Blog Archives
Physical Realism
In the Mountain is a disaster-survival novel in which workers trapped inside a collapsing underground facility form a fragile yet determined family, relying on ingenuity, endurance, and human connection to survive. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I have lived in Colorado for many years, and often when I am heading south on I-25, I pass through Colorado Springs. Cheyenne Mountain stands majestically on the south-western side of the highway, as Colorado Springs cuddles into the Rockies. Years ago, as we were driving south, I told my friend that “someday I was going to write a book about Cheyenne Mountain. Two years ago, I finally found my DO IT button and began writing. The Mountain itself is my inspiration; the rest of the book was my imagination at work!
One thing I admired was how tangible the survival details felt: bags, ladders, coats, water bottles, darkness, broken glass, dust. How important was physical realism to building tension in the novel?
The physical realism you mention was very important to me. I worked hard searching and then researched information about what the mountain was like, how it was accessed, what it contained, etc. Once I had that info, I began to tell the story from the position of the characters who worked there.
I attempted to immerse myself in the reality of their surroundings, defining them before and after the event. I felt each detail was important. Sometimes I had to ask myself: “What would I do ‘if’…” What ideas could I offer? How strong would I be as a certain character? What would it take to fight the invisible enemies: Darkness, Thirst, Hunger, Cold, and more? I suppose that the physical realism became my tool, allowing me to feel the character’s tension, needs, and fears, and more. I wrote with that in my mind.
The emotional center of the book is the way coworkers slowly become what the story later calls a “Dislocated Family.” Why was that transformation important to you?
In some of my own life’s situations, I have experienced being surrounded by strangers, in uncomfortable settings, uncertain about my next step, feeling worried, afraid, or anxious. Remembering that, I wanted to feel what my characters might be feeling, and to lead them (via the storyline) toward that transformation. The Unknown can be terrifying. These characters faced enormous unknowns. They needed to become a “family” in order to find the hope to survive and to find the world again.
Even in darkness, the book keeps returning to endurance rather than despair. What do you hope readers take away from the story once they emerge from the mountain with these characters?
The hope I have for my readers, and their “takeaway,” I have listed below. Most people need other people, and working together toward a single goal is a positive way to “grow relationships”, dislocated or not. I believe that not every dream, desire, goal, or hope reaches that “good ending” we hope for. Sacrifice is sometimes needed, difficult choices must be made, and caring is a most necessary element. I want my readers to remember, or do these things:
- Embrace Hope and never stop hoping.
- As much as you are able, Participate. Working with others grows strong relationships.
- Happy Endings are not promised.
- Sacrifice is sometimes required.
- Wisdom gained becomes a promised Guide.
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On an ordinary workday in a high-security office built within a mountain, employees are absorbed in coding secret lab project information. Their day suddenly shatters when the world they know collapses and death surrounds them. Those who survive face a world of wreckage, fear, darkness, and loss.
What was is gone.
The small group of survivors must confront their fears, losses, and the silent darkness that stands with them. They must explore the depths of the mountain and their own desire to survive. When all reason to hope seems lost, they must find the path to their inner strength, their courage, and their will to endure.
Remembering the Storm
Remembering the Storm by Lucy Davila Hakemack is a historical novel that moves between the devastation of the 1900 Galveston hurricane and the quieter years of 1970s memory and activism. We follow Ellie McLean from her youth as an idealistic new teacher and young woman in love, through the chaos of the storm, into her nineties as she fights to preserve the stories of survivors and the history of Black Galvestonians. The book braids personal loss, civic rebuilding, and local politics around race and memory into one long life story. At its heart, it is a love letter to Galveston and to the stubborn people who try to make that city more just.
The book feels warm and earnest, and I found that really moving. The prose leans descriptive and old-fashioned, which fits the period setting. I liked the vivid sense of place, from the smell of the Gulf to the streetcars and the old hotels, and I could picture the seawall, the storm surge, the ruined buildings, the quiet library tables stacked with letters. The dialogue between Ellie and her friends in the 1970s had charm and humor, and I enjoyed their teasing, their toasts, and their small complaints about modern life. The pacing felt gentle, even slow, and that gave room for the emotional weight of the storm and its aftermath.
I appreciated how the story keeps circling back to whose stories are remembered and whose are ignored, especially the Black citizens who buried the dead, built the seawall, and still got pushed off the page. Ellie’s push for markers, plaques, and school equity felt honest and sometimes uncomfortable, and I liked that the book does not paint her as flawless. Her position as a respected white teacher gives her power, and the narrative shows both her courage and her blind spots. The sections about Juneteenth, segregated schools, and the small acts of defiance around books and beaches were thought-provoking.
I would recommend Remembering the Storm to readers who enjoy character-driven historical fiction, especially stories tied to real disasters and to questions of memory, race, and local history. If you like novels that feel like oral history, that take their time, this will be right up your alley. For anyone curious about Galveston, about the 1900 hurricane, or about how an ordinary woman can push for change over decades, this book is a thoughtful and heartfelt choice.
Pages: 435 | ASIN : B0G3QQY9X8
Discovering Her Courage
Flee follows a Marine Reserve and librarian-in-training, who, while on a bus journey to a family reunion, ends up in a desperate fight for survival after a nuclear catastrophe devastates Washington State. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
In Escape, the first book in the Haven series, survivors make their way to Haven in waves—some travel alone, some in groups, some are injured, and some barely hold on. As I wrote the story, I realized that not everyone could reach safety at the same time. Some characters are close, while others are far away, trapped in the chaos when the world ended. This opened the door for individual stories of struggle, loss, and survival to unfold simultaneously.
While I worked through book one, Sadie’s absence lingered as a question—for me and, eventually, for readers. Flee grew out of my need to answer it. I wanted to explore the survival of someone without immediate shelter, someone caught in transit when everything collapsed, and someone forced to fight—both physically and emotionally—to make it home.
Sadie is a woman with strength and incredible intellect. What do you think makes her a valuable and worthy heroine?
In Escape, I introduced the “five musketeers.” Three of the women are entering adulthood, and Sadie has always been the instigator. While Beth is quieter and still discovering her courage, Sadie knows her own strength and intellect—and isn’t afraid to use them. She may possess the drive to take what she wants out of life, but she falters with love and vulnerability. Sadie challenges the control men in her life exert upon her, pushing her to rebel. Her journey is about finding balance—between strength and trust—and that evolution truly defines her as a heroine.
I felt that the action scenes were expertly crafted. I find that this is an area that can be overdone in novels. How did you approach this subject to make sure it flowed evenly?
I’m a visual person, so to write action scenes with weapon elements, I needed to first understand fighting techniques and the moves involved. Watching my son earn his junior black belt in Taekwondo taught me a lot in real time—especially about defending yourself in various positions and how hard it is to fight for your life. Understanding the difference between weight classes and genders was also crucial. You can be small and still cause damage, but at what cost? Then there’s the added layer of weapons and the types that may be involved. As Sadie says, “Knife trumps stick.” She knew there would be a cost, though.
I hope the series continues in other books. If so, where will the story take readers?
Even though the women are my protagonists, my two secondary characters, Donovan and Hoss, stayed at the forefront of my mind during these two books. Donovan is an open book to my readers. He craves control to maintain stability in his life and demands it from his children and everyone around him. Hoss, on the other hand, is a laid-back, “you do you” kind of man. My readers know little about him—something I intentionally kept vague—but there are breadcrumbs scattered throughout if they look closely enough.
After doing their family trees, I realized I gave Donovan more daughters and Hoss more sons. I researched which gender was easier to raise, and the results were interesting, so I played on that. (Sons are easier, it appears.)
Beth isn’t blood-related, so I started with her story first in Escape. The found-family trope is strong throughout my stories. In Flee, we circle back to follow Donovan’s oldest, Sadie, as she battles to reach Haven. Donovan’s second oldest, Gina, appears in Beth’s story and continues her journey in the second book. In the third and fourth books, Hoss’s family becomes my focus, revealing more about Hoss’s background. Though he might sport funny sayings on his t-shirts and love recon, Hoss has many layers to peel back.
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Facing the collapse of civilization, a feisty and independent young woman embarks on a perilous adventure that pushes her to her limits and challenges her long-held goals.
The missile marked the beginning of Sadie’s nightmare. The demands of a crumbling society, dangerous terrain, and her own weakening, feverish body will test her courage.
Sadie wants to flee to the safety of her family’s compound, where Liam waits, and the ache in her chest is a constant reminder of her feelings for him.
Despite his calm exterior, Liam anxiously awaits Sadie’s arrival. More questions than answers remain: Where is Sadie? Why hasn’t she made it to Haven like the fortunate few?
Hunter has his own plans. Escaping the taint of his family’s criminal past puts him in Sadie’s path. She struggles to trust him. Forced together, their connection deepens, placing her family and all of Haven in extraordinary danger.
Survival depends on Sadie taking control of her own life and deciding whom to trust and whom to love. Her decision could set her free…or destroy her and everyone she loves.
Embark on an unforgettable adventure to Haven with these memorable characters, experiencing twists and turns you look for in a fast-paced, gripping read.
A tangled web of love, shifting loyalties, and explosive conflicts drives the Haven series forward, with the same intensity and passion as Kyla Stone’s Edge of collapse saga.
Literary Titan Gold Award Winner
Flee
Tracy Myhre’s Flee picks up where the first book of the Haven series left off, and it doesn’t waste a single beat. The story follows Sadie Masters, a young Marine Reserve and librarian-in-training, as her bus journey to a family reunion turns into a desperate fight for survival after a nuclear catastrophe devastates Washington State. Interwoven with her storyline are the perspectives of others, family, friends, and strangers, all caught in the chaos that follows society’s collapse. Myhre builds a world where every decision feels like it could be someone’s last, and every relationship is tested by fear, loyalty, and grief. It’s a book about what we hold onto when everything else falls apart.
I found Myhre’s writing raw and alive. She doesn’t dress things up or linger on flowery descriptions. Instead, she cuts straight to the emotion of the moment. The dialogue feels natural, sometimes painfully so, like listening in on real conversations you wish you hadn’t overheard. Sadie’s voice especially stands out. It’s strong yet vulnerable, brave yet messy in all the right ways. The pacing is quick. Chapters snap forward like jolts, each one dragging you into another cliffhanger or gut punch. Some scenes, especially the violent or intimate ones, feel real. They left me breathless and a bit shaken. That’s not a complaint, though, it’s proof that Myhre knows exactly how to get under a reader’s skin.
What impressed me most was how the book handles survival and morality without getting preachy. It’s not about heroes or villains, it’s about people just trying to live through impossible choices. I loved the smaller human moments, like Sadie’s flashbacks to her mother, or the quiet fear in characters who’ve already lost too much. At times, I did wish the story would slow down and let those moments breathe a little longer, but maybe that tension is the point. In Myhre’s world, there’s no time to rest.
I’d recommend Flee to anyone who loves survival stories that make your heart race and your mind spin. It’s perfect for readers who enjoyed The Road or Station Eleven, but want something a bit more grounded in family and personal history. It’s emotional, dark, and real. I finished it feeling wrung out and strangely hopeful, the kind of book that doesn’t just tell a story, it makes you feel like you’ve lived through it too.
Pages: 386 | ASIN : B0FQ1H1WRH
Our Ability to Judge
GRQ is a dark, fast-talking spiral into the absurd world of crypto schemes and capitalist delusion, told through the unraveling life of a man who’s equal parts hustler and fool. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Well, because I live and work in the motion picture world, there is this proximity of art and commerce. That seems innocuous enough, but invariably, the commerce has a pernicious effect on the art, and maybe commerce has a pernicious effect on virtually everything else that we do as well. Whether that’s true or not, it’s still something that I ruminate on. I have seen many people in my world compromise their vision or themselves in the service of short-term financial reward. The thinking is, I will compromise now, but later I will make things right with the world, the family, or God, or whoever one must make things right with to get absolution. I am fascinated by this process. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew) Fair enough. But maybe this gaining the world buys a person time until they can figure things out, while we search for real meaning. In the meantime, we get to eat.
Marlon is such a compelling character. Was he based on anyone you’ve known or read about?
I know a lot of people like Marlon. When directing actors, I often have to say to them that they are the hero of the story, no matter who their character is, because most of us believe that we are either heroes or victims in the grand narrative of our lives, and characters should reflect that. Rarely does anyone think of themselves as genuinely culpable for anything that befalls them. So I think “Marlon type” behavior should be seen as something that is done in degrees by everyone. Some rationalize better than others, some disguise their actions more effectively, some are pathologically unaware that they are doing it, and others do it reluctantly out of necessity. But rare is the person who is not only pure in intention and in behavior. They might even admit this, but then want a moment just to explain.
I tried very hard not to pass judgment on Marlon, and although we can objectively be critical of him, I wonder how differently anyone behaves in a crisis? How many of us actually reject the precept of slightly corrupt means justifying a virtuous end? We probably should, but we probably don’t.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
I work in the fictive world, and I recognize that fiction and narrative provide us with solace by suggesting order in a chaotic world. It doesn’t mean that the perception of narrative order is correct, but it is essential. Each of my characters creates their own moral universe, in which their behaviors make perfect sense to them, if not to other characters or the reader. The term unreliable narrator is introduced early in the novel, and it is essential to the understanding of the themes that I’m examining. Everyone is an unreliable narrator because none of us experiences the objective world objectively. Our ability to judge others is compromised, as is our ability to judge ourselves. The nature of this faux ordering is at the very heart of the book, as is the world’s essential chaos. It is the struggle between these two elements that is the space where we live, hoping to make sense of everything, and when that is impossible, accepting pretty much anything. Money? Love? Religion? Conspiracies? Metaphysics? Anything.
Nobody in GRQ really gets a neat ending. Was that a commentary on redemption in late-stage capitalism?
The short answer is yes. Although I would add this addendum, it extends beyond capitalism. I think most people’s efforts to build satisfying and rewarding lives are ultimately futile, and that little they do will ultimately provide them with spiritual succor, a resonant foundation, or give them a sense of genuine purpose and meaning. It’s a huge risk to build one’s life on bigger philosophic understandings that don’t offer immediate or palatable rewards, but building our lives on material accumulation has certainly revealed itself to be a form of madness. To me, my characters are essentially comic because it is the human comedy; the repetition of the same actions to which we are predisposed, with the same tragic/hilarious outcomes. If our lives were screenplays, we fail to do the necessary rewriting. Instead, we recast, thinking that’s going to change the outcome. I can tell you from making a lot of films, casting doesn’t change our story or our ending.
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Unfolding over a single tension-filled day, Marlon must confront not only his financial ruin, but the dark secrets haunting his family.
A pulse-pounding descent into the dangers of unchecked ambition and the real-world costs of chasing the dream.
Diligence and Determination
The Slide follows a brilliant but troubled scientist who discovers that a massive black hole is heading straight for Earth, leaving him to try and find a way to save humanity. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I did want something PRE-apocalyptic, a disaster novel of sorts, with no way out. The idea of the failed protagonist constantly interests me, and I wanted an ending that wasn’t all hunky-dory with everything working out in the end. I had also recently watched The Fly again, and was, shall we say, reinspired. 😊
When creating Dane Currier, did you have a plan for development and character traits, or did it grow organically as you were writing the story?
They always grow organically as I write the story, really. I learn about them as I’m writing, usually.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Valuing human life, futility, dealing with inevitability, human relations, diligence and determination to find a way, hope, etc.
Will there be a follow-up novel to this story? If so, what aspects of the story will the next book cover?
Since it ended the way it did, probably not. A sequel would be bizarre and awkward, frankly. But I never rule anything out. You never know! 😊
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His Courier3.1 operation system checked out. His teleportation chambers were state of the art, and he knew they would revolutionize the world as we knew it.
But in a cruel twist of timing, something draws near which threatens not only his dream, but humanity as a whole. A ‘supermassive’ black hole is on a collision course with the Milky Way galaxy, and there is no stopping it. Could it be that Dane was inspired to design his system for such a time as this? What do we do when we face an inescapable threat that seeks to annihilate everything we know? And most importantly, what happens when humanity loses everything that makes us human? Will Dane, Megan, Isaac and Dina discover a way for mankind to press on and survive? This one inescapable truth remains:
There is no escaping The Slide.
From the creator of the bestselling and award-winning Dissonance alien invasion saga, the Christian dystopian saga THE END, and the 9/11 historical fiction thriller Forecast comes a new genre disaster fiction tale of humanity’s struggle to survive. In the natural disaster fiction genre, The Slide will frighten and enthrall you to no end.
The Slide
Aaron Ryan’s The Slide is a tightly wound, emotionally raw, and fast-paced sci-fi thriller that tackles the apocalypse in a way I’ve never quite seen before. Set in late 2025, the story follows Dane Currier, a brilliant but troubled scientist who discovers that a massive, uncharted black hole is heading straight for Earth. The revelation kicks off a tense, global unraveling, paralleled by Currier’s personal obsession: a secret teleportation project called Courier 3.1. As the world faces doom, Dane sees a chance for redemption, escape, or maybe something deeper. It’s a bold mix of hard science, emotional confession, and philosophical grit.
Ryan’s writing is conversational, even chatty at times, and it works. It pulls you in like a friend telling you the end is near over a late-night drink. The balance between grand cosmic doom and intimate personal fear feels incredibly relatable. There’s a rawness to Dane’s voice. His acid reflux, his bitterness, his hope, all made him feel painfully real. I didn’t always like him, but I couldn’t stop listening. I also loved the way Ryan treats the black hole not just as a sci-fi monster, but as a metaphor for grief, purpose, and mortality. The writing is smart and hits hard, often laced with sarcasm and gallows humor.
The pacing picks up quite a bit in the later chapters, and there were times I found myself wanting a little more space to take it all in. While I admired the emotional honesty throughout, a few moments of dialogue leaned a bit dramatic. Still, these are minor things in an otherwise powerful story. What shines here is the vision: the gnawing sense that science and soul are dancing toward the same abyss. Ryan captures the spiraling collapse of society with an eeriness that feels way too close to home. And Courier 3.1? Man, that machine had me questioning everything.
The Slide is part sci-fi disaster, part confession booth, and part love letter to human stubbornness. If you like your fiction with big ideas, flawed heroes, and the occasional burp of existential dread, this book’s for you. I’d recommend it to fans of Blake Crouch, Andy Weir, or anyone who wonders what they’d do if the end of the world knocked on their door and offered them a way out.
Pages: 331 | ASIN : B0FFFMJQR3
Evacuation Route
Chris Dungey’s Evacuation Route is a gritty, wry, and deeply human novel that follows two aging brothers—Walt and Warren Bocewicz—as they navigate the final days of their failing family pharmacy in Jacksonville, Florida. It’s a story about endings—of businesses, dreams, and illusions—and what happens when the past won’t let go, and the future doesn’t offer much to hold on to. Through dry humor, raw reflection, and vivid detail, Dungey explores themes of addiction, redemption, brotherhood, and the small moments of absurdity that stitch together a life on the edge of collapse.
What struck me first was the voice. It’s sardonic, bruised, but weirdly comforting. Dungey lets Walt speak in a way that’s both poetic and foul-mouthed, like someone who’s done a lot of time—both literal and emotional. One line that stuck with me was when Walt refers to his stash of leftover pills as a “golden parachute of brake fluid.” The metaphor is funny and heartbreaking. He’s not planning to get high. He’s planning to coast. The way Walt scavenges leftover meds and rations them like wartime chocolate speaks volumes about the quiet desperation of a man trying to stay clean but not above cutting corners. Dungey doesn’t excuse Walt’s thievery; he frames it in a larger commentary about survival in a system that’s left men like him behind.
Another highlight is the dynamic between the brothers. Warren, the straight-laced pharmacist with a taste for community theater, and Walt, the wayward ex-con with a flair for ten-dollar words and sketchy ethics, are an unlikely but believable duo. Their exchanges are loaded with decades of resentment and love. When Barren finally tells Walt about the $1.4 million offer for the building, it feels like a plot twist in a family saga more than a financial windfall. There’s no cheering. Walt doesn’t jump for joy. He thinks about how much of the haul is his, about the unpaid debts, about the cat. This is a book that constantly dodges the easy emotion. It doesn’t go for the melodrama. It sits you down and lets the disappointment breathe.
But the book isn’t just grim. There’s an undercurrent of dark comedy that really works. I laughed when Walt muses about the $5 thesaurus in the jail library or worries about cultural appropriation while driving his “urban classic” Cadillac through the wrong neighborhood. That moment—equal parts cringe and candor—captures the uneasy blend of shame and swagger that defines Walt’s character. Dungey has a gift for these moments.
Evacuation Route is a slow burn, a bit messy, and it rarely gives the reader a clean moral center to hold onto. But if you’ve ever known someone who’s screwed up everything, who’s just trying to make it through the next day without screwing up more—this novel might hit you in the chest. Dungey’s writing doesn’t flinch. It’s tired, it’s bitter, and it’s weirdly beautiful. I’d recommend it to readers who love character-driven stories, gritty Southern settings, or fiction that explores addiction and redemption without preaching.
Pages: 585 | ASIN : B0DY5P6824
