From Southern California to Japan to Texas and finally back to SoCal, Rosie Record spent the remainder of her childhood in a sleepy mountain community with dreams of writing, pushing east, and exploring the world. After graduating with a BA in linguistics, she became entrenched in the world of corporate instead. It wasn’t until she moved to NYC she began to write again.
Record believes books have the power to hold a mirror up to society and ask, do you still like what you see? …an important question she asks while exploring concepts of control and what it means to be free in her gritty cyberpunk novel, Tronick.
If you don’t see the book you want on the shelf, write it
—Beverly Cleary
Record took the words of Beverly Cleary to heart and built a dystopian California-Annex brick by brick, then slammed her antihero in the middle.
I created a strong female character who is real. Fiona Tronick doesn’t fall victim to all of the infuriating tropes you see with female leads. Instead, she’s a walking INFJ contradiction: Fractured mind with strong principles, anxiety-riddled yet brave, an over-thinker who gets lost in the big picture, and a real asshole who’s loyal to a fault. No super strength, super smarts, or super looks. Just human.
I started this story several years ago and over time it evolved into something deeper, more sinister, and pertinent in today’s world, but I believe it has the power to resonate with all generations. Because a strong female antihero set in a sinister Utopia provides the perfect backdrop for commentary on society, politics, religion, and what it actually means to have control.