Review: Solid + Interview with Author

Title: Solid
Author: Shelley Workinger
Publisher: Self-published(CreateSpace)
Pages: 222
Date Finished: December 12th, 2010

Summary of Book:
Eighteen years ago, a rogue Army doctor secretly experimented with a chromosomal drug on unknowing pregnant women. When he was killed not long after the children were born, any knowledge and evidence seemed to die with him - except for the living, breathing, human products of his work. Almost two decades later, the newly self-proclaimed "open-book" military unearths the truth about the experiment, bringing Clio Kaid and the other affected teens to a state-of-the-art, isolated campus where they soon discover that C9x did indeed alter their chromosomes, its mutations presenting as super-human abilities. The military kids, who come from across the nation and all walks of life, come into their own as lighter-than-air 'athletes'; 'indies' as solid as stone walls; teens who can make themselves invisible and others who can blind with their brilliance. While exploring her own special ability, forging new friendships and embarking on first love, Clio also stumbles onto information indicating that the military may not have been entirely forthcoming with them and that all may not be as it seems...

Review:
You guys know me, always have to gush about the cover first. So, isn't it cool?? It's actually a chromosomes 9, which I found out later from Shelley Workinger, the author of Solid. I think the cover looks great =) But, we can talk about that some more later with the author :)
I think the book was actually quite interesting. Especially with the love life thrown in with the mix. I loved pretty much all the characters. Except the goth girl. Kind of weird. . .Anyway, this isn't going to be a really long review since I have the interview with Workinger as well. So, my rating:

☺☺☺

To find out what my rating means, go to the Review Policy page.

Now for the interview!

H: Tell us a little bit about, Solid.
SW: The brief description is: Teens who discover they were secretly genetically altered before birth are brought together at a classified site where they develop "super-abilities," while at the same time forging new friendships, finding love and unearthing a conspiracy. Several readers have told me they thought Solid was like an X-Men for girls, focusing more on the relationships than the abilities. I haven't seen or read any of the X-Men publications, so I have to take their word for it :)

H: How long did writing, Solid, take?
SW: I wrote and rewrote for a year and a half from the first draft to the ARC release.

H: How did you come up with the marvelous cover?
SW: That graphic actually is chromosome 9 (the one the kids in the story have had altered), and I was very fortunate to not only stumble upon it, but to be given permission to use it for Solid.

H: Where did the inspiration come for Solid?
SW: I first dreamed the romantic scene that is now Chapter 12. I have wild and vivid dreams regularly, but my thoughts kept coming back to that one until I finally sat down and explored the idea by backing out of that scene and developing how those two people could end up in that setting.

H: How did you go about publishing Solid?
SW: Solid moved from the hypothetical realm into print mainly because of my personal relationships with reluctant and challenged readers. I strongly feel that the tween and early teen years are when kids (reading-challenged or not) become so overwhelmed with their required reading, that some lose interest in pleasure reading entirely.
So I took the idea that had been nagging at my subconscious and fleshed it out specifically for the young teen girls I saw drifting away from books in an effort to bring them back into the booklovers' fold by offering a fun and fast story. To prove the point, though, I had to deliver a bound book - not just pages printed from my
computer. Ironically, a friend of mine had recently released a self-help book, and when she told me about her self-publishing experience, I knew that company she used could be a great fit for me as well.

H: What was your favorite thing to do as a kid?
SW: Play cards - any and all games, from spades with my friends to cribbage with my grandparents to solitaire by myself. If it were legal, I'd channel all my energy into professional card counting.

H: Do you have a favorite author? If so, who?
SW: I have tons; don't we all? Lately, I've been looking for more humor in my reading; I've been loving Christopher Buckley and Lisa Lutz's Spellman series.

So, now you know a little about Shelley and her book, Solid. I hope you'll read it and enjoy =)