Today, we’re visiting with Jade Kerrion, a science fiction writer who started with fan fiction. In fan fiction, a writer spins stories based on characters or settings originally developed by another writer. In Jade’s case, these characters and settings came from MMORPG (a genre of role-playing video games where many players interact in the virtual world developed by the original author, or Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game). This should be interesting.

 Jim:   You wrote fan fiction based on MMORPG Guild Wars.  What inspired you to start in this area?

Jade:  My gorgeous characters! I have an extremely wide streak of online vanity and created a host of beautiful male and female characters. (If you’re going to spend all this time staring at a computer screen, you might as well enjoy what you’re staring at.) I’d always enjoyed storytelling as well, and it seemed the most natural thing in the world to start telling stories about my characters as they adventured through the world of Guild Wars.

Jim:   How long did you continue with this fan fiction?

Jade:  Entirely too long, according to my husband. I played Guild Wars for well over three years, and probably spent as much time writing as I did playing the game. To give you a sense of scale, my Guild Wars fan fiction is ~ 300,000 words long.

Jim:  Wow.  That’s 100,000 words a year. Did this help in getting your first book published?

Jade:  Not particularly. I posted my Guild Wars fan fiction on a Guild Wars forum, and never particularly thought about getting it published. That said, my fan fiction did develop quite a following over the years.

Jim:   Did those fans convert over into book fans?

Jade:  My most loyal fans did, although unfortunately, several years had passed between the peak of my fan fiction writing and the point when I eventually published my first novel, so most of the fan base had vanished by then.

Jim:  Do any or all of your three Double Helix novels reflect some of your fan fiction work?

Jade:  Some facets of some characters carried over. My fan fiction readers would likely recognize Danyael and Lucien from their days in Guild Wars.

Jim:  The latest in the series is Perfect Weapon. Can you tell us a little about it?

Jade:  I’d be happy to! In fact, let me share the blurb first:

An alpha empath, Danyael Sabre is powerful, rare, and coveted, even among the alpha mutants who dominate the Genetic Revolution. Betrayed by his friends and abandoned to a life sentence in a maximum-security prison, Danyael receives freedom and sanctuary from an unlikely quarter–the Mutant Assault Group, an elite mutant task force within the US military. Physically crippled and emotionally vulnerable, Danyael succumbs to the warmth of friendships and the promise of love he finds within their ranks.

Friendship and love, however, demand his loyalty, and Danyael rises to the challenge of training and leading the assault group’s genetically modified super soldier army. The super soldiers are faster and stronger than the military’s human soldiers; their animal instincts spur ferocity and fearlessness in battle. Who is the perfect weapon, though, the super soldiers or Danyael, the alpha empath, who can, with a touch, heal or kill?

When a terrorist group strikes Washington, D.C., how far will Danyael go to defend a government that sent him to prison to die?

I loved writing Perfect Weapon. In this novel, Danyael finally embraces the duality of his empathic powers and finds a measure of peace within himself. Zara Itani, the beautiful Lebanese-Venezuelan assassin and Danyael’s love interest, plays a large role in this novel. The novel is loaded with fast-paced action, and as always, it challenges your notions of perfection and of humanity.

Jim:  Book 2 in the series, Perfect Betrayal, was released on October 29, 2012 and book 3, Perfect Weapon, was released on October 30, 2012.  Did that make marketing harder or easier?

Jade:  I chose to release both the second and third books at the same time, in part because I thought my readers might have killed me if I made them wait for the third book. I think releasing both novels together made marketing easier. The books of the Double Helix series aren’t standalone novels with related characters. They really are a series meant to be read in order for maximum enjoyment, and I think readers prefer knowing that the author is committed to the series and that they’ll be able to get their fix.

Jim: You have a degree in biology. Did that help shape your first book, Perfection Unleashed?

Jade:  My undergraduate major in biology and philosophy certainly influenced my first book, Perfection Unleashed. The Double Helix series delves into the ethics and social implications around genetic engineering. I’d admit though to checking Wikipedia several times to get my science facts straight while writing the book.

Jim:   You have an MBA.  Does that help in your marketing?

Jade:  Book marketing, especially for self-published books, is still something of a brave new world, and it’s not clear what magical combination of marketing tools causes a book to break out of the pack. I think my MBA helped me develop a marketing plan that covers a pretty wide base, but only time will tell.

Jim:   Okay. Now you have three books in the Double Helix Series.  Do you plan more in this series, or will you be starting another series?

Jade:  The Double Helix series is just getting started! There will be two or three more books before the main story arc fully wraps up. Meanwhile, I’m writing spin-offs. In 2013, I plan to release a Young Adult spin-off the Double Helix series, as well as standalone Romance novels based on the world of the Double Helix, featuring cameo appearances from its core cast.

Jim:   What is your writing schedule like?

Jade:  Every possible waking moment! I juggle a hectic writing schedule with a family and a full time job. Most of my writing happens late at night when everyone else is in bed, though I’ll confess to going through most of each day with the story in my head. I work on plotlines and characters even when I can’t put fingers to keyboard.

Jim:  What’s the best tip you can give to writers just getting started?

Jade:  Be committed to putting out the best product you possibly can, including getting professional editorial help. Publication isn’t a race to the finish line.  It is far more important to do it right and well, than to do it fast. On my blog is a section called “An Author’s Journey” and I’ve chronicled what I’ve done (on an ad hoc basis) to write, edit, publish, and market my novels. Some authors have found the information useful, and I invite you to check it out too at http://www.jadekerrion.com/an-authors-journey/table-of-contents/

Jim:  Thanks, Jade, for an enlightening and exciting look into today’s science fiction.  You’ve certainly piqued my interest.  And I hope the readers will leave a comment.  This interview deserves it.

You can connect with Jade Kerrion at:  Blog / Facebook / Twitter

About The Double Helix series: 

His genetic code sourced from the best that humanity offers, Galahad embodies the pinnacle of perfection. When Zara Itani, a mercenary whose abrasive arrogance exceeds her beauty, frees him from his laboratory prison, she offers him the chance to claim everything that had ever been denied him, beginning with his humanity.

Perfection cannot be unleashed without repercussions, and Galahad’s freedom shatters Danyael Sabre’s life.

An alpha empath, Danyael is rare and coveted, even among the alpha mutants who dominate the Genetic Revolution. He wields the power to heal or kill with a touch, but craves only privacy and solitude—both impossible dreams for the man who was used as Galahad’s physical template.

Galahad and Danyael, two men, one face. One man seeks to embrace destiny, and the other to escape it.