Ten Questions About Shadows Of Tomorrow By Jessica Meats

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF: WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?

I’m a sci-fi-writing, sword-wielding, computer-loving plot addict. I’ve been writing stories since I learned to fold sheets of paper into little “books” and filled them with tales such as how I slew a dragon and my mum clean up the mess. I work in the IT industry as a Technology Strategist, which is a wonderfully important-sounding job title. Outside of work and writing, I read a lot, play badminton and study kung fu.

GIVE US THE 140-CHARACTER STORY PITCH:

Shadows of Tomorrow is an exciting tale of parallel universes, ravenous monsters, treason, love and a guy who can remember his future.

WHERE DOES THIS STORY COME FROM?

The story started from two ideas that merged into a whole. One was the idea of a character revered as a hero by one group and hated as evil by another, because the two groups only know half of his story. What happens when people from the two groups come up against each other?

The other idea was for the character of Gareth, a person who can remember his future. On the surface, this sounds like a wonderfully useful thing, but I wanted to explore the challenges inherent to such a gift and how it could cause problems. In particular, I wanted to explore the emotional difficulties of a character who is so used to knowing how things will turn out, suddenly faced with situations where he doesn’t know the future.

HOW IS THIS A STORY ONLY YOU COULD’VE WRITTEN?

Because no one else could make sense of the chaos inside my head?

When writing this book, I drew in elements from various aspects of my life, mixed them up and created something new.

The story involves a group of highly-trained fighters, so I pulled in a lot from my own experiences with kung fu training. Of course, the guys in the book are considerably more disciplined than I am. J

But it’s not all about the action. The book also features the character of Richard, a technology genius. When writing from his perspective, I had to make sure that it sounded like this was coming from a technical expert.

I also touch on the idea of being a female in a very male-dominated group. As a woman in IT (I’m the only female on my team) this is a very familiar experience. I could bring those experiences into the story and show the emotions of Cassie, the new girl coming into this world of testosterone-laden tough guys.

WHAT WAS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT WRITING Shadows of Tomorrow?

Getting the right protagonist. I thought the story was about one character when I started and wrote several chapters focused on that person. It was only when I was about six chapters in that I realised that it was someone else who was really at the heart of the story. This meant when I got to the second draft, I had to completely rewrite the entire opening of the book. Very frustrating. Still, that’s what second drafts are for.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN WRITING Shadows of Tomorrow?

Shadows of Tomorrow is first in a trilogy and it was difficult to make sure that it felt like a single story, whole and complete, even with certain plot threads left for the future books. Writing a series is a very different art from writing a single novel and Shadows of Tomorrow was the first book I wrote intending it to be the first of a collection (even if my self-published Omega Rising came out first. I learned a lot about series-writing with this book which will help me with both series.  

WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT Shadows of Tomorrow?

I had a lot of fun writing the character Richard. He’s so convinced of his own genius that it was a very entertaining perspective to write from.

I’m also very proud of the plot weaving across the trilogy. There are some moments in Shadows of Tomorrow that will probably seem insignificant – or be completely overlooked – that tie into the events of the later books. I don’t want to give away too much, but I’m hoping that when the second book comes out there will be “Aha!” moments for a few readers.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENTLY NEXT TIME?

About the only thing I’d do differently is to start thinking of Gareth as the protagonist right from the beginning. That would have saved me a considerable amount of redrafting time.

GIVE US YOUR FAVORITE PARAGRAPH FROM THE STORY:

Something about this place resonated in Gareth’s mind. He didn’t even have to try. He saw the hall through a haze of golden light and a memory stirred, finding him without effort. Distant music echoed in his thoughts, the sound of laughter and swish of silken skirts. A moment of his future, so pivotal it would shape realities around it, flowed backwards to embrace his consciousness. As he stared about him, Gareth saw the room shining in the radiance from the chandeliers, brilliant with the outfits of those who danced beneath. He saw Mira, a bright smile rendering her breath-taking.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU AS A STORYTELLER?

There are the other two books in this trilogy: Between Yesterdays and Out of Time. Between Yesterdays is about ready to go to the publisher but Out of Time is only part-way through the first draft. I’m also working on Traitor in the Tower which is the second story in my Codename Omega series of novellas.

Jessica Meats: Website / Twitter

Shadows Of Tomorrow: Amazon / Amazon UK