Anomaly by Krista McGee Author Interview

Please welcome Krista McGee to GreenBeanTeenQueen! Krista is the author of several young adult novels, including her newest release, Anomaly. Check it out on Goodreads!

About the Book: The world has been destroyed by nuclear war, so in the future, Scientists rule and everyone lives in Pods underground. Thalli is a musician, meant to play music to enhance the work of others. But Thalli knows she is different-she is curious and feels emotions. She knows she is an anomaly. When her secret is discovered, she becomes an experiment. But she also meets others around her who can help save her-and discover there is more to the world than the Scientists are letting on.

 Anomaly reminded me a bit of a cross between Matched and The City of Ember (mostly because of the setting). I think it fits in nicely with the current crop of dystopian lit as the world building is well done and I was engaged and interested in Thalli's story. Thalli is curious and questions authority, which always makes for an interesting character. 

Anomaly stands out a bit because it is a dystopian as well as Christian fiction. So readers who enjoy religious overtones in their stories should pick this one up. At times I found the religion aspect to be a bit heavy handed, but I know readers who enjoy Christian fiction will enjoy that aspect. 

I was able to ask Krista a few questions about her writing and why she went from YA romance to dystopian:

Were you inspired by any other dystopian worlds to create the world of Anomaly?

 I was influenced by several works as I created the world of Anomaly.I have always loved the dystopian classics, Brave New World, 1984 and The Giver. I am also a fan of the films "Gattica" and the "The Matrix."

You've written contemporary fiction before-what was different about writing science fiction? Why did you decide to write in a different genre? 

The whole world is different in science fiction, so I had to define and create that world before I could begin writing. That was both challenging and incredibly fun. Initially, I made this change because my editors asked me to - I was pretty intimidated to tackle it at first. But as I wrote, God gave me ideas and confidence and I discovered that I love to write this genre as much as I love to read and watch it!

Do you think there's a difference in writing a dystopian for a Christian audience?

 As I said, I love dystopians - the classics as well as the new ones that are out. But, as a Christian, I read those works and feel they are missing the most important element - God. Where is he? Do they really think that, in the future, God will not exist? What I get to do, as a Christian writer, is to answer that question, to create a future where, yes, man tries to eradicate God from the collective consciousness, but God does not allow it. How does that look? And how does he reveal himself? Those are questions I was able to tackle in the Anomaly series.

What fictional character would you like to have dinner with?  

You're killing me! Just one??  Sigh...Well, films are fiction,  so I'll choose a movie character (I just can't pick a literary character...too many!). My favorite film is "The Wizard of Oz," so I think I'd choose Dorothy - but Dorothy as an old woman. I'd want to know if she ever went back to Oz or if she really thought the whole thing was a dream. Did she ever leave home again or is she still living on Auntie Em's and Uncle Henry's farmhouse in Kansas? Is she always the first to go into the storm cellar when tornadoes strike, or does she linger, hoping to be sucked up and return to Oz? Is her favorite color green? Does she have a soft spot for little people? Does she go around town taking scarecrows off the poles in her neighbor's cornfields?

Are you working on anything new you can tell us about? 

I am currently finishing the Anomaly trilogy. It is a challenge to wrap it all up, and a little sad to be so close to saying goodbye to Thalli and Berk and the others who must remain nameless until you read book #2 :) But I love writing these stories!