Rondi Bauer Olson’s debut, All Things Now Living, is the newest action packed dystopian novel. At the heart of the novel, Olson poses the question “What is life? What has a soul?” You’ll be on a journey of the heart with the main character, Amy, as she tries to determine for herself the answers to these questions.
Enjoy this Q&A with Rondi, and be sure to enter to win a Kindle Fire!
Tell us a bit about the story behind your latest novel. Where did you find inspiration?
Years ago, as a new nurse, I was assigned a patient who was refusing a life-saving medical treatment due to religious beliefs. On one hand, I admired his devotion, and I felt I could take good care of my patient while respecting his decision. On the other hand, watching him die was awful. This experience has haunted me, and over the years I have wondered about the depths of my religious belief, and how far I would go to save myself, or my children. I quickly realized things I would not do to save myself I would readily do to save one of my children. This lead me to the idea of genetic engineering, specifically, inserting animal genes into people, and I imagined a post-apocalyptic world where entire societies were living with the consequences of having made such a decision, one way or the other. Would people be compassionate toward those who made a different choice, or would they choose to hate, and how would that manifest itself?
What was the hardest part about writing your novel: Getting started? Keeping it going? Finding the perfect ending?
I have the worst time getting started, or rather, I start over and over again and am never happy with it. I guess you could say starting right is a skill I am still working on.
What trait do you love most about your main character?
Her compassion.
When readers get to the last page, what do you hope they take away from the story?
I hope readers will examine more closely what love is, and what love does, not just in terms of the main characters and their romance, but also Amy’s transformation from someone who fought her empathy because she’d been taught she had to, to someone who realized her compassion was not bad but a gift from God, and something to be embraced.
What are you working on next?
The sequel to All Things Now Living, The Stars in Their Courses, as well as a medieval superhero series.
More about All Things Now Living
While on a scavenging trip with her father, Amy is accidentally trapped in New Lithisle in Rondi Bauer Olson’s All Things Now Living. At first her only goal is to escape, but when she meets Daniel, a New Lithisle boy, she begins to question how less-than-human the people of New Lithisle are. Amy’s feelings grow even more conflicted when she learns she didn’t end up in New Lithisle by mistake. Her father is secretly a sympathizer. Time is running short and Amy has to decide if she will bring the computer program her father wrote to his contact or save herself. Installing the program could prevent the dome’s collapse, but if Amy doesn’t find her father’s contact in time, she’ll die, along with everyone else.
Stay up all night reading this thrilling new book from Rondi and enter to win a Kindle Fire!
One grand prize winner will receive:
- A copy of All Things Now Living
- A Kindle Fire
Enter today by clicking the icon below, but hurry! The giveaway ends on December 14. The winner will be announced December 15 on the Litfuse blog.
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