Today’s author, Marisa Noelle, is a prolific writer: her debut came out this year and book two will be published in a couple of weeks, with her third book out next year.
Tell us a little about your book and how you came to write it.
The Unadjusteds is about a 16-year-old girl, Silver Melody, who lives in a society where the all-species genome has been mapped. 80% of the population have genetic enhancements and disease has been eradicated. When the evil president imposes an enforced nanite law (the delivery method of the genetic modifications), the remaining 20%, the unadjusteds, are at risk of becoming extinct. She flees the city with her scientist father and must band with a group of unlikely friends to put an end to this genocide.
The inspiration behind it came from a love of science, a fascination with the cloning of Dolly the Sheep and the influence from my brother, who is a genetic scientist. I was intrigued by the idea of designer babies and how far humans might go in tampering with genes. I wanted to pose the question to our next generation: where do you draw the line?
What makes your book unique?
I think every book is unique, in that if two people wrote the same plot they’d come out as two different stories because of who the author is and the life experience they bring to their voice. More specifically, I think the concept of genetic modification in novels is relatively rare and it’s also within the realm of possibility in our near future. I wanted to bring a potential future issue into the open.
Your book will soon be in readers’ hands. Which part of being published are you most excited about?
Holding my book in my hands feels like the biggest achievement. I first came up with the concept over six years ago and so it’s been a long road with many re-drafts until I got to hold a physical copy. Also, I’m looking forward to readers enjoying the book (hopefully). I’d love them to be swept away by my story as I have been by my favourite books. I’m also quite excited about being able to sign readers’ copies!
What has been the most challenging part of your journey to publication?
There were two tough parts for me. Firstly, as this was one of the first novels I wrote, it took many re-drafts over the years as I learned more about my writing craft, to make it better and better. When I got to the editing stage with my publishing house and had to re-write 70% of the plot, I almost ran out of stamina!
The second tricky part for me was having a sensitivity reader. While sensitivity readers are very important to make sure offence isn’t caused to any one minority group, mine came in a bit late in the process and it threw up a couple of questions I wasn’t expecting or hadn’t foreseen. It took a while for my editor and I to work our way through the issues without disabling the authenticity of the science.
Do you have a writing mentor, or someone who has influenced your work?
All of the editors I’ve worked with have influenced my work. Each one has taught me something new about my writing that has improved my craft. I’ve worked with Diane Hale, who I met on the science fiction and fantasy Facebook page. I’ve also learned from Matilda Johnson with the Golden Egg Academy and my editor on this book, Haley, has taught me so, so much.
Even more so, I have a very close group of writing friends and we all beta read and critique each other’s work. I’ve learned an awful lot fro them and wouldn’t have achieved so much without them.
If there was one book that you could have written, other than your own, what would it be and why?
The Watchers by Dean Koontz. I adore this book. He has all the elements I love in a book; tension, science and a fast pace with dynamic, deep characters that you don’t want to say goodbye to. A close second would have to be Phillip Pullman’s Dark Materials Trilogy – I wish I’d come up with that idea!
What advice would you give to other writers hoping to publish a novel?
There are two things I always say. The first is to persevere. Writing is full of rejection – that is the norm, and if you get too bogged down by it you can lose heart and give up. You will only succeed it you keep trying. The second is related, and that is to find your tribe. Find other writers like you (I found mine on Twitter) and sharing the sting of those rejections is becomes more subdued. You can do writing sprints together and feel less lonely and it’s great to swap work to get feedback.
Is there a debut novel you’re particularly looking forward to reading in 2019?
I’ve read a lot of debuts this year and loved Milton the Mighty by Emma Read and The Year I Didn’t Eat by Sam Pollen. But the one on my to-be-read pile that I haven’t gotten to yet and I’m desperate to is Viper by Bex Hogan. I love pirates and fantasy and can’t wait for it to suck me in.
About the author
Marisa Noelle is the writer of middle grade and young adult novels in the genres of science-fiction, fantasy and mental health. The Shadow Keepers is her first novel. The Unadjusteds is due out in November 2019 and The Mermaid Chronicles – Secrets of the Deep in Spring 2020. When she’s not writing or reading or watching movies, she enjoys swimming. In the pool she likes to imagine she could be a mermaid and become part of some of her make-believe words. Despite being an avid bookworm from the time she could hold a book, being an author came as a bit of a surprise to her as she was a bit of a science geek at school. She lives in Woking, UK with her husband and three children.
You can find The Unadjusteds on Amazon. Visit Marisa’s website or follow her on Twitter.