Growing up in Brooklyn, Marc had dreams of becoming a writer at an early age. While he was editor of his high school newspaper and enjoyed creative writing, he admits he wasn't brave enough to live the life of the starving artist. Instead, he pursued a successful career in business, running divisions at American Express, GE Capital and JPMorgan Chase before retiring in 2016. Ready to return to his original passion, he started writing fiction at the Westport Writers Workshop, first with simple prompts, slowly building on short snippets that became the original material for his first novel, Memories Live Here.
The CHERL series blends artificial intelligence, family secrets, and espionage. What was the initial spark that led you to create such a unique combination?
Memories Live Here actually started out as two different workshop projects, two unrelated stories started from those initial prompts. The first story featured three adult brothers from a dysfunctional family as they attended their mother's funeral. (Having grown up in a dysfunctional household, I can assure you I had plenty of good material.) The second story was about an AI scientist planning to bring back great leaders from the past to talk sense into modern-day politicians. (We were all going through that crazy election back in 2016, so I guess politics was on my mind.) At some point I asked myself, "What if one of the dysfunctional brothers from the first story is the AI scientist I'd created for the second story? And what if this driven scientist ended up missing his mother's funeral because he was so fixated on his AI mission?" Talk about an explosion of family angst!
The two stories blended together and took off as I followed these brothers into their dark, inner places, building explanations for their painful history, history which played right into the AI theme of "bringing back people from the past." The espionage in the second book, Altered Past, came out of a small but important female character in book one. And boy, did Alina have her own story to tell.
AI is a fascinating and often controversial topic. What are your thoughts on how artificial intelligence could impact our future?
AI wasn't in the news five years ago when I started this series. Many told me how prescient they thought that first book was. But here in 2024, AI is everywhere, becoming part of our daily lives: inside our transportation systems, controlling sensitive infrastructure, answering customer service inquiries, helping with education and communications. AI will soon be ubiquitous on our phones! But as these systems become more and more sophisticated, there's a real question: how will we stay safe? What is reality? So while the CHERL series introduces readers to the enormous possibilities for AI, it's not hard to envision the simple but scary scenarios in the books.
Memories Live Here introduces the idea of using AI to communicate with historical figures and even deceased loved ones. If CHERL existed in real life, who would you want to speak to, and what would you ask?
I have a long list. But if I keep it personal, I would want to speak to my grandfather, who died when I was just six years old. He came to America on his own, leaving behind a wife and three small children, including my then seven-year-old father. My grandfather had to establish himself in America before he could bring the rest of his family over from Lithuania. I'd want to know what drove him to that decision, and what it was like when he first arrived at Ellis Island. But I'd also want to speak with him about what's going on in America today, to see if he saw parallels with what he was experiencing in Europe before he left.
Alina Petrova's journey in Altered Past dives deep into espionage and family secrets. What challenges did you face developing her character, and how does her story connect with the series?
Developing her character came from asking myself a basic question: "What if a young woman finds out that her parents used to be one of those spies living in America?" Alina Petrova was my first in-depth female character, a real challenge, but she also had to be raised in Russia. I'm certainly not an expert in what goes on in the mind of a twenty-seven-year-old Russian woman. I made it a little easier by having Alina educated at a Western-style school in St. Petersburg, and I did enough research on Russian culture to make the character and her story credible. Reading a few good books, including Russians Among Us, about the real Russian spies who lived undercover in America, helped quite a bit.
In terms of connecting with the CHERL story, I decided she would be the minor character in the first book who hacked into the CHERL system and planted ransomware. And it made sense that the Russians would ultimately look for ways to control a powerful AI tool like CHERL. The best way to make that happen was to place Alina inside the company building it.
In Parallel Minds, Dan Barry and Special Agent Lucas Foley both face impossible choices that blur the lines between right and wrong. How do you think readers will relate to these struggles?
That's actually a common theme in all three books. I'm really fascinated by thrusting otherwise normal characters into chaotic situations where the lines are blurred. In Memories Live Here, two brothers must decide if they will turn their own brother in to the FBI. In Altered Past, Alina must seduce and incapacitate men, all so her Russian handler will help her find the truth about her mother. And in Parallel Minds, Dan Barry takes desperate action to save his dying father, while Special Agent Lucas Foley tries to entrap Dan in the worst possible way. It's not clear what any of us would do if we faced similar dilemmas. Would AI help us get to the right answer? Or would AI make these situations even more complex?
Across all three books, which scene stands out as your favorite to write?
Without question, the chapters where a central character gets to speak to an AI recreation. There are several throughout the three books, but my favorite was a chapter in Memories Live Here where Dr. Josh Brodsky is interrogated by artificial intelligence. It was so intense to write, and it's still intense for me to read. Without spoiling the story, Dr. Brodsky doesn't realize he's interacting with AI until halfway through the chapter. I loved describing his slow realization that he's dealing with an intelligent computer system, and then depicting his inner calculations as he tries to outfox the AI that's drilling into his supposed criminal motivations.
What books are on your to-be-read pile right now?
- The Measure by Nikki Erlick
- Long Shadows by David Baldacci
- Camino Island by John Grisham
Can you describe your writing process?
I'm what you call a "discovery writer." Many authors work off a complete outline and map out the entire plot before they start. I only know two things before I start a new book. First, the inciting incident that will grab the reader's attention right from the start. And second, a general vision of how the story will end: what that final scene will look like, who's going to be in it, and the action or "big reveal." From there, the writing literally lets the characters and the action guide what comes next. It's a hell of a lot of fun to be surprised by something in the middle of a scene that I hadn't thought of when I started the chapter earlier that morning. I know I'm on to a great story when I can feel the energy buzzing through me as it unfolds on the page.
Beyond the near-future vision, are there common themes in your novels?
The AI is a core piece of each book, but in the end these are stories about people thrust into chaos, chaos born of lies and deceptions. Lies fed to them throughout their childhood by a mother who hid how their father really died in Memories Live Here, or by a father who concealed his past as a spy in America in Altered Past. Or even by the FBI as it pursues a reckless quest for its own redemption, and justice, in Parallel Minds. Readers can be sure these themes will continue in future installments of the CHERL series.
Is there an author who inspires you?
Absolutely: Stephen King. He wrote the definitive handbook on the craft of writing. For Stephen King, it's always about a good story, which is what I believe.
Originally published as an Author Spotlight by Rough Edges Press, October 15, 2024.
