Author Interview: JA Souders previews Renegade

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!

Today we have Author JA Souders. Her debut RENEGADE comes out with Tor on November 13, 2012 and it sounds just like the sort of twisty tale I love.  So let’s dive in shall we?

Here’s the summary:

Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has trained to be an Enforcer, an assassin in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes as Daughter of the People, all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law.
 But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie. Her memories have been altered. Her mind and body aren’t under her own control. And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.
 Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb... and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all.

ETA the cover:

And the interview!

What do you think draws people to "dark" stories?

Wow, straight off to the hard questions.  LOL.  I think that this is one of those things that there isn’t just one answer; it’s probably a mixture of things.  Maybe it’s because it appeals to our more animalistic side.  Maybe it’s because we’re looking for something to relate to and our world is definitely not a happy fairytale with talking animals and happy ever afters (not that I don’t enjoy a good fairytale :P), or it could be that we’re looking for something that’s worse than we could possibly imagine that brings us to a mostly happy ending to make us feel better about our own situation and that there is something better to look forward to, no matter how bad a position we’re in.  More than likely it’s a mixture of those and more and I could spend hours getting into it all. 

If RENEGADE had a theme song, what would it be and why?

KEEP HOLDING ON by Avril Lavigne. It’s really perfect for the story because as the story progresses Evelyn learns that everything about her is a lie, and to her it feels like a kick in the head over and over.  Just when she thinks she’s got her feet under her again, someone else pulls the rug out from under her again.

What fictional character from another book would Evelyn Winters chose as her best friend and why?

Well, that depends on which Evelyn we’re talking about, but it would probably be Clary Fray from Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments books.  They’ve both had to deal with the fact that their entire world was turned upside down by meeting a boy from a different “world.”

What are your top 5 Dystopian lit recs and why?

HUNGER GAMES would definitely be my top one, then 1984, BRAVE NEW WORLD, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, ENDER’S GAME. (In no particular order).

What's on the top of your to-do list before the world ends? (you know, in case it ends next year)

Ooh, another hard question!  I think I’d go sky-diving and stuff like that.  If I’m going to die anyway, I might as well die happy.  :D

How does your novel stand out from other dystopian/post apocalyptic fiction out there?

There's a lot that makes my novel different, but it would be spoiler-y to say.  However, the biggest thing that makes it different than everything else is something I can say.  It takes place in an underwater society.  And no it's not about mermaids. LOL. But that would be freakin' awesome, too!

Thank you JA!

Visit JA’s website

Follow JA on Twitter @jasouders

Add RENEGADE to your GoodReads wishlist
JA also posts at Brave New Words, a group blog for YA sci-fi debuts in 2012