Roswell 20: Interview With Nova Sparks

“Sci-fi has always been in my life and I’ve always been in love with it.“ told Nova Sparks to Crashdown.com in an interview. It looks like writing in the sci-fi genre was something that suggested itself for the independent author. She is currently finishing her book trilogy and was happy to discuss her books with us. And of course we talked about our mutual love of ‘Roswell’! But what other shows did we discuss and why did she spend her summer in a recording studio? For these questions and more, please check out our interview with Nova below.

Thank you for doing this interview for us!

I suppose it was back in 2013 when I first came across ‘Roswell’ related tweets on your account and became curious about your first book, “The Dome.” I stumbled upon the book shortly after that and was hooked on what would become a trilogy.

Can you tell us how you started? When did you have the idea for the plot?

NOVA: Thank you so much for having me!

I always wanted to be a writer. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t. I wrote so many stories when I was younger and never thought actually making a career out of it was a possibility. I came up with the plot for the DOME trilogy about 10 years ago. I wrote it originally as a treatment for a TV show and planned to have it picked up on HBO. That didn’t work out but I didn’t want the story to waste away on my computer so I decided to make the story into a book series.

What’s your ”sci-fi“ history? What made you a sci-fi fan in the first place?

NOVA: My love for science fiction began when I was a child. I really believe that so much of the cartoons and comics we grew up on was sci-fi. Spider-man bitten by a radioactive spider and getting superpowers? Superman being an alien from Krypton? Batman with all his unbelievable gadgets? All sci-fi! As I grew older and became a fan of Aliens, Terminator, Roswell, etc., I knew that I was meant to create stories of my own; stories with people who look like me and the people I grew up around. Sci-fi has always been in my life and I’ve always been in love it.

“Roswell” books and fan-fiction continue to gain new readers every year and your book series is sure to interest new readers. If one of your books were to become a movie, what would the tagline be? Perhaps you could also give our readers a brief synopsis of the series itself, too.

NOVA: Omg! I’d love for my books to be turned into a movie (or movies)! I guess my tag line would be:

After being rescued along with thousands of other humans and brought to a new planet to live in a dome that simulates life on earth, a father and his teen daughter work to discover the motives of the mysterious alien race.

Brief synopsis:

What if you knew the exact date and time the world will end, what would you do? Sam Tucker was faced with that dilemma when he began getting visions of earth’s demise. Luckily for him he was able to save his family and as many people as he could before the tragic event occurred, and he did so with the help of unknown visitors. With earth now destroyed, Sam, his family, and thousand of other survivors must live the rest of their lives on a new planet in a Dome that simulates life on earth. But Sam’s mind can’t seem to rest. Why did the aliens save them? How did they know about earth’s fate? And exactly what are they hiding?

Emma Tucker begged for an escape from her boring life, but never in a million years did she think it would come after the destruction of earth! Living on a new planet and finding it difficult to get rid of her rebellious habits, Emma finds herself making friends with a member of the alien race and it soon develops into an unexplainable love; a love more dangerous than she could imagine. While her father is searching for his own truths, she has no idea she is stumbling on a truth of her own.

Told from the point of view of both Sam and Emma, join in on the journey to discover love, fate, and the mystery of the DOME.

What theme song would you pick, if The Dome would be made into a television show?

NOVA: I’m so glad you asked this. Music is such an important part of story weaving for me. Just like I have to be able to picture the spaces my characters are in and what they are wearing, I also have to be able to hear what they are listening to and know the kind of music that would be playing during a scene if we were watching things unfold on a screen. Because of this, I decided to create a soundtrack to go along with my book series! No, I did not collect a bunch of songs and put them together on a playlist (although I have done this in the past and it is hella fun to do!). I actually spent this summer sitting in a studio and working with a music producer to create the music for my series. This was such an amazing process! So…to answer your question, I already have a theme song for the Dome that I co-produced, wrote, and performed.

But…if I were to choose a song that already exists in the world right now to be the theme song for my series, it would be between ‘Oceans’ by Seafret or ‘Resistance’ by Muse.

You choose to write in alternating points of view. I find this to be a great technique because it allows the reader to see the motive driving both the father and the daughter. What’s the most challenging aspect about writing it like that?

NOVA: The most challenging thing about writing in alternating points of views between a father and a daughter is definitely switching between being a 37 year old macho man and then immediately switching to a 17 year old girl over and over again. They are completely different from each other and yet so similar because they are father and daughter. Also, Sam and his daughter Emma are in the same book and in the same environment yet they are experiencing two completely different stories. At their base, they both want the same things, but what drives each character is completely different. There are times when their stories collide and times when they are off doing their own things. There are things Sam knows that Emma doesn’t and vise versa. It was especially challenging remembering this while writing. There were so many times when I was writing a scene and had to remind myself that this character shouldn’t or couldn’t know about certain details, so I’d have to backtrack. LOL!

Roswell mixed romance with sci-fi. You love it to blend it as well. Which part of easier to write? Why?

NOVA: Romance is easier! Romance is the only other genre that I love just as much as sci-fi (sometimes even more, don’t kill me). I love playing with romance tropes. I love building and developing relationships between two people whether they are m/f, m/m, f/f, etc. You can be in such a crappy mood and a good romance story has the power to pick you right up and get you going. Stories feel incomplete without love. Life feels incomplete without love!

What do you do to prepare yourself to write? Do you have a dedicated writing space, do you listen to a specific genre of music, or do you perhaps have a meditation technique?

NOVA: Oh wow. My writing space is my bed. This is doing some horrible things for my back but I love sitting up in my bed and streaming Roswell or Doctor Who and tapping away on my PC. If I’m not streaming, I’m definitely casting Pandora on my TV and letting my stations play on shuffle while I write. I absolutely cannot write in total silence. I need lots of stimulation.

A little birdy told me that the book cover of the third book was recently flying by your Twitter feed! What’s the status on the third book?

NOVA: My third book is FINISHED! All that is left right now is the dreadful editing process which takes a while but is so worth it. Editing costs money, LOTS of it! And editing usually requires more than one round. If you guys didn’t know, I am self-publishing so this is 100% indie, which means A Girl be Broke more often than not! But do not worry, this series will be out very very soon.

Could you please share with us the story behind your first cover?

NOVA: I did a contest on 99 designs asking for a book cover design that made the Dome the focal point. I wanted readers to look at the cover and think, “hmm, I wonder what this story is about”. Once I posted the contest, I found a great book cover designer named Patricia Lira. She won the contest and I hired her to design the rest of the series.

Did you set up the ending of your trilogy at the beginning of your writing process and did you stay with this ending when you finally reached that point?

NOVA: When I first outlined the series, the ending I planned was completely different than the ending I have now. As I kept building on the story, things just had to change. It was inevitable.

And what can you tell us about revamping the story? Are you going to re-release the first two books?

NOVA: Yes! Books 1 and 2 are going to be re-released! I revamped the entire series but the story at its root has not changed at all. I am a much different writer than I was 10 years ago when I first started this process. It only felt right for my first complete project to reflect where I am today as a writer.

You chose to publish your first book on an Independent Publishing Platform and I found The Dome and the second book – are available in ebook format. Will Dome Relevation be available in print, as well?

NOVA: All 3 books will be available for purchase as ebooks and print form!

As a self-published author, do you currently look for a publisher?

NOVA: Sadly, I have no desire at the moment to work with a publisher. I want to have control on what and how I write, and how I market my books. However, this will change down the line. I would love to have a literary agent, though.

Once all books have been published, do you plan to come back and to revisit the characters … maybe a look at twenty years later or is the story finished for you? You teased in your blog “I had to end this series with a bang! But please understand, the story is not over.“

NOVA: I want so badly to elaborate on this but…I’m going to fight the urge. My lips are sealed.

When you write do you see pictures in your head how it could look as a tv series or film adaption?

NOVA: Of course! I know exactly what my characters look like, where they’re from, what their homes look like, how each scene would be filmed. I write the way I see things in my head and I see things in my head the way it would look if it were on TV or on the silver screen.

Would you like to be involved in an adaption to screen or would it be hard to skip scenes you loved to write for the book?

NOVA: If there is ever an opportunity for my books to be adapted to screen, I’d want to be involved in the entire process but I am realistic. I do know that not everything will make the cut. As long as I get a lot of say regarding what is being cut, I think I’d love the experience.

If your penname is something other than your legal name, is there any significance behind the creation of your pen-name?

NOVA: Nova Sparks is definitely a pen name. My real name isn’t that cool. There is some significance. I like super novas (exploding stars) but I couldn’t see calling myself Super Nova with a straight face, so I opted for just Nova. Sparks are fiery particles and I like to think of myself as a fiery particle. Lol!

What made you fall in love with Roswell? Did you watch it when it premiered in 1999?

NOVA: I did watch it when it first premiered. I was really young at the time (only 10), but I remember the show. When it was canceled, I thought I imagined it until Syfy (then Sci-if channel) started playing reruns of the show. I love star-crossed lovers as a theme. The forbidden love aspect of the Roswell story was always so appealing to me. Plus, I’m in love with aliens so I got two in one (love and aliens)!

Would you rather like to see where the characters are now or a prequel about the time before it was decided to send the hybrids Zan, Vilandra, Ava and Rath to Earth? Or something else?

NOVA: I had my doubts about the new Roswell show, but I actually like the show and I’m looking forward to season 2. However, I would have killed to see where the characters we grew up with are now! I want to see Kyle and Isabel married with kids and Kyle struggling with his alien powers. I want to see Liz, Kyle, and Maria teaming up on their own and Michael making fun of them by calling them the B-squad. I want to see Liz and Max going through marital issues because Max doesn’t like Liz putting herself in danger. I want to see Maria refusing to marry Michael only for the season finale to be Michael proposing to her on 285 south. And more importantly…….WE WANT BARON AND TOLUCA!!

When Roswell was on the air, were you among the fans who wrote fan-fiction?

NOVA: Sadly, no.

What‘s the best part of being a fan of Roswell?

NOVA: Other Roswell fans! We are such a huge community and we just refuse to let this show die. So much so that I know we were 100% the reason why the show was rebooted. Our energy is unmatched and so much of our impact has to do with sites like yours!

Can you think about something random that made/makes you remember Roswell in your daily life?

NOVA: Tabasco sauce! And…funny story. When I was 10, I thought they were putting salt on everything so I used to put packets of salt in my yogurt. I found out later that it was sugar on the show. Idk how I originally missed that important detail. My poor blood pressure. LOL!

Where can readers find you online?

NOVA: I am on Twitter at @_inthenova and Instagram at @inthenova. My website is inthenova.com.

You made it all mysterious with In The Nova plus. What is it and if you can’t tell us more when will you reveal what you are working on?

NOVA: Scifi+ is like my writing motto. Sci-fi will always be at the root of whatever I do, but the + opens my world up to so much more. The Dome is sci-fi but it is also romance and mystery and adventure. I also do music (+).

When you re-watch Roswell now, do different things grab your attention that hadn’t the first time around?

NOVA: Yes! The other day when I was watching the Four Aliens and a Baby episode, I finally realized why Valenti didn’t want Kyle being seen by the military. At first I wondered why he told Kyle to stay unseen but then I realized his biggest fear after Kyle was shot was Kyle being taken by the military if they discovered he was healed by Max.

What ship/s do you love and can you tell us why you ship them?

NOVA: Klaroline (Klaus and Caroline from Vampire Diaries) because she made him want to be a better person, and he made her feel alive and beautiful as a vampire.

Bamon (Damon and Bonnie from Vampire Diaries) because I love a good enemies turned friends turned lovers trope. We just never got the lovers part. Sad.

What book are you currently reading?

NOVA: Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. It’s about the President’s son and the Prince of England falling in love and it is such a beautiful love story!

Did you read the Roswell High and follow up books to the series?

NOVA: No! But I want to!

What’s next for you?

NOVA: I have a few projects lined up that I need to decide between. I have a stand-alone book that I’m writing and a separate series I’m working on as well. Don’t want to spoil anything yet. I will, however, be announcing my Facebook group where my readers can come together and get all updates on my work first before anything else. Stay tuned for that!