Thais Fenwick was eleven-years-old when civilization fell, devastated by a virus that killed off the majority of the world’s population. For seven years, Thais and her family lived in a community of survivors deep in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. But when her town is attacked by raiders, she and her blind sister are taken away to the East-Central Territory where she is destined to live the cruel and unjust kind of life her late mother warned her about.
Atticus Hunt is a troubled soldier in Lexington City who has spent the past seven years trying to conform to the vicious nature of men in a post-apocalyptic society. He knows that in order to survive, he must abandon his morals and his conscience and become like those he is surrounded by. But when he meets Thais, morals and conscience win out over conformity, and he risks his rank and his life to help her. They escape the city and set out together on a long and perilous journey to find safety in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Struggling to survive in a world without electricity, food, shelter, and clean water, Atticus and Thais shed their fear of growing too close, and they fall hopelessly in love. But can love survive in such dark times, or is it fated to die with them?
Thais Fenwick je imela enajst let, ko je razpadla civilizacija. Virus je uničil večino prebivalstva. Thais je v skupini preživelih s svojo družino živela sedem let na območju gore Appalachian. Nato pa jih napadejo jahači. Njo in njeno slepo sestro odpeljejo v ozemlje East-Central, kjer ju čaka kruto in nepravično življenje o kateremu jima je pripovedovala že mama.
Atticus Hunt je težaven vojak iz Lexington Cityja. Zadnjih sedem let je pomagal moškim žrtvam v post apokaliptični skupnosti. Ve, da mora opustiti svojo moralo in vest in postati podoben ostalim, če želi preživeti v tem svetu. Ko sreča Thais mu morala in vest ne dasta miru. Riskira svoj položaj in svoje življenje, da ji pomaga. Skupaj pobegneta iz mesta. Odpravita se na dolgo nevarno potovanje, da bi prispela na varno v Shreveport v Louisiani.
Ko se trudita preživeti v svetu brez elektrike, hrane, zatočišča in čiste vode, se Atticus in Thais počasi zbližujeta in njun strah preraste v ljubezen. Ali lahko ljubezen preživi v teh temačnih časih, ali ji je usojeno, da umre skupaj z njima?
PURCHASE LINKS (KNJIGO LAHKO KUPITE TUKAJ):
EXCERPT (ODLOMEK)
“Are you still angry?” I asked him.
“About what?”
“Giving the bread away to those
people.”
He shook his head against the quilt.
“No, Thais, I’m not still angry.”
After a moment, he said, “Thais?”
“Mmm-hmm?”
“Don’t ask me to kiss you again.”
I paused, tensed. “Why not?” I was
afraid of the answer.
We continued to look up at the stars.
Behind us the horses whickered and their tails swished about. A light breeze
combed through the trees, carrying the bitter and sweet scents of pine and
honeysuckle with it.
Finally, Atticus answered, “Because
whatever you want from me, Thais, I’d rather you just take it.”
I wanted to cry.
I smiled to myself instead.
AUTHOR (AVTOR)
J.A.
(Jessica Ann) REDMERSKI is an international bestselling author and award winner
who juggles several different genres. She began self-publishing in 2012, and
later with the success of THE EDGE OF NEVER, signed on with Grand Central
Publishing/Forever Romance. Her works have so far been translated into twenty
languages.
Jessica
is a hybrid author who, in addition to working with a traditional publisher,
also continues to self-publish. The Portuguese rights to her popular crime and
suspense series, In the Company of
Killers, have been picked up by one of Brazil's largest publishers - Suma
de Letras; Paikese Kirjastus in Estonia; Ephesus in Turkey; Konyvmolykepzob in
Hungary. The series has been optioned for television by William Levy.
EVERYTHING
UNDER THE SUN is Jessica’s newest love story.
J.A. (Jessica Ann) REDMERSKI je najbolj prodajana in nagrajena pisateljica. Piše romane v sedmih različnih žanrih. Leta 2012 je začela izdajati knjige v samozaložbi. Ko je dosegla uspeh s knjigo NIKOLI TVOJA, je podpisala pogodbo z Grand Central Publishing/Forever Romance. Njene knjige so bile prevedene v dvajset jezikov.
Jessica je pisateljica, ki deluje tako v založbi kot samozaložbi. Portugalske pravice za njeno popularno kriminalno in napeto zbirko In the Company of Killers je izbrala največja Brazilska založba Suma de Letras. Po zbirki naj bi posneli televizijsko serijo s producentom Williamom Levyjem.
EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN je Jessicina najnovejša romantična zgodba.
INTERVIEW (INTERVJU)
ON WRITING (O PISANJU):
Tell
us a little about why you write in so many different genres. Does it work for
you?
I
can’t stick to one genre. I love writing all types of stories. Does it work for
me? Yes and no. Yes, because I’d start to feel claustrophobic if I had to write
in the same genre all the time. No, because I think it confuses my readers that
I write everything under the same author name. I regret that decision to this
day. My advice to authors considering it: Don’t make this mistake!
Povejte nam zakaj pišete v različnih žanrih. Ali vam tako odgovarja?
Ne morem se osredotočiti na samo en žanr. Rada pišem različne zgodbe. Ali mi odgovarja? Da in ne. Da, ker se počutim klavstrofobično, če moram pisati samo v enem žanru. Ne, ker mislim, da to zmede moje bralce, sploh, ker pišem vse pod enim imenom. To odločitev še danes obžalujem. Moj nasvet avtorjem, ki se bodo odločili za to: Ne naredite te napake!
How do you plot your novels?
Do you outline?
I never outline because I like to let the story and
the characters take me where they want to go. Some authors can outline very
well and it works for them, but I can’t do it. It has always felt more natural
to me to just go along for the ride and see where it takes me, kind of like in real
life, I guess. Some scenes in my books were figured out ahead of time, but not
‘planned out’ ahead of time, and there’s a big difference. The only exception
to this method is that I do always know my ending before I begin. (Except with
my book DIRTY EDEN).
Kako nastajajo vsebine vaših knjig? Si delate povzetke?
Nikoli si ne delam povzetkov, ker želim, da me zgodba in junaki popeljejo kamorkoli želijo. Nekateri avtorji si zelo uspešno delajo povzetke in jim to odgovarja, ampak meni to ne ustreza. Nekako bolj naravno se mi zdi, da me pisanje sproti popelje skozi zgodbo, tako kot v resničnem življenju. Nekatere scene v mojih knjigah se razvijejo v naprej, vendar niso planirane, da se. To je velika razlika. Edina izjema je, da vedno vem kakšen bo zaključek, preden začnem s pisanjem (razen pri knjigi DIRTY EDEN).
Is there anything you find
particularly challenging in your writing?
I’m impatient. Very impatient. It’s challenging
for me to get through the first 2‐3 chapters
of every book because I have a bad habit of looking at how much I have left to
go. I just want to be done with it already so that my readers can enjoy!
Ali je pri vašem pisanju kaj kar vam predstavlja izziv?
Sem nepotrpežljiva. Zelo nepotrpežljiva. Zame je izziv, da grem skozi prva dva/tri poglavja v knjigi, ker imam to grdo navado, da gledam nazaj in vidim koliko sem izpustila. Želim si, da čimprej zaključim, da potem moji bralci lahko čimprej uživajo v branju.
What is your favorite part
of the writing process?
The last sentence. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely
love getting into the story, living out my character’s lives, but there’s
nothing like a finished manuscript. It’s a huge accomplishment and I doubt I’ll
ever tire of it.
Kateri je vaš najljubši del pisanja?
Zadnji stavek. Ne razumite me narobe. Rada se vživim v zgodbo, živim z junaki, ampak najlepše je, ko zaključim s pisanjem.
What would you like for
readers to take away from your novels?
I just want readers to be able to connect on some level
with the characters I create, and take with them an experience rather than just
a story.
Kaj si želite, da vaši bralci odnesejo od vaših knjig?
Želim si, da se povežejo z junaki, ki jih ustvarim in doživijo z njimi posebno izkušnjo. Da jim prinesejo nekaj več, kot samo zgodbo.
When did you first realize
that you wanted to become a writer?
I started my first novel at the age of thirteen and
I’ve been writing ever since. Writing has been the one consistent thing
throughout my life and I can’t imagine life without it.
Kdaj ste prvič ugotovili, da želite postati pisateljica?
Svoj prvi roman sem napisala pri trinajstih letih in od takrat naprej pišem. Pisanje sem uskladila s svojim življenjem in ne predstavljam si življenja brez pisanja.
What would you say is your
most interesting writing quirk?
I never stop writing for the day at the end of a scene
or sentence, but instead right in the middle of them. This helps me prevent
writer’s block and keeps my mind fresh.
Kaj je vaša najbolj nenavadna posebnost pri pisanju?
Nikoli ne neham pisati na koncu odlomka ali scene ampak nekje v sredini. To mi pomaga pri blokiranju in ohranja moje misli sveže.
Do you have a routine that
you use to get into the writing frame-of-mind?
Coffee.
Ali imate rutino, ki ohranja vaše ideje v nekem okvirju?
Kava.
Do you think children are more
encouraged these days to read and/or write?
I think more than ever children are encouraged to read
and write and I LOVE it. I know Harry Potter had A LOT to do with this and
that’s just another reason why I have so much love and respect for J.K.
Rowling.
Mislite, da imajo v tem času otroci več poguma za branje ali pisanje?
Mislim, da imajo vsi otroci dovolj poguma za branje in pisanje. In obožujem to. Vem, da je eden glavnih razlogov zato Harry Potter. Ravno zato obožujem in spoštujem pisateljico J.K. Rowling.
When it comes to writing, what
are your strong points? What are your weaknesses?
I love to write dialogue. It
feels and flows more natural to me. I feel like I struggle a little more with
description, because I’m impatient and sometimes it feels like the description
is slowing me down. But I pace myself! If I didn’t, the entire novel would be
one giant conversation.
Kar se tiče pisanja, kaj so vaše prednosti in slabosti?
Rada pišem dialoge. Počutim se veliko bolj naravno. Zna biti zelo naporno, ko vse to opisujem. Sem nepotrpežljiva in včasih imam občutek kot, da me opisi zaustavljajo. Ampak nekako ohranim mirnost, ker če je nebi, bi bil celoten roman samo nek velik pogovor.
PERSONAL STUFF (OSEBNE ZADEVE):
Who is your favorite author
and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
I don’t have a favorite – I have several! Anne Rice
and Neil Gaiman I have admired for many years. I love Rice’s deep, descriptive
style and Gaiman’s unique ideas. But I also love Paullina Simons and Cormac
McCarthy – there are just so many! And, of course, there’s J.K. Rowling, but I
don’t really have to name her, do I? Isn’t she everybody’s favorite by default?
😊
Kdo je vaš najljubši pisatelj/ica in kaj vas pritegne pri njegovih/njenih knjigah?
Nimam najljubšega pisatelja - imam jih ogromno. Vsa leta že obožujem Anne Rice in Neil Gaimana. Obožujem Ricein globok opisni stil in Gaimanove edinstvene ideje. Všeč sta mi tudi Paullina Simons in Cormack McCarthy - enostavno jih je preveč. In seveda J.K. Rowling, ampak nje ni treba imenovati, kajne. Ona je priljubljena pri vseh. 😊
Which
do you prefer: ebook, hardback or paperback?
Definitely paperback, hands down. I have a Kindle and
it’s just not the same. Hardbacks can’t be held comfortably (yes, I bend the
spines! I’m totally guilty!). I can’t imagine a world without physical books.
It’s depressing to imagine, actually.
Katero obliko knjig imate raje: e-knjigo, mehko vezavo ali trdo vezavo?
Sigurno mehko vezavo. Imam Kindle, samo ni enako. Trde vezave znajo biti trpežne (sem ena tistih, ki uniči hrbtne strani; priznam, da sem kriva). Ne morem si zamisliti sveta brez fizičnih knjig. Verjetno je kriva domišljija.
What is your favorite type
of food?
Mexican!
Katera je vaša najljubša hrana?
Mehiška hrana.
Who is your favorite book
boyfriend?
Shura. 😉
Kdo je vaš priljubljeni "book boyfriend" (fant iz knjige)?
Shura. 😉
Besides writing, what do
you like to do in your free time?
Of course, I love to read. I also love the outdoors
(hiking, swimming, biking, tennis, etc.), and binge-watching television
series.
Kaj še počnete v prostem času poleg pisanja?
Seveda rada berem. Rada sem v naravi (grem na pohode, plavam, kolesarim, igram tenis...) in pretirano gledam televizijske serije.
Is there one book that has
had an impact on not only your writing, but on your personally?
That would be THE VAMPIRE ARMAND by Anne Rice. It’s a
book that I’ve read four or five times and the one that really inspired me to
try to become a published author.
Ali obstaja knjiga, ki ima vpliv na vas? Ne samo na vaše pisanje, ampak tudi na vašo osebnost?
To je knjiga THE VAMPIRE ARMAND (Vampir Armand) pisateljice Anne Rice. Prebrala sem jo štirikrat ali petkrat. Ta knjiga me je navdihnila, da sem postala objavljena pisateljica.
Tell
us your favorite quote.
“Love
is a trick that Nature plays on us to get us to reproduce.” –
Callisto – Xena Warrior Princess. I’m not against love, I’ve always just been
awed by that quote. Not to mention, Callisto was awesome!
Povejte nam vaš najljubši citat.
“Love is a trick that Nature plays on us to get us to reproduce.” – Callisto – Xena Warrior Princess (Ksena bojevniška princesa). Nič nimam proti ljubezni, samo vedno sem občudovala ta citat. Da ne pozabim omeniti, Callisto je bila veličastna.
If
the Earth suddenly became uninhabitable, would you rather live under the sea or
in space?
In space! I’m obsessed with the Universe. Besides, the
thought of living in the ocean sort of terrifies me.
Če Zemlja v tem trenutno postane neprimerna za življenje, kje bi si želeli živeti? Pod vodo ali v vesolju?
V vesolju? Obsedena sem z vesoljem. Poleg tega me življenje v oceanu nekako straši.
What
was your favorite pastime as a kid?
Playing in the wooded creek at my grandparents’ house
in Greer’s Ferry, Arkansas.
Kaj je bilo vaše priljubljeno razvedrilo v otroštvu?
Igranje ob potoku v gozdu pri mojih starih starših v Greer’s Ferry v Arkansasu.
ON SELF-PUBLISHING (O SAMOZALOŽBI):
Do you believe that many
novelists choose to self‐publish
out of frustration with trying to publish traditionally?
When self‐publishing
on Amazon first became a thing, I do think most of those going it on their own
were doing it out of frustration. I was one of them! Even though I self‐published
my first book a short time after it
was becoming the thing to do, I totally did it because I tried for almost three
years to land an agent, but to no avail. But now, I think more and more authors
are doing it because they feel it’s the better route for them, and are
bypassing the query‐reject method altogether.
Personally, I like both!
Ali verjamete, da veliko pisateljev izbere raje samozaložbo, kot založnika zaradi frustracije?
Ko se je na Amazonu prvič pojavila samozaložba, se je veliko pisateljev odločilo zanjo zato, da so se znebili frustracije. Tudi jaz sem bila ena izmed njih. Ko sem v samozaložbi objavila prvo knjigo, je preteklo kar nekaj časa, da je postala to kar je. Tri leta sem iskala agenta ampak zaman. Mislim, da gre čedalje več pisateljev na svoje, ker jim je tako bližja pot do uspeha. Meni odgovarjata obe.
How important is it to
understand the basics of publishing before delving into self‐publishing?
Writers need to understand that self‐publishing
is not easy. Sure, you can write a book and upload it and start selling, but
there is so much more to it than that. If a writer chooses to self‐publish
they must commit to some hardcore self‐promoting
and spending a lot of their own money (professional editing, giveaways, review
copies, cover art, advertisements, etc.). Bypassing all of this stuff can leave
your book buried beneath the avalanche of millions of other books competing for
the same exposure.
Kako pomembno je poznati osnove založništva, preden se spustiš v samozaložbo?
Pisatelji morajo razumeti, da samozaložba ni lahka. Seveda knjigo napišeš, jo izdaš in začneš prodajati. Ampak tukaj je še veliko več kot samo to. Če se pisatelj odloči za samozaložbo, se mora pripraviti tudi na samo promocijo in zapraviti veliko svojega denarja za to (profesionalno urejanje, nagradne igre, izdaje za recenzije, naslovnica, reklame...). Če izpustiš vse to, se lahko tvoja knjiga izgubi med milijoni ostalimi izdanimi knjigami.
Can you provide a few self‐publishing
best practices you believe brought you literary success?
Some of what I’ve already mentioned are good
practices, but also, I’d like to point out two things that I believe
contributed to my success: kindness and professionalism. I’ve read a lot of
horror stories from book reviewers who were verbally attacked by authors
because they turned away a review request or gave a bad review, and similar stories
about authors and agents. Know in advance that no matter how hard you worked to
write your book that it’s not the next bestseller (until it is), that it
isn’t better than J.K. Rowling or Stephen King and that you have
absolutely no right to make these statements out loud to anyone. Period. And
lastly, no matter how much it hurts your feelings or pisses you off, never
reply to a bad review. Ever. Not even if something the reviewer said was 100% wrong.
Just don’t do it.
Nam lahko predlagate nekaj nasvetov o samozaložbi, za katere menite, da lahko pripeljejo do uspeha?
Najprej je pomembna dobra praksa. V ospredje bi postavila dve stvari, ki so prispevale k mojem uspehu: prijaznost in profesionalnost. Prebrala sem veliko grozljivih romanov, katerih knjižne recenzije so bile slabe ter negativne in so jih zato avtorji verbalno napadli. Vnaprej je potrebno vedeti, da vaša knjiga ni najbolj prodajana (ni še), ne glede na to koliko se trudite zanjo. Ni boljša od J.K. Rowlingove ali Stephena Kinga, zato nimate pravice naglas izreči vse te nesramne stavke. Ne glede na to koliko vas boli ali razjezi, nikoli ne odgovarjajte na slabe in negativne recenzije. Nikoli. Tudi, če je bralec napisal nekaj 100% narobe. Ignorirajte.
OTHER BOOKS (OSTALE KNJIGE):
Fans of your In the Company of Killers series are
wanting to know why it’s taking so long to release book #7. Can you give us
some information on it?
I do get this question everyday it seems, but it’s so
hard to reply to everybody. I’ll do my best to explain what’s going on with
book 7 right here. So here goes! I’m 100% dedicated to that series, and I know
it’s frustrating that after six books, it’s taking a longer-than-average time
to publish the seventh. But I need everyone to understand that not only have I
been going through a lot of personal things the past year-and-a-half that
prevented me from writing much of anything, but also, I just needed to take a
step back and finish EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN before I tried to tackle any
other book. EUtS has been a work-in-progress going on, I think, almost three
years now. No matter what else I tried to write, EUtS kept looming in the back
of my mind, and it was affecting my current works-in-progress (book 7
included). I knew that if I didn’t just put everything else aside and finish
EUtS that my other books would, quite honestly, be shit. Not all writers are
the same, of course, but I’m one of the ones who absolutely must work on the book that's taking up the most space in my heart and mind, instead of the one everybody in waiting on. But I promise, I'll be back to work on SPIDERS IN THE GROVE soon! Just please be Patient with me.😊
Oboževalci vaše zbirke In the Company of Killers se sprašujejo zakaj je potrebno toliko časa, da izide naslednja knjiga v zbirki. Ali nam lahko podate kakšne informacije o tem?
To vprašanje dobim čisto vsak dan in zelo težko je odgovoriti nanj. Poskusila bom najboljše pojasniti kaj se dogaja s sedmo knjigo v zbirki. 100% sem predana tej zbirki in zelo frustrirajoče je, da po šesti knjigi potrebujem toliko časa za izdajo sedme. Morate razumeti, da poleg osebni stvari, ki so se mi zgodile zadnja leta in mi preprečujejo pisanje, sem želela dokončati še knjigo EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN (EUtS), predem začnem katero drugo knjigo. EUtS je bila v nastajanju približno tri leta. Karkoli sem začela pisati, vedno se je v mojih mislih pojavljala EUtS, kar mi je oteževalo pisanje ostalih knjig (tudi sedme knjige). Vedela sem, da moram vse ostale pustiti za sabo in dokončati EUtS, drugače bi vse ostale postale eno sranje. Vem, da nismo vsi pisatelji enaki. Jaz sem ena tistih, ki moram delati na knjigi, ki je trenutno v mojem srcu in v mojem umu. Obljubim vam, da se bom kmalu vrnila k pisanju SPIDERS IN THE GROVE. Prosim, da ste potrpežljivi!
You
stated that you were going to write Lily’s book (from THE EDGE OF NEVER) – is
that still a certainty?
I do still intend to write Lily’s book, but at this
time I can’t estimate when that might be.
Rečeno je bilo, da boste začeli pisati Lilyno knjigo (iz zbirke NIKOLI TVOJA). Ali to še vedno velja?
Še vedno imam namen napisati Lilyno knjigo, vendar ne vem točno kdaj se bo to zgodilo.
You can find out more about Jessica online (Več o Jessica lahko najdete na njenih družbenih omrežjih):
