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Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Interview and Giveaway Deprogrammed (The Emile Reed Chronicles #2) by Nicole Sobon

Description:

Every choice that you make has a consequence.

When Emile Reed went back to Vesta Corp to save her loved ones, she'd been deprogrammed. Thirteen had regained control, forcing her to become a prisoner inside of her own body. She has been left to live alongside Thirteen, able to hear everything that occurs around her, but unable to react…until she sees him.

He reawakens her past and gives Emile the strength she needs to overpower Thirteen. Having regained control of her body and her mind, Emile now has to face the fact that her past decisions have hurt those that she loves the most: her family.

Alexis Ward never meant to hurt anyone, but she did.

Her choices ended up hurting both Emile and Hayden Reed, effectively ending their lives outside of Vesta Corp. When her uncle brings her to Vesta Corp, trying to force her into taking part in the family business, Alexis is forced to face the consequences of her decisions when she comes face to face with both Hayden and Emile.

In order to survive, they’ll need to let go of their pasts, and find the strength within themselves to fight back against McVeigh.

MB's INTERVIEW
Thank you, Mrs.Sobon
Usually the novellas (0.5 - Program 12 and 1.5 - Allegiance) are not a must read in a series but I saw your recommendation to not read Deprogrammed before them. What do you think about this intermediary stories in general and why are they important to be read before Deprogrammed in particular? 
When I initially wrote Program 12, long after I’d finished edits on Program 13, I had no intention of linking it with the rest of the series. It was meant to be a one-off. Jessica and Twelve were characters that were not supposed to appear outside of Program 12

It was kind of the same thing with Allegiance. I had never intended on writing any digital shorts between the novels. In fact, Allegiance didn’t exist until mid-2012, when I re-published Program 13. 
I knew what I wanted to do with Emile, and how her story was going to end, but I also knew these characters that had previously only served as secondary characters, would play a large part in her story. 

Because of this, I ended up tying in both Program 12 and Allegiance to Deprogrammed

The actual story in Program 12 takes place very early on in Program 13, but for me, it serves more as an introduction to the characters the readers will really get to meet in Deprogrammed. You’ll need to read Program 12 to understand what has happened to them prior to the events in Deprogrammed

As for Allegiance… that actually leads directly into Deprogrammed. If you’ve read both Allegiance and Deprogrammed, you’ll notice that the first chapter of Deprogrammed is the final chapter of Allegiance. This one is super important for readers to read before diving into Deprogrammed because unlike the first book, Program 13, Deprogrammed is told through dual POVs. It features both Emile and Alexis. (Allegiance kind of explains why their stories are tied together.) 

I like intermediary stories, but I know that not everyone does. This is why I try to keep them short. For me, they are a way to tie in stories, while also offering readers another viewpoint. 

I don’t know about the younger readers, but reading the book 1 description I thought at Robocop (the first movie). The SF book world is a hard one so how and what do you do to be original and fresh? 
I’ve heard the Robocop thing a lot, actually! The idea for Program 13 came to me while watching the short-lived television show, Dollhouse. If you’ve watched the show, it is easy to see where I drew inspiration from, but you’ll also notice how different it is. 

I knew once I started writing Program 13 that it’d be a hard sell to the general public, especially since the story itself is rather dark at times. But this was a story that I needed to write, even if nobody ended up understanding it, because this was a story that I wanted to read. 

I’ve had this series plotted out since January 2011, when I completed the first draft of the first book. I knew how Emile’s story would end, but I still hadn’t completely figured out how it would get there. 

Since 2011, there have been a lot of YA sci-fi novels releasing that were along the same lines as Program 13, which has made it more of a challenge for me to make sure that the Emile Reed Chronicles to stands out. On one hand, it sucks, but on the other? Being forced to keep your series fresh and exciting is a good thing. 

Honestly, I’ve found the best way to keep a series original is to write for yourself, not for the public. 

How do you create a believable SF world? 
I think the best way to create a believable SF world is root it in reality. 

I set the Emile Reed Chronicles in Seattle, Washington after I visited there in 2011. I’ve done my best to keep the imagery as real as possible outside of Vesta Corp, since I want people to lose themselves in the story instead of trying to figure out where the heck it is taking place. 
Sure, you can take some liberties in fiction (there are elements of this series that’ll never happen in real life, and I know that), but you have to base it in reality for readers to truly connect with it. 

Can the technology change the human nature? 
The technology in the Emile Reed Chronicles does in fact alter human nature. It makes humans unable to think on their own, to control their movements, and to feel. It makes it so that they are forced to operate under the control of Charles McVeigh. 

Do you think that SF genre is still attractive for the general public or is just for its fans? 
I think it is more so a genre for its fans than it is the general public, really. Not everyone likes SF, and that is completely understandable. It seems to be word of mouth that pulls in the general public more than an appreciation of the genre.

About the author:
Nicole Sobon is the Young Adult ficiton writer of the exciting Emile Reed Chronicles, the Outbreak Duology, No Place Like Home, and various short stories.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Foarte interesanta cartea.Mi-ar placea sa o citesc.

NicoleSometimes said...

Thanks for taking part in the tour!

Christine Merritt said...

I just picked up the first book as I want to read them in order. Thank you for the review...

Kai said...

I haven't read any of the books yet but will do. Thanks for the giveaway.