Rajah Bose photo
The Truth Lenders is the world's first multimedia novel with a CD of footnotes; a story about how we might consume, spread, preserve, and value our information, news, and creative thought 500 years from now.
Thank you for coming to the April 30, 2010 release party. For those who missed the launch, we have books available now at Auntie's Bookstore, or through the PO Box and order instructions listed under "Buy". Spokane friends can also send an email to truthlenders@gmail.com to arrange to buy a book directly from the author. If you enjoy The Truth Lenders, please spread the word to your friends and family or consider passing your copy to a stranger via
BookCrossing. For those considering purchase for a younger reader; a parent's guide is available under "Novel".
About the Book
In the 26th century, design consultants Peter and Donaldson have been hired to test a product called a "news pill" taken at bedtime, inducing psychedelic dreams in which the reader gets to experience the news firsthand.
The story takes place in a hastily-reconstructed postwar Earth with a jumbled human culture: Telephones are banned, genetic engineering has resulted in talking creatures, and most musicians have signed on with corporations instead of record labels. The rest of the creative population is persecuted and underground. Propaganda begins to show up in new venues: quantum physics, math education, and Zen English, and everyone reassures the public that Truth is more readily available than ever. Truth-lending, in the undersea city of Atlas, is the act of delivering propaganda.
Adult fiction with a Footnotes CD, with tracks that correspond to passages in the novel. Real musicians represent the fictional musicians: the CD features original work by independent musicians such as Dane Ueland (Seattle, Squalrus Records), a graduate of Whitworth University; Spokane acoustic singer-songwriter Kevin Long; San Francisco record producer Joe Varela of Black Lab Recording Studios; Bellingham musician and producer DJ Ross Robinette; and long-time Spokane music journalist Isamu Jordan of KYRS and TheSomShow.com.
Parents' Guide (PDF, 16.2 MB)
To read an excerpt of the text (pp. 86-103), click
here (PDF, 916 KB)
Truth Lenders Index (DOC, 140 KB)
Author
Thuy-Dzuong Nguyen is a writer, photographer, and linguist. Graduated summa cum laude from Gonzaga University in 2007 with a B.A. in journalism and history. Worked as an online/multimedia producer for The Spokesman-Review from 2006-2008. The Truth Lenders is her first novel.
Production Credits
Novel and illustrations by Thuy-Dzuong Nguyen
Edited by Jacob Butcher
Cover's engineering drawings by Michael Nguyen
Book design and layout by Christopher Dreyer of Dreyer Press
Printed by Tieng Que Huong, a publisher based in Falls Church, Virginia, USA, with special care from respected senior journalist and writer Tran Phong Vu.
Footnotes album produced by Joe Varela of Black Lab Recording Studios; with Jae Ham, Ross Robinette, Quiz, and the author. Audio from Victoria J.S. Perri, Patrick McHenry, Kurt Olson, Isamu Jordan, Dane Ueland, Joe Varela, Jacob Butcher, Ross Robinette, Kevin Long, and the author.
Audio
The Truth Lenders has 58 footnotes in the text, 21 of which refer to the enclosed CD. Click the links below to
stream the sample tracks.
05: I Crave A Crustacean
A song written and performed by Dane Ueland based on a new ordinance regarding crustacean farms. Dane Ueland voice, mandolin, and tambourine; Rajah Bose, viola; Jae Ham, shaker. Produced by Jae Ham.
06: Graind Peters Rap
Graind Peters is a fictional newscaster who abandons news content in favor of metaphysics. Written and performed by Isamu Jordan with contributions from the author; produced by Joe Varela with engineering by Quiz.
09: Giraffes
A documentary narrative on legendary beasts. Written by the author; voiced and produced by Joe Varela.
18: Duck Wave Function
SpynSpeck's trademark song, played at the culture convention for the launch of a quantum dance called The Schrödinger Wave Function. Contains thin slices of Jacob Butcher's “Fantastic, my friend.”
19: Until I heard the sound
Written and performed by Kevin Long as the fictional Dr. Willows, recorded live at Empyrean Coffeehouse in Spokane, Wash. on February 24,
2009.
21: Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy
A song from a music box on p. 50. Performed and produced by Thuy-Dzuong Nguyen
How to Buy
For those who missed the launch, we have books available now at Auntie's Bookstore in downtown Spokane for 17.00 USD, or available by mail from the author, including shipping for 20.00 USD in the US, 24.00 USD in Canada, and 27.00 USD in Australia and Europe.
Please contact truthlenders@gmail.com for details, or send money orders or personal checks to:
PO Box 18031
Spokane, WA 99228
If ordering online, pay with PayPal.