Writing at the “fantastic” intersection of sci-fi and young adult romance, Christine Johnson reveals more about her paranormal tale The Gathering Dark, and her inspiration from…modern physics?
YOUNG ADULT: What are your earliest memories involving writing?
CHRISTINE JOHNSON: When I was ten years old, I was grounded for some reason. I have exactly no memory of why, but I know that I was supposed to stay in my room between the end of school and dinner. I got wildly bored, and started making up poems. Really bad poems. But by the second day of my “grounding,” I had dragged an ancient typewriter up to my room. My mother found me happily banging away on it, writing poems. I don’t think it worked so well as a punishment, but it certainly gave me a taste for writing!
YA: Tell us a little bit about your latest work. What is different about The Gathering Dark?
CJ: THE GATHERING DARK is different for *me* because it’s truly sci-fi, rather than fantasy (as CLAIRE DE LUNE and NOCTURNE were). I read a huge number of physics books, text books, journal articles and the like to research it. That said, it’s also a love story, and the intersection of the two is a fantastic place to be as a writer. I never once got tired of writing this book, and that’s the only time that has ever happened to me. But truly, even now, I adore this story!
YA: Take us through a typical writing day for you.
CJ: I honestly don’t have a typical writing day. I have two young children, and some days, if I’m lucky and they’re both at school and the furnace hasn’t exploded or something, I’ll sit down during the day and write 2,000-3,000 words and answer some emails and write a blog post. Other days, I’m drooping over my laptop late at night, trying to eek out even 500 words before I collapse. The one constant is that – especially when I’m drafting – I’m always thinking about the book. I do a lot of my writing in my head, which is extremely helpful on those days when I’m not at my computer much.
YA: What do you hope young adult audiences take away from reading The Gathering Dark?
CJ: I hope that they take away a love of a smart, occasionally snarky, and fantastically strong girl named Keira. I hope that they take away a tiny bit of interest in dark matter or, really, any kind of physics. Most of all, I hope they take away that love comes in weird ways and at strange times, but that you should take it whenever it arrives.
YA: Where do you see the thoroughly popular paranormal sub genre of young adult fiction headed next?
CJ: If I knew that, I would be SO FREAKING RICH. No, seriously, I would. The zeitgeist of what’s popular, what’s becoming popular, and what’s the Next Big Thing is a mystery to me. For me, I know that all I can really do is to write what I love and hope that there are readers out there who will love it, too. Musing on trends is tempting madness, and I’d rather not tread that path.
YA: If you hadn’t become an author, what path would your career have perhaps taken?
CJ: Oh, goodness. Who knows? I’ve done so many strange jobs. I’d love to be a physicist. Or a chef. Or do some kind of fabulous performance art. Truly, though, I think I’m happiest being a writer, so I think I’ll stick with that. Anyway, being a writer allows me to *imagine* being all of those other things, at length and in great detail. It’s one of the best things about the job, if you ask me.
Keira’s hallucinating. First it’s a door hovering above the road; then it’s a tree in her living room. But with her parents fighting and her best friend not speaking to her, Keira can’t tell anyone about her breakdown.
Until she meets Walker. They have an electric connection, and somehow he can see the same shadowy images plaguing Keira.
But trusting Walker may be more dangerous than Keira could have ever imagined. The more she confides in him, the more intense—and frightening—her visions become. Because Walker is not what he appears to be. And neither are her visions.
Find out more about the author at www.christinejohnsonbooks.com