Author: Brook Tesla
Title: iPooKee
Publisher: iPooKee Publishing
ISBN: 9780989693509
Pages: 320
Genre: Fiction
Author Interview with Brook Tesla
Author Interview with Brooke Tesla
Title: iPooKee
Interviewed by: Ella Vincent, Pacific Book Review
Today we’re talking with Brooke Tesla, author of iPooKee
PBR: Who inspired you to become a writer?
I have always found Hemingway’s work and style of writing a source of inspiration. In addition, a selected list of novelists have influenced me, especially those who left a deep mark on the 20th-century American literature: Sherwood Anderson, William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, Thomas Wolfe, Scott Fitzgerald, and J. D. Salinger.
PBR: September 11 is a backdrop for this novel. Was there a personal connection you had to this tragic day?
On september 11, Tuesday morning, I was working for a Wall Street financial institution. The death and destruction and the horrifying memories have never faded. I keep reliving these moments: the beautiful sunny day turned instantly into an unimaginable chaos. I’ll never forget the fear on people’s faces as they were fleeing the hazardous scenes. In the background heavy clouds of dark smoke and dust immersed the city.
PBR: iPooKee has a lot of commentary about the effect technology has on our daily lives. What are your opinions on the Internet’s influence on society?
The Internet and any other computer application, for that matter, is a source of attraction to young people and adults. This virtual technology offers new avenues to socialize and develop relationships. Furthermore, business and entertainment services have also expended their capabilities. You could shop online and bank and play games and what not.
The danger? The addiction to this intangible, virtual, world could come with a heavy price tag. Eventually, you might find yourself imprisoned in an unreal universe, often unpredictable and unescapable. As time progresses the imaginary environment consumes you. Reality, though, the concrete part of your life, shrinks, fades to the extent that it’d be hard to tell the difference between real and unreal. Nowadays, it seems that we are being controlled by computers that strip our identities away.
The power of the virtual addiction limits our freedom; diminishes our ability to think, be creative, be ourselves, dehumanizes every aspect of our lives.
Conclusion: Moderation! Strike a fine balance between your virtual and tangible views of life.
PBR: iPooKee is such a great mix of fantasy and comedy. Which fantasy books are your favorites?
Harry Potter books, The Hobbit, The Return of the King, City of Bones, The Color of Magic, A Game of Thrones,The Chronicles of Narnia, and many more…
PBR: Why is food such an important part of the City of @, like with the cooking contest and food scents coming from computers?
Food is the essence of any culture, and my characters are inseparable from the culture they live in. The foods they like or dislike paint their personalities, introduces them to the reader in colors, smells, and tastes.
PBR: Who was your favorite character to create?
One is Larry Quack. He’s evil, corrupt, and to some degree—unbalanced. For me, he represents the worse side of Wall Street. But Wall Street has also nice perspectives, one is illustrated by the beautiful personality of Rhubarb Pie, PooKee’s loving father.
PBR: What time would you like to “scrunch and puff?’’ What era would you like to time travel to if you could?
I’d visit almost any significant era in our history and I’d not reverse any time or event. My eyes are on the future.
PBR: What do you want readers to take away from iPooKee?
iPooKee is a startlingly clear mirror of our society and the country. The novel reflects the outstanding achievements of America. But it also raises concerns about what appears to be the moral, economic, and cultural decline of a world power. Are we really on the way down? Has our leadership failed us? Where are we headed? America seems to be immersed in a virtual world that dominates every aspect of our lives. Can we strike the right balance between the real and the unreal?
The book driving themes focus on our broken system of government, growing disenchantment with the country’s direction, perils to our democracy and freedom, and what appears as an accelerated decline of a world power after September 11th 2001.
