The Young Adult fiction market has exploded over the last several years. Locus magazine (May 2006) estimates that the amount of Young Adult genre books published in the U.S. has more than doubled in the last decade. Much of this growth is due to the astounding success of the Harry Potter series by author J.K. Rowling. As a result, publishers have begun to publish more Young Adult books and to re-package the genre to appeal to adults as well as young readers. The audience for Young Adult fiction is growing by leaps and bounds. Suddenly, the Young Adult novel has gained a respectability that, while long past due, is most welcome. I've been a reader of Young Adult novels ever since I first grabbed "Sargasso of Space" by Andre Norton off the shelf of a local paperback shop and lost myself in a science fiction world that even a teenager like myself could understand. Not only did I read the novel with a great sense of wonder, I enjoyed the fact that many of the characters in the novel were just like me. And now, at 51, the simplicity and brevity of the Young Adult novel still appeal to me. It seems to me that many modern Science Fiction novels are just too long and overly technical to engage me. I often turn to a good Young Adult novel for clear, simple writing that treats me as a smart reader and allows me to enter into a fictional world with ease. Many Young Adult novels are often more creative and genre-bending than their mainstream counterparts. Garth Nix, Nancy Farmer, Meredith Ann Pierce and Michelle Paver have all written books that I found as entertaining and moving as most of the adult novels I read in 2006. Which brings me to the recently published (August 2006) Young
Adult Science Fiction novel, "The Softwire: Virus on Orbis
1" by PJ Haarsma. Original, intelligent and
immersive, "The Softwire" is a perfect example of why the
young adult novel is so good. I was very fortunate to have lunch
with the author of this excellent novel on a sparklingly clear Los
Angeles Sunday afternoon. We met at a Little Tokyo restaurant
called East, and over a superb Japanese box lunch, my partner, Lisa
Morton, and I talked with PJ Haarsma about "The
Softwire". PJ Haarsma is a handsome, stocky man in his thirties who speaks
with passion about how "The Softwire" came to be written.
PJ was at a cross-roads in his life. Twenty years of success in the
world of advertising had left him feeling uncomfortable and
unhappy. He told me that he wanted to "do something
creative" with the second half of his life. He was tired of
how advertising paid little attention to the products it was
actually trying to sell, and since he didn't want to be a part of
that world anymore, he quit his advertising job and decided to
become a filmmaker initially. He wrote and produced the film
"Devious Beings" in 2002, but once again, he found
himself living in the same world as the one he just left. Hollywood
was all about finding work and playing the game. This was a far cry
from the creative, happy life he wanted to build for
himself. So,
PJ quit Hollywood and decided to become a novelist. Although he
never considered himself a writer ("English was my worst class
in school", he says), he started "journaling" until
one day Johnny T (the main character of "The Softwire)
appeared on the page. PJ started asking himself "what if"
questions about the character and about the world this character
might inhabit. Eleven months later he had written what would become
"The Softwire", a first person young adult novel centered
around a young man born parent-less on a space ship during a voyage
to the mysterious Rings of Orbis. The bulk of the novel is about
Johhny T's struggle to understand who and what he is after he
arrives on Orbis 1, for Johnny T is a "softwire": a
person who can interface with computers using only their mind. This
fact becomes a catalyst for the various alien races that want to
use or obstruct Johnny's unique ability. After friends helped him place the book with a New York agent,
PJ decided to take the first good offer that came. So, not three
months after finishing his first novel he was signing a 4 book
contract for a Softwire series. PJ's descriptions of working on the "The Softwire" indicated that the writing was a great joy for him. This pleasure in writing comes through very clearly in the novel. He likes his characters (even the villains) and there is such a sense of wonder in the writing that "The Softwire" story draws you in exceptionally well. You really care for Johnny T. and his friends. I think this is partly due to the fact that PJ is writing a kind of self-portrait in Johnny T, and after meeting him it becomes obvious. Both author and character are curious, sensitive and intelligent people with a special ability that makes them stand out from others. In Johnny's case it's his softwire ability; with PJ, it's his determination to free his creative self in order to become more alive. While the novel loses a little momentum in the middle sections
where the plot becomes more of a mystery than SciFi, the pace is
generally quick and suspenseful. And it's clear to me that PJ is
interested in the deeper questions of identity and friendship and
otherness, as opposed to trying to create the strangest alien or
self-conscious (and lengthy) descriptions of scientific phenomena
that plague so many modern adult Science Fiction
novels. In discussing the writing of "The Softwire", PJ indicated that originally he had written the novel entirely in the third person point of view, but somehow it didn't quite feel right, so he re-wrote the opening chapter in the first person and asked his wife, Marisa, and selected friends to read both and tell him which version they liked best. The first person account was the favorite, so he re-wrote the entire book from the first person point of view. This was not an easy task since it meant a complicated re-working of the story from just Johnny T's perspective. Considering the fact that Johnny was raised in a starship with minimal exposure to the common metaphors and phrases that we would expect from a normal Earth boy, this wiped out whole sections of the book. But ultimately all of PJ's hard work paid off. Johnny is a completely sympathetic and compelling character and you follow his thoughts and fears each step of the way. PJ was telling me that he wants to use the game to tell other points of view as the series progresses. Perhaps even publishing a novel in two parts: one would be the story from Johnny's point of view; and another would be the same story, but told from his closest friend. I think this is a marvelous idea. What I find most impressive about PJ Haarsma is the range and variety of his ideas. Interested in technology and the Internet, he decided to "extend the world of the Softwire novel" into an online flash-based game, and so he commissioned hand-picked artists and programmers to create the "Rings of Orbis". Interestingly, the game allows you to interact with the world in the same way as the young adult characters in the novel. This is a unique idea and one that will allow for a lot of imaginative growth as future novels of the series come out. I spent several pleasant hours as the character "Etheleon" exploring and trading in beautifully designed 2d worlds. At present, PJ tells me, there are 2200 players who have signed up and are playing regularly in the game. It was a completely unique experience to read a novel and then find yourself as a player in a game that takes place in the same world. PJ is so excited about developing the "Rings of Orbis" site that he worries it will take over his writing. I don't think he has much to worry about really, since both the game world and the novel world will probably give him new ideas for many years to come. PJ is a self-professed "bulldog" about promoting his
book and companion on-line game. After heroic diligence, he even
managed to get NASA to work with him on a grade-school level
presentation that, as PJ tells it, "gets kids absolutely
thrilled by the end". PJ told me that he managed to sell 1,000
of his books in Canada while touring schools there with his NASA
program. He's excited about the prospect of doing the same thing in
the Los Angeles area schools. With his winning personality and
great ideas, I don't think he'll have much of a problem if he can
just get a presentation to the right people. As
I was talking with PJ Haarsma, I had the growing feeling that
Candlewick Press was missing a golden opportunity in using PJ's
ability to promote "The Softwire". Any smart publisher
would be overjoyed to have such a self-promoting author, but
Candlewick seems to be stuck in an older, traditional model of how
publishers interact with their authors. One where authors are
supposed to just stick to the writing and let the publisher handle
everything else. Unfortunately, you won't find a link or a mention
of the "Rings of Orbis" game on the Candlewick site.
Something that PJ found extremely frustrating. This is really too
bad, since an author who sells 1,000 copies of their own books, has
a free online game designed around his novel, and has children and
adults enthused about "The Softwire" series, should be
rewarded with co-operation and enthusiasm. I sure wish Candlewick
would wake up. "The Softwire" series books will come out in August
over the next three years. I'll certainly be reading each one as it
comes out. Thank God, PJ is resisting the urge to sell them to
Hollywood. He mentioned that he wanted to first create the world
himself so he can keep the details consistent. Nathan Fillion (of
Serenity fame) has recorded the first three chapters of
the book. They are available as a download at IGN.com. After
listening to the recordings, I sure hope he finishes the whole
novel. Two hours of lively and engaging conversation with PJ Haarsma
has left me with even more respect for "The Softwire" and
it's author. It's not easy to leave a successful career for another
in which you will have to start all over. I congratulate PJ Haarsma
for re-building his life in a way that makes him creative and
happy. It takes courage to step out and do something you've never
done before. PJ spoke to me of extending "The Softwire" into many
more books than just four. He also has an idea for a horror series
where he wants to "create a new horror hero, like Dracula or
the Frankenstein monster." In conversation, his imagination
and enthusiasm seemed boundless. And you know, while he was telling
me about his ideas, he just kept smiling and smiling. I think he's
found what he was looking for. Â The Softwire: Virus on Orbis 1 (Book one synopsis) When the children on the seed ship, Renaissance, are orphaned in outer space, thirteen-year-old JT and his sister Ketheria are forced to work as knudniks on the Rings of Orbis. Instead of beginning the new and better life he had hoped for, JT and his sister spend their days sifting through trash for their new Guarantor. But JT soon discovers that he is the first human Softwire - he has a special gift that allows him to enter any computer with his mind. And when the central computer on Orbis mysteriously malfunctions, the Citizens point their fingers at the newcomers, especially the Softwire. Before long, JT is embroiled in a struggle between the Keepers who rule Orbis and the Trading Council, which wants him dead. As he learns to harness his newfound ability, JT uncovers a virus wreaking havoc inside the computer. Now he must convince the powers that be on Orbis that the virus is real before they make war on each other and destroy his new home - along with JT's dream of a better life. Â Links: The main
site for "The Softwire" The
"Rings of Orbis" game site Link to first three chapters of "The Softwire" as read by Nathan Fillion Candlewick Press (the publisher) I've created a short YouTube video of PJ Haarsma taken during my lunch with him. You can find it here. I'd like to thank PJ Haarsma for meeting with me and for being
so forthright in conversation. And, of course, my partner,
Lisa
Morton, who paid for the lunch. Â All supporting images are copyright
© Redbear Films 2006 Inc. All rights reserved.      |
February 5, 2007
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