Gabe is a disenchanted twenty year-old that has been dragged down for most of his life by the bizarre legacy his deceased father left behind. At the age of seventeen, Gabe was contacted by government employees that once worked with his father, offering him an outrageous salary if he would take part in an effort to revitalize his father’s work. Bit by bit, Gabe discovers that the work his father was involved in was incredibly strange. His father was viewed by his peers as a mad scientist of sorts, dabbling in controversial projects concerning genetics manipulation, advanced space exploration, time travel, and ESP.
Cold Compass, the first book in the Everything Theory series, opens as Gabe is tasked with his first assignment as an unofficial member of a shadow organization known as the Center for Scientific Anomalous Research (CSAR). With the assistance of a CSAR official posing as an FBI agent, Gabe travels to the small town of Hasper, North Carolina where people are being killed by an ancient evil that lurks beneath the town. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Gabe learns that it could all very well be the result of one of his father’s failed studies.
Along the way, Gabe must also contend with the fact that he is beginning to see ghosts and is being hunted down by an enigmatic figure that calls himself Garrison Sleet. As he slowly unravels the mysteries of his father, Gabe slowly understands that even the evil lurking beneath Hasper is tied to not only his father’s work, but to some integral part of him as well.
Find out where to purchase the book at the end of the interview!
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Tell us a bit about the inspiration for Everything Theory.
I was watching an old episode of The Twilight Zone...the episode where a small passenger plane is found out a small-town airport and no one knows how it got there or who it belonged to. It had a very X-Files sort of vibe to it. I jokingly thought how Mulder and Scully would have wrapped that case up pretty quickly. And then my mind just sort of took off. I've made no secrets of my love for The X-Files. In many ways, Everything Theory is sort of my love letter to the show. To me, the most intriguing part of the entire series was the character development and the layers upon layers of conspiracies that all overlapped. All of this started stirring in a cauldron and eventually, Everything Theory was born.
Was there a specific moment that made you want to be a writer or did it just happen over time?
I knew I wanted to write after reading Clive Barker's Great and Secret Show. It's one of those books that stretches the imagination. I have never even considered that fiction could be so diverse and creative. So I very clumsily started trying to write. I then started studying it (both on my own and in high school). Eventually, it became the thing I wanted to do with my life.
What are your writing patterns like? Do you set aside a large chunk of the day for writing or is it more spaced out?
Regrettably, I don't have any real patterns. The only routine I have is that I always spend my lunch breaks writing (I haven't managed to securely write for a living yet, so I have the 9-5 thing to keep me afloat). But every now and then I'll get the strong urge to write feverishly. And when I feel that coming on, I do everything I can to schedule out a nice chunk of time. It's odd, actually. My writing tends to come in 30 minute trickles or 4-5 hour marathons.
Would you be friends/associate with the characters in Everything Theory? Why or why not?
A few...particularly Gabe, the lead character. As a matter of fact, as my wife was beta-reading it, she made the comment: "So I Gabe supposed to be you?" I hadn't even realized it until she pointed it out, but Gabe and I share a lot in common, right down to musical preferences and food cravings. As for the other characters in the book...I don't know. It's very hard to know who to trust in Everything Theory.
E-book or paperback? Why?
Personally, I prefer paperback. And I honestly don't know why. It's almost as if it's a more intimate reading experience. Still, I love the convenience and accessibility that e-readers offer.
Do you read the same kinds of books you write? If there are any differences between the two, what are they?
Most of the time, yes. But I am trying to branch out my reading list. A recent Barnes and Noble run had me pick up titles by Joyce Carol Oates and Cormac MacCarthy. But I still like most horror and supernatural stories. if there is one difference between what I write and what I read, it's that I do like it, on occasion, when subtle religious or spiritual overtones present themselves in a story. That's something I don't feel that I have mastered quite yet, so I stay away from such devices when writing.
What do you think is alluring about your book? Why should someone pick it up?
As I said, this book is basically my love-letter to The X-Files. Anyone who liked the creepiness of the monster-of-the-week episodes and the deep conspiracy plotting should find a comfortable place to rest in the pages of Everything Theory. Knowing that there would be obvious claims that I was writing an X-Files or even a Fringe knock-off, I have taken great care to make Everything Theory its own unique story. There are characters and settings that are special to the story. And, on occasion, the horror I grew up on pokes its head out in all of its brutal glory.
Do you find music inspirational when writing? If so, what kind of music inspired Everything Theory?
Absolutely. I am a music junkie. And, according to many, a music snob. I have to have music going when writing. Knowing that there was a certain mood I'd need to achieve in Everything Theory, I actually spent quite a few hours making a Spotify playlist specifically for it (those on Spotify can follow me and check it out; my username is ghosts_in_(parentheses) if interested). The playlist includes some fairly dark and gloomy artists:, but some serene instrumentals as well: Fever Ray, Radiohead, Carbon Based Lifeforms and so on. As a matter of fact, I think I probably listened to Carbon Based Lifeforms' Interloper roughly five thousand times while writing Book 1 of Everything Theory.
What is your greatest marketing tip for any struggling authors out there?
I honestly have no idea. I'm still trying to figure out this marketing side of things myself.
If you can tell us, what is it you're working on now?
I have wrapped up Book 2 of Everything Theory and will go through final edits soon. I have also started roughing out a first draft of Book 3. On the heels of that, I am also editing a poetry anthology and working on another novel outside of the Everything Theory universe.
And finally, everyone is so gaga over the idea of vampires vs werewolves. What two supernatural beings do you want to see do battle?
Huldufólk (Icelandic elves) and trolls. (Something I am actually working on...)
Thanks for stopping by, Barry, and the best of luck to you! And if you, gentle reader, are interested in buying Everything Theory: Cold Compass, here is where you can:
Amazon(Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Theory-Cold-Compass-ebook/dp/B006VUL3I6
Excellent interview, Barry and Jennifer.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading, Cate! :)
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