Now that we’re a couple months into the Coronavirus pandemic, it seems like conspiracy season has peaked. The sad thing is that even though there are a lot of conspiracy videos and memes, they all seem to lack imagination. The true conspiracies of history, like Project Paperclip, are far more sinister and malicious than anything anyone is discussing today.
Project Paperclip
A few years ago, my author friend Dan Woll asked me to work on a conspiracy based manuscript he had written. I was waiting for Perseid Press to finish up edits on The Literate Thief so I was able to take the job.
We were about halfway through the revision process when we concluded we needed a larger villain pulling the strings. After doing a little bit of research, the truth surrounding Project Paperclip fell into our lap.
Now, our novel is not meant to be a historical document. It’s a fun thriller that builds on what is known about history. But since conspiracies are always uglier in reality than any truth that eventually comes to light, our final product is probably pretty tame compared to the reality. What is it they say about icebergs?
We had the good fortune to have our final manuscript get picked up by Burning Bulb Publishing, and it was recently listed as a finalist for the Wishing Shelf Book Awards. Two of the main plot points of the book are historical incidents of government testing on US citizens, and Nazi scientists who were brought over to our country through Project Paperclip.
The book has been doing well, and Dan and I have been able to combine our forces and arrange a good number of speaking opportunities. My biggest local paper, the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, just ran this nice story on the book (unfortunately you have to be a subscriber to read it).
Media Coverage
Throughout the years I’ve gotten my scraps of media attention here and there. I’ve reflected on this from time to time because the attention always makes me uncomfortable, but it’s also necessary to get some publicity for your work. I’m always sure that there are better authors and artists out there than me who are not getting any attention, however, most of the people who actually DO get all the attention don’t necessarily fall into this category.
The author of the Leader-Telegram piece called Dan and I up and mentioned that he had read and enjoyed the book. I’ve been the subject of dozens of articles, but in most cases the reporters don’t actually read the book, so this is a nice development.
One of the things that I’ve concluded lately is that major publications are far more interested in “safe” manuscripts than those which might prove to be controversial. However, we live in a time of rampant injustice and it seems to me that our authors need to engage controversial topics now more than ever. I think that it’s a concern that there are only a handful of major media conglomerates that can determine the narratives that gain traction in our society.
Do we really only want Disney’s perspective on what it is that ails the world? I mean, they don’t exactly have a shining track record.
Contests
Lately I’ve been doing a lot of articles over at Vocal.Media, although I should be doing more stories here on Streets of Lima. The SOL stories get a lot more views, but Vocal.Media keeps offering these contests sometimes with prizes up to $5,000.
I won third place in a contest a few weeks ago and the prize ended up being $675 which was great. So whenever they launch a contest I’m sure to enter something. Here are some examples.
When Quarantine Ends, I’m Going Out For Pancakes
This one was for the “Better Times” challenge where you were supposed to write an itinerary for when quarantine ends. I’ve been writing these articles with the format that I am generally assigned when I do content writing.
Dreams of Running the Great Wall of China
This was my entry for the Virtual Postcard challenge which asked us to write about a dream travel destination.
Please give these stories a look, like, share. Also, if you want more information on writing for Vocal either write me or check this out.
Paperclip 2
In the midst of all of this, Dan and I are also working on a sequel to Paperclip. Speaking of that, if any of you have a high quality photo of a blackbird, please contact me. I could use one for the cover of the sequel (perhaps Burning Bulb will have some stock images).
But getting back to the latest round of conspiracies, you all are thinking way too much. People are saying that the virus was created in a lab and all other kinds of crazy stuff. Basically, all I think is happening is that our politicians are using the pandemic as an excuse to give their rich political donors trillions of dollars in free money.
Really all you have to do to come up with a sensible conspiracy theory is follow the money.
Thanks for all the support, if you haven’t read Paperclip yet, you can check it out here. The Kindle version is still only 99 cents, and I really appreciate your reviews!
