When Colt McAlister’s parents are killed in a car accident, his life is understandably thrown into chaos. Gone are the days of surfing and nights on the beach with friends. Instead he must move in with his grandfather in Arizona and go to a school where he only knows two people – and he only barely knows them. But when Colt begins to suspect that his parents might have been killed for what his mother, an investigative reporter, had found out, he’s thrown into a wild world of aliens, conspiracies, mind-reading and shape-shifters. The invasion has begun and Colt is right in the middle of it.
Invasion is the first novel in the CHAOS series by Jon S. Lewis. The follow-up novel, Alienation, will be release in early 2012.
WHAT LED YOU TO WRITE THE CHAOS SERIES?
One of the things that I love about George Lucas and Star Wars is that he took all the things he loved and mashed them up into creating what became Star Wars. Though I’ll never reach that level of success or talent, I try and do the same thing with everything I create. I loved Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and comic books. So I take all of my favorite components and use that to inspire my own stories. For instance, INVASION and the entire CHAOS Novel series was born from my love of the story of David & Goliath and the TV show Fringe, with a dash of Star Wars Clone Wars and my love of pulp stories and comic books.
STARTING OUT, WHO WERE THE AUTHORS WHO INSPIRED YOU? WHO INSPIRES YOU NOW?
When I was young, I wasn’t a huge reader. I liked books, but I also liked sports, comic books and movies. The creators who inspired me the most were George Lucas, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Maurice Sendak, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.
HOW DOES YOUR FAITH INFLUENCE YOUR WRITING?
My desire is that my faith in Christ informs all the decisions that I make, whether that involves writing stories, driving in my car during rush hour, or hanging out with friends and family. I want every part of who I am to glorify Him. But I’m human, and that means I’m going to fail. A lot. That’s part of the reason I like to create characters who aren’t extraordinary – at least at face value. So few of us are truly special or talented. Most of us hover around average, but God doesn’t need the most talented people in the world – all He asks is that we make ourselves available to be used by Him. I also try to ensure that my stories keep you on the edge of your seat without being gratuitously violent or filled with sexually explicit themes.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN YOU WANTED TO BE AN AUTHOR?
I always knew that I wanted to do something in the creative field, but I started out wanting to illustrate comic books or work as a traditional 2D Disney animator (I’d still like to do both).
WHAT DO YO MOST HOPE THAT READERS GET FROM READING YOUR WORK?
I want my stories to be exciting and engaging – a bit of an escape from the trials of life.