Euphoria/Dysphoria
Michelle
Browne and Nicolas Wilson
Genre: Science Fiction/dystopian
biopunk
Date of Publication: 11/20/2014
ISBN:
ASIN:
Number of pages: 252
Word Count: 63,000 words
Cover Artist: Katie de Long
Book Description:
Execution above or extinction
below...
“Please help me. I'm pregnant.”
A chance encounter with a
fugitive has turned Christine's life into a nightmare.
Survival is hard enough in the
poverty-stricken streets of the Lower Blocks, and this woman is far from the
first to flee the Engineers who oversee the City. But now Christine's a target:
hunted by the aristocracy, her future uncertain, and past laid bare. And a
person with Christine's powers can't afford to be caught.
Humanity built the Foundation to
elevate themselves from the poisoned earth, but Christine and Ilsa must choose
whether to descend to hell below, or remain in hell above.
From
post-apocalyptic authors Nicolas Wilson (Homeless), and Michelle Browne (The
Underlighters) comes Euphoria/Dysphoria, a biopunk dystopia.
Excerpt
“Don’t walk too
fast, don’t avoid peoples’ eyes, and remember—if anyone asks where you should
be, the factory on this Level is a few buildings away from the shelter. If you
backtrack a bit, you can lose them and then keep moving. They won’t expect to
find you on another Block, so aim for the bridge to the west.” Some part of
Christine hoped that she might conclude her lesson with, “And now, I’ve helped
you more than I should’ve, so don’t look for more.”
She knew,
logically, that the frightened woman had already signed her up for Service, and
that even ditching her now wouldn’t keep Christine in the Engineers’ good
graces.
About the Authors
Michelle
Browne:
Michelle Browne is a sci
fi/fantasy writer from Calgary, AB. She has a cat and a partner-in-crime. Her
days revolve around freelance editing, jewelry, phuquerie, and nightmares. She
is currently working on the next books in her series, other people's
manuscripts, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.
She is all over the internet, far
too often for anyone’s sanity, and can be found in various places.
Nicolas
Wilson:
Nicolas Wilson is a published
journalist, graphic novelist, and novelist. He lives in the rainy wastes of
Portland, Oregon with his wife, four cats and a dog.
Nic's work spans a variety of
genres, from political thriller to science fiction and urban fantasy. He has
several novels currently available, and many more due for release in the next
year. Nic's stories are characterized by his eye for the absurd, the off-color,
and the bombastic.
For information on Nic's books, and
behind-the-scenes looks at his writing, visit www.nicolaswilson.com
Interview
Where are you from? Michelle is from Calgary, in
Canada, and Nicolas hails from Portland, Oregon.
Tell us your latest news?
Michelle: I’m about to release a second book, After
the Garden, which is the first in the Memory Bearers Saga. After that, The
Meaning Wars, the third book in the series of the same name, will be out
some time next year. I’ve also been occupied with line-editing—my company,
Magpie Editing, has been quite busy!
Nic: Euphoria/Dysphoria, obviously, but also
the impending release of Nexus 2: Sins of the Past, the second book in
my space opera trilogy.
When and why did you begin writing?
Michelle: I think the most defining moment was probably
related to a story-prompt exercise in fourth grade. I came up with this story
focused on a girl on a Martian colony, and I remember the teacher and the class
rapt and keenly interested, listening to my words. It was a powerful high, and
my experiments with fiction were sporadic after that, until about seventh
grade—but it was still the spark.
Nic: I began writing as a kid. My parents were in the middle
of a turbulent divorce, and my brother occupied most of their remaining time,
so immersing myself in stories seemed like a good way of staying out of
peoples' hair.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Michelle: Hm. I didn’t consider myself a writer
properly until I’d published my first book two years ago—when I was an author.
But really, I became a writer when stories kept creeping in, haunting and
enticing me, and when I found I couldn’t stop writing them.
Nic: On some level, I still don't really consider
myself one. I'm fortunate to have a good support network who help me with the
little authorly tasks that can weigh a guy down. I don't really go back to look
at the finished product, or the paperbacks on the shelf, so I have a mental
distance from it. I write- an insane amount. But I don't really feel like a
writer. Of course, with the changes to the publishing industry, I don't think
“writer” means what it used to, even for those signed with traditional
publishers.
What inspired you to write your first book?
Michelle: My first book—which is in the process of
heavy rewrites—was the result of a dream about a maze and a strange VR game. My
first published book just sort of happened when I stumbled across a character,
fully formed, and had to write her story. That book, And the Stars Will Sing,
is currently available but will be re-released next year.
Nic: I wrote short stories for years, as well as
working as a journalist, before I ever touched a novel. That first novel, Dag,
was a science fiction-- really, most of the way to a biopunk-- thriller
inspired by an environmental literature class I was in at the time. I found
that a lot of the stories showcased in that class focused on some aspects of
environmentalism or 'green' fiction, but not others, so I wrote Dag as a
way of working through some of the ideas and perspectives I thought were
missing. Plus sexually attractive vegetables. To be fair, genetically modified
humans with large amounts of corn DNA.
Do you have a specific writing style?
Michelle: I used to be an inveterate pantser, but
nowadays I actually like to plan and outline with idea maps before I start
writing. Then, while I write, I keep an Excel spreadsheet and use that to track
my characters and plot details. It really helps with continuity. Other than
that, I run on large quantities of black tea.
Nic: Yep. My works have a distinct personality
inspired heavily by Hunter S. Thompson's brand of minimalism. Euphoria/Dysphoria
has stretched me a bit in softening those hard edges, but was a great one to
work on to stretch my creative wings. Surreal visuals, lots of swearing and
banter, and the kind of memorable violence that makes my wife look at me with
that “they're going to find my body in the laundry room someday, aren't they?”
look are all part-and-parcel to my work.
How did you come up with the title?
Nic: When we were brainstorming the initial story
concept, and I wanted to send a word file summary of it, it had to have a name.
Especially a name that had something evocative enough I could find it later,
among hundreds of other brainstorming files. I saved it as Euphoria.Dysphoria,
focusing on the overall mood of our brainstorming, and Michelle said “eh, that
works” (Or something akin. I'll let her answer the rest of that). I usually
find titles before I find stories, anyways. It makes it easier to visualize the
end work, when you have an idea of what aspect you want the title to be
highlighting.
Michelle: I found the title really evocative. I like
the structure of euphoria/dysphoria and utopias versus dystopias. I thought it
was a pun, but also one that alluded to the varying mental states and
impairments the characters undergo on their poisonous journey.
Is there a message in your novel that you want
readers to grasp?
Michelle: A message? Uh…*rifles through file of
fortune cookie sayings* uh…follow your own true north for great financial
success. No, wait! Treat yourself to a vacation. No, no…how about this—love
makes things suck less and can even ridiculous odds. That’ll do. Let’s say
that.
Nic: Mmmkay... Drugs are bad... Drugs are bad,
mmmkay?
How much of the book is realistic?
Michelle: Sorry, I can’t read this question through
my mask. The lens is kind of dirty. Also I need to get back to you—there’s a
giant rat behind me, and…
Nic: A disturbing amount of the food. We spent
ungodly amounts of time discussing the particulars of eating insects, rats,
cannibalism. We had to build a society with minimal agriculture, access to
clean water, no traditional hunting, etc.
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events
in your own life?
Michelle: Mmm, some of the hallucinations sort of
borrow from my nightmares. But that’s the nature of the beast with writing
horror. I’m fond of urban exploration, though, and the setting definitely
reflects that love of broken things and lost places. I’m bisexual, but I’ve
never been pregnant or a felon on the run for my life, so take that for what
it’s worth.
Nic: Not especially. I'm a childfree, non-lesbian
man who has never eaten rat or insect. Never even been high. I'm boring that
way. But the best fantasy/scifi isn't always rooted in experience-- it's rooted
in possibility or extrapolation. It's a more descriptively atmospheric (Pun
intended- ah crapspackle. That probably doesn't make sense yet.) mise-en-scene
than I'm used to writing. But it kinda has to be. The setting wouldn't have
been claustrophophobic otherwise.
What books have most influenced your life most?
Michelle: Happiness ™ by Will Ferguson. Oh,
man. This book made me who I am today in so many ways. I think Neil Gaiman’s
books—please don’t make me choose—have had a really strong effect on my writing
style; Margaret Atwood also comes to mind, and if I tell you about my other
favorite authors, we’ll be here all day. 1984 by Orwell was also the
right book at the right time in high school. Suffice to say that I got the idea
early on that science fiction and dark fantasy didn’t have to require a
sacrifice in prose quality.
Nic: Not to be flip, but my own. I'm a very slow
reader, and early on I realized that writing is more satisfying for me than
reading. I don't get to read other writers very much- not enough time. The
writing process itself is a huge part of how I process the day-to-day of the
world. But to answer the spirit of the question, Hunter S. Thompsons works,
Garth Ennis' works, Warren Ellis' works. They were all so good at infusing
themselves, all of themselves, into their works that it's impossible to
evaluate the works without evaluating them, and vice versa. I always found that
kind of legacy tremendously inspiring.
If you had to choose, which writer would you
consider a mentor?
Michelle: Probably Margaret Atwood, but after I
embarrassed myself in front of her as a teenager, I…kinda have to change that
answer. Chuck Wendig and Neil Gaiman for distant mentors; Katie de Long and Zig
Zag Claybourne are close mentors, whom I speak to regularly.
Nic: Writing has always been a pretty solitary
thing, for me. I didn't really have a lot of writers mentoring me. I guess you
could say Stephen King, because I studied sections of On Writing pretty
intensely, but even that's kind of a cheat since I didn't finish the book.
What book are you reading now?
Michelle: The Dragonbone Chair—I’m almost
done. I’ve also got a gigantic Charles Dickens anthology that I’m slowly
working my way through, a fat Steampunk anthology, John Dies at the End
by David Wong, By All Our Violent Guides by C. E. Young, You by
Austin Grossman, and, uh, I’ve got a lot of stuff to edit from other authors.
Nic: Bearing in mind my answer to the question, a
few up, it's Tad Williams' The Dragonbone Chair. I've been reading it for what, two, three
years? I'm a few hundred pages in, and the story just started getting good, but
I haven't gotten very far. I'm told it's a must-read, but it's not quite there
yet. The repetition of the answer in this is kinda lighting strike, so I have
to ask- Michelle, did my wife steer you to that book, too? Kinda freaky
coinkydink.
Michelle: Proof that fans' word of mouth is the most
amazing support an author can have. And yeah- you nailed the recommendation
vector. She was pretty forceful that I had to read it.
Nic: Forceful, heh. Sounds about right.
Are there any new authors that have grasped your
interest?
Michelle: SO many! Joseph Picard is a good one. He’s
not new, but John Green is a recent favorite. J.C. Eggleton is somewhat new,
and he’s quite fantastic. Corinne Kilgore is also a favorite—though I’ve been
reading her for a bit. I’ve also got some Milton Davis and Tananarive Due books
that I’m itching to sink my teeth into.
Nic: Some. I've been fortunate to participate in a
few multi-author anthologies recently, and that's turned me on to a lot of
scifi authors I never would have heard of otherwise. Wouldn't call them new,
but they're new to me. Samuel Peralta, MeiLin Miranda, Jason Gurley, Zig Zag
Claybourne, among others.
What are your current projects?
Michelle: After the Garden is in final
revisions—that’s another post-apocalyptic story. The Meaning Wars is in
progress—first draft mode, though. And I have more short stories than a stray
cat has kittens.
Nic: I've got ten balls in the air at any given
time. I just finished serializing Next of Kin, a cyperpunk dystopia, for
National Novel Writing Month, but that means that rewrites are still ahead of
me. I've also got about seven other novels halfway through rewrites, including
two sequels. I write fast, and rewrite much slower. But I hope to
introduce you all to Nexus 2, Lunacy, The Singularity, and
Kindred Spirits very soon. Blurbs for all are on my website, and even
first drafts of some of them. I like walking around in my writerly birthday
suit like that. And, of course, my mailing list is always a great way of
finding out the moment something is available for devouring, readerly eyes.
(Notice the importance of that comma.)
What would you like my readers to know?
Michelle: I can’t attest to this personally, but our
research suggests that rats are much more delicious than you’d think.
Apparently they’re good with garlic, and they have a slight “warm tortilla”
aroma. That said, the hallucinogens in Euphoria/Dysphoria are a result
of pollution in the air, so if you get curious about that part of the book, I
wouldn’t indulge it. Now that you’re slightly queasy and a little unnerved,
you’re in the perfect mood to read this book.
Nic: Euphoria/Dysphoria is pretty dark, and
not for the faint of heart. It has scary things in it and mature language. And
lesbians. I only say this because I'm practicing the warning I'll offer my mom
when I give her a copy of it. And it has an incredibly disturbing diet; that's
the disclaimer I should have given my wife before she got her eyes on
it. Apparently I need to work on my disclaimers. It's a fun and trippy ride,
though. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed working with
Michelle to write it.
Tour
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