Claire,
what inspired you to write your debut book, an action-packed YA sci-fi thriller? Throughout middle
school, I loved YA thrillers. I read any book from that genre that I could get
my hands on. After a while, though, many of the stories began to feel the same
to me and it was difficult to find something fresh and original. So, I decided
to write the story that I wanted to read. I came up with the concept for Imperfect in
eighth grade but actually started writing it in my freshman year of high
school. What’s funny is that it started out as a sci-fi story about Roman
gladiators—it’s obviously changed a lot since then.
As
a teenager penning her first book, what challenges did you have to overcome in
order to put together such a good book? The process was full
of experimentation. As Imperfect was my first novel, I had no
idea how to approach this kind of project. I re-wrote the entire manuscript
about six times, constantly brainstorming and time-lining as I went. Also, I never received any sort of formal creative
writing training, so I taught myself to write by reading all sorts of
novels paying special attention to how those authors structured their plot arcs
and developed their characters.
What
is Imperfect about? Imperfect is
the
story of a fifteen year old girl, Summer Greenwood and her struggle against Making Perfect, a huge, genetic
research corporation that runs the country and captures orphans to be part of
their illegal experiments. Set in 2441, the story is told primarily through
Summer’s point of view as she uncovers the dark secrets behind the company and
as she struggles to return to her family.
It
takes place some 400 years from now. How hard was it to see that far out into
the future in terms of society, technology, and how life might be by then? It’s
actually been really fun. There isn’t any way to know for sure what life
will be like in the future—all we can do is guess and that’s the fun part. What’s
interesting is that over the past decade, large corporations have grown in
terms of their influence on the lives of people and I wanted to explore what
would happen if it got out of control. Imperfect focuses on
both the rising power of corporations and advances
in genetic research. What would life be like if Monsanto took over the country? What if “perfecting” the human race was finally within
reach? Should we do it? Who decides what perfect is? What could possibly go wrong
with that?
Your
book is about Summer, a young girl who seeks to find a way to survive amidst a
chaotic world. How are you similar to her? I feel that I
share characteristics with all of my characters. Summer is, at her core, an
extremely resilient character and I’d like to think that I have some of her in
me. She’s very outspoken, never bothering to consider the consequences of her
words. That is both good and bad but she is very genuine and I really like
people like that. She and I both have a tendency to question authority and not
blindly follow a crowd but she also has a pretty strong moral compass. One thing that I want to come across is
that she is not one dimensional.
We are all packages of good traits and some that are less good, and I
really wanted to make sure she had that mix.
Throughout
the book she has to determine whom she can trust in a world filled with liars,
manipulators, and evil-doers. How does she go about deciding what to reveal and
to whom? Summer is extremely guarded. This isn’t
surprising considering all the horrors she’s had to face. For a large portion
of the novel, the only person she really trusts is herself. After her parents
abandoned her, she lost all faith in people’s ability to be there for her. Even
Tyler, who’d been her friend for her entire life, is held at arm’s length. When
she is taken to Making Perfect, although her guard is still up
initially, she realizes that making connections with others in necessary to
survive. Slowly, she learns to trust, and eventually learns that sharing her
burdens with others makes life so much easier.
The
bonds of family played a huge role both in what Summer does and what another
key character does. Both will risk their lives to get what they want, but only
Summer seems to be acting with a clear mind. Why is family so important to her? Family is the
foundation of everyone’s life. Those are the people that, for better or for
worse, are always a part of you. In Summer’s case, her sisters are her support
system and at the same time they rely on her for their survival. By keeping her sisters safe, she
safeguards the only people in the world who she loves and also give her life a purpose.
This is the reason that she feels so guilty when she’s taken by Making Perfect and
does everything she can to get back to them.
In
your story, we have learned that the government experimented on fetuses and is
seeking to create a superhuman race that could act as elite soldiers. Why? Throughout
history, we have seen horrific things done to create the perfect group of
people according to someone’s distorted view of perfection. Whether it was Hitler’s concept of
Master Race or what ISIS is doing today, some people will do the most horrible
things to other people in the name of creating the “perfect” society. Making
Perfect has a lot more scientific tools at its disposal so its methods appear
less crude but only on the surface.
As for its ultimate purpose, well, you are just going to have to wait
for the story to play out in the next book…
How much of
recently published books, like The Hunger Games or Divergent, influence
your writing? How does your book differ from other YA books? I think that
all YA books share certain characteristics. Oppressive governments, class
warfare, apocalyptic environments, and the struggle of young individuals
against morally corrupt establishments are all widely accepted concepts scattered
throughout the many books in this genre.
I think that Imperfect’s themes of genetic experimentations, and
corporate control set it apart from others, as does the rich set of characters.
Also, the characters are all multi-dimensional and don’t adhere to any
stereotypes. Even the villains, like Ian Cooper, the son of Making Perfect’s
CEO, have motivations they believe are morally clear. Ian’s motivations conflict
with Summer’s and he does horrible things, but everything he does makes sense
to him. He is also capable of kindness and that makes him real in my view.
How
is your talent developed to get you to the point you published a well-written,
344-page novel at the age of 16? How have your peers received you? I don’t know. I’ve
always loved telling stories. Ever
since I was really little I’ve always come up with stories. My parents were always encouraging and
listened to many stories nobody should have been subjected to! Writing is my
passion and I just set out to write a story I wanted to read. It wasn’t easy, but I’m just doing what
I love. If you really apply yourself and you don’t give up when it gets hard,
you can do anything, regardless of your age. I think too many people think they have to wait until after
college to start their lives. You don’t.
If you want to do something, do it. Don’t wait. As for my peers, we don’t talk much about it. This is just my
thing.
Your
story opens up by explaining how a civil war permanently ripped apart the
United States. Do you think this could happen one day? Anything’s
possible. The Civil War ended only
150 years ago. In 400 years could we see another huge conflict? I hope we are smarter than that. I just find it amazing that World War
II ended only 70 years ago and that 400 years ago Europe was being torn apart
by the Thirty Years War. A lot can happen in 400 years.
How
would you define your writing style or approach to your craft? Some people
who know far more about this than I do have told me that my writing style is
very clear. And, because I am a teenager, my characters tend to have very
youthful, authentic voices. They speak and act like we do, as opposed to how adults
think teenagers speak and act. As far as my craft, I just want to learn as
much as possible about the many ways to tell a powerful story. And I have a lot of them to tell.
Claire,
how do you feel being home-schooled has shaped you as a writer or provided an
opportunity to be a writer? It’s
definitely given me far more freedom to write than I would get in a traditional
school setting. Even from an early age, homeschooling allowed me to take my
education into my own hands and really dive deep into projects I was passionate
about. It’s enabled me to start a company when I was 13 and to write this book.
I still have to do a lot of work in many subjects and I am preparing for
college, so my workload is quite challenging but I also have a lot of freedom
to structure my time. Because of this freedom, I was able to spend hours upon
hours honing my craft, which was important not only for Imperfect, but
also for my development as a writer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Blurb:
The year is 2441.
The world is a mess. The Second Civil War ended with the Great Divide
which carved out the United States into seven regions, each run by a huge
corporation. The powerful Making
Perfect corporation specializes in genetic research and controls the region
that fifteen-year-old Summer Greenwood lives in with her sisters, Lily and
Tory, and her dog Theo. Abandoned
by their parents for reasons they don’t understand, Summer and her sisters
struggle to survive in the Slump, a border city of ruins, along with other
orphans where they fight hunger, violence and the ever present threat of Red
Pox, the devastating plague tearing through the region.
Once a month, Making Perfect officials flood the city ruins,
rounding up street kids and transporting them to secret facilities where they’re
never heard from again. Due to a
fateful turn of events, Summer falls victim to their latest sweep along with
her childhood best friend Tyler, leaving Tory, who had just contracted Red Pox,
and Lily to fend for themselves.
She is transported to a scientific facility in the center of the region.
Over a period of months, she and the many other captives undergo a slew of
grueling tests and experiments, culminating in various genetic alterations that
Making Perfect claims will advance the human race.
Amazon buy link:
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Author Bio:
When homeschooled Claire Fraise was 13 years old, she
founded and incorporated an animal rescue company. Over the next
year-and-a-half, she saved the lives of 20 dogs that were residing in kill
shelters, often within days of euthanasia, many of them in the South. She placed them first in a network of
foster families she developed herself and found permanent families for all of
them. It’s no surprise that just
three years later, at age 16, this bright, spunky girl has written and
published her first book – a 344-page, sci-fi thriller in the spirit of
bestselling YA fare like The Hunger
Games, Divergent and Fifth Wave.
Her debut novel, Imperfect, projects a dark world
some 400 years ahead, where a tyrannical, corporation-controlled government sees
fit to experiment on children and to use its lab-based enhancements to build a
superior army. Summer Greenwood,
the orphaned heroine living in an impoverished ghetto, seeks to save herself
and siblings from dire consequences while discovering some life-shattering
truths about her parents, her life, and the world she’s lived in.
