Janet Stilson
Author Interview - Janet Stilson
Author of Universe of Lost Messages
Izzie and Tristan were never mere humans. They are Charismites, with almost god-like powers of magnetism. They couldn’t be more different. Izzie is a reckless, playful megastar whose popularity far exceeds that of any other celebrity. Tristan is a secluded nature lover, almost completely unknown to anyone beyond a protective biodome.
Their worlds explode when they are abducted by The Fist, a power-hungry political group with a master plan to control the hearts and minds of all people on Earth and satellite colonies beyond.
But the plan only works with the help of Charismites.
Tristan and Izzie’s families will do anything to find them. But they don’t have much to go on until a feisty, street-wise teen, Cheeta, discovers clues about the Charismites within a strange metaverse filled with millions of missing messages. But will they actually find them? And can they destroy The Fist before they take over the planet?
Filled with an eclectic cast of characters, a slow-burn romance, humor, and wonderful descriptions of a sensual and sometimes violent world, UNIVERSE OF LOST MESSAGES is a gripping new sci-fi thriller, filled with political intrigue.
Author Interview - Janet Stilson
Author I draw inspiration from:
Becky Chambers' Wayfarer series, anything by Ann Patchett or Amor Towles, Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" and "Anansi Boys," Gabriel García Márquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude"
Author Interview - Janet Stilson | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
My bathtub
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
Kirsten in Emily St. John Mandel's "Station Eleven." Because most of Kirsten's time in the world has taken place after an apocalypse -- and modern conveniences we take for granted are largely obliterated-- I imagine she would be gobsmacked to be in a working elevator. And because she's used to killing strangers whom she feels threatened by, I probably would need to make sure she realizes I'm harmless. She would be passionately curious to know about the "real" world, and because she's a Shakespearean actress, she might recite a bit.
Author Interview - Janet Stilson | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
That's a tough one, because my mother showed me how much fun it was to make up stories from the time I was about three years old. I learned how cool it was to actually publish something when my school's paper picked up one of my poems. I was in grade school at the time. But there was no one aha moment, when I knew I was born to be an author.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
Hardback -- I love the substantial quality of hard-bound books, and especially admire those made from high-quality paper stock featuring illustrations or photographs. But I'm not crazy about carrying them around when I'm traveling.
Paperbacks -- I love the ability to take notes in the margins and see what I've written in earlier times, when I've read a book more than once. If I'm traveling, they can add to luggage weight, so that's a definite drawback.
eBooks -- Easy to ready in the dark, easy to look up words I don't know and search out different passages or terms. And of course they are less expensive. But I don't get to see them on my bookshelves. Gazing at books on shelves is like looking at souls, or old friends, to me.
Audiobooks -- great when I'm exercising. But searching out names or terms isn't as easy. Maybe there's a way to do it that I have yet to discover!
The last book I read:
"Station Eleven," Emily St. John Mandel. I actually wrote a blog post about why I found it riveting, and how it differs from the HBO series adaptation.
Mandel imagines how the world would change after a pandemic that is more devastating than COVID 19, by far. The ways that people would think and behave in that changed world seemed very realistic to me. And she infuses it with a sense of hope, imagining how creativity and artistry would live on. As I've mentioned in the answer to the elevator question, I like the protagonist Kirsten a lot.
Here's a link to my post, which gets into more detail: https://medium.com/counterarts/love-a-riveting-apocalypse-tale-ive-got-one-for-you-d60bad6da984
Pen & paper or computer:
I was trained as a journalist to write on a keyboard, and developed that "muscle" so early that the words flow out of me most easily when I'm on a laptop. However, when snatches of inspiration hit me at odd moments, I always grab a pen and notebook.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
In Isak Dinesen's short story "Supper at Elsinore" (in "Seven Gothic Tales") there are two spinster sisters who I am quite fond of, Fannie and Eliza. They are entertaining conversationalists -- the life of any party -- but they have an occasional introspective, sad streak about them. And they are haunted by the loss of their brother. I can't choose between one sister or the other. I would have to say both of them. Perhaps they would find complementary "notes" in me that would make us good friends.
Author Interview - Janet Stilson | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
Horticulturalist and landscape designer. Creating and nurturing beautiful natural environments would be a joy.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
1920s.
Place I’d most like to travel:
I'd like to board a time travel bubble and visit my own city, New York, from the time it was inhabited by Indians to a century or two into the future. I love New York down to the marrow of my bones and am fascinated with how visiting different neighborhoods is like traveling to entirely different countries. To be an eye witness to how all of them evolved, and will evolve, would be incredibly exciting.
My signature drink:
A very fine bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Favorite artist:
The filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón
Number one on my bucket list:
Traveling to Sicily later this year
Find more from the author:
https://www.facebook.com/authorjanetstilson
https://www.instagram.com/janetstilson/
https://twitter.com/JanetStilson
About Janet Stilson:
Author Interview - Janet Stilson
On one hand, Janet Stilson is a journalist. On the other, she writes scripts, novels and short stories that largely fall in the grounded sci-fi and fantasy genres and illuminate the human condition in provocative ways.
Janet’s novels, “The Juice” and “Universe of Lost Messages,” are dystopian, cyberpunk tales that were inspired by her work as an editor and reporter, interviewing execs at big media companies about where the heck we’re all going. “Juice” was published by Dragon Moon Press on Feb. 9, 2021, and “Universe” is scheduled for release May 14, 2024. Her short story “Imaginary Children” was published by Asimov’s magazine in July 2020.
Based on her film script “Jaguar Trail,” Janet was selected to be part of the Writers Lab for Women, which is funded by Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman. Stowe Story Labs also selected “Jaguar” to be part of its intensive mentorship program in 2018.
As a journalist, Janet got her “chops” at the storied showbiz bible “Variety.” She has traveled the world chronicling the business of media and entertainment. It afforded her many busman’s holidays in places like Shanghai and Paris, for which she is forever grateful.
Janet has also worked as a consultant and researcher, specializing in the business of media. Separately and in conjunction with others, she has provided services to such clients as Liberty Media, Microsoft Corp., Oxygen, Discovery Communications and MTV Networks.
She has been an artist in residence at Dorland, a retreat in Southern California; the Julia and David White Artists’ Colony in Costa Rica; Odysseys, also in Costa Rica, and La Muse in southern France.
Janet lives in New York City’s Riverdale area. It’s a world away from her childhood home in a gorgeous upstate New York town called Franklin. Cars pass through Franklin in almost the blink of an eye, and she hopes it stays that way.
