Weekend Reads Presents Idyllic Avenue by Chad Ganske

This weekend I have the pleasure to introduce you to a wonderful new author, Chad Ganske and his novel, Idyllic Avenue, published through Crescent Moon Press.

Blurb

Stanford Samuels is an ordinary man with an extraordinary disease, segregated with his fellow mutants from the healthy population by 80 foot walls. Sarah is the genetically perfect woman assigned to eradicate his mutation and deliver their family to safety. Only those who contribute a healthy offspring to the population will be granted entrance into the dome.

“The way to salvation is through the self-sustained bio-dome, free of the ills that have nipped at the heels of mankind throughout history. The artificial environment under the dome will offer all that we consider good – fresh water, fertile land, minerals for mining– without the disease and rot that has plagued us until now. The new society will exist not in sickness but in health…”

In the distant future, planets in the explored galaxies have been plundered and left uninhabitable. The search for alternatives is now exhausted, leaving the only option for colonization on a planet whose twin suns are moving rapidly towards extinction. To ensure the long term survival of mankind, a massive bio-dome is being constructed to house the population after permanent midnight – but not everybody is welcome. All known genetic diseases have been banned to protect the delicate ecosystem inside the artificial environment. All Stanford needs to do to book his family’s ticket to the dome is bear a healthy offspring with Sarah. But fertility is never guaranteed, not even for a perfect couplet, and with civil strife trumped only by the impending threat of perpetual darkness, Stanford must defy his own moral compass as he searches for truth along Idyllic Avenue.

And now for the best part, Chad gave me an interview!   

Welcome, Chad. I am so excited to see another Sci-Fi lover at CMP. Tell me, what inspired you to write Idyllic Avenue?

 That’s a tough one because I don’t have a good answer. I can’t pinpoint anything in particular that inspired me other than I felt compelled to write something… anything, really. I arrived late in terms of reading and writing. I didn’t even read novels for pleasure until my early twenties. I remember diving into the works of Hemingway and Fitzgerald and Bukowski. I ate that stuff up. Franz Kafka’s stories really spoke to me. Pretty typical for a young man, I suppose. That’s about the time I decided I needed to write seriously. I had written for fun but never considered making a career out of it. And I certainly never considered writing a science fiction book. It’s not a genre that I typically gravitate towards. Idyllic Avenue started as a short story I wrote back in 2008. It began as a little crime/femme fatale kind of story. I kept tinkering with it, trying to add layers of mood through various dark and unique settings. Over time it morphed into something very different. It’s hard to explain, but it became clear to me about halfway through the short story that it was no longer a little crime book. Not all of the characters were even human anymore. It was an interesting experience – having a book evolve like that.

 As for what inspired Idyllic Avenue, specifically… I think I was inspired by science fiction movies, more than anything else. I’ve always been a movie buff. When I write, it’s as if I’m transcribing a movie that is taking place in my head. I think that’s why the images and the symbolism in the book are so prominent. I’m inspired by dark themes; characters who struggle, both internally and with the world around them. But there has to be a light somewhere in the darkness.

 Oh, and I was inspired by six packs of beer and the occasional cigar. Those things kept me going during the hard times.

 Too funny, and I can relate. Don’t give away any secrets, but what’s your book about?

 The novel is about a group of space travelers who have exhausted the resources on their previous planet and are now in search of a new place to carry on. Unfortunately for them, they don’t have many options. With no other choice, they land on a planet called Ultim and begin to set up shop. The biggest problem they face is with the planet’s twin suns. The two suns are nearing the end of their life-spans and will extinguish at some undetermined time in the not-so-distant future. I guess there’s a bit of karma coming into play for the planet-destroying humans.

 At any rate, human beings are resourceful and they begin feverishly working on a massive biosphere to sustain the colony after the inevitable catastrophe. To protect the delicate ecosystem inside the dome, the government has decided that not all people will be allowed inside. The healthy people will be granted entrance, naturally, but the only way for a “mutant” (any person genetically predisposed to, or carrying disease) to gain entrance is by giving birth to a genetically healthy child. The government institutes a “cleansing policy” to eradicate as many diseases from the race as possible. The sick and the healthy are segregated in separate colonies. Marriages are arranged in an effort to create healthy offspring. Genetic engineering is undertaken to splice artificial DNA with healthy chromosomes. This is the world that exists in the book, but it’s not really what the book is about. At the heart of the story is the age-old theme of love and loss.  I know that’s a platitude, but it’s really what my book is about. It just so happens that the main character is experiencing these things on a planet in a distant galaxy.

  You know, that could be our future if we are not careful. Tell me, how did you come up with the title?

 I didn’t actually come up with the title myself. My first editor decided that my working title: “Glenda and the Electric Fern” was a poor choice. After a little bit of wrestling and pouting, I decided she was right. Editors are usually right, as a general rule. As I reconsidered, I recalled a part in the novel about the main character fantasizing about his idea of what a perfect life would look like. He decided that, if it were up to him, he’d live with his wife and dog in an upscale neighborhood on a road called “Idyllic Avenue.” The road appears a couple of times in the novel and I decided it was a good metaphor for a book that concentrates so heavily on the idea of perfecting the human blueprint. In a perfect world, everybody would live on Idyllic Avenue.

  My first title for Gemini was The Crossing. My editor tossed that one, too. Do you have plans for a new book and/or is your book part of a series?

 Yes, as a matter of fact, I’m working on the sequel to Idyllic. It takes place immediately where the first one leaves off. I’m about a third of the way through. I don’t anticipate there will be a third novel in the series, but who knows. The sequel is called “Salus” (the name of the bio-dome), but I’m sure my editor will tell me the title is weird and unmarketable and make me change it.

 I have other projects in the works but the sequel is at the top of the list.

 How long does it take you to write a novel?

 Too long. Because I tend to write in fits and starts (because of my day job) it took me a few years to write Idyllic, and it’s a pretty short book. But I tend to only write over the summer months when I’m on vacation from work. If I calculate how long I actually spent writing it, I estimate it took six months, give or take. And then I spent a few more months in editing. There was a lot to consider with the writing of this book. I had to create a whole world, so the process was a long, sometimes torturous, one. I’m also a perfectionist to the extreme (just ask my publisher) so the road was a long one.

 What do you think makes a good story?

 Good characters -- interesting relationships between people. For me, that’s the heart of every good story. Everything else is window dressing. Setting and plot add dimensions and layers to a story, but without good characters, there is no story – or not a very good one. And it helps if the writing is done at least half decently. I hope I’ve accomplished that.

 Do you have a day job?

 Yes. I work as a behavior support worker for the local school board. I really enjoy the job. Working with children is easy; much easier than working with adults. I’m not sure what that says about me. The job also gives me the freedom to write. I have summer holidays just like the kids do. It makes for a pauper-like existence in the summer while I pinch my pennies with no money coming in, but as soon as July hits, I concentrate solely on my writing. I’m on my computer for the better part of two months. I take breaks to sleep and eat, but that’s about it. Then when school starts back up in the fall, I set the manuscript aside and let it percolate in my brain. Sometimes I wonder if I’d like to write fulltime. Part of me thinks my day job is a good thing – for both my soul and my physical body, so maybe it’s best this way.

  What a fantastic day job. I would love to work with kids. They are so honest. Even when you know they are lying. LOL What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

 As I said, I write primarily during the summer months, and I write exclusively at night. I eliminate all distractions. I don’t even have a window in my writing room. When I’m writing, it’s just me and my thoughts. The only sound is my fingers on the keyboard. I usually start at around 8 or 9 pm and go right through till 3 or 4 in the morning. I keep that schedule six days a week. I write at night but I edit in the day. My internal clock is permanently out of synch.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

 I am challenged by every aspect of writing. I’m not naturally gifted. I have to work very hard at writing. And like I mentioned, I’m a perfectionist, which adds a whole other layer of difficulty to the process. I read somewhere that Fitzgerald used to sit at his writing desk for hours and fiddle with one sentence, trying to get it just right. Hemingway was the same way; agonizing over small details, rewriting endlessly. By no means am I comparing my writing to Fitzgerald and Hemingway, but I’m the same way when it comes to obsessing over the prose. I edit and tinker and rewrite over and over… and I know I’ll never be truly happy with the final product. But eventually I’ll release it and move on. I’m sure my neurosis drives the people around me crazy.

  Do you work from an outline or just write?

   I have never worked from an outline. I write spontaneously and let the story go wherever it goes. I have a vague idea of what comes next, but nothing is set in stone. I follow along the story just like a reader does. I’m often surprised by what happens. At times, I’ll make a note to myself, saying “this or that might happen next” but it doesn’t always come to fruition. The story takes on a life of its own, and if it wants to go a certain direction against my will, I don’t fight it. Maybe the process would be easier if I wrote from an outline, but I’ll never know. I want the story to unfold organically, without having to stick to rigid notes.

How do you market your work? What avenues have you found to work best for your genre?

This whole marketing thing is new to me. I’m not a big social media guy, but I know the power of tools like Twitter and Facebook, so I’ve finally broken down and joined the twenty-first century. I enjoy Twitter, actually. I’m a big sports guy so I enjoy following sports journalists. Feel free to follow me. I just recently opened a Facebook Author page but I’m not very savvy with it yet. I’ll get it figured out.

I realize I’ll have to do a lot of the legwork in marketing my book up here in Canada. Knocking on bookstore doors is certainly not out of the question. This is all very new so I’ll have to see where this all takes me.

  Fun Questions:

  If you were a car, what kind would you be?

 I wish I could say I’m some kind of hot, flashy car… but I’m from Alberta, which is the Canadian equivalent of Texas. I’m a pickup truck.

White wine or red?

Beer. And keep them coming.

Coffee or tea?

I didn’t start drinking coffee until my early twenties when I watched David Lynch’s Twin Peaks television series. For fans of the show, they will know what I mean. I love a cup of joe several times a day.

Vanilla or chocolate?

I’m not a sweets guy. Did you just flash me a strange look?

Yes I did. Now I have two people on my no sweets list. You and my grandson, Joshua. I just can't figure people like you out. :") Ok, so Dogs or cats?

I’ve grown up with cats. I’m very familiar with the behavior of cats. If I can be reincarnated, it wouldn’t be so bad to come back as a cat.

Sleep in or get up early?

 If I never had to get up before noon again, I’d be a very happy man.

Thank you for your responses. I know it took a long time to fill them out. Next

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<---- Love the shirt!

Chad Ganske was born in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada in 1976, relocating with his family to the small harbour town of Sidney, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island in the late eighties. After graduating from high school in 1994 he enrolled in the University of Victoria but left after one semester to enter the workforce. He slogged through a variety of entry level jobs before finally publishing his first novel, Idyllic Avenue. He presently resides in Victoria, British Columbia, where he spends a great deal of time alternating between states of elation and frustration while watching the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League.

Thank you so much for taking part in my weekend reads, Chad. I've enjoyed having you here and good luck with your novel!

((hugs)) to everyone!

Louann

 

Links

 

Where to buy:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Chad-Ganske/e/B00I6K3LFC/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

 

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/idyllic-avenue-chad-ganske/1118583705?ean=9781939173706

 

http://www.crescentmoonpress.com/books/IdyllicAvenue.html

 

 

Webpage: (Under construction)

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chad-Ganske-Author/753477857998576

 

Twitter: @chadganske

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