QUEST QUEST MAGAZINE

BIOPHILIA FAN ART

2010-07-18T09:10:00.000-07:00

An anonymous, videogaming girl fan of BIOPHILIA has lovingly made videogame art inspired by BIOPHILIA and paired it with a quote of my novel here. She's illustrated the evil Penumbra and also Gromer the Polar Bear, resplendent in all his Nagy battle gear. She's made the heroine Imogen a tall, Lara Croft booby girl, which is not how I picture Imogen, but that's fine, the guy fans won't complain.

Biophilia is a self-published sci-fi action adventure series. It's Star Wars meets Narnia. And when I see Fan Art like this, I begin to understand how George Lucas must have felt in 1977. And I promise I won't become lame like him. Thank you for supporting my work, you fans!

Biophilia Given Thumbs Up by CNN

2009-12-20T08:16:00.000-08:00

The Biophilia Omnibus has been listed as Best Book Gift of the Year by CNN Go Singapore!

No agents. No publicists. No product placements. No publisher even (it is a self-published sci fi series).

Imogen and Kai, and Gromer the Polar Bear, deserve to be listed alongside these bands, hip design houses, and fav DVD collectibles as Rrrrrrock Ssstarrrrss!

Next stop: BIOPHILIA - The Collectible Carrying Case and Toys Edition.

Biophilia Trailer 1

2009-12-07T09:12:00.000-08:00

The inside of a Nagy spaceship.

Imogen: What’s The Biophilia Omnibus about? Ask Kai to explain, I’m busy.

Kai: I’m sick of talking about it. We had to talk about it during those literary festivals all year.

Imogen: Can we not do this interview now?

Cut. Take 2. The inside of a Nagy spaceship.

Imogen: (radioing) Yo, Orpheus, can you guys back at the HQ stop changing my password on me? It’s bloody irritating, that’s what. How am I supposed to remember different passwords each time I fly?

Kai unbuckles himself from the co-pilot seat, curls up at the back of the ship and goes to sleep.

Imogen: See? You want to know what Biophilia is about? It’s about Kai being lazy. It’s about people not doing their jobs and I have to do it all for them.

Kai: (eyes closed) We’ve been fighting dragons for three days. I’m tired.

Imogen: The Biophilia Omnibus is … about Space. That’s right. It’s about us thirtysomething New Yorkers, we fall into a wormhole into Outer Space, we find ourselves on a planet with talking animals, and we get these great spaceships to fly, see, except that occasionally they don’t work. (radioing) Hello? Orpheus? Yeah. I’m stuck in the Wasted Plains. Yes, with no coffee. And we can’t fly home because you changed the password on me again. What is it?

She types in a new password. The spaceship glows feebly, then winds down.

Imogen: It doesn’t work. Orpheus, it doesn’t work. Great, now my radio’s gone out too. Kai? Kai, fix it. Hello, am I the only person here? (to the camera) That’s what it’s about. Very exciting. It’s about MMOFT, Massive Multiple Organ Failure of Technology. It happens in Nagy. Not often. Mostly to me. And my co-pilot here, Kai Montserrat? He’s my best friend from college. He’s got an engineering degree. He fixes ships, but he’s not that good, you see. Openly admits it. He went to Harvard. If he was a great engineer he would have gone to Caltech or MIT. So there you have it in a nutshell. The Biophilia Omnibus – Kai and Imogen’s planetary adventures. Avec talking animals.

Kai: (sleepily) Just tell them it’s better than Twilight and Harry Potter.

Imogen: Is that true? I don’t know. I don’t read that stuff. Kai, is that true? Why would our adventures be better?

Kai: (sleepily) ‘Cos we’re grownups, we have money, and we get to do drugs. We’re better looking. We have better clothes. And our soundtrack’s better. We have New Order and Bowie.

Imogen: (to camera) Listen to him. By the way, he’s rich. He lives in a freaking castle, he’s got two garages, stuffed full of supercars. We get to drive them a lot in the stories. Biophilia is like Car Porn. That’s all he’s good for, really. The cars. Can’t really fix things.

Kai: I’m also good for the drugs.

Imogen: No way. Pansy’s my drug dealer.

Kai: When are you going to tell everybody about the secret history between you and Pansy? Is that going to be in Book 5? Or 6?

Imogen: What secret history?

Kai: The audience always wants a love story.

Imogen: Why don’t we tell them the one about you and your wife?

Kai: My ex-wife. I made you sign an NDA about that. Stop talking about it.

Imogen: Yeah, well that piece of paper is back in New York. We’re on Planet Nagy. Aside from Kai’s episode with his ex-wife, there is no love story.

Kai: Certainly not between the two protagonists.

Imogen: Certainly not. (looks uncomfortable) Okay, that’s all for now. Turn that camera off. Kai, fix this?

Kai: (gets up wearily and peers into the screen) Don’t touch it. It’ll reset itself in an hour and we’ll be able to fly back then.

Imogen releases herself from the pilot seat, gets up, tears off her helmet and kicks the spaceship. Storms off the set.

Kai: (to camera) Actually, that’s what The Biophilia Omnibus is all about. She’s written five books entirely about her complaining about New York, Earth, Planet Nagy, Planet Alga, and Outer Space. I don’t read these books, ‘cos I live it. Every day. But you might. If you’re a masochist. But at least there are no teenage vampires. And we do have better clothes. And the sex is incredible. Not.

He leans forward and turns off the camera.

BIOPHIIA OMNIBUS SALES AT THE WRITERS FEST

2009-10-28T20:21:00.001-07:00

SINGAPORE - Wena Poon signing copies and giving out toys at the launch of the Biophilia Omnibus at the Singapore Writers Festival. Photo by Joelyn Alexandra.

Q: What is Biophilia?

A: A Proustian literary sci fi/fantasy series based on the lives of characters who first met as Harvard freshmen. I'm writing Book 5.

Q: Why Proust?

A: I took French Lit in college. Like Remembrance of Things Past, Biophilia will have seven volumes, and yes, Proust also self-published his novel! Did you know that?

Q: But why are you publishing it yourself? Surely you can find a publisher since your other books have found publishers?

A: Because only I know how to design the cover and cool inside layout. I want it to look like the fantasy books I read growing up, like The Dark Is Rising. I cannot bear to even discuss this project with an agent, an editor, or a publisher because they will ruin it. I might work with a British or Japanese publisher to make toys, collectibles, and a special carrying case for all the books.

2009-10-14T17:09:00.000-07:00

book blurb

It is 2015. America is fighting two long and boring wars, its troops spread thin across the world. Terrorists have bombed several city blocks in lower Manhattan. The environment is kaput. Everybody hates the government. Worse, Americans have officially run out of gas. This would all have been a terrible bother for car fanatic Imogen Parks, if it hadn't been for Planet Nagy. Thrown through a wormhole onto another planet by a freak terrorist attack, Imogen discovers a world with illimitable energy sources, superb space ships designed by Alien Squids, and - best of all - Talking Animals who need her help.

THE BIOPHILIA OMNIBUS - NOW ON AMAZON! CLICK HERE TO BUY

2009-10-14T17:01:00.000-07:00

This 742-page thick black book, containing the first four books of Wena Poon's Biophilia series, is now available worldwide on Amazon.com for one low price of US$26.99!

The Omnibus edition, published in the US, contains these novels:

Biophilia

Cryptic Tonic

Fin de l'Univers

Solar Flare

Excerpts of these novels appear on the nav bar of this blog. Try before you buy!

A limited number of author-signed copies (SGD$43*) has been sent to Singapore from the US, and will be available during the Singapore Writers Festival, together with Biophilia bumper stickers, at its official book party:

October 24, Saturday, 11 AM - 12 noon

The Arts House

The Blue Room - free! No need to rsvp.

*Pay for the book in cash or by credit card. No NETS payment facilities available. Singapore price includes costs of shipping from US.

Wena Poon will perform excerpts, sign books, sell books, and answer fan questions. Be there!

READER REVIEWS

2009-10-12T09:38:00.000-07:00

"I've finished reading the second book. Drop everything and finish the third."

"You’re gonna love Imogen cause she’s witty, sassy and sometimes you want to just raise an eyebrow at her or go “YES! YES!!! DO THAT BIYAAATCH!” at what she does on Planet Nagy in a world where she has to save talking animals from utter destruction!"

"I loved Biophilia – the punchy, kickass, frenetic, vivid, in medias res feel of it punctuated with moments of lyrical flair. Pretty much like some of the best video games. You’re a fab writer. I’d love to get my hands on the sequel!"

"I really liked the mix of wild fantasy and generational angst. That's not something I've seen before."

"I enjoy the fact that because you are a woman sci-fi writer, you don't care much about how the space machines work, they just work!"

"I finished reading it and for days I went around cursing a lot of giving people attitude like [the character] Imogen. My husband wondered what had gotten into me."

"Absorbing and well-written."

"I started reading a few pages at work and was hooked. Had to stop myself. Can't wait to get into it."

"I just LOVE your book. It needs a sequel. Give me more!"

AUTHOR LAUNCHES BOOK BLITZ ON WORLD

2009-09-21T18:27:00.000-07:00

Wena Poon has just spent the entire summer proofing endless books that are launching in Fall 2009!

Lions In Winter - the Salt Edition, listed for 2 literary prizes, has just been released by UK publishers Salt London/Cambridge.

The Proper Care of Foxes, Poon's second literary fiction book, has been released by Ethos Books.

And the behemoth, Proustian 742-pager, The Biophilia Omnibus, containing the first four novels of the sci fi/action adventure series, will be available by mid-October on Amazon, Alibris, AbeBooks worldwide, and select Singapore bookstores.

"People think just because I write short stories I can't write novels," says Poon, 35. "Try reading Biophilia, dude. It's like, 175,000 words that you cannot put down. It's a space opera. It's going to go on and on, like The X-Files."

What is Biophilia? Is it X-Files? Is it Narnia? Is it Star Wars? Is it Harry Potter? Is it Twilight?

"Definitely not Twilight," says Poon, trying to stop Max the Wheaton Terrier from ripping imaginary reporter to shreds. "Imogen and Kai hate vampires. Vampires are for babies. I'm not writing for tweeners. I'm writing for bored twentysomethings and thirtysomethings who want something fun and fast-paced but also well-written and intellectual. It fills the space between Dan Brown and Paul Auster. Above all, it's never pretentious."

But Omnibus features a cryptic French inscription, from the 1930 novel Le Noeud de Viperes. What is it saying?

Poon runs after the dog. "Dude, if you don't know Francois Mauriac, use Google Translator!"

BIOPHILIA - THE OFFICIAL MAP

2009-05-10T09:11:00.000-07:00

Austin, Texas - Here is the official copyrighted map of Planet Nagy, produced in fifteen minutes one Sunday evening when Wena Poon, while writing Biophilia 4, finally lost her way. "I don't know what's where anymore. Better draw a map."

"It's geographically impossible," says Toby, the author's cat, scrutinizing it.

"It's Outer Space, dude," was the reply.

BIOPHILIA FANS UNITE

2008-09-29T09:30:00.000-07:00

Singapore - "Yo, you guys," says Wena Poon. "Time to stop reading Harry Potter and Twilight! That's for kids! Read something for grownups at twice the speed and three times the fun!" See review by a Singapore fan blog here. Singapore fans turned up for signing and reading on June 3, 2009 at Books Actually, Singapore's coolest independent literary bookstore.

BOOK 3: FIN DE L'UNIVERS

2008-08-29T20:21:00.000-07:00

Ireland - Author Wena Poon is presently working on completing the third and last book of the Biophilia series, which began in 2005 with Biophilia and followed in 2007 with Cryptic Tonic.

"What is the third book about?" asked publicists Toby and Luca (her house cats).

"New York really blows up and the action has to continue in Berlin. Except I've never been to Berlin so all the scenes are dark, at night, in battle, so that I don't have to describe what the hell Berlin looks like."

"Who's the enemy?"

"The Russians. If you don't believe me, go read Financial Times."

Photo: The author writing Biophilia 3 in a 13th century Irish castle ("for inspiration").

BOOK 2: CRYPTIC TONIC

2008-03-09T19:44:00.000-07:00

Hong Kong - Cryptic Tonic is the second novel comprising the Biophilia trilogy. The first book, Biophilia, was published in 2005 and also available on Amazon. Both books are written, designed, and published by author Wena Poon.

Poon, 34, says, "The trilogy came about one hot summer day when I was lamenting that Hollywood hasn't yet come up with the summer blockbuster action adventure that I really wanted to see (you know, one with a decent plot and really cool characters and non-corny lines), so I decided to write it myself.

What next?

"The movie and the video game, of course! I'm looking into making the Nagy spaceship and animal toys to give away with the book. Just try to stop me. I'm going to keep building my Nagy products empire until somebody in Hollywood freaking takes notice!"

Why does she keep saying the Biophilia books are better than the inflight movie?

"My last long flight, I had to watch Stardust on the telly. Enough said."

Photograph: The author doing research on animal sidekicks by flying trained eagle owls.

BOOK 2 COMPLETED

2007-11-25T19:57:00.000-08:00

San Francisco, California - Wena Poon has finished writing the sequel to Biophilia, called Cryptic Tonic. Journalist Toby Korell sits down with the author about the new sci fi work.

Q: Why the hell write a second book? Wasn't the first one bad enough?

A: Well, it's like if you didn't like Superman, you won't like Superman Returns. It's more of the same. In fact, it's better.

Q: What happens in this one?

A: Imogen fights the Arctic campaign with the Polar Bears in the icy world of Thebes. Kai finds himself confronting a medieval Lucifer in a H.P. Lovecraft type world of volcanic ash. In between the covers of the book, you will find, in no particular order: Snowy Owls, helicopters, narwhals, Giacomo Puccini, demons, ocelots, orange squirrels, John Keats, white scarabs, termite poison, an Arts and Crafts mansion, set to eighties music. Did I give too much away?

Q: Where the hell do you get all this from? Do you take any hallucinogens?

A: No. Sometimes I write that my characters do drugs - pot, mostly - but I cannot stand the smell of smoke and I don't smoke anything.

Q: What's your poison?

A: Bellinis. I drank two of them in a row once and got really sick.

Q: Why do you write such strange shit?

A: I don't think that anything I do is that strange. Especially once I found out that grown men spend many hours playing World of Warcraft.

Q: What are your influences?

A: Biophilia and Cryptic Tonic are what happens when a kid who loves Narnia and Star Wars graduates magna from Harvard in English Literature and has to write a literary space opera because life is otherwise too dull.

Q: Do your friends think you strange?

A: Did anybody think C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkein, and Lewis Carroll strange?

Q: Some say that the space technology - the technical details - in your books aren't convincing.

A: And thank God they aren't, because when you try to be convincing, look what happened in Star Trek.

Q: What is your hope for Cryptic Tonic?

A: When I finish the third book, which I'm starting now, I'd like to convince Matt Stone and Trey Parker to make the entire series with puppets like Team America World Police.

Q: Have people asked you if Biophilia is autobiographical?

A: Sure. And I say, yes, of course, I spend most of my leisure hours in intergalactic travel.

Photographs: (left) the cover of Biophilia 2; (right) The 13th century Ashford Castle, part of the inspiration for Penshurst, the estate described in the Biophilia novels ("because Castle Howard is taken").

BIOPHILIA AT THE ALTERNATIVE PRESS EXPO

2006-04-09T08:37:00.000-07:00

San Francisco, California - Biophilia, Wena Poon's action adventure novel, was exhibited at the annual San Francisco independent press exposition, APE, held at the Concourse at 8th and Brannan. Free anti-Bush bumper stickers were liberally distributed by Planet Nagy Press during the show.

BIOPHILIA CRAZE BEGINS

2006-02-16T17:48:00.000-08:00

San Francisco, California - Wena Poon's sci-fi action adventure novel, Biophilia, is finally here! The book is now available on Amazon.com.

How does it feel like to bring out Biophilia?

"Well, usually when you publish something you give the publisher a manuscript and it's entirely out of your hands," says Wena. "And then after years of waiting it comes out finally and you are, like, eeek! Why did you put me in a book with this kind of cover!

"When you are self directing the entire project, you get to micro-manage the cover, including selecting your own author photo and costume and dog. I mean, I always try to appear with a dog when I can. Dogs are very important."

Wena is featured here wearing the awesome Snow Scourge combat suit (women's) for the Arctic battle campaign at Thebes, which occurs in Biophilia:2, and vintage WWII aviator leather goggles.

Mike wears his own collar.

Photo: Noah Berger Photography

SEQUEL OFFICIALLY IN THE WORKS

2006-02-06T21:12:00.000-08:00

SAN FRANCISCO - Author Wena Poon announced today that she has already started working on the sequel to Biophilia. "Here's artist Bill Smock's tentative drawing of Gromer. Everybody loves Gromer. I should spin him off and license him separately. He's going to be in every Happy Meal."

Drawing courtesy of William Smock

MORE BIOPHILIA ART

2006-02-05T22:46:00.000-08:00

San Francisco, California - Here is a beautiful watercolor painting of Gromer the Polar bear, from the Berkeley illustrator William Smock.

BIOPHILIA FASHION

2005-11-24T00:48:00.000-08:00

San Francisco, California - Biophilia author Wena Poon continues to suit up for her upcoming World Tour. Featured here today is the Gromer Leather Aviator Hat ($29.99) and Authentic WWII Flying Goggles ($35), available from your local Army Navy store. Wena also models the awesome Planet Nagy Regular Combat Suit (women's), ideal for driving the Hugo 100 transport craft (from Juicy Couture, $99 after fabulous markdowns). "Please note that all the fur is fake," says Poon, showing the reporter a little tuft of acrylic.

BIOPHILIA GOES INTO PRODUCTION USING PRINT ON DEMAND TECHNOLOGY

2005-11-21T07:36:00.000-08:00

We received official confirmation that the first Biophilia book has gone into production, with a proofing copy to be expected in the next 2 weeks. Author's message to fans: "Save Narnia! Donate to PETA! Don't eat turkey this Christmas!"

MORE BIOPHILIA FASHION

2005-11-06T13:21:00.000-08:00

Author Wena Poon poses with leather aviator hat and goggles styled after the gear worn by Gromer, the polar bear captain on Planet Nagy who most memorably appears in the first scene wearing aviator gear a la Snoopy. "He came to me in a vision," says Poon. "He was driving an old Army jeep - like M.A.S.H."

2005-10-28T17:11:00.000-07:00

BIOPHILIA STICKERS AND SLOGANS

2005-10-15T18:12:00.000-07:00

San Francisco, California - Biophilia's marketing department has ordered a first run of 100 vinyl bumper stickers for the launch of the book.

The stickers shall say:

LOSE WEIGHT. GAIN ADVENTURE.
Biophilia. The New Action Book from Wena Poon. Now on Amazon.

BIOPHILIA FAN DRAWINGS

2005-08-11T19:47:00.000-07:00

Brussels, Belgium - these are the first fan-inspired drawings of Imogen and Kai, characters in Wena Poon's Biophilia, received from MGE Comix in Belgium!

http://mgecomix.blogspot.com/

Images (c) M. Lauwaert 2005