Monday, May 30, 2016

J. Grace Pennington on Implant


Grace, welcome back! What have you been up to since the last time you were here?
Thank you for having me back! I've been very busy since I was here last—I've been publishing more Firmament books as well as a couple standalone books. I've also been publishing short stories and articles and narrating audiobooks, not to mention just living life. There's always so much to be done!

What have been some of your favorite books by Homeschooled Authors recently?
Not that I'm biased, but I really liked my sneak peek at the awesome Fairytale by Hope Pennington, who just happens to be my sister. I only saw an early draft, but even from that I can tell you that readers are in for a treat! Other than that I haven't read a lot of Homeschooled Authors books recently. I have enjoyed Resistance by Jaye L. Knight and the Texas Women of Spirit series by Angela Castillo, both of which I've read audiobooks for!

What inspired Implant? Many things! There were several things I wanted to do in a book and I tried to bring them all together into one story. One of the main aspects was the idea of two men who hated each others guts and disagreed on everything and yet were somehow closest friends. Another was the idea of a government that was completely in control of the health of all its citizens. And some of my favorite ideas I can't really share because they would constitute spoilers!

What was the hardest part of writing this book?
The plot. As usual for my writing. I'm more character driven, but when it comes to plotting things out, having the characters come up with complex plans, explaining things and keeping the storyline consistent—all that was hard. Add in the time travel element and the fact that this is basically a post-apocalyptic story, and everything becomes even more complicated. It took several drafts to smooth things out.

What was the easiest?
Like I said, I'm better at characters and the easiest part of this story (as well as the most fun) was writing Doc and Neil. Especially any scene where the two of them interact. I could just put the two of them in close vicinity and watch them argue without really having to think much at all. I love them both and that relationship so much.

What can readers expect from Implant? A young adult dystopian story, like Divergent or The Hunger Games but without romance and with time travel and paradoxes thrown in. It's a coming of age story about a young man who is called to be a hero when he can barely take care of himself. Readers can expect moral dilemmas, high stakes, and plenty of action and danger.

Where can people buy a copy?
It's available on Amazon in both paperback and ebook.

What is next for you? Right now I'm finishing up edits on the next Firmament book, Reversal Zone. It's the fourth in the series, so I'm really excited to publish it and share it with those who have enjoyed the first three. After that I'll get to work on writing the sixth and editing the fifth! I have a few more standalone books in the development stage, as well as some short stories I'm trying to publish and some audiobooks I'm producing. I stay plenty busy with story work!

Where can people keep up with you?
I blog intermittently at www.jgracepennington.com, and I post regularly on Facebook and not-so-regularly on Twitter. I love to hear from readers and anyone who loves stories as much as I do!

Any final thoughts?
I love the work being done here at Homeschooled Authors, and I'm hoping very much that as we continue to grow our work will become consistently more excellent and professional so that we can be a good representation and an inspiration to homeschoolers everywhere!  Keep reading and writing, story-lovers.

2 comments:

  1. This book sounds so cool!! I'll have to check it out :) I think I follow your sister on social media too, haha

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  2. I look forward to reading some of Grace's books! Implant sounds like a good place to start. :)

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