* Bronze Medal — Teenage Fiction, Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2017 * "I thought I had already seen the best and worst of humanity. But I was wrong." Jack Baldwin survived the comet. He survived impact night. He survived the weeks after, when the world as he knew it finished falling apart. He even managed to build something worth living for in the rubble. Then it was taken from him. After a senseless act of violence rips Jack’s world apart, he is more alone than ever. And the cold, dark world is unrelenting. Food is scarce and survivors grow more sophisticated and desperate every day. If he’s going to stay ahead of the game, there’s one question he can’t outrun: why? His survival how is a muscle memory, but the why he’ll have to find to get through, that’s only going to be found somewhere deeper. He’d better find it fast because the fight for resources is evolving again. And it’s getting more brutal every day. Told in Jack's own words, day by day. Book 2 of 4. Jack's complete story continues in Books 3 and 4. Perfect for fans of The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, and Susan Beth Pfeffer's Life As We Knew It. *Part proceeds from every sale donated to find a cure for Rett Syndrome. BRONZE MEDAL WINNER Stories for teenagers - Wishing Shelf Book Awards "An intense story set in a terrible, apocalyptic world. YA will love it. A bronze medal winner and highly recommended." The Wishing Shelf Book Awards FROM THE JUDGES... "This is gritty stuff. Loved every page." Boy, aged 14 "Jack is a very interesting hero for this story. He's a little bit sentimental but I understand that, he's been through a lot!!! The world he's in is tough, nasty, even cruel. The author's very good at describing the setting. The plot is exciting with a few highs and a lot of lows. A good story." Girl, aged 15 "Scary in a good way. I mean the thought of this happening is scary. I really enjoyed watching Jack trying to survive, finding food and other people he can trust. The atmosphere was chilling and well-written." Girl, aged 15 "Frightening setting brilliantly described. Lots of pace too particularly towards the end. Characters had tons of depth." Boy, aged 15 This was my first ever sequel into an established world which, in itself, was a daunting task. How do I expand the story telling? Say something new? Show more of the world, while maintaining the existing worldbuilding? Challenge Jack in ways that have meaning for both his world goals and character growth? How does he recover from the past? With this series (unlike my others) I fully 'pants' the storytelling. That is to say, I make it up as I go along. There is no overarching story signposts to guide me, no clever plan. I just rely on my research around what post-comet-strike Earth might be like, and the ensuing guestimations around how society might change to guide the moments (action, significant story elements). Over time, those 'moments' lead to other characters, and groups, alliances and enemies. Before you know it, all of the universe's players (and their needs) create their own construct. That construct has severe supply and demand issues, and desperate people, which initiates conflict over location and resources, and within that, stories are born. Between that, the MC's obvious practical prepping/survival needs and a feel for pacing, is how the story evolves, on the fly and chronologically - pantsed! It is so much fun to write this way! I'm so glad the sequel was received as it has been. It went a long way to cementing my storytelling confidence as an author and I am very grateful for that. It also had me wanting to dive further into the Apocalypse Survivors world. Oh, and I did! Once again, big thanks to those who have read this story. *** For those who have reviewed it, that has more value to me than you could imagine. ***
