We here at Book Lovers Inc. are so happy to welcome Jacquelyn Wheeler author of both Rising Shadow and Merger (book 1 and 2 in The Soterians series). Both of which, I enjoyed!

The YA Lover: Hi there Jacquelyn, I hope you’re doing well…could you tell us a little bit about yourself, how you got into writing, and why you decided to go the self-publishing route?

JW: Hi Jenn! I’ve been a professional writer in software for 19 years, and I’ve written some children’s stories, poetry, and screenplays for fun. But when I got the idea for the Soterians series, I knew right away that it was going to be a series of five novels, and I knew that these stories were powerful enough that they had to go out in the world and not just sit on my desk. I queried a few agents, but I quickly decided that I don’t have the patience or temperament for waiting around for someone else to give me permission to publish my work, so I dived into learning everything I could about self-publishing. It’s been an amazing journey and a total blast.

The YA Lover: Both, Rising Shadow and Merger deal with a very grey area of life, yes there’s right and wrong, but you’re very adamant that good can never fully win, that the most we can hope for in the world is for it to be brought into balance, with right being on top or having a bit of the upper hand but that evil or wrong can never be banished 100%. Where did that train of thought come from?


JW: The idea that evil can be eliminated is something that has always annoyed me in stories. Every heroic tale ends with the bad guy dying in the end. But real life isn’t like that, and those stories always made me feel cheated that there wasn’t a good role model for dealing with someone who causes you suffering (like a boss, co-worker, or family member) and whom you have to deal with on a daily basis. Furthermore, we have our good and our bad qualities, but we can never change who we are at core…we just have to do the best we can to balance our traits and focus on bringing out the best in ourselves. So it occurred to me that it would be a much more challenging and interesting story if you couldn’t just kill off the villain but had to find a way to restore the balance of good and evil.

The YA Lover: In the Soterians world, each of the characters has a “power”. One of Ashlyn’s is that she can fly. Is this something that you would like to do? Have you ever envisioned yourself flying over the world, and what would you see from up there?


JW: Oh man, I have dreamed regularly about flying my entire life. Ashlyn’s obsession with flying is taken directly from my own experience. Her love of biking and swimming, because they make her feel like she’s flying, is exactly why I love biking and swimming. If I could choose any power, flying would be it. The closest I’ve come is skydiving, and it was the most amazing experience of my life. The incredible freedom of no longer being limited to two dimensions is what really makes flying special to me, and my dream would be to fly from the top of a mountain down through clouds, very much like the ending of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (one of my all-time favorite films).

The YA Lover: I know that you’re also a mother. Do you see the Soterians as almost a gift to your daughter, sort of your way of saying, here sweetie, life is bad, but life can also be full of good and beauty? (I know I felt that way.)


JW: Absolutely. My daughter, who is turning 14 this year, is going through a lot of the normal teenage stuff, and the gift I wish I could give her is the ability to see herself the way I see her: with pure, unconditional love. These books are very much about finding your inner strength, your “power”, and realizing that you don’t have to look or feel like a superhero to be powerful, and that even the most amazing people suffer from very human issues like insecurity and fear. The message is that our greatest source of strength comes from opening our hearts to love–everything else stems from that.

The YA Lover: OK off to some silly questions:
What, to you, is the most important part of the story (not just your story), the beginning, middle or ending? Why?


JW: The middle. Everything is about the journey. If you wait around for your life to begin, you won’t live. If you put off happiness until you’ve reached the end of some goal, you’re wasting precious life thinking the future is going to bring you happiness, which of course it never does. The only true happiness comes from this moment, right now, when you open yourself completely to it and learn to enjoy the journey. I love to immerse myself in stories and enjoy being right in the middle of them, appreciating what I’ve read so far, and enjoying the anticipation of what’s to come. And I try to live my life exactly the same way.

The YA Lover: What would I find in your refrigerator right now?


JW: Lots of veggies, many condiments (mostly hot sauces and Asian seasonings), rice milk, and some whole-grain bread. We’re pretty healthy eaters.

The YA Lover: If you could trade places with anyone right now, fictional or not, alive or dead, who would it be, and would you want to stay there or only visit for a short time? Why?


JW: I would trade places with whoever is with Viggo Mortensen right now. 🙂 Seriously, I’m really happy being myself, flaws and all. Especially when I’m dreaming about flying.

The YA Lover: Thank you so much Jacquelyn for joining us today, I can’t wait to read the next book!

About the Author:
Jacquelyn has worked as a professional writer since 1991. She has received numerous awards for her technical writing, but creative writing was always her passion. After writing poetry, children’s stories, and screenplays, Jacquelyn embarked on The Soterians series, a series of five fantasy novels for young adults. You can read the first novel, Rising Shadow, for free on her web site (www.soterians.com), or purchase the paperback. As an advocate for volunteerism and service, Jacquelyn donates 20% of her royalties to the charities listed on her site.

In her spare time, Jacquelyn enjoys martial arts, triathlons, skiing, playing music, and volunteering. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and their daughter. (taken from goodreads.com)

About the books:

What is Rising Shadow about?
The Soterians series tells the story of modern-day Soterians.

The first book, Rising Shadow, tells the story of Ashlyn Woods, who has just transferred to one of the most beautiful campuses on the west coast, where she can’t wait to start her life over as a normal college student. But her plans take an unexpected turn when she discovers that she is a Soterian: a person who develops special powers when the balance of good and evil shifts too far in evil’s favor.

Soon Ashlyn and the other Soterians are studying martial arts and learning to use their powers to prevent California from being plunged into chaos.

But they quickly discover that they’re up against a much more dangerous enemy than they anticipated.

And when Ashlyn meets Kai, a devastatingly gorgeous guitar player, she realizes she must sacrifice more than she ever imagined.

What is Merger about?
The second book, Merger, continues the saga of the Soterians. When a large car manufacturing plant in Minnesota is shut down because of a merger, putting an entire town out of work, Ashlyn struggles to balance school, her training, and her sometimes fragile relationship with Kai while fighting against the corruption that is threatening thousands of innocent people.

But when she and the other Soterians discover that a new factory in Mexico holds the key to a dangerous secret, Ashlyn is reminded that nothing is as important as the ever-present threat of Deimos, the ultimate source of evil, who knows much more about Ashlyn and her loved ones than she had ever feared.
(taken from author’s website)

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