Interview - Janet Edwards

Hi Janet, first off I just want to say it is so totally zan to have you on the blog today!

About the book

-Earth girl is set in the year 2788, is there a particular reason you chose this date or was it picked at random?

It didn’t have to be exactly 2788, but it did have to be somewhere near that year. A lot of events have happened between our time and the time Jarra is living in. Once I worked out my future timeline, it put me near the end of the 28th century.

-It’s established very early on that in the setting of Earth girl humanity has become a lot more technologically advanced, is this how you see our future in the real world?

Technology should be far more advanced by the 28th century, but they had the collapse after Exodus century. It should be possible to have their medical science. I’d love portals too, but they’re a lot more difficult.

-Jarra is such a great character, I loved her no nonsense attitude, is she based on yourself or anyone you know?

I never base characters on real people, so Jarra only exists in the 28th century. I’d been thinking through the future world and society for about a year, wondering how to make a story from it, when Jarra came from nowhere. She didn’t just have a chip on her shoulder, she had an entire forest, and she had plans! 

-Since the invention of the portals humans have gone on to colonise a whole lot of new planets and are still going, how many do you think they’ll decide is enough before their resources are stretched too thin?

Humanity overdid the expansion in Exodus century, and civilisation nearly fell apart. In the 28th century they have an official sustainable growth plan that limits the number of new colony worlds being settled to a certain percentage of the number of established worlds. They have about two hundred inhabited worlds in each of five sectors, they’re already working on the sixth sector, and plan to colonise four more sectors over the next two centuries. I don’t think they’ll stop until they get into trouble again. 

-It’s hard not to notice that all the planets are named after characters in mythology, I’m wondering, are these colonised planets in their constellation counterparts?

No it’s far less organised than that. The first colony world was called Adonis almost by chance. Some politician tried to get the next world named after him, so they hurriedly made a rule that worlds had to have names from mythology. They just think of a random name and check it hasn’t already been used. There is the occasional world name that breaks the rules, like Winter and Academy, but those weren’t intended to be colony worlds.

About you

-In relation to the previous question, are you a fan of mythology? I love the Greek tales myself :)

There were several years when I read a lot of mythology. Especially Greek and Roman of course.

-Jarra has a real love of history, are you a history buff yourself?

I didn’t study history, but I’ve always been interested in it. Jarra’s history lecturer would strongly disapprove of me, because I concentrate on my favourite periods of history and ignore all the boring bits.

-Earth is a pretty sweet place to live but I could also see myself as a nice Deltan girl, how about you?

That’s a difficult question. There are some amazing places in Jarra’s future Earth that feature in the later books, and I’d love to be one of the archaeologists exploring them. If I had to choose a sector, then I’m tempted by Beta sector if I could be in the right clan. Jarra is an Earth girl, and knows very little about Beta sector in book 1. Her two Betan classmates are from a very disreputable pseudo clan, so aren’t helping her discover the true Betan culture. She learns more about that later.

-When you’re not writing, what kinds of books do you like to read?

The obvious areas of SF, fantasy and young adult, but also historical fiction, comedy and classic detective stories.

-Did you always know you wanted to become a writer when you grew up?

I always loved books. I didn’t want to be a writer as a child, because it seemed far too impossible a dream. I’m still having a few problems believing that my book is being published.

Random

-Are there any TV actors you think have nice legs?

I think my current vote goes to Ian Somerhalder

-What’s your favourite dessert?

Anything with chocolate.

-If a tree falls in the woods and there’s no one around, does it still make a sound?

Yes, it says aaargh!

-Coca cola or Pepsi?

It’s Monday so Pepsi

-And last of all, are you a Bookaholic?

I’ve just been calculating the total length of bookshelves. Does 200 feet of books qualify me as a Bookaholic? Probably!

Thanks so much for chatting with us today!

Janet Edwards grew up in prosaic England, but also shared the lives of amazing people in fantastic worlds. She explored the past, the future, the paranormal, the alternate Earths, and the worlds beyond the fields we know or hidden in the shadows of our own reality. Her guides were books written by authors, some still famous and some already forgotten. Those authors have hundreds of individual names, but they have one title in common. They were all Expert Dreamers.

After growing bored with work involving tedious technical facts, Janet made a break for freedom through a magical wardrobe and is now training as an Apprentice Dreamer. She has a husband, a son, a lot of books, and an aversion to housework.

Chat to Janet Edwards on Twitter. She is also on Facebook.

Earth girl - Check out my review here.

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. But can she prove to the norms that she’s more than just an Earth Girl?

This is YA science fiction with a smart, feisty heroine, incredible world-building and plenty of wit. Earth Girl is set in a distant future where humanity has learned how to portal off-world and explore other parts of the universe… except for those unfortunate few whose immune system can’t handle living anywhere else but Earth. Jarra is one of those few, but she’s determined to prove that just because she’s confined to the planet, doesn’t mean she can’t reach for the stars.