Interview with Jessica Brody & Joanna Rendell for Between Burning Worlds
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retellings, Science Fiction, Dystopia
Synopsis:
Les Misérables meets The Lunar Chronicles in the out-of-this-world sequel to Sky Without Stars that’s an “explosion of emotion, intrigue, romance, and revolution” (Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval series).
A thief.
An officer.
A guardian.
All from different backgrounds, but sharing one same destiny…
The planet Laterre is in turmoil. A new militant revolutionary group has emerged calling themselves “The Red Scar” and claiming responsibility for a spate of recent bombings. The infamous rebels known as the Vangarde believe that in order to bring about a peaceful revolution, their charismatic leader, Citizen Rousseau must be freed from prison right away. Otherwise the bloodshed will only escalate.
Soon Marcellus, Chatine, and Alouette all find themselves pulled into battle with extreme consequences.
Marcellus is determined to uncover his corrupt grandfather’s plan to seize Laterre—even if that means joining the Vangarde.
Aloutte, trying to unearth the truth about her past, becomes a captive of Marcellus’s grandfather, the general.
Chatine, who is serving time on Bastille, hopes to escape the brutal and horrifying reality of the prison moon.
But the failed attempt to break Citizen Rousseau out of prison launches Aloutte, Chatine, and Marecellus into the middle of a dangerous war for control of Laterre. And in the midst of it all is the legend of a secret and dangerous weapon that could mean complete and absolute power to any that wields it.
Can you briefly describe THE SYSTEM DIVINE series, its characters and what’s going on in BETWEEN BURNING WORLDS?
The SYSTEM DIVINE series is a reimagining of Victor Hugo’s LES MISERABLES and is set on a very distant and very divided planet called Laterre, where the wealthy live in luxury and the poor live in the rusting and leaking remains of 500-year old spaceships. But in SKY WITHOUT STARS (Book 1 in the series) the rumblings of revolution have begun. Three unlikely heroes from three very different worlds—Chatine, a street-savvy thief; Alouette, a guardian of secret library; and Marcellus, an officer and grandson of the most powerful man on Laterre—are thrown together in a fight against the oppressive and sometimes murderous powers on their planet.
In BETWEEN BURNING WORLDS (Book 2), their world is teetering on the brink of war and the Regime is brutally quashing any unrest or rebellious activity. A deadly new weapon is rumoured to be emerging, too. Chatine, Marcellus, and Alouette must face challenges, epic journeys, and deep personal struggles like they’ve never faced before, in order to save themselves, Laterre, and its people. Luckily, the trio will meet some new compadres, friends, and fellow rebels along the way—new characters, who we think and hope you’re going to love! Kirkus Reviews, who got a sneak peak of BETWEEN BURNING WORLDS, described the sequel as a “compelling, surprising, and entertaining saga that’s literally out of this world!”
Who would you say is your favourite character from the story and why?
Ooh, this is always such a hard question for us. It’s like trying to decide who is your favorite child! But in BETWEEN BURNING WORLDS, we have introduced a number of fabulous new characters to the cast. We both particularly love Cerise Chevalier. We can’t give too much away about her, except she’s one of the planet’s elite who lives in luxury in Laterre’s bio-controlled dome. But she’s going to surprise you with her chutzpah, her smarts, and her sparkly berets!
If you could choose one song to describe this book, which one would it be?
We discussed this at great lengths and decided we would pick “The Revolution will Not be Televised” by Gil Scott Heron. We can’t exactly say why, because it would be a big spoiler for BETWEEN BURNING WORLDS. All we will say is the revolution won’t be televised on the TéléSkin devices implanted in the arm of every member of the Third Estate (95% of the population.)
What drink and place do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date?
Jo is a Brit so she does love her tea. She particularly loves to read at places where they serve a proper tea with a teapot, cup, and saucer – and if there is a scone with jam thrown in, she’s in heaven!
Jess loves tea too but she’s particularly fond of reading on her deck with a glass of wine.
Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish BETWEEN BURNING WORLDS?
Well, we always have to give a shout out to Victor Hugo’s LES MISERABLES! It’s a monster of a book, we know, but it is just such a fabulous story with incredible characters. It’s so fun to live in the world of book for such a long time, too!
We’d also recommend THE LAST OF HER NAME by Jessica Khoury, AURORA RISING by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, and THE FINAL SIX by Alexandra Monir.
What would you say is the most difficult part of writing a book?
Just the concept of writing a sequel (which is also the middle of the trilogy) is extremely challenging—mostly because in a sequel you have to keep the story exciting and interesting after book 1, but you’re also setting up for book 3. Juggling these things was quite the challenge, to say the least! There were many rewrites and many plot lines and scenes that eventually would get cut and completely reworked. We persevered, though, and we’re now SO happy with the final book – even if it did nearly spin us in to outer space and back again!
What’s next for you?
Book 3 (title to be announced!). Yup, we’re now deep into writing the third and final part of the SYSTEM DIVINE series. Touch wood, but already it’s feeling a lot less challenging than Book 2 because we really have a clear idea of where we want this series to end! I’m sure there will be bumps along the road though. But we have a wonderful friendship and working process, so even with the bumps, it’s always so much fun!
Jessica Brody
Jessica Brody knew from a young age that she wanted to be a writer. She started self “publishing” her own books when she was seven years old, binding the pages together with cardboard, wallpaper samples, and electrical tape.
After graduating from Smith College in 2001 where she double majored in Economics and French and minored in Japanese, Jessica later went on to work for MGM Studios as a Manager of Acquisitions and Business Development. In May of 2005, Jessica quit her job to follow her dream of becoming a published author.
Since then, Jessica has sold over twelve novels for teens, tweens, and adults including 52 Reasons to Hate My Father, The Karma Club, My Life Undecided, and the three books in the Unremembered trilogy, the first of which is currently in development as a major motion picture by the producers of The Vampire Academy, Zero Dark Thirty, Life of Pi, and Slumdog Millionaire. In 2016, she will release two new contemporary novels, A Week of Mondays (August) and Boys of Summer (April), and in 2017, her debut middle grade novel entitled, Addie Bell’s Shortcut to Growing Up, will hit bookstore shelves.
Jessica also writes books for the Descendants: “School of Secrets” series, based on the hit Disney Channel Original movie, Descendants!
Jessica’s books are published and translated in over twenty foreign countries. She currently splits her time between California and Colorado.
Joanne Rendell
Joanne Rendell is the author of four novels and holds a PhD in English Literature. She teaches fiction writing to teens and kids, as well as online writing classes at Udemy.com and Lynda.com. Joanne is a board member for the youth Shakespeare company, New Genesis Productions. With her husband and son, she divides her time between New York City and New Paltz, New York.
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