The One Apart
by Justine
Avery
GENRE: Paranormal
BLURB:
Only
one obstacle stands in his way of enjoying a normal life. He remembers—every
life he's lived before.
Tres is about to be
born... with the biggest burden any has ever had to bear. He is beginning
again—as an ageless adult trapped in an infant body.
He and his teenage
mother face life filled with extraordinary challenges as they strive to
protect, nurture, and hide how truly different he is. But Tres alone must solve
the greatest mystery of all: who is he? The answer is linked to the one
question he's too afraid to ask: why am I?
In his quest, Tres
discovers that all is considerably more interconnected and dynamic than he
could ever imagine—and fraught with far more danger. He cannot hide from the
unseen threat stalking him since his birth.
Life as he knows
it—as all know it—is in peril. And Tres is the only one aware.
Excerpt:
“He needs a name,” Maria said,
pouring scrambled eggs onto the plate decorated with a face of bacon strips.
Sancha stared at her plate. “He has
one,” she said.
The hot iron skillet slipped from
Maria’s hand; she sighed her relief as it landing safely on the stove burner.
“What... did you decide?”
“I didn’t.” Sancha prodded at her
eggs, recovering her bacon art one eye at a time.
“I thought you—”
“He has one already. I just don’t
know what it is.”
Maria’s subconscious almost
recognized the truth in the statement before it was buried by her conscious
again. “Don’t be silly. Did you choose a name? If not, I will have—”
“No, you will not,” Sancha ended the
conversation.
* * *
In the fenced back yard Maria
referred to as “the garden,” sat a rusting swing set for two: Sancha’s favorite
spot in the whole world. Swinging there—in and out of the shade of the
broad-reaching maple tree—seemed to slow time and shoo away all teenage
troubles.
“I have to name you,” she called out
to her bright-eyed baby resting in a basket nestled in the grass below her. She
swung her pale legs to propel herself higher into the morning sunlight, her
glittering hair swirling around her. “But you won’t tell me what yours is,” she
pouted.
Her polka-dotted summer dress fluttered in the breeze
as her legs scooped up another pocket of air. “I guess you can’t,” she
concluded on a downswing. “Yet,” she shouted into the air.
Interview with Justine Avery
Can you tell us a little bit
about the characters in The One Apart?
The characters came to be as the story unfolded as I sat down to write
it. It all began with the main
character, Tres, who appeared right in the first few sentences and had a huge
predicament: he was about to be born, with the memories of every life formerly
lived. Then, he had to be born to
someone. So, Sancha, his teenage mother,
and Maria, his soon-to-be grandmother, came to be. As the story continues, Tres is born, grows
through childhood, and crosses paths with many other characters who all play an
important role and help him to realize who he is and his purpose in this
life. For me, the characters come to be
as I write the story, as if they were “there,” waiting for me to discover them,
all along.
Can you tell us a little bit
about your next books or what you have planned for the future?
I have a few short stories that belong in a collection full of tales of
those moments in life when everything changes, when a new path is chosen, when
we’re jerked right out of our old ways—all with twists and surprises, of
course!
Beyond that, I will be writing more fantastic stories! My interests are all over the place, and I
love following my curiosity wherever it takes me. I’ve got a list of little story idea nuggets
much longer than life will give me time to write stories for and in just about
every genre. I will most definitely
write more fiction, short and long, and great nonfiction stories as well.
How long would you say it takes you to write
a book?
It
took me 5 ½ months to write The One Apart,
which was, in that first draft, 113,000+ words long. And that writing encompassed 180 hours; I
used a handy app to keep track! Editing,
though, is a whole ‘nother animal.
What is your favorite childhood book?
I loved Curious George books and Dr. Zeus the most!
If you could spend the day with one of the
characters from The One Apart who would it be? Please tell us why you chose
this particular character, where you would go and what you would do.
I would have to choose Tres, the main character. He’s just endlessly fascinating… having lived
countless lives! And his experiences as
he grows through this current life of his, in the story of The One Apart, are just amazing.
I would love to just find a quiet, undisturbed spot to chat for hours,
maybe days, about his view of life, how we should live it, and everything he
knows beyond it.
What was the hardest scene from The One Apart to write?
*MINI SPOILER ALERT!* The most difficult bit to write was when Tres, the
main character, suddenly disappeared on me as I was writing the moment he was
in. He had to go away, his life was too
difficult and confusing for him, and I felt very sad for him and his family
left behind who had no answers for what they were about to realize about
him. It was hard to write their lives
without him, especially as they needed him the most.
What made you want to become a writer?
A love for reading inspired me to write.
I think it’s natural for all of us who love to read to be drawn to the
idea of creating our own stories, developing our own ideas, and giving readers
that sense of surprise or happiness that we enjoy when we read a great
story. When I was eleven or so, I
started my first novel. It was
essentially a retelling of the Cinderella story with a main character named
Ella that—SURPRISE!—would be revealed as a secret Cinderella. It’s a good thing I never finished it! After that, I believed the folks that told me
that writing is more of a dream and not really a career, so I only wrote
sporadically when I was really moved to live my biggest dream, only for life
and that “real career” to get in the way.
There were so many detours—for decades—but now I realize they’re all
really valuable experiences for the life of a writer. Finally, the urge to write, the feeling that
you’re supposed to write, took over,
and I finally gave my writing “dream” the priority it deserves.
Just for fun
(a
Favorite song: Queen’s We Are the Champions
(b
Favorite book: Isaac Asimov’s Foundation
(c Favorite movie: Léon
(d
Favorite tv show: the British comedy Would
I Lie to You?
(e
Favorite Food: Cornish pasties
(f
Favorite drink: Japanese whisky
(g
Favorite website: Amazon.com
Thanks
so much for visiting with us today!
AUTHOR Bio
and Links:
Justine
Avery is an award-winning author of stories large and small for all. Born in
the American Midwest and raised all over the world, she is inherently an
explorer, duly fascinated by everything around her and excitedly noting the
stories that abound all around. As an avid reader of all genres, she weaves her
own stories among them all. She has a predilection for writing speculative
fiction and story twists and surprises she can’t even predict herself.
Avery
has either lived in or explored all 50 states of the union, over 36 countries,
and all but one continent; she lost count after moving 30-some times before the
age of 20. She’s intentionally jumped out of airplanes and off the highest
bungee jump in New Zealand, scuba dived unintentionally with sharks, designed
websites, intranets, and technical manuals, bartered with indigenous
Panamanians, welded automobile frames, observed at the Bujinkan Hombu Dojo in
Noba, Japan, and masterminded prosperous internet businesses—to name a few
adventures. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree that life has never required,
and at age 28, she sold everything she owned and quit corporate life—and her
final “job”—to freelance and travel the world as she always dreamed of. And
she’s never looked back.
Aside from her native English, Avery speaks a
bit of Japanese and a bit more Spanish, her accent is an ever-evolving mixture
of Midwestern American with notes of the Deep South and indiscriminate British
vocabulary and rhythm, and she says “eh”—like the Kiwis, not the Canadians. She
currently lives near Los Angeles with her husband, British film director Devon
Avery, and their three adopted children: Becks, Sam, and Lia. She writes from
wherever her curiosity takes her.
Avery
loves to connect with fellow readers and creatives, explorers and imaginers,
and cordially invites you to say “hello”—or konnichiwa.
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3 comments:
congrats on the tour and thanks for the chance to win :)
Great post - thanks for sharing :)
A great interview thank you.
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