Interview - Janet Edwards the autor of "Earth Girl"

The interview

1. Tell us something about yourself. How it started your passion for books, for written?

I always loved books as a child. Reading was a way to escape problems and difficult times.

2. What inspired you to write this book?

The book was inspired by thoughts about how fast technology was changing our lives, and how not being able to use things like computers could exclude you from taking part in things. There could be new technology in the future that some people couldn't use.

3. Music is part of your inspiration?

There is a piece of music which always makes me think of Jarra and her longing to be able to reach the stars.

4. See the world through new eyes since you become a writer?

There are times when I see something and think how it could fit into a current or future book. It also means I sometimes read a book in a different way, as a writer rather than a reader.

5. What was the think of the first person who read your book?

My husband was the first person to read my book. He liked it, but perhaps a husband has to say that!

6. If in real life you could choose to be one of the fantasy characters, what would it be? Why?

In my book, I think I might choose to be Issette, the best friend of my main character, Jarra. She has a far easier life than Jarra!

7. Got any other passion besides writing?

I like walking in the countryside and painting landscapes.

8. What advice would you give writers who are starting out?

You may have to spend several years writing before you learn to write well. Your first book may never be published, but don't be discouraged by that.

9. A message to readers from Romania:

It's wonderful to think people in many different countries are interested in my book. I never thought anything like this would happen to me. Thank you everyone.

Summary

2788. Only the handicapped live on Earth. While everyone else portals between worlds, 18-year-old Jarra is among the one in a thousand people born with an immune system that cannot survive on other planets. Sent to Earth at birth to save her life, she has been abandoned by her parents. She can’t travel to other worlds, but she can watch their vids, and she knows all the jokes they make. She’s an ‘ape’, a ‘throwback’, but this is one ape girl who won’t give in.

Jarra invents a fake background for herself – as a normal child of Military parents – and joins a class of norms that is on Earth to excavate the ruins of the old cities. When an ancient skyscraper collapses, burying another research team, Jarra’s role in their rescue puts her in the spotlight. No hiding at back of class now. To make life more complicated, she finds herself falling in love with one of her classmates – a norm from another planet. Somehow, she has to keep the deception going.

A freak solar storm strikes the atmosphere, and the class is ordered to portal off-world for safety – no problem for a real child of military parents, but fatal for Jarra. The storm is so bad that the crews of the orbiting solar arrays have to escape to planet below: the first landing from space in 600 years. And one is on collision course with their shelter.

About the Author

Janet Edwards lives in England. As a child, she read everything she could get her hands on, including a huge amount of science fiction and fantasy. She studied Maths at Oxford, and went on to suffer years of writing unbearably complicated technical documents before deciding to write something that was fun for a change. She has a husband, a son, a lot of books, and an aversion to housework.

You are welcome to chat to Janet on twitter.

Source about the author: Goodreads - Janet Edwards