Oppression Blog Tour: An Interview with Jessica Therrien and a Review of Oppression
I'mthrilled to be interviewing Jessica Therrien today as part of her Oppression Blog Tour. I met Jessica during the Third Writers' Platform-Building Campaignand was immediately drawn to her clear love of writing and enthusiasm. Herfirst novel, Oppression, debutedFebruary 28, 2012 from ZOVA Books.
Stay tunedafter our interview for my review of Oppression.
Welcome, Jessica, and congratulations on yourfirst book!
ThanksTia! I'm really excited. J
Tell us about Oppression.
You'dthink summarizing my own book into a paragraph would be easy, right? Honestly,I'm horrible at that, so I'm going to cheat and give you the back cover blurb. ;)
Elyseknows what it means to keep a secret. She's been keeping secrets her wholelife. Two, actually. First, that she ages five times slower than the averageperson, so that while she looks eighteen years old, she's closer to eighty.Second, that her blood has a mysterious power to heal. For Elyse, these thingsdon't make her special. They make life dangerous. After the death of herparents, she's been careful to keep her secret as closely guarded as possible.Now, only one other person in the world knows about her age and ability. Or soshe thinks. Elyse is not the only one keeping secrets. There are others likeher all over the world, descendants of the very people the Greeks consideredgods. She is one of them, and they have been waiting for her for a long time.Among so many of her kind, she should not be very remarkable--except for theprophecy. Some believe she will put an end to traditions, safeguarded byviolence, which have oppressed her people for centuries. Others are determinedto keep her from doing just that. But for Elyse, the game is justbeginning--and she's not entirely willing to play by their rules.
Oppression is Book One in the Children of the Gods series. What is thecurrent status of the series?
Book twois in the works. The manuscript is about 80% complete. I'm just tying thechapters together at this point. ZOVA Books will be publishing it sometime nextyear.
Book threeis in my head. I have a simple outline (one I probably won't stick to, becauseI never do).
I'vealways envisioned the series as a trilogy, so book four hasn't been thoughtthrough, but you never know where the story will take you.
What was the hardest scene you ever had towrite? Why?
Thehardest scenes for me are those where big things happen. I want them to beamazing, so I'm really hard on myself. Even as I'm writing book two, I've leftthe most pivotal chapter for last. I still haven't completely finished it.
In your bio, I read that you studied Chinese andlived in Taiwan. How did this experience affect your writing and passion for language?
I'vealways loved language, and I do have a special love for Chinese. It's anamazing feeling to be able to communicate in a different language, but learningChinese did make me appreciate English. I wrote a lot of poetry in Taiwan, andrealized that I could only truly express myself creatively in my mother tongue.That's probably true for most people. Take poetry by Pablo Neruda for example.His poems were originally written in Spanish, and though they are beautiful inEnglish, they don't have the same emotional significance as they do in Spanish.
Do you plan out your story in advance or preferto let your characters and ideas take you on a journey?
Mycharacters always walk their own paths. I try to control them, plan out theirfutures, but they never listen. My creative brain likes to go where it wants.
What was the last book you read that surprisedyou?
Blood RedRoad was a wonderful surprise. I don't know what I was expecting when I openedthe book, but it wasn't the honest, raw, and strangely beautiful voice I found.Saba is one of the best characters I've ever encountered.
Finally, for fun, what's your favorite way toget the creative juices flowing when the words aren't coming?
It dependson my mood. If I'm lazy, I'll opt for a good episode of The Vampire Diaries.There are twists and turns around every corner, and it reminds me to write theunexpected. If I'm feeling nostalgic, I'll turn on some music. If I'mdesperate, I turn to good books. They always inspire me to write the very bestI can.
Thanks fora wonderful interview, Tia!
Thank you, Jessica.
*****Review
Elyse is awonderful character that embodies the wisdom of old age with the innocence ofyouth. She's known deep loss and deep friendship, but she's never been kissed.Or, at least not until she meets the alluring William.
Williamexplains to Elyse that she's not alone, that there are others like her, and she'san important component in how their kind will survive. Her parents had kept herhidden to keep her safe, but it's time for her to learn more about her kind andher abilities. There are others who want her dead, to make sure the prophecydoesn't come to pass. Who can she trust?
So much ofthe novel is about fate and choice. Elyse struggles with the idea of her futurebeing set in stone, beyond her control. She's determined to make her own way,but will it change anything?
I love astory that takes off on page one and doesn't let you go, not even at the end.There's something for everyone… romance, action, intrigue, fantasy, emotions, anda long list of compelling and interesting characters. Beyond Elyse and William,I found myself most drawn to Sam, a descendant of Dionysus who can cause peopleto have various amounts of alcohol in their blood, and Kara, a girl forced todo unimaginable things. But is she bad?
The endingleaves you wanting, no needing, the next book in the series. Who survives? Whatdoes the prophecy really mean? Plus, the romantic in me wants more William andElyse.
JessicaTherrien has crafted an intriguing tale full of characters to care about andquestions to ponder.
Rating: 5 stars
Hard tobelieve this book is available for 99 cents, but only for a limited time!
For moreinformation on Oppression:GoodReads Barnes & NobleAmazon
For moreinformation on Jessica:GoodReadsBlogTwitterFacebook
*****FromJessica's Blog Tour page: Over the next 15 days I'll be collecting comments from allof the blog tour stops. At the end, I'll pull one lucky winner out of a hat.They'll win an Oppression poster, an Oppression notebook, and a signed copy ofOppression. Thanks in advance to everyone who checks out the blog tour posts,and thanks to all of the bloggers who were nice enough to invite me over to theirblogs.
Stay tunedafter our interview for my review of Oppression.
Welcome, Jessica, and congratulations on yourfirst book!
ThanksTia! I'm really excited. J
Tell us about Oppression.
You'dthink summarizing my own book into a paragraph would be easy, right? Honestly,I'm horrible at that, so I'm going to cheat and give you the back cover blurb. ;)
Elyseknows what it means to keep a secret. She's been keeping secrets her wholelife. Two, actually. First, that she ages five times slower than the averageperson, so that while she looks eighteen years old, she's closer to eighty.Second, that her blood has a mysterious power to heal. For Elyse, these thingsdon't make her special. They make life dangerous. After the death of herparents, she's been careful to keep her secret as closely guarded as possible.Now, only one other person in the world knows about her age and ability. Or soshe thinks. Elyse is not the only one keeping secrets. There are others likeher all over the world, descendants of the very people the Greeks consideredgods. She is one of them, and they have been waiting for her for a long time.Among so many of her kind, she should not be very remarkable--except for theprophecy. Some believe she will put an end to traditions, safeguarded byviolence, which have oppressed her people for centuries. Others are determinedto keep her from doing just that. But for Elyse, the game is justbeginning--and she's not entirely willing to play by their rules.
Oppression is Book One in the Children of the Gods series. What is thecurrent status of the series?
Book twois in the works. The manuscript is about 80% complete. I'm just tying thechapters together at this point. ZOVA Books will be publishing it sometime nextyear.
Book threeis in my head. I have a simple outline (one I probably won't stick to, becauseI never do).
I'vealways envisioned the series as a trilogy, so book four hasn't been thoughtthrough, but you never know where the story will take you.
What was the hardest scene you ever had towrite? Why?
Thehardest scenes for me are those where big things happen. I want them to beamazing, so I'm really hard on myself. Even as I'm writing book two, I've leftthe most pivotal chapter for last. I still haven't completely finished it.
In your bio, I read that you studied Chinese andlived in Taiwan. How did this experience affect your writing and passion for language?
I'vealways loved language, and I do have a special love for Chinese. It's anamazing feeling to be able to communicate in a different language, but learningChinese did make me appreciate English. I wrote a lot of poetry in Taiwan, andrealized that I could only truly express myself creatively in my mother tongue.That's probably true for most people. Take poetry by Pablo Neruda for example.His poems were originally written in Spanish, and though they are beautiful inEnglish, they don't have the same emotional significance as they do in Spanish.
Do you plan out your story in advance or preferto let your characters and ideas take you on a journey?
Mycharacters always walk their own paths. I try to control them, plan out theirfutures, but they never listen. My creative brain likes to go where it wants.
What was the last book you read that surprisedyou?
Blood RedRoad was a wonderful surprise. I don't know what I was expecting when I openedthe book, but it wasn't the honest, raw, and strangely beautiful voice I found.Saba is one of the best characters I've ever encountered.
Finally, for fun, what's your favorite way toget the creative juices flowing when the words aren't coming?
It dependson my mood. If I'm lazy, I'll opt for a good episode of The Vampire Diaries.There are twists and turns around every corner, and it reminds me to write theunexpected. If I'm feeling nostalgic, I'll turn on some music. If I'mdesperate, I turn to good books. They always inspire me to write the very bestI can.
Thanks fora wonderful interview, Tia!
Thank you, Jessica.
*****Review
Elyse is awonderful character that embodies the wisdom of old age with the innocence ofyouth. She's known deep loss and deep friendship, but she's never been kissed.Or, at least not until she meets the alluring William.Williamexplains to Elyse that she's not alone, that there are others like her, and she'san important component in how their kind will survive. Her parents had kept herhidden to keep her safe, but it's time for her to learn more about her kind andher abilities. There are others who want her dead, to make sure the prophecydoesn't come to pass. Who can she trust?
So much ofthe novel is about fate and choice. Elyse struggles with the idea of her futurebeing set in stone, beyond her control. She's determined to make her own way,but will it change anything?
I love astory that takes off on page one and doesn't let you go, not even at the end.There's something for everyone… romance, action, intrigue, fantasy, emotions, anda long list of compelling and interesting characters. Beyond Elyse and William,I found myself most drawn to Sam, a descendant of Dionysus who can cause peopleto have various amounts of alcohol in their blood, and Kara, a girl forced todo unimaginable things. But is she bad?
The endingleaves you wanting, no needing, the next book in the series. Who survives? Whatdoes the prophecy really mean? Plus, the romantic in me wants more William andElyse.
JessicaTherrien has crafted an intriguing tale full of characters to care about andquestions to ponder.
Rating: 5 stars
Hard tobelieve this book is available for 99 cents, but only for a limited time!
For moreinformation on Oppression:GoodReads Barnes & NobleAmazon
For moreinformation on Jessica:GoodReadsBlogTwitterFacebook
*****FromJessica's Blog Tour page: Over the next 15 days I'll be collecting comments from allof the blog tour stops. At the end, I'll pull one lucky winner out of a hat.They'll win an Oppression poster, an Oppression notebook, and a signed copy ofOppression. Thanks in advance to everyone who checks out the blog tour posts,and thanks to all of the bloggers who were nice enough to invite me over to theirblogs.
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