with Joshua Alan Parry
We are delighted to welcome debut novelist Joshua Alan Parry to Omnimystery News today.
Joshua's new thriller is Virus Thirteen (Tor Books, March 2013 Mass Market Paperback and ebook formats).
We recently had a chance to talk to Joshua about his book.
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Omnimystery News: James Logan is the lead character in your new book. Is this the first in a series?
Photo provided courtesy of
Joshua Alan Parry; photo credit Mayo Clinic Media Support Services
Joshua Alan Parry: The protagonist of this novel is a very modest molecular biologist whose quiet life in the suburbs is disrupted by a killer viral pandemic, terrorists, and an intrusive government. These circumstances are highly situational so this is best kept as a stand-alone novel. I feel that readers would be less than thrilled to hear about a sequel where James goes back to work at his lab bench, that being said, the universe that this book takes place in is rife with possibilities. I could foresee another scientist getting in over his head somewhere in this world.
OMN: We tend to see adjectives placed before the word "thriller" these days. Legal thriller … political thriller … conspiracy thriller …. How do you characterize your thriller?
JAP: At its very heart, this novel is the fast-paced pandemic thriller that I've always wanted to read, filled with mystery, suspense, and hopefully a high level of scientific accuracy.
OMN: Tell us something about your book that isn't mentioned in the publisher synopsis.
JAP: In this futuristic setting, McDonald's is now known as a health food restaurant … seriously. The United States Department of Homeland Healthcare has decreed that all of its citizens must be healthy. One of the book's characters is an unfortunate overweight man who is forced into a Biggest Loser-like exercise camp where he must face the horror of government-mandated wellness.
OMN: Do you and James share any common life experience?
JAP: My education has played a huge role in the creation of this novel. Which begs the question; did I unconsciously write this to justify all of my student debt?
My undergraduate degree is in molecular and cellular biology. Not surprisingly, this is what my protagonist has his PhD in. I completed a molecular genetics internship for a biotech company during college as well. I used that experience to model GeneFirm around, which is where James is employed.
My personal trainer certification and employment at a physical therapy office between college and medical school gave me inspiration for the gulag-like health care retreats where the unfit are sent to work off the pounds.
Finally, medical school was certainly helpful when approaching the science in the book and making it as true to life as possible, with many parts of the story being based on my experiences during clinical rotations.
OMN: Where does the action take place? Is setting an integral part of the story?
JAP: My novel is set in and around Austin, Texas. The opening scene actually takes place inside an auditorium at the University of Texas, my alma mater. While I was writing this book, I lived with a good friend who had a boat on Lake Austin, so I was spending a lot of time on the water surrounded by the green glory of the foothills. So when you read the book and get the overwhelming sense that I'm completely in love with the place, I am. I ended up choosing it as the location of my novel simply because I was itching to profess my infatuation for that part of the country via the written word.
OMN: Tell us about your writing process.
JAP: If I were to describe my writing style with a musical analogy, I would say I am more towards the jazz end of the spectrum than classical composition. I create a vague outline, with a one liner or two about a major event for that chapter, then I just sit down, turn on some Miles Davis and let the story unfold itself. Like many precarious situations in life, creative writing shouldn't be forced. In the event of writer's block, I have found exercise to be the weapon of choice. When the sweat starts, you can bet ideas are sure to follow, or As Hendry David Thoreau once said, "Methinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow."
OMN: You mentioned earlier that you were hoping to achieve high level of scientific accuracy in the book. How did you go about that?
JAP: I had four years of medical school education to fact check. If I learned something new in a lecture that was incorrectly portrayed in the book, I would curse my ignorance and update it immediately. I was lucky to have my medical school's library and resources for clarification of any scientific inquiries that I may have had.
OMN: Books, particularly thrillers, are often the basis for movies. Any thoughts on who you'd like to see play the key roles in a film adaptation of your book?
JAP: Great question. I have a terrible fund of knowledge regarding celebrity names so I will have to use widely known actors.
That dreamboat James Franco would be great for James, the molecular biologist protagonist. He wouldn't even have to change his first name.
Bérénice Marlohe, one of the most recent Bond girls, would be perfect for James' wife Linda, an incredibly seductive Asian scientist. Although, uptight genealogists might point out that Bérénice is in fact Chinese-Cambodian, while Linda's last name is Nguyen, which is Vietnamese.
OMN: What kinds of books did you read when you were young?
JAP: What jumpstarted my lust for reading was Goosebumps, the youth horror series. I burnt through those books, literally reading every single one. They influenced my writing as well, prompting me to create my own goofy horror stories as a child. So thank you R.L. Stine, the Stephen King of the little people, wherever you are.
But the book that changed my life was Jurassic Park. I read it when I was ten years old and I thought it was absolute genius. For a young aspiring herpetologist, a science thriller about giant lizards was my own personal bible. Michael Crichton had the ability to combine intensely entertaining thrill rides, with in-depth knowledge on whatever subject he was writing about at the time, be it dinosaurs, mathematics, robotics, virology, or even Hawaiian plant life. His novels always contained a lesson in morality too. I truly enjoyed and learned from his work. I recently finished the last novel this world will ever see from him, presumptively that is … he has had the amazing ability to keep producing posthumously. The novel Micro was unfinished at the time of his early death. Richard Preston completed it. I believe it was a great end to a storied career. The novel was like Honey I shrunk the Kids meets Jurassic Park. Needless to say the kids did not ride any ants …
OMN: You have new book out and you're a medical school resident. Do you have time for any hobbies?
JAP: The only hobby surgical residents have is sleep. When I'm not working, working out, or studying … I am asleep. I don't know how it was before the new resident work hour restrictions were in place but it is a funny thing when you say to yourself, "Thank god I only have to work 80 hours this week." But like everything, you get used to it.
OMN: Give us a Top 5 list on any topic of your choosing.
JAP: Top 5 things to do in Austin, TX before the viral pandemic strikes you dead:
1. Wash some Tex-Mex down with Mexican Martinis.
2. Bike the beautiful foothills of West Austin.
3. Swim in the clear and constantly cold waters of Barton Springs.
4. Run the lush Greenbelt trail.
5. Early morning wakeboarding on the glassy waters of Lake Austin.
OMN: Have you made time in your busy schedule for another thriller?
JAP: I recently finished the first draft of another novel, a psychological thriller in the desert. I have a couple more ideas waiting on the backburner, but for now I'm going to focus on being a surgeon … in case I have to keep my day job.
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Joshua Alan Parry is a medical resident at the Mayo Clinic. He received his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical School at Houston and holds a B.S. in molecular and cellular biology from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was also captain of the ice hockey team. Over the years, he has worked as a guide for at-risk youth in the Utah wilderness, a metal worker in Montreal, a salmon canner in Alaska, and a molecular genetics intern. He was raised in Keller, Texas.
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Virus Thirteen
Joshua Alan Parry
A Pandemic Thriller
Scientists James Logan and his wife, Linda, have their dream careers at the world's leading biotech company, GeneFirm, Inc. But their happiness is interrupted by a devastating bioterrorist attack: a deadly superflu that quickly becomes a global pandemic.
The GeneFirm complex goes into lockdown and Linda's research team is sent to high-security underground labs to develop a vaccine.
Above ground, James learns that GeneFirm security has been breached and Linda is in danger. To save her he must confront a desperate terrorist, armed government agents, and an invisible killer: Virus Thirteen.
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