Every week, Kali Ling fights to the death on national TV. She’s died hundreds of times. And it never gets easier...
The RAGE tournaments—the Virtual Gaming League’s elite competition where the best gamers in the world compete in a no-holds-barred fight to the digital death. Every bloody kill is broadcast to millions. Every player is a modern gladiator—leading a life of ultimate fame, responsible only for entertaining the masses.
And though their weapons and armor are digital, the pain is real.
Chosen to be the first female captain in RAGE tournament history, Kali Ling is at the top of the world—until one of her teammates overdoses. Now, she must confront the truth about the tournament. Because it is much more than a game—and even in the real world, not everything is as it seems.
The VGL hides dark secrets. And the only way to change the rules is to fight from the inside...
“If anyone tells you that books about videogames can’t be considered good literature, hand them Holly Jennings’ ARENA”
—Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog
“Think Hunger Games meets Ready Player One. ARENA is serious nerdcore entertainment. Gamers, get ready to plug in!”
—Chloe Neill, New York Times Bestselling Author
Welcome Holly!
1. Did you
always know you wanted to be a writer or did you want to be something
else?
The answer is
both yes and no. I always wanted to pursue a few different career paths. A
writer and a psychologist were my top choices. When I finished my undergrad
degree in psychology, I realized I had to choose between going to grad school
to complete my Ph.D. or finding a nice office job while I worked at night to
become an author. I ended up choosing the latter, and it's worked out
beautifully so far.
2. How long does it take you to
write a book from start to finish?
This varies widely, from eight
months to two years. I've always been working another job while writing books,
so this slows me down sometimes. As I'm making the switch to fulltime writing,
and as I become more experienced, I find I'm getting faster.
3. How do you come up with themes
for your stories?
Most of the
time they seem to natural grow out of the narrative. For example, in my debut
novel ARENA, there are several occurrences of duality. The real world vs the
virtual world, future vs past, chaos vs peace. I hadn't planned on creating a
theme of duality, but once I noticed these subtle coincidences in the
manuscript, I took hold and molded them into a theme. It feels more natural
that way than to superimpose a theme into a story that might not fit otherwise.
4. Do you have a schedule of when
you write?
I have a haphazard schedule for
writing. I find it to be something I can fit in between other things. Instead
of doing 1000 word plus crunches, I like to do a few hundred, walk away, come
back, do a few more, rinse and repeat. I tend to be most creative at night, so
I try to balance my day and get housework and other things done earlier on.
5. How are you able to balance
other aspects of your life with your writing?
To-do lists
go a long way for me. I usually won't let myself go to bed until everything is
crossed off, even if that means I won't see my pillow until 3:30 AM.
That's what
works for me, though. Most writers I speak with tell me their ways of balancing
their time and staying motivated, and no two are the same. Some wake up early
and write while others are still sleeping. Some need to get out of the house to
avoid distractions. Younger parents utilize nap times. It all depends on your
schedule and lifestyle.
6. What elements do you think make
a great story line?
The writer's passion for the
subject goes a long way. When the author loves what they're writing,
researching and work seem like fun. It shows on the page. Tension is another
important element for me, and a great main character to carry the story through
to the end.
7. What was the hardest thing about
writing a book?
Letting it go. When your first
novel is about to be published, it can be horrifying to think that some people
are going to rip it to shreds in their reviews. It's going to happen, and the
best thing you can do is embrace the people who love your work and dedicate
yourself to creating more for them.
8. How many books have you written
so far? Do you have a favorite?
I've written two so far with two
more in the works and several additional ones plotted out. My favorite changes
all the time, and it's usually the book I'm not currently writing. "The
grass is always greener" comes into play here. I always want to be working
on the book I'm not working on.
9. Do you have a favorite
character?
If you mean a
favorite character that I've created, then I have several. When your stories
and characters are so close to your heart, it's hard to pick just one. The main
character in the current series I'm writing, Kali Ling, is always in my top
three, however. She's what happened when I took the "strong female
character" archetype and broke her out of the mold. She has a temper she
can't always control and a faith she doesn't always understand. She's quick
with her fists, and even quicker with her tongue. She'll fight someone twice
her size and grin the entire time. She's always fun to write.
10. Where do you write?
All over the place! When I'm not at
home, my laptop is usually hanging at my hip whenever I go. Coffee shops,
doctor's offices, anywhere I can squeeze in some minutes of writing time.
11. When deciding on how to
publish, what directed you to the route you took?
To test if I had any skills as a
writer, I challenged myself to get one short story published by a pro level
market. Within the year, I'd accomplished just that and got hooked on
publishing. Right then, I knew I'd want to publish a novel traditionally. The
rejections sting, but the acceptance makes it all worth it.
12. Have you gotten feedback from
family about your book(s)? What do they think?
They've been really supportive,
though it's a bit of a funny situation. The people in my family who like sci-fi
don't really like to read, and the people who love to read don't like sci-fi. Still,
they promote me wherever they go and I'm incredibly thankful for everything
they do for me.
13. What kinds of things do you
like to do outside of writing?
Mostly, I play video games (though
my books are about video games, so now I get to call it "research").
I also enjoy reading blogs, watching documentaries, and spending time with my
family.
14. What kinds of advice would you
give to someone who wants to start writing?
Don’t quit. Writing is a marathon.
Publishing is even more so.
Before I was published, I saw this
mantra all the time and never truly believed it. But it's true. It's true. It's
true. IT'S TRUE.
Just keep going. Just writing what
you love and putting words on the page. You'll get there, eventually.
15. What is your favorite book?
favorite author? Do you have an author that inspired/inspires you to
write?
I don't really like picking
favorite books because they change all the time. Two books have really stuck in
my mind lately even though I read them over a year ago: Ready Player One by
Ernest Cline and Love Interest by Cale Dietrich. (I got to read an early copy
of Love Interest before it hits the shelves this May. If you enjoy LGBT themes
and spoofs on YA tropes, you should check it out).
If I have to pick a favorite
author, I'd say Damien Angelica Walters because I'll read anything she writes.
Even poetry.
16. Do you have any go to people
when writing a book that help you with your story lines as well as editing,
beta reading and such?
It depends on the story. I've very
lucky to have a wide range of writers and experts in my life. My writer friends
and beta readers are everything from paramedics, army vets, musicians,
geologists, pro gamers, and so on. Each area of expertise is invaluable, but
not all are appropriate for every story. Plus, I don't like to bug the same
people all the time. So, I try to mix it up depending on the story's subject
matter.
17. Are you working on anything
now?
Currently, the first two books in
my Arena series are done, so I'm working on outlining more books in that world.
I'm also working on a brand new series set in a slow-burn environmental
apocalypse that I think will appeal to the same group of readers.
18. Tell us 5 things that make you
smile
1. Puppies
2. Quiet moments
3. Rainfall
4. Anything noire
5. New video game releases
19. Tell us 5 things that make you
sad
1. Inequality
2. No Wi-Fi
3. "Down for scheduled maintenance."
4. Feeling uncreative or unproductive
5. Alarm clocks
20. If you could travel anywhere in
the world to visit a place so you could use it as a background for a book, where
would it be?
I really like the west coast, from
British Columbia down to the Mexican border. I set most of my books somewhere
along this corridor. However, this does seem a little plain of an answer for
"anywhere in the world." I guess I would chose Antarctica. As a
sci-fi writer, I think it would give me a good idea about survival and isolation.
Those are common themes in sci-fi, especially when dealing with space travel.
Thanks so much for stopping by today, Holly. It was great having you with us!
No comments:
Post a Comment