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TITAN INTERVIEWS
APRIL 15, 2011 - WHAT THE FLUX?
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On April 9th, 2011 we sat down with the author of FLUX DEITY to discuss the upcoming Titan Books release of FLUX DEITY WHITE, also known as 'The non-secular version of Flux Deity'.
TITAN NEWS: Shortly we'll be releasing the White version of Flux Deity, also known as the 'non-secular version'. Why so many versions? It is one story, right?
GUERREY MACDAVID/GARY DAVIDSON : Absolutely. Yes. One story. The reason for the different versions has to do with structure in two cases (Red and Blue) and content in the third (White).
TITAN NEWS: Okay then. How do Red and Blue differ?
GUERREY MACDAVID/GARY DAVIDSON : When I began writing the book I wanted to impose a challenging structure to it. The first challege was that the book have symmetry. To this end the blended version of the story, and I'll explain that in a moment, has 7 chapters before the middle, and 7 chapters after the middle, for a total of 14 chapters.
The second structural challenge was that the various points of view in the book repeated in each chapter in the same sequence. That one almost drove me insane because it became more difficult to impose as I wrote. But I did it.
TITAN NEWS: Which is evident in the Red version?
GUERREY MACDAVID/GARY DAVIDSON : Correct.
TITAN NEWS: How does the Blue version differ?
GUERREY MACDAVID/GARY DAVIDSON : This is the part that throws people at first but after they've read the Red version many want to re-read it. The brilliant thing about the structure is that you don't need to buy the Blue version to read it that way, you simply have to be disciplined enough to read the Red version in a different sequence.
TITAN NEWS: Okay, you've lost me.
GUERREY MACDAVID/GARY DAVIDSON : The Blue version of Flux Deity is exactly the same story, but instead of having each character's point of view blended, instead of shifting through their stories in a linear fashion, as though shifting scenes in a movie, each characters full story is isolated unto itself, one point of view at a time. So you read all of the first character, right to his end, then all of the second, from their beginning to their end, all the way through for every single character/point of view.
TITAN NEWS: And it works?
GUERREY MACDAVID/GARY DAVIDSON : It was intentionally written to work both ways. Blue simply lays it out by character, episodically if you will, rather than sequentially.
TITAN NEWS: Yikes! So how does White do it?
GUERREY MACDAVID/GARY DAVIDSON : White is exactly the same as Red, sequential. But two character's stories have been removed and the rest has been toned down.
TITAN NEWS: Toned down? What does that mean?
GUERREY MACDAVID/GARY DAVIDSON : The main theme of the book is LOVE. The idea was to have each variation of that theme explored through each of the characters. But you can't tell that story in its entirety without ending up with some unsavoury and unpleasant plot lines. Two particular characters, one incidental, a background character, the other representative of an anchor for another storyline, were removed. Their entire stories taken out. They still exist, but now only as they react/interact to the remaining stories.
TITAN NEWS: And that works?
GUERREY MACDAVID/GARY DAVIDSON : Well, if each character's individual story works then its logical to presume any combination of them would simply add to the narrative. In this case I do think there are some rather interesting things that people reading White will miss out on, but at the same time, both of those stories are unpleasant enough that the people limiting themselves to the White version wouldn't enjoy the book if they read them.
TITAN NEWS: But isn't that censorship?
GUERREY MACDAVID/GARY DAVIDSON : No. Censorship would be saying you can't read the Red or Blue version even if you want to. This is post-mass consumer marketing, or as Burger King would say, "Have it your way!" You don't like pickles, no problem, we can take those out. In the 21st Century these things are possible. And who knows, some people who probably would never have gone near the Red or White version, because frankly they're practically erotica in sections, may be curious enough after reading the White version to eventually check them out. The point is it'll be their choice, not something thrusted upon them by an dictatorial, archaic, book delivery system.
TITAN NEWS: "Have it your way?"
GUERREY MACDAVID/GARY DAVIDSON : Why not? We can do it. That's the beauty of the Titan Books model. Hell, I'm waiting for the e-readers that encourage it because I've written the first book ever custom made for that sort of flexibility. Not a narrative you decide, but how you experience it is up to you.
TITAN NEWS: But how do you handle the sex and swearing that remain?
GUERREY MACDAVID/GARY DAVIDSON : Well that's where it got fun. There's nothing in Flux Deity white that isn't in the Bible so the trick was to find the biblical analogy to each event and then reference it. That's why it's called the 'non-secular version'.
TITAN NEWS: Yeah, like that won't offend anyone!
GUERREY MACDAVID/GARY DAVIDSON : So what? It's a book, it tells a story, and it refers to the bible for the sensitive parts. No one's going to force anyone to read it but the more you know and understand the bible the better you'll understand this story. The book has biblical elements to begin with so why not?
TITAN NEWS: You want to get it banned, don't you? Even the clean version will upset people. Heck, it may upset more people than the dirty versions do!
GUERREY MACDAVID/GARY DAVIDSON : You don't have to be rude to upset some people, sometimes all you need to do is tell the truth. Besides, some groups need to get their knickers in knots to feel useful, and that's free publicity. So?
TITAN NEWS: You're evil.
GUERREY MACDAVID/GARY DAVIDSON : There's a fine line between evil and smart. Just look at Republicans, Stephen Harper, or FAUX News.
TITAN NEWS: And on that, we're done.
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