Jane Gilmartin has been a news reporter and editor for several small weeklies and enjoyed a brief but exciting stint as a rock journalist. A bucket list review just before she turned 50 set her on the path to fiction writing. Also crossed off that bucket list: An accidental singing career, attending a Star Trek convention, and getting a hug from David Bowie. She lives in Massachusetts with a human family, an elderly cat and a very good dog.
Meet the Author, Jane Gilmartin, who talks about her book “THE MIRROR MAN”, favourite quote and her upcoming novels in this candid interview..
Q: How would you describe yourself in one word?
Motivated
Q: Do you have a specific reason or reasons for writing The Mirror Man? Can you please tell us a bit about the book?
The Mirror Man is about a middle-aged corporate man, Jeramiah Adams who gets roped into an illegal human cloning experiment. The pharmaceutical company he works for offers him $10 million to have a clone replace him in his life for one year while Jeremiah watches from a secret apartment for four hours a day and reports on how well the clone is performing.
I wrote the novel because I wanted to examine the theme of self-identity. I wanted to explore what would happen if someone were forced to see themselves from a totally objective perspective – the way others see you, without any filters or the lies we tell ourselves about who we are. As expected, it isn’t an easy thing to see.
Q: Can you please share with us your experience to writing this book?
It took me less than a year to get the first draft completed. Then, on the good advice of my writing group, I re-wrote the entire thing – starting in a completely different place – and scrapping the first 100 pages which was essentially backstory. I completed that new draft in just a few months and actually ended up with a book that was not only much improved, but somehow longer than it originally was! I think those 100 scrapped pages really helped me to understand my main character in a way that wouldn’t otherwise have been possible. That backstory really informed the way I wrote him and made him a fuller, more believable character. It was not at all a waste of my time!
Q: Who is the most important character in the book?
Definitely Jeremiah. It’s his story. There are a lot of excellent cloning books out there that focus on the clone and all of those questions and ethical issues that cloning entails; Is a clone human? Should a clone be afforded the same rights and privileges as a human? I love those stories, but I didn’t think I had anything new to add to that aspect. I wanted to focus on the human who has been cloned and what that experience might do to him. We only really ever see the clone through Jeremiah’s eyes, as he is watching him on a monitor in real time. I wanted the reader to be watching the watcher, so to speak.
Q: Anything else you would like to tell us about your novel?
The Mirror Man has been optioned for a possible feature film. In fact, the film interest came long before the manuscript was even fully edited and sold for publication. I have excellent film agents in Hollywood who handle that aspect. It’s sort of out of my hands now, but the producers have optioned the book three times now, and it’s been a surreal and exciting experience – and one I didn’t expect!
Q: Any upcoming book?
I am working on a second novel right now, although it is still in early stages. My literary agent is reading it and (hopefully) he’ll see some potential. Briefly, it’s a story about a human mining endeavor on another planet and the unintended impact that has on the planet’s inhabitants.
Q: What do you do when not working?
I go on long hikes with my dog, Levi, and spend time with my family. I read a lot and watch a lot of science fiction on TV. I’m usually in the middle of one or more Star Trek series because I re-watch all of them.
Q: Where do you see yourself in three years from now, or where you would like to be?
Hopefully I will be right back here, promoting another novel!
Q: What is your favourite quote?
My favorite quote is from a fictional character – Captain Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation. The quote is “Make it so!” because I love the positivity in it.
Q: Finally, if you could pass on a single piece of advice to authors out there reading this interview, what would it be?
I think the most important thing for a writer is to really, fully understand what you’re trying to say with a story. There needs to be a reason for writing it – some elemental thing you’re exploring – and that needs to be first and foremost in your mind as you write. Start with that and then construct a story around it.
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