Swarm
Guy Garcia is an award-winning author, journalist, Internet
entrepreneur and commentator on social and demographic trends. He is the author
of the novels “Skin Deep” and “Obsidian Sky.” His nonfiction books include “The
New Mainstream” and the New York Times bestseller, “Self Made” (with
Nely Galan). A co-founder of the pioneering urban web site, Total New
York, he has been a contributor for Huffington Post, The
National Journal, NPR and PBS, and his work has been included
in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone,
Time, Fortune, and more.
1. What really inspired you to write your book, to force you from
taking an idea or experience and conveying it into a book?
The seed for Swarm occurred
late one night when I happened upon a cable science program about new
research into the biology behind locust swarms. I was fascinated to learn
that ordinary grasshoppers and marauding swarms of ravenous locusts
are actually the same animal. Under certain extreme
conditions, including lack of food and crowding, a rise of the serotonin
level in grasshopper brains triggers a morphogenic reaction where
they become aggressive, sexually promiscuous, and physically
transform into bigger, meaner members of a single collective hive mind. I
had already been thinking about how social media was changing human
behavior and aggregating our online personas into a massive network of
proto-emergent consciousness. As I researched the latest advances in
mind control experiments by the U.S. government and others, the plot and
characters all began to flow and twine together.
2. What is it about and whom do you believe is your targeted
reader?
Swarm is a fast-paced high-tech
thriller that melds technology and hacktivist culture with primal
human urges and social forces that may or may not trigger the next
phase of human evolution. There is a mystery at the heart of this
cautionary tale, but part of the surprise is how much of the events and
technology in Swarm actually exist today. No matter how
far-fetched some of the things that happen in Swarm seemed, I
felt that reality was chasing right behind me. This book is for anyone who
loves science-fiction, mystery thrillers, and stories that use fictitious
scenarios to reveal a deeper truth.
3. What do you hope will be the everlasting thoughts for readers
who finish your book? What should remain with them long after putting it down?
Technology is moving faster than
we can absorb it - and some of the same innovations that make our lives easier
also bring new dimensions of uncertainty and danger. As technology blurs the
lines between reality and fantasy, past and future, right and wrong, we must
find the courage to protect and assert our humanity. There is a lot of noise
about machines owning the future, but I'm still betting on the durability and
evolutionary potential of our own species. Without a human heart beating inside
every digital step forward, without human emotions and needs and dreams linking
us all together, magical machines have no value and no future. And when new
technologies and products ask permission for access to our brains, we should
take a long collective breath and make sure we're not giving away something
that can never be taken back.
4. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers?
Do not underestimate the
value of small random tidbits of information that catch your attention and
tickle your imagination. Write them down, text them to yourself. Keep them
in a folder and when the folder gets fat and heavy, you'll know it's time
to think about writing a book. And don't be afraid to revise - it won't hinder
the genius of what you've already written – to the contrary. I revised Swarm ten
times over four years. When you're making improvements that are
so minuscule nobody, else will ever notice – that’s the signal it's time
to publish and move on.
5. What trends in the book world do you see and where do you think
the book publishing industry is heading?
We are in a golden age of storytelling.
The hunger for compelling narratives of every kind
is insatiable, stoked by the same forces that are squeezing the
traditional publishing industry. Writing books and nothing else is great work
if you can get it. But the opportunities --and demands-- of social
media, video, virtual and augmented reality are something that every
writer needs to take seriously. But good writing remains at the core.
I recently shared a virtual reality clip of Swarm VR Experience at
the Sundance Film Festival. It definitely raised the profile of the book
and allowed me to try my hand at intriguing new platforms for
immersive storytelling. Still, if the novel at the heart of it all wasn't
sturdy and true, none of those flashy high-tech extensions would
matter.
6. What great challenges did you have in writing your book?
Swarm is novel, but I researched it as much as any of
my non-fiction books. It was a challenge to make sure that the trove of
information never overwhelmed the human dimension of the story, but the
personal passions behind big ideas ended up being the book's moral compass and
subliminal message.
7. If people can only buy one book this month, why should it be
yours?
Swarm is Orwell's 1984 updated for
the Age of Trump. It's a thrill-ride exploration of the convergence of
technological, social and biological forces that are raising the stakes and
shocking the system of every person on this planet. Grounded in
techno-moral conundrums as familiar and unnerving as tomorrow's headlines,
it is a searing cyclorama of a world groping for meaning
and redemption in the maw of the imminent now.
For
more information, please see www.ownyourmind.org
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Brian Feinblum’s views,
opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his
employer. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him
at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the
third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog 2017©. Born and
raised in Brooklyn, now resides in Westchester. Named one of the best book
marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs
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