Geoffrey Gluckman’s novel Deadly Exchange won an honorable mention at the L.A. Book Festival.
Showing posts with label Geoffrey Gluckman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Geoffrey Gluckman. Show all posts
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Author Interview: Geoffrey Gluckman
Geoffrey Gluckman is the author of Deadly Exchange. You can visit him at geoffreygluckman.com
NP: When did you first discover the writing bug?
GG: I was eight years old.
NP: How long have you been writing before you wrote Deadly Exchange?
GG: Most of my life, but more non-fiction, poetry, then short story.
NP: What is your next writing project about?
GG: The second novel is more a literary mystery dealing with women/men/sex. Also working on the sequel for Deadly Exchange.
NP: Does it also deal with questions of identity?
GG: Not really
NP: Do you plan to write more espionage thrillers?
GG: Yes, working on sequel to Deadly Exchange.
NP: How do you go about researching topics for your books?
GG: Lots of research, both talking to people in specific areas of interest, reading, visiting locales, and real-life experience, etc.
NP: Do you have any pointers about research and fiction writing?
GG: Well, that's a big topic. I presented to some writing groups on the topic of authenticity—facts in fiction. But I guess, write what you know is nice to follow.
NP: What writers do you admire?
GG: Camus, F.S. Fitzgerald, Graham Greene, E.A. Poe, Kafka (I have them listed on my Goodreads page because whenever someone asks me that my mind goes blank)
NP: What are your favorite books?
GG: The Stranger (Camus), The Castle (Kafka), Our Man in Havana (Greene), The Great Gatsby.
NP: Have you tried to interest mainstream publishing in Deadly Exchange?
GG: Yes, numerous rejections, then with TOR books they really liked it and had it for 18 months and we were in discussion about it. Then they decided they didn't want it and I had lost all that time, so I went the self route.
NP: How did you feel about that experience?
GG: Rejections are to be expected (especially being a nobody), but the experience with TOR was annoying. I've heard others had similar experiences with bigger houses. So it goes!
NP: How was your experience wish self-publishing?
GG: With iUniverse, it was horrible. I had to hire my own cover designer and they made errors (perhaps through the digital publising process) in the final draft that went to print. Typos appeared in that version that weren't in the final draft I sent to them.
NP: Why did you choose iUniverse rather than Lulu.com or even Amazon's Create Space?
GG: It seemed better than Lulu (from research), the latter wasn't available then.
NP: Are you planning on using the Amazon Kindle digital publishing option for Deadly Exchange?
GG: I'm looking into it. I'd like to see numbers on Kindle sales to see what the market is.
NP: What would you like to tell those writers out there who want to self-publish?
GG: Hmmm—buyer beware. Don't do it, if you can avoid it.
NP: Did you use any editing services?
GG: I had a private line editor.
NP: How did you promote your book, and what tips would you have for other writers?
GG: Social sites, book signing tour, speaking engagements, web promo. Tip: plan to stick with marketing for at least 2 years because there are so many books out there.
NP: You write in your bio that you were trained as an undercover agent. What about that experience, if anything, prompted you to write Deadly Exchange?
GG: I drew a lot from those years to write the authentic aspects about espionage/undercover work in the story.
NP: How close is Deadly Exchange to reality? Could a sinister corporation or some other shadowy group be using a device similar to the one you created in your book without anyone knowing it?
GG: If you read the ending note, the technology was perfected by the CIA in the 80s and used by them and other countries since. The extent of which is still classified.
NP: How would anyone know?
GG: It would be hard to discern. Invisible weaponry is very hard to detect. Google invisible weaponry—look for Katherine A. Fitz's work.
NP: Are there good guys in the secret recesses of the clandestine world, ready to step in and put an end to plots by bad actors?
GG: I don't think so. That is the responsibility of the citizenry, as in 'government by the people, for the people.' (At least, in the US) We, the people, need to take that responsibility back. But people tend to be very apathetic.
NP: In other words, who watches the watchers?
GG: The Watchmen (ha-ha). Originally it was Congress and the citizens.
NP: Why did you turn down the CIA?
GG: I had studied what they did and some things I just couldn't agree with and hence did not want to be a part of.
NP: Did it have to do with how it would change your identity?
GG: Unfortunately, that happened anyway, which I worked hard to alter. It took many years to reverse.
NP: How did you become immersed in the world of clandestine ops?
GG: I actually chose it.
NP: It seems that today, the general public is less suspicious of government than it was a decade ago. Do you think that the current cultural climate makes people less receptive to books like Deadly Exchange?
GG: Actually, they should be more wary because things are worse now then 10 or 20 years ago. The daily distraction provided to the general public is like the entertainment provided to the Romans as the empire was collapsing.
NP: Do you think that people today are more willing to overlook any potential problems, to relinquish choice and privacy for the sake of promises of security and prosperity?
Yes, and both are illusions. To paraphrase, a founding father's quote: one who gives up freedom for security, deserves neither.
NP: Your books poses some interesting questions about freedom and identity. How do we know that we are truly free and how do we know that the identity that we do have is really us?
GG: It takes quite a bit of listening to the inner voice that speaks within. Practice, practice. Begin by looking at all the conditioning of society, parents, religions, etc in your life and ask yourself is this really true for me?
NP: Can we ever become emancipated or is freedom simply a trade one ideology for another?
GG: Tough question. I suppose only you will find that answer for you. Like Bob Marley sang: "Emanicipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds."
NP: Do you mean to say that, as in Kabbalistic teaching, we create the world by how we chose to use the energy that we do have for good or evil?
GG: Yes, I guess that could be a summary. The ancients knew lots of information, much of which has been distorted by those who placed themselves in charge.
NP: And is freedom then the realization of this simple fact?
GG: Perhaps.
NP: When did you first discover the writing bug?
GG: I was eight years old.
NP: How long have you been writing before you wrote Deadly Exchange?
GG: Most of my life, but more non-fiction, poetry, then short story.
NP: What is your next writing project about?
GG: The second novel is more a literary mystery dealing with women/men/sex. Also working on the sequel for Deadly Exchange.
NP: Does it also deal with questions of identity?
GG: Not really
NP: Do you plan to write more espionage thrillers?
GG: Yes, working on sequel to Deadly Exchange.
NP: How do you go about researching topics for your books?
GG: Lots of research, both talking to people in specific areas of interest, reading, visiting locales, and real-life experience, etc.
NP: Do you have any pointers about research and fiction writing?
GG: Well, that's a big topic. I presented to some writing groups on the topic of authenticity—facts in fiction. But I guess, write what you know is nice to follow.
NP: What writers do you admire?
GG: Camus, F.S. Fitzgerald, Graham Greene, E.A. Poe, Kafka (I have them listed on my Goodreads page because whenever someone asks me that my mind goes blank)
NP: What are your favorite books?
GG: The Stranger (Camus), The Castle (Kafka), Our Man in Havana (Greene), The Great Gatsby.
NP: Have you tried to interest mainstream publishing in Deadly Exchange?
GG: Yes, numerous rejections, then with TOR books they really liked it and had it for 18 months and we were in discussion about it. Then they decided they didn't want it and I had lost all that time, so I went the self route.
NP: How did you feel about that experience?
GG: Rejections are to be expected (especially being a nobody), but the experience with TOR was annoying. I've heard others had similar experiences with bigger houses. So it goes!
NP: How was your experience wish self-publishing?
GG: With iUniverse, it was horrible. I had to hire my own cover designer and they made errors (perhaps through the digital publising process) in the final draft that went to print. Typos appeared in that version that weren't in the final draft I sent to them.
NP: Why did you choose iUniverse rather than Lulu.com or even Amazon's Create Space?
GG: It seemed better than Lulu (from research), the latter wasn't available then.
NP: Are you planning on using the Amazon Kindle digital publishing option for Deadly Exchange?
GG: I'm looking into it. I'd like to see numbers on Kindle sales to see what the market is.
NP: What would you like to tell those writers out there who want to self-publish?
GG: Hmmm—buyer beware. Don't do it, if you can avoid it.
NP: Did you use any editing services?
GG: I had a private line editor.
NP: How did you promote your book, and what tips would you have for other writers?
GG: Social sites, book signing tour, speaking engagements, web promo. Tip: plan to stick with marketing for at least 2 years because there are so many books out there.
NP: You write in your bio that you were trained as an undercover agent. What about that experience, if anything, prompted you to write Deadly Exchange?
GG: I drew a lot from those years to write the authentic aspects about espionage/undercover work in the story.
NP: How close is Deadly Exchange to reality? Could a sinister corporation or some other shadowy group be using a device similar to the one you created in your book without anyone knowing it?
GG: If you read the ending note, the technology was perfected by the CIA in the 80s and used by them and other countries since. The extent of which is still classified.
NP: How would anyone know?
GG: It would be hard to discern. Invisible weaponry is very hard to detect. Google invisible weaponry—look for Katherine A. Fitz's work.
NP: Are there good guys in the secret recesses of the clandestine world, ready to step in and put an end to plots by bad actors?
GG: I don't think so. That is the responsibility of the citizenry, as in 'government by the people, for the people.' (At least, in the US) We, the people, need to take that responsibility back. But people tend to be very apathetic.
NP: In other words, who watches the watchers?
GG: The Watchmen (ha-ha). Originally it was Congress and the citizens.
NP: Why did you turn down the CIA?
GG: I had studied what they did and some things I just couldn't agree with and hence did not want to be a part of.
NP: Did it have to do with how it would change your identity?
GG: Unfortunately, that happened anyway, which I worked hard to alter. It took many years to reverse.
NP: How did you become immersed in the world of clandestine ops?
GG: I actually chose it.
NP: It seems that today, the general public is less suspicious of government than it was a decade ago. Do you think that the current cultural climate makes people less receptive to books like Deadly Exchange?
GG: Actually, they should be more wary because things are worse now then 10 or 20 years ago. The daily distraction provided to the general public is like the entertainment provided to the Romans as the empire was collapsing.
NP: Do you think that people today are more willing to overlook any potential problems, to relinquish choice and privacy for the sake of promises of security and prosperity?
Yes, and both are illusions. To paraphrase, a founding father's quote: one who gives up freedom for security, deserves neither.
NP: Your books poses some interesting questions about freedom and identity. How do we know that we are truly free and how do we know that the identity that we do have is really us?
GG: It takes quite a bit of listening to the inner voice that speaks within. Practice, practice. Begin by looking at all the conditioning of society, parents, religions, etc in your life and ask yourself is this really true for me?
NP: Can we ever become emancipated or is freedom simply a trade one ideology for another?
GG: Tough question. I suppose only you will find that answer for you. Like Bob Marley sang: "Emanicipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds."
NP: Do you mean to say that, as in Kabbalistic teaching, we create the world by how we chose to use the energy that we do have for good or evil?
GG: Yes, I guess that could be a summary. The ancients knew lots of information, much of which has been distorted by those who placed themselves in charge.
NP: And is freedom then the realization of this simple fact?
GG: Perhaps.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Have you made the deadly exchange?
DEADLY EXCHANGEby Geoffrey Gluckman
Published by iUniverse 2007
Available on Amazon.com
Jennifer Chance is not the person she thinks she is. Apparently an über successful motivational speaker, Chance is more than a corporate drone without a life outside her job. She is a person whose past has been erased five years ago through a combination of drugs and mysterious electronic frequencies by a sinister cabal in control of a nefarious technology, a technology that they plan to use on the public at large under the guise of a workplace enhancement technology. Their goals are simple—to hold America hostage, and the world. If you like the FOX Dollhouse series, you'll probably enjoy the ideas behind Geoffrey Gluckman's Deadly Exchange, a rather frightening entry in the mind control genre of thriller. But Deadly Exchange is more than just a thriller. It is also a warning.
Despite the drugs and the transmitter she wears constantly on her person, Chance's artificial persona begins to crack after she reads a mysterious line in an obscure book. This seems to trigger a personal crisis for Chance, one she decides to deal with by requesting a break from her work. This request does not go over well with her handlers, but they reluctantly accommodate her, setting in motion a chain of events that makes them wish they hadn't been so understanding, for it brings her in contact with someone from her past, a man the cabal spent a great deal of effort making her forget.
Frank Revere is still blaming himself five years after the loss of his beloved Sarah in an apparent hit-and-run. One of the more troubling aspects of the event was the mysterious disappearance of her body, a fact that Frank could never resolve. The need to take care of some last unfinished business brings him to San Diego, where he meets Jeniffer Chance and the two begin a relationship, both unaware that they have a common past that had been taken from them by a malignant cabal.
People as playthings of sinister, shadowy powers manipulated into doing things that they would not otherwise contemplate doing, stolen memories, and frequencies that kill make for a fascinating and scary scenario underlying Deadly Exchange. One question that always suggests itself in those types of books is whether or not the characters ever free themselves from these sinister manipulations. They do face very clever and resourceful foes that seem to be way ahead of them at the start. Can Jennifer Chance regain her past? And will she be able to live a life of freedom, once she does? Eventually, she and Frank will have to take on the unsavory characters at the heart of the murderous conspiracy whose aim is to hold the world hostage with a mind-altering electronic frequency weapon if they hope to ever be free. Good thing they have help from men like Peter Wellington and others with the skills and knowledge to go up against the Director's cabal.
Fast moving, filled with realistic action and dialog, based on careful research and clever extrapolation, Deadly Exchange is a riveting spectacle of thrills and chills that comes with a heart and soul, filled with hope that true love is never lost and that there are greater powers at work in the universe than the plots of men who dwell in the houses of clay. More than just some thriller you put away after a reading, it is also a warning about making bargains with personal freedoms, deadly exchanges that in the end produce a bitter harvest.
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