Sweet Sixteener Kiersi Burkhart recently spoke to Fearless Fifteener Fonda Lee about her debut YA sci-fi fantasy novel, ZEROBOXER (April 8, 2015 by Flux/Llewellyn).
About the Author:
Fonda Lee writes science fiction and fantasy for teens and adults. ZEROBOXER (from Flux/Llewellyn) is her debut novel. Fonda is a recovering corporate strategist, an avid martial artist, a fan of smart action movies, and an Eggs Benedict enthusiast.
You can find Fonda on her website, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Goodreads.
About ZEROBOXER:
A rising star in the weightless combat sport of zeroboxing, Carr “the Raptor” Luka dreams of winning the championship title. Recognizing his talent, the Zero Gravity Fighting Association assigns Risha, an ambitious and beautiful Martian colonist, to be his brandhelm––a personal marketing strategist. It isn’t long before she’s made Carr into a popular celebrity and stolen his heart along the way. As his fame grows, Carr becomes an inspirational hero on Earth, a once-great planet that’s fallen into the shadow of its more prosperous colonies. But when Carr discovers a far-reaching criminal scheme, he becomes the keeper of a devastating secret. Not only will his choices place everything he cares about in jeopardy, but they may also spill the violence from the sports arena into the solar system.
ZEROBOXER is available for purchase at Amazon, Powell’s, Books a Million, Barnes & Noble, and Indiebound.
Kiersi: How did the idea of zeroboxing come to you?
Fonda:I worked for years as a corporate strategist at Nike, and the idea came to me to write an action-packed sports story that captured the pressure, money, and emotion surrounding celebrity athletes. Despite working in the athletic industry, as an avid martial artist, the only sports I have any particular enthusiasm for are combat sports, and given that I’m a science fiction and fantasy writer, the premise of my story was a no-brainer: futuristic prizefighting. How would combat sports evolve in a space-faring civilization? Zero gravity fights, of course.
The Sweet Sixteens 