Virtual Book Tour Dates: 6/24/14 – 7/22/14
Genres: General Fiction, Literary, Thriller, SciFi, Musical
Tour Price: Free
Release Date: 6/24/14Blurb:
The Ruins of Tropicalia is a serialized, pulpy adventure story, accompanied by new music by indie rock n roll band The Amends.
Expanded Plot Summary: In early 2014, a group of Americans gathered on a remote Central American peninsula to experience the last days of an unsullied tropical paradise before its development into a corporate retreat for the world’s biggest tech company. Many of them believed they were there accidentally, but none of them were. This is the story of how a group of restless, indecisive idiot discovered who brought them there, and what they could be. This is the story of a country and a civilization few remember ever existed. This is the story behind the most mysterious mass Disappearance of the 21st century. This is a war story. And when things get bad, you rescue what you can…
Details: Two new chapters/episodes of TROT debut each week from 6/24/14 until its completion at the end of August, available for free in multiple formats (mobi/Kindle, EPUB, PDF, etc.) both online and on a mobile app. A new single from The Amends will premiere each Wednesday throughout TROT’s run at the above locations as well as http://theamendsband.com. A trailer for the book can be viewed on Youtube.
Excerpt:
Sam Merard doesn’t recognize the station names any more, but they must be deep into Queens. They’re out of the underground, elevated.
He checks the time on his phone. This isn’t right. They should have been to JFK at least fifteen minutes ago. He considers crossing the car to check the subway map, but he doesn’t want to chance Liz spotting him.
“Approaching Utnapishtim station,” a female voice announces through the rattly speakers.
Utna-what? The announcer’s voice was different, too. The train slows and screeches loudly to a stop. The doors slide open. Liz steps outside. Sam pauses his iPod, slips the earbuds back into his pocket, waits a few seconds again, and follows. The train rolls away behind him.
The platform stretches endlessly northeast. A solitary heat-lamp illuminates the stairs down to the street. Beyond that, darkness and infinity. Without looking behind her, Liz walks into the gloom. He follows.
Sam hears nothing but her footsteps. No car horns, no breaks, no drunken shouts, no anything. He peers over the edge of the platform, but has trouble seeing anything more of the city than dark, blurred outlines of buildings. This part of the city produces no light. No illumination behind the windows, no streetlights below. Nothing but shadows beyond the train platform.
He walks gingerly on the sides of his feet for what must be a mile.
The platform continues on past the point of credulity. Liz is not concerned with making noise. Whenever her faint outline disappears into the murk, he is still able to follow the sounds of her heels clicking against the wood.
A faint white light appears in the distance. Liz continues walking towards it, never altering her pace. The light splits into three distinct shapes. He makes out the profiles of three men— two wear white bio-suits and gas masks, the third dons a long white lab coat and surgical mask. A dim fluorescence emanates from their clothing.
Liz stops walking. Sam’s heart thumps, and he ducks behind a trash can. He peers over its edge.
The man in the lab coat approaches Liz. His coat is open, and an oddly-shaped, octagonal stethoscope bounces against his chest. Liz unfastens the top two buttons of her blouse. She offers him her chest. He places the diaphragm against her neck instead.
The scientist murmurs something to his colleagues, who stand side by side four feet behind him. One of them scribbles a note on a pad.
Sam hears their exaggerated breathing through their masks. The lead scientist reaches into his coat pocket and withdraws a portable blood pressure monitor. He straps it around Liz’s forearm. He pumps it, checks his watch, and mutters to the others again.
“Satisfied?” Liz asks.
“Somewhat,” the scientist answers in a gruff, muffled voice.
“Then give me what you promised,” she says.
Sam can’t help but notice again the lack of noise and smell and sight. It’s as if there is no city surrounding him.
One of the other scientists steps forward. He places a small cylindrical object to his throat, beneath his gas mask. When he speaks, the words come out robotic, metallic.
“After one more test,” He She or It says.
The second scientists pulls what looks like a neatly folded piece of paper from his back pocket. He unfolds it, bends down, and places it at Liz’s feet. It too gives off a faint glow. She steps upon it. The second scientist glances at the paper, checks a watch-like device on his wrist, and places the cylinder to his throat again.
He says to the note-taker, “Thirty-seven pounds. A new record.”
“Would ya look how special I am?” Liz says flatly.
The scientist in the lab coat asks, “Have you noticed anything different? Have you taken flight yet?”
Liz shakes her head. “Just give me the powder,” she says.Buy Links: Website
Mobile app/links coming soonAbout the Author:
Photo of The Amends, including TROT’s “curator”, Tyler Taylor (wearing the shark shirt).
After taking a temporary leave from his Colorado-based rock n roll band The Amends, Tyler Taylor was among the group who went to Central America, and witnessed the events described in The Ruins of Tropicalia. He edited and compiled the accounts of his fellow travelers into the main text of TROT. He and Amends lead singer/guitarist Drew Weikart worked to put some of the events to music, and the entire band (including bassist Chris Childress and drummer Shay Byington) recorded the eight new songs in April and May.
Connect With The Author:
The Foundations of The Ruins of Tropicalia
Post By Tyler Taylor
The Ruins of Tropicalia is a bit of an experiment. It’s a serialized novel-length adventure story that will be released (at least at first) only digitally, and it’s accompanied by the rock n roll music of my band, The Amends. However, one of the overarching themes of TROT is the importance of building any “new” creation on solid, well-tested foundations. For that reason, I’d like to talk about the various books which influenced me (and my fellow collaborators) in the construction of TROT.
The Big Book of Adventure Stories, Edited by Otto Penzler: I’m starting off with a bit of a cheat here, and using this as a catch-all for all the classic, pulpy, adventure stories I grew up loving—from Kipling to Stevenson to Burroughs to Robeson--and which serve as a major influence for The Ruins of Tropicalia. The most obvious connection is that TROT is serialized. And sometimes the characterizations, motivations, inner monologues, and backstories are merely prologue to the thrilling heroics. Sometimes you have to rescue what you can…
Stranger Things Happen, by Kelly Link: Magic realism, however elusive a true definition of it can be, has long been the most fascinating, unattainable literary genre. It wasn’t until I began reading Kelly Link’s odd, beautiful stories that I realized that the genre could be broadened beyond its Latin American roots. To me, the genre is about memory and perception, whether on a cultural or personal level. Link manages to wrap late-20th century pop culture and mythology around unique voices, creating miniature worlds that appear alien at first, but eventually reveal universal truths.
A Moveable Feast, by Ernest Hemingway: When writing about a group of American ex-pats in a foreign land, why not at least try to take inspiration from the best that ever was?
The Hawkline Monster, by Richard Brautigan: Although Brautigan has a small cult of devoted readers, he deserves to have a much bigger audience. Like Hunter Thompson, his style is unique and unable to be imitated. I wouldn’t dare to try, but once you near the end of TROT, you might understand why I included here the story of strange creatures in caves beneath the basement of a decaying mansion.
The Haunting Of Hill House / We Have Always Lived in the Castle, by Shirley Jackson: Shirley Jackson is one of my absolute favorite writers, and I often return to her stories when I need guidance on how to create atmosphere and a believable inner monologue—even if the monologue I’m writing is my own. Plus, the first paragraphs of both novels are two of the best in all modern literature.
Under The Volcano, by Malcolm Lowry: “You like this garden? Why is it yours? We evict those who destroy!” I admit I didn’t begin reading this story of a depressed British diplomat drinking himself to death in Mexico until after I was well underway writing The Ruins of Tropicalia. A friend recommended it. There are many surface similarities to TROT—a disillusioned Westerner wanders around a Latin American country he is unable to understand while his relationship crumbles, and his companions share perspectives more lucid and truthful than his own. Although very different (and better, I’m quite sure) in tone and plot, there’s no way that it didn’t end up influencing me in the latter part of my writing.
Ubik, by Philip K. Dick: Once you finish the first chapter/episode of The Ruins of Tropicalia, you will see why.
The Labyrinth of Solitude, by Octavio Paz: Although this is a collection of essays about the history of Mexico (and not the Central American country in which much of TROT takes place), the scars of colonialism and the challenges of building new culture from fractured ruins are issues across much of Latin America.
All My Friends Are Going To Be Strangers, by Larry McMurtry: This departure from the epic Westerns that made Larry McMurtry famous has been one of my all-time favorite books since I read it in many years ago. The memory of the story of a writer who walks away from the edge of success called me back to the book, and I re-read it in the months before I went to Central America. Granted, there’s a big difference between Danny Deck’s story and mine, considering I left my band to go into the business world, and we probably wouldn’t have been successful anyway. But still, an incredible book.
CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, by George Saunders: Saunders’ debut collection of stories creates a vivid patchwork of a recognizable but surreal picture of America’s dystopian near-future. The narrators of TROT sometimes portray the country they left behind through a similarly distorted lens.
Tales of H.P. Lovecraft, Edited by Joyce Carol Oates: I’m going to defer comment on this one until the whole of TROT is released, haha.
***************************************
The first installment of The Ruins of Tropicalia debuted on 6/24. Two new chapters/episodes will debut each week, along with new singles from The Amends, until its conclusion at the end of August. It’s entirely free. Go to http://theruinsoftropicalia.com to read it online in multiple formats (Kindle, PDF, plain text, EPUB), or for links to download the mobile ios/Google app.
The Ruins of Tropicalia is written by Tyler Taylor, Elizabeth Troy, Regina Porter, and Anonymous.
The Amends are Drew Weikart (lead vocals/guitar), Tyler Taylor (guitar/keys/vocals), Chris Childress (bass), and Shay Byington (drums). Learn more at http://theamendsband.com
Giveaway:
No comments :
Post a Comment