BooksChatter: ℚ♫ Soul Finder: The Immortal Gene Trilogy [2]

Today we have the pleasure of meeting up with author Jacinta Maree to talk about Soul Finder (16 September 2016, Inked Rabbit Publishing, 263 pages), a New Adult Dystopian novel, book two of The Immortal Gene Trilogy.

“Soulless is the absolutely spectacular first book in Australian author Jacinta Maree’s new The Immortal Gene series and is a truly impressive start to what looks to be a very promising series!” - The Rest is Unwritten

|| Synopsis || Teaser: KCR Preview || The Series || Author Q&A || About the Author || Giveaway & Tour Stops ||

A very warm welcome to Jacinta Maree; thank you for joining us on BooksChatter!

To begin Jacinta has shared with us her music playlist for Soul Finder - enjoy!

What was the inspiration for Soul Finder?

"I am a believer in the soul, especially in reincarnation. Even though there is no hard proof, it’s just something that eases me. Soulless was me exploring the idea of reincarnation in extreme situations. What would the world be like if reincarnation was not only real, but affected everyone?

It got dark… real quick. I don’t believe humanity is meant for immortality. The more I thought about it the more I came to understand what a world would be like without a fear of death or an appreciation of life. We would cease to better the world, becoming lazy in our ambitions.

In my version of reincarnation, it’s not just bad enough to live forever, you have to remember it all too. Throw in schizophrenia into the pot and you have yourself a big old disaster cake."

How much of yourself is reflected in this book, and how?

"The Immortal Gene can be seen as an alienating world, so it’s hard to place any of my own personal beliefs into the minds of the characters. Nadia is probably the closest character I can relate to, but that being said, she is still very much a product of a violent world. She isn’t someone from our society being just thrown into a chaotic war zone, she has grown up there and has developed morals of her own. Her potty mouth is very much me. I like to think I can control my temper better than her, but then again, I’ve never been shot so I can’t say for sure how I’ll react."

The first thing that draws me to a book is its cover. Can you tell us about your cover for Soul Finder - why you chose that concept and who the artist is.

"Ha ha, thank you. Yes, the cover was created by an extremely talented young artist called Thander Lin, or LAS-T.

I like the more cartoon/ anime look, the vibrant orange clashing against a stormy background or the blur of fire cutting across the page, it’s all very exciting and symbolic to their characters personality.

The first cover, Soulless, has Nadia on the front. She is side on, her attention down on her cut palm. Red blood seems to be lifting up from it. Her focus stays down, and not at the reader, making it feel more private. Her turned away body is a reflection of her isolation from the world, but she hasn’t completely turned her back, so she’s still willing and able to let people in.

The second cover is of Diesel in an action shot. Diesel is violent and quick to act with no regard to consequences. His body is already in a full swing, having thrown a flaming molotov across the page. You can see in the picture just how much his body has twisted around in his leap that he has ran at full speed and thrown the explosive with no hesitation. You can’t see if there’s any danger near him, or what his reasoning was behind his action. But for Diesel, there doesn’t need to be a reason. If he wants to do it, he will. Fire is also very close to his character’s personality, the destruction of an uncontrollable force."

Why should we read Soul Finder and what sets it apart from the rest? What makes your book unique?

"I can never say to someone they have to read my books, unless I know them very well and can guarantee they will enjoy it. I try to be different in everything I do. I try and surprise my readers. Everyone has different likes and dislikes, so the only thing I can do is write what I would want to read.

Better yet – I’ll just tag a few reviews.

SERIESous Book reviews: “There were many things that happened that I wasn't expecting and I found that to be very refreshing. I love when stories surprise me like that. Nothing about this is typical or cliche which is awesome and I think that is in thanks to the gritter and dark edge this sequel has to its predecessor.”

Hadassah Harper: “You can say this book is very similar to the Tom Cruise movie, Minority Report, with a mixture of Divergent. Now I am adding The Maze Runner.”

Nihilsedtempus: “Soulless draws you in, and then drops you into a pit of live wire emotions. Maree takes you on a death defying stroll through a gritty world. Maree has the ability to make you love a character and then have you sobbing about them in less than a chapter. That also fits with the slow burn romance happening between Nadia and Diesel. He is such a flawed character that you can’t help but love him.”"

Can you tell us something quirky about Soul Finder, its story and characters?

"Hmm, something quirky… well, to get into the mindset of a schizophrenic sufferer, I did the mentality test where you walk around with headphones on which has voices constantly talking to you. The idea was to try and complete simple tasks while trying to ignore this wall of noise constantly whispering into your ear. I even made a small reference to the tapes through one of the drifter’s mumblings.

A second thing is of course the names of the characters. Nadia’s name, in some origins, means Hope.

And Diesel’s name is a point toward a flammable substance, a reflection of his personality."

Who would you recommend Soul Finder to and what should readers be aware of (any warnings or disclaimers)?

"This is a fast paced novel, it has violence, language and adult situations. It is definitely more suitable for an older audience, but this really just depends on a person’s maturity. It is not a lovely dovey romance focused novel, it delves deeper into the turmoil of a loveless couple trying to learn how to trust each other.

It also explores the human psyche and tries to tear down expectations and character stereotypes."

If you could / wished to turn Soul Finder and the The Immortal Gene Trilogy into a movie, who would be your dream team?

"I often like to daydream my books would be turned into games more than movies. But, I did have certain actors in mind when writing the Immortal Gene series.

Nadia: Natalie Portman
Diesel: Aiden Turner or Ed Westwick

Though probably not suitable, I love the way Sherlock Holmes (the t.v series with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman) has been directed and edited, so whoever is in that team I would want them. Locations will have to stick to deteriorated cities and overgrown jungles, bringing to light just how much humanity has lost control."

What do you like to write and read about? Do you stick to a particular genre or do you like to explore different ones?

"Whatever I write, it has to have an element that is extraordinary. I cannot write anything in our present reality and world, so when I write novels there are always touches of fantasy, supernatural, science fiction or paranormal weaved in. I don’t like sticking to just one genre as it feels incredibly limiting. Looking back, I’ve written an urban paranormal, a dystopian science fiction and now a steampunk supernatural, so I’m a bit all over the place.

I cannot write contemporary, and despite thinking myself a romantic, I can’t write beautiful romances. And I’m just too awkward to write erotica, so that’s out of the question. I love to read the same things that I enjoy writing. Similarly, I can’t read a novel purely on romance. I need plot. I need danger. I need something else pushing the characters forward, romance is just a nice addition."

What is your writing process?

"Scream at the computer until it feeds me ice-cream. Ha ha, jokes, (not really. Still waiting for my ice-cream) I write in dot points, primarily trying to get the skeleton of the novel down first before adding in the details. I have a few writing techniques I like to use to keep me going. Word vomit is one of them. This is a short sprint where you just write without looking back, no correcting spelling mistakes, no fixing up misused words and awkward grammatical errors. You just put your head down and write until the scene is down.

Second, is scene jump. When you know a certain point needs to happen, but you’re just not there yet in the storyline, I tend to write it anyway. Connecting point A to point B can happen later.

When I’ve eventually gotten the flow of writing, I like to have my heater on, have a warm cup of tea (or if its night time, some soft drink to keep me awake), sitting in my PJS, music playing and all the blinds shut."

What is in store next?

"I have a full plate right now, especially with all the conventions I am attending it can get pretty hectic. I have started on Soul Reaper, which is the third and final instalment, but I can’t rush these things so I’m sitting on my hands a bit. I have a few projects I want to get done, but at the same time I have my steampunk supernatural Time Weaver: The Time Collector series coming out next year in February with Ragnarok Publishing.

Once the book is out I need to focus on writing book two, which doesn’t leave me a lot of room for side projects. One particular project I really want to write is Empty Realms [which is currently free to read on Wattpad], but alas, I’m so lazy it’s hard to get the motivation to get going.

Knowing I have people waiting on me is a great motivation, (sooo much guilt) so I tend to focus on what is in demand. As no one has seen or really read Time Weaver or Empty Realms, they have taken the back seat to Soul Reaper."

And as a final quirky thing, to get to know you a little bit better... do you have a pet or something that is special to you that you could share with us?

"Hmm… something quirky. I guess, like a lot of people, when I start really enjoying a certain movie, show, series, book, game, whatever… I really, really obsess over it. By obsessing, I mean I’m already looking up fanart, I’m researching interviews, I’m watching youtubers decipher code and hidden meaning behind certain phrases or scenes. One of such obsessions, was How to Train Your Dragon, the animated movie. Loved it. Absolute loved it. As timing was perfect, How to Train Your Dragon 2 was coming out on my birthday so I hired out a cinema for me and my friends to watch."

And this is the perfect time for me to add this piece of art you commissioned in 2014 of you riding Toothless :-)

Do carry on...

"I tweeted about this – and got a tweet back from Simon Otto, the head character animated of HTTYD. I replied asking for a signature, where I sent over an artbook I had purchased to him over in America and he sent me back this. One of my prized possessions, I absolutely love it.

As I am not in the picture, I also decided to show the group photo of before we went into the cinema. I had gone out and purchased the new Toothless toy from Build a Bear. (I’m a giant kid, but whatever). I’m the one kneeling down in front, holding up Toothless like it's Simba from the Lion King."