Wednesday, November 16, 2016

T. C. Koury ~ an interview and his novel ~ Synthsis: Legion of Sateside Delusions









I AM PLEASED TO WELCOME AUTHOR
T. C. Koury


AUTHOR BIO:
I was born and raised in Alabama to a military father and an elementary school teacher mother. I had very humble beginnings, but my family moved around quite a bit after September 11, 2001. My little brother and I were the best of friends growing up, and we were all each other had while living in Virginia for part of 2003 before moving back to Alabama. Upon our return, we discovered that our mother was expecting another child and our youngest brother was born in 2004, completing the trio. I am currently on track to finish my undergraduate degree in applied mathematics, and the changes we experienced growing up allowed me to adapt to things quite easily and pursue many different activities. I have travelled from east coast to west coast, and all across Italy and parts of Europe. I enjoy variety, which is why my hobbies include reading, writing, playing guitar, craft-beer tasting, traveling, and playing basketball. I hope to move to Los Angeles, California following my graduation in May 2016 and pursue acting, journalism, screenplay writing, and continue writing novels.

BANTER – STUFF ABOUT YOU

Q: Are you a morning person, or a midnight candle burner?

A: I am absolutely a morning person. I get the most accomplished in the morning because everything seems so fresh and new. The nighttime is a little depressing, and I have never been able to get excited about going to sleep. I hate sleep, it’s a waste of time.

Q: Tell me something you would like your readers (fans) to know about you.

A: I am a pretty decent guitar player and singer. I am currently in a band in Birmingham, AL with three really close buddies of mine, and we are surrounded by lots of folks who are excited about being a part of something bigger than themselves. A few of them make an appearance in my book, and all of the main characters are usually floating around in the crowd somewhere. I enjoy giving people something they can hold onto and cherish while also giving them the opportunity to make their own mark on what we produce as a band, and what I produce as a writer.
 

Q: What kind of music do you listen to? Do you have an all time favorite song?

A: I love the Grateful Dead with a passion. They expound upon American life better than any group that has ever and will ever exist. That is what we lack in music today – everything nowadays is so superficial and sexual while almost always centered on non-personal encounters or relationships. Nobody sings about hopping trains and being on the run the way Jerry and Bob did in “Jack Straw,” or about the thrill of “Playing in the Band,” but my favorite song of theirs would have to be “Shakedown Street.” Any version of it will do. In fact, John Mayer’s performance of it at Bonnaroo 2016 may be one of the best out there.

Q: If your life were a movie would it be considered an action film, comedy, drama, romance, fantasy or a combination?

A: If my life were a film, it would have highest Rotten Tomato score for an action comedy. Judd Apatow and Quentin Tarantino would direct, and I would be played by either James Franco or Samuel L. Jackson. It just depends on the scene in question, really.
Q: Have you ever been too embarrassed to promote any certain titles to friends or family?

A: Yes. My own book, actually. I come from a very conservative household and, well, the first half of Synthesis would make some members of my family’s skin crawl. After my grandmother, one of the more deeply religious members of my family, read the book and said she loved it so much that she was reading it for the second time – that was when I knew I could be more comfortable promoting it.
  
Q: How do you feel about exercise?

A: I love running, and used to lift weights all the time but not so much lately. I don’t think of running as exercise anymore, but more of an opportunity to get outside and forget myself for a little while. You can listen to a good bit of Grateful Dead when you run 4-6 miles a day.


BOOKS – ABOUT THE CRAFT

Q: When did you start writing and why?

A: I have always enjoyed reading and writing, but I think it was when I was in third grade. I had just finished the entire Lord of the Rings Trilogy and wrote a five-page continuation of the story beyond Tolkien’s conclusion. I thought I had written the next bestseller.

Q: Where do you get your ideas?

A: Life. That’s the only place you can find them. Get out of your house, roam, put yourself in situations that make you uncomfortable, talk to people, and – most importantly - enjoy yourself. The “American Dream” is unique to everyone, and the more you get out and see the world and its people, the more you realize how narrow the lens is for those who have settled for comfort over experience. You go out and see and do all that you can and before you know it, a few meaningful events and experiences can be embellished for 400 pages or so.

Q: What do you think is the hardest part of writing a book?

A: Determining what to leave out. If I had not read my own book at least a dozen times, it would have been a disaster. The first draft was so embarrassing and lengthy that if it was the version that is currently in print, I would be forced to advertise it as the most uncomfortable and expensive single-ply toilet paper available.

Q: What is your favorite part of writing?

A: Flow of consciousness. Writing everything out at once and going back to make edits later. You take a simple idea that you write down initially and expound upon it later. The tiny details in place at the beginning of the novel can be given further attention upon the second and third edits because you have a much better idea of what happens at the end (which is also subject to change). You can make something as obsolete as eye-drops become the main contributor to the entire plot of a novel if you really want to…

Q: Who's your favorite author?

A: I would have to say Hunter S. Thompson, and not for the reasons that most people assume. The language he uses to describe what it is like to be inside your own head while observing the chaos that most would define as normalcy in contemporary America absolutely resonates within me. Our country is facing potential war on our own soil amongst one another as well as a against a foreign enemy, and we need another Raoul Duke to tell the story of our generation’s take on everything that is going on at the moment.

Q: Would you ever consider a joint project?

A: Yeah, do you have a lighter (grins)? In all seriousness, I would love to work on a project with another aspiring journalist like myself to compile accounts of the events of the political turmoil that has occurred in the past few years and make a few solid connections between what we see going on and what people suspect but are too afraid to voice their speculations. There is a goldmine of information on corruption in Washington, and it needs exposure. Any takers?
 
Q: Do you always know how a story will end when you begin writing it?

A: Not always. I don’t think about it until it happens.

Q: What geographical locations are your favorite and why?

A: Anywhere along the Pacific Coast Highway from Los Angeles to San Francisco. It is the final destination for westward expansion and manifest destiny. No emotion is as powerful as the feeling you get when you stand on the edge of the final frontier. It is like willingly staring death straight in the eyes, knowing that you can turn back but that it will still be there for you at some point your future. This analogy helps me find comfort in the face of adversity.

Q: Generally speaking, is your work based on real life experience? If it's not would you want it to be?
A: Yes, and I want to do it again.

BOOKS - NOW LETS PROMOTE – STRUT YOUR STUFF

Q: What are you working on now? Would you like to share anything about it?

A: The sequel(s) to Synthesis, and for those who have read the book – don’t you find it interesting that the growing trend in Silicon Valley tech firms is microdosing LSD to stimulate a little creativity?


Q: How can we find you? Do you have a web page, FaceBook page or any buy links?

A:  Yes, I do. Here are the links. 

AUTHOR LINKS:


Buy Links:

AMAZON US: http://www.amazon.com/Synthesis-Stateside-Delusions-T-C-Koury-ebook/dp/B01DKDOTXW
AMAZON UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Synthesis-Stateside-Delusions-T-C-Koury-ebook/dp/B01DKDOTXW
AMAZON CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01DKDOTXW
BARNES & NOBLE: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/synthesis-tc-koury/1123601204?ean=2940152828252
KOBO: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/synthesis-4
GOOGLE PLAY: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/T_C_Koury_Synthesis?id=8LzVCwAAQBAJ&hl=en
iBOOKS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/synthesis-legion-stateside/id1097724576?mt=11
CREATESPACE: https://www.createspace.com/6163049





ONE LINER: Take a trip down the rabbit hole. Once you discover the truth below the surface, you are forever changed.

SYNOPSIS:
When Jim Sinclair and two college friends synthesize a million doses of LSD as a means of financing a post-graduation road trip across country and living expenses for their first few years on their own, they had no idea of the nightmare they would unleash. In a ‘down the rabbit hole’ experience worthy of Alice in Wonderland, the boys’ journey becomes ever more bizarre as they run afoul of the police, violent biker gangs, rogue federal agents and a mysterious clutch of powerful men who seem to guide events toward an unknown and frightening climax.

Synthesis: Legion of Stateside Delusions is a strange, twisted tale not to be missed by lovers of adventure and mystery.

I’m happy you could join me on Books and Banter.  I hope you had fun!

A reminder to the reader ~ before you leave be sure to take a look at the 
Come back and visit again.




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