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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