Janet Edwards's Blog, page 24
February 27, 2013
Kirkus Reviews give Earth Girl a starred review and choose it as a Science Fiction and Fantasy highlight for March 2013
Kirkus Reviews give Earth Girl one of their starred reviews for books of exceptional merit, and choose it as one of their March 2013 Science Fiction & Fantasy book highlights.
“A disabled teen archaeologist works in fascinating, hazardous conditions on a far-future Earth.”
“Action, rich archaeological detail and respectfully levelheaded disability portrayal, refreshingly free from symbolism and magical cures, make this stand out.”
February 21, 2013
Less than two weeks to USA release of Earth Girl
It’s now less than than two weeks to the USA release of Earth Girl. Here’s the full cover spread of the beautiful USA hardback edition.
Cover Illustration (C) Himitsuhana Cover Design by Nicole Sommer-Lecht
January 18, 2013
UK and Commonwealth Cover Art for Earth Star
Voyager has posted the cover reveal for ‘Earth Star’ (book two of the ‘Earth Girl’ trilogy). Look out for ’Earth Star’ in the UK and Commonwealth on 15th August 2013. The first book in the trilogy,’Earth Girl’, is available now in the UK and Commonwealth, and will be published in the USA by Pyr on 5th March 2013.
Earth Star
18-year-old Jarra has a lot to prove. After being awarded one of the military’s highest honours for her role in a daring rescue attempt, Jarra finds herself – and her Ape status – in the spotlight. Jarra is one of the unlucky few born with an immune system that cannot survive on other planets. Derided as an ‘ape’ – a ‘throwback’ – by the rest of the universe, Jarra is on a mission to prove that Earth Girls are just as good as anyone else.
Except now the planet she loves is under threat by what could be humanity’s first ever alien contact. Jarra’s bravery – and specialist knowledge – will once again be at the centre of the maelstrom, but will the rest of the universe consider Earth worth fighting for?
Show More
Show Less
January 1, 2013
Farewell 2012, and welcome 2013
I’ve been reading everyone’s New Year posts, and decided I should write one myself. 2012 was quite a year for me. My debut novel, Earth Girl, was published by Harper Voyager in the UK and Commonwealth in August, and the German translation was published worldwide by Rowohlt in September. Holding a copy of your book for the first time is a very special moment.
One of the great things about reading New Year posts is I’ve discovered some of them mention Earth Girl. It was on Amazon.co.uk’s list of the best ten YA books of 2o12, and it’s also been chosen as one of their favourite books by several blogs. Bookaholics. A Fantastical Librarian. Read, Write and Read Some More. For Winter Nights. Endlessly Bookish. Guest post on Book Smugglers. (If I’ve missed anyone please let me know.) It’s great to know people have read and enjoyed my book.
So 2012 was a wonderful year for me and a lot of people helped make it that way. Thanks to my agent, my editor and the team at Harper Voyager, and my translator and the team at Rowohlt. Thanks also to fellow authors for their support, and to all the people who do things like running blogs about books, writing reviews, assisting helpless authors get their book entry right on Goodreads, and running conventions. Your efforts are deeply appreciated.
2012 is a hard act to follow for me, but I know 2013 is going to be exciting too. Earth Girl will be published in the USA by Pyr on 5th March. Earth Star, the second book in the trilogy, will be published in the UK and Commonwealth by Harper Voyager in August, and the German translation will be out from Rowohlt in September.
Happy New Year to everyone, or as people would say in the future Earth of my book – Happy Year Day 2013!
December 11, 2012
December 5, 2012
November 29, 2012
German cover for Earth Girl 2- Earth Girl. Die Begegnung
The German cover for the second book in the Earth Girl series, ‘Earth Girl. Die Begegnung’, is now up on Amazon.co.de, so I think it’s time to add a new page to my web site. See the cover here.
November 14, 2012
Next big thing…
I’ve been tagged by the very talented Amy McCulloch to take part in a meme that’s currently flying round writer’s blogs. Amy’s debut Young Adult fantasy-adventure, The Oathbreaker’s Shadow, will be published in June 2013. You can see her post on the ‘next big thing’ here.
Apologies for not being terribly organized about doing this meme. I’ve been away at a convention for half of this week, and suffering some computer problems the rest of the time, so I’m doing this very much at the last minute. That means I’ll tag some interesting authors, and link to their websites, but they may not actually complete the meme themselves.
1) What is the working title of your book?
Earth Girl has already been published, and I’m now working on the other two books in the trilogy. Earth Girl and the sequel Earth Star are both being published under their original working title. The third book in the trilogy has the working title Earth Flight.
2) Where did the idea come from for the book?
It came from some thoughts about how changes in society can make a disability more or less of a problem, or even create a whole new disability. For example, dyslexia wasn’t a problem until people invented writing. New gadgets are constantly appearing, becoming vital parts of normal life. What if some people couldn’t use a new technology? How would you feel if humanity could portal between hundreds of planets, but you could only survive on Earth?
3) What genre does your book fall under?
Earth Girl is a Young Adult science fiction dystopia set on Earth in the year 2788, but… It’s also for adults, the story is very much about people not science, and the characters sometimes have fun because their future Earth isn’t entirely a bad place.
4) Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I’ll pick some well known actors for this, but my characters are only eighteen so you have to use a bit of imagination.
Fian is easy. Most people will have seen Orlando Bloom as Legolas in Lord of the Rings. Take that image, make him younger but keep the stubborn determined look, and you’ve got Fian.
Jarra is hard, because I deliberately don’t describe her in the book, but she’s from a Military family. That means she’ll have ancestors from many different planets. I picture her with short, black, tangled hair. A bit like a young Halle Berry with a hint of Emma Watson.
5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
One sentence? That’s evil!
In the year 2788, Jarra is one of the despised handicapped who can only live on Earth, but she’s got a plan to prove that she’s just as good as the norms.
6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I’m represented by Ian Drury of Sheil Land Associates.
Earth Girl was published in August 2012 by the Harper Voyager imprint of HarperCollins in the UK and Commonwealth. Earth Star will be published in August 2013, with book 3 following in 2014.
Earth Girl has also been published in German translation by Rowohlt, and will soon be published in English in the USA by Pyr.
7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
The idea had been bubbling away in the back of my mind for about a year before I started writing. The totally raw first draft took six weeks. I then spent two weeks shuffling scenes and throwing away 10,000 words.
The plan was to put the book aside for a couple of months so I could get a fresh perspective, and then do some more detailed revising and polishing. What actually happened was I met an agent and editor a few weeks later, and ended up spending two days polishing before sending the book out.
8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre.
Always a hard question. Hunger Games, Divergent, Across the Universe, but more light hearted.
9) Who or What inspired you to write this book?
All the authors of all the books I’ve ever loved. Especially those, like Anne McCaffrey, who I read in my teens and twenties. They took me riding dragons, and flying spaceships, across fantastic worlds.
10) What else about your book might pique the readers’s interest?
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. She’s got a secret to keep, collapsing skyscrapers and roaming wolves to worry about, but the real problems start when she falls in love with one of the enemy
I’m tagging some other authors to answer the same questions next Wednesday, November 21st (Week 25). Do check out their blogs.
November 8, 2012
Earth Girl is in Amazon’s top ten YA books of 2012
I just came home to the exciting news that Earth Girl is in Amazon’s top ten YA books of 2012.
Tomorrow I’ll be going to Novacon, so please say hello if you’re there too.
November 7, 2012
Guest post on Bookaholics
For November 2012, Bookaholics and Book Passion For Life are hosting UK appreciation month. There’s a guest post from me about how writers are sometimes in a world of their own.
