Authors Interviewing Characters: Janet Stilson
Charisma becomes a superpower in Janet Stilson’s new book, The Juice, a cyberpunk, dystopian tale that’s written in the spirit of William Gibson’s work and The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood.
A large part of the novel takes place within a big media company, Nuhope, decades into the future. One of the company’s executives, Rico Reingold, gets his hands on a chemical substance that can give people almost god-like powers of magnetism. During commercials and newscasts, the so-called Charismites are able to convince anyone to do just about anything – like voting for a certain Presidential candidate or fighting in a major world war.
Among The Juice’s main characters is Petra Cardinale, who eventually becomes Nuhope’s president and CEO. She has secret longings and an agenda all her own. In order to tease out the strange, futuristic world of the novel, Janet Stilson made an appointment to chat with her.
* * *
Petra Cardinale sails into her executive office, short, silver-blonde hair swirling like a crown. As she sits, the video fabric on her skirt sparkles with green ocean water.
There’s a ping. Petra answers her mobile, and a holographic image of Janet Stilson materializes before her.
“Hello, my darling,” Petra says. “What year are you calling from?”
“I’m in 2021 now.”
“Ah, yes. So long ago.”
“How’s life treating you?”
“In the middle of launching a new show. A competition between people dancing in space.”
“Sounds thrilling.”
“Yes, except there’s been some complications with the anti-gravity tanks where the contestants are practicing. So I’ve got a ‘hard out’ in 15 minutes.”
“Sure. I’ll get right to my questions. You grew up in the Middles class, the daughter of a robot repairman who intensely disliked the Elite class. Why did you work so hard to become a member of the upper crust, and eventually the president and CEO of Nuhope, the world’s largest media conglomerate?”
“I wanted a job where I traveled the world, creating amazing new forms of content for people to enjoy. That’s just my jam. I knew that was my calling even when I was quite young. And the only way to do that was to become an Elite. It was totally understandable that this would perplex my father. After all, many of the Elites can be quite ruthless and callous toward the vast lower class, which are known as the Chav.”
Janet coughs at that. “Leading a company that produced artificial dreams that ‘infected’ the public with subliminal marketing messages? Working with an executive that used a couple of people with charismatic superpowers to warp people’s minds?”
“I didn’t know the extent of what Nuhope was doing when I joined the company. That was revealed to me over time.”
“But you did know that Nuhope had some means of controlling the information people received, right from the start.”
“That’s always been the case. Certainly it was in 2021.”
“But even more so, in your day and age.”
“True, but here’s the thing: all through my career, I really felt that if I gained enough power, I could change things, like the Elites’ opinions and behavior toward the Chav. I wanted to find a way to make life easier for them. Had to keep that secret, of course. Never would have risen through the ranks if people knew that.”
“Let’s talk about all those imaginary children that you kept seeing.”
“No. Let’s not.” Petra walks over to her huge windows to stare at the clouds beyond.
“C’mon. Just a little.”
Petra swings back to Janet’s hologram, livid. “You’re trying to humiliate me.”
“No, I’m interested in the truth. You know, honesty – that old-fashioned thing that seems to be so important to you.”
“Let’s just say that I was part of an experiment. A computer chip was inserted under the skin of my arm. It analyzed all the data that hovers around every person on the planet these days and allowed me to identify men that I might fall in love with.”
“What kind of data are you talking about?”
“All kinds. Someone’s personal passions, university grades, favorite foods. Most things like that are available, if you have the right technology. When the chip hit on a possible Prince Charming, I could see holograms of the children that I might conceive with him.”
“And there was one imaginary child that you really loved.”
“Loved? No, that’s not the word for it. How can you love someone that’s not real?”
“But you were drawn to her, couldn’t stop thinking about her. Why?”
“She had these rather astonished eyes,” Petra says softly. “And she reminded me of myself, when I was a child. But enough on that.”
“Okay. Do you have any words of wisdom for those of us back in 2021?”
“Well, for that I’d like to quote someone else, Luscious Melada. Bit of a Cinderella, that girl. Started out as a dirt-poor teen who was pretty hard to look at. She was chemically altered into a Charismite.”
“What did she say?”
“‘Love everyone you can and pray for the rest.’” Petra sighs. “At least, try to do that. And now I’ve really got to get back to those space dancers.”
“Thanks for your time, Pet.”
“I’m always here for you.” Petra ends the call, and Janet vanishes.
# # #
—
Janet Stilson is a journalist who also writes scripts, novels and short stories that illuminate the human condition in provocative ways. Her work has been selected to be part of the Writers’ Lab for Women, which is funded by Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman. And it’s also been published by the esteemed sci-fi literary magazine Asimov’s. Her debut novel, THE JUICE came out February 9, 2021 from Dragon Moon Press.
Find out more about Janet on her website https://janetstilson.com/the-juice
THE JUICE
When charisma is a superpower, it’s a mind-bending force.
Jarat Ellington was just an exile from Elite society, trying to lead a simple life, when a genius friend dropped an explosive mystery in his lap. The old pal, Thom Tseng, created a priceless chemical substance called the Juice that turns mildly charming people into almost god-like presences, known as Charismites. But the Juice is stolen, and Thom killed.
With the help of a secret organization, Jarat goes on an obsessive quest to uncover the deadly adversary who now controls the Juice. He must fight his intense attraction to a Charismite named Luscious Melada—once a dirt-poor, homely teen who transformed into an extremely magnetic starlet. And he goes up against Petra Cardinale, a powerful, ambitious media executive with a secret agenda.
THE JUICE is at turns an espionage rollercoaster ride and a spellbinding romance. Along the way, it explores the future of America and government control of media.
Don’t miss The Juice, by Janet Stilson. If you love the cyberpunk science fiction of William Gibson; the dystopian world of A Handmaid’s Tale; or sci-fi detective novels, this story is for you. Come check it out.
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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, Interviews, On Writing, Women Writers
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