In Meritropolis everyone is assigned a numerical Score that
decides their worth to society and whether they live or die. After a young boy
is killed because of a low Score, his brother plots to take down the System.
Sounds good, right? Well, this exciting YA Dystopia is on sale
for just 99 cents Thursday, November 27 through Monday, December 1. You can
pick up your copy on Amazon.
Check out this interview with Joel Ohman, the author of the book
critics are calling, “The Hunger Games meets The Village with a young Jack
Reacher as a protagonist”, then scroll to the end of this post to learn more
about the giveaway. Happy reading, and good luck!
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Reader Interview with
Joel Ohman
Who or what was your inspiration to write about post-apocalyptic,
dystopian sci-fi?
I've read a lot in this genre, so I would say it’s a mix of a
lot of different things. I really just wanted to explore this question of,
"What gives a person worth?" Is it their usefulness to society? Is it
because someone loves them? Is it because of how they look? Is it because of
their health or ability? As a Christian, I believe that all people have worth,
because they are made in the image of God. I wanted to
explore some different takes on this question. I think that the
post-apocalyptic/dystopian/sci-fi genre was the best vehicle to tackle some of
those deep philosophical questions in a fun and interesting way.
Why do you write? Is it for fun, or because you have something
you need to say in your writing?
Some writers are loath to say their writing has a message,
because maybe they think doing so diminishes their art (not true, in my
opinion), but I think that everyone has a message in their writing, even if
they aren't as consciously focused on it—and that's a good thing. My message is
in my epigraph: "Because everyone matters - Psalm 139".
Why the title Meritropolis?
I wanted a short one word title that was a clever—or at least
semi-clever—play on two different words. I like "Meritropolis"
because it combines "Merit" and "Metropolis," two words
that are great for describing a city where each resident's worth is measured by
a score given to them.
In Meritropolis how were the animal
combinations decided upon? For example, I know you chose to write about a bion
(bull-lion), as well as many other freaks of nature. So what I want to know is
how did you decided which animals to meld together and why.
I have a big list of animal combinations that I came up with
before I began writing the book, and I tried to work in as many as I could.
Sometimes the only criteria was that I liked the way the name sounded. Look for
many more in the following books!
Can you tells us about your characters and who/what inspired
them?
I am a big believer in John Truby’s approach to building a
“character web”, because this deepens the relationships between characters and
helps to make each of the characters more complex. Absent building a good
character web, it can be all too easy to fall into the not-very-true-to-real-life
good-person/bad-person false dichotomy where your protagonist devolves into
this I-can-do-no-wrong character and your antagonist is just pure evil. I was
very much aiming to show the imperfections and brokenness in each of the
characters. My thinking as a Christian influences this to some degree, given
that the Bible teaches that we are all essentially the same; we are all
sinners—only God is perfect.
Do you have a favorite genre that you like to read?
I read pretty much everything! Fiction, non-fiction, you name
it! I am of the opinion that, as an author, I can learn something from almost
every kind of writing. Sometimes, it most definitely is a matter of
learning what not to do—but, on the whole, I love to read a wide
variety of writing styles, genres, etc.
Are there any books that have inspired your own writing?
I read A LOT so there are many different things that have shaped
my writing over the years, but I wouldn't say there was any particular book, or
books, that I was consciously looking to for inspiration while writing Meritropolis.
Looking back though I can definitely see different threads of influence in
almost everything I have read over the years that contribute toward
making Meritropolis what it is: the strong protagonist of Lee
Child’s Jack Reacher series, the philosophical bent of C.S.
Lewis’ fiction, the dystopian setting of Hugh Howey’s WOOL series,
and many more.
Are there any authors that have emerged in the last three years
that have caught your interest?
Hugh Howey is an author that I really like that has caught my
attention lately. I would highly recommend his WOOL series!
Don’t forget!
Meritropolis is marked down from its regular price of $5.99, but
only for a limited time. Feed your
Kindle by picking up a discounted copy for just 99 cents, but
make sure you do it before December 2!
Now enter the giveaway
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