Interview: Anderson O'Donnell (Kingdom)

The time has come! I'm interviewing Anderson O'Donnell on my blog today as part of the blog tour he is on hosted by Hannah over at Once Upon A Time. If you'd like to know more about him or his book, don't forget to check out his website.

The Interview

Nyx Book Reviews: Hi Anderson, welcome to Nyx Book Reviews! Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Anderson: Hi! First, I want to thank Nyx for having me. I know a lot of time goes into your reviews, and I appreciate your granting Kingdom some space.

As for me, I live in the U.S. (the state of Connecticut, to be exact) with my wife and son. Kingdom is my debut novel, and the book in my Tiber City trilogy. Oh, and I love music—and punk in particular. The Clash, the Pistols, The Libertines…I could talk punk rock and dystopian fiction all day long…

Your book, Kingdom, is described as biopunk. That sounds creepy. What should we expect from it?

Biopunk has a lot in common with the more-familiar “cyberpunk” genre: the dystopian cities, the overreliance on technology, the anti-heroes struggling against a rigid world order enforced by mega corporations and faceless governments—all that sort of very uplifting stuff! But the key to biopunk is that, while cyberpunk focuses on the technological modification of the human body, biopunk considers the consequences of biological modification.

I gravitated to the biopunk genre because it allows for a discussion of what it means to be human. Cyberpunk modifications tweaked our humanity; I think the coming biotech revolution is going to re-define our humanity. And that, to me, is incredibly creepy.

What kind of research did you do before writing your book?

At first, not enough! But I quickly realized that, if I was going to tell this story right, I needed to know more about genetics. Granted, I didn’t need to be an expert—I just needed to know that I could talk about my ideas without making a total ass of myself. So I took a crash course in genetics. And by that I mean familiarizing myself with some concepts and terminology so I could the reader enough confidence to suspend disbelief—to lose themselves in my world.

Your book is self-published. Was this a conscious decision?

Yes. When I first started out, my goal was to publish via one of the traditional, mainstream houses. All my heroes were traditionally published authors, so it seemed the way to go. But as I learned more about where publishing was heading, and the opportunities available to indie writers, I began to consider self-publishing. Ultimately, I turned down a publishing contract. While I would never rule out traditional publishing, I’m determined to explore the different and exciting opportunities offered through self-publishing.

Is there a message that you would like people to get from your books?

Absolutely: There is more to this world than is readily apparent.

Do you still find time to read yourself? If so, what books have you read lately that you particularly recommend?

As Stephen King once said, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time to write.” And so, I’m borderline obsessed with reading—for pleasure, of course, but also as part of my writing. I find that reading is essential to honin my own craft…and it also inspires me: When I read a book that blows me away, I get pissed off that I didn’t write something as good—its almost like a challenge (granted, one I don’t feel I ever meet). Its inspiring, to see another author doing amazing things with the craft. It can push me to work harder, to go that extra mile, even if I’m tired and would rather still be in bed.

Thank you for answering my questions! (:

Thank you for hosting a stop on the Kingdom Blog Tour 2012! I’m a fan of your reviews, and I’m honored to have this opportunity.

Tour

Kingdom Blog Tour: Kick Off

Hi everyone, today I'm presenting the kick off post of the Kingdom Blog Tour, hosted by Hannah from Once Upon A Time. I'll be having an interview with the author soon, and there's even a Kindle giveaway! Here is the author's introduction to the tour.

The Tour

Welcome to day one of Anderson O’Donnell’s “Kingdom” blog tour!

First off, I want to thank each and every blogger who graciously agreed to join the tour. And a special thank you to Hannah Richardson for helping me organize this tour—she has been tremendous.

Now, about the tour itself: Beginning today, and running through July 3rd, the
Kingdom blog tour will feature reviews, interviews, guest posts, giveaways, and a few other surprises—including an international contest to win a Kindle Fire.

The blog tour is being conduced to promote Kingdom, a dystopian, biopunk-thriller, and the first part of the Tiber City Trilogy.

Most people are familiar with the term “cyberpunk,” but “biopunk” is harder to nail down. In many ways, biopunk is similar to the cyberpunk genre, and shares many of the same themes and archetypes: the dystopian future; the overreliance on technology; mega-corporations; a constant and overwhelming flow of data; the anti-hero—these elements are integral parts of both genres. And both genres are fueled, to some extent, by the sense of rebellion and desire for individual freedom expressed by the original punk rock revolution. But the main difference—the most important difference—is that while cyberpunk focuses on invasive technological modification of the human body, biopunk explores the dehumanizing consequences of biological modification, of re-arranging our DNA in the pursuit of perfection.

And it’s these consequences that fuel the action in Kingdom.

Here’s a brief introduction to Kingdom:

In a secret laboratory hidden under the desert, a covert bioengineering project—codename “Exodus”—has discovered the gene responsible for the human soul.
Somewhere in the neon sprawl outside the nation’s collapsing economic core, a group of renegade monks are on the verge of uncovering a secret that has eluded mankind for centuries.
In a glittering tower high above the urban decay, an ascendant U.S. Senator is found dead—an apparent, yet inexplicable, suicide. And in the streets below, a young man races through an ultra modern metropolis on the verge of a violent revolution...closing in on the terrible truth behind Exodus—and one man’s dark vision for the future of mankind.


Welcome to Tiber City.

If you’re intrigued, you can grab a copy of Kingdom (paperback or Kindle format) over at Amazon. Or, if you’re still on the fence, check out the first four chapters at my website, Tiber City Noir.

And, if you’re interested in entering the Tiber City Kindle Fire Giveaway, you can enter the contest through the widget on the sites hosting this tour.

Thanks again for checking out the Kingdom blog tour.

Cheers,

Anderson

Giveaway

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