MIND CONTROL
EMPIRE
1. What inspired you to write your book? I
had been collecting information from the start of the 2000’s from the media
concerning phrasing, word choices, intonations of those word choices, meter,
and physical gestures. One of the first things I noticed about military
conflicts was that in certain media outlets, allied soldiers always “died”
whereas enemies were “killed.” I did a lot of thinking and research into
neurolinguistic programming because of that, and it became clear that there
were lots of methods for swaying audiences including what’s termed the
“Clinton Thumb,” the “new direction/nude erection” phrase, simple directives
repeatedly given between pauses in speeches … and then 9/11 hit, but I kept
paying attention. Much like the brainwashing of cults and the military,
everything followed a three-tiered approach to coercing compliance from the
populace. First was the initial shock and removal of normalcy, followed by the
exhausting repetition from every political corner that such carnage would
absolutely happen again, followed by repetition of simple, easily understood
orders, like, “Support our troops.” This pattern is represented throughout
time, on every continent when coercing a population to act. I wanted to people
to see what I was seeing, and that eventually culminated in this novel.
2. What is it about? Mind Control
Empire is a story of a near-future, post-American corporate landscape in
which the main character, Dr. Donald Isaacson, exists and works in the
military/intelligence community that survived the economic collapse. An old
buddy of his, also working in covert hypnosis and brainwashing, is found to be
the perpetrator of the deaths of ten senior stewards in the Mental Stewardship
program that seeks to calm the moods of the populace and motivate them to
action when they need to be mobilized. Because of those deaths, a manhunt is
begun, philosophies are challenged, power is examined, and more lives and minds
are lost. Ultimately, conscience is shown to not be a human weakness,
and Isaacson and humanity continue seeking a new, more humane understanding of
responsible control.
3. What do you hope will be the everlasting
thoughts for readers who finish your book? I would hope that as we travel
this path we’re making into the future, we don’t allow total digital
connectivity to steal our thoughts or our free will.
4. What advice do you have for writers? I
don’t care if this is a buzz kill; I totally believe the following: The vast
majority of people who want to write books will never get published.
They may finish half a book, get a single rejection and quit. Unless you write
because you have to, because there is no choice for you but to create worlds
and populate them from your perch outside of time, you’re going to have a very
hard time of it indeed. Every fear about your writing and every rejection you
receive needs to be something you consume to fuel the journey. Make your
frustration and anger force out perfect sentences against a Universe screaming
belittlement at you. And never forget that humankind can be kind, loving, and
wonderful, and it’s your duty to express that in the same way that a single
candle cannot be extinguished by a world of dark. If you’re meant for writing,
you can endure, but you will change on the inside.
5. Where do you think the publishing industry
is heading? For one, science fiction exists all around us and something new
and amazing pops up every day. Using your cell phone as a mirror is still
science fiction to me, even if it’s used in literary fiction. Same with
hoverboards, CRISPR-Cas9, 3D printed organs, synthetic blood, wounded
warriors-turned-cyborg, stem cell therapies … you name it. So as much derision
as science fiction is treated with, it will be the longest-lasting genre in
human history as long as no one starts dropping nukes, genetic bullets, or
exotic prion diseases. Publishing itself can do what it wants; I’ll just stick
to what I know and follow it into the future.
6. What challenges did you have in writing
your book? I didn’t have many challenges for this one. The world itself was
stolen from a previously unfinished manuscript of mine; the main character was
an amalgam of me and two other people. Norman Mailer had an aptly titled book, The
Spooky Art, and I have always been amazed by how spooky writing actually
is. Threads from the beginning magically resolved themselves into tapestries
seemingly without my input. Plot holes filled themselves. This book was a
natural outgrowth from my experience of having written almost a dozen other
manuscripts and having some semblance of how to structure and populate, but in
large part, it was almost being written by someone else. Perhaps my
subconscious? Maybe the coffee for wit and the wine for patience
7. If people can only buy one book this month,
why should it be yours? People should buy what they’re drawn towards,
period. But I think that during this particular month at the tail end of the
shameful, embarrassing Presidential campaigning, you might find out a whole lot
about the trained public behavior and speech patterns your candidate paid money
to learn.
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