JH Walker Author Interview | Rewrite Redemption

I recently sat down for a digital cup of coffee with JH Walker, author of the YA novel Rewrite Redemption. We chatted about her new book, writing, and time travel.

Author: J.H. Walker
Book Title: Rewrite Redemption
Publisher: Amazon
# of Pages: 388
Release Date: 1/25/13
Format(s): Kindle
Where can it be purchased?: Amazon
Summary: She’s sixteen. He’s seventeen. They don’t know each other…at least not yet. She has a secret and her whole life revolves around keeping it. Every few months and with little warning, she simply disappears, pulled into the past for hours or even days. She’s terrified it will happen in front of someone, changing her life forever. So far, the only witnesses have been her parents, and that didn’t end well. She has no control over it and no idea why it happens to her.
She wants answers.
He has answers—at least he understands what’s going on. He has a secret, too. He’s part of an organization that goes back in time to rewrite reality. But he also has a problem. He broke the organization’s number-one rule by altering his own timeline. As punishment, he’s been blocked from time travel, which is most unfortunate. Because the changes he made to his timeline accidentally resulted in disaster for his family. A disaster he’s now prevented from repairing. No one can travel beneath the organization’s radar except a Shadow. But they’re rare, so rare he’s never even met one.
Then he moves to her town.

T: If you had to describe yourself in three words, what would they be?

J: Free-thinking, open-minded, and curious.

T: Conventional wisdom says that the best writers are also readers. What are some of your favorite books and authors?

J: I’ve been an avid reader all my life. Much of my childhood was spent with my nose in a book. The library was my favorite place. I could walk down rows of books, knowing I’d read them all. As a child, I loved the strange stuff—books about people two inches tall who lived in the walls. Books about other worlds were what got me excited. I guess that just never went away.

Today, I read widely in the young adult market. I love paranormal and fantasy worlds. I love the whole YA genre because young adults are way more open to otherworldly phenomenon. I find stories about regular people rather boring much of the time. I’m drawn to the unusual and surreal.

I also read historical fiction and sci-fi/fantasy. A few of my favorite authors are Juliet Marillier, Philippa Gregory, Sharon Shinn, and George R.R Martin.

T: I have to ask. If you had to pick: Harry Potter or The Hunger Games?

J: That’s hard. I think that Harry Potter is the better accomplishment and should get the literary prize. But The Hunger Games is more up my alley. I prefer dystopia to magic. (Although, I have to admit, I wasn’t all that fond of Mockingjay. Way too depressing.)

T: I like to write in coffee shops, because there’s something about the combination of caffeine and people that motivates me. Where do you like to write and why?

J: I always write in my study on my computer. I’m fairly petite and I have this tiny keyboard that I love and two huge monitors. Everything I need is there. It works for me. I look out over a valley with red rock cliffs in the distance. It’s incredibly peaceful and that allows my mind to wander around in imagination-land. I like things quiet and I don’t mind long periods of solitude.

T: Book ideas come from all kinds of crazy and wonderful places. What was your inspiration for this book?

J: Have you ever screwed up and then wished you could go back in time and have a redo? Mistakes are a part of life—we all make them. They come in all sizes. There are the “oh, well—no big” mistakes that bum us out when they happen but are forgotten the next day. There are the %$##%! mistakes that stay around a little longer but eventually become unimportant. Then there are the “if only” mistakes. Those are the ones that hang around for a long time, leaving you forever asking yourself how things would have turned out differently…if only.

If only I hadn’t done this. If only I hadn’t said that. If only I had made a different choice. If only I’d known such and such, before I—whatever—you get the point. What if you could go back and change those screw-ups… rewrite them, so to speak. I’ve always been fascinated with time travel for that very reason. Too often, I’ve longed to be able to go back in time and give myself that one piece of knowledge that would have been so very valuable at the time. I would love to tweak my life here and there, using hindsight to polish it into perfection. I mean, how cool would that be?

My desire to do that was the inspiration for this book.

T: Young adult novels are super popular right now, and I love to see this age level getting so much literary attention. What did you find were the struggles and rewards of writing for this audience?

J: I don’t know if I’ve been doing this long enough to really be able to answer that. If there’s any kind of struggle, it’s to make sure that the underlying messages in my book aren’t detrimental. That matters to me. Not that I’m in any way conservative or a prude. Please. I’m talking things like intimating that a guy abusing a girl is sexy. Or the only cool hero is a violent bad boy. I want to tell a good story, but still have a social conscience.

The rewards are when you reach someone. One of my favorite reviews was from a young girl named Abbey. It was only three words. “IT. WAS. AWESOME.” It makes me smile every time I think of it. We’ve had some communication since then and it’s been very sweet. It’s incredibly rewarding when someone gets your book.

T: You mentioned that the genre of your story is quite unique. Can you tell us more about the genre of Rewrite Redemption?

J: I don’t know if it’s unique. It’s just difficult to pin down. First and foremost, it’s the story of teens in difficult situations just trying to deal with their lives. There are sci-fi elements, but the book is certainly not hard sci-fi. It has time travel, but most of the book takes place in the present. Some of the characters have paranormal abilities, but this isn’t the usual dark paranormal read with evil demons, and there certainly aren’t any zombies or vampires. There’s definitely romance. But it’s more a sweet romance, not the bodice-ripping lust you often find in paranormal books. I’m really at a loss to define it. I’d appreciate opinions from any readers.

T: Rewrite Redemption includes a time travel element. If you could travel back to any period in time for a day, where and when would you visit?

J: I’ve given this a lot of thought, ha. Here’s my conclusion. I think the Renaissance would be particularly fascinating. Imagine meeting Leonardo da Vinci. But I don’t think I’d want to go there, even for a day. Way too scary—no rule of law, the plague, and the fact that women have been little more than slaves for most of history. Plus, I’m far too fond of modern conveniences. Now, I wouldn’t mind being an observer, watching undetected from some kind of high-tech time ship. I’m definitely curious. But I wouldn’t want to be dropped off somewhere, left to deal with the circumstances of the time.

No, if I could go back in time, I’d travel back and talk to my younger self. I’d give her the benefit of the knowledge it’s taken me a lifetime to acquire. One thing about being young, you don’t know what you don’t know. And boy, I didn’t know much. But as the decades pass by, if you’re paying attention, you begin to acquire a little wisdom. The kind of wisdom that comes from life experience. I’d love to go back in time and give my younger self some tools for dealing with life.

T: Which character was your favorite to write and why?

J: I have a pretty good understanding of human behavior and the formation of personality. Creating characters that are true to form is my strongest suit as a writer. (Staying in the proper tense is my worst…sigh.) My characters are very real to me. I fall in love with the good ones and get really annoyed at the bad ones.

A.J. is the character with whom I most identify. I wanted to be invisible at her age. Not because I disappeared, ha. I wished! But for other reasons. I totally understand her. But I had the most fun writing Lex in this book.

Lex’s parents have money and they dole it out to her freely. But that’s all they give her. In spite of their neglect, she’s found a way to be okay. She’s the tough one. She likes to be in control and is fiercely protective of both A.J. and Ipod. Protecting them is her way of coping with the fact that her own parents have little interest in her. Where she had a lack of nurturing, she becomes the nurturer.

Her parents were largely absent; however, to assuage their guilt, they required her to visit a psychologist each week. She’s gotten pseudo parenting from the shrinks she’s seen weekly for years. From them, she learned that understanding herself and others was a useful tool. A tool she could use to help her get through life. From the shrinks, she learned about herself and her friends and also strategies for dealing with life. She has anger towards her absent parents, but she’s not bitter. Along with A.J. and Ipod, she’s created a pseudo family that works for the three of them. Perhaps they don’t have supportive parents. But they have each other and that has allowed them to make it this far, relatively unscathed.

Aside from that, writing Lex is fun. She’s witty, fair, and incredibly generous. She jumps to conclusions like most sixteen-year-old girls, but she listens to reason. You couldn’t ask for a better best friend.

T: Okay, so, imagine our Bookkaholic readers have some free time on their hands and are looking to start a good book. Why should they decide that Rewrite Redemption is their next awesome read?

J: My book will resonate most with people who want books that make them feel. People who like in-depth characters who struggle to overcome adversity. I don’t suppose my book is for the Gossip Girl crowd. It’s certainly not told from the viewpoint of the popular girl. And if you absolutely need a snarky bad boy, well, you might want to look elsewhere. But if you want an emotional read, a romance between two very real people, a complex plot, and some twists and turns, you might give it a try. And if you’re someone who has been stepped on by a mean girl, this book is for you.

T: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

J: I haven’t been doing this long enough to be giving advice to other authors. But I will say this. When you think you’re done, you’re probably not done. You can make your book so much better by going over it and over it and over it.

T: And, finally…what can we expect to see from you in the future? Are you working on anything else at the moment?

J: I’m working on the sequel to Rewrite Redemption. There’s a lot more in store for A.J., Constantine, Lex, and Ipod.

Thank you to JH for the digital chat; we’re looking for to this exciting new YA novel! If Walker’s descriptions have whetted your appetite, make sure to check the book out on Amazon or visit her website for more information. And for your, our dear readers, I pose the same question I asked Ms. Walker: If you could time travel, where and when would you visit?

See larger image Rewrite Redemption (Kindle Edition) By (author): J.H. Walker She’s sixteen. He’s seventeen. They don’t know each other…at least not yet. She has a secret and her whole life revolves around keeping it. Every few months and with little warning, she simply disappears, pulled into the past for hours or even days. She’s terrified it will happen in front of someone, changing her life forever. So far, the only witnesses have been her parents, and that didn’t end well. She has no control over it and no idea why it happens to her. She wants answers. He has answers—at least he understands what’s going on. He has a secret, too. He’s part of an organization that goes back in time to rewrite reality. But he also has a problem. He broke the organization’s number-one rule by altering his own timeline. As punishment, he’s been blocked from time travel, which is most unfortunate. Because the changes he made to his timeline, accidentally resulted in disaster for his family. A disaster he’s now prevented from repairing. No one can travel beneath the organization’s radar except a Shadow. But they’re rare, so rare he’s never even met one. Then he moves to her town. Rewrite Redemption is a YA love story with paranormal/sci-fi elements. J.H. Walker on Rewrite Redemption Have you ever screwed up and then wished you could go back in time and have a redo? Mistakes are a part of life—we all make them. They come in all sizes. There are the “oh, well—no big” mistakes that bum us out when they happen but are forgotten the next day. There are the %$##%! mistakes that stay around a little longer but eventually become unimportant. Then there are the “if only” mistakes. Those are the ones that hang around for a long time, leaving you forever asking yourself how things would have turned out differently…if only. If only I hadn’t done this. If only I hadn’t said that. If only I had made a different choice. If only I’d known such and such, before I—whatever—you get the point. What if you could go back and change those screw-ups… rewrite them, so to speak. I’ve always been fascinated with time travel for that very reason. Too often, I’ve longed to be able to go back in time and give myself that one piece of knowledge that would have been so very valuable then. I would love to tweak my life here and there, using hindsight to polish it into perfection. I mean, how cool would that be? Unfortunately, we’re limited by reality—we can’t go back in time. I’m all for “being in the moment” but I have to admit, that like most book lovers, I do a lot of living vicariously through the written word. In my life, I’m limited by reality, but in books, I can do anything. It’s only natural that my first novel would involve time travel. I don’t care about traveling far into the past. I’m way too fond of running water and modern conveniences. Plus, women have been little more than slaves for most of history. My interest in time travel has more to do with exploring the “if only” world. It’s not as simple as it sounds. Time travel is incredibly complicated. You change something here, and over there, a whole other cascade of events is triggered. Rewrite Redemption is first and foremost a love story. It’s about kids in difficult situations that have no one to depend on but each other. But it’s also a time travel adventure that explores the “if only” scenario. I hope you’ll click on over to Amazon and read the first eight chapters for free. Let me know what you think. J.H. Walker Kindle Edition: Check Amazon for Pricing Digital Only