CONSPIRACY!
"Saving the world and still being a jackass"
A serialized novel by Valerie D'Orazio
"Conspiracy!" is about a mediocre comic book artist who falls down the rabbit hole and gets involved with New Age gurus, Nazis, telekinetics, and a mysterious peddler of soft-core fetish porn. Through these experiences, he grows as a person. That's my "soft pitch," at any rate. Any pitch, as you well know, must end with "and he grows as a person."
I started writing this novel in 2004, but upon reflection it is very reminiscent of the TV show "Chuck." Only (surprise) far, far darker. I was very influenced by the conspiracy theory sub-culture when writing this, and I would say the subject matter is more relevant now than it was back then.
My frame of mind by offering this as a free serialized eBook is as follows: I subscribe to the Kilgore Trout school of writing, in that I have a massive amount of fanciful narratives stuck in my brain, with need for an outlet. Kilgore Trout was paid a pittance by a variety of soft-core porn magazines for his short stories (which weren't porn but actual science-fiction; had he written porn, he might have actually made a good living). But he got the stories out there, in the form he wanted them to -- outlet created. Sometimes, you just need to do that. Of course, sometimes you just need to write "Race To Witch Mountain," collect your paycheck, and drink heavily. The key is balance.
That said, I'm offering this eBook as a free easy-to-print easy-to-read PDF, per chapter (or series of chapters). Email here to request chapter one . Then your name will be put on a list for Florida swampwater real-estate. Just kidding. There is far more to Florida than just swampwater.
* picture by modomatic on Flickr
I started writing this novel in 2004, but upon reflection it is very reminiscent of the TV show "Chuck." Only (surprise) far, far darker. I was very influenced by the conspiracy theory sub-culture when writing this, and I would say the subject matter is more relevant now than it was back then.
My frame of mind by offering this as a free serialized eBook is as follows: I subscribe to the Kilgore Trout school of writing, in that I have a massive amount of fanciful narratives stuck in my brain, with need for an outlet. Kilgore Trout was paid a pittance by a variety of soft-core porn magazines for his short stories (which weren't porn but actual science-fiction; had he written porn, he might have actually made a good living). But he got the stories out there, in the form he wanted them to -- outlet created. Sometimes, you just need to do that. Of course, sometimes you just need to write "Race To Witch Mountain," collect your paycheck, and drink heavily. The key is balance.
That said, I'm offering this eBook as a free easy-to-print easy-to-read PDF, per chapter (or series of chapters). Email here to request chapter one . Then your name will be put on a list for Florida swampwater real-estate. Just kidding. There is far more to Florida than just swampwater.
* picture by modomatic on Flickr
Are you worried in an "anxiety of influence" sort of way of the similiarities between your premise and Warren Ellis' Crooked Little Vein? I realize there might not be any commonality based on your comparison to Chuck, but the first thought that crossed my mind reading your first line was "Sounds like Crooked Little Vein"
ReplyDeleteAnd there is nothing more to Florida than swampwater.
I haven't had the pleasure of reading Ellis' book, but I will say that the general tone of "Transmetropolitan" was definitely an influence. But, also, so was "Candide."
ReplyDeleteYou know, it always confuses me when people refer to Kilgore Trout as if he was a real guy. I read it all the time, and I wind up questioning my own memory. "Wait. Was he a character? Didn't Vonnegut talk about him? Maybe he was a real guy that Vonnegut talked about!"
ReplyDeleteEvery time, I have to google his name to make sure I'm not going crazy.
"There is more to Florida than swampwater"
ReplyDeleteNo, there isn't. I would know, I lived there for almost 20 years.
Very cool. I appreciate how the descriptions and references are very unappoligetic character based as opposed to dumbing it down for the average reader. Are you aware of Jack Saunders? He's serialized like 70 books online. http://www.thedailybulletin.com/
ReplyDelete