AUTHOR: Thomas K. Carpenter
BOOK TITLE: Gamers
PUBLISHER: Black Moon Books
Please tell us about yourself? I'm a speculative
fiction writer which is a fancy way of saying I write about made up stuff. I love writing about the underdog and
how they learn to overcome. After
my family, writing is my main priority.
I had a whole bunch of other hobbies and interests, but I've given them
up to be the best writer I can be and I hope the books I write give my readers
a moment of respite from this crazy, crazy world.
Tell us your latest news? I recently released two second novels in trilogies. One is for The Digital Sea trilogy and
the book is called The Godhead Machine.
The second, is the second book in the Gamers trilogy called Frags.
When and why did you begin writing? I've always been writing. It's hard to remember a time when I
wasn't writing. It took me a long
time to figure out that it was my calling though. I got a degree in engineering and work for a major car
company as my day job, but I've converted any of my hobby and free time into
writing.
When did you first consider yourself a writer? When I finished my first book.
What inspired you to write your first book? Eventually if you want to be a writer,
you have to decide to write the book.
Making that decision was life changing, but worth the time and effort. Having written over a dozen novels now,
it doesn't seem like such a climb anymore. In fact, as soon as I finish one book, I can't wait to write
the next.
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Is there a
message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? At first glance, Gamers is about a girl, Gabriella DeCorte,
trying to find her way in the world: growing up, what does she wants to do with
her life, holding onto her friends as adulthood approaches, where she fits in
the world. And in this future extrapolation of our world, eye-screens and
sense-webs allow games to invade every facet of society. Everything
becomes a game. A game to be measured and the results compared, to
improve society, to improve people…to decide who fits and who doesn’t.
When Gabby learns what the games are really for and how society divides the
winners and losers, she has to make a choice, as we all do, and that’s what the
novel is about.
On a different level, Gamers is about how we learn, and what do
we with that information? Whether we like it or not, we’re measured all
the time in school or at work. No Child Left Behind has brought forward
an important topic for how we want to teach our children. Can you measure
a person? Does a number define you? An SAT, or an ACT, or a
LifeGame score?
And finally, Gamers is about games. I’m a longtime gamer,
maybe even sometimes a hardcore gamer, and I’ve had a lifelong love affair with
playing games. The gamification of society is a dream topic for me and
exploring how that impacts our lives and having fun with it made writing these
novels a blast. I believe that translates into a fantastic reader
experience for anyone, but especially gamers.
What books have most influenced your life most? My life rather than my writing? If I'm talking my life: The Tao of
Pooh. If I'm talking about writing
then I'd say: Game of Thrones, Ender's Game, Neuromancer, The Dark Tower, and,
well, this list could go on for a while, but I'll leave it at those.
If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a
mentor? I'm going to choose two
because they're a couple: Dean Wesley Smith and Kris Rusch. They've influenced me the most in the
business of writing because they've taught me how the business works which has
freed me to concentrate on writing the best books I can.
What are your current projects? I'm finishing up book three of the Gamers trilogy. The book is called Coders. I'm really happy the way it's turning
out. Wrapping up a trilogy is a
bit scary and intimidating, but I think it's going to be good.
If you had to do it all over again, would you change
anything in your latest book? If I
wanted to change it, I would have.
That's the great thing about being a writer.
Do you ever have problems
with writers block? If so how do
you get through it? I've never had
it. I spend a lot of time thinking
about my books and characters so it's never an issue. Writer's block happens to those that haven't worked hard
enough at their craft.
What do you do when you’re
not writing/editing or thinking about writing/editing? Hanging out with the kids or playing
cards with my wife. We have active
kids so that takes up a lot of time.
My daughter was on a team in the First Lego League, which is about using
robotics in a competative setting.
It was amazing to watch her struggle and learn and grow. Next year my son joins the team which
will be fun to watch.
Who is your favorite author and what is it that really
strikes you about their work? Game of Thrones by George RR
Martin. He took a whole genre and turned it on its head. Every
character deserves its own book (though I suppose by the size of the series
that each one actually gets its time in the sun) and each one is a flawed and
interesting person. I love how he
takes characters you hate and flips things on you until you at least
begrudgingly respect them and the decisions they made. I’ve reread each book in the series
four or five times, each time gaining new insights on how to be a better
writer.
Do you have any advice for other writers? Write. Write. Write. Read. Read.
Write some more. Is there any
other way?
Who is your publisher and
how did you connect with them?
Black Moon Books is my publishing house. I used them for my anthology Mirror Shards and my novel
projects.
How can we find you? Website,
Facebook, Twitter, blog, etc. - please share your public links.
My website - www.thomaskcarpenter.com
Twitter - twitter.com/thomaskcarpente
Facebook -
www.facebook.com/thomaskcarpenter
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