Author Interview: CJ Redwine previews Defiance

For my spotlight on upcoming dystopian/post apocalyptic fiction series, I interviewed over 20 authors with novels coming out in the genre in 2012/13.  These are exclusive first looks at exciting new works.  Enjoy!

Greetings to our latest initiate to Dystopian August – Author CJ Redwine! Her debut, DEFIANCE, is the first in a post-apocalyptic/fantasy trilogy that features a kick-ass heroine and a fire breathing dragon. It will be out August 28, 2012 with Balzer & Bray (HarperCollins).

Here’s the summary:

Within the cloistered walls of Baalboden, beneath the shadow of the city's brutal leader, Rachel Adams has a secret. Other girls know how to sew dresses, host dinner parties, and meekly obey their assigned male Protectors. Rachel knows how to kill a man before he realizes he should've drawn his sword. When her father fails to return from a courier mission across the dangerous Wasteland between city-states and his apprentice is named as her new Protector, Rachel expects Baalboden to send out a search party. Instead, her father is declared a traitor by another city's leader and declared dead by her own. Left with nothing but her fierce belief in her father's integrity and survival skills, Rachel decides to escape her city's walls and find him herself. But committing treason against her leader comes with a heavy price, and what waits for her in the Wasteland is enough to destroy her. 

At nineteen, Logan McEntire is many things. Orphan. Outcast. Inventor. And new apprentice to Baalboden's number one Courier. A former street rat who turned his life around by sheer determination, Logan is focused on learning his chosen trade so he can finally have the means to escape the tyranny of Baalboden. He never expects to become responsible for his mentor's fiery, impulsive sixteen-year-old daughter. Logan is determined to protect her, for Jared's sake. But when his plan for escape goes wrong and Rachel pays the price, he realizes he has more at stake than disappointing Jared.

As Rachel and Logan battle their way through the Wasteland, stalked by a monster who can't be killed and an army of assassins from another city-state, they discover romance, heartbreak and a truth that will incite a war two decades in the making.

ETA the cover:

And the interview!

Why do you think people are drawn to "dark" stories?
I think heroism shows up in stark relief against a dark backdrop. When a story dares to plumb the darkness of the human soul or paint the bleakest outcome of the human condition, the hard-won happy ending means so much more. And to me, stories that are "dark" have so many little moments of truth and real hope. I love to read a story where I just don't see HOW hope can triumph because when it does, it renews my own hope. :)

If DEFIANCE had a theme song, what would it be and why?
"A Star-crossed Wasteland" by In This Moment. It's especially perfect for DEFIANCE because the ruins of the world that used to be are called the Wasteland. But it's also a song about losing almost everything, and still yearning for hope, which is exactly where my hero and heroine live throughout the story.

What fictional characters from another book would your main characters chose as a best friend and why?
Logan: Hmm ... this is a tough one. I guess I'd have to say Sherlock Holmes because Logan lives in his head, constantly deducing and calculating, and thinking twelve steps ahead of everyone else. But he's also scary-fierce with a sword and once he unleashes what he keeps under tight control, there's no stopping him, so he'd be friends with the sexy, smart-talking warrior Sherlock Holmes as played by Robert Downey, Jr. Not the stuffy, overcoat-wearing version I used to envision when I read the books as a girl.

Rachel: She doesn't really know what to do with other girls, and she appreciates a leap first, look around for danger later approach. She has a surplus of courage, mostly because if something must be done, and it's in front of her, she'll do it. And she does a lot of improvising when her back is against the wall. Plus, she understands loss on a soul-deep level, so I think she'd be best friends with Katniss.

What are your top 5 Dystopian lit recs and why?
1.The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins- I'm not sure there's a YA-reading person left on the planet who hasn't read this yet, but if so, let me assure you it is literary crack. Don't start it at night unless you don't care about sleeping. You've been warned. The world is instantly compelling, the story is fierce, sad, triumphant, and compulsively readable. Literary crack. I promise.

2. V is for Vendetta by Alan Moore - Incredibly incisive and intelligent. Absorbing. Thought-provoking in that spine-tingling way that leaves you with chills because you aren't sure if you're rooting for good, evil, or some new force that combines the two in a way that leaves you breathless with yearning for something you don't really want to name.

3. Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry - I think this is technically billed as a zombie novel, not dystopian, but it is post-apocalyptic and the re-ordered world, the constant danger (and the REAL source of danger being something less obvious than the zombies), and the dark examination of what society looks like when reduced to rubble and forced to rebuild make this a dystopian enough to warrant a mention. Especially because I love this book with an unbridled passion. It's told from a fifteen-year-old boy's POV, and is masterfully done. It's at once funny, scary, and achingly sad. I can't recommend it enough.

4. The Giver by Lois Lowry - Told in spare, stark prose, this story cuts deep. The examination on the cost of conformity, and of giving up our creativity to serve what the government deems a higher good, is masterful, and makes the hero's ultimate act of heroism absolutely fabulous.


5. 1984 by George Orwell - I love Orwell's writing, and this book arguably gave birth to the dystopian genre. This is the book that gave us the term "Big Brother" and introduced us to the idea of a government controlling our thoughts and subjugating the individual in favor of society. It's a classic, and is probably on everyone's list, but I just couldn't put together a dystopian rec list without including it.

What's on the top of your to-do list before the world ends? (you know, in case it ends next year)
Well, first I'm going to figure out a plan to rule the world. Just for a day. Um ... considering my track record, that will probably be the day of the Apocalypse, so prepare accordingly.

How does your novel stand out from others the the genre?
Mine is actually a post-apocalyptic fantasy with dystopian elements. Hope, what it costs and what it's worth, are huge elements. Plus, there's a fire-breathing dragon in it. And cute boys with swords. =D Also, each city-state across the Wasteland has its own laws and culture, reflective of the values its leader holds, which means the dystopian elements present in Baalboden are twisted and reformed (for better or worse) in the other cities.

Thanks CJ!

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