Interview with author of "Starseed" Liz Gruder
“Starseed” by Liz Gruder centers on Kaila, a unique sixteen-year-old girl, struggling with the challenges of growing up, in particular being bullied at school, who meets a boy Jordyn, an extraterrestrial sent to earth on a mission. The two fall in love, but that isn’t the only change Jordyn brings to Kaila’s life. She learns, through knowing him, that she is also half extraterrestrial herself.
As much as “Starseed” is about aliens and young love it is also about growing up and being forced to make difficult decisions along the way.
Let's hear what Liz has to says about her sci-fi romance, "Starseed", out February 5, 2013.
Q: Did you write Starseed with a particular audience in mind?
A: I don’t believe in writing to a particular audience. I think an author has to write their story, with their vision—within whatever genre confines--and the audience will gravitate toward the material—or not. If you write for a particular audience you could get stage fright and wonder, will they like this? Should I say that? That stifles what you really want to say. Or, you could end up with formulaic, predictable, imitative fiction. Write within your genre what you want to say and the audience will find you.
Q: Like many sci-fi novels, Starseed has a prominent romantic storyline. Why do you think sci fi and romance are such a good combination?
A: Sci-fi can scare some readers off -- believing it to be inaccessible (too “out there” or concept driven). A romantic storyline can make sci-fi more emotional and accessible. While Starseed takes place in normal Earth settings like high school and home, it encompasses elements of “fringe” science such as multi-dimensions, teleportation and telepathy. Falling in love is one of life’s most sublime emotions. In Starseed, the lovers are half-human, half-alien, so by fully opening to love, it illustrates what it means to be human.
Q: Is there a genre you haven’t yet explored as an author but would like to?
A: This past fall I took a Writers’ Workshop with the New Orleans Arts Council. I wrote (and am still editing) a collection of ghost stories. While short story collections are a tough sell, I did it solely to have the freedom to improve my craft and explore different characters, situations and voices. I will always write speculative fiction.
Q: If Starseed was made into a movie would you want to write the screenplay yourself?
A: Though I’ve taken a screenwriting course (ha!), I think fiction writing and screenwriting are two different skillsets. I’d prefer a skilled screenwriter to convert the book to a movie. Most published authors will relate that it took many, many unpublished words to become published and it’s the same for screenwriting. Plus, to have another vision added to the mix: perhaps they’d view the scene where Jordyn teleports Kaila to Egypt completely different and add something inside the pyramid I hadn’t thought of to make it more visually stimulating. Whereas in fiction, you can describe a character’s thoughts, screenwriting is a purely a visual medium. You “show” everything. There are fabulous, creative screenwriters out there -- they know better than me what works on screen.
Q: Do you personally identify with either Kaila or Jordyn, if so, how?
A: I identify with both Kaila and Jordyn in that sometimes I wonder why I am on this planet—I shake my head with what people do to each other. After watching the evening news, you might imagine how aliens might view us. So high school was the perfect place to depict how cruel people are to one another, making fun of anyone who is different, shy, or not “cool” according to group standards. We all recall certain people who were called names and bullied. I cringe when I see people belittled or bullied. Some people need to tear down others to build themselves up. But I take the stance that people--and ETs--can be benevolent or malevolent. If we, as a species, could evolve beyond war and control, and instead of tearing each other down, accept and love one another, there’s hope for this planet. Tall order, I know.
Q: Who are some of your biggest influences as an author?
A: As a kid, the first thing I ever bought with my allowance was A.A. Milne’s illustrated Winnie the Pooh. Not gum or comics (which came later, but a book). Later, reading Edward Eager’s Magic by the Lake, and Half Magic by flashlight under my covers while imagining magic coins and time travel made me hold his books with reverence and true, first love. I didn’t want to return them to the library. Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web, Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach made me realize imagination had no limits. Then, reading Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, I realized I wanted to be like Jo, a writer. To this day, I have to slash 19th-century prose, because I went through a binge as a young adult loving Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, the Brontes, Ambrose Bierce, etc. As an adult, I read historical fiction, romance, literary fiction, sci-fi, chick-lit—and of course, YA. But it was these early books, I think, that first seeded my imagination with fantastic possibilities.
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/LizGruder
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LizGruder
Website: www.lizgruder.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorlizgruder
Amazon link to Starseed: http://www.amazon.com/Starseed-ebook/...
As much as “Starseed” is about aliens and young love it is also about growing up and being forced to make difficult decisions along the way.
Let's hear what Liz has to says about her sci-fi romance, "Starseed", out February 5, 2013.
Q: Did you write Starseed with a particular audience in mind?
A: I don’t believe in writing to a particular audience. I think an author has to write their story, with their vision—within whatever genre confines--and the audience will gravitate toward the material—or not. If you write for a particular audience you could get stage fright and wonder, will they like this? Should I say that? That stifles what you really want to say. Or, you could end up with formulaic, predictable, imitative fiction. Write within your genre what you want to say and the audience will find you.
Q: Like many sci-fi novels, Starseed has a prominent romantic storyline. Why do you think sci fi and romance are such a good combination?
A: Sci-fi can scare some readers off -- believing it to be inaccessible (too “out there” or concept driven). A romantic storyline can make sci-fi more emotional and accessible. While Starseed takes place in normal Earth settings like high school and home, it encompasses elements of “fringe” science such as multi-dimensions, teleportation and telepathy. Falling in love is one of life’s most sublime emotions. In Starseed, the lovers are half-human, half-alien, so by fully opening to love, it illustrates what it means to be human.
Q: Is there a genre you haven’t yet explored as an author but would like to?
A: This past fall I took a Writers’ Workshop with the New Orleans Arts Council. I wrote (and am still editing) a collection of ghost stories. While short story collections are a tough sell, I did it solely to have the freedom to improve my craft and explore different characters, situations and voices. I will always write speculative fiction.
Q: If Starseed was made into a movie would you want to write the screenplay yourself?
A: Though I’ve taken a screenwriting course (ha!), I think fiction writing and screenwriting are two different skillsets. I’d prefer a skilled screenwriter to convert the book to a movie. Most published authors will relate that it took many, many unpublished words to become published and it’s the same for screenwriting. Plus, to have another vision added to the mix: perhaps they’d view the scene where Jordyn teleports Kaila to Egypt completely different and add something inside the pyramid I hadn’t thought of to make it more visually stimulating. Whereas in fiction, you can describe a character’s thoughts, screenwriting is a purely a visual medium. You “show” everything. There are fabulous, creative screenwriters out there -- they know better than me what works on screen.
Q: Do you personally identify with either Kaila or Jordyn, if so, how?
A: I identify with both Kaila and Jordyn in that sometimes I wonder why I am on this planet—I shake my head with what people do to each other. After watching the evening news, you might imagine how aliens might view us. So high school was the perfect place to depict how cruel people are to one another, making fun of anyone who is different, shy, or not “cool” according to group standards. We all recall certain people who were called names and bullied. I cringe when I see people belittled or bullied. Some people need to tear down others to build themselves up. But I take the stance that people--and ETs--can be benevolent or malevolent. If we, as a species, could evolve beyond war and control, and instead of tearing each other down, accept and love one another, there’s hope for this planet. Tall order, I know.
Q: Who are some of your biggest influences as an author?
A: As a kid, the first thing I ever bought with my allowance was A.A. Milne’s illustrated Winnie the Pooh. Not gum or comics (which came later, but a book). Later, reading Edward Eager’s Magic by the Lake, and Half Magic by flashlight under my covers while imagining magic coins and time travel made me hold his books with reverence and true, first love. I didn’t want to return them to the library. Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web, Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach made me realize imagination had no limits. Then, reading Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, I realized I wanted to be like Jo, a writer. To this day, I have to slash 19th-century prose, because I went through a binge as a young adult loving Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, the Brontes, Ambrose Bierce, etc. As an adult, I read historical fiction, romance, literary fiction, sci-fi, chick-lit—and of course, YA. But it was these early books, I think, that first seeded my imagination with fantastic possibilities.
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/LizGruder
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LizGruder
Website: www.lizgruder.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorlizgruder
Amazon link to Starseed: http://www.amazon.com/Starseed-ebook/...
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Jennifer K. Lafferty, author of Movie Dynasty Princesses, reviews a wide range of books and discusses various aspects of contemporary and classic literature.
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