Retro aesthetics and vintage technology may be in vogue, but the horrors crawling beneath the nostalgia of “better times” cannot be ignored.
BELOW THE BLUE CIRCUITS is a standalone book that takes place in the mid-1970s, and explores the intertwined worlds of technology, identity, sexuality, conspiracy, politics of the workplace, and the dangers of self-denial. (All evergreen topics for the average queer person; am I right?) Don’t worry about the pixelated entity crawling out of the computer screen. Everything will be just fine.
A funded campaign means I get to hire a real-life human editor, and in return you get a paperback (or digital) copy of BLUE CIRCUITS that is polished and reads like a dream. Along with any other goodies you may be inclined to grab along the way, of course. Back the project today, and you’ll be able to read the book weeks before its wide release!
BLUE CIRCUITS is the embodiment of so much of what I love and want to see bundled up into a single, feverish narrative. Beyond the aesthetics of a time period, this novel is here to recognize the existence of queerness prior to this modern era in a way that breaks the mold of endless tragedy and misery.
…This is still a horror novel, though. There will be plenty of tragedy and misery; but that’s not to say we can’t have a little fun with it.
Fall 1976. When Computer Scientist Dennis Herschel finds an impossible message in the dataset he’s been tasked to untangle, his mind is only the first thing to decay.
His wife won’t look at him, coworkers won’t stop touching him, and Supercomputer GDSS01—affectionately referred to as Gladys—insists that a better life awaits him on the other side of the screen.
However, “a better life” doesn’t quite carry the same meaning between a hyper-intelligent machine and the neurotic human at its helm. While both are alternate forms of the same processes, the hardware incompatibility makes their relationship more than a little complicated.
GENRE: Horror, science-fiction
AUDIENCE: Adult
LENGTH: Novel (approx. 60,000 words)
PAPERBACK DIMENSIONS: 5.5" x 8.5"
∆ DENNIS HERSCHEL
Lead Computer Scientist at KT Laboratories’ East Division, Dennis is the average man whose priorities are as straight as they come. A lifetime of scrounging up cash to make ends meet means that he will do whatever it takes to remain in his new employer’s good graces—even if the assigned tasks make no sense.
But he’s got a wife and kid at home, and the long hours spent in the lab are worth every single insanity-inducing headache if it means granting them the life he never had. Family is the only thing that matters to Dennis, and he will do everything in his power to keep them safe from himself.
∆ ELAINE WATERS
Data Analyst at KT Laboratories’ East Division, Elaine ranks as the second smartest person in the R&D Department. Despite missing the opportunity to serve as one of the human computers to put man on the moon, Elaine proudly wears her expertise on her sleeve in the predominately male (not to mention White) demographic of her office.
Affectionately called “The Life of the Office” by fellow colleagues, Elaine remains a private person with a functional work/life balance courtesy of forces outside of her control.
A longtime friend of the Herschels, she is the one responsible for Dennis’ enrollment in KT’s independent study of NASA’s lunar samples.
∆ VEE KAY
A self-proclaimed hippie, music lover, and mid-century aesthetics enthusiast, Vee is the newest hire at Dennis' sector in KT Laboratories' East Division. Effortlessly charming and borderline unnerving, Vee's area of expertise is less on the computational front and more on the philosophical applications of quantum engineering.
This all must be taken at face value, however. Vee's official employment records are heavily redacted, no one on the team is familiar with his so-called research, and his alleged alma mater only lists his father as an alumnus five decades prior.
Despite these anomalies, Vee's uncanny ability to outpace GLADYS' mathematical processes with no tools other than his own brain makes the man a god among a room full of geniuses ahead of their time—even with his propensity to lick moon rocks.
Below the Blue Circuits is a novel that samples themes and genre-aesthetics that can be found in titles such as:
There is No Antimemetics Division by QNTM
William by Mason Coile
Severance (2022 — ongoing, TV Series)
Beyond the Black Rainbow (2010), dir. Panos Cosmatos
The Void (2016), dir. Steven Kostanski, Jeremy Gillespie
KinitoPET (2024, Video Game)
The Stanley Parable (2013, Video Game)
Honorary mentions:
The SCP Foundation
Control (2019, Video Game)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), dir. Stanley Kubrick
Mitch Miller’s the name, and writing is the game. Horror author of the sci-fi and weird kind, I’ve been playing in the literary sandbox for over two decades, crafting castles as queer as me. The extent of my horror writing has reached magazines in the shape of narrative poetry, and institutions such as the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the form of award-winning stage plays.
Prowling the internet since the mid-90s, I’ve been forged in its ever-changing fires and polished within the communities I’ve been calling home for nearly three decades. Basically, I’m a huge geek who believes in the possibilities the digital space can provide emerging artists from all sorts of backgrounds. From creepypastas, to SCP, to indie horror, to analog horror—I’m the #1 cheerleader for every starry-eyed kid messing around with Blender for the first time, and every overworked adult typing at their desk into the dead of night.
Writing aside, I’m an educator, streamer, video editor, and amateur filmmaker, coder, game dev, and producer. Feel free to chalk that all up to my Gay Audacity.
Originally from Puerto Rico, I live in Colorado with the hope that some of the greatness from so many of the horror authors living here will rub off on me. Looking at you, Stephen Graham Jones.
Tier prices do not include shipping costs. Please note that unlike other crowdfunding sites, Backerkit charges shipping costs after the campaign has concluded. As of right now, physical rewards will ship almost everywhere, but excludes most EU countries.
Timeline wise, Below the Blue Circuits is currently undergoing its second draft. If funded, this draft will go through at least one more iteration before getting sent out to my editor. Based on previous experience, I expect the manuscript's completion to be during early summer 2027, with fulfillment taking place during late fall. During that time period, all other rewards will go into production ASAP in order to minimize the waiting period once the book goes to print.
Digital and physical rewards will be sent out at the same time.
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