Harpazo follows a cast of characters, all of whom are grappling with losing loved ones to sudden and unexplained disappearances. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

Harpazo, along with the other two books in the Trib Trilogy, are inspired by events described in the Book of Revelation in the Bible.

The sudden disappearance of a quarter of the world’s population that takes place at the beginning of Harpazo is inspired by the Rapture. The Rapture is not found in the Book of Revelation, but passages describing the Rapture—a sudden, future gathering up of the godly—are sprinkled throughout the Bible.

Wondering what it would be like to be left behind after the Rapture takes place, I wanted to explore as many permutations of this as possible. So, I tried to give several points of view, but all from average, hard-working, well-meaning people.

The loss of one-quarter of the world’s population causes severe consequences that each of my characters must find a way to come to terms with. I wanted to explore several ways an average person could respond to the incredible loss felt by all.

What draws you to write books in the apocalyptic fiction genre?

Every interesting story contains a problem that the characters must solve or find a way to live with. Apocalyptic fiction takes that to a much higher level. The problem is bigger, usually worldwide, but the principle is the same as for every story.

I think the danger with most apocalyptic fiction is that it gets lost in the grandiose nature of its story problems. Huge events tend to dwarf the characters and their responses to the events taking place.

I’ve always wondered what the consequences would be if the worst scenario happened. What would happen after the unthinkable? And what could be more unthinkable than one-quarter of the world population (including all the children) suddenly disappearing?

But I wanted to showcase this earth-shattering event—and the consequences that ensue—through the eyes of ordinary people. I wanted to present the changes that can occur due to the catastrophe on an individual level…the good, the bad, and the ugly. For that, I needed to approach the story from several perspectives.

What experience in your life has had the biggest impact on your writing?

This is a really difficult question to answer as there are so many life experiences that I could point to that I believe shaped my perspective. But if I had to narrow it down to one thing, I would have to say that becoming an active Christian has had the greatest impact on my writing…as it has for my whole life.

Can you give us a peek inside the second book in the Trib trilogy? Where will it take readers?

Sure, here is the synopsis for Charagma, Book Two of the Trib Trilogy:

The meteor showers that destroyed two major cities on the eastern seaboard of North America—and heavily damaged all others—have continued unabated for weeks. Not confined to North America, the meteors have rained down death worldwide, igniting old-growth forests in an inferno of epic proportions.

Now, at the beginning of the second year of the Tribulation, a much bigger meteor plummets into the Pacific Ocean…and plunges the world into the next series of cataclysmic events. Not least is the sudden, silent change in the world’s freshwater supply from potability to deadly poison.
Meanwhile, in geopolitics, a new hope dawns.

A leader, the likes of whom the world has never seen before, emerges out of obscurity to take command. The world’s population, desperate for solutions, clings to the new leader’s promise of renewed peace and prosperity.

While most of the world’s citizens believe in the new leader’s rhetoric some do not. Even after the new leader miraculously resurrects after being assassinated!

Only a few know who the new leader really is and how dangerous he is to everyone, everywhere, all over the world.

Through the eyes of ordinary people, Charagma tells the story of the middle years of the Tribulation—a time of growing political pressure to conform to the all-powerful forces shaping the world.

Each person is faced with a choice: Conform to the new leader’s demand for complete, unwavering loyalty to his one-world government, ensuring their short-term survival. Or decline to participate in his worldwide program, ensuring total exclusion from society and the world’s wrath.

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