C.M Caplan is the author of The Fall is All There Is, out now on Amazon. He is a semi-finalist in SPFBO7 with his previous novel, The Sword in the Street, and is a real life quadruplet. His short fiction has won an Honorable Mention in the 2019 Writers of the Future Contest. Now, with his latest science-fantasy tale, he has joined me for an interview to celebrate its release! Read on to learn about C.M.’s youth with Sea Yaks, an AITA post, and how his history has shaped this newest book.
Blurb: You never want to ruin a really good dramatic exit. When you flee home on a cyborg horse the exact second you turn eighteen, you don’t really expect to go back to the place you fled from, you know? But sometimes your old life hits you from behind.
Sometimes you spend years away from home, killing dangerous people who had the bad luck to get infected by a lungful of ghostfog, only to find out that your dad, the king, is dead, and now your siblings are ordering you back home for a high stakes family reunion.
But when you’ve got four heirs who are all the same age, the line of succession tends to get a wee bit murky. So in order to regain your independence, you’ve got to navigate a deadly web of intrigue, where every sibling wants your allegiance, and any decision might tear your country—and your family—apart.
Q: Before diving into the book, let’s learn a little more about the person behind it. In my research, I have learned that you gained the art of storycraft from two magical Yaks in an underwater forest. Would you be able to tell us more about your experiences with this?
C.M.: It’s important to start by googling what a yak is, cause not everyone knows that—which is something I obviously did not just have to do, as I was born with an intimate knowledge of all Land and Sea Yaks out there. Which includes the knowledge that if you can maintain a firm grip on its horns while answering its Riddles Three, you’ll instantly know how to weave a good story. That only applies to those Sea Yaks, though. Try that with a Land Yak and all you get is a comprehensive knowledge of the U.S. tax code—and since I was looking to become an author, I figured I’d probably never ear enough to justify figuring out how taxes work.
Q: In the same vein, there exists an alternate universe, almost identical to this one, except the Ghost of C.M. Future visits a young C.M. Caplan and gives him one piece of advice for indie publishing. What do you think the Ghost would tell this version of young you?
C.M.: Probably something along the lines of “CONNOR YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER TO CAP YOUR FOUNTAIN PEN BEFORE RUNNING OFF ANYWHERE!! IT’S LIKE RUNNING WITH SCISSORS, SO DON’T MAKE MY MISTAKES! YOU HAVE TO SURVIVE AND LIVE A LONG AND HEALTHY—WAIT, WHAT’S THAT NOISE…OH NO! IT’S AFTERLIFE POLICY! THEY’VE FOUND ME! YOU’LL NEVER TAKE ME ALI—oh, wait.” Or something of that nature.
Q: I find that how we act under pressure gives us a good clue as to who we are as a person, so I’m going to put you under some extreme imaginary pressure right now. You’re abducted by an alien race who combed the Earth, searching for authors they can use to spread the good word of their kind and tell humanity they’re pretty alright. So you’re “asked” to write a story, featuring these aliens as good beings. The catch is, you’re not the only one they’ve abducted. The cell door opens to a second author, one who you will be forced to spend this time co-writing the story with. Who would you most like to see as that second author?
C.M.: Well considering—and this isn’t me doing A Bit™ here, I swear to you this is true—considering Grant Morrison maintains this exact thing literally actually happened to them in Kathmandu in 1994, I feel like I’d have to tap them as my co-writer, y’know? I’ve also just generally had a goal for years now of one day finding a way to sit them down and pick their brain, so mutual alien abduction seems like probably the best possible excuse.
Q: Sorry about all that pressure, the world just wanted a peak at C.M. under pressure. We’ll do something relaxing here. What’s one fictional world you’d love to visit for vacation or otherwise?
C.M.: I’d want to go to a fictional world where everyone’s just having a chill time. Like The Shire or something, maybe. Go there, and eat a ton of food or some shit. That sounds delightful. Though given the size of their hobbit holes, I might walk out with a few concussions, so I’d like to at least take a helmet with me when I go.
Q: One fictional species you’d love to adopt as a pet or animal companion?
C.M.: The only correct answer is obviously The Mothman.
Q: Okay, let’s move on to the big event. You wrote a book, and it’s a pretty damn good one (Check out the five star review, here)! Can you describe what to expect of The Fall is All There Is, but in the form of a popular Am I The Asshole (AITA) post?
Q: Petre is our main character for The Fall is All There Is. He is a quadruplet and is autistic. How have your own experiences with quadrupletism and autism helped you craft the personal stories and conflicts Petre experiences?
C.M.: Being a quadruplet is something that, while I would never say I’m oppressed for being one—you see a lot of writers relying on cliches about siblings who are the same age, and the fact that this approach to siblings is in any way still acceptable really irks me at times. Like why do we still have books with twins who are completely interchangeable and bound at the hip and never appear in a sentence without the name of the other also showing up? I’ve always been put off by writing like that, or the weird spiritual “there’s just so connected, two souls in one body” bullshit. Cause when you have siblings the same age as you people already sort of treat you as one entity when you’re growing up, and it’s weird to see the outside world go “yeah, you’re all basically interchangeable, right?” There have been a number of times where I’ve explained what it was like to grow up as a quadruplet and people are stunned to hear that we basically grow up like any normal set of siblings, because so often siblings who are the same age are treating as having this quasi-spiritual connection. And I wanted to hit back against that. And I figured there’s probably nobody else in SFF who’s a quadruplet, and the premise of writing a succession crisis about quadruplets felt so far-fetched that I figured you’d have to be one in order to pull it off.
The autism was just an extension of the stuff I wrote with The Sword in the Street. I just wanted to get more of my lived experiences down on the page. And I’ve never been sure how to write neurotypical characters because I’ve never quite been able to pass anyone’s inner monologue off as neurotypical. With this project though—I wanted Petre to be less defined by his autism than I think Edwin was in my last book. I wanted to tap into my own experience with mental disability while not necessarily making the disability the central focus of the character like I did with Sword in the Street.
So Petre’s got his own bigger plot lines going on but at the same time you’ve got, for example—him skipping his Dad’s funeral. There’s a moment there where he’s like “my siblings really wanted me to come back. But my sister said I should do what I want. And I didn’t want to go.” And he just doesn’t understand why people would be mad, cause he’s having trouble conceptualizing why someone would tell him to do what he wants if they really wanted him to be at that funeral. While my Dad is alive and healthy, I’ve had that sort of “okay I guess I’ll do what I want—HEY WHY IS EVERYONE MAD AT ME?” interaction all the time, and I wanted to throw stuff like that in there to spice it up while still giving him a story that wasn’t immediately derived from his disability.
Q: They say authors always put a bit of themselves into every character they craft, and some say that the characters put a bit of themselves back into the author. For Petre, what do you feel is something more you have that could help that poor guy out?
C.M.: I would like to think I’m at least marginally less impulsive than he is, and I have far fewer qualms about asking people for help, or for a read on a situation than he does. Petre hates asking for help because he doesn’t like to rely on other people. And there are times I want to just knock him on the head for it ’cause he really could get out of a lot of tangles if he just stopped assuming things and tried to ask someone to help him out of a bad situation.
Q: What is something Petre has that could be helpful for you?
C.M.: I think I can just flip around the previous answer, if that makes sense. I think Petre has a confidence in his decision making that, while at times is a bit unearned, because some of his decision in this book are fairly disastrous, I would love to have that kind of confidence even when facing down almost certain failure of like “well—this will almost certainly blow up in my face. So let’s at least hope for a real fucking fantastic explosion, all right?”
Q: Fancasting is fun, so let’s say a big time Hollywood exec stopped by your door, dropped a comically large sack of gold at your feet, and asked for the rights to The Fall is All There Is, but you get the chance to suggest actors. Who would suggest for the roles of Petre and the others? (As few or as many as you’d like to come up with)
C.M.: The visual reference I’ve had for Petre is actually an actor I have never seen a performance from. A friend was telling me about a show called Frontier, and I was on Google Images for it, and there was some dude called Landon Liboiron, who when I Googled him separately, I was like “It’s him, that’s Petre.” I showed it to, I think, Krystle Matar first, who went, “Yeah, that fits. Those big eyes look a little scared and a little sad but also very determined.” At which point I knew I had the look nailed down. I dunno if he could play the part since I have not actually watched the show but he is my visual reference.
I think Jack Whitehall could make for a decent Desmon, particularly in Part III of the book, though he’s a bit too skinny for Desmon visually.
I’ve never been able to nail down anyone for Anoïse, but off the top of my head, I think Jenna Louise Coleman might be able to pull that off.
I don’t acutally know who would be a good fit for Ed, though. So if you have suggestions for him (or anyone else for that matter!) let me know! (Adam: I’m terrible at fancasting, so I’ll leave this for readers to comment on their favorite fancasting!)
Q: At one point, Petre learns of some unfavorable (or favorable, depending on your stance) rumors about himself. Have you been on the wrong side of any unfortunate rumors yourself?
C.M.: Surprisingly, I’ve been the subject of very few rumors that I know of. Except for one notable instance in which I barely even survived my first month in college without being the subject of a rumor so vile that it almost got the guy who started it expelled from the school over the fact that it was a hate crime. The only reason the dude wasn’t put through some kind of Title IX trial was because I told the dean of students I wasn’t looking to go that far. I guess that one must’ve stuck with me FOR SOME REASON.
Q: If you could reach into the world of Four of Mercies, and bring out one of the technologies, which would you most like to have?
C.M.: If we’re talking what would be useful or practical, I would love to have a chameleon coat. If we’re talking which one would most satisfy my lizard brain, I would go with the science-swords. (Adam: I definitely chose science-swords myself.)
Q: What is the best GIF to describe Petre to those who have not read your book yet?
Q: What is a GIF that will set readers’ expectations for The Fall is All There Is?
Q: Alright, the last question is an easy one. Anything else you’d like to share about your book or you as an author to those who may be interested in reading The Fall is All There Is?
C.M.: I’ve been writing this book for a year and a half please check it out this is the best thing I’ve ever done!! It’s got court intrigue and swords powered by artificially grown human thyroids, sonic guns powered by human vocal cords, trains wrapped an accordion of tissue and lizard scales and buffalo fur, weird fur trees, a cuisine of deep fried tongues from faraway foliage, cyborg horses, castles made of concrete and animal skeletons, and so much more weird shit. But mostly its a drama about what happens when a family who have no fucking clue how to deescalate a situation also happen to have the most power it is possible for a human being to have. It’s a weird, science fantasy about a someone attempting to referee his siblings’ intercontinental temper tantrums, and I love it so much. Please check it out.
Thanks so much to C.M. Caplan for taking time to join me in this interview! I had a ton of fun with it, and it was wonderful getting a chance to see your replies. Again, The Fall is All There is releases today! (November 7, 2022) Purchase links are below. NOW GO BUY A COPY AND ENJOY THE JOURNEY!
Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Review
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! Here are TEN FREE copies* of The Fall is All There Is for the first few lucky folks to make it here!
Link 2 | Link 3 | Link 4 | Link 5
Link 6 | Link 7 | Link 8 | Link 9 | Link 10
*US Only, I’ll delete as I notice they’re redeemed