That sounds like a good way to start. A Place at the Table is an alternate universe depiction of an America that has a highly defined class structure in which every person in the country knows what class he or she is part of by the time they are out of high school. But the classes are not based on wealth, heredity, position, or occupation. They are based on individual character and aptitude. So, it shouldn’t be surprising to find a person of any one of the ten classes in any occupation. A Leader, for example, might show up in business, fashion, politics, or even as a tour guide. But elitism is still a problem with this class structure and that is what our hero, Liam, has to navigate.
If you are familiar with the genre Bildungsroman, you’ll
understand that the story focuses on the psychological and moral growth of
the protagonist from youth to adulthood. With his grandmother as an
example and Meredith by his side, Liam evolves from a self-centered boy of
privilege to a man people can trust to lead them.
I’ve become more and more cognizant of class divisions in our society through my whole life. An off-hand comment a couple of years ago mentioned that we were “ruled over by American Royalty.” In fact, my first draft of the story was titled “American Royalty.” But I wanted to define a class structure that didn’t imply traditional classes that are largely hereditary or based on wealth or occupation. Things like ‘working class,’ ‘bourgeoisie,’ ‘noble,’ or ‘royal’ were too loaded with meaning already. I wanted classes that weren’t equivalent to those but really settled on character. That’s what I set out to write and it took several drafts to get it to the place I was satisfied.
Liam Cyning is a young man just entering his majority at eighteen. He finds that he has been placed in the Leader class. But in many ways, he’s a kid trying to grow up. He’s fine in groups but facing a girl on a date makes him freeze up. He has typical questions about where he fits and what being a Leader means. He has to figure out what kind of leader he will be and where he wants to lead people. The one thing his grandmother impresses upon him most is that a leader must be incorruptible. Character, honesty, and integrity are paramount. But what we discover is that Liam simply has the kind of character that makes people want to follow him. If he has an idea, it sounds good. People just naturally get with it.
There are ten classes in this structure: Dexter, Cognoscente, Aspirant, Defender, Inquirer, Commander, Creator, Promoter, Leader, and Advisor. I was told in a palm reading once that I was the person soldiers would want to follow into battle. I can’t really imagine that myself. I think that I am by nature a Creator, though I do have a tendency toward both Inquirer and Cognoscente. Now you’ll have to read the book to find the definition of any of those classes!
Wow! I remember when my first book was published (For Blood or Money), an early reader came up to me and said, “Oh, this is you. I recognize you.” I really don’t fancy myself as a Dag Hamar cyber detective, though. I think that I’d like to be Keith Drucker from The Gutenberg Rubric. Keith is an expert in rare books and manuscripts who is still enough of an adventurer to get himself in hot water—even in a library! And he has a wonderful companion. I think I lived more of that book than any other as I researched it for twenty years!
Interestingly,
after I published The Volunteer, my older sister confronted me. “You must have had a different father than I had! That is nothing like the
one I remember!” It took me over an hour to convince her that the story
was fiction. “But I recognized some of those places.” I had to
explain that our experiences inform what we write but that doesn't make it
autobiographical.
I’m an eclectic reader and often read books that have not been released through normal channels, like online serials. And I have very limited living space as I’m a full-time RVer. So nearly all my books are electronic. I’m sorry I don’t have a paper book on my nightstand. I have two open eBooks at the moment. On my laptop, I have Japanese Cooking Made Simple from Salinas Press. I got started experimenting with Japanese cooking after watching the Midnight Diner series on Netflix. On my tablet (really beside my bed), I’ve begun re-reading the works of Robert A. Heinlein and currently have The Moon is a Harsh Mistress open. I do a bit of sci-fi writing under another name and many authors and reviewers refer to Heinlein. It seemed worthwhile to refresh my memory.
With as many different social platforms as we have these days, it’s a wonder we can keep up with them at all. Here are the best places to look for me:
My website: www.nathaneverett.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Wayzgoose/
Twitter: @wayzgoose
Patreon: www.patreon.com/nathaneverett
email through Elder Road Books: elderroadbooks@outlook.com
Blog: https://firstexit0.blogspot.com/
I think that is the best list with the widest variety of
connections. I update nearly everything at least weekly, including serializing
my novels on my website for patrons before they are released to the public.
I hope you’ll all consider joining me!
Thanks to Brit Author PA of @Alternative-Read.com for the
terrific interview questions!
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