Alternate history
Date Published: May 1, 2021
Publisher: Freedom Thorn Press
Fifty years after a coup replaced President Franklin D. Roosevelt with a fascist dictatorship, America is a land of hopelessness. Ben Adamson, a 19-year-old farm boy in southern Illinois, wants only to spend his time fishing and hunting. But when his dead brother demands justice for his suspicious fate in a colonial war, Ben and Rachel, his brother’s fiancée, are drawn into an underground revolutionary movement.
After staging a rally against the war, Ben and Rachel are arrested by the Internal Security Service, who have perfected the science of breaking people. Ben is given a choice: betray the rebels, including his best friend from childhood, or Rachel will be lobotomized.
Although traumatized and addicted to a powerful drug, Ben refuses to doom anyone he cares about. Can he find a third option? Can he free Rachel and strike back at the dictatorship, while dodging the suspicions of police and rebels alike?
Is There a Message in Your Novel That You Want
Readers to Grasp?
In real life, there was a
political conspiracy in 1933 in the United States to overthrow the government
of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and install a dictator. According to retired
Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler, wealthy businessmen were plotting to
create a fascist veterans' organization with Butler as its leader and use it in
a coup d'état to overthrow Roosevelt. Fortunately for us, instead of going
along, Butler turned them in. In 1934, Butler testified under oath before
Congress on these revelations.
In the novel, the coup plotters
chose a different leader, Walter Waters (who in real life, led the Bonus Army
that occupied part of Washington DC), and the coup was successful. Born in
Salt explores life under authoritarian rule, the abuse of psychology, the
power of the dead, the realities and difficulties of drug addiction, and how
everyday people can challenge impossible odds. It also explores the concept of
morality in war and revolution; e.g., what means can be justified to achieve your
side’s goals?
Is there anything you find particularly
challenging in your writing?
The hardest part is sitting down
every morning and getting into the flow of writing. Perhaps that’s the hardest
part of any journey: to begin.
How many books have you written and which is your
favorite?
I’ve written quite a few books
and short stories. My latest novel, Born in Salt, just came out in May
2021. Born in Salt is a character-oriented alternate history
novel. Fifty years after a coup replaced President Franklin D. Roosevelt with a
fascist dictatorship, America is a land of hopelessness. Ben Adamson, a
19-year-old farm boy in southern Illinois, wants only to spend his time fishing
and hunting. But when his dead brother demands justice for his suspicious fate,
Ben and Rachel, his brother’s fiancée, are drawn into an underground
revolutionary movement.
Zero-Day Rising, the
final volume of the BetterWorld near-future cyberpunk trilogy, is perhaps my
favorite book, released by See Sharp Press in fall 2020. In the series, a giant
media corporation (MediaCorp) has taken over the Internet, created an addictive
virtual reality called BetterWorld, and controls nearly all information. Politicians
do their bidding and a brainwashed humanity serves a privileged few.
The first volume, Sleep State
Interrupt, was a
Compton Crook
finalist for best first science fiction novel. Waylee Freid, an
unemployed Baltimore journalist with ever-worsening bipolar disorder, and
Charles, a teenage hacker from public housing, seek to wake up the world and
bring about a brighter future. They must sneak into a closed presidential
fundraiser, record incriminating admissions, and broadcast it during the Super
Bowl. But to do so, they must avoid a huge manhunt and break into one of the
most secure facilities ever built.
In the second volume, The Wrath of Leviathan,
Waylee faces life in prison. Exiled in Brazil, her young sister Kiyoko and
their hacker friends continue the fight. But MediaCorp and their government
allies may quash the rebellion before it takes off. And unknown to Kiyoko and
her friends, a team of ruthless mercenaries is after them, and closing in fast.
In the final volume, Zero-Day Rising, the
group is reunited and set on bringing down President Rand and MediaCorp.
However, MediaCorp unleashes their ultimate plan: direct mind control with
cerebral implants. Can Kiyoko and Waylee’s team stop them? Can they penetrate
MediaCorp’s networks and end the company’s grip over humanity? All while
eluding the biggest manhunt in history, in a country where everyone and
everything is under surveillance?
If you had the
chance to cast your main character from Hollywood today, who would you pick and why?
I would choose a relatively unknown
but extremely talented actor. A well-known actor would detract from the
character being an ordinary person. But the actor would have to carry the movie
and bring out the love, hate, despair, terror, and determination that define Ben’s
journey. I’d leave it to the casting director to find someone who fit those two
criteria.
When did you begin writing?
I’ve pursued writing since childhood, then learned
filmmaking and screenwriting in college (along with a little bit of physics). I
transformed those interests into novel writing while trapped at home during the
"Snowmageddon" of 2010, and looking for something productive to
do.
How long did it take to complete your first book?
It typically takes me 6-9 months
to write a first draft, plus another year to edit (although over half of this
time is waiting on comments). I think they’ve all followed this schedule,
although Born in Salt went through more revisions than most.
Did you have an author who inspired you to become
a writer?
I have a lot of favorite authors. To list a few, Ursula K.
LeGuin explores important themes in imaginative ways. Kurt Vonnegut is very
clever and has memorable characters and stories. Neil Gaiman is incredibly
imaginative. Frank Herbert and J. R. R. Tolkien are incredible world builders. Cormac McCarthy writes dark but evocative prose. I am a
fan of many other authors as well, like Carl Hiaasen, who went to my high
school and writes scathing comedy about South Florida developers and other
rogues.
What is your favorite part of the writing
process?
I like coming up with
interesting, quirky characters and giving them internal problems that they have
to overcome. Even better is when these characters take on a life of their own
and do unexpected things instead of following the initial outline.
Describe your latest book in 4 words.
America under fascist rule.
Can you share a little bit about your current
work or what is in the future for your writing?
I’ve completed
the first draft of The Council, a satire of local government. A newly
elected councilman tries to save the last stand of forest in the county against
greedy developers and a dysfunctional government. I’m still in editing mode, so
it probably won’t be out until 2022.
And I’m revising
a post-apocalyptic horror novella and several other projects. I expect the
novella will also come out in 2022, although finding publishers for novellas is
difficult.
About the Author
Ted Weber has pursued writing since childhood, and learned filmmaking and screenwriting in college, along with a little bit of physics. His first published novel was a near-future cyberpunk thriller titled Sleep State Interrupt (See Sharp Press). It was a finalist for the 2017 Compton Crook award for best first science fiction, fantasy, or horror novel. The first sequel, The Wrath of Leviathan, was published in 2018, and the final book, Zero-Day Rising, came out in 2020. He has other books on the way as well. He is a member of Poets & Writers and the Maryland Writers Association, and helps run writing workshops and critique groups. By day, Mr. Weber works as a climate adaptation analyst, and has had a number of scientific papers and book chapters published. He lives in Annapolis, Maryland with his wife Karen. He enjoys traveling and has visited all seven continents. For book samples, short stories, and more, visit https://www.tcweber.com/.
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