The author currently resides out-of-Dome with her superhero husband, creative sons, and weird dog. She dreams of graphic novelizations, movie deals, and a chef with a propane torch to teach her the secret to caramelizing the sugar top for crème brulée.

On the eve of the release of Beneath a Sunless Sky, I decided it would be a good time to rewrite my biography. I was born in 1969, raised the youngest of three kids, and had a curious childhood. My parents gave me a love of reading very early on. I regularly read D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths and loved the epic hero stories. Athena was my favorite goddess, and I read and reread the vignette on her again and again. I read The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien by third grade and was hooked on fantasy.

It was an elementary school teacher who pushed me into science fiction. We started with Samuel Youd's (pseud. John Christopher's) Tripods trilogy, and I couldn't get enough of the engaging story of a preteen boy whose decision to run from his fate as one more mind-controlled automaton made him into a hero. After we finished hearing the first book of the trilogy (I sought out the other two on my own), we were read several short stories by Ray Bradbury from the book: The Illustrated Man. Ray Bradbury is still one of my favorite science fiction authors. Last December, he spoke at my older son's school about the post-apocalyptic short story, "There Will Come Soft Rains". Yes, I'm jealous I didn't know (I would have tried to find a way to volunteer on campus that day), but I am so happy that Mr. Bradbury made the appearance for the benefit of the children.

I've worked on (and abandoned) creative writing projects since my early teens. Sometimes I wonder what took me so long to finally reach publication. At this point, it seems like life was the determining factor. I had to live enough to be able to understand the complexities of human relationships.

I have to credit independent artists for being the greatest influence on making it to this stage of the production. Thanks to lulu.com making print-on-demand publishing affordable and global. No matter what happens tomorrow, this trilogy will remain a lulu.com publication.

I was introduced to the world of online fiction by my husband. I followed Dark Icon's Crusade and Magekiller series. He's expanded the site since I started reading, but the work is still compelling. What inspired me the most was the following he built by just putting his creative content into the world; the preconception that the path to publication was a rigorous obstacle course with an arbiter at the end whose mood could determine success for failure were broken.

While writing, I relied heavily on music to set moods. The first book was hard to write because I didn't have edgy music. Its first rewrite after "The Big Move" (my husband interviewed for and got a new job; while he worked, I had to sell the house and give away 75% of what we owned to make the move into the two-bedroom apartment that waited for us). The instability of our lives gave the initial mood. Indie 103.1 FM in Los Angeles gave me the new artists to look toward. My husband provided the CDs and iTunes downloads and I would write overnight to music which opened my mind, left me tense or weeping, and moved me from my "comfort music". I can barely stand my comfort music any more, and look to my husband and Jonesy's Jukebox for the inspirational gems from the rough.

A one-time Fine Arts major (until the art professors drove me from it), I was taught an appreciation for art . . . then I got over it and learned to like what moved me. I have loved graphic novelizations since Dracula fell into my hands as a pre-teen, and I read Terry Moore's Strangers in Paradise whenever it comes out in book format. I have a few other comics I collect, including Aaron William's absolutely adorable PS238. The premise is magnificent, and he has such a feel for comic timing and plot denouement. I became familiar with his work through Dragon Magazine and was one of the many disappointed Floyd fans. The Nodwick comics, however, hold a charm all their own and deserve the following they have.

I tripped over the work of the Dome Trilogy cover artist, Julio Cesar-Mari . An independent and bold graphic artist, Julio has a gritty style which fit my vision of the dystopian Dome world. We eventually connected, and the cover he created for Beneath a Sunless Sky makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time.

Well, it's my turn to walk into the arena, I guess. Fail or succeed, something I created is being put out into the public arena there thanks to so many people whose divine spark of creativity pushed them to fulfill their artistic dreams.

I hope you enjoy reading Beneath a Sunless Sky as much as I loved (and agonized over) writing it.

08 April 2007

J. Alter

All text, graphics, and works on these pages except the covers are Copyright © 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 Jessica Alter. All rights reserved. Covers are Copyright © 2007 Julio Cesar-Mari, Jessica Alter. All rights reserved.