Guest Blogger: Phoebe Wray

Once again, I'm pleased to host a guest blogger. This time it's author Phoebe Wray, member and former President of Broad Universe, who now has three books and multiple short story publications to her credit.

I asked Phoebe to participate in the "Next Big Thing" blogging meme where an author answers ten set interview questions. Here are her answers.

1. What is the working title of your next book?

Still unknown… J3 is what I’m calling it in my head, but that’s not the final one and it’s doesn’t make sense. Probably something like Jemma7729: The Legacy.  Or maybe Jemma: The Legacy…

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?

Since this is a series, where the idea came from really goes back to why I wrote Jemma7729 seven years ago. It was because I was so pissed off about George Bush’s wars and waste of people and money. I sat listening the news and thought, “WHAT IF…there were a government so repressive it lumped all crimes and misdemeanors—from petty theft to murder—into one category: Inappropriate Behavior. That was the original title of the book. EDGE changed it when the published it.

3. What genre does your book fall under?

It’s science fiction. Sometimes additional categories… dystopian, futurist. The novels are set in 2241, in North America.

4. What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Hmmmm. Hadn’t really thought of that, although I do have ideas about Jemma7729 as a SciFi Channel movie. A younger Paget Brewster type would be terrific as Jemma. At the time I wrote it, and I thought about Angelina Jolie. And, as I am still totally in love with Stargate SG-1 (I want to go through that gate SO much)… I always saw Teryl Rothery,  who played Dr Fraser, as Annie.

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Unfair question!  I’ll quote what Louise Marley said… “Brave New World meets The Handmaid's Tale, with some serious ass-kicking along the way.”

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

J2 is published by Dark Quest Books.  EDGE Science Fiction & Fantasy published Jemma7729 but did not want to do a sequel. Dark Quest is publishing it as an ebook.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

I developed it from a long short story to the first novel draft in about a year.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I guess what Louise said, above. Actually, I had not read very many SF books by women when I wrote it. Have since, though.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

The idea. I’m interested in how we govern ourselves; how we make laws and what we consider putting bars around.

10. What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?

J2 is a clone. She’s like Jemma, but not really. She has no life experience, outside of the lab. Plus, she is aged artificially. The scientist who made her was investigating longevity in clones. I wanted to think about how we learn things, what can be taught, what’s in our genes… Her brain is “enhanced” with microchips. She can’t control that. She HAS to keep learning. It’s a minor but important theme in J2 and comes back to bite her in the third book.