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.
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.
