In this engaging interview, Adele Jones delves into her recent works Immortal Mistake and Integrate (ed.2), revealing how she weaves contemporary social issues into her captivating science fiction narratives.

What do you love about writing sci-fi books?

The hook that launched me into writing sci-fi novels was the question “What if science could?” For me this opened a world of creative possibilities, however, I wanted to present these possibilities in a way that made the reader feel like it could happen, here and now. For this reason, I settled into the “near science fiction” niche of this genre, leaning towards “hard” sci-fi, which emphasises scientific accuracy based on scientific/technical details. My stories read like a modern-day novel, whilst taking readers into a world that isn’t yet scientifically possible, but feels like it might be.

Does your writing process change for each of your novels? Or do you follow a similar process?

Given my writing sits in the “near science—hard science fiction” genre (often with a techno-medical/crime thriller scenario), I usually start with an idea and a hero and dig into the theories underpinning those concepts. However, this does change from book to book. My debut novel began as a conversation with a family friend about her brother’s illness. The second novel started with reflections on the bioethics around embryonic cloning, the “three-parent” baby approach to treating mitochondrial disease, and a report I’d seen about abortion clinics selling off body parts, freshly harvested tissues and other “commodities” from terminated pregnancies for use in scientific experimentation. More recently, I’ve pushed off the guard rails further, which has led me down the path of some interesting theoretical sub-atomic physics as a story framework.

Immortal Mistake

What was the inspiration for Immortal Mistake?

'Immortal Mistake’ began with me wanting to write a story with a younger protagonist than that of the Blaine Colton trilogy. We caught glimpses of Rennie’s tenacity and hints of his difficult personal situation at the end of ‘Activate’, the final trilogy instalment, and I kept thinking it would be cool to give him his own story. That said, the plot was not what I expected as it began to take shape, especially as Rennie’s family life emerged. This gave the novel a very different feel to what I’d set out to pen, with some challenging themes to navigate in an age-appropriate manner.

Who or what inspired Rennard’s character?

As mentioned above, what we saw of Rennie in ‘Activate’ revealed the potential for an interesting character who was quite different to Blaine. Despite being quieter than his half-brother with a tendency to internalise things, this proved correct. Rennie was quite solitary due to his situation and self-protection mechanisms, and largely misunderstood, but I wanted his strengths to shine through—like his resourcefulness and street-smarts—without trivialising his very real struggles and the cyclic impact of his home life.

Did you incorporate much of your personal experience into this book? If so, what did that look like?

Not so much. Rennie’s childhood was profoundly different to mine, but I’ve been connected with and learned from others who have had a similar lived experience to this young protagonist.

Was there anything about writing this book that was a new experience for you?

I think every book brings something new to the creative journey. In the case of ‘Immortal Mistake’, I unexpectedly found myself researching the dark world of child trafficking and corruption, and framing this around the concept of harvesting consciousness/sentience and manipulating knowledge/experience like digital files that could be inserted, copied or erased. Sometime after completing the manuscript, I was stunned when a mouthpiece linked to a globalist organisation started talking about humans as “hackable animals” in a way that was (alarmingly) along the lines of what I’d written.

There are several confronting topics that Immortal Mistake addresses, such as family abuse and neglect, child trafficking, and youth crime — what sparked your interest in these topics? Do you find it easy or difficult to address them?

I have a long-term interest in social issues relating to human well-being and protective family dynamics. Much data has demonstrated the protectiveness of a stable, intact family environment for children, where mum and dad are present in the home, actively engaged in caring for their children and modelling persistence and a respectful, loving, imperfect-but-other-person-centred relationship. The world we meet Rennie in is the opposite and he’s carrying a significant primal wound at the hands of neglect and abuse, while also struggling to find belonging in this toxic, confusing environment. This wound has influenced all his decisions historically, including his involvement in youth crime. Even though adoption has well-characterised challenges, it’s clear why Rennie is envious of his adopted half-brother’s loving, safe home. Child trafficking was a bit of a surprise inclusion as the manuscript developed, but exposed a world even more damaging than the one in which Rennie existed, and is one of the fastest-growing problems in our modern world. These are challenging topics and writing them in an age-appropriate way without trivialising the very real aspects was a challenge. I think we managed to find that balance, but did include a content caution at the front of the novel to alert those who might be triggered by these themes.

What do you hope your readers will take away from Immortal Mistake?

Firstly, I hope readers love the story! Ultimately, I wanted Rennie to be likeable and authentic in a way that helps readers see how complex issues like domestic violence, substance abuse, and youth crime can be, whilst raising questions that may be conversation starters for greater understanding about that inherent human need for belonging and how this plays into the decision-making process of those caught in this cycle. Often matters like youth crime, domestic violence, and trafficking are presented as statistics, but real people are being impacted daily by these events—that includes children, as highlighted by the recently released ‘Sound of Freedom’ movie. I hope this story encourages us to never turn a blind eye when there are practical ways to support or even be a refuge to those in need.

Integrate

What originally inspired you to write Integrate?

‘Integrate’ began as a conversation with a family friend whose brother was living with mitochondrial disease (mito). This sent me digging into publications on the genetic mechanisms of mito and therapies. Upon investigating, I realised mito was a genetically variable and complex disease. A thought started … “What if science could change that diagnosis? What would that look like?” I began researching gene-based therapies that had been trialled or theorised for various genetic diseases that I could push beyond the bounds of reality and work in the context of that developing concept. These ideas rattled around in my head for a while until an unpublished YA manuscript prize was announced and, suddenly, I had little over a month to get down what was in my head. The family of that young man, who passed away before the novel was released, were generous enough to allow me to dedicate the book to him.

Who or what inspired Blaine’s character?

Blaine was inspired by the impossible becoming reality. If his life had been like my friend’s brother—unable to express his own ideas; unable to make decisions for himself; unable to test his own theories on how life worked; unable to go where he wanted, whenever he wanted; unable to care for his personal needs independently—what might the opposite look like? Even if successful gene therapy were possible, how long would he have to work to develop muscle strength, balance, speech etc to counter the debilitating impacts of that disease—and how hard would he be willing to fight if that hard-won liberty and independence were threatened? Blaine’s parents have strong faith and believe in his inherent value, but he’s not so sure. Given the opportunity to test and challenge these ideals, I wondered what choices Blaine would ultimately make and where that might take him. Would he talk a lot to make up for lost time, or even just for the delight of being heard and understood? Would he seek the familiarity of sitting quietly indoors, or crave high-action, outdoor activities? And what about that girl? Would he eventually muster up the confidence to tell her how he really feels? That’s how Blaine came to life for me.

Did you incorporate much of your personal experience into this book? If so, what did that look like?

The science-based aspects were developed by searching out and reading many journal articles, which felt a lot like my day job. I was also able to draw knowledge from the experiences of connections who had navigated that difficult path of caring for a loved one with a terminal genetic illness.

You’ve mentioned that Integrate was never intended to be part of a series. How did the rest of the series come about?

The day after I was awarded the CALEB Unpublished Manuscript Prize, I had a reality check when pitching another manuscript in a different genre to my soon-to-be publisher. During that conversation, one of the assessors put forward the idea of turning ‘Integrate’ into a trilogy. So, in those months of editing the first edition of the novel, I began working on an idea for a second (and later third) novel. By the time we got to typesetting, I had a draft of ‘Replicate’. That said, there were still things I would have liked to have gone back and drawn out in ‘Integrate’ a little more, and characters I would have liked to develop a little further. For this reason, being able to revise and release a second edition has been quite a gift and very satisfying.

What did you like about revisiting Integrate to create the second edition? Was there anything you found hard about the process?

There is always more to learn as I develop my writing craft. Given ‘Integrate’ was my debut novel, even by the time I got to releasing ‘Replicate’ (book 2) there were things I’d picked up that I would have written a bit differently, had I been starting again. And, of course, the same applied for ‘Replicate’ by the time I was releasing ‘Activate’ (book 3). It was satisfying taking time to further explore and update some of the procedural and theoretical bounds in which the story was set, and develop various characters more to set them up better for the consequential novels. The biggest challenge I faced was the dating of telecommunications, with Telstra making all mobile and landline calls in Australia free in 2021. The confiscation of Blaine’s phone was a key barrier to his communication with family and friends. I had to decide whether I wanted to create a whole new scenario to get around this, or just accept there was a date stamp on the story and state this at the beginning of the novel. After a few attempts at alternatives, I decided to include a “set in Australia, pre-2021” clause.

What can readers expect from the second edition of Integrate?

'Integrate’ remains a fast-paced, techno-medical, near-sci-fi thriller, however, some of the hard science concepts have been simplified for easier reading, and the motive and flaws of certain secondary characters have been rounded out for a clearer set-up for the consequential novels.

You’ve reworked the cover design for the second edition of Integrate. How did you find the process of it being redesigned?

Rhiza Edge Press designer, Carmen Dougherty, conceptualised the graphic design cover and I think she’s done an amazing job. Given the second edition has only just been released, it will be interesting to measure the response of readers when browsing this new look, versus the previous model image cover.

Do you have any other projects in the works?

I do indeed! My next novel is coming out in April 2024, and it’s my first sci-fi romance novel (awww). I think readers are going to LOVE the look of this newbie and the characters too. Think science-thriller love triangle. It’s fun, fast-paced, and has a bit of a different feel from my previous works. I’m looking forward to sharing this with my fans upon its release.