Yesterday I shared my thoughts about Isolation by Denise R. Stephenson.
Today, I’m thrilled to turn over my blog to the author for a guest post.
Be sure to check out the rest of the post for more about the book and how to enter the giveaways. There’s two.
So Denise, tell us.
What drove you to write this book?
I was driven to write this book by a little boy who found a pornographic image in his mother’s garage. Before that all I had were ideas from contemporary events suggesting I had something to write. The germs of my novel Isolation came from the fear of a swine flu epidemic in the fall of 2009, the CDC changing our behavior by teaching us to sleeve the sneeze, and my concerns about the overuse of 99% bacterial killing soaps and sanitizers. But it was hearing this line in my head: “and laying a finger aside of his nose” that told me I had something worth pursuing. In that line, I suddenly imagined a world in which face-touching had been outlawed—an outrageous idea, one worthy of a dystopia.
The gift of a sabbatical in the Spring of 2012 gave me the time to create this particular world torn apart, not by a virus, but by a variety of bacteria no longer within medical control. I did a great deal of research, some over the two years of gestation and lots during the first month of the actual writing. I probably spent at least a couple of hours every day researching food-borne bacterial contaminants, produce recalls, genetically modified foods, and the practices of agri-business. I watched many documentaries and a few fictional movies like Contagion. I also read many, many dystopias, discovering intuitively how to build a world falling apart.
I consider myself an organic writer, meaning I don’t outline, but rather, allow a story to grow organically from the seed of an idea or the voice of a character. Typically I have no idea where a story is going and find ways to push myself to just keep writing until plot develops, usually through characters’ interactions more than through exterior devices like chase scenes or explosions.
My characters reveal their lives to me. Sometimes they do so in excruciating detail that I have to sift through, discovering which aspects are important to a particular story. Other times characters show me only a swipe of the canvas and I need to imagine what fills the rest of it. Either way, I don’t plan or outline. I find myself sitting in a coffee shop, walking along a beach, or reading for pleasure and suddenly needing to take notes or capture a line of dialog. Once I have an opening, I’m at the computer drawing the characters actions in words, making sure to capture the emotional tone of the details.
In the case of Isolation, though Gary was a tweener who found The Night Before Christmas children’s book in his mother’s old belongings and recognized that Santa Claus touching his own nose was an illicit image, it was taking Gary into adulthood which became a driving force that kept me working toward a novel. Isolation is epic in scope, spanning three generations. Figuring out that I could use Gary both in his adolescent years and then as an adult really helped me develop that timeline.
In the end, Gary was only one of a cast of six characters who form the central story of the novel. He was the first I imagined, but not the first I wrote. In fact, the first character I developed ended up being cut from the novel altogether. And in the end, Gary’s was one of the story-lines that took the longest for me to close. I think I wanted something for Gary that a dystopia couldn’t give him, so it took me awhile to be willing to end his story as it had to end.
No spoilers, so I’ll stop there. The drive to write Isolation was a combination of world events and a line from a children’s book which brought with it a concept I’d never imagined and wouldn’t want to live with—a world without touch.
Thanks so much Denise. I just wanted to add that the ending was special. I’m glad you stayed with it.
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Publisher: Mill City Press (April 15, 2014)
Category: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic, Political Thriller, Medical Thriller
ISBN: 13: 978-1-62652-760-7
Tour Dates: June 15-July 30, 2014
Available in: Print and ebook, 383 Pages
Isolation depicts a bleak but recognizable future in which the fear of contagion reaches a fever pitch as a bacterial epidemic catapults the US into an apocalyptic crisis.
Touch is outlawed. Mothers like Maggie bind their infants’ hands, terrified they might slip fingers into mouths. Gary, a Sterilizer, uses robots to scour the infected, avoiding all contact with human flesh. Trevor, the Chief Enforcer, watches, eager to report any and all infractions.
One inadvertent touch will change all of their lives.
For those of you who missed my post yesterday, click HERE to read my review and enter the giveaways.
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About Denise R. Stephenson:
DENISE R. STEPHENSON resides in Oceanside, CA, but she has lived in all the isolated locales of this novel at one time or another. Her publishing history is primarily academic, though as a member of Attention Deficit Drama, she has written and produced monologs and short plays. This is her first novel.
Website: http://denisestephenson.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeniseStephensonIsolation
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BookArts_Denise
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Buy Isolation:
Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Book Depository
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I have two giveaways!
You can enter both!
The first one is for an eBook copy of Isolation (Open Internationally)
Now for the second giveaway!
5 Print copies of Isolation
Go HERE to enter.
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Follow the Tour:
Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus June 16 Excerpt & Giveaway
Library Educated June 17 Review
Creating Serenity June 18 Review
Room With Books June 18 Interview & Giveaway
Reviews From The Heart June 19 Review & Giveaway
Paranormal Romance & Authors June 24 Review
Always a Book Lover June 25 Guest Post
Lightning Chronicles June 27 Review
Elizabeth McKenna Romance Author July 1 Interview
Deal Sharing Aunt July 2 Review
Deal Sharing Aunt July 3 Interview & Giveaway
Books & Quilts July 9 Review
Mary’s Cup of Tea July 10 Review & Giveaway
Manic Mama of 2 July 10 Review
TreeHouseJuly 12 Giveaway
Book Talk With Alana July 14 Review
Book Talk With Alana July 14 Interview
Nerdophiles July 15 Review
Nerdophiles July 16 Interview & Giveaway
She Treads Softly July 17 Review
Kritters Ramblings July 18 Review
fuonlyknew July 21 Review, Guest Post, & Giveaway
Open Book Society July 23 Review & Giveaway
Cassandra M’s Place July 24 Review & Giveaway
Giveaways and Glitter July 25 Review
Two Children & a Migraine July 28 Review, Guest Post & Giveaway
JeanzBookReadNReview July 30 Interview & Giveaway
Heart of a Philanthropist July 31 Review, Interview & Giveaway
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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!
To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky horseshoe below!
