Celebrating the release of The Experiment Known as Rose Marie Hernandez Willamson, author Louise Robertson sat down with Brick Cave and talked about the characters, plot and background of her new book. The book is available online and in book stores nationwide.
This interview is part 2 of 2 parts. The first portion can be read here.
Q: Traveling through space carries an inordinate amount of risk. Clearly that plays out in your story. It feels a little like the risk was a character unto itself?
Yes, there is no villain here, just fallible, emotional humans, an aging spaceship, and the cold, pitiless universe.
Q: A lot of time passes for Rose Marie during the story. Talk about your approach and planning to showing how she changes as the book progresses.
I wanted to show her progress over a few years. She has to navigate the usual problems and developmental stages, but also she has to step into roles that are way bigger than she ever planned on assuming.
Q: One of Rose Marie’s most important relationships is someone she can’t touch. Talk about how/where this concept developed and some of the underlying emotions.
Her parents and I knew she needed someone her own age to talk to. It also gave me an easy way to show something of what Earth is like during this time. Ethan Junior is a more ordinary version of a teenager living in this world and he's not trapped on a spaceship.
So much of growing up is about romance, but it's also about friendship. It was important to show how she is with a friend. She has deep friendships with some of the crew members, but those relationships aren't like they would be with someone her age.
Q: Does Rose Marie have more stories to tell?
Yes, she has to navigate Earth and face her destiny in the 22nd century.
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