Light Years by Emily Ziff Griffin (Author Interview & #Giveaway)


I'm welcoming author Emily Ziff Griffin to my blog today for an
interview, so check that, the book, and the giveaway out below...

Light Years
by Emily Ziff Griffin
YA SciFi, Dystopian
Paperback & ebook, 304 Pages
September 5th 2017 by Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster

Summary

As a mysterious virus infects the world’s population, a girl embarks on a quest to find a cure in this thrilling debut from Emily Ziff Griffin.

Luisa is ready for her life to start. Five minutes ago. And she could be on her way, as her extraordinary coding skills have landed her a finalist spot for a fellowship sponsored by Thomas Bell, the world’s most brilliant and mercurial tech entrepreneur. Being chosen means funding, mentorship, and most importantly, freedom from her overbearing mother. Maybe Lu will even figure out how to control the rare condition that plagues her: whenever her emotions run high, her physical senses kick into overload, with waves of color, sound, taste, and touch flooding her body.

But Luisa’s life is thrust into chaos as a deadly virus sweeps across the globe, killing thousands and sending her father into quarantine. When Lu receives a cryptic message from someone who might hold the key to stopping the epidemic, she knows she must do something to save her family—and the world.

Suspenseful, lyrical, and thought-provoking, Light Years features a remarkable heroine on an intensely physical and emotional quest for hope and existential meaning.

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Author Interview

Welcome, Emily, to my blog today to talk about your debut book, LIGHT YEARS!

Q: Would you tell us a little about the main character from LIGHT YEARS?

A: She’s a brilliant coder who also has a strange condition: whenever her emotions run high, her senses overlap and overwhelm her with intense physical sensations—waves of color, sound, taste, temperature. When we meet her, she views her condition as a liability and something to hide at all costs. What is eventually revealed to her is that it’s a gift and a source of power. I see her as extraordinary, yes, but also as someone who embodies the beautiful balance between intellect and emotion, logic and intuition of which we are all capable. In fact, I believe that balance and people who embody it are what the world needs quite desperately right now.

I'd definitely have to agree with how important balance is in our lives.

Q: Why did you decide to have Luisa be a tech genius and mix that with her trying to find a cure for a deadly virus? In other words, what inspired mixing those aspects for this story?

A: On some level, I think her quest for a cure mirrors my own desire to save my father when he was dying of AIDS. I think I looked to science to save him, but of course deep down held also the irrational belief that maybe I could’ve done something more. We need technology, and it allows us to do and solve and be so much more than we could without it. But it also can come at a very dear price and push us to places we aren’t ready to go emotionally and culturally. So putting technology into the mix of this story felt central to some of the questions and ideas I was interested in exploring. Is technology the answer to our problems? If so, which problems should it solve? In other words, what are the actual problems? Is death a problem to be solved? It’s a really tough question. I don’t have the answer definitively.

It sounds really interesting and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in your story!

Q: Would you rather have Luisa’s tech savvy skills or her intense physical senses? Why or why not?

A: Wow, great question! I think I would pick her sensory life because, to me, it’s just an extreme version of the life I already try to cultivate for myself which is one rich with feeling, connection, experience, input.

I think it would be really interesting to have those extra senses as well.

Q: What most surprised you when writing and publishing LIGHT YEARS?

A: I’m still stunned that I wrote a book and that it’s being published. Surprised is a serious understatement. I’m stunned.

Lol! Glad the newness hasn't worn off yet. ;)

Q: If you could be a tech genius, what would you want to be able to create or do?

A: I might want to make us immortal! I mean, I know better than that. But it would be hard to fight that instinct….

Oh, I think the whole science behind that, even if you couldn't do that, but to see what would have to happen to have that work... would be so interesting.

Q: What are you working on next?

A: I just wrapped production (as a producer) on a wonderful little movie called ’18 To Party.’ And now I’m writing an interactive project that I’m not allowed to say anything about. Which is pure torture because all I want to do is talk about it.

Can't wait to hear what it is when you get to share! :)

Thanks for stopping by to answer my questions, Emily!

About the Author


Emily Ziff Griffin lives in LA where she writes, produces, teaches, daydreams, and mothers two young kids. When she was 25, she co-founded Cooper’s Town Productions with Philip Seymour Hoffman and produced the Academy Award-winning film, ‘Capote,’ along with Hoffman’s directorial debut ‘Jack Goes Boating,’ and John Slattery’s ‘God’s Pocket.’ She's run three marathons, slowly, and holds a degree from Brown University in art-semiotics, the study of how images make meaning. She believes children are way more sophisticated than adults typically give them credit for and writes for the teenager who is ready to claim their own worldview and be grounded in their own power. ‘Light Years’ is her first novel. Find her at www.emilyziffgriffin.com.


Tour Schedule


Tour-Wide Giveaway

• 2 signed hardcover copies of LIGHT YEARS by Emily Ziff Griffin
• US Only
• No Giveaway accounts

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Is this one on your list? What did you think of the interview with the author?

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