Bryan Way
The wide release for
Life After: The Void
, the novel following
Life After: The Arising
in the
Life After
series.
Through the short stories Life After: The Cemetery Plot , Life After: The Basement , Life After: The Phoenix , and the anthology All Things Zombie: Chronology of the Apocalypse featuring Life After: Consequences , I examine the new challenges a Zombie apocalypse imposes on the personal and societal conflicts we've endured throughout history on a smaller scale. While these shorts are designed to enrich the world of Life After beyond the novels, the books will always be my first priority, and protagonist Jeff Grey will always be the eye of the hurricane.
Life After: The Void picks up two months after the conclusion of Life After: The Arising , with Grey and his newly anointed companions having fortified the school and gathered supplies to weather the apocalypse. They may live in relative safety and security, but the friendship they forged out of necessity is unraveling; Grey and Rich are getting under each other's skin, Anderson has become romantically involved with a controlling new arrival, Jake's teenage apathy manifests as defiance, and Melody's newly found pragmatism is becoming abrasive, but their personal strife is about to become the least of their problems. The true test of their mettle won't be surviving each other, it'll be staying alive once they're forced to confront the dangers of the outside world.
The first draft of Life After: The Arising was written from December 2003 to July 2004, at which point I realized three things:
1. My book might not be long or complete enough for publication.
2. I wasn't a good enough writer to publish anything yet.
3. I intended to continue the story, and I would consider myself a hack if I waited until after publishing the first book to start a second.
I allayed these concerns by starting Life After: The Void in January 2005, but didn't finish the first draft until September 2008 for a variety of reasons. It was only once I published Life After: The Arising in 2013 that I returned to edit its sequel, assuming that I had forged a manageable précis. Boy, was I wrong. I languished in editing this turgid adolescent fever dream for upwards of 20 months, trying to wring out all the awful characterizations and absurd digressions while staying true to aspects of my original vision. The limited edition release in October 2015 was partially to avoid disappointing what few dedicated fans I've earned and partially because I had no idea what to make of the finished product. Fortunately, their response has been largely positive, so I've spent the last five months fine tuning. The end is now in sight.
Through the short stories Life After: The Cemetery Plot , Life After: The Basement , Life After: The Phoenix , and the anthology All Things Zombie: Chronology of the Apocalypse featuring Life After: Consequences , I examine the new challenges a Zombie apocalypse imposes on the personal and societal conflicts we've endured throughout history on a smaller scale. While these shorts are designed to enrich the world of Life After beyond the novels, the books will always be my first priority, and protagonist Jeff Grey will always be the eye of the hurricane.
Life After: The Void picks up two months after the conclusion of Life After: The Arising , with Grey and his newly anointed companions having fortified the school and gathered supplies to weather the apocalypse. They may live in relative safety and security, but the friendship they forged out of necessity is unraveling; Grey and Rich are getting under each other's skin, Anderson has become romantically involved with a controlling new arrival, Jake's teenage apathy manifests as defiance, and Melody's newly found pragmatism is becoming abrasive, but their personal strife is about to become the least of their problems. The true test of their mettle won't be surviving each other, it'll be staying alive once they're forced to confront the dangers of the outside world.
The first draft of Life After: The Arising was written from December 2003 to July 2004, at which point I realized three things:
1. My book might not be long or complete enough for publication.
2. I wasn't a good enough writer to publish anything yet.
3. I intended to continue the story, and I would consider myself a hack if I waited until after publishing the first book to start a second.
I allayed these concerns by starting Life After: The Void in January 2005, but didn't finish the first draft until September 2008 for a variety of reasons. It was only once I published Life After: The Arising in 2013 that I returned to edit its sequel, assuming that I had forged a manageable précis. Boy, was I wrong. I languished in editing this turgid adolescent fever dream for upwards of 20 months, trying to wring out all the awful characterizations and absurd digressions while staying true to aspects of my original vision. The limited edition release in October 2015 was partially to avoid disappointing what few dedicated fans I've earned and partially because I had no idea what to make of the finished product. Fortunately, their response has been largely positive, so I've spent the last five months fine tuning. The end is now in sight.
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