Blog Tour: Zenn Scarlet by Christian Schoon - The Research Process Behind the Book

Hello lovelies, 

Today, I have a special guest on the blog. Mr. Christian Schoon himself has prepared an inside look into the research for his debut science fiction novel, Zenn Scarlett. But first, a little about the book. 

When you're studying to be exoveterinarian specializing in exotic, alien life forms, school... is a different kind of animal.

Zenn Scarlett is a resourceful, determined 17-year-old girl working hard to make it through her novice year of exovet training. That means she's learning to care for alien creatures that are mostly large, generally dangerous and profoundly fascinating. Zenn’s all-important end-of-term tests at the Ciscan Cloister Exovet Clinic on Mars are coming up, and, she's feeling confident of acing the exams. But when a series of inexplicable animal escapes and other disturbing events hit the school, Zenn finds herself being blamed for the problems. As if this isn't enough to deal with, her absent father has abruptly stopped communicating with her; Liam Tucker, a local towner boy, is acting unusually, annoyingly friendly; and, strangest of all: Zenn is worried she's started sharing the thoughts of the creatures around her. Which is impossible, of course. Nonetheless, she can't deny what she's feeling.

Now, with the help of Liam and Hamish, an eight-foot sentient insectoid also training at the clinic, Zenn must learn what's happened to her father, solve the mystery of who, if anyone, is sabotaging the cloister, and determine if she's actually sensing the consciousness of her alien patients... or just losing her mind. All without failing her novice year....
From goodreads.com

The Research Process for Zenn Scarlett or: "Hello, I'm an Author, Can I Please Speak with the Exovet-Info Librarian?"

When your book’s heroine is a teen in her novice year of exovet studies, specializing in humongous alien animals, in a science-centered cloister, on Mars… there aren’t a lot of reference books or websites to turn to for background info. So, it’s a good thing I never believed the platitude “Write what you know.” In fact, I think taking that moldy old chestnut in anything like its literal sense has probably confused and hindered a lot of writers over the years. But, on the other hand, I have nothing whatsoever against taking stuff that I sorta know something about and wrapping it in a sparkly layer of what-ifs and whoa-that’d-be-cool and there’s-no-precedent-for-this-so-I-can-just-make-it-up-yay. And that’s how I approached my so-called “research” for much of Zenn Scarlett.

So, the stuff I sorta know something about is exotic animals and veterinary medicine as applied to them.

Let’s pause here for a quick info-dump: I lived in LA for a number of years, worked as an in-house writer at Disney, then freelanced, then wrote scripts for genre TV shows like Power Rangers, Warner Bros. animated Batman, Gravedale High and a few others. Moved to Iowa (I grew up in the Midwest; I missed it….). Bought a farm. Volunteered with a group that rescues abused/neglected horses, have had up to 18 equines in my various pastures/barns. Then got hooked up with a group that rescues exotic animals. So I got to know critters like black bears, cougars, coyotes, emus, llamas, big pythons and constrictors, alligators.  Have also been a life-long science fiction geek. When I decided to try my hand at writing a novel, I had this vision (sort of…) of a youngish girl perched high up on the snout of a huge animal of some kind, and she wasn’t afraid, she was barely nervous. She had a job to do. Heal that beast. And that became the opening of the book (then, after I split the book into two books, that scene opened the first chapter after the prologue. Why add a prologue? That’s another post entirely.)

During the exotic animal portion of the above, I ended hanging around not only the very cool animals, but also the equally cool veterinarians who had acquired the specialized skills to diagnose and treat bears or mountain lions or pythons. Now, my book isn’t a technical, “hard-SF” or medical-procedure-intense kinda book. It’s more a matter of current science/tech extrapolated in some imaginative ways, but always making sure the vet science I use, even if it’s on an alien creature, is reasonably consistent with “known factors” of earthly biology or pathology. Then, I’m also careful to keep my veterinary inventions consistent with the level of technology I’ve come up with for my future world.

I also had to conduct some net-excursions or reference-book-hunts to search out data about the Martian environment. Like, just how deep is the Valle Marinaris canyon system, what’s the average temp at the equator, how extensive is the permafrost layer.

In Zenn Scarlett, I proposed a mini-terraforming approach where, instead of going to the colossal expense of making the entire surface of Mars livable, my colonists devised a technology that enabled them to put a “roof” over some of Mars’ great canyon systems and live and raise crops on the canyon floor. This was achieved by employing barymetric ionizing generators on the canyon walls and projecting a thin, translucent layer of coherently energized molecules that would trap oxygen and moisture beneath it, allow sunlight to pass through, but keep out the frigid, near-vacuum of the thin Martian atmosphere above. I did zero research on this canyon-topping tech, but simply decided that human capabilities had progressed far enough to make this possible, then dressed it up in language that, to me at least, makes it sound real. Again, I was careful to match the science involved to the general established rules governing my world.

So, in the end, much of the “research” for Zenn, especially concerning exovets and their patients, came not from sleuthing out specific facts, but from drawing on my past experience with earthbound animals and vets (and science fictional tropes) and using this experience as a foundation for my imaginary, but Zenn’s-world-consistent, creations.

Thank you, Christian, for sharing your story.

Born in the American Midwest, Christian started his writing career in earnest as an in-house writer at the Walt Disney Company in Burbank, California. He then became a freelance writer working for various film, home video and animation studios in Los Angeles. After moving from LA to a farmstead in Iowa several years ago, he continues to freelance and also now helps re-hab wildlife and foster abused/neglected horses.  He acquired his amateur-vet knowledge, and much of his inspiration for the Zenn Scarlett series of novels, as he learned about - and received an education from - these remarkable animals and the awesome veterinarians who care so deeply for them.

Zenn Scarlett is out May 7th, 2013. 

Pre-Order Zenn Scarlett on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Zenn-Scarlett-Christian-Schoon/dp/1908844558

Find Christian at:

Goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16071885-zenn-scarlett

Author blog:

christianschoon.com

Twitter:

@cjschoon

Publisher’s website:

http://strangechemistrybooks.com/our-authors/christian-schoon/

Happy reading, 

Valia 

Blog Tour: The Book of the Night by Pearl North

Hello lovelies, 

Today, I have a special treat for you! Pearl North, the author of Libyrinth series is sharing her writing journey with us! Please give her a warm welcome :-D

Thank you for having me on your blog Valia! I noticed that you seem to like gifs a bit, and so do I, so I thought I'd borrow a meme circulating the internet these days and tell the story of how I wrote the Libyrinth trilogy, in .gifs.

So, first, I had this idea about a girl who can hear the voices of books. She lives in a library so vast that sometimes people get lost in it an never come out again. 

I liked it.

So I wrote Libyrinth.

Then I sent it to my agent and editor and I waited.

And waited.

But then it turned out they liked it!

And I was all

Then my editor said, "I want you to write two more."

Then I panicked.

There were a lot of cookies involved.

Eventually, I got some ideas.

And I was back to 

but this world I'd created was getting more and more complicated and my brain was all like

But eventually, I gave in and embraced the complexity

And then there was more

And finally, some

And now, here we are and the whole trilogy is finished and out in the world and I feel like

Thank you for accompanying me on this brief journey in time. Here's some more info about me and my books:

Libyrinth follows the story of Haly a Libyrarian dedicated to preserving and protecting the knowledge passed down from the Ancients and stored in the endless maze of books known as the Libyrinth. But Haly has a secret: the books speak to her. When she is captured by the Singers, a group of people hostile to the Libyrinth who believe the written word to be evil, Haly learns that things are not at all as they seem. Haly must mend the rift between the two groups before their war for knowledge destroys them all.

In The Boy from Ilysies, the Libyrinth is quickly running out of food, and the survival of the ancient edifice and those who serve it may depend on Po, a young man raised in the female dominant society of Ilysia. Po is having trouble adjusting to life in the egalitarian Libyrinth. Caught between his longings for acceptance and the Machiavellian tactics of his queen, Po is tricked into a crime that causes him to be cast out. He may return only if he retrieves Endymion's Pen, an enormously powerful ancient artifact capable of rewriting reality. It may be the answer to all of the libyrinth’s problems, but in the wrong hands, it could turn the world into a barren, lifeless ruin.

The Libyrinth trilogy concludes with The Book of the Night. The world of the Libyrinth has experienced a series of wrenching changes. Behind the mysteries of their shrouded past has always been the legendary Book of the Night. Sought for generations, both feared and revered, it is the key to this world of wonders. When Queen Thela imperils the very reality of the world, only the Book can heal what she has rent asunder. An epic journey through strange lands, a perilous encounter in a clockwork city, and the revelation of the truth beyond reality will lead those who find the Book to a moment when their world will either be saved...or cease to exist.

My thoughts: 

The books are complex and interesting. The whole concept of a giant library as a world blew me away at first. I have to admit that these books won't be for everyone. However, those of you who are brave enough to take on the world of Libyrinth may be taken by surprise. The third book can be read along, but you'll miss the story that came before and much of the world building. I always enjoy seeing how others create their characters and worlds. Science fiction is one of those places where anything is possible, and The Book of Night is that kind of a book. If you enjoy a good science fiction/fantasy, this book is definitely something you should read. The third book is out now!

A firm believer in the basic goodness of human beings, Pearl North loves writing and reading about characters that transcend the limits of who they think they are and what they think is possible. She mentors graduate students in Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction MFA program, and writes in other genres under different names. A native of the Detroit area, she has never lived more than two miles from Woodward Avenue in her life.

Find Pearl at:

http://anneharris.typepad.com/pearl_north/

Thank you so much Pearl for joining me on the blog and sharing your stories with us! 

Much love, 

Valia