Dystopian Domination 3 starts today! Just like the last time, I will invite characters from various novels (and various futures) to come join me in 2012 for an interview. First up is Ana, short for Ariana, from The Glimpse by Claire Merle.
Can you tell us about yourself?
My name is Ana. I'm going to be eighteen in a couple of months. I was home schooled by my mum until I was ten. After she died, my dad brought me to live in one of the new Communities. I guess you being from 2012 you don't know what the Communities are, do you? Well, I explain briefly: The Communities were set up to try and encourage young Pures to marry each other and have Pure children. In the twenties (that's the 2020s) my dad helped develop a DNA test that identifies whether a person carries the mutated genes for depression, schizophrenia and other mental illnesses. (Almost ninety percent of the English population does!) Anyway, those that don't have the choice of whether they want to raise their children in the Communities. It turns out there was a mistake with my Pure test. I should have been raised on the other side of the wall. I'm one of the Crazies. And unless Jasper Taurell, (son of one of the most wealthy business men in the country), joins with me before I turn eighteen, I'll be kicked out.
I love classical music and I play the piano. My dream is to become a concert pianist. Kind of silly, I know, considering everything.
What do you think of the present world?
I'd stay here if I could! In the Community everything's so quiet and subdued. In the City, things are really turbulent and there are crowds everywhere. I like the balance here. I like the fact that you can walk down a high street and there are people about but you don't have to worry about somebody flipping out.
What was the first thing you did when you got here?
I went and stood on Tower Bridge in London. It doesn't exist anymore where I'm from. It was blown up by terrorists who want the Pure test abolished.
If you lived in our time, who would you be? What would you do?
I'd be a concert pianist. Or that's what I'd want to be!
What is your favorite thing about 2012? Why?
I like the New Year's Eve celebrations in the centre of London with the fireworks on the river Thames. I'd love to stick around for that. I love the restaurants. There are no restaurants in the Community and the food is pretty boring. But my favourite, favourite thing is no one knows who I am here. No one's ever heard of me or my dad. And if I lived here, no one would care whether I'm Pure or not.
If you could have three wishes, what would you wish for? Why?
I'd wish my mum was still alive. I'd wish I knew what happened to my best friend Tamsin who disappeared a few months ago. And I'd wish I knew whether Jasper's really going to join with me or whether he's going to ditch me at the last minute. Think my reasons for those wishes are pretty self-evident. Can't make them come true, can you?
About the Author:
Claire wrote her first paranormal screenplay at the age of thirteen and named it after a road sign. Danger Alive never made it to the big screen, but she continued to write and daydream her way through school and university. Claire graduated with a first BA (Hons) in Film Studies, and spent the next few years working in the BFI. She worked as a runner and camera assistant, and fantasised about creating her own films. In 2000, she wrote and directed the short film, Colours, which sold to Canal Plus. Today, Claire is concentrating on writing YA fiction. She spends her time between Paris and London, along with her French husband and two young sons.
Giveaway: ARC of The Glimpse by Claire Merle
Claire is happy to sign one ARC of The Glimpse to one lucky reader. Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below!
Once you've seen into the future, can you change your destiny?
In a near future, society is segregated according to whether people are genetically disposed to mental illness. 17-year-old Ana has been living the privileged life of a Pure due to an error in her DNA test. When the authorities find out, she faces banishment from her safe Community, a fate only thwarted by the fact that she has already been promised to Pure-boy Jasper Taurell.
Jasper is from a rich and influential family and despite Ana’s condition, wants to be with her. The authorities grant Ana a tentative reprieve. If she is joined to Jasper before her 18th birthday, she may stay in the Community until her illness manifests. But if Jasper changes his mind, she will be cast out among the Crazies. As Ana’s joining ceremony and her birthday loom closer, she dares to hope she will be saved from the horror of the City and live a ‘normal’ life. But then Jasper disappears.
Led to believe Jasper has been taken by a strange sect the authorities will not intefere with, Ana sneaks out of her well-guarded Community to find him herself. Her search takes her through the underbelly of society and into the pits of the human soul. And as she delves deeper into the mystery of Jasper's abduction she uncovers some devastating truths that destroy everything she has grown up to believe, but she also learns to love as she has never loved before.
Rules:
Follow Fragments of Life
Open internationally.
You should be at least 13 years old.
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