If you have any questions pertaining to anything to do with my book series or writing or whatever, please don't hesitate!
Today's question is from Megan Blakley-Seiler. (Thank you again, Megan!)
She said: Dystopian future novels, and especially female protagonist dystopian novels, are wildly popular. Can you talk about why that theme resonated with you for your books, and talk about why you think it is so attractive to your audience? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Here's my response: They really are SO popular. And to be honest, because of their popularity, I was nervous to release one of my own. I thought readers might be getting tired of the genre, and was afraid that mine would get skipped over. When inspiration for Slave began, I'd just come up for air after binge reading the Hunger Games and the Divergent trilogies, along with Marie Lu's Legend trilogy, The Selection series, and several others. I was craving another, as we often do, and decided to write one myself, but dared myself to try for something that was clean enough for all demographics of readers to enjoy. By the time Hannah's story took shape, it was clearly a dystopian. That genre was where it nestled the best. Perhaps dystopian novels are so popular because we relate to the underlying struggles in the stories. We all go through difficulties at different times in our lives for different reasons. We all know what if feels like to be afraid or to need to overcome something. Or maybe it's that these stories, when done well, remind us to take a closer look at the world around us...at the direction we could be headed if we aren't careful. We want a story to challenge us to be better. When I first began mentally creating the story of Slave, I was compelled by a simple idea: good-hearted men trapped in criminal lifestyles under threat. This is not a fictional notion; I believe firmly there are these people all over the world in many different cultures, caught up in situations because their families are threatened or their own lives are at risk. Yes the majority of criminals are such because they chose it for whatever reason, but I narrowed the lens to those few, the ones who may be silently tortured by their own actions. This was one of the initial inspirations for Slave and where the story became clearly dystopian. {I chose to write from Hannah's perspective so we could see their evolution and journey through her eyes, as one of the victims watching the enemy transform.} As to why I think it is so attractive to readers, it's hard to say. Everyone approaches a story from a different perspective and a unique worldview. We all get something slightly (or significantly) different from reading the same stories. But if I were to guess, I would say that readers are drawn in by the emotional journeys of the characters. At least that's the truth for me when I read dystopian novels {or any novel, really}. {Slave ended up being exceptionally emotional. Hannah was created to be a very empathetic character. She's not just working through her own trauma, but feeling the trauma of others along with them. Writing these books often has me in tears.} Love, grief, joy, fear, anger, longing...these are all emotions that are familiar to us. Stories sometimes help us make sense of the things we're feeling. When we're able to immerse ourselves in the lives of characters, we get to learn lessons with them. When they fall, we feel the impact of their choices. And when they overcome, our hearts swell with pride. Dystopian stories in recent years have been deeply emotional and raw, and I love that. I love to read it, and I love to write it. I hope that answers your question, Megan! Always, Laura
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