In a world where females are scarce and are hunted, then
bought and sold at market for their breeding rights, 15-year old Aya has
learned how to hide. With a ragtag bunch of other women and girls, she has
successfully avoided capture and eked out a nomadic but free existence in the
mountains. But when Aya’s luck runs out and she’s caught by a group of
businessmen on a hunting expedition, fighting to survive takes on a whole new
meaning.
Q: Please introduce us to Aya and share some general
background on THE GLASS ARROW.
A: Aya has been one of my favorite characters to write. Born
into a world where women are endangered, where girls are condemned as breeders
and misogyny is the norm, she's learned to adapt and survive by flying under
the radar. With her family - a small group of free women - she hides from those
who would see her sold into domestic slavery. Aya is tough: she hunts, fishes,
defends her family. When she's captured and brought into captivity at the
Garden, a training facility for girls, her life is turned upside down. All she
can think about is reconnecting to the people she loves, and reclaiming her
freedom, but she has to be smart in order to escape, and that may involve
trusting a very unlikely ally.
Q: What inspired you to write THE GLASS ARROW?
A: A few stories on the news, and some social issues that
seem to continue rising, but mostly my own experience. The transition into high
school was difficult for me, as it is for many people. Before that time, I
remember feeling like I could do anything, be anyone. I was valued because I
was creative, and interesting, and smart, but once I stepped foot into high
school, things changed. It didn't matter what kind of person I was; all that
was important was if I was wearing the right clothes, or had my hair done the
right way. If I was pretty. Boys judged us based on a star system - "She's
an eight," they'd say, or "Her face is a nine, but the rest of her is
a four." And worse, girls began sharing that same judgment, trying to
raise these numbers to be cool, and popular. They'd compare themselves against each
other, make it a competition. This, as I quickly learned, was what it meant to
be a young woman.
That experience transformed into Aya's existence - her
journey from the freedom of the mountains, where she was important for so many
reasons, to the Garden, where she is dressed up, and taught to be, above all
things, attractive. Where she has to compete against other girls for votes come
auction day. On that auction stage, Aya's given a star rating based on her
looks, which is what her potential buyers will use to determine their bidding.
It bears a direct correlation to my life as a teenager - to the lives of many
teenagers.
When it all comes down to it, I wanted to write a story
where worth is determined by so much more than the value other people place on
your body.
Q: A lot has happened in the "real world" since
the novel first came out in 2015. Does it feel surreal looking back at the book
now?
A: Ah, I wish it did! Unfortunately, I feel like a lot of
these issues are still very, scarily relevant, not just for young women, but
all people. It seems like every time I see the news there is another incident
of someone being measured by their looks rather than their internal worth, of
women being degraded and disrespected, and of advantage being taken of
someone's body and mind. It frightens me that these issues persist, but I never
claim that THE GLASS ARROW was a look into the future. To me, it was always a
way of processing the present.
Q: Congratulations for the surge of attention the book is
receiving, thanks to things like the Hulu adaptation of THE HANDMAID'S TALE.
What do you want readers to take with them after reading THE GLASS ARROW?
A: Thank you very much! I am delighted by the mention, and
honored to be included in the same thought as the great HANDMAID'S TALE. If
people do find their way to my book as a response, I hope they take away that
they are so much more important than the sometimes superficial and careless
values other people assign to them. As Aya says in the book, I hope they know
that there are not enough stars in the night sky to measure their worth.
Q: Besides other classics like Margaret Atwood's book, do
you have any recommendations for readers wanting to explore more dystopian
fiction and speculative fiction works?
A: How about METALTOWN by Kristen Simmons? That's a great
dystopian! Or the ARTICLE 5 series, about a world where the Bill of Rights has
been replaced by moral law... Ok, ok, I'm sorry. That was shameless. I always
recommend LITTLE BROTHER by Cory Doctorow, THE PASSAGE by Justin Cronin, Marie
Lu's Legend series, and of course, THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy. Those are all
thrilling, and excellent looks both at the present, and the future.
Q: What are you working on now, and when can readers expect
to see your next book?
A: I have two books coming out in 2018, and can't wait to
share both of them. PACIFICA will be released March 6, 2018, and is about a
world after the polar ice caps have melted, and a pirate girl and the son of
the president find themselves in the middle of a building civil war. It's a
story largely informed my my great grandmother's internment in World War II. In
the fall, I'll have a new series starting. THE PRICE OF ADMISSION, first in the
Valhalla Academy books, is about a girl accepted into an elite boarding school
for con artists. I hope readers love them both!
Q: Where can readers find you online?
A: I'm always available through social media - Twitter and
Instagram at @kris10writes, and Facebook at Author.KristenSimmons. I'd love to
hear from you!
About the Author
