Welcome Guests Kathryn O’Sullivan and Paul Awad! #Giveaway

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Ten or eleven years ago I was nervous about walking into my first Chessie Chapter of Sisters in Crime meeting. As I walked down the sidewalk, I met a lovely couple–Kathryn and Paul. Our friendship has only grown and I’m so glad to welcome them (Katherine has been here before talking about her Colleen McCabe mystery series) both to the Wickeds.

Today Kathryn and Paul are here to talk about their new book When Earth Shall Be No More. I was lucky enough to read an advanced copy and it as an edge-of-your-seat read! This is what I said after reading it: “When Earth Shall Be No More hit every emotion as I tried to figure out who to trust in this deftly handled dual timeline sci-fi mystery. The characters drew me into a world so realistic and unique, I had a hard time putting this book down.” Look for a giveaway at the end of the post! Here’s a bit about the book:

Environmental scientist Constance Roy is one of forty-nine refugees rescued from Earth’s destruction and transported to the ark spaceship Orb by an automaton race called the Curators. Twelve months have passed since their rescue. But now, with the ship’s orbit decaying, the refugees seem doomed to crash into Jupiter’s fiery belly.

In a parallel universe on present-day Earth, another version of Constance seeks answers to the questions that have haunted her since childhood: How and why did her mother die? The head of a mysterious corporation housed at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility near Chincoteague can give her the answers, but not without a price.

Two time streams collide when the Constance on Earth discovers that Nicolas, her son, has the ability to save the Orb and its inhabitants. Now she must battle treacherous Curators wishing to destroy Nicolas, while on the Orb, another Constance must fight to save the ship from Jupiter’s fatal pull.

Only together can they save their son – and future generations of humankind.

KATHRYN:  As someone who has always read (and now writes) mysteries, I never imagined writing a science fiction novel. Paul and I got the idea for When Earth Shall Be No More when I was on a trip to Chincoteague, Virginia to do a signing event for one of my mysteries.

PAUL:  At the time, I was reading Brian Greene’s The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos. Kathryn and I were discussing the idea of parallel universes and speculating about what our lives might be like in another life. Did we know one another? Were we married? What were we doing for careers? As we were driving past NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on our way to Chincoteague Island, the juxtaposition of the high tech NASA facility with the charm of Chincoteague struck us as quite unusual and an interesting setting for a book. That’s when the idea for When Earth Shall Be No More was born.

KATHRYN:  Our book shows the main character, Dr. Constance Roy, in parallel worlds. In the Earth universe, Constance is an environmental scientist, professor, and single mother to Nicolas. When readers meet her, she has been summoned to Wallops Island for a meeting with her research benefactor. In the other universe, Constance is without a child and one of forty-nine refugees trapped on the Orb, a doomed spaceship orbiting Jupiter. I found it interesting exploring how circumstances influenced the outlook, personality, and behavior of each Constance.

PAUL:  Writing a book with parallel worlds also allowed us to write different chapters at the same time. People are often curious about how we wrote as a team and got everything to flow and sound like “one voice.” We don’t know if our process was unique, but we started by sketching out ideas and major plot points for the story. Then we assigned ourselves chapters. After we each wrote a chapter, we shared it with the other and gave each other notes. Sometimes what the other person wrote was surprising and took the story in a new direction.

KATHRYN:  Yes, and we very much followed one of the cardinal rules of improvisational acting. Whatever one of us wrote, the other would respond with “Yes, and…” No ideas were ever shot down. The other great thing about writing with Paul was that if one of us got tired of being in one of the worlds, we would just switch universes and everything would feel fresh again. (I can remember one time I really needed to get off the spaceship!) Once we finished all the rewrites, it was hard for us to tell who wrote what.

Readers: We’re fascinated by the multiverse and the idea of parallel lives. What if I had made other choices? Had different opportunities? Met different people? What would my life be like? Here’s our question to you, readers: What do you think or hope your life is like in a parallel universe?

SHORT BIO

Paul Awad and Kathryn O’Sullivan are an award-winning husband and wife writing and filmmaking team. They have collaborated on feature and documentary films, screenplays, and web series. Paul is a cinema professor and Kathryn is a theatre professor at Northern Virginia Community College. Kathryn is also the award-winning writer of the Colleen McCabe mystery series. www.paul-awad.com  www.kathrynosullivan.com .

GIVEAWAY

Paul and Kathryn are happy to give away one signed hardcover copy of When Earth Shall Be No More (United States and Canada only).

Published by Sherry Harris

Sherry Harris is the author of the Agatha Award nominated Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery series and the Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Mystery series.

26 Thoughts

  1. Congratulations to you both! Dual worlds is a fascinating concept. Thank you for sharing your writing process – I don’t think I could pull that off.

    I think I write my parallel self in my protagonists. Most of them are braver, some are taller, some have skills and talents (plus fears and phobias) I can only dream of.

    1. Edith – We love that you write your parallel self in your protagonists. It was interesting for us to think about our protagonist, Constance, in different worlds. At her core, she is the same. But in one world she is a single parent and in the other she has never had a child. The experience of being a parent definitely shapes the Earth world Constance. – Best, Kathryn & Paul

  3. Thanks for sharing your writing experience, Paul and Kathryn! I’ve got When Earth Shall Be No More loaded on my e-reader and enjoying the story.

  4. Thanks for inviting us to share our writing process with your readers, Wickeds! Sherry, we remember that first meeting well and are so touched that you took time out of your busy schedule to read and blurb our book. We’re heading to Awesome Con this morning (We’ve never been before so this should be interesting!), but we can’t wait to check back later and read everyone’s comments. – Cheers, Kathryn & Paul

  6. I’m fascinated by the idea of parallel universes! And what a great idea for a mystery! In mine, my parallel me lives in a peaceful, safe world where no one worries about health or money.

    1. We love your parallel world, Kathy! If you like the idea of parallel worlds, you’ll like “The Midnight Library” – a wonderful book. Thanks for stopping by! – Kathryn & Paul

  8. What a fascinating idea for a book! My mother was a big reader, mostly mysteries and science fiction, and I grew up in a house filled with books and monthly magazines included both Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and Fantasy and Science Fiction. A book that combines these two genres sounds wonderful! In this world I am the mother of a son Nicolas, after separating from his father I was a single mother for most of his life, so I feel a connection to Constance – I wonder if I’d also be childless in a parallel world!

    1. Wow, Judith, your post gave us chills. There is a moment in the book when the Orb Constance has an instant understanding that Nicolas, son of the Earth Constance, is also her son even though she has never had a child. We hope you have an opportunity to check out the book. We’d love to hear your thoughts, especially after your post! Thank you for sharing that with us. – Best, Kathryn & Paul

  9. Congratulations on your latest and for sharing your writing process. Very intriguing.

    As for the parallel universe concept – I imagine there are in the space/time continuum. Why not? And wouldn’t it be fun to discover the worm hole that gives access…

    1. Yes, it would be wonderful to discover the worm hole to access the different universes. We imagine that having that access could also have some negative consequences as well. Thanks for sharing! – Best, Kathryn & Paul

  10. Bit time congrats on this fabulous new book. I love this idea to the end of the multiverse and back. I’m a huge sci-fi fan and adore the Star Trek mirror universe stories, which turned me on to the multiverse concept. The mind boggles at the permutations spawned from a single act or choice not to act.
    I’d love to see the parallel universe version of me who pursued my high school dream of becoming a DJ. Would I be spinning tunes at a radio station, hosting a music channel on satellite radio, or even become a TV personality related to something in the music world? Regardless, I hope I’m a nice guy, regardless of the universe. Cheers to you both!

    1. Thanks for posting your thoughts, J.C. We were just talking about the Star Trek mirror universe stories today when we were at Awesome Con. You are quite right about it boggling the mind! Wow, what a great parallel universe self. We imagine music is in your life in some way in this world too, no? – Best, Kathryn & Paul

  11. I don’t read much scifi, mainly because I just don’t have the time. I’m very intrigued by this book, however. Congrats on the new book! (And please enter me in this giveaway.)

  12. Congratulation for your dedication and ability to write what sounds fabulous! I’d love to receive this book for my husband actually! He completes at least two hard er nooks a week that be buys at a local bookstore so knowing how this book sounds like a story he’d love, I’m commenting for him and then I’ll have the chance to read it as well! Thank you so much for this opportunity! Cynthia and Joe

  14. Looking forward to discovering your work, your books are already on my TBR list on Libby and Kobo. Would also be awesome to own a signed copy of your efforts. But if not I still have great respect for writing based on what I have looked into before adding your works to the TBR list. Thanks for sharing your talent and writing!

    1. Thanks for adding us to your TBR list, Joanne! The Sundial Books bookstore has some signed copies for purchase and they would mail it to you… if you don’t win the giveaway! Good luck with the giveaway! – Best, Kathryn & Paul

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