Ordinary by Starr Z. Davies Book Tour and Giveaway :)
Ordinary
Ordinary Series Book 1
by Starr Z. Davies
Genre: YA Sci-Fi Dystopian
Fans of Powerless, The Testing, Hunger Games and the Maze Runner will crave this world of iniquitous secrets, intrigue, and desire to find a place in society.
Divinic. Somatic. Psionic. Naturalist. Who will you be?
Having a superpower is ordinary. Your Power determines your job, social class, and future success.
But Ugene doesn’t have a Power. The only thing special about him is that he isn’t special at all. Ugene is Powerless.
So when the most prominent biomedical research company in the city offers Ugene a solution, he jumps at the possibility to be ordinary. All he has to do is agree to allow them to use him in their research. But the longer he stays at the research facility, the more he realizes something isn't right.
Friendships are forged. Trust is broken built and broken. And everything Ugene thought he understood and believed is called into question.
Who can Ugene trust in his search for answers? What is he willing to sacrifice for Powers?
STARR Z. DAVIES is a Midwesterner at heart, and lives in Wisconsin with her husband and kids. From a young age, Starr has been obsessed with superheroes like Batman and Captain America, which inspired her novel, ORDINARY. If Starr had a superpower, she would be an Empath, because she is an emotional sponge and easily relates to how others feel.
While pursuing a degree in Creative Writing from the University of Wisconsin, Starr gained a reputation as the “Character Assassin” because she has a habit of utterly destroying her characters both emotionally and physically.
In her free time, Starr loves watching Doctor Who or anything with superheroes, reading books (duh!), writing about her favorite fantasy stories (Song of Ice and Fire, Mistborn, The Wheel of Time), and staring out the window as she dreams up more stories. Oh, and sometimes she steps out the door.
The Inspiration for Ordinary
Ordinary was born from a game my
husband, stepson, and I used to play. We would sit in the living room
and just come up with “what-if” scenarios. One of those was:
“What if there was a boy who lived in a world where everyone had a
superpower but him, and the only job he could get was delivering
flowers by bicycle?” Obviously, the idea evolved quite a bit from
there in my own mind.
It took a few more years before I
actually started planning the book. I was in undergrad taking a
fiction class and we had to begin writing a book that we shared in
small groups to critique. While I had a few book ideas, the concept
for Ordinary really took hold with others. They loved the reversal of
the hero being someone without special powers instead of someone with
them. So I wrote a first draft—and it was terrible. A total mess.
But I was determined to finish it, so I joined a writer’s group who
helped me identify the problems and sort them out. Then I rewrote the
book—twice—before I was satisfied with the final product.
What Comes After the Ordinary
Trilogy?
While I still have two books for the
Ordinary trilogy to complete, I already have several irons in the
fire for what comes next. First, I’ve had an idea since I was in
undergrad for a book or series—I’m not sure yet—that takes
place in the late 15th century Mongolia. It will be a
blend of historical and fantasy fiction. It’s about a young woman
who is forced into an arranged marriage, and she has to find out how
she fits into this new world she’s been thrust into. There’s a
lot more to the story than that, but without giving too much away
right now, that’s the best, boiled down description I have to
offer.
Another set of series I’ve been
working on worldbuilding for a long time is more of a hard epic
fantasy than young adult—think along the lines of the brutality and
character depth of Songs of Ice and Fire. The first series is about a
seemingly endless war between two brothers, and how their decisions
affect not only the people around them, but the survival of the world
itself. The second series takes place about a hundred years after
that one, and shows how people are still working on recovering from
the fallout of that war. These will probably be a few years off
still, but I’m excited about the journey.
Exclusive Side Stories for the
Ordinary Trilogy
Can I share a secret? People who enjoy
Ordinary will want to sign up for my newsletter to get a free short
story about Dr. Joyce Cass and her rise to power—a story you can
only get from my newsletter. It’s not available anywhere else, and
it won’t be there forever.
The story is called Superior. I wrote
it as an exploration of Dr. Cass’s character (as a villain) so that
I could better understand her motivation. It also sheds some light on
a few of the characters readers will see in the rest of the Ordinary
trilogy.
I’m also considering writing a short
story about one of Ugene’s closest friends—though I don’t want
to spoil who it is or what the story is about. If I do, the story
will only be available to those on my email list. I will send it out
to current subscribers, and offer it as a signup bonus for new
subscribers. So if readers aren’t on my newsletter list yet, they
should consider signing up to get these side stories.
On Writing Ordinary and the
Fantastic Characters
Writing a book is like taking a really
long journey with a new group of people, only to discover you’re
great friends at the end. But sadly, it’s the end. I enjoyed a lot
about writing this book: delving into this strange and different
world; challenging myself to come up with unusual solutions to
ordinary problems; forming a connection with the characters.
I’m the sort of reader that loves
great characters, and the characters in Ordinary definitely stood out
to me. Ugene often made me laugh, bringing his clever wit to the
table even in grim situations. He really evolved as a character as
well, finding his footing along the way. I enjoyed writing that and
giving him the freedom to take the right path. Miller is the snarky,
distant guy who insists he wants to be left alone while
simultaneously throwing himself into situations right alongside
Ugene. Celeste is a reclusive dreamer who speaks in riddles that make
perfect sense to her, even if no one else understand what they mean.
Bianca is that typical out-of-reach girl who Ugene pines over, and
she sees herself as Ugene’s self-appointed protector.
The cast in the book is actually pretty
big, and all of the characters within that cast have their own unique
qualities to bring to the table. While most of them have nothing in
common, they all trust in Ugene, even when he doesn’t trust in
himself.
What Makes Ugene Tick: A Character
Analysis
Ugene Powers is the nerdy, weak boy in
the corner of the classroom that no one really notices until he says
or does something that makes him shine. When everyone else developed
their Power, Ugene watched and waited. But nothing happened for him.
The lack of Power caused a rift between him and his father, and the
two are constantly at odds with each other.
Because of his lack of Power, Ugene
spends a lot of time learning about what causes Powers and how those
Powers are part of the DNA. He’s probably the most well-read
seventeen-year-old in the city. He studied all the research and
studied himself to try and find out why he wasn’t like everyone
else. This hunt for answers gave him the exact ammunition he needs
later in the book and the series. Ugene can see things that most
others can’t because he has learned to adapt, and he knows about as
much as he can about Powers.
Though Ugene is great at solving
puzzles and putting together pieces when others can’t, he isn’t
so great at one-on-one relationship—particularly with girls. Ugene
has a lot of compassion for others, but he doesn’t always know how
to communicate properly. I feel like this combination of strengths
and weaknesses makes him a really unique character to follow.
The Origins of the Ordinary Trilogy
Titles
Finding the right title for a book is
tricky business. It needs to paint a picture of what to expect, while
also reflecting on the main characters. A lot of authors struggle
with this, but titles seem to come naturally to me.
Coming up with the title for Ordinary
seemed obvious. Ugene only wants to fit in and be ordinary, and
everything he suffers through in the book is in pursuit of that goal.
The title came to me almost immediately, as did the titles for the
rest of the books: Extraordinary; Unique. Each of these titles shares
a goal or clue about what to expect in the book, and what sort of
journey Ugene undertakes in each book.
Casting Ordinary
What author doesn’t love casting
their characters in a film? Seeing a book turned into a film (with
good interpretations like Hunger Games or Harry Potter) is the dream
of just about every author I’ve ever met. If I had casting choices
for Ordinary, I would choose these actors—or actors similar to
them.
-Ugene played by Justice Smith. After
watching him in Detective Pikachu, there was really no one else for
the role. He’s perfect in every way.
-Bianca Pond played by Auli'i Cravalho
(Moana). I haven’t seen her in any live-action shows or films, but
her voice acting in Moana was outstanding, and she is almost the
perfect image of what Bianca looked like in my mind.
-Miller played by Alex Pettyfer (I Am
Number Four). He has the ideal look and attitude to pull off a great
Miller!
-Enid played by Ashely Boettcher (Alone
Together). Ashley has the stunning but girl-next-door look that I
imagined Enid has—a simple, down-to-earth look. It’s easy to see
her as beautiful, even if her character doesn’t see it herself.
-Celeste played by Emily Carey (Wonder
Woman). She has the youthful face and wide-eyed innocence that goes
with Celeste’s character, and she has the ability to play a tough
character as well.
-Forrest Pond played by Wilmer
Valderrama (NCIS). He looks young enough, but also is clearly older
than the others, and his acting chops are great for a role like this.
-Dr. Joyce Cass played by Sienna Miller
(Layer Cake). This woman has the chops and can pull off the perfect
balance of severe and sincere.
I share a complete casting of all the
characters in the series on my Pinterest board. Check that out!
Why You Must Read Ordinary
I’ve read a lot of young adult and
fantasy books, and in almost every one of them the hero of the story
has some greater power than the other characters. Sometimes it’s
based on magic, or some sort of alteration to their DNA. Sometimes it
just happens because of who their parents are. The characters are
thrown into a situation outside of their comfort zone and have to
find a way to survive.
While Ordinary isn’t so different
from those stories, it also isn’t the same. Ugene doesn’t throw
himself out of his comfort zone—he loves Power-based research and
wanted to work for Paragon—and he doesn’t have a superpower that
makes him special. Instead, he uses his brain, finds the logic in
various situations, and solves the puzzle to get out of those
situations. Early readers compared him to a post-apocalyptic Sherlock
Holmes.
Ugene is also a bit of a reluctant
hero. People gravitate toward him and listen to him even when he
doesn’t understand why, but his natural ability to see things with
clarity that others lack, and his compassion for others, draws people
to him.
I also loved the idea that Ugene isn’t
super powerful like most of the heroes in these sorts of stories tend
to be. He has no real power at all, yet he still has to find a way to
escape his situation against all odds. After all, how does someone
with no power stand up to those with powers?
Favorite Scene Edited out of
Ordinary, and How the Book Changed on Rewrites
Writing and editing is a trying
process. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears goes into creating a great
novel. Sometimes, that means cutting out sections of scenes that end
up no working for the flow of the plot. In the case of Ordinary, it
was actually most of the book. While there are still tidbits of that
first draft blended in, most of the story has changed. At first,
Ugene underwent a series of grueling tests against each of the Four
Branches of Powers. Some were simple smell tests, while others were
much more intense.
A favorite that ended up getting cut
out of the book was this scene where Ugene is in the hospital wing
with Forrest, and there’s a man dying on one of the beds. Forrest
just steps back and says, “Fix him” without offering any sort of
guidance. Ugene has no medical training and no healing abilities, so
he flounders and watches as the guy dies while Forrest does nothing
at all to help. The scene was intense, but it ended up not working
with the way the story went during rewrites.
Most of the changes were made because
the situation wasn’t challenging enough, and the ending wasn’t
satisfying enough. Ugene just couldn’t properly transform under the
circumstances he was initially put through, but after making serious
adjustments, that quickly changed.
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