Dystopian December - Megan Crewe!

by 12:30 AM 3 comments
(Thanks to the wonderful blogger behind Speculating on SpecFic for designing the banner!)


Interview with Megan Crewe!




Why did you decide to write dystopian fiction/post-apocalyptic fiction? 

I don't usually set out to write in a particularly genre. I get story ideas that excite me, and they happen to fall into one category or another. But there were a few different things that appealed to me about writing an apocalyptic story. I was noticing that a lot of the dystopians I was reading only briefly touched on what had happened to the world to change society so drastically, and I found myself more interested in finding out about that than about the dystopia itself. Writing a story where the world is falling apart gave me a chance to explore that in-between period. I love putting my characters in intense and extreme situations, to push them to their limits, and there are lots of opportunities for that in an apocalypse. And I wanted to capture all the emotions I imagined must come when you're faced with a completely changed world--a world in which all your former dreams and expectations are impossible. 

What, or who, has been the biggest influence in your writing? 

It's hard for me to pinpoint one main influence. I think I've been influenced by all sorts of people and things over the course of my life, in different ways. If I was going to pick one, I suppose I'd go with the books of Zilpha Keatley Snyder. I read everything I could find by her as a kid--my favorite childhood book is her THE CHANGELING--and the way she has of weaving bits of the fantastic into otherwise ordinary life is something I always admired, and have tried to capture in my own work. 

Tell us a little bit about The Way We Fall and the Dystopian world you have created.

THE WAY WE FALL is the story of a 16-year-old girl named Kaelyn, who's living on a small island off the coast of Nova Scotia when a mysterious and deadly virus starts spreading through her small town. Soon the government quarantines the island to try to prevent the virus from spreading, and Kaelyn has to struggle to keep herself and her loved ones safe. In the sequel, THE LIVES WE LOST, which is out in February, she leaves the island for the first time since the epidemic started, and readers will get to see what's happened to the rest of the world. To create the setting of the story, I had to spend a lot of time thinking about what would happen if there just weren't so many people around to run things. If almost everyone's getting sick and dying, what processes and systems are going to fail, and how quickly? There are so many things we take for granted that rely on human work, from groceries to electricity. I also had to think about how different people might react this desperate situation. Some are going to look out for themselves at the expense of others, and that's going to change society too. 

What do you think our future is going to be like? Can you see any similarities in the world that you’ve created and our world today?

To be honest, I really have no idea what the future will be like. I'm very curious to find out! I hope it's nothing at all like my world, since I've basically destroyed civilization as we know it. ;) I imagine technology and wireless communication will continue to play a larger and larger role in our lives, and that we'll have to deal with the many environmental problems that are starting to threaten us already. 

What will you be doing come December 21st? And if you survive? (Assuming, of course, it’s the end of the world!) 

I'm not particularly worried that the world really will end, so on December 21st I expect to be having a regular day, writing and hanging out online and spending time with my husband. And looking forward to celebrating my birthday the next day! But if some catastrophe does befall us, I think I'm a survivor. 

What would be your favourite dystopian/post-apocalyptic novel? 

It's so hard to pick favorites! I'm a big fan of Susan Beth Pfeffer's LIFE AS WE KNEW IT, which was part of the inspiration for THE WAY WE FALL. I also really enjoyed Courtney Summers' THIS IS NOT A TEST, which I read earlier this year. And I love the subtle technological dystopia in M.T. Anderson's FEED, which I think we can now call a classic. 

Thanks for including me!

Megan

Author Links:

Website - Blog - Twitter - Facebook - Goodreads -


The Lives We Lost - 
Megan Crewe
Released: February 12, 2013
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion


Synopsis: First, the virus took Kaelyn’s friends. Then, her family. Now it’s taken away her home.

But she can't look back—the life she once had is gone forever.


A deadly virus has destroyed Kaelyn’s small island community and spread beyond the quarantine. No one is safe. But when Kaelyn finds samples of a vaccine in her father's abandoned lab, she knows there must be someone, somewhere, who can replicate it. As Kaelyn and her friends head to the mainland, they encounter a world beyond recognition. It’s not only the “friendly flu” that’s a killer—there are people who will stop at nothing to get their hands on the vaccine. How much will Kaelyn risk for an unproven cure, when the search could either destroy those she loves or save the human race?

Megan Crewe's second volume in the Fallen World trilogy is an action-packed journey that explores the resilience of friendship, the ache of lost love, and Kaelyn’s enduring hope in the face of the sacrifices she must make to stay alive.

Other book in the series:



Win an ARC copy of The Lives We Lost - International!

Unknown

Reader, Blogger

Twenty-something | book-blogger | tea-drinker | procrastinator | wannabe-writer | student

3 comments:

  1. The Way We Fall was such a great book and the cover was my favorite of the year!

    ReplyDelete

Ooh yes, comments puh-leaaase :D