077: The Active Conspiracy
It's turning into a gorgeous Saturday -- most of the early fog has burned off the water and I can almost see the white caps of the Cascade Range off to the east. My office is downstairs and the only window I have looks out at the cracked and weather-beaten planks of the fence separating our yard from the neighbors. This is the reason I have my desk facing the opposite wall.
However, this morning I'm on Baby Watch and I'm upstairs at the dining room table and the view from either window up here is the "limited water view" which our property assessment reads. The days have become noticeably longer as well. Sunrise happens near the beginning and end of my daily train commute; we no longer travel in darkness up the valley to Seattle.
As you can well imagine, the solitary act of writing is tough to accomplish in environments like this. We need our dark holes in which to craft our magic. You never imagine the alchemist's laboratory as having 360 degree floor-to-ceiling windows or an expansive deck which looks out across water or lush forests. You always think of dark cells, bleak dungeons, underground laboratories, forgotten oubliettes and barricaded garrets when you imagine where the creative process takes place.
Conspiracy theorists have the same trouble. No one really believes them during the daytime. There's no place for monsters to hide in sunlight. Subterfuge and evil machinations can't go out during the daytime, we tell ourselves. Following the byzantine threads of an ancient plot to control our minds and our souls is impossible against a backdrop of spring flowers and bright afternoons.
There's a conspiracy at the heart of THE BOOK OF LIES. Naturally. There's more than one, actually, and I'm sitting here in the warm sunlight, trying to think like a conspirator. But it's tough. It's a good day to do very little, which is exactly the attitude THEY want me to have.
If there is an agency whose raison d'etre is to control the minds and spirits of the population and the population is fairly content with their lot in life, could you actually consider the actions of this agency to be a conspiracy? Against what? If we don't care that we're being controlled, then aren't we tacitly agreeing to being participants in their plan? Is "conspiracy" simply then just "policy"?
And, if someone stumbles upon this "policy" and decides that it is wrong and must be overthrown, then aren't they the conspirators?
writing
This is a reasonably comprehensive list of my published work, both virtual and physical.
THE MISFIT LIBRARY
I am Nine of Thirteen, one of the members of the Misfit Library, a writing collective which puts out a quarterly journal of our respective work. We are scattered across the globe and determined to change the face of the planet one story at a time. The link above will take you to Misfit Central where you can acquire copies of the journal as well as read exclusive online material.
SYMBOLIC
I wrote a column for OPi8.com's Transmit blogs: journals of the new dark underground. SYMBOLIC tracked the novel I was working on, referencing the process and the research materials which mad up the backbone of the work. In addition, SYMBOLIC busied itself with ruminations and considerations on the nature of language and communication. And a wee bit of mythology. The first 100 entries of SYMBOLIC can be found here on this site as well as at OPi8.com.
LITERARY REPRESENTATION
I am represented by Scribe Agency as my literary agents. Please contact these gentleman if you have any queries about my work.