’ve been a lot of favourite science fiction books over the years, but because Pride and Prejudice is very old, I’ll pick something very new this time. Fair Coin by E.C.Myers, because the first chapter really grabbed me, and because I’m always fascinated by alternate worlds.

Giveaway Details:

• Open internationally i.e. to everyone!
• There will be one winner who wins a signed copy of either Earth Girl or Earth Star
• You must be 13 or older to enter, and have your parents' permission if under 18
• Giveaway ends on 23rd November
• Winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to respond whereupon their details will be forwarded to the author
• We are not responsible for any items lost or damaged in the mail

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