Well, this is awkward.

I just saw the trailer for Jurassic World. I’ve talked about this before, but I feel I need to say something else, especially in light of my latest chapter.

For those who don’t know, I’ve been publishing a serial novel about a dinosaur zoo over at Geek Eccentric this year. It’s a project I started drafting eight years ago as a NaNoWriMo project.

I was obviously influenced by Michael Crichton (I read Jurassic Park and The Lost World as a kid and loved them), but the real inspiration was a dream which featured the basic points of the plot. It was different enough from Jurassic Park: I envisioned a mid-level amusement park that was already open, with resident dinosaurs that were no more of a threat than any wild animal in any zoo. In fact, the real threat in my book isn’t even a dinosaur. The real problem is owner’s penchant for genetically modifying animals.

Which is why, after seeing the trailer, I feel the need to write this post, because certain plot points I wrote are also in Jurassic World.

It’s funny, because I deliberately don’t pay attention to entertainment news in order to keep myself from being influenced on certain projects. In fact, I didn’t even think there would be another movie in the franchise, not after Crichton’s death, and certainly not the year my serial novel was running. (It’s not the first time I’ve been surprised on this project: a few months ago I learned that Disney actually has an attraction named DinoLand USA.)

There are still plenty of differences between my park and the one in the movies. Mine isn’t as fancy as Jurassic World; it’s basically Six Flags with dinosaurs, while Jurassic World is the Magic Kingdom with dinosaurs. It’s not a man-versus-nature story: my story is told from the point of view of someone who grew up with the park, and in fact the story is really her story.

Here’s the thing I want to get out there: I wrote my book a long time ago. The outline I’m working from was created almost a decade ago, and although I do tweak it when I write and edit my monthly chapters, I more or less know where the story is going and you know where it’s not going?

Anywhere close to Isla Nublar.