In the super-powered saga Pulse, Patrick Carman delivers on the challenge of telling an exciting futuristic story without going in the expected YA directions of dystopia or science fiction. Here he shares his thoughts on telekinesis and his choices for other superpowers he’d like to posses.
YOUNG ADULT: What is your earliest memory involving writing?
Patrick Carman: I have a terrible memory for anything past about ten years ago. It’s very spotty. I think I wrote a comic book when I was around eight. John Wayne was in it, I have no idea why. In my comic, if I recall, he was a stick figure with a cowboy hat.
YA: Tell us a little bit about your latest work. What is different about Pulse?
PC: I’ve had a long fascination with telekinesis. In PULSE, Faith Daniels has the power to move things with her mind but doesn’t know it. Once she figures it out and starts using it, moving bigger and bigger objects (like cars!), then comes the bad news: she’s about to be recruited into a conflict she didn’t sign up for. That’s the thing about having superpowers: people expect a lot out of you. There’s also an interesting tension between Faith and Dylan. They’re falling in love, but Dylan taught Faith how to harness her power knowing it would put her in danger. Like a lot of teen relationships, it’s complicated.
YA: Take us through a typical writing day for you.
PC: I run most mornings, then head to a private office where I drink coffee and answer email. I’m off line by 9AM if I’m writing a book. By noon I’m done writing for the day if I’ve been focused. If I haven’t been focused, I write again from around 2PM-4PM, but the second shot is never as focused as the first. It’s a mix of writing, email, phone calls, and napping. Needless to say, I try very hard to stay in the zone from 9AM to noon.
YA: This book’s main character has a pretty neat gift for being able to move things with her mind. Would telekinesis be your absolute top choice for special powers?
PC: Telekinesis ranks high on on the list of superpowers I’d like to have.
Top five:
1. Flying
2. Invisibility
3. Super strength
4. Indestructibility
5. Telekinesis
YA: What were your specific influences for this book? Films, literature, other stories?
PC: The Matrix was a minor influence, but otherwise, I wrote PULSE because I like writing about the future. The challenge was to write futuristic without being dystopian or science fiction. For PULSE, I didn’t want to re-hash a fallen future earth or get on a spaceship. I was interested in a not too distant future that was different but not necessarily bleak or full of robots. It was challenging!
YA: If you hadn’t become an author, what path would your career have perhaps taken?
PC: Some form of storytelling, for sure. I’d probably have enjoyed producing content in Hollywood. TV shows, movies, books – working on stories in any form makes me happy and fulfilled.
The year is 2051, and the world is still recognizable. With the help of her mysterious classmate Dylan Gilmore, Faith Daniels discovers that she can move objects with her mind. This telekinetic ability is called a “pulse,” and Dylan has the talent, too.
In riveting action scenes, Faith demonstrates her ability to use her pulse against a group of telekinesis masters so powerful they will flatten their enemies by uprooting street lights, moving boulders, and changing the course of a hurtling hammer so that it becomes a deadly weapon. But even with great talent, the mind—and the heart—can be difficult to control. If Faith wants to join forces with Dylan and save the world, she’ll have to harness the power of both.
Learn more about the author at www.patrickcarman.com