The paperback edition of New Hope City is now available. You can purchase it from Amazon.
I’ve just finished writing the fourth episode of “After The Darkness.” It’s being edited at this point but will be available by the end of the month. I apologize for the delay!
New Hope City is now available on Nook. Other formats are coming soon, including a paperback. Episode 4 of the Science Fiction series is moving along slowly but surely. I’ve been quite exhausted lately so I’ve limited my online time and focused on recuperating and writing. I hope that all of you are enjoying this Holiday season. I look forward to publishing even more books in 2013.
I’m participating in a Science Fiction Giveaway and discount bonanza for the After The Darkness series. Participate in the giveaway by signing up with the Rafflecopter and find free and discounted science fiction books here.
I know I’ve been really quiet lately, but that’s only because I’ve been very busy. The good news is that I’ve completed the final edits on the novel “New Hope City.” And once my proofreader completes her read through I will publish the book. We’re looking at publishing the novel this month. I will be giving out a limited number of ARCS (Advanced Reader Copies) once proofreading is complete. If you would like to receive a copy, please contact me.
In other news, the next “After The Darkness” episode is delayed because of my work on the novel. It doesn’t look like publication of Episode 4 will happen this month because I don’t have enough time to complete it. So, we’re looking at a December publication date for Episode 4 and then we will return to our normal schedule. I apologize for the delay.
I just want to give an update to everyone on my progress. The novel is still on schedule for release this Fall. I’ve edited 145 pages and I have about 45 more pages to go. But this little baby is growing. Right now we’re looking at 60,000 words as opposed to 50,000 words and by the time I finish the edits it may be even longer. If you haven’t seen it already here’s the cover designed by Keri Knutson.
If you haven’t already, read the short story prequel “The Shelter.”
Keri also redesigned the covers for the After The Darkness series. The fourth episode in this series will be released by the end of November. Below are the covers she’s already designed.
I’ve been busy working on the final edit of my novel “New Hope City” and getting the covers redone for the “After The Darkness” series. I have edited 121 pages so far, so I’m making a lot of progress. Here’s a preview of the tweaked blurb for “New Hope City” and below that is a mockup of two of the covers for the “After The Darkness” series.
New Hope City blurb
“After four years of hellish cruelty in a sex trafficking gang, 14 year old Sunni Brown moves to a southern city mired in poverty and despair. Her mom disappears and Sunni must fend for herself. She walks with her head bowed and her shoulders slumped like the world is weighing her down – a real victim of the system as they say. However, something inside her is brewing; she slowly grows angrier and hardened. But when she crosses paths with a disillusioned cop, will her growing hatred, rage and the burning desire for revenge change her from helpless victim to raging vigilante?”
After The Darkness Covers
These covers are not finalized. I’m just giving a little sneak peak so you guys know I’m over here working — that’s the reason I’m so quiet. Keri Knutson is the designer and she’s doing a great job. She will do the covers of all six books in the first season and the compilation.
The first episode of the After The Darkness series is free at Amazon
The first episode of the After The Darkness series is free today and tomorrow at Amazon. Get your copy now!
I ran across an intriguing article by Anninyn at In Case of Survival about gender roles in a post-apocalypse world.
Most post-apocalyptic media (and a lot of prepper groups) have this weird idea that when the world ends the women will finally get back in the kitchen where they belong. While the post-apocalyptic world may be harsher to those of the female gender than the male in some ways, anyone who things gender is the main thing of importance in deciding who does what is going to find their survival group operating at less than peak efficiency.
So very true! Surviving in a post-apocalyptic world will take understanding that individuals come with different types of skills and abilities that have nothing to do with their gender. Yes, of course women have babies and men can’t. And yes, generally speaking men are physically stronger than women; but these are not life defining characteristics. Groups that can organize others and utilize their members’ skills will come out on top. Societies who suppress members of their group won’t fair well.
I also think that sometimes the agency of women is overlooked when post-apocalyptic futures are imagined. Do people really believe that all women will just lay down and take it if they find themselves facing oppression? All human beings crave liberty and will engage in all levels of subterfuge to fight for that liberty. Societies that have less liberty will inherently have more conflict. And societies with internal conflict are weaker and more susceptible to outside attacks.
SunHi Mistwalker is the author of several books including the “After The Darkness” series set in a frozen post-apocalyptic future. Join SunHi Mistwalker’s mailing list to receive updates, freebies and other perks.
British novelist and literary critic Ford Maddox Ford is quoted as saying, “Open the book to page ninety-nine and read, and the quality of the whole will be revealed to you.” I don’t know if I completely agree with that; but I do find the idea intriguing. As part of a recent blog tour I participated in, I wrote about page 9 of After The Darkness: Episode One. Here’s the blog post below…
The first episode of “After The Darkness” doesn’t have a page 99; but it does a have page nine. So that’s where I’ll begin. If a reader began reading “After The Darkness” at page 9 they would find everything they need to know about the basics of the story. You have a reluctant agent of oppression, two victims of categorization and a boss man that’s ruthless in his commitment to inflicting suffering. That about sums it up in a nutshell.
The opening lines of page nine sets the stage: Percy narrows his eyes, his disapproval hidden behind his dark shades, “No, of course…not. Just want to get the job done and over with before the freeze,” he justifies his hesitation. And in an effort to prove that he’s not soft, he wrenches Mila away from Nadia. He yanks her hard; but not too hard — just hard enough to make his point.
Right away we know that Percy is not too happy with the situation at hand; but he has to hide it. Not only does he have to hide his disapproval, he needs to show a false sense of enthusiasm for something he finds distasteful. I can’t say that I strategically planned for this characterization to fall on page 9; but I did want to show the reader at some point that Percy is a subversive individual. He doesn’t want to go along with the system and he has the seeds of a rebel within.
Then there is Nadia, the main character in this story. Page 9 makes it clear that Nadia is a rebel and not content to simply accept her fate. Let’s take a look at a page 9 excerpt:
“Don’t touch her!” Nadia flails about as Thomas binds her wrists behind her back with zip ties. She strains to see her little sister’s face and fights her own urge to sob. Instead she screams. Would the neighbors come? Does anyone care about the horror she is facing? Unfortunately, she knows the answer is no, no one is willing to risk themselves for others.
This brief passage reveals Nadia’s willingness to fight back even in the face of stronger forces and despite her sad realization of the type of world in which she lives. But even knowing that not a single soul will come to her aid, she screams anyway, hoping that someone — anyone, will be willing to break the code of silence and compliance.
As a writer, I try not to overwhelm readers with a lot back story and world building too soon. I prefer to sprinkle a little bit of information throughout the story and reveal the foundation of the fictional world in bits and pieces. Page 9 does this well. Even if a reader only reads page 9, they will discover that this fictional world is freezing, that it is a place where children can be handcuffed and carried away and that people in this world don’t feel free to speak out against injustice or stand up for the rights of others.
Let’s take one final peek at another snippet of text from page 9.
“I promise,” Percy says with a smile he only uses in his work. He would never curse his own kids with that smile — never.
Deception and manipulation – it’s eating Percy alive. But it is also eating away at the society, creating tiny internal rebellions and sowing the seeds of revolution.
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