M. Black’s blog:
http://mblackdystopiathrillers.blogspot.ca/
Watch Chapter 1 Reading of EXOTIQA:
TYPE OF STORY: 80,000 word YA Dystopian Robotic Thriller
-SYNOPSIS: When sixteen-year-old Fione meets Maci, a twenty-one-year-old Flexbot who escapes from ImaTech located along the crust of the Coast Mountains, Fione’s life is taken on a roller-coaster ride of events that begins with trying to save Maci from ImaTech Corporation and ends with trying to save the country.
With Fione’s best friend and love interest, a Flexbot named Pix, Fione and Maci must come face-to-face with the greatest dangers their country has ever seen and learn the disturbing secrets of the popular online program Exotiqa—which her friends, family, and most of the country has downloaded onto their Cerebral Slabs. This won’t be easy, since Maci’s only love and great enemy, nicknamed Thirty, is tracking her every move.
Get to know writer M. Black:
1. What is your novel about?
My novel takes the reader to 2055 where intelligent Flexbots live with us in our daily lives. Many Flexes begin to become more human like as humans become more robotic, blending the line between the two.
When Fione meets Maci, a Flex, she realizes she must save her from Imatech before they destroy her. Fione ends up realizing her world is in danger too by Imatech’s latest program Exotiqa, which has been downloaded into most people’s Cerebral Slabs.
With Pix, a fellow Flex friend to help Fione, and Thirty, a Flex tracker on Maci’s trail, saving the planet becomes much more complicated.
2. Why should this novel be read by people?
Anyone interested in artificial intelligence, robots and consciousness will be intrigued by this story. Questions of life and death, consciousness and programing, politics and love keeps the reader intellectually curious within the framework of an entertaining story that will appeal to fans of Divergent and IRobot.
3. How would you describe this novel in two words?
Robotic Originality
4. What movie have you seen the most in your life?
Pride and Prejudice
5. How long have you been working on this novel?
A good year
6. Do you have an all-time favorite novel?
Divergent
7. What motivated you to write this novel?
The current state of robotics, social injustice, and an uncertain future
8. What artist would you love to have dinner with?
Gustav Klimt
9. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?
Traveling, cultures, art, dancing
10. What influenced you to enter the Novel Festival?
Saw the ad and it looked cool
11. Any advice or tips you’d like to pass on to other writers?
Write because you love it and write what you love.
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Director/Producer: Matthew Toffolo
Editor: John Johnson
Casting: Sean Ballantyne
Novel Writing Festival 