Title: The Polaris Uprising
Author: Jennifer Ibarra
BLURB supplied by Author
In less than seven years, eighteen-year-old Ryla Jensen will succeed her
father as the president of Neress, a nation where all citizens are cared for
from the moment they’re born. Fed, sheltered, even educated—every need of
theirs is met.
The only price
they pay is their free will.
Groomed since
childhood to take on a role she’s not even sure she wants, Ryla’s only escape
from the pressures of duty is her sister, Alanna. But when her eyes are opened
to the oppressive regime her father built, she begins to question everything
she’s set to inherit—and finds herself at odds with her sister’s blind
allegiance to their father.
Torn between
loyalty to her family and the fight for freedom, Ryla must decide just how far
she’s willing to go to make a stand and risk losing the person she loves most
in the world: Alanna.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jennifer Ibarra
grew up on a steady diet of books, Star Wars, and other fantastic feats of the
imagination. Her debut novel, THE POLARIS UPRISING, the first book in a planned
trilogy, has been called "Frozen meets THE HUNGER GAMES" and mixes
dystopia with family drama, romance, and political intrigue.
She lives in
Silicon Valley, where she does marketing for a tech company and spends her time
running, cooking, baking, and keeping up with celebrity gossip.
What is your
name, where were you born and where do you live now?
I'm Jennifer
Ibarra, and I was born in Manila, Philippines. I now live in the San Francisco
Bay Area.
Did you always
want to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?
A writer is
definitely the earliest profession I remember wanting to pursue. I must have
been 9 or 10 when I told my parents I wanted to be an author when I grew up. As
I got older, I got this false notion that writers are simply born good, and
being a perfectionist, I would often get frustrated that I wasn't producing
work at the quality I thought I needed to produce at to be a professional
writer, so I got discouraged and didn't write for a long time. Then, after I
graduated from college and began working as a marketer, I got back into writing
through fan fiction, and it was as though the writing bug never left me.
I learned at
that point that the writing craft can be studied, and no one
is just born a great writer--everyone works at it! So I decided I would work at
it, and I read every writing craft book I could get my hands on, I took writing
classes, and I wrote and wrote and wrote. I finished an original novel (which
took 10 years!), but it wasn't very good. Then in 2012, an idea for a YA
dystopia trilogy rooted itself in me and wouldn't let go. The result is the
first book in that trilogy, THE POLARIS UPRISING.
Do you work
another job as well as your writing work?
Yes, I am a
marketer in my day job.
What can we
expect from you in the future? ie More books of the same genre? Books of
a different genre?
I definitely
gravitate toward science fiction and fantasy in my reading, so I imagine that
that's where most of my books will be as well. I may dabble in contemporary
mainstream as well eventually, but for now, most of my ideas are in the science
fiction and fantasy realm.
As for the
immediate future, I've got two more full-length novels in this particular
series, as well as one to two novellas set in the same world. Those will occupy
me for the next two to three years :).
Do you have
plans for a new book? Is this book part of a series?
I'm currently
75% done with the first draft of the sequel to THE POLARIS UPRISING. There will
be one more book to round out the trilogy, and I also have plans for a novella
that takes place in between books one and two (and possibly a second novella,
as well).
What genre would
you place your books into?
This one is YA
Dystopia. Most of the ideas that come to me fall into that general speculative
fiction realm. It's in my blood, I guess :).
How long have
you been writing?, and who or what inspired you to write?
I've been making
up stories since I was 5 or 6 years old--I can barely remember not doing so! I
think I just have that storytelling gene :). I started writing in earnest in
middle school and thanks to a teacher who encouraged me in high school, I wrote
a lot in high school. Unfortunately, I got away from it during college and the
first few years after graduating, but I found my way back eventually.
I've been
writing seriously now for about fourteen years, after I got back into it as an
adult.
Do you choose a
title first, or write the book then choose the title?
I work best when
I have a title before I start. It helps me develop motifs or symbolism, and
gives me something to tie it all together. Occasionally, I won't have a title
when I start, but that's definitely the exception, not the rule! And when that
happens, I try to come up with a title fairly soon after I begin.
What do you do
to unwind and relax? Do you have a hobby?
I run a lot! I
train for half marathons and marathons. I also love to cook and bake
(especially bake!).
Is there a
certain Author that influenced you in writing?
Barbara Hambly
(DRAGONSBANE, the BENJAMIN JANUARY series) has probably had the biggest
influence on my voice. I just love how she writes, and even though I've come
into my own in my voice now, I still sometimes pick up on the ways she left her
mark on my writing.
AUTHOR LINKS
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