NOMAD by JL Bryan
Expected publication: July 26th 2013
Links: Goodreads
They took everything: her family, her home, her childhood.
By the age of nineteen, Raven has spent most of her life in the sprawling slums of America, fighting as a rebel against the dictatorship. When the rebellion steals an experimental time-travel device, she travels back five decades to the year 2013. Her plan: assassinate the future dictator when he is still young and vulnerable, long before he comes to power. She must move fast to reshape history, because agents from her own time are on her trail, ready to execute her on sight.
Interview
Krisha: We love
the versatility of the characters and we are very excited for the release of
Nomad on July 26th so that everyone will get to know Raven. If any of your
characters were real, who would be your best friend? Worst enemy?
Jeff: Let
me think. I don’t know why I typed
that, because this is a written interview. I think my favorite character to have around would be
Grizlemor the goblin from the fairy books. I would just be entertained by his grouchily magical
presence.
I
have some pretty evil villains, so it’s hard to pick the worst enemy...
Katie: You've
written stories about Faeries, Humans with Special Abilities, and now
Futuristic Time Travel... is there anything you won't write about?
Jeff: I
probably won’t write Westerns or books where cats solve mysteries. I really just keep exploring wherever
my imagination takes me, and I don’t try to artificially restrict things by
genre. That probably hurts me
commercially, but I don’t want to write the same things again and again. I
always want to try something new.
It involves a lot of research along the way, from ancient folklore to
futuristic weapons, and I really enjoy that.
Krisha: How
important are the names of characters? Should we expect a symbolism between
Raven and the bird she was named after?
Jeff: Possibly! The raven is an effective predator and
opportunistic scavenger. It’s one
of the most intelligent species, able to communicate about events distant in
space and time—no other birds can do that, as far as the scientists know. Only humans and hive insects can share
information like that, combining memory with communication (though I’d bet
dolphins and whales can probably do it).
In mythology, ravens are tricksters or messengers and spies for the
gods. They are also associated
with death and gathering the souls of the dead. So those are some interesting facts about ravens.
Katie: Where do
you get your inspiration or ideas for your stories? And with your little boy
running around the house, do you find that he helps or hinders your creative
juices?
Jeff: I
don’t know where I get my ideas.
They’re just always there, and I have to pick and choose which one to
write. I feed them by
binge-reading on different subjects that catch my interest. New knowledge grows your imagination.
I
think my toddler is great for my imagination. I have to constantly imagine his perspective and adapt to
it. He’s always making wild, often
hilariously inaccurate connections between different things—every parent knows
what I meant about that, I think.
There’s always some underlying logic that gives insight into how his
mind is working and developing.
It’s so fascinating to see a human being develop from the very beginning
and acquire knowledge and abilities as he grows.
Krisha: Did
anything out-of-the ordinary happen while writing this book that you included
on the pages? If not, make something up for us.
Jeff: You
know, there was a weird amount of electrical activity. It seems like there were thunderstorms
every time I tried to work on the book (I prefer to work on my desktop when
possible, but always shut it down for a storm). I realize that affects the entire multi-state region, not
just me, but the storms are getting more and more frequent as it gets closer to
the book’s release date. There’s
like a storm every day now. When
Raven travels through time, her device casts off a lot of electricity—it’s an
experimental prototype, not a device with buffers and mufflers and safety
precautions. It throws off lightning
when it arrives somewhere. At the
very beginning of the book, she arrives in the middle of a thunderstorm.
Katie: In your
new book, Nomad, Raven travels back 5 decades to the year 2013. If you could
time travel back in time, what decade would you visit?
I
would go back to 1900-1910. The
reason is that it’s not really a well-known era. That entire period from the end of the Civil War to World
War I is kind of skimmed over in most history books because it was peaceful,
but there was such an explosion of invention and experimentation in that
period. It was a kind of age of
optimism and new ideas. I would go
to the World’s Fair and things like that.
There just isn’t as much history to read about these little golden eras
between the big wars, so I’d want to look in on them and see what life was
like.
Short ( and random ) answers!
Krisha: Which is
your favorite book cover on the books you have published?
Jeff: Oh,
that’s hard! They’re almost all by
Phatpuppy Art, who creates a gorgeous image every time. Right now my favorite is the Nomad
cover, but maybe I’m biased because it’s the newest one.
Katie: Musicals,
yay or nay?
Jeff: Yay,
though I haven’t actually attended many, so that should probably be an
asterisk. I was in a musical
once—Brigadoon. I played “Drunk
MacGuffie Clansmen Who Starts Wedding Brawl (Uncredited).” I wore a kilt.
Krisha: Best find
ever at a farmer’s market?
Jeff: The
heirloom tomatoes. And raw
milk. Both of them, though not
necessarily together.
Katie: What’s
the last book you read?
I
just read The Dark Tower by Stephen King. I’ve owned it for years but kept putting it off for some
reason, and now I’ve read it and finished that series. I read The Gunslinger about
twenty years ago, so it took me a while to finish that series.
Katie: If you
could have ONE super human ability what would it be?
Jeff: I’m going with invisibility for this one. While flying and other powers would be
neat, I’m not sure anything would have as many practical applications in
day-to-day life as turning invisible.
Final question: What are
your thoughts on having two kick-ass characters named Krisha & Katie in
your next book?
Jeff: It could happen. You would dress in pastel bodysuits
with capes and masks and fight crime.
Your names would be Inkk and Kinkk (and I think it’s obvious who’s
who). Are you still
interested? Hello? Is the interview over?
Author Bio:
J.L. Bryan studied English literature at the University of Georgia and at Oxford, with a focus on English Renaissance and Romantic literature. He also studied screenwriting at UCLA. He lives in Atlanta with his wife Christina, dogs Violet and Tiger Lily, and cats Shadow and Sue.
Website / Twitter / Goodreads / Facebook / Amazon
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From left to right: Katie, J.L. Bryan, & Krisha
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We have also had the pleasure of meeting with the one and only J.L. Bryan! We chatted over coffee about his Paranormal Series and we also got a sneak peak of NOMAD way before it had a cover! Let me just say we are both SUPER EXCITED to read NOMAD!
If you Haven't read his other series yet, check out the links below and be sure to check out our Reviews for Jenny Pox, Tommy Nightmare & Alexander Death. ( The Paranormal Series ) WE ARE HUGE FANS!!
What a great interview! I just finished NOMAD and I am in love. I need to read his other books. I just started Jenny Pox. :D
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