Category: Author Feature (page 1 of 2)

AUTHOR FEATURE: ER Arroyo

June 17, 2015 /

Author Feature ER Arroyo

ER’s Story

PFD Story Title: Martial Law
PFD Chapter: Twenty
Main Character: Kane, a National Guard pilot doing self-appointed search and rescue missions in the New York area

Teaser

“Shhh.” Kane brought a finger to his lips.

When Kane returned to the peephole, a bloodshot eye greeted him, followed by a loud thud against the door. “You alive? Still not minding your own business? I’m doin’ her a favor, you hear?” the man yelled through the door. “I’ll do you one, too! Who else you got in there with you?”

Mini-Interview

How does Prep For Doom compare to other things you’ve written?

My YA dystopian series takes place around 20 years after the apocalypse, and it was chemical warfare in that case. This is a much different approach with it being a viral pandemic and writing about the actual apocalypse instead of the aftermath. Like my two novels and one short story (so far) in the Sovereign Series, my story in Prep For Doom – Martial Law – also has a fair bit of action, especially at the start.

What is your favorite thing about this project? 

Hands down, the authors. These folks not only donated their time and their stories to this book, but they were all so gracious and humble in the editing stages. The vast majority of them – dare I say all – have never collaborated with other writers on anything like this. Many have never collaborated on a writing project at all. So the idea of wrangling twenty personalities together to create a cohesive story is mind-boggling! But they understood what we were trying to do, knowing there wasn’t a precedent for us to follow. I can’t thank all of the 19 other authors enough for trusting me (and Sara Benedict) with this vision we had. This book is so special!

Do you or does anyone you know prep for disasters? 

Yes, my co-founder of Band of Dystopian. Cheer Papworth’s family preps for disasters. She’s well-stocked and her stash is in a top secret location! Seriously impressive.

What do you think would be the scariest kind of apocalypse?

I can’t remember the name of it, but sometime back in the 90’s, I think it was, or maybe early 2000’s, I watched a movie where the power went out indefinitely and people were breaking into each other’s homes, looting everywhere, and hurting people. It was a survival thing, like finding a safe place where you can get supplies but also protect yourself from horrible people taking advantage of the lawlessness. To me, that’s the scariest thing. Anytime the power goes out for longer than a few minutes, I’m always super on edge and imagining how to protect my family from horrible people like the bad guys in that movie. People are far more terrifying to me than any other threat or creature. What are you going to do if someone breaks into your house or something and there are no police to call? I have a two-year old to think of!

Tell us a little about your Prep For Doom character(s) and story.

My story, Martial Law, follows a rogue National Guardsman doing search and extraction missions, finding survivors and bringing them to safety. It all goes horribly wrong when his co-pilot disappears with his helicopter.

As Prep For Doom’s managing editor, I had the unique perspective of seeing everyone else’s stories before writing my own. In fact, with the way the stories were written with connections and the overarching plotline, my team (Cheer Papworth, Sara Benedict, and Angie Taylor) and I knew there needed to be a conclusion, and as the only author who’d seen all the stories, we knew that had to be me. I had a lot of fun bringing in characters from other stories throughout the book and giving a bit of closure to several characters as well as the book overall.

 

A message from ER Arroyo

As we near the release of Prep For Doom – mere hours away – I want to humbly express my utter gratitude for all of the support this book has received.

In the very beginning stages when this was nothing more than a Facebook conversation with a few dozen authors. Later, when we were editing and the authors in the book were so supportive of each other and of BOD’s vision for PFD. The Kickstarter campaign that absolutely blew our socks off in an unbelievably short timeframe. Likewise with the Thunderclap campaign. The enthusiasm our Band of Dystopian Authors and Fans members bring to anything we do never ceases to astound Cheer and me, and make us so, so happy to be a part of it.

I want to thank Cheer, Angie, and Sara for helping work through the story submissions and make the impossible decisions of which to keep. Thanks especially to Sara Benedict for helping me edit, and for always being a sounding board for ideas and different problems that arose, and helping me find solutions. Also, thank you Sara and your team at Your Elemental Solutions for being with us every step of the way, from creation to publication and beyond.

Tomorrow, at long last, we will debut this book at utopYA Con in Nashville, TN. You can also expect some noise on BOD for the release, as well as a huge release party on the 27th.

On behalf of Band of Dystopian and all of the Prep For Doom authors, we hope you love the book!

 

AUTHOR FEATURE: Monica Enderle Pierce

June 16, 2015 /

Author Feature Monica Pierce

Monica’s Story

PFD Story Title: Blood Brother
PFD Chapter: Nineteen
Main Character: Harman, a man on his way to meet up with his brother at a bunker

Teaser

Luca lifted his shot glass. “To brothers reunited at the end of the world.”

Harman raised his glass too, and then downed the shot, welcoming the liquor’s heat as it seared his parched throat.

Luca took Harman’s glass and put it beside the Double Cross bottle. “We’re familia.” He turned and gripped Harman’s shoulder. “And we take care of each other.”

Mini-Interview

What is your favorite thing about this project?

Strangely, my favorite aspect of this project is the fact that I have a story in it. When it was first proposed, I threw my hat in the pile immediately, knowing it would be a unique opportunity but tough on my already tight schedule. As the deadline loomed, I was struggling to make my story work, struggling to find the time to fit it in between another anthology deadline and volunteer work for my daughter’s school, and struggling to overcome bronchitis. Tired and frustrated, I decided to withdraw from the project. Then E.R. posted on Facebook that she needed more stories with characters who were heading toward the Kingston bunker rather than Staten Island. So I sent Harman north and started thinking about the unintended victims of villains — their families. With that, the story wrote itself within two days. And, happily, Blood Brother is the penultimate chapter in this very fine anthology.

How did you prepare for writing your PFD story? Any particular research or personal experience?

My main character Harman was inspired (very loosely) by a family friend whose extensive world travels included time spent living in the Orinoco with the Yanomami tribe. Our friend is Romani and one of the most interesting people I’ve ever known. With that basic background in mind, I researched the Roma culture and very quickly learned about their tight family-based society, as well as the social pressures the Romani face worldwide. The experiences of Harman and his brother Luca are based upon a documentary I watched about the Romani in Slovakia. I wasn’t looking for a reason for the brothers’ actions when I started my research, but that documentary and news footage covering Neo-nazi attacks on Roma neighborhoods throughout Europe, presented an impetus for intelligent, but sensitive, men to make some disturbing choices.

What was it like working with the other authors to create such an integrated anthology?

As I said before, this tale came together after E.R.’s request for more Kingston stories. The events and characters’ actions evolved as I had discussions with Kelsey Gegan, who was working on a Kingston-based story, too. (Thank you for all your geographical information, Kelsey!) Then some back-and-forth brainstorming sessions with E.R. via Facebook helped me hone my characters and tweak my story to fit the whole collection. A great deal of discussion took place in the PFD Facebook group, and it was great fun to see details that the other authors were putting into their stories. E.R. made the editing process a snap, and I quite liked making little changes (per her suggestions) knowing that they were threads tying my story tighter to others in the anthology.

Have you ever experienced a major disaster that made you think about end of the world scenarios?

I grew up in Southern California where earthquakes and wildfires were anticipated yearly experiences, and the Cold War meant neighbors with fallout shelters and nuclear blast drills at school. I was an infant during the Sylmar earthquake and an adult for the Northridge quake. Growing up, we watched wildfires burn friends’ homes and took meals to the firefighters who stood between our house and fifty-foot flames. (There’s definitely something apocalyptic about a black sky, hot howling winds, and a red-eye sun.) By the time I was eight, I knew how to pack for evacuation and knew my job was to beat out burning embers with a wet towel as they landed in our yard. And, as a young adult fresh out of college, my shared apartment dodged the destruction of the Los Angeles riots (post-Rodney King) by virtue of one block.

I learned from those experiences that at the end of the world, the only thing that will matter is the people we love.

 

AUTHOR FEATURE: Hilary Thompson (w/ Video)

June 15, 2015 /

Author Feature Hilary Thompson

A Message from Hilary

Hilary’s Story

PFD Story Title: Lucky
PFD Chapter: Eleven
Main Character: Arie, a girl with no family, a missing leg, and no one to trust – except maybe a guy she kind of knows

Teaser

Taking a deep breath, she knelt next to Bas one last time, driving the tailspin of emotion in the other direction. Bas would tell her to keep moving: the chemicals would run out soon. She’d lost people before. She’d make it through this. Find new people.

Humanity was just one big lost and found now.

Mini-Interview

How does Prep for Doom compare to other things you’ve written?

My Starbright series is dystopian – it’s kind of like what happens 100 years after Prep for Doom! I’ve had a lot of fun restructuring society after a major population cleansing, but going backward in time to visualize what was happening in the moment of destruction was very enlightening! It actually caused me to add a new scene into one of my novellas, where they find evidence of the violence to which people will resort in order to survive.

What is your favorite thing about this project?

The collaboration! The sense of community we have in the PFD group is so refreshing, and it’s made each of our stories better, I think, to see what everyone else is doing. I haven’t just written a story, I’ve made so many friends!

What was it like working with the other authors to create such an integrated anthology?

Like I said above, it was flat-out fun. The enthusiasm our group has for writing (and for Facebook stickers) is just amazing inspiration. It gave me a sense of validation as a writer, to be included in a group like this! This book is full of absolutely amazing stories.

Have you ever experienced a major disaster that made you think about the end of the world scenarios?

A few years ago, our local area had an ice storm – not much happens in small towns, so people still just call it “the ice storm,” and we all know. It knocked out power for nearly everyone in a two-hour radius, for a couple of weeks. People had to bunk with friends, family, and sometimes neighbors. We had to work together – a lot of people didn’t have heat in negative degree temperatures, so it was a fairly dangerous situation. The first thing my husband did when it was all over was buy a generator!

What do you think would be the scariest kind of apocalypse?

Does alien invasion count? I hate “creatures.” Not knowing what something might be able to do to you and your planet creeps me out. The book/movie War of the Worlds was one that got to me for a very long time.

Tell us one thing people don’t know about you or might be surprised to find out?

I don’t keep a lot of secrets, but a lot of my students and friends would be surprised that I’ve recently been a little obsessed with coloring. I’m always so productive! But I bought myself a mandala coloring book and some nice markers and pencils. It’s very soothing – in my crazy life, the concentration involved in coloring is therapeutic. Plus I like pretty things.

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Tell us a little about your Prep for Doom characters and story.

My main character Arie is a girl who has been through a lot – the death of her father at a young age, the loss of her leg, and now she takes care of her uncle and runs her dad’s pawn shop. She’s used to giving orders, in other words! But when her tiny sanctuary is threatened, she has to leave everything she’s built and put her trust in someone she really doesn’t know that well. Her personal struggle in trusting someone is almost as hard as her physical struggle to survive – a scenario a lot of us could relate to, I think.

AUTHOR FEATURE: Amy Bartelloni

June 12, 2015 /

Author Feature Amy Bartelloni

 

Amy’s Story

PFD Story Title: Second Chances
PFD Chapter: Eight
Main Character: Sierra, a teen reunited with her ex when he arrives to drag her out of her self-loathing to bring her to safety

 

Teaser

A lump formed in her throat as she looked up to the TV, where a reporter was standing outside a hospital, ambulances flying back and forth while she interviewed some military official who was trying to remain calm. The same kind of bullshit Jake could see from a mile away. She could almost hear him saying that when the government says things are all right, it’s time to get out of town.

 

Mini-Interview

What is your favorite thing about this project?

I’m amazed at the talent and the level of collaboration on this project.  Blown away, really.  I’ve read compilations before that are just a book of short stories.  This is more than that.  This is a full story told from twenty-one different perspectives from twenty different authors.  I don’t think I realized the talent level of the other authors when I stepped in to this project, and now I’m so thankful to be involved with it.

Has being a part of Prep For Doom changed your outlook on disaster preparation and/or apocalyptic scenarios? 

I would like to say it has, but the truth is I’m too lazy to disaster prep in a meaningful way. I have friends that do it, and I’m in awe of them. I have some things shuffled away in case of emergency, but I’m afraid it wouldn’t last us much longer than a month. Reading this has definitely made me think more about my lack of preparedness!

Tell us a little about your Prep For Doom character(s) and story.

I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of real life characters put in extraordinary circumstances. Because the truth is, in any kind of disaster you’re going to have real people that come from real lives and have real problems they can’t just leave behind. I’ve always been interested in how those real problems translate to their post-apocalyptic experience. Do you take your baggage with you? Of course you do. That’s how the character of Sierra was born. I wanted to put her in the middle of a huge emotional crisis that she doesn’t have time to deal with before the world falls apart. So, not only does she have to deal with this virus, she has to deal with the emotional aftermath of a terrible accident (that was her fault), and some behavior toward her ex that she’s not proud of, though it turns out he was right all along. It took a lot of thought to sift through what was important to her, and how she could move forward. I hope it’s relatable, because despite what’s going on in the story, human nature doesn’t change and I want people to understand this character and her struggles.

AUTHOR FEATURE: TK Carter

June 11, 2015 /

Author Feature TK Carter

 

TK’s Story

PFD Story Title: Lethal Inception
PFD Chapter: One
Main Character: Michael, a trouble-making teen with a knack for hacking computers, on the day of the outbreak in New York City.

 

Teaser

Hacking into his parents’ lab notes had never been much of a challenge. They used the same passwords for email, bank accounts, and thankfully, their lab notes. He scanned recent notes and found nothing of interest, so he backed up six months and scanned the notes until the acronym flashed. He scrolled up and read words that chilled his blood. “Viral… high mortality rate… airborne… death within twenty-four hours of exposure.”

 

Mini-Interview

Has being a part of Prep For Doom changed your outlook on disaster preparation and/or apocalyptic scenarios?

Very much so! I’m the typical Aries, so I fly by the seat of my pants ninety-nine percent of the time.

While reading the first draft of the anthology, I studied my surroundings to see just how prepared I’d be if something like this ever went down. Y’all – don’t bother coming to loot my house – there isn’t a thing here you’d need for surviving.

What do you think would be the scariest kind of apocalypse?

For me, as an American, I think a rapidly spreading pandemic like the virus in Prep for Doom would be the most frightening and helpless experience. One that we wouldn’t be prepared for at all. As I was reading the anthology, I thought of the countless numbers of dead bodies lying around decomposing in streets – compromised water supply, panicked and grief stricken survivors, mass suicides. Yeah, it freaked me out, all right.

Have you ever experienced a major disaster that made you think about end of the world scenarios?

I was in the Missouri Army National Guard (1996-2004) and spent two weeks in Honduras after Hurricane Mitch ravaged the country in 1998. It was a humanitarian mission, but our MP unit also provided security for the engineers who were rebuilding roads and bridges.

I was twenty-two years old, newly married, and I had already settled into an attitude of entitlement and “more, more, more. New clothes, new this, new that, I want, I want, I want.” We were living in an old trailer, driving decent vehicles, and had nice things, but I was dissatisfied and in a funk. And then, I went to Honduras.

We had an ungodly long bus ride from the airport to the post we’d call home for two weeks. On that bus ride, I saw firsthand the wrath and devastation of the hurricane and the depths of poverty in the area. I’ve never been more ashamed of myself as I looked through the bus windows with tears streaming down my face – little mud houses with dirt floors, no windows, and bright, smiling faces. They had nothing and were happy. I had everything and was miserable.

On that trip, I met a man who changed my life forever. I’ve long forgotten his name, but his face is burned in my memory. I operated the gate into the camp; soldiers and civilians had to sign in/out, explain their purpose for leaving/visiting, then they could meander on their way. One day, this man came in, smiling and singing in Spanish to sign in. He had a white mask on top of his head and cleaning supplies in his bag. I asked the interpreter to find out the purpose of his visit, and his response floored me. He was there to clean the porta-potties. I grimaced and apologized for his bad luck, and he waved me off saying he was happy to have a job. He was grateful for the opportunity to give back and earn money at the same time. He had the single most disgusting job I could ever imagine, and day after day, he showed up, signed in, smiled, and went to work.  On my last day there, he showed up with his guitar and sang for me – a beautiful song in Spanish, his voice curling over the air and landing in my soul, a song I’ll never remember but a lesson I’ll never forget.

This doesn’t answer the question, per se, but I wonder about him and the other people I met while I was there and hope they’re doing well.  And I hope I get to tell them someday how much they changed my life.

Tell us a little about your Prep For Doom character and story.

Lethal Inception is the story I wrote about a seventeen-year-old hacker kid, Michael, who was recently expelled from yet another high school for hacking into the school’s grading system and altering final grades for football players. His parents, Dr. Steven and Dr. Karen Phelan, are two scientists who worked on a vaccine for AVHF (unbeknownst to Michael). When their research files go missing, they both accuse Michael of hacking their system as a prank, but their assumptions are dead wrong.

 

AUTHOR FEATURE: Jon Messenger

June 10, 2015 /

Author Feature Jon Messenger

 

Jon’s First Story

PFD Story Title: HAZMAT
PFD Chapter: Four
Main Characters: Retired couple headed for the safe zone on Staten Island

 

Teaser from HAZMAT

“Those suits,” the man said feverishly. “They can keep me safe, stop me from getting sicker.”

Terry shook his head. “You’re already infected. The suit won’t do anything for you now.”

“You can’t just leave me here,” the man sobbed quietly, doubling over where he stood.

“I’m really sorry,” Terry said, turning away and walking briskly to catch up to Lilly.

“You can’t leave me here!” the man yelled as he ran toward them with a surprising burst of speed.

 

Jon’s Second Story

PFD Story Title: CDC
PFD Chapter: Ten
Main Character: Cassandra, a CDC investigator visiting New York to examine evidence surrounding the NYC outbreak

 

Teaser from CDC

She withdrew her hand and noticed a metallic blue clinging to her glove. “Paint transfer.” She glanced up at him. “Definitely not from the armored truck.”

“Could it have been from the barrels he hit?” he offered.

Cassie held up her fingers so he could see the blue paint. “Someone rammed him into that wall.”

Chuck whistled softly. “I know a lot of people who aren’t going to like this report.”

 

Mini-Interview

Tell us one thing people don’t know about you or might be surprised to find out? 

As much as I love writing, it’s still not my day job.  I’ve been an US Army medical officer for the past 13 years, to include two combat deployments during that time.  My experiences in the Army lend themselves to the realism and grittiness that I often include in my writing.

How did you prepare for writing your PFD story? Any particular research or personal experience? 

Shortly before the idea for PFD was announced, I was assigned as the medical officer in charge of an Ebola monitoring facility.  For Soldiers, Airmen, and Sailors returning from West Africa, they had to go through a 21-day monitoring to ensure they hadn’t contracted the disease.  Part of my training involved deep research into Ebola – filoviruses in general – and their signs and symptoms.  Since the virus in PFD mirrored many of the Ebola symptoms, it added a touch of realism to my stories.

What was it like working with the other authors to create such an integrated anthology? 

I can say with all sincerity that I’ve never worked on a project like this before.  Working closely with other authors to tie our stories together was amazing.  It wasn’t provoked by the creators like you’d imagine; the authors were excited enough on their own to find ways to tie all the stories together.  It was incredible and was definitely a unique project.  Because of how amazing the anthology became, I expect to see other anthologies borrowing this concept in the future.

What do you think would be the scariest kind of apocalypse? 

The scariest for me, hands down, is a zombie apocalypse.  Nearly everything else is an annihilation-level event, where the majority of the world’s population is eliminated in a short period of time.  The truth is, I could live comfortably on my own, even if I was the only living person for hundreds of miles in each direction.  Zombies frighten me because every person that dies becomes another enemy.  It’s not that you have to survive the apocalypse; you have to mourn the loss of your friends once when they die and then again when you have to put a bullet in their zombie brain.

Tell us a little about your Prep For Doom characters and stories.

I had the incredible honor of writing not just one but two short stories for the anthology.  Because of my medical background, I helped design the virus (you can blame me later for any perceived medical errors). That lead to a request for me to write CDC, where some of the backstory is revealed.  In CDC, Cassie – a CDC field investigator – assists the NYC CDC team in finding the source of the outbreak.  Cassie is an incredibly resilient woman, focused so completely on her job that she’s mostly unfazed by the wanton death and destruction around her.

HAZMAT was the exact opposite story.  Where CDC was about Cassie’s yearning for the truth, HAZMAT’s Terry and Lilly is a story about an older retired couple just trying to survive.  They’re not brave or confident; they’re what I would assume most people would be during a real apocalypse: scared.  They’re searching for a safety and sanity in what is quickly becoming an insane world.  They’ve heard that Staten Island is safe… all they have to do is get there.

AUTHOR FEATURE: Kate L. Mary

June 9, 2015 /

Author Feature Kate Mary

 

Kate’s Story

PFD Story Title: Don’t Look Back
PFD Chapter: Eighteen
Main Characters: Eve, a young woman who finds refuge at Charleston Air Force Base, and Hicks, one of the soldiers.

 

Teaser

“Charleston Air Force Base is safe, and we want to keep it that way. We want to survive, we want to start over, and we want to keep order. Those are our goals.”

 

Mini-Interview

How does Prep For Doom compare to other things you’ve written? 

Prep For Doom isn’t the first thing I’ve worked on that starts with the outbreak of a virus. My Broken World series also has a killer virus sweeping the country, but there is one significant difference between that virus and the one in Prep For Doom. My virus turns people into zombies.

While writing a zombie series is fun, the survival aspect of apocalyptic stories is what I really love. It had already entered my mind that I should start a non-zombie series after finishing Broken World, so when the opportunity to get involved with Prep For Doom popped up, it seemed like perfect timing.

What do you think would be the scariest kind of apocalypse?

Zombies would have to be the scariest possibility—no matter how far-fetched. In a zombie apocalypse the survivors wouldn’t just have to deal with all the unknown factors that come with weather, survival, and other human beings, but they’d have to do it all while hiding from flesh eating creatures. It just adds another layer to the survival aspect, which is why I think so many people are enthralled with the zombie genre right now.

Tell us one thing people don’t know about you or might be surprised to find out?

I really didn’t start writing until about three years ago.

I wrote a little on and off in when I was in my teens, but after that life got in the way and even though it was something I always wanted to do, writing got pushed aside. I went off to college, got married, then started having kids, and for a long time I was just too busy to fit it in. Then my family moved to California and my husband was gone all the time, and I found myself with a lot of free time. Everything just kind of fell into place after that, and I spent the next two years writing and polishing my skills until I finally had a product that was good enough to get published. I wrote a lot during that time—around ten books—but some of the early stuff is so bad that they’re going to need a major overhaul before I can do anything with them. My first book came out last May, and since then I’ve put out four other books on my own, gotten an agent, landed a three book deal, sold the audio rights to my Broken World series, and put a short story in this anthology! It’s been a busy year and right now it doesn’t look like it will be slowing down any time soon.

Tell us a little about your Prep For Doom character(s) and story.

I like to use bits and pieces from my life when I write and put my characters in settings I’m familiar with, and Don’t Look Back is the perfect example! It not only takes place in Charleston, SC, but on the Air Force Base where I actually lived with my family for about a year and a half (before buying a house and moving off base). Hicks, one of my main characters, is also a C-17 pilot just like my husband. We’ve joked so many times about stealing a C-17 when the zombie apocalypse happens, so before I even started writing I was trying to figure out a way to integrate that into my story.

While I don’t want to give away too much about what you can expect to find in Don’t Look Back, I will say that I’m known for throwing romance into post-apocalyptic settings, and this story is no exception!

 

AUTHOR FEATURE: Laura Albins (w/ Video)

June 8, 2015 /

Author Feature Laura Albins

A Message from Laura

Laura’s Story

PFD Story Title: Nan Tapper
PFD Chapter: Nine
Main Character: Owen Tapper, a boy riding out the pandemic in the seclusion of his grandmother’s farm

 

Teaser

Owen wiped sweat from his eyes and walked back to the front, scanning the yard, the driveway, the woods, looking for any sign of strangers. The farm was secluded, surrounded by thick forest at the front and the river out back, but Owen felt sure that someone would remember the old farm at the end of the lane. One day, probably soon, someone would come.

 

Mini-Interview

How does Prep For Doom compare to other things you’ve written?

Believe it or not, Prep For Doom is my first attempt at a short story. Having to fit an entire plot with rounded characters and a complete ‘beginning’, ‘middle’ and ‘end’ into such a short word count is so different from writing a novel. You have to be much more disciplined which was challenging but ultimately very rewarding.

What is your favorite thing about this project?

I have loved the co-operation and camaraderie amongst the writers. Considering the story came from the minds of so many different authors, the anthology flows incredibly well and the overall plot is excellent.

Do you or does anyone you know prep for disasters?

No. I’m British and for us ‘prepping’ isn’t really a thing. We probably imagine ourselves, in the face of disaster, heading down the pub for a few last pints Shaun of the Dead style.

Has being a part of Prep For Doom changed your outlook on disaster preparation and/or apocalyptic scenarios?

Not really. I think I’ll probably stick with the pub plan!

Tell us a little about your Prep For Doom character(s) and story.

My character isn’t a prepper. Owen’s just a normal teenage kid. He’s scared and lost, he doesn’t know what to do. He’s just managing the best he can, thinking he can keep his head down and avoid confrontation with reality. Unfortunately the story doesn’t let him and he’s going to have to make some difficult choices if he wants to survive.

 

AUTHOR FEATURE: Kate Corcino (w/ Video)

June 4, 2015 /

Author Feature Kate Corcino

A Message from Kate

Kate’s Story

PFD Story Title: Survival Mode
PFD Chapter: Seventeen
Main Characters: Chad – the boyfriend of Wendy from Casey Hays’ story, Edge of a Promise – Chad’s little sister, Annee, and her friend Elena.

 

Teaser

She pulled into the lot behind him. The smell wasn’t bad—not yet. They hadn’t been left out in the sun for long.

Chad walked among the dead. He stopped over a young man. Someone he recognized?

“Is it them?”

He nodded. His throat worked. “Some of them.”

 

Mini-Interview

How does Prep For Doom compare to other things you’ve written? 

Normally, writing is a very solo occupation. Prep for Doom was different from the start. It was this community of writers working together to build something amazing—there were planning sessions and chats and encouragement as we went. It was unique and wonderful.

What was it like working with the other authors to create such an integrated anthology?

I know we each keep saying that it was amazing. It really was. It wasn’t just working with everyone on the overarching theme, either. I worked very closely with Casey Hays, as our stories are linked. It was the first time I collaborated on a story, and she made it easy and enjoyable.

Have you ever experienced a major disaster that made you think about end of the world scenarios? 

Not major, no. But I experienced political upheaval, bombings at my parents’ places of work, and repeated bomb threats to my school when I lived in Europe. It was very real and often frightening. Those experiences inform my apocalyptic and post-apoc writings, because what I discovered was that we DO cling to the things that matter most—our family and friends. I’ve heard others say that at the “end of the world” romance will be the last thing anyone thinks about, but I disagree. Friendship matters. Love matters. Retaining humanity through the darkness matters. And those are the reasons I read and write in this genre.

AUTHOR FEATURE: Harlow C. Fallon

June 4, 2015 /

Author Feature Harlow Fallon

 

Harlow’s Story

PFD Story Title: Where You Hang Your Hat
PFD Chapter: Sixteen
Main Character: Luke, a teen on his own protecting his family’s farm despite the fact that his family never made it home from the hospital.

 

Teaser

“Things are different now, Luke. The world is different. You’ve heard the reports. Most of the population is gone and that means those who are left just want to survive at any cost. It means the rules have changed. Priorities have changed. It means you have to change.”

 

Mini-Interview

How does Prep For Doom compare to other things you’ve written? 

It’s quite different. I’ve mostly written sci-fi and fantasy stories. My two novels are fantasy. I love post-apocalyptic fiction so this idea struck all the right notes for me.

What is your favorite thing about this project? 

The whole idea of writing individual stories with the same theme—a terrible pandemic that wipes out most of the world’s population—just blew me away. When I had the opportunity to read all the stories and give feedback. Reading how each author’s characters dealt with such a catastrophe, overwhelmed me a little. I admit I was brought to tears more than once. All the stories wove together so well, almost as if it was a novel written by one person.

What was it like working with the other authors to create such an integrated anthology? 

I have never met a more caring, supportive group of people. I don’t know any of them in real life, but they’ve still become dear friends. I loved having an opportunity like this, to brainstorm, encourage, push, support, and most of all laugh with such a wonderful group. We laugh a lot.

What do you think would be the scariest kind of apocalypse? 

Definitely it would be something like the scenario put forth in Prep For Doom. The whole idea of a disease ravaging a population is pretty scary to me. A close second would be nuclear destruction. Radioactive fallout is hard to survive through.

Has being a part of Prep For Doom changed your outlook on disaster preparation and/or apocalyptic scenarios? 

It has. My family has always embraced a preparedness outlook. Y2K really opened our eyes and we did a lot of prep for that, which turned out to be all for nothing. But the good that came from that was the realization that disaster can come at any time, in many forms, and it’s always good to have a preparedness plan because you never know when you’re going to need it.

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