Author A. J. Colucci
A.J. Colucci spent 15 years as a reporter, magazine editor and writer for corporate America. Today she is a full time author of science thrillers, stories that combine true science with the riveting plot and breakneck pace of a thriller. Her novel THE COLONY received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, noting, “Michael Crichton fans will hope that this is but the first of many such outings from the author’s pen.” Visit her website www.ajcolucci.com or find her on Twitter https://twitter.com/ajcolucci.
Alex C. Telander: When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
A. J. Colucci: For as long as I can remember. I think if I’d had a pencil in utero, I would have come out with at least a couple short stories.
Alex: Where did the idea for The Colony come from?
A. J.: I was watching a Discovery Channel special on killer ants and got hooked. It was mesmerizing to see a colony of 22 million African driver ants, working like a military unit, to take down every living creature in a farmer’s field. I knew it would make a great book.
Alex: What sort of research did it require?
A. J.: Science thrillers require an enormous amount of research. I started in the library and then spent about a thousand hours on the internet. But I’m an information junkie so subjects like ant morphology and pheromone manipulation are incredibly interesting to me. I was lucky enough to have a few first-rate entomologists and a military expert to verify my facts. I think I probably qualify for some kind of entomology degree.
Alex: Do you plan on writing any sort of sequel or using some of the characters in a future book?
A. J.: I am so busy working on other projects right now, but maybe someday Paul and Kendra will have another adventure.
Alex: How possible in today’s world is the core concept of The Colony?
A. J.: Insect warfare goes back to biblical times, and even earlier. I’ve read that early humans threw bees nests into caves like a primitive form of tear gas. In the 1950s the U.S. military did a lot of testing of entomological warfare, including operations Big Buzz, Big Itch and Drop Kick. You can look it up – I kid you not. Testing for Big Itch involved dropping fleas from the air in cluster bombs. At least one test failed when the fleas were accidentally released into the aircraft and they attacked the crew. I believe Big Buzz and Drop Kick used mosquitoes.
Alex: What do you hope readers get from reading your book?
A. J.: Mostly entertainment. There’s plenty boredom, monotony and despair in the world, so if a book can sweep you into an exciting adventure for a few hours, that’s great. You can get your chills and thrills without having to jump out of an airplane. Of course, it would be nice if readers considered my underlying message of faith in humanity. Ants work for the good of the colony, never for themselves. We could use some of that.
Alex: Do you have plans for your next novel?
A. J.: I’m actually in the first round of edits on my new novel, which is coming out Spring 2014 from St. Martin’s Press. It’s another science thriller about a group of people who come to a remote island in Nova Scotia for the reading of a will, but the island starts to have strange and violent effects on the characters. I like to write about nature because it can be a brutal place—kill or be killed—but it’s also filled with a sort of beauty and logic that makes humans look ridiculous.
Alex: Do you still write nonfiction?
A. J.: Unfortunately there’s not enough time. I think most authors would agree that establishing oneself as a novelist is a full-time job. A single book takes at least a year, and I hope to write many.
Alex: Is it hard to switch between writing fiction and nonfiction?
A. J.: Not for me. The two are so different and require separate parts of the brain. Although much of The Colony was based on fact, so it felt like writing non-fiction at times. For instance, I interviewed a former director at the U.S. Department of Defense about the best way to destroy the ants – he took it very seriously and suggested a neutron bomb, and then he gave me information on deployment and damage. I also had an entomologist from the USDA brainstorm with me on how to get the pheromones spread over the city. So when I sat down to write those chapters it felt realistic.
Alex: Was there a particular reason you chose to use “A. J” for your published name?
A. J.: The initials A.J. are meaningless, but I chose a pen name because I’m a private person and the idea of splashing my name all over the place was jarring. Also, my genre is a tough one for women to break into. I didn’t want to turn off guys that were more comfortable reading names like Michael Crichton, James Rollins and Scott Sigler.
Alex: Who are some of your favorite authors?
A. J.: Besides the three I just mentioned, I’ve built up an endless list over the years in thrillers, horror, literary fiction and old classics. Vonnegut, Orwell, Baldacci, Lehane, Atwood, Hosseini, Hemingway, Dostoyevsky. My tastes run amok.
Alex: What do you like to read?
A. J.: I’ve always read a lot of literary novels and but when I’m writing, which is most of the time, I tend to read thrillers.
Alex: What are you reading at the moment?
A. J.: I just downloaded Gone Girl because when a book is a runaway hit, I just have to know why. Sometimes I never figure it out. Like with Fifty Shades of Grey. What’s up with that?
Alex: What do you like to do in your spare time?
A. J.: I do things with my family, take the kids on a hike or to the beach. I like getting together with other authors, something that’s new to me and such a huge privilege. It’s one of the few perks of being published. Other than that, I’m reading or writing.
Alex: So if the events of The Colony really happened, what would you do?
A. J.: I guess prepare to die, because realistically there’s is nothing in our arsenal that could stop them.
