Meet The Authors Showcase Edition #2 (2 of 3)

a showcase with @marsaumell, author of Amanita: Poison Shot

1. what inspired the idea of your story?

I got inspired by the debate class of my former high school, in which we used to watch a movie and then talk about it. I wanted to write a book that could trigger a debate. Besides that, there was one movie in particular that made a huge impact on me: "Hollow Man".

2. what was something you struggled with for your story?

I struggled to define and structure the different ethical positions about the plot's main issue (the answer to "what if medicine and ethics were no longer best friends?", and "what if there were two communities against each other's throats about it?"), and the characters who would impersonate each side and why, also providing backstories that would back those views up.

3. what has been the overall response to your story from your readers?

Most readers are positively surprised, admitting that they don't usually read or feel like reading a Sci-Fi, but that this story is different.

At the beginning, I got many trolls and stern readers that wouldn't even read half of the 1st chapter, complaining about the concept of dystopia, and their reasons as to why that society wouldn't work, or the reasons why they didn't root for the main character just because she was a nice person. I can take polite, constructive criticism – but that wasn't polite nor constructive. Surprisingly, after the book got a few hundred reads and more comments (both praise and criticism), those mean readers are nowhere to be found.

4. what did you enjoy writing most of your story?

The thing I enjoyed the most writing was defining my main character's mechanics-related terms. She loves mending stuff, and wants to become a mechanic. So, for example, she's gonna say that someone might've put the conversation in neutral, meaning that that someone had nothing further to say.

And also, I enjoyed defining one of my secondary character's list of insults for clones (Agape, if you're wondering who).

5. is your story a stand alone novel or a piece of a series?

For the time being, it's a standalone book.

6. what would you like your readers to take away from your story?

I'd love for them to get shocked about the parallelisms between this work of fiction and real life. I've used many events in history as a source of inspiration, merging them to create a dystopian-flavored sci-fi. If my book triggers them to think about the wrong that human beings are capable of, I shall be more than satisfied.

7. what's a piece of advice you would provide to another writer, when it comes to focusing on their story?

I'd suggest to outline your whole story before you start writing, and also take a look at writing tips and tricks from reliable sources.

8. does your main character share any similarities to yourself?

Not many, actually. We only share a stupidly utopian view of life and politics – kind of naïve, I'll admit too.

9. what's something you believe would draw in new readers?

It would be easier to get new readers if I'd manage to find a way to sell the concept of Sci-Fi while I distance myself from the concepts of "space" and "scientific stuff = hard stuff to read about/needs previous insight or knowledge from the readers".

My readers do NOT need to have any previous scientific knowledge at all!

10. do you have any future projects? 

 I'm trying to juggle the writing of this story with some other much smaller stories, like a Fantasy/Humor and another Sci-Fi about the browsers in our devices. But it's hard. I think I'm gonna focus on finishing Amanita, and then I'll continue these other two stories.