Book info:
Title: ISAN
Author: Mary Ting
Published by: Vesuvian Books
Publication date: May 1st, 2018
Genres: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Synopsis:
THE WORLD HAS CHANGED.
SCIENTISTS WARNED IT WOULD HAPPEN.
Meteors devastated the Earth. World Governments developed plans to help surviving citizens. The United States disbanded and salvageable land was divided into our quadrants—North, South, East, and West—governed by The Remnant Council.
Struggling to survive, seventeen-year-old Ava ends up in juvenile detention, until she is selected for a new life—with a catch. She must be injected with an experimental serum. The results will be life changing. The serum will make her “better.” To receive the serum, Ava agrees to join a program controlled by ISAN, the International Sensory Assassin Network.
While on a mission, she is abducted by a rebel group led by Rhett and told that not only does she have a history with him, but her entire past is a lie perpetuated by ISAN to ensure her compliance. Unsure of who to trust, Ava must decide if her strangely familiar and handsome captor is her enemy or her savior—and time is running out."Captivating from the very beginning...this thrilling dystopian drama has a splash of romance and tons of actions." --School Library Journal
Author Interview:
1. What does your writing process look like? Do you know the whole story when you start? Or do you just start writing and go with it (seat of the pants writing)? If you plan it out, how do you do that? Outline, notecards, post-it-notes, etc.? Are you part of a writers group that gets together and helps each other with their writing?
I don’t outline like some authors do, so I guess you can say I go with it. I have a general idea of the story, the beginning, the main characters, and then I tie it all at the end of the first draft. I’m part of a group where we support each other. Writing can be a lonely road, so it’s nice to have author friends that understand and help each other.
2. How do you come up with your ideas for your stories?
Sometimes I get an idea when I travel. I wrote The Chosen Knights and set the story in Hawaii. Other can be from a songs. My Clarity, written under M. Clarke, my pen name, arrived from a song called Clarity. I also love Ed Sheeran’s songs. His songs gave me an idea to write Sexiest Man Alive. Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran gave me the inspiration to write the romance part of ISAN. Also, my dreams. Crossroads, my very first book is based on dreams I had in high school. Chapter one and two are events that took place in my life. I also have another book called Saving Robert Reider and that is based on dreams I had in the later years. My agent has the MS, so hopefully it will be published soon.
3. What tips do you have for aspiring writers?
Don’t dream about it, just do it. Start with a draft and keep molding it. Sometimes it takes me 10 times to fix my first chapter. Writing is a process, a journal. You sit down and start writing and just go. Surround yourself with author friends. Support each other.
4. If you had to pick one of these dystopian book worlds to live in, which would you pick, and why? Hunger Games, Divergent, Uglies-(Scott Westerfeld), Legend - Marie Lu, The Giver
I’ve read Hunger Games, Divergent, and Legend. They’re all unique and different. Can I say all three? LOL
5. What are your favorite:
Books/authors/genres- I have too many favorite authors. My most recent audios—Sarah J. Maas - A Court of Thorns and Roses and Tahereh Mafi — Shatter Me.
Movies/TV Shows I like to watch fantasy types. Mortal Instruments. The Gifted. Marvel.
Music — Ed Sheeran
Food/Writing snack I usually eat junk food when I write. See’s Candie Chocolate pop and Trader Joe’s healthy snacks.
Author Bio:
International Bestselling Author Mary Ting/M. Clarke resides in Southern California with her husband and two children. She enjoys oil painting and making jewelry. Writing her first novel, Crossroads Saga, happened by chance. It was a way to grieve the death of her beloved grandmother, and inspired by a dream she once had as a young girl. When she started reading new adult novels, she fell in love with the genre. It was the reason she had to write one-Something Great. Why the pen name, M Clarke? She tours with Magic Johnson Foundation to promote literacy and her children’s chapter book-No Bullies Allowed.
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