Author Carol B. Allen chatted with Digital Journal’s Markos Papadatos about her book “One If.”
She is an author and international, award-winning creative professional. She has held leadership positions in firms that believe in strengthening the community across the New York Tri State Area. She plays an active role in supporting opportunities to enhance young women’s interest in the STEM fields as well as advancing causes that protect the environment.
She serves on the Advisory Board for Advancing Women in Science and Medicine (AWSM), part of Northwell Health’s Feinstein Institute for Medical Research. Additionally, she has participated on the Advisory Committee for the Girl Scouts STEM program.
A University of Michigan graduate, Carol received high honors and the prestigious Student of Distinction recognition.
Carol resides in Westchester County and is an active member of the Pound Ridge Authors Society. When she isn’t writing, Carol enjoys the city life and the country life, balancing her time with her family, exploring the cultural offerings of Manhattan as well as the great outdoors of the bucolic Northeast woodlands.
On each and every purchase of One If, a percentage of the proceeds will be donated to support organizations that protect the environment and advance women in STEM fields.
Book Description
When Parker Kittridge, a quirky science student from New York City, is lured to her terrace by a frisky hummingbird, she slips and plunges 18 stories to the street and awakens in Spyridon, a planet destroyed by climate change and locked in civil war. Parker quickly discovers she is not alone. Two other teens have also been kidnapped and they must join forces to save the planet if they have any chance to return to Earth.
The teens’ struggle for survival is fierce: murders, deceptions, power plays, love triangles, and magical fantasy elements make this a high-stakes, coming-of-age adventure pitted against a race with time.
‘”One If” is such a compelling read. Every book, has a story about its creation, what’s the story behind this one?
The driving force behind the creation of the Virago series was the culmination of both professional and personal experiences. Professionally, I was the only female leader in a corporate culture in an industry dominated by males. The company for whom I worked, a national real estate development firm, was philanthropic and believed in improving the communities in which it did business. As part of the
corporate leadership team, I was introduced to a large New York hospital network, Northwell Health and its Feinstein Institute for Medical Research. I was recruited to join their Advisory Board for Advancing Women in Science and Medicine (AWSM). When I sat at the table with these brilliant, accomplished women, I was shocked they struggled with gender disparity in gaining funding for their research projects. At the same time, my granddaughter, a science enthusiast, began losing her interest in STEM when she was 9 years old.
Through my work at AWSM, I learned this loss of enthusiasm in STEM is commonplace. Knowing the future bedrock of jobs will be in STEM—science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, I wanted to reach and engage young women in a genre they read and hopefully inspire them to pursue careers in these important fields. Additionally, I am driven to build awareness of what we each can do to create sustainability and address climate change in our environment. Bringing the topic of climate change into my sci-fi fantasy as a central theme was a critical effort for me.
Writing a book is an intense process, while writing ‘one if’ did you learn anything new about yourself?
Don’t laugh when I answer this—but I learned I really like science. Seriously. My brother was a physician, my father an engineer, and I loved to write. My mother was an economics major and a Phi Beta Kappa, but in her era women raised families and didn’t typically pursue careers. She encouraged my creative writing abilities while my brother was gathering the prerequisites for med school.
When did you decide that you wanted to be a writer, and why?
Early on I was a voracious reader. As a young girl, I could spend an entire weekend reading books, finishing one book after another. My favorite part of reading books was when my cousins and I would stop and compare thoughts halfway through the story. At that point, I couldn’t help but concoct a variety of endings. My cousins would guess which ending would be closest to the real one in the book we were reading. I have always been drawn to storytelling and the power of the written word.
When you did the final read-through for ‘One If’ what was your favorite part of this rather amazing book?
There are so many parts of One If that compete for my favorites. But if I had to pick one, it would be the way my three diverse teen protagonists, who began their relationship on rocky footing, evolve to become real friends, despite their differences, and they collaborate to solve a failing ecosystem.
Your book has been such a hit with readers and sparked so much conversation so I have to ask – do you have another book or project in the works you can tell us about?
I have finished the first two books on the series, One If and If Then. I am currently writing the third book in the trilogy which I promise will be equally as exciting. Stay tuned!
“One If” is available on Amazon.
To learn more about Carol B. Allen, check out her official website.
