Visit the website and share it with a friend: www.enterdarkeden.com

Take the fear test, it will show you what you’re really afraid of (seriously!) www.thefeartest.com

Join the Facebook fan site, updates daily: www.facebook.com/enterdarkeden

Order the book (author smiles!): www.enterdarkeden.com/get/book.php

And read the DARK EDEN interview below!

Come join me in DARK EDEN, where fear is the cure.

Patrick

Dark Eden Interview

How did the idea of DARK EDEN come about? Was there extensive research regarding the symptoms and emotions of teens going through the process of overcoming their phobias?

One of my best friends also works as a counselor for teens and adults. We were on a long drive, heading to Montana for some R and R on a river, and we got into a long conversation about the physiology of fear. Interesting things happen to us when we’re afraid beyond just ‘fight or flight’. That got me thinking about people with extreme fears who live otherwise ordinary lives, and how a villain could take advantage. For almost a year after that, every drive we took to a river included this topic. I had lists and lists of unusual phobias and fears, and we had some fascinating conversations.

Which character do you relate to most? Least?

I relate to Will Besting most, probably Kate Hollander the least. I grew up in Will’s kind of environment – a brother, a lot of video games, a fascination with music and sound. And I, too, would have rather watched than participated in the things that went down at Fort Eden. With Kate, I’m just not an alpha personality. I’ve been around people like that my entire life (haven’t we all) so I understand how they operate when they enter a room. But it’s not generally the company I keep, so she was a tough one to work out.

What fears and phobias, if any, did you have when you were a teen? Do you have any now?

I am mortally afraid of being home alone late at night, always have been. Waking up after midnight is especially troubling. I hear things in the house, people walking around upstairs. I am cursed with a vivid imagination after the sun goes down. As a teen I feared the usual: asking girls out, dances, acne, grades – those kinds of fears overshadowed any other one’s I might have had.

If you could have immortality, would you take it? Why?

No, I wouldn’t. Tuck Everlasting was an important book for me, because it explored this idea in a way that made me understand the cost of living a very, very long time. Everyone I loved would grow old and die. I’d have to start over a lot (the older I get the less I like that idea). For a guy like Rainsford in DARK EDEN, immortality is an elaborate trick. He’s figured out how to jack the system, and we get a sense of what kind of person it takes to pull those levers. I’m in no rush to die, and there are mysteries there that can haunt me late at night. But I think we’re going somewhere, not nowhere. I am ever hopeful it will be someplace good.

Did you learn anything while writing/revising DARK EDEN, and if so, what was it?

I learned about a lot of unusual fears people have, and that turned out to be more interesting than I expected. I also have a habit of connecting older books to what I’m writing, partly because it’s a chance to re-introduce those books to new readers, but also because I want to re-examine them myself. With DARK EDEN, I went back to The Pearl, The Woman in the Dunes, and The Masque of the Red Death. DARK EDEN has a strong class underpinning, and all those stories dealt with class struggles: trying to move up a level in society, feeling superior, feeling trapped. Those themes run through the story, and I learned a lot about how to write them in a way that will make readers think about them.

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything?

I’m happy with the book, it’s what I wanted to write. And really, once a book is printed, I’ve let it go. DARK EDEN is what it was meant to be.

What was the book that most influenced your life, and why?

If only there were one book that influenced me most, that would be nice! I’d just read it over and over again. I can’t answer this one with even ten or twenty books. It’s a list, books get added. Just this year I had to put The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall on the list of books that deeply influenced me. This question of books and their influence has a lot to do with seasons in one’s life. There were books early on – Dr. Suess, Where the Wild Things Are – that I know had a profound effect on my habits as a visual thinker. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nymn, the Narnia books, everything by Roald Dahl showed me I could escape completely into worlds that were not really there. Edgar Allen Poe and Mary Shelley showed me so much as a young writer. The Brothers K (David James Duncan), The Grapes of Wrath, Catcher in the Rye, Ender’s Game – the list is much longer than this, but all these books influenced me in ways that make it impossible to pick one. And there will be many more, I’m sure.

How and when did you come up with the idea for DARK EDEN?

One of my best friends also works as a counselor for teens and adults. We were on a long drive, heading to Montana for some R and R on a river, and we got into a long conversation about the physiology of fear. Interesting things happen to us when we’re afraid beyond just ‘fight or flight’. That got me thinking about people with extreme fears who live otherwise ordinary lives, and how a villain could take advantage. For almost a year after that, every drive we took to a river included this topic. I had lists and lists of unusual phobias and fears, and we had some fascinating conversations.

You have written many books, what can you say is your favorite topic or genre to write about?

All of my books are mysteries, and I’m especially fond of writing a story that has a surprise ending. So while I like to jump from genre to genre – thriller, fantasy, adventure, sci-fi, realistic fiction – all my stories are rooted in mystery.

If you had to step into one of your seven characters in Dark Eden’s shoes which one would you pick and why?

Will Besting. I’d much rather not know the cure is coming. And I’m an observer, so what he’s doing fits with my personality. I’m very happy sitting in a café watching people go about their lives and trying to guess what they’re up to. Also, he falls in love, which is an enjoyable experience.

Would you say your book is scary? And if so, to what extent?

I think DARK EDEN is more of a psychological thriller than a horror novel. I’d compare it to Shutter Island, with a similar surprise twist ending.

What else would you be if you weren’t an author?

I love all kinds of storytelling. I think if I weren’t a novelist I would work in movies, television, or video game development. A great story is a great story, I’m not hung up on what the delivery method is.

You are undoubtedly the innovator in multi-media/interactive novels and I love the DARK EDEN app! Why does DARK EDEN work so well with multi-media?

Thank you! The truth is, I never know how the multimedia aspect of a project is going to work until I get pretty deep into the woods (publisher cringes). I wrote DARK EDEN twice – once as a straight up book, again as an immersive multimedia app – and then re-wrote the app as we moved through development. Many things come into play: what the app will look like and how it will operate, hiring actors, editing scenes, recording audio diaries – there’s just so much that goes into these things. Along the way my team helps me make the right choices, many of which are made only days before sections of the app go live. We’re dialing this thing in right down to the last second!

What led you to start developing stories in this non-traditional way?

School visits top the list of reasons why some of my projects include multimedia. I’ve visited over 1300 schools in the past decade, and every year students get more and more distracted. It’s a highly entertaining world they live in, and for a lot of readers, they need a lifeline back to books. Projects like DARK EDEN are designed to blend in with the technological world many teens have become immersed in. My hope is that DARK EDEN is an opportunity for some of our most jaded readers to build some confidence about reading, then move on to a more traditional book.

I read that there will be an enhanced e-book version of DARK EDEN for Nook and Kindle. Will the e-book experience differ from reading the printed book in conjunction with using the DARK EDEN app?

Actually, the printed DARK EDEN book is totally stand alone and does not interact with the app version. The printed DARK EDEN novel is designed for a traditional reader, words only (and some amazing illustrations). The app is the same story told in a multimedia format (words, videos, maps, audio diaries). Nook will have the full app version of DARK EDEN. The enhanced ebook will include around ten of the 100+ multimedia elements.

What other projects are you working on at this time?

DARK EDEN II! Also, a YA trilogy I’m not at liberty to talk about yet, and the second FLOORS book, my current middle grade series for Scholastic. And if you want something really different, check out www.315stories.com, the short story re-imagined for modern teens.

In honor of Halloween, tell us your best/scariest Halloween memory.

We used to play this old record on a turntable with all kinds of scary Halloween sounds, then hand out candy and scare all the kids who came by. We were moderately famous for it in our old 1970’s neighborhood. That was some fun!

Dark Eden is one of the only two “YA-Centric” projects to win the award.

“We consider the QED the ‘Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval™’ for ebooks – a mark of quality that publishers, authors, and content creators can proudly bear to assure readers can buy with confidence. Ebook sales are growing dramatically and readers need to know what they’re buying will render well regardless of device – tablet, e-reader, smartphone or PC – before they buy. It’s really gratifying to see that so many publishers across a range of genres are producing ebooks of the highest quality now.”

Dear Mr. Carman,

Well, 2012 has arrived and the world isn’t quite like I imagined it would be.  Instead of flying cars we’ve got iPads, smart phones, and Top Chef. Pretty good, even if none of those things can fly me to the moon or distribute free candy when I demand it. Even books have turned out differently than I thought. I never imagined things like Skeleton Creek, 3:15, Trackers, or Dark Eden when I was ten, but I’m glad there’s room in the modern world for many kinds of reading experiences.  Heck, I’m just psyched we’re still reading!

2012 will include the totally traditional second Floors book, so you’ll be able to discover what happens to Leo and Remi in the Whippet Hotel through words, words, and more words. And Eve of Destruction, the next Dark Eden project will be headed your way before summer. It’s an exciting time for books, both traditional and Transmedia. And I’m beginning work on a new traditional YA trilogy – top secret! – so stay tuned for news on that.

Here’s wishing all of us a great 2012, even if cars can’t fly.

Patrick

Vote for The Crossbones or Thirteen Days to Midnight

Thank you fans!

Patrick

Skeleton Creek keeps on rolling with over 750,000 different people watching almost 7,000,000 videos since the launch of the series. Thank you my faithful readers and video watchers! Keep spreading the word and I promise to keep blowing my advances making multimedia books for a wired generation. Speaking of which….

CASTING OPEN

I have several new multimedia projects in the works, most of them top secret for the moment. But that doesn’t mean you can’t try out for a part and I hope you will. I’ve just launched a casting page that will give you everything you need to know in order to try out for a part. Just head over to the casting page and get ready to put on your acting face: www.patrickcarman.com/casting

PODCAST LAUNCHES

In other multimedia news, the free podcasts of all videos for Skeleton Creek III are now available in the iTunes store. Just search for Skeleton Creek and you should find free podcasts for the videos in all three Skeleton Creek books. You’ll also find the free and paid apps for the first two books in case you like turning electronic pages more than you do paper ones.

And if you’re a TRACKERS fan (same format, action story!) TRACKERS II comes out in one month. Stay tuned for the trailer, which is scheduled to release on December 10th or sooner.

Happy holidays!

Patrick Carman

Visit: www.sarahfincher.com
Use the password: 103110

Turn up the volume. Turn down the lights. Get reeeeaaaaaal close to the monitor.

Boo!

And here’s that classic costume video where I’m wandering inside Target looking for something to wear – that was fun.

Get ready for the Trackers Missions, set to launch on Monday, June 28th. You’ll train with the best in order to fine-tune your digital tracking skills so you too can become a genuine TRACKER. To join the fun, check out the TRACKERS site by visiting www.trackersbook.com.

If you haven’t already, make sure to enter the Justine Magazine essay contest for your chance to win a trip to Comic Con to meet Patrick Carman himself! All you have to do is write about what you would do if you were indestructible. What else are you going to do with all your free time anyways? It’s summer vacation! So get to writing, and maybe you could be the one to win a trip to San Diego! Find out more info here.