Unremembered: Interview with Jessica Brody
Feb •
28 •
2013
Hello and Welcome!
“The only thing worse than forgetting her past… is remembering it.
When Freedom Airlines flight 121 went down over the Pacific Ocean, no one ever expected to find survivors. Which is why the sixteen-year-old girl discovered floating among the wreckage—alive—is making headlines across the globe.
Even more strange is that her body is miraculously unharmed and she has no memories of boarding the plane. She has no memories of her life before the crash. She has no memories period. No one knows how she survived. No one knows why she wasn’t on the passenger manifest. And no one can explain why her DNA and fingerprints can’t be found in a single database in the world.
Crippled by a world she doesn’t know, plagued by abilities she doesn’t understand, and haunted by a looming threat she can’t remember, Seraphina struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is. But with every clue only comes more questions. And she’s running out of time to answer them.
Her only hope is a strangely alluring boy who claims to know her from before the crash. Who claims they were in love. But can she really trust him? And will he be able to protect her from the people who have been making her forget?
From popular young adult author, Jessica Brody comes a mesmerizing and suspenseful new series, set in a world where science knows no boundaries, memories are manipulated, and true love can never be forgotten.”
Where did your love for writing for teens aspire from?
Actually it was an accident! A very happy accident. I was writing women’s fiction and I had two novels published when I got the idea for a book called The Karma Club. It would be about three 30-something women who banded together to take Karma into their own hands to get back at the people who had wronged them. I was so excited about the idea. I was convinced it would be my next women’s fiction title.
Well, unfortunately, my agent didn’t seem to agree. She said, “30-something women running around getting revenge on people? That’s kind of sad.” LOL! But I wasn’t deterred. I pitched her the idea a second time but as a teen novel. For some reason it didn’t seem as “sad” when the girls were 17 instead of 30. Go figure!
The problem was I’d never written a teen novel and had hardly read any recent teen novels so I was stumbling in the dark. I went to the bookstore, bought a whole bunch of YA titles, devoured them and then sat down and wrote the first 50 pages of the manuscript. I sent it to my agent with a cringe of insecurity on my face. But she wrote back and told me she loved it and encouraged me to finish it. “You have a really natural voice for a teen girl,” she told me. I wasn’t sure whether I should take that as a compliment or not, but regardless, I finished it and she sold it. I loved writing in that teen voice so much that I’ve been writing for teens ever since!
Why write for teens?
For me, it feels the most organic for my voice. But I also really enjoy teen stories. Those years are so formative and they shape who you are for the rest of your life! There’s so much to be learned and discovered when you’re a teen. So much is new and fresh and raw. It’s really such a treat to be able to tap into all of that as a writer. Plus, it’s like getting to relive your teen years all over again (from the safety of your office.)
Who are some authors who influence your work?
I think every book I read influences me in some way. Even the books I don’t enjoy manage to teach me something about how I want to write (or don’t want to write.) And every book that I love gets captured and stored in my inspiration vault forever. However, in my career (thus far), I’d say I’ve been most influenced by Sophie Kinsella, Alyson Noël, Meg Cabot, Helen Fielding, and Christopher Pike.
If you can dinner with any character from a book, who would it be?
Oh Gosh…SUCH a hard question! Too many to choose from!
My first thought was Edward Cullen because he’d be so delicious to stare at, but then I thought it would just end up being awkward because I would be the only one eating. He’d probably just sit there and watch me eat and no one likes to be on display like that.
My second thought was Galen from Of Poseidon because he would know all the best sushi restaurants but then things would just get ugly because I’d try to kiss him, Emma would walk in on us and probably kick my butt (because she’s a bad ass like that), I’d end up in one of those neck brace things for a month, miss all my book deadlines and the whole thing just wouldn’t end well.
Then I considered Wolf from Scarlet by Marissa Meyer but he’d probably insist on steak and I don’t eat red meat.
So I think I’ll go with someone safe like Pi Patel from The Life of Pi because he’s an excellent cook and an even better storyteller.
What books do you look forward to reading this spring?
I’m so behind on my to-read list I haven’t even started thinking about what’s coming out in the spring! I’m still trying to catch up with the books that are already out! Next up on my list is: Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor, Origin by Jessica Khoury, Forever by Maggie Stiefvater, and Throne of Glass by Sarah Maas (and I’m looking forward to ALL OF THEM!)
Thanks so much for answering my questions Jessica!
And now the clue. Who Is Seraphrina?
Happy Reading!
What a great interview. I love her indecisiveness about what book character she would have dinner with.
Oh love the interview. Plus I have so many of those books mentioned either read, on my tbr or wishlist. Looks like I need to read this book with so many in common!
Unremembered looks awesome! I’ll have to check it out! Loved the interview!
Star xx
Oh no kidding about it being awkward eating with Edward Cullen!
I have Unremembered and can’t wait to read it!
Author interviews are always so interesting to read–I like that she’s so into Edward Cullen, hah. But think how distracting all that sparkle would be! 😉
Thanks for the post.
Wendy @ The Midnight Garden
Thanks for the interviews. I am so intrigue with the excerpt that the book is a must read to satisfy my curiousity.
Very engaging sci-fi novel, full of twists but also spiced with romance. I loved the mystery caused by Sera’s complete loss of memory and her not being on the passenger manifest and her DNA being absent from every DNA database in the world, really managed to draw me in. The teenage girl, renamed Violet, finds herself in a foster family that includes her foster brother Cody, one of the most likeable and exciting characters of the novel. Zen, the boy, who claims Sera to have been in love with him, is also a sweet character, protecting Sera from the, to her, unknown world, and helping her to remember him. Sera’s unawareness of the world adds qualities of a newborn exploring the world to her character which I found very enjoyable. The novel’s ending is left open, however overall it ends well and there isn’t much of a cliff-hanger. I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a good book with a great plot.