Yellow Locust by
Justin Joschko
Release Date: May 8,
2018
Publisher:
Month9Books
Selena
Flood is a fighter of preternatural talent. But not even her quick fists and
nimble feet could save her parents from the forces of New Canaan, the most
ruthless and powerful of the despotic kingdoms populating America-that-was.
Forced
to flee the tyrannical state with her younger brother Simon in tow, Selena is
now the last chance for peace in a continent on the verge of complete
destruction.
In
her pocket is a data stick, the contents of which cost her parents their lives.
Selena must now ensure it reaches the Republic of California—a lone beacon of
liberty shining across a vast and barren wasteland—before it’s too late.
Between
New Canaan and California stretch the Middle Wastes: thousands of desolate
miles home to murderers, thieves, and a virulent strain of grass called yellow
locust that has made growing food all but impossible. So when Selena and Simon
stagger into Fallowfield, an oasis of prosperity amidst the poisoned plains,
everything seems too good to be true—including the warm welcome they receive
from the town’s leader, a peculiar man known only as The Mayor.
As
Selena delves deeper into the sinister secrets of this seemingly harmless
refuge, she soon learns there is a much darker side to Fallowfield and the man
who runs it. Before long, she must call upon the skills she honed in the
fighting pits of New Canaan to ensure not only her own survival, but that of
her brother, in whom the Mayor has taken far too keen an interest.
And
she’d better act fast, for an all-out war inches ever closer, and New Canaan is
never as far away as it seems.
Purchase
Links:
Interview with Justin Joschko
Can you tell us a little bit about the
characters in Yellow Locust?
Selena and Simon Flood are a sister and brother from the
despotic state of New Canaan. Though raised in relative luxury, they
nevertheless lived precarious lives by grace of their parents’ role as
dissidents helping the enemy Republic of California, a democratic state on the
other side of the continent. Their parents uncovered key information that will
allow the Republic to avoid destruction in the coming war, but are captured and
executed before they can escape. It remains up to Selena and Simon to sneak the
data out of the country and across the Middle Wastes, a vast swath of death and
famine that stands between them and the Republic of California.
Selena is the older of the two. A seasoned
street-brawler, she prides herself on her toughness and recoils from the
sadness and doubt that plague her at her weaker moments. She feels a
responsibility to protect her younger brother above all else, a role she
cherishes and resents in equal measure. Simon, the younger sibling, is a shy
boy with technical know-how a talent for drawing. He looks up to his older
sister but bristles when she dismisses him as just a kid.
Can you tell us a little bit about your
next books or what you have planned for the future?
The sequel to Yellow Locust is almost written, though
it’ll be a while before it sees the light of day. I wrote two other books
between YL 1 and 2, and I’d like to see them published as well if possible. One
is a horror/crime book set in a fictionalized version of my hometown, Niagara
Falls. The other is a fantasy about a young girl who goes out for a walk and
returns to find her house has vanished.
How long would you say it takes you to
write a book?
It depends on the book. Yellow Locust took a year, with
another six months for revisions, and its sequel is on track to take about the
same. However, I’ve written other books in only a few months that felt equally
polished, so a lot has to do with how easy the story transitions from my head
to the page.
What is your favorite childhood book?
I loved the Wayside School books by Louis Sachar as a
kid. The stories always had a slightly surreal bent that appealed to me.
If you could spend the day with one of
the characters from Yellow Locust who would it be? Please tell us why you chose
this particular character, where you would go and what you would do.
Probably Simon. The poor kid seems like he could use a
day out. I’d take him to an art gallery then get him some drawing supplies.
What was the hardest scene from Yellow
Locust to write?
There is a flashback scene near the beginning of the
novel that illustrates the depths of depravity found in New Canaan’s
leadership. It’s an event that the main characters witness rather than
experience, but the cruelty it displays was unpleasant to write. I was tempted
to remove it but ultimately found it true to the story, so instead I chose to
glance at it indirectly through the prose rather than wallow in gory
details.
What made you want to become a writer?
Reading. I’ve always
liked books, but I really became an avid reader around 13, when I discovered
Stephen King. My most vivid memories of high school are actually the bus rides
to and from, with a Pink Floyd album on my portable CD player and a Stephen
King book open on my lap. I read a few other authors regularly at that time—Tolkien,
Asimov, and Vonnegut were the main ones—but King was my guy.
Just for fun
(a Favorite song: oh, geez. Hard to
pick. Probably Under the Big Black Sun by X or The Great Curve by Talking
Heads.
(b Favorite book: A Confederacy of
Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
(c Favorite movie: Stop Making
Sense; or, if it has to be a movie with a plot, The Good, the Bad, and the
Ugly.
(d Favorite tv show: Seinfeld
(e Favorite Food: Toss-up between
butter chicken from Host India here in Ottawa, or pepperoni pizza from La
Hacienda in Niagara Falls, New York.
(f Favorite drink: Mad Tom IPA
(g Favorite website: I don’t know if
I have one. When I did, it was probably homestarrunner.com
Thanks so much for visiting with us
today!
About
the Author
Justin Joschko is an author from Niagara Falls, Ontario. His writing has appeared in newspapers and literary journals across Canada. Yellow Locust is his first novel. He currently lives in Ottawa with his wife and two children.
Giveaway:
·
One (1) winner will receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card
and a digital copy of Yellow Locust by Justin Joschko (INT)
0 comments:
Post a Comment