Today I’m welcoming Kevin Klehr to the blog. I’ve really enjoyed his books, so it’s my pleasure to chat with him about life, writing, and his latest release.
Interview
Welcome! This book looks fascinating and timely. What inspired you to write it?
Three years ago, my partner, a friend, and I were chatting about an experiment which Facebook conducted on its users. Some clients were only given positive posts to view, while others were presented with negative posts in their feeds.
The outcome was that those with the positive posts added similar happy thoughts to their timeline. The ones that only saw negative material posted the same type of content.
So we came up with an idea for a novel where only one person in the future is not addicted to social media. He stands alone in a city which is motionless as people lock themselves indoors and live life through their screens, not knowing how much they were being influenced.
The other observation that inspired this book was the rise of the social media star. While visiting New York several years ago, we noted public transport ads which promoted YouTube by using its highest viewed vloggers. Each social celebrity smiled at us while their huge number of subscribers was displayed prominently on each poster.
Then, as I wrote it, more life observations were thrown in. The casual conversation I had with a waiter in New Orleans who mistook his Facebook feed for a news site. The growing lack of interest in politics, allowing more politicians to get away with whatever policy suited them. And an odd disconnect to living, breathing people, as individuals opted for a quick post and a photo as a way of catching up with friends.
So, in short, Social Media Central is a look at a city fifty years into the future taken from the viewpoint of where we were back in 2015.
Ah, I love that kind of “what if” examination of social culture. What else do you wish people knew about your books or characters?
With the latest book I used extra notes on the characters from a method described by an HBO screenwriter. He talked about head, heart and below. Each character is summerised by their education and by what they believe, their past loves and who they long for, and by the type of person who turns them on.
I’ve always had a clear understanding of my characters, often because they were based on real people. But with my notes and character images sitting in my notebook next to me everytime I wrote, a clearer understanding of who they all were stayed present as the keystrokes fell.
The main character, Tayler, starts off as a very lonely guy. Schools closed when he was still young in favour of instructional videos on SMC, so he misses the human interaction that came with having childhood friends.
Tayler ends up making close allies through the most unlikely circles. He starts hanging out with the social media socialites, the megastars of SMC. And it’s fashion blogger, Madeline Q, (the femme fatale of this tale) who first becomes infatuated with Tayler simply because of his ignorance of who she is.
And while Madeline Q seems confident enough, it’s Tayler who helps her find her real self.
Ooh, this is sounding like Black Mirror meets Ready Player One.
Sounds like you’ve got a great system for character development. What advice would you give someone starting out?
Keep a journal, even if your journal consists of spoken recordings into your phone. Real life should be your influence, even if you are writing about nothing that resembles the world around you.
Note a clever line someone says. Observe a person who’d be a good fit for a character. Listen to the subtext of the individuals that are part of your life and hear what they are not saying.
These reflections make your book feel authentic.
That is some excellent advice. Okay, time for word sprints!
Plotter or pantser?
Plotter.
What’s your favorite book?
Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey. (Warning: the movie is crap)
What’s your favorite ice cream?
Pistachio
Thanks for stopping by! I see the cover says “book one,” so I hope you’ll stop by again for future releases in this series.
About the Book
Title: Social Media Central
Date: April 9, 2018
Publisher: NineStar Press
Length: 60 000 words
Categories: dystopia, social media, celebrity
Synopsis
In an age where everyone lives their lives through a screen, no one has more celebrity status than fashion 
blogger, Madeline Q. In a chance meeting, Tayler, loner and geek, is introduced to her world of parties, fan worship, and seduction.
But as his own star rises, Madeline Q is arrested for murder. There’s just one problem—there is no corpse. Tayler soon learns that fiction blurs reality on Social Media Central.
Purchase Link
About the Author
Kevin is the author of a number of books including the Actors and Angels series and the Nate and Cameron Collection.
The Actors and Angels series are three comedies about theatre in the Afterlife, where two friends explore their love for each other through several lifetimes with the help of a gay angel. The third in the series scored a Rainbow Award for Best Gay Alternative Universe/Reality novel. The Nate and Cameron collection are two novellas that delve into a relationship between a dreamer and a realist, where the latter is coming to terms with loving second best. The two stories, Nate and the New Yorker and Nate’s Last Tango, are also available in one paperback edition.
Kevin lives with his long-term partner, Warren, in their humble apartment (affectionately named Sabrina), in Australia’s own “Emerald City,” Sydney.
Social Media
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