JINWOO CHONG

MEET THE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT BEHIND TIME-BENDING TECH THRILLER FLUX

Tell us about your protagonists.

I wrote Flux from the point of view of three characters: eight-year-old Bo, 28-year-old Brandon and 48-year-old Blue. Their respective ages and alliterative names should point to something interesting, given that time travel features greatly in this novel.

Did the book have any particular inspiration?

I had the idea after the implosion of [health tech company] Theranos played out in the media. It was one of the first scam stories I remember that caught everybody’s attention. I wanted to tell a story with the same mood.

Does it have any particular political/ social theme?

Race plays a big part, as does the experience of recognising yourself in media, cast either as hero or villain, and the repercussions of an experience like that on a person’s psyche as they age.

How long did it take to write?

About four months, after working out the story and development in an outline over two years. I outline much faster than this, usually, but time travel requires a great deal of puzzle-making.

Any advice for budding authors?

We’d all love to believe that traditional publishing is a meritocracy. Since it’s not, it’s up to an emerging writer to be their own advocate in the circles that matter. Some writers are lucky and don’t need anything but their talent. But the vast majority of us succeed because we understand the business.

Flux is on sale 21 March, published by Melville House.