Today,
we have YA and middle-grade author Catherine Stine presenting characters from
Fireseed One, her YA futuristic thriller set in 2089. Varik and Marisa,
archenemies at the onset duke it out in a Streamerazzi Interview!
First,
here’s a novel summary:
What if only your very worst enemy could help you save the
world?
Fireseed One, a YA thriller, is set on a
near-future earth with soaring heat, toxic waters, tricked-out amphibious
vehicles, ice-themed dance clubs and fish that grow up on vines. Varik Teitur
inherits a vast sea farm after the mysterious drowning of his marine biologist
father. When Marisa Baron, a beautiful and shrewd terrorist, who knows way too
much about Varik's father's work, tries to steal seed disks from the world's
food bank, Varik is forced to put his dreams of becoming a doctor on hold and
venture with her, into a hot zone teeming with treacherous nomads and a
Fireseed cult who worships his dead father, in order to search for Fireseed, a
seemingly magical hybrid plant that may not even exist. Illustrated by the
author. Fans of Divergent and Under the Never Sky will likely
enjoy this novel, as well as those who like a dash of romance with their
page-turners. What book bloggers are saying: 5 stars from Parafantasy: “Amazing world-building and extremely clever plot! Fireseed One rejuvenated my interest in the sci-fi genre.” Electrifying Reviews: “An emotional thrill ride! There wasn’t a
dull moment in this book, and when I wasn’t reading it, I wanted to be.” 5 stars from Writing from the Dark Places:
“Marisa and Varik are the pioneers of a new frontier. And you
want them to survive and succeed at all costs.” 5 stars from The Magick Pen: “Stine’s illustrations really helped put a picture to all
the beautiful descriptions… the romance between Varik and Marisa was sweet.”
Fireseed
One is available at Amazon, B&N & iTunes
And
now, for the interview!
Nationality?
Birthplace?
Eighteen
year-old Varik: I live in Ocean Dominion, which used to be called the
Arctic Circle, but is now a series of floating islands and farms. Our sea farm
is Teitur Farm.
Seventeen
year-old Marisa: I grew up in Land Dominion, which used to be Canada
and Greenland way back in the dark ages. Now, Land Dominion and Ocean Dominion
are rivals. (Sends Varik a wicked grin).
Fave
food?
Varik:
Flyfish with sautéed sea apples. My friend, Audun cooks this. He’s
a gourmet cook.
Marisa:
Restavik boar with Landlock peas. All products of Land Dominion!
What
are your occupations?
Marisa
I was a member of the ZWC, an activist group, helping out the climate refugees
in the Hotzone… or (looks over at Varik)
a terrorist organization. Depends who you ask.
Varik:
I was hoping to go to college to be a doctor. I wanted to
specialize in making prosthetic limbs like the flippers I made for my dolphin
after his got eaten by toxic waters. But now that my father (swallows hard) drowned, I manage our
sea farm.
What
makes life worthwhile?
Varik:
Living on the ocean, sailing my old Sea Tern, playing ball with my dolphin,
Juko; going to nightclubs on SnowAngel with my friend Audun, meeting girls (laughs when Marisa elbows him).
Marisa:
Exposing hypocrisy, helping the refugees—
Varik
interrupts: Though she goes about it in the worst way!
What
are you each most fixated on?
Marisa:
Feeding the Refs. Finding Fireseed.
Varik:
Finding out if Fireseed exists, if what Marisa told me has any basis in fact.
Do
you have a temper? How does it manifest?
(Both
explode into uproarious laughter)
Marisa:
Temper, me? Nooo! But Varik… he put a fish tracker in my neck
for starters!
Varik: Um, because you broke into my father’s underwater
vault, because you shot me with a stun gun. Because… (Exasperated sigh). Me? I’m pretty even-keeled.
Can
you keep a secret?
Varik:
(Reddening, dead silence. Thinking of all
the secrets he’s kept from Marisa).
Marisa:
(brushes her long, red hair back
defiantly) It depends...
May
we ask you each to describe how the other
shows affection?
Varik:
By breaking into my father’s secret underwater vault!
Marisa:
By locking me up in his father’s airless meditation room.
Varik:
It has one small porthole.
Marisa:
Not even big enough for a water rat to squeeze through.
Varik:
That was the point!
Who
are your love interests?
Marisa:
(Snorts)
I have a fatal attraction to tall, blond guys, who own farms and have a horrid
sense of politics!
Varik:
I confess: I’ve developed a taste for stubborn, impulsive
redheads, who join crazed cults simply to rebel against their megalomaniacal
dads.
Catherine,
where did you get the idea for this novel?
I’ve
had versions of this novel on my mind for a long time. I developed it while
drawing illustrations of floating ocean farms, an army of dolphins and a
psychic scientist. I also read a lot about hybrid plants, and permutations of
pharma crops. The story was always percolating, transforming, like the strange
hybrids in Fireseed One.
Who is your
favorite character in Fireseed One?
I’d
choose Marisa, who starts out as a hard-core terrorist, but goes through major
changes inspired by a series of shocking revelations. Plus, she gets to go on
the trip of all trips with a smart, handsome guy who owns a floating island
farm. The only problem is, he hates her guts. How’s that for a challenge? A
close second is Shin Kaskade, the digital guru who fixes Varik’s hacked
computer. Shin has a trendy hair-nest and a sparkling star embed on his wrist
that takes credit card payments.
Will there
be a sequel?
I’m
at work on it. It takes place 8 years later, and the main character is the girl
from the Fireseed cult with the three missing fingers! You’ll have to read
Fireseed to know who this is. J
Where can we find you on the web?
On
my Goodreads author page, Fireseed One on Facebook, Amazon author page and my
website. I welcome all visitors to my Idea City blog.
Thanks, Amy, and for all who stop by! This was
fun,
Catherine
Amazon
paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Fireseed-One-Catherine-Stine/dp/0984828206/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325543283&sr=8-1
Amazon
ebook: http://www.amazon.com/Fireseed-One-ebook/dp/B006O4SL3O/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1325543283&sr=8-1
iTunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/fireseed-one/id489625883?mt=11
Fireseed One's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fireseed-One/160174947415366
Idea City blog: http://www.catherinestine.blogspot.com
Website: http://www.catherinestine.com
Amazon’s
author page:
http://www.amazon.com/Catherine-Stine/e/B001H9TXJC/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
Posts
Thanks, Amy,
ReplyDeleteCatherine