What is the book about?
ORANGE CITY is a science fiction dystopian novel about a secret, hidden City in the future, which promises a fresh start for its inhabitants. Except you are bound to the City forever, you can never leave. It is run by a figure called “The Man,” who has attached many limbs to his body, making him resemble an arachnid. He is influenced by Stalin and uses many ways to control all his citizens to do his bidding, or they will be discarded.
What inspired you to write the book?
The novel has been something I’ve worked on for a very long time. It began as a short story set in advertising agency where one of the ad men becomes addicted to the sodas in his new ad campaign. The science fiction aspect came in later drafts. I’m really influenced by Orwell’s 1984, but also Philip K. Dick and Kafka. I’m primarily a thriller writer, and while the book has thriller elements, dystopian was a new genre for me. I’ve also seen recently what can happen in America when democracy is in danger so that seeped into the book as well.
Who is your target audience for the book?
Firstly, anyone interested in sci-fi or dystopian titles, but the book also has thriller elements and I would like to challenge readers who may not normally pick up a science fiction book. It has many parallels to our own world.
What do you hope readers get out of your book?
I always want readers to be sucked into a great story. The book has been described by Kirkus as a “slow, nightmarish bar crawl,” so I believe it pulls you in without even realizing. But I also want them to think about our own society and how easy it is to lose our democracy and freedom if the wrong people are in charge. Orange City is a product of world left barren after a terrible war where some have no other option but to join this nightmare of a City. It’s the heroism in how they stand up for what is right that I hope readers see.
What are your future goals/plans for this book?
Obviously market the hell out of it for its release on March 16th. On a bigger scale, the book will have a sequel so I’m in the midst of creating an outline. On an even bigger scale, I want to write a TV pilot based on the books. I’d written a screenplay based on it a long time ago, so will go back to that and tool around. I really see it as a TV show for a streaming channels like Netflix did with Altered Carbon. I also just sold the audio rights so that will be coming out as well.
And something more about yourself.
So, a lot who know me know that when the weather is nice, I write everyday under my tree in Central Park. Living in New York City, it really helps me to be around nature when I write, so I find the Park a refuge and parts of all of my books were written there. Right now, it’s winter, so it’s too cold to be there, but I will definitely be back in the spring. I also have a Young Adult book called RUNAWAY TRAIN coming out in May that I’m excited for too. It’s set in the 1990s about a grunge-loving girl who runs away from home to meet Kurt Cobain. It will be the start of a three-book series, so look for that soon!
Lee Matthew Goldberg
Lee Matthew Goldberg is the author of the novels THE ANCESTOR, THE MENTOR, THE DESIRE CARD and SLOW DOWN. He has been published in multiple languages and nominated for the Prix du Polar. His first YA series RUNAWAY TRAIN is forthcoming in 2021 along with a sci-fi novel ORANGE CITY. After graduating with an MFA from the New School, his writing has also appeared in The Millions, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, LitReactor, Monkeybicycle, Fiction Writers Review, Cagibi, Necessary Fiction, the anthology Dirty Boulevard, The Montreal Review, The Adirondack Review, The New Plains Review, Underwood Press and others. He is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Fringe, dedicated to publishing fiction that’s outside-of-the-box. His pilots and screenplays have been finalists in Script Pipeline, Book Pipeline, Stage 32, We Screenplay, the New York Screenplay, Screencraft, and the Hollywood Screenplay contests. He is the co-curator of The Guerrilla Lit Reading Series and lives in New York City.
Follow him on Twitter @LeeMatthewG
Visit his website: http://www.leematthewgoldberg.com/
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