After the Fall: The Engineer and the Apocalypse centers around a woman in the wake of nuclear war who is trying desperately to reclaim her past. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?

I wanted to take someone newly in love, that first time that everything really clicks with someone, and then break it apart. That is what gave Haley the driving force to try the impossible and get home.

Also, I didn’t want an end of the world, let’s fight everyone type of book. I wanted a smart protagonist, someone who could think her way out of situations, an engineer and a nerd who could survive.

What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

I was on a work trip and watching some disaster movie in a hotel and I thought that this would be the worst place to be at the end of the world. Not a nameless hotel near an airport, but an ocean away from home, knowing nobody and with no to get way home.

It became the idea for the novel which didn’t work, until I changed the protagonist to female engineering student. Once Haley arrived on the scene it all fell together.

The science inserted in the fiction, I felt, was well-balanced. How did you manage to keep it grounded while still providing the fantastic edge science fiction stories usually provide?

I tried to keep the science to mainly high school level, that everyone at some stage studied and could follow. Once I removed the computers and anything very high tech it became simple machines. For the end of the world survival, I relied a lot on what climate conscious people are trying. Solar, hydro and biofuels.

I still made mistakes and had test readers who corrected some errors. I’m no mechanic and had some big mistakes on the work Haley did, so having friends who knew these things helped me a lot.

What were some books or movies that you think were your main sources of inspiration for this novel?

MacGyver was a huge influence. I loved the television series growing up and I wanted Haley to be a female MacGyver at the end of the world.

I really liked Project Hail Mary and The Martian, where Weir made the science mainly simple enough for me to follow.

What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?

The second book in this trilogy follows Haley and Addy as they continue their journey home, fleeing from a war is breaking out behind them. Expected at the end of 2025.

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