My new story, Sitala, has just been published in the UnCommon Minds anthology. To celebrate, I’m interviewing some of the authors about their stories. Today, I’m talking to CB Droege about Mixers.
What was the inspiration for the uncommon mind in your story?
Whenever anything bad happens to humans, there are always some who are immune. We’re very resilient animals. If our entire society is disassembled from within our minds, there will be the few who make it out undamaged, whether from planning or by chance, and these will all be thrown together to rebuild, whatever differences they might have had before the disaster. So, I was thinking about the inevitability of continued pressure against artists’ abilities to remix and recreate the art of the past, and where that might lead, and how it might go wrong, and who might be left after.
What’s the setting for your story?
Our own world. It’s already true that most of the policing of copyright infringement, especially on social media, is performed by algorithms, which are not answerable to humans, as anyone who’s tried to dispute a YouTube copyright violation notice already knows. Even major media creators sometimes have trouble posting their own, legal content because the algorithm spots it, and doesn’t know the difference. The setting of “Mixers” just takes this a few steps too far.
Are there any authors that influenced your story or your writing in general?
Philip K. Dick is a big influence on a lot of my writing, this story included.
Any plans to revisit the world of your story?
No plans currently, but there certainly is a lot more that could be unpacked from the concept. The world immediately before and after the disaster would be interesting to look more closely at, as is true of most disasters. The Mixers have a fight ahead of them that is more cerebral and philosophical than most post-apocalypse stories, so that could be a expanded on as well.
Which actor would you like to see playing your main character and why?
I think Matt Frewer would be a good choice to portray the mix of eccentricity and kindness in the representative from the Mixers.
Once readers have read your story, which of your books/stories should they read next?
Nothing else I’ve written follows parts of this story any further, but my novel Zeta Disconnect is similar in tone. Readers might also enjoy my recent collection, RapUnsEl and Other Stories.
Where can readers find you online?
Twitter: @CBDroege
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CBDroege
Web: cbdroege.com and manawaker.com
A big thank you to CB Droege for taking the time to answer my questions. CLICK HERE to get your copy of UnCommon Minds from Amazon today.
Enter into the hidden world of the mind, where the laws of nature don’t apply and nothing is as it seems.
Straight from the minds of 20 UnCommon Authors come tales of tragedy, triumph, and bittersweet gratitude. You’ll find augmented realities and mental persuasion that force you to question everything. Stories of military suspense, psychological horror, dream walkers, and psychic mediums await their turn to crawl into your head.
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[UnCommon Minds Q&A: CB Droege by Philip Harris first appeared on Solitary Mindset on 26th January 2017]