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Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Interview with T.C. McCarthy and Giveaway - November 9, 2011

Please welcome T.C. McCarthy to The Qwillery as part of the 2011 Debut Author Challenge interviews. Germline, his debut novel, was published in August 2011 by Orbit.

TQ:  What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

T.C.:  The fact that I believe promise and hope press 44-magnums to their own heads, every day.

TQ:  Who are some of your favorite writers? Who do you feel has influenced your writing?

T.C.:  Michael Herr told it like it was; he trotted through the world with the likes of Tim Page and Sean Flynn, and when you read his work he brings you into an alternate reality of 1960s dope and war, protest and shit-storms. There's no point in reading the lies. I want truth -- from people who know when and where to use "fuck," how to use it as a verb, noun, AND an adjective, the same kind of people who scream "PEACE!" into cameras while swinging clubs and whose veins run with cranberry sauce. Herr influenced me to write Germline. Now I don't know who influences me.

TQ:  Are you a plotter or a pantser?

T.C.:  A trainwreck.

TQ:  Describe Germline (Subterrene War 1).

T.C.Germline is the understandable reaction to a decade of war. It's the future foretold by T.C. McCarthy, who can't tell the difference between a terorrist state and having to worry about who's reading his facebook page -- and who thinks that anyone who can tell the difference is the enemy.

TQ:  What inspired you to write Germline?

T.C.:  My head was rotting. Rot wouldn't have mattered except that it put me in a place where all I saw were the mold and infections in the heads of my counterparts, their words falling apart at the edges -- right at that spot where the ink meets the page. Nothing matters to most people except war, money, and politics, a fact that forced me to read the ass-end of what people call genre (if I wanted to read science fiction) where it became impossible to stomach another still-born Heinlein; happy, happy...happy, happy... and then the hero manages to kill everthing in some sterile conflict that ensures the dominance of white or blue civilization, 71A-Epsilon, just a few wormholes away from Tao-Tao-Magnificus. I wanted to eat the yellow snow; then I wanted to show everyone my grin when I swallowed.

TQ:  What sort of research did you do to create the Subterrene War world?

T.C.:  I had to ask myself if I wanted to expose a mental battleground -- one that would make some people sick, some people happy, and make some people feel like I'd been digging through their brain with a penlight and a broken shovel. I read and read, and drew from my experiences with studying foreign militaries, before finally deciding that only one thing mattered: depth. And that required stripping naked (metaphorically) to expose what it meant to be paranoid, terrified, and tired.

TQ:  Without giving anything away, what is/are your favorite scene(s) in Germline?

T.C.:  I love the opening scene, in which Oscar describes the antibacterial lube; you can't read something like that without thinking that you're in for some kind of ride. That's the moment where the safety bar slams down and there's no turning back unless you want to really embarrass yourself by screaming for the rollercoaster attendant and begging him to let you out. He won't. That's why it's so embarassing.

TQ:  Who was the easiest character to write and why? Hardest and why?

T.C.:  There's really only one character in Germline, and he was the easiest and hardest to write, both: Oscar Wendell. Oscar was easy to write because it's the one character I've created that came directly from my own experiences; he was difficult to write because he wouldn't let me tell lies, and forced me at gunpoint to tell it like it is, even when I wanted to flinch and gloss over.

TQ:  How many books are planned for the series?

T.C.:  Three books. Germline is obviously out there and for sale worldwide at all the major retailers. The other two are in the pipeline and coming soon to an outlet near you.

TQ:  What's next?

T.C.:  Book II will come out in March 2012, and is called Exogene; look out for it! I also have a short story going into the hardcopy edition of Story Quarterly (volume 45): "A.I.P." And I think Orbit will be digitally publishing one of my short stories, "A People's Army," in the near future. I keep updates at my website: www.tcmccarthy.com.

TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

T.C.:  Stop staring.


About Germline

Germline
The Subterrene War 1
Orbit, August 1, 2011
Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages

Germline (n.) the genetic material contained in a cellular lineage which can be passed to the next generation. Also: secret military program to develop genetically engineered super-soldiers (slang).

War is Oscar Wendell's ticket to greatness. A reporter for The Stars and Stripes, he has the only one way pass to the front lines of a brutal war over natural resources buried underneath the icy, mineral rich mountains of Kazakhstan.

But war is nothing like he expected. Heavily armored soldiers battle genetically engineered troops hundreds of meters below the surface. The genetics-the germline soldiers-are the key to winning this war, but some inventions can't be un-done. Some technologies can't be put back in the box.

Kaz will change everything, not least Oscar himself. Hooked on a dangerous cocktail of adrenaline and drugs, Oscar doesn't find the war, the war finds him.


About T.C. McCarthy

T.C. McCarthy has two dogs, a family, and a job.  His house smells funny - old. Sometimes the antenna on that Toyota works, sometimes it doesn't, and there's a problem with his hair (it keeps falling out).

T.C. has lived in lots of places (the SF Bay Area, Australia, and places he'd rather not mention) but he always seem to wind up back in the south because it's just like the third-world - except with good barbecue. And, he's a writer; his first novel is scheduled for publication in 2011.


T.C.'s Links

Website
Twitter
Facebook
Pharmacon (a blog)



The Giveaway

THE RULES

What:  One commenter will win a Mass Market Paperback copy of Germline (The Subterrene War 1) from The Qwillery.

How:  Leave a comment answering the following question:

Science Fiction or Science Fact?

Please remember - if you don't answer the question your entry will not be counted.

You may receive additional entries by:

1)  Being a Follower of The Qwillery.

2)  Mentioning the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter. Even if you mention the giveaway on both, you will get only one additional entry. You get only one additional entry even if you mention the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter multiple times.

3)  Mentioning the giveaway on your on blog or website. It must be your own blog or website; not a website that belongs to someone else or a site where giveaways, contests, etc. are posted.

There are a total of 4 entries you may receive: Comment (1 entry), Follower (+1 entry), Facebook and/or Twitter (+ 1 entry), and personal blog/website mention (+1 entry). This is subject to change again in the future for future giveaways.

Please leave links for Facebook, Twitter, or blog/website mentions. In addition please leave a way to contact you.

Who and When:  The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59pm US Eastern Time on Wednesday, November 16, 2011. Void where prohibited by law. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.

*Giveaway rules are subject to change.*

22 comments:

  1. Not entering, but T.C.'s a great author and a great dude. Hope more people get exposed to this book. I think it's tremendous.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hum... Science Fiction or Science Fact... Good Question..I would like to say science fiction. I like to think of the possibilities of what could be. You never know when science fiction can turn into science fact.

    flaca798 at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  3. never read this both genre, but i think i'm prefer science fiction



    eli_y83@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Science fiction but I do like to satisfy my curiousity with science fact.

    GFC follower
    Cambonified{at}yahoo{dot}com

    ReplyDelete
  5. I prefer science fiction.

    I'm a gfc follower.

    Skk25@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. I prefer science fiction.
    gfc; rogier

    rogcaprino[at]hotmail[com

    ReplyDelete
  7. I prefer science fiction
    Thanks for the giveaway!
    GFC: blackwolf
    darksiry(at)gmail(dot)com
    tweet: https://twitter.com/#!/PandoraSWolf/status/134346076642738176

    ReplyDelete
  8. I enjoy both, maybe science fiction. edysicecreamlover18@gmailDOTcom
    GFC Krystal Larson
    tweeted https://twitter.com/Icecream1891/status/134116356462362627

    ReplyDelete
  9. I prefer science fiction. This is a new to me author. I like the sounds of the book. It is going on my wishlist. Thanks for the chance.

    I am a follower
    sariahwalters at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  10. I would say science fiction.

    Generally new science requires a reader to have a scientific background. The best hard sci-Fi writers can take new doscoveries and inventions and explain them in simple words in their books.

    Thanks for the giveaway.

    Carol T

    buddytho {at} gmail DOT com

    +1 for comment
    +1 I follow via GFC - buddyt

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love science fiction, possibilities are endless.

    +1 Comment
    +1 Follower

    ReplyDelete
  12. I prefer Science Fiction. I think with that, there are still elements which are true science.

    +1 comment
    +1 follower

    Thanks,
    Tracey D
    booklover0226 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  13. Science fiction! It's so cool and I love it!

    GFc reading mind

    aliasgirl at libero dot it

    ReplyDelete
  14. Sci-fi, because the imagination is boundless and impossible.

    I have had your book in my TBR list for a while (most likely since I saw it posted on goodreads). After being reminded about it though I might have to bump it up a few places, it sounds like a book that will totally engross me.

    Good luck with the yellow snow.

    GFC follower Lexi
    eyesofblueice (at) gmail (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  15. OMG this book looks fantastic! I love science fiction, it doesn't matter how much fact is thrown in, but I want even the non-factual science to sound plausible, you know?

    ReplyDelete
  16. I do like science fiction but I like it to be believable so it must have some science fact.
    debby236 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  17. Science Fiction & Science Fact tend to merge. What is fiction can often become fact. I love the WHAT IF?? of Science fiction.

    GFC: Mary Preston

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

    ReplyDelete
  18. Germline looks really cool..
    I'm partial to both science fiction and science fact. It all depends on what mood I'm in, although science fact and fiction sometimes are not so different. Also, what was science fiction 25 years ago, may just be science fact now...
    MJB
    msmjb65 AT gmail DOT com
    +1 GFC as MJB
    +1 comment

    ReplyDelete
  19. I prefer science fiction over science fact :)

    GFC: Ifrah

    starlight023(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  20. I love science fiction so I would definitely choose that!! I like imagining things that are totally out of this world :)

    +1 comment
    +1 GFC follower
    +1 tweet: http://twitter.com/#!/jwitt33/status/134753783161950208

    jwitt33 at live dot com

    ReplyDelete
  21. i prefer fiction!.. science fact usually ends up with me looking most of the information up online afterwards.. lol

    alainala AT hotmail DOT ca

    +2 - comment and follow!!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Always Science Fiction...but it is still supposed to be at least partially based on some science facts...otherwise it's just technological fantasy (not that there's anything wrong with that :)).

    thanks!

    +1 comment
    +1 follower

    vinsarama[at]gmail[dot]com

    ReplyDelete