Jamie woke up in an empty apartment with no memory and only a few clues to his identity, but with the ability to read and erase other people’s memories—a power he uses to hold up banks to buy coffee, cat food and books.
Zoe is also searching for her past, and using her abilities of speed and strength…to deliver fast food. And she’ll occasionally put on a cool suit and beat up bad guys, if she feels like it.
When the archrivals meet in a memory-loss support group, they realize the only way to reveal their hidden pasts might be through each other. As they uncover an ongoing threat, suddenly much more is at stake than their fragile friendship. With countless people at risk, Zoe and Jamie will have to recognize that sometimes being a hero starts with trusting someone else—and yourself.
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Rating: 4 Stars
My Review: Wow this one was so full of hope and friendships that I just couldn't stop reading. I really loved how the science fiction aspects were added and weaved into the story. I would love to see this one as a movie or tv show. The characters were amazing and the story was even better. I will say that I think that to start it was a little choppy but as it found its footing it only got better as I turned the pages.
Q&A with Mike Chen
Q: What super power did young Mike hope to wake up with one day?
A: Completely serious -- when I was young, I would walk around and sometimes clench my fist, then imagine Wolverine claws coming out from between my knuckles. I suppose that means that I hoped to have Wolverine’s accelerated healing power that allows him to pop the claws (depending on which version you’re looking at). As someone in his early 40s, I would really appreciate that accelerated healing right now.
Q: What super-characters influenced Zoe and Jamie's development? Are there parallels you're hoping the audience will draw?
A: I wanted to riff off of the basic tropes of someone with mental powers (Professor X) and someone with physical powers (Superman). A lot of this book is based on existing comic book/superhero tropes and turning them sideways, so it felt appropriate to have these two common types of powers as ways to ground reader expectations. That way, when you start to really get to know Zoe and Jamie, you realize that beneath the traditional superhero/supervillain facade, there’s much more going on to their characters.
I should also note that the name “Mind Robber” is not my own. When I name characters in a book, I usually pick a theme to riff on, because I am terrible about coming up with my own names. Zoe and Jamie are from classic Doctor Who -- specifically, companions of the 2nd Doctor (Patrick Troughton). And “The Mind Robber” is the name of an episode from that era, though the eponymous villain has completely different abilities than Jamie.
Q: What inspired you to write this story?
A: This book was originally based on a short story called “Anonymous”, which I’d published in the summer of 2017 in Storyteller Magazine (which is now defunct). In that story, it was a version of this book’s fifth chapter: Jamie and Zoe are arch-rivals similar to the book, but it’s an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting rather than a memory loss support group. The same themes inspired that story, which is essentially nature vs. nurture and the roles society assigns us. When those are stripped away who are we? Can people who were supposed to be enemies actually be friends?
When I expanded this to a full book, I decided that I wanted to write a friendship story -- not romance. Zoe is straight, Jamie is pansexual, so the potential is there. But there is a very conscious internal moment for both of them where they each consider that friendship is more fitting for them. I think as a culture, we don’t get enough emphasis on the importance of friendship in stories, or the importance of trust to maintain those friendships. I wanted to dive deep into that, but just with superpowers!
Q: Describe your main characters in 3 words.
A: Jamie: Careful, fearful, untrusting.
Zoe: Careless, impulsive, untrusting.
This is why they’re such good fodder for each other!
Q: What was the most challenging part when you wrote this book?
A: Even though all sorts of superhero shenanigans happen throughout the story, the heart of it lies in the chemistry between Jamie and Zoe. As soon as they’re forced to work together, their banter develops and it’s a very natural thing to write. I hit a certain stride in drafting where their banter became completely natural and I could basically put them in any situation and hear exactly how they’d interact. Because of that, I actually wrote too much banter and I had to do an editing pass to specifically cut dialogue. This is most significant in the second half of the book where Jamie and Zoe are waiting high up in a tree for someone, there was a whole beat where they’re just bantering about how ridiculous their situation is. But it didn’t move the story along, so it had to go, regardless of how fun it was.
Q: What was your most favorite part and why?
A: It’s hard to pick a favorite, because it really comes down to the moments where Jamie and Zoe are bantering with each other. If I have to pick a specific one, I think it’s probably a quiet moment where Zoe and Jamie are planning on infiltrating a building after a night of investigating. Jamie shows up with his plans ready to go and Zoe arrives while completely ignoring their plans. It’s very representative of who they are and how they work and just thinking about it makes me laugh even now.
Q: What's a typical writing day for you?
A: Before the pandemic, I’d write before my daughter got up, take a break at my day job at some point to do some light editing, then a little in the evening as well. When my daughter had a gym class or playdate, I’d use that time as well, in addition to spurts using Google Docs on my phone. Now, it’s a little more chaotic as we have to do home kindergarten, so it’s basically anywhere I can, whenever I can. I’ve started doing writing sprints of 15-30 minutes to try and work around fatigue and schedule. So there’s no typical writing day anymore, and I imagine the next six months will be this way.
There are a few silver linings, though. The sprint method has actually really been a great new tool, and I’ve found that in the stressors of 2020 and early 2021, writing is a wonderful escape for my mind. So even though it’s chaotic, writing is one of the things that’s keeping me going.
Q: Where do you like writing and why? Favorite snacks and/or beverages? Music?
A: I like writing anywhere quiet. Which can be anywhere, as I write on my phone regularly. But it’s often chaotic with a 6-year-old around all day, every day. Two things that have helped with this: 1) noise-cancelling headphones, which is a must-use with my daughter around when I need to think creatively 2) going for walks with my phone available. I find the natural rhythm of walking is very helpful, and when with Google Docs on my phone, I can make a quick outline of notes when it comes to me. I need all of this with quiet, or possibly soft instrumental music that I’m not too familiar with (generic zen spa music). If I’m familiar with it, it takes my train of thought, especially with lyrics despite being a huge indie rock nerd.
However, there is one essential and that is coffee. In WE COULD BE HEROES, Jamie’s obsession with coffee is modeled after my own.
Q: What was your last 5-star read and why?
A: Since the pandemic, I haven’t been able to read nearly as much as I want to (or watch movies or play video games or work out). But I did squeeze in HENCH by Natalie Zina Walschots, which is the other superhero book of the season. It’s a really clever take on the sub-genre -- unique but completely different from my own. Natalie looks at the destructive cost of superheroes through hard data, which is just a hilarious concept and she executes it with brilliant characters. We’ve jokingly discussed a crossover between our characters.
Q: How would your main character fare with a stay-at-home order?
A: I actually think Jamie would be totally fine with it. He’s a homebody anyways, so he’ll be staying at home with his stack of books, his cat, and his cup of gourmet coffee. If he does rob a bank during that time, it’d actually be easier because there will probably be fewer people involved, and thus his goal of keeping people safe will be easier.
Zoe, I love her but she’s not exactly the most careful type. I think she’d try, she’d really try to stay at home but she’d probably get stir crazy. She would, however, be really busy with her food delivery gigs, so she might be earning enough money to get a Netflix subscription rather than just watching free public domain movies.
Q: What author or story inspired you growing up or inspired you in some ways?
A: I read a lot of genre fiction growing up, particularly space opera, gothic horror, and of course superhero comic books. But I also read a lot of contemporary fiction, and I always found myself drawn to books that highlighted interpersonal relationships with a strong voice. That probably explains why Nick Hornby’s HIGH FIDELITY and ABOUT A BOY were the first books that made me think “I’d like to try this.” In fact, I signed my agent for my first book HERE AND NOW AND THEN with the pitch of “THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE as written by Nick Hornby.”
Q: Is there anything you can tell us about the book that is not a spoiler and not on the blurb? Something you'd like to share with us?
A: Through a special program, some book clubs were able to get advance copies of WE COULD BE HEROES. I was invited to chat with a library’s book club in early January, and they admitted that they typically read literary fiction and historical fiction. So this was out of their comfort zone, but they universally enjoyed it and said they would be recommending it to friends and family that don’t normally read science fiction. So I think that even though this is a superhero book that riffs on some comic book tropes, at its core it’s a story of unlikely friends that can appeal to readers of any genre.
About the Author
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