Interview with Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller about OTHERWORLD!

December 17, 2017     jennzahbooknut     Interview

Interview with Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller about OTHERWORLD!Otherworld (Otherworld, #1) by Jason Segel, Kirsten Miller
Published by Delacorte Press on October 31st 2017
Pages: 355
Goodreads

The company says Otherworld is amazing—like nothing you’ve ever seen before. They say it’s addictive—that you’ll want to stay forever. They promise Otherworld will make all your dreams come true.

Simon thought Otherworld was a game. Turns out he knew nothing. Otherworld is the next phase of reality. It’s everything you’ve ever wanted.

And it’s about to change humanity forever.Welcome to the Otherworld. No one could have seen it coming.

We are so incredibly excited to have authors Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller here at our blog today, talking about their fabulous new release OTHERWORLD!  We loved this amazing, mind bending read so much!

Check out our interview with the authors below, and enter to win a hardcover of OTHERWORLD as well!



  1. Describe where the idea for OTHERWORLD came from, and how your writing process works?

The idea for Otherworld came after I first demoed the Oculus Rift at Sundance a few years ago. My first thought was: This is going to change everything. I had been a big fan of a game called Myst when I was a kid—it’s a computer environment that you get to wander around, explore, and solve puzzles in. I imagined how extraordinary it would be to have that sort of experience in a truly immersive way. Then I thought, People will never want to leave. That’s sort of where it all began for me. I drew up a very rough outline and called Kirsten. I told her the idea, and our adventure began. If The Matrixand the Lord of the Rings went to their high school reunion and had a one-night stand,Otherworld would be their illegitimate child. 

 

The first Nightmares! book was a very particular situation in that we were adapting an existing script. I know scripts, and Kirsten knows books, so it was really a match made in heaven for me. As we’ve progressed, the dynamic has really evolved. I brought a rough idea of Otherworld to Kirsten, and then she brought a whole world of life, depth, and specificity to it. Our weird tastes overlap, and we feed off each other in fantastic and unexpected ways. We essentially create a really detailed outline; then Kirsten takes a run at our first draft. We then hand the manuscript back and forth until we have created a funky masterpiece. I couldn’t do any of this without a tremendous amount of hard work from Kirsten.

 

 

  1. What sort of research did you look into while writing OTHERWORLD?

 

There were three elements to research for the book: Virtual Reality, Mythology, and Conspiracy. It was quite fun. For the Virtual Reality element, Kirsten and I both got VR headsets and delved into all the currently available apps. It was exciting and scary to see not only what exists now but also to imagine what must be right on the horizon. As for mythology we decided that Otherworld would be built heavily on world myth so we did a lot of reading in that arena. Finally for conspiracy theory we pretty much just turned on the Internet.

 

  1. What were some of your favorite video games to get lost in as a teenager?

 

As I mentioned, the only game I was really obsessed with was called Myst. While there was an element of gameplay, more than anything for me it was about wandering around this beautifully ornate virtual environment. I played every night. I would just meander around looking for secrets. I was a pretty dorky kid, but it led me to who I am today!

 

  1. Will there be more books about OTHERWORLD in the future?

 

Yes indeed. Otherworld is designed as a trilogy and I can’t wait for everyone to see what we have in-store.

 

  1. What was your favorite part about writing NIGHTMARES!?

 

I wrote Nightmares! as a script when I was twenty one years old. To see it take on this new life as a book series has been amazing to behold. It is a special kind of alchemy to think of an idea on your couch at twenty –one and walk into a book store at thirty seven and see an entire series sitting on a shelf. I feel very lucky to get to make things I love, and I feel especially lucky to have met Kirsten Miller.


Want to win a hardcover copy of OTHERWORLD for your very own? Enter the giveaway below! (US Only, ends 1/9/18)

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