I love disaster movies. I think my love of disaster flicks has twisted through all of my writing in some way or another. Even when I write romance, I try to slip in some danger. It’s that surprise and lack of control the characters experience in a disaster movie that I love.
Most dystopias that I've seen tend to jump the restructuring of society, starting further into the timeline where the world is more stable. From what I can tell, After The End begins right after the society collapses. What were the challenges writing in such world?
I wanted to focus on the guys in the story and their lives. In writing, I had to think about what could go wrong. What if everyone was dead? How many of the services we depend on would disappear. Once I started writing it was shocking how many things would change if everyone was gone.
What type of research goes into building a dystopia world?
I’ve always loved dystopia stories so I’ve been studying dystopian societies for a long while. I loved the scene and setting from I Am Legend, though I didn’t like the plot of the film. They did a great job figuring out what would happen if everyone died. It’s that type of research that goes into building a world that is After The End. When there aren’t people to run power plants, deliver groceries, make clothes, then everything will be different. Add to it the fact that the dead are infectious in After The End and none of the stores are accessible. William and Dean have to learn to survive in the wilderness, getting their food and water from the land.
As a reader, I love reading dystopias for the struggle, how desperate times changes a character for good or bad. How difficult was it to balance the romance and the fight for survival?
Since both characters are young, the fight to survive isn’t as desperate for them because they believe they are invincible. That lack of fear gives them the courage to move forward and focus on their relationships, not the situation.
In reality, people may survive a virus outbreak but the likelihood they will endure for a long period after the upheaval is very small because people don't have the necessary survival skills. What makes William and Dean better able to meet such circumstances and have a better chance than others?
These guys have a lot of luck on their side. Also, they don’t know that they should give up. The younger the person, the more likely they can adapt and since William and Dean are eighteen, they adjust very well to the situation and learn what they need to survive.
I've sorta overdid the dystopia questions. Is there something else you would like to add about After The End?
This story is more than just another disaster book, it’s romance, coming of ages, and taking responsibility for their lives. William and Dean have a lot against them before the end, after, they must come together to survive. I want readers to see how beautiful their relationship can be when they give into their attraction and become more than just friends with benefits.
Thank you for stopping by, Sara!!
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After The End Book Info:
Publisher: Sara York (September 29, 2014)
Pages: 182 pages
Genre: MM, Romance
After The End Blurb:
With international flights crisscrossing the skies on an hourly basis, are we ever really safe?
When a strain of the Ebola virus mutates; it spreads quickly leaving the medical community shattered. People are dropping in the streets and life, as most know it, comes to an end. Two city dweller survivors, Dean and William, are forced to flee the city and live in the wilderness—where dangers lurk behind every tree and in every valley. Not everyone alive after the end is good, and William and Dean are faced with challenges that would bring many to their knees.
Growing up in the hood of Atlanta, Dean knows how to overcome trials, but he knows nothing of love. Can he sustain a relationship with William, or will his doubts end them before they even have a chance?
From birth William has had a silver spoon in his mouth and two in each hand, but the end brings him face to face with reality where he has to take responsibility for his life. After the end, money has no meaning, and life is lived on the edge.
Join William and Dean after the end and find out how close to the edge they come.
After The End Buy Links:
Amazon |
Amazon UK
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After The End Excerpt:
Dean searched through the cabinets, looking for gloves and a mask, but he found nothing. He’d have to go out without any real protection and take his chances. That scared him. What if someone touched him that was sick?
The windows were covered with thick curtains that were older than dirt. When he pushed them aside, dust rained down on him. He sneezed and blew bits of dust particles off his hands before rubbing a spot clean on the window, allowing him to peer out. The streets were empty. Not that many people would be out in this weather, but he was expecting to see some people out milling around.
If he raced out of his house right now, he might avoid the rush to the store.
Or had that already happened? He let the curtains close as he thought about his options. It would be better to leave now and head out. It sounded like the longer he waited the more people would be infected.
Dean went to his room and grabbed a pair of knit gloves and a scarf he’d been given last school year when the staff realized he didn’t have winter clothes. It wasn’t the same as a mask and plastic gloves, but it would have to do. He pulled on his hoodie and made his way to the front door, pausing to take a deep breath. There was no way to prepare for going out into the world when a plague was ravaging the people, but his options were limited.
He pulled open the door when a dark gray SUV pulled up in front of his house. It looked expensive. He froze, unsure if he should go back inside or stand his ground. The driver’s door popped open and William stepped out, coming around the front of the car.
“Oh God, you scared me. What are you doing here?” Dean called out.
“Have you come in contact with anyone else?” William asked.
Dean shook his head. “Just at your party, that’s it. What about you?”
“No,” William shouted.
“What if someone at your party was sick?”
William shrugged and took a step closer. “We won’t touch.”
He glanced around, staring up at the gray sky. “Why are you here?”
“You should come with me. This is going to get crazy real quick. My parents—”
William let out a sob before he straightened, his lips curved down in a frown.
“They’re gone. It’s going to be bad. Please, come with me.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“Please. We have a fence surrounding the property. It will be safer. We can protect each other.”
Dean looked around. His parents hadn’t come home and they were probably dead. If they ended up being okay, they’d do something stupid to get him sick. He didn’t want to die.
He nodded quickly. “I need to grab some stuff. Stay with the car and keep the doors locked. I’m just going ro get a few clothes and some money.”
“I have lots of clothes,” William said, his voice higher than normal.
“You’re a little shorter than I am and you weigh more.”
“Fine, but move quickly, we don’t have much time.”
“Got it.”
Dean raced back inside his house and grabbed his school backpack, emptying the contents on this bed. If they survived and life returned to normal, he’d come back and get his books. He shoved the money William had given him to the bottom of the bag then grabbed some shirts out of his closet, shoving them in, not worrying about wrinkles. Next, he took a few pants off the hangers and pitched them in the bag. After grabbing his clothes, he went to the bathroom and packed his toothbrush, deodorant, and comb into the bag, looking around for anything else he needed.
There were so many things he could take, but he didn’t need any of them.
The horn honked outside and he heard William yelling. There wasn’t anything here for him. He ran to the front door and pulled it open, seeing two guys banging on the driver’s side window. Dean ran back into the house to his mom’s room and opened the nightstand beside her bed, searching for the handgun he knew she kept there. The horn honked more and he heard tires squeal. He hoped he wasn’t too late.
Dean grabbed the gun and ran out the door to watch William race down the street before swinging a wide U turn, running over the weed packed lawns in the process. The car faced him and slowed to a stop. The two guys who’d tried to break into the car were running toward William. Dean lifted the pistol and fired. The guys froze and looked over their shoulder. He’d never aimed a gun at anyone, and he wasn’t a good shot at a target. He didn’t think he could actually shoot at these people if they rushed him, but they didn’t know that. William revved the engine on his car and the guys turned back to him.
“Leave us alone,” Dean called out just before William stepped on the accelerator, the tires squealing. The two guys dove out of the way as William swerved close, barely missing them before driving up onto the grass in front of Dean’s house.
Dean raced around the front of the car, dropping the gun on the ground as he ran. He almost went back for it but the guys were running at them. Dean heard the locks click just before he reached the door to open it. Dean slammed the car door and hit the lock button. William took off, the SUV bouncing as they dropped off the curb.
“Fuck, that was scary,” William said.
“Are you okay?”
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