Title: Nexis
Author: A.L. Davroe
Series: Trickster
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Genre: YA, Science Fiction
Release Date: 1st December 2015
BLURB supplied by A.L. Davroe
In the domed city of Evanescence
Her only escape is to lose herself in Nexis, the hugely popular virtual reality game her father created. In Nexis she meets Guster, a senior player who guides Ella through the strange and compelling new world she now inhabits. He offers Ella guidance, friendship…and something more. Something that allows her to forget about the “real” world, and makes her feel whole again.
But Nexis isn’t quite the game everyone thinks it is.
And it’s been waiting for Ella
Her only escape is to lose herself in Nexis, the hugely popular virtual reality game her father created. In Nexis she meets Guster, a senior player who guides Ella through the strange and compelling new world she now inhabits. He offers Ella guidance, friendship…and something more. Something that allows her to forget about the “real” world, and makes her feel whole again.
But Nexis isn’t quite the game everyone thinks it is.
And it’s been waiting for Ella
PURCHASE LINKS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A.L. (Amanda) Davroe
writes both YA and adult speculative fiction. She prefers revisionist tales in
paranormal, romance, Steampunk, and fantasy. She is the author of Salvation
Station (adult psych horror), The City Steam Collection (adult psych
horror), For Your Heart (YA Paranormal Romance) and her YA Sci-Fi novel,
Nexis, is coming out with Entangled Publishing December 1, 2015!
By day, Amanda lives inConnecticut
By day, Amanda lives in
AUTHOR LINKS
Author Email: ALDavroe@gmail.com
Author Website: www.ALDavroe.com
Author Blog: www.
ALDavroe.com
Author Twitter: @ALDavroe
Author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ALDavroeFanPage
Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5212441.A_L_Davroe
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/RBlXP
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AUTHOR INTERVIEW
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Would
you tell us a little about Nexis please?
Nexis
is a futuristic dystopian about a young woman who becomes disabled and begins
to play a virtual reality game in an effort to cope with her newfound
limitations. It’s a story within a story
– Ella’s stagnant life in one world and her vibrant life in another…and how
those worlds collide.
Can
you also tell us something about what to expect from the Trickster series in
the future?
The
Trickster Series is…complicated to explain!
LOL! Well, I suppose that, as a
whole, this series really examines what the world would be like if we attempted
to strive for a perfect version of humanity.
Yet, everyone has their own version of perfection. We see what happens when certain paths are
taken and others not taken.
How
long did it take you to write Nexis, from the original idea to finishing
writing it?
The
first draft of Nexis only took me a few months to write. It went right to my agent after that and we
started pitching immediately. During the
submission process I gave it a little overhaul, but for the most part, the
story is nearly the same one that I wrote.
It’s one of the fastest books I’ve ever written.
What
genre would you place Nexis into?
Nexis
is firmly a YA Sci-Fi. It’s futuristic
dystopian which is right at home in Science Fiction. And it’s YA because the protagonist is a
young adult. BUT, there are a lot of
aspects to this book that straddle the fantasy line and there are many themes
and aspects of this book that would appeal to adults.
What
made you decide to write that genre of book?
I
have always loved both science fiction and fantasy and I tend to write in
either of those arenas. I suppose for
this one I wanted to do something more futuristic because I hadn’t tried that
yet. I like to try new things, see what
worlds I can build…
Do
you have a favourite character from Nexis? and why are they your favourite?
If
you had to choose to be one of your characters in Nexis which would you be? and
why?
You
know, I’m quite partial to Quentin – though you don’t get to know him until
book 2, really, so I’ll pick someone else.
In book 1, I think I’d have to go with Meems as my favorite. She’s just an interesting character and I
wish I had been able to explore her a bit more deeply. I think she’s so intriguing because she’s
not-quite-human, yet she’s so human at the same time. I love the idea of exploring those boundaries
of what makes us people – both in our own eyes and in the eyes of others. If I had to be a character…Oh gosh, I don’t want
to be any of my own characters! I’m mean
to them! I suppose I’d be Ella if I had
to. I mean, she’s the main character,
I’m least likely to kill her, right!? (though maiming is obviously not off the
table…) She does get a hunky boyfriend
though…
How
did you come up with the Title and Cover Designs for Nexis? Who designed the
Cover of your books?
Entangled
had me fill out a special form for the cover.
It was a basic: give us a summary, character descriptions, and what you
do and don’t want to see happen on the cover.
I filled that out and that was pretty much the only involvement I had in
the design. There was a different cover
for Nexis, initially. It was very
pretty. I asked for a number of changes
and got a couple of them, but overall it was more “futuristic Sex in the City
feelings than I wanted.” Then, the
publisher changed the cover about three months before the book was supposed to
come out! I was a little freaked out
about that, but then I opened the new concept files. The new cover is so much cooler than the last
one that I couldn’t complain. There was
literally nothing I wanted to change about this new cover, it’s perfect. The artist for this one is a woman named Louisa
Maggio of LMCreations, she works for the publisher, and I think she’s an
absolute genius.
Do
you choose a title first, or write Nexis then choose the title?
I had
a completely different title for this book while I was writing it and I really
liked that title. But, my agent hated it
and told me it needed to go. Next to
re-naming Quentin, coming up with the title for NEXIS was one of the biggest
headaches of my life! I made a list like
twenty titles long and hated them all. I
could not pick anything I liked.
Eventually I just picked “Nexis” because that’s what the game was
called. It definitely suits the book,
but in some ways I’m annoyed with it because it’s spelled weirdly and it causes
confusion for people when they search it.
But, that’s the title I picked for the game and that’s what it needed to
stay. Once names are picked in my head,
it’s very hard to change them – even into new spelling. I wouldn’t change the title now for anything,
it is what it is and it has become Nexis and couldn’t be anything else at this
point.
How
did you come up with characters names and place names in Nexis?
I
answer character name things below, so I’ll just focus on place names
here. For the locations in the game most
of them just came to me. Some of them
were meant to appeal to historical titles but somehow be a little jumbled --
the Fief of Lau, for example is supposed to have that East meets West jumble to
it. Other locations have almost comical
“amusement park” titles – Discoland and Canal Town Babylon
Are
character names and place names decided after their creation? or do you pick a
character/place name and then invent them?
The
name usually comes to me at the very beginning.
Every so often, I’ll have a little difficulty thinking of a name for
someone, but a little baby-name searching on Google and I usually find
something that clicks. Sometimes I change
names, but not often. Quentin’s name
changed at the request of the publisher (It was incredibly hard to pick a new
name for him and I was very uncomfortable with the change until I wrote Book #2
and he told me all about how he’s a Quentin).
I changed the name of Zane on my own because after I wrote him a little,
I decided that the original name I had picked for him wasn’t fitting for
him. Everyone else got their names from
the start and the names stuck.
Did
you decide on character traits (ie shy, quiet, tomboy girl) before writing the
Nexis or as you went along?
I
don’t usually decide what a character is going to be personality-wise ahead of
time. I knew Ella was going to be a
“Natural” and that she was going to be much like every other teenaged girl out
there – wants to fit in and be popular.
Her love of designing clothing was a surprise and the way her
personality assembled itself was also a surprise. Minus a few distinct tid-bits where I go into
a character thinking “I’m going to write an ‘X’ character,” every character
tells me who he or she is as I write them.
Did
you basic plot/plan for Nexis, before you actually began writing it out? Or do
you let the writing flow and see where it takes the story?
I had
originally wanted NEXIS to be a Cinderella retelling…that lasted about two
minutes then it took a life all its own.
Most of my work tends to just assemble itself as I write it, even if I
want to follow an outline.
Are there any hidden messages or morals contained in Nexis?
(Morals as in like Aesops Fables type of "The moral of this story
is..")
Well, like all good Sci-Fi and Fantasy, NEXIS touches on a
number of issues that aren’t necessarily morality based so much as cautionary
tales. There’s some touching on
environmental issues, allowing technology to get the better of us, loving who
we are, etc. But, I tried not to go too
crazy with beating anyone over the head on what’s right and wrong. I suppose it might feel that way because the
story is written in first person and Ella is learning some tough lessons
throughout the book.
Is there anything else you would like to tell us about?
Only that it was a blast to write and I hope that readers love
it as much as I do!
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