The Trades - Interview: Christine Harris: Down-Undercover Girl

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ARTICLE

Interview: Christine Harris: Down-Undercover Girl
by R.J. Carter
Published: March 26, 2007

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Related Sites:
· Author's Website
· The-Trades Book Review: "Undercover Girl #1: Secrets"

Australian author Christine Harris has written four adventures of Jesse Sharpe: Orphan. Prodigy. Spy. Her adventures in the "Undercover Girl" series have fulfilled missions for the mysterious agency, C2 -- but she's also investigating her bosses, learning ever more about her division, Operation IQ, and the truth about what happened to her parents and the parents of the other child operatives in the agency.

But after four adventures, word from Jesse came to a halt. Had she perished on a mission, unable to return and tell us about it? Or had someone even more fiendish reared his head? Fortunately, Harris opened up a communique channel with The-Trades.com, and we were able to find out more about the future of Undercover Girl Jesse Sharpe.

This is the fifth novel in Jesse Sharpe's adventures. For the new readers, briefly bring us up to date on Jesse's current status as an operative of C2.

Jesse Sharpe is a 12 year-old orphan and prodigy, who has been brought up in a secret organisation called C2. It is a world of secrets, and Jesse has a few of her own. One of those secrets is how she became a genius. Jesse is never sure whom to trust. Bad guys act like good guys, and sometimes good guys do bad things. And people can be a mixture of both. Squeezed in between learning survial tactics, caring for her two adopted C2 brothers and going out on top secret assignements, Jesse finds out, little by little, about her family.

The first three books in the Undercover Girl series -- Secrets, Fugitive and Nightmare -- were nominated for the "Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers 2007" award by the American Library Association.

This series is published around the world under different names: Undercover Girl, Girl Undercover, Spy Girl, Spy and others. But Jesse Sharpe kicks butt under any series name.

Without spoiling, what kinds of twists can we expect in "Twisted"?

Jesse fears that C2 have forced her to do something bad, then wiped her memory. How else can she explain the flashbacks? And the man in those flashbacks is dead. There is more news about Jesse's family. But the closer she gets to them, the more danger they are in!

(excerpted from the upcoming Undercover Girl story, "Twisted")
     A black helicopter flew over the top of the mountain and the sound became louder.
     It could have been a pilot flying skiers to untouched slopes, but she didn't think so. Her instincts screamed at her to hide. But there were no trees on the slope, no shelter. She hoped the sun's bright reflection off the snow would make it harder for the pilot to see.
     Rotor blades whirring, the helicopter flew closer.
     The windows were tinted so Jesse couldn't see who was inside. Aware that a moving target was harder to hit, she skied left, right, then left again.
     Down the slope, the man in dark clothing also began to ski away from the helicopter. Jesse hoped he wouldn't fall over. His skiing was wobbly.
     Steadily, the helicopter circled, like a mosquito about to sting. Small missiles were attached to its sides. Jesse's back muscles stiffened as she anticipated the helicopter shooting at her. It circled again and flew over her head, towards the top of the mountain.
     Jesse struggled to keep her balance. It was hard to ski downhill, watch where she was going and keep an eye on the helicopter.
     There was an explosion, a flash of red.
     The people in the helicopter had not fired at Jesse or the mysterious man. They had aimed for the top of the slope.
     Jesse heard an enormous growl, as though a giant dog was behind her. There was a crack, and another.
     Suddenly, she felt sick. She knew what was happening, even before she looked back one last time. A wall of snow was plummeting down the slope towards her. The helicopter's missile had started an avalanche.

Is "Twisted" a wrap-up to the story or a new launching point?

Many things are wrapped, but nothing is ever going to be completely ironed out, or easy, for Jesse Sharpe.

Who is going to be the new publisher, and how will that effect U.S. distribution?

Hey, there's a story in this answer. And not just because I'm a writer and I'm supposed to say that.

The publisher of books 1 - 4 declined to publish any more. So I packed up my synopsis and put it out in the shed, dusted my hands and wished Jesse Sharpe a fond farewell. But the emails kept coming. And coming. I've had about 2,000 emails from fans, many of them asking -- no, that isn't a strong enough word -- begging for another book. And the emails didn't stop at a simple request. Readers suggested titles, plot elements and names of characters. One even said, 'If you don't write it, I will.'

Aren't the readers what story writing is all about? I began to feel I was letting them down. Sometimes fans email me, but more often they write to Jesse. My character gets more emails than I do. This is one that Jesse received a few weeks ago:

You are so cool and I love your books!!! I read the first one and I got so attached to it I couldn't stop reading it!!! When I finished it, I was begging my mom to buy me the next one of the series. She did and the same thing happened like the first book. I was hooked on your book!!! When I finished that one I asked my mom to buy the next one. When she went to the book store, the UNDERCOVERGIRL series was sold out!!! So my mom pre-ordered the next two books. Then when my mom finally picked them up, I was sick for two days with a cough so I had plenty of time to read them!!! I wasn't happy that I was sick and all, but I was happy I could finally read without any interruptions!!! Well, if you can get away from C2 for a while, try to write me back. You probably get a lot of letters though. Oh well, I'll be waiting for your e-mail. Bye!!!

The big decision to publish by another route was when a fan asked me for a fifth book and I emailed back that the publisher had decided not to do more. She replied, 'Why don't you publish it yourself? It can't be that hard. Why don't you buy one of those Dummies guides?'

So, I answered the call. Right, I thought, I can do this. "Undercover Girl #5: Twisted" will be printed by WingSpan Press, a U.S. print-on-demand publisher. "Twisted" will be available through the usual channels, on-line book shops such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble and others. Also brick-and-mortar bookshops. The fans shouted and I listened. I think readers would have been disappointed in me if I hadn't.

Are you working on any projects outside of Jesse Sharpe's world that we can look forward to reading soon?

Oh yeah. "Mask of the Jackal": Morgan Steele is fascinated by Ancient Egypt and mummies -- until he is alone in the basement of a museum and strange things begin to happen. What starts as a school assignment ends up with Morgan involved in the disappearance of mummy, kidnapping, madness, a terrifying attempt to escape danger and a search for immortality.

And on a lighter note, "Freak". A young male vampire goes against family tradition to become a vegetarian. Wally hides a secret. His family are unusually pale, hang upside down in trees and have horrible urges to bite things. Wally wants to make a fresh start, to fit in with the kids at his new school. But what will they do if they find out what he really is? Change is never easy. But in Wally’s case, it could be deadly.

Fans rule. Okay? But I am a little concerned about the boy who fronted up to a book signing, all excited, got his book signed, then turned to his friend and said in a penetrating voice, "This'll be worth a lot of money when she dies."

Maybe so. But it'll be a lot more enjoyable if she lives a long full life creating story after story. That's where the immortality is, after all.