Floor 21: Interview with Science Fiction/Dystopian author Jason Luthor
Jason Luthor has
spent a long life writing for sports outlets, media companies and universities.
His earliest writing years came during his coverage of the San Antonio Spurs as
an affiliate with the Spurs Report and its media partner, WOAI Radio. He would
later enjoy a moderate relationship with Blizzard Entertainment, writing lore
and stories for potential use in future games. At the academic level he has
spent several years pursuing a PhD in American History at the University of Houston, with a special emphasis on Native American
history.
His inspirations include some of the obvious; The Lord of the Rings and Chronciles of Narnia are some of the most cited fantasy series in history. However, his favorite reads include the Earthsea Cycle, the Chronicles of Prydain, as well as science fiction hits such as Starship Troopers and Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep?
His inspirations include some of the obvious; The Lord of the Rings and Chronciles of Narnia are some of the most cited fantasy series in history. However, his favorite reads include the Earthsea Cycle, the Chronicles of Prydain, as well as science fiction hits such as Starship Troopers and Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep?
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About the Book:
Title: Floor 21
Author: Jason Luthor
Publisher: Scout Press
Pages: 355
Genre: Sci-fi/Dystopian
Author: Jason Luthor
Publisher: Scout Press
Pages: 355
Genre: Sci-fi/Dystopian
The last of humanity
is trapped at the top of an isolated apartment tower with no memory of how they
got there or why. All travel beneath Floor 21 is forbidden, and nobody can ever
recall seeing the ground floor. Beneath Floor 21, a sickness known as the Creep
infests that halls of the Tower. A biological mass that grows stronger in
reaction to people’s fear and anger, the Creep prey’s on people by causing them
to hallucinate until they’re in a state of panicking, before finally growing
strong enough to lash out and consume them. Only a small team known as
Scavengers are allowed to go beneath Floor 21 to pillage the lower levels in search
of food and supplies.
Jackie is a
brilliant young girl that lives far above the infection and who rarely has to
worry about facing any harm. However, her intense curiosity drives her to
investigate the bottom floors and the Creep. To deal with her own anxiety and
insecurities, she documents her experiences on a personal recorder as she
explores the secrets of the Tower. During the course of her investigation,
Jackie will find herself at odds with Tower Authority, which safeguards what
remains of humanity, as she attempts to determine what created the Creep, how
humanity became trapped at the top of the Tower, and whether anyone knows if
escape is even possible.
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Q: Welcome to The Writer's
Life! Now that your book has been published,
we’d love to find out more about the process.
Can we begin by having you take us at the beginning? Where did you come up with the idea to write
your book?
FLOOR 21 is inspired by a blend of television and gaming media. The
idea of a society of humans living their entire lives on the top floors of a
tower was inspired by a scene I saw on television in which a girl was lowered
from the top floors of a hospital into the lower floors. I wondered to myself
what it would be like if humans had no idea what was below, as if they had
lived their entire existence on the top levels. That was where the core concept
of the book came from. The notion of a disease called the Creep infesting the
lower levels and preventing departure from the tower came from inspirations
such as the indie horror game, Lone
Survivor, while the overall unusual tone and general sense of mystery was
largely inspired by the French surrealist game, OFF.
Q: How hard was it to write a
book like this and do you have any tips that you could pass on which would make
the journey easier for other writers?
I had never written in first
person and had to read other works to get a good feel for it. The ideas came
easily enough. It was communicating them that was difficult. In the end, I feel
any writer can benefit from reading in the style they are interested in. Being
widely read can help an individual get a grasp on how to write in a similar
fashion, although the end product should be a blend of what inspires you in
combination with your own personal touch.
Q: Who is your publisher and how
did you find them or did you self-publish?
I was published under the Kindle
Scout imprint following a contract I was offered in 2015. Amazon was sponsoring
the Scout contest to find new and interesting novels to publish, and I
submitted my work. It received several thousand votes and following editorial
review, I was extended the offer for publication.
Q: Is there anything that
surprised you about getting your first book published?
I’d never written in this style
before and wrote the original material, a few pages in length, on a whim. I
completed the story because the response was so positive. My surprise is that
people responded so strongly to the work. In retrospect, it’s amazing where
inspiration can strike, and how it can so heavily impact your readers.
Q: What other books (if any) are
you working on and when will they be published?
Book 2 in the series, FLOOR 21: Descent, was just released in
April and has had strong sales and positive response. The original FLOOR 21 is brief compared to the
sequel. Book 3 is in the works and is most likely on schedule to be released
next year.
Q: What’s your favorite place to
hang out online?
Facebook occupies too much of my
time. I’m also a massive San Antonio Spurs fan, so I frequent blogs like SB
Nation and Pounding The Rock to get my daily fix of sports news.
Q: What’s your nightly ritual
before retiring for the night?
Do I ever retire for the night?
Sometimes I’m up until seven in the morning, writing whatever inspired me.
Sometimes I’m so exhausted from writing that I pass out at eight in the
evening. If I have any ritual, it would be to say that it’s the ritual of
figuring out whether I want to write or not. Once I start, I don’t stop. So,
more than anything, that influences when I will go to bed.
Q: Finally, what message (if any)
are you trying to get across with your book?
I think more than anything, I’m
arguing that intelligence and curiosity are what keep the world alive. When we
don’t question the world around us, when we don’t question authority, we become
stagnant. Growth and survival are dependent on us always pushing our boundaries
and looking to push the edges of our existence. That can be frightening but the
payoff is immensely rewarding.
Q: Thank you again for this
interview! Do you have any final words?
I’d hope you would check out FLOOR 21 and join us for the rest of the
fun! The series has been enthusiastically well received and I am committed to
making each book better than the last, so I would hope you would pick up a copy
and see what all the buzz is about.
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