What genre does your book fall under?
YA sci-fi.
What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?
During Earth’s final years, a teenage girl struggles to escape the planet after the sun turns “red giant,” but discovers her fellow survivors are even deadlier than the hostile environment.
Who is publishing your book and are you represented by an agency?
My book will be published by Egmont USA on April 8, 2014, and I am represented by the amazing Jessica Regel from the Jean V. Naggar Agency in NYC.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Well, it’s strange but the book that I’d most compare it to is Graceling by Kristin Cashore, which is a YA fantasy. They both feature a strong female character, albeit in very different settings. In terms of sci-fi comparisons, I’ve been told my character is the female Han Solo, which is hands down my favorite compliment about the book.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Aside from Question #2 above, I have a fascination with a concept captured beautifully in the movie, Kung Fu Panda (no, I’m not kidding). The quote is something like “One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it.” Without giving too much away about my book, mankind tries to avoid their destiny with catastrophic consequences.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
I’m a quantum physics nerd, and the “science” in sci-fi fascinates me. Several of the things I “made up” in the book have already come about since I first submitted the book to my agency several years ago. We even discovered a planet remarkably similar to the one in BURN OUT. I think a lot of the fiction in sci-fi is just stuff the scientists haven’t figured out yet.
