Post-apocalyptic stories have long preyed on the concept of a pandemic sweeping the world’s population. But with new developments and scientific research into the field of genetics, we might soon see an end to pandemics.

Of course, the farther into the future we try to predict the worse our predictions are, but there are things being developed right now that we know with near-certainty will be used in the near-future.

While doing research on possible new post-apocalyptic stories ideas I came across this Origins project video:

It shows some of the world’s greatest scientists and their views on where the world is headed in the future. It’s all well worth a watch, but for the purposes of this post, feel free to skip to 9 minutes and you’ll see a guy called Craig Venter speaking about genetic sequencing.

Venter is currently working on creating faster ways to sequence genomes � not just human genomes, but all living things. What’s the outcome?

One upshot is that pandemics will no longer be possible, or at the very least, we’ll be able to cut them short and stop them from being quite as devastating as they currently are. Let me explain.

The world went crazy when Ebola broke out in Africa. Other nations were woefully slow and ill-equipped to deal with it. It was even (part of) the inspiration for my Z-Minus series.

But with new genetic sequencing technology a vaccine could be synthesized before a virus could spread. Imagine an outbreak happens in my sleepy home county of Norfolk, in the UK. Scientists could get some of the virus, sequence it, and then upload it in the cloud. Genetic sequencing companies all over the world would have access to it. They can download it and begin creating vaccines immediately.

Even with the speed of air travel the virus takes time to spread. By the time the virus gets to one of these countries, the vaccine would already be available! The virus would become ineffective.

But there is still that gap, the one between when the virus is discovered, sequenced, and uploaded, and the companies have to come up with a vaccine, and that’s the space where I am writing Z-Minus 4.

The post appeared first on .

Here, it is: the final part of the zombie trilogy Z-Minus! Here’s the blurb:

The third novella in a brand new zombie trilogy.

Once administered, the cure spreads throughout the human body. It heals organs, reinstates nerve impulses and even gifts us with our consciousness. The cure heals us.

But the cure will only exist for the next eight hours.

If your daughter had the power to save the world, what would you do?

Chris Smith has eight hours to get his cured daughter Maisie to the research ship Tomorrow anchored off the coast of Brighton. The only things in his way: a marauding army of killer zombies and a self-declared warrior goddess.

Z-MINUS. Let the countdown begin.

You can get it for $2.99 from , , and .

Z-Minus 2 is complete! I originally intended for this story to be a novella, but it grew into a full-blown novel. I hope you’ll enjoy it!

Here’s the blurb:

The second novella in a brand new zombie trilogy.

Once bitten, the virus spreads throughout the human body. It shuts down organs, kills nerve impulses and even reprograms the way we think. The virus becomes us.

But the process takes eight hours.

If the only remaining member of your family was bitten, what would you do?

Chris Smith has eight hours to get his infected daughter Maisie to the rumoured cure or lose her forever. The only things in his way: a marauding army of killer zombies, a self-declared warrior goddess and a secret buried deep in his past.

Z-MINUS. Let the countdown begin.

You can get it for $2.99Ìýfrom , , and .

The first draft of Z-Minus 2 is (finally!) complete! I have sent it to my editor who will return it to me soon. Expect it to be published at the end of March!

Z-Minus 2ÌýisÌýover twice as long as Z-Minus 1 with more zombies, more action and a twist ending you’ll love!

Until it’s releasedÌýI’ll leave you with this (early) Z-Minus 2 blurb to whet your appetite:

Z-MINUS: 8 HOURS

The second novella in a brand new zombie trilogy.

Once bitten, the virus spreads throughout the human body. It shuts down organs, kills nerve impulses and even reprograms the way we think. The virus becomes us.

But the process takes eight hours.

If your loved one only had eight hours left to live, and there were rumors of a cure, what would you do?

Chris Smith has eight hours to get his infected daughter Maisie to the rumored cure or lose her forever. The only things in his way: a marauding army of killer zombies and a secret buried deep in his past.

Z-MINUS. Let the countdown begin.

Let me know what you think!

I immediately felt I knew the genre and tone of the story â€� something like The Princess Bride by William GoldmanÌýorÌýStardust by Neil Gaiman. I also knew the generalÌýstructure of the story â€� it was going to be what is one of my own favourite genres, adventure â€� and follow two individuals around the world as they find the missing pieces to fix the clock, and fix time.

From these ideas I developed Skip, the first episode of which I gave away free to anyone who joined my mailing list. There, you can see the early draft of the first act of this story. It has since developed into seven parts, seven episodes.

I originally conceived this idea of beingÌýa trilogy of books, but we’ll see if readers enjoy it or not before I start writing the second one. Here’s the blurb:

A Mysterious Clock Controls Time. What Happens When It Breaks?Ìý

The clock tower is the center of the town of Time. It counts down the hours, minutes and seconds of every passing day. But unbeknownst to the local inhabitants, it is at the center of a great deal more than that. It is the center of the universe and controls time itself. But it is old and beginning to break, sending the world’s inhabitants skipping forward and back through time.Ìý

Seventeen-year-old Jera Wythnos, betrothed to marry a powerful lord, runs to escape her responsibilities and pursue her dream of traveling the world. Hot on her heels is her betrothed, moving heaven and earth to find her before the wedding day.Ìý

Elian Stump is an outlaw on the run from a bungled heist, but he carries with him a dangerous secret that threatens to either free or ensnare the world.Ìý

They confront sinister forces at every turn, hell bent on preventing them from achieving their goal, and taking control of the clock tower for themselves.Ìý

The universe has chosen this unlikely pair to collect all three replacement clock pieces scattered across the world before the clock tower, and time, breaks for good. On their journey they make friends and enemies, encounter strange and wonderful mythical creatures, and face their own internal demons.Ìý

Ìý

The first episode is free on . I’m working on making it free on all the other Amazon channels (always takes time). But you can download it free now in any format from .

Happy reading! :0)

I had what I think (hopefully!) is an innovative new idea for a newÌýzombie series. I always try to bring something new to the table, and with Z-Minus I think I’ve done that.

The trilogyÌýwill follow two main characters, Chris and his daughter Maisie. Instead of most zombie tales whereÌýthe victim becomes a zombie within seconds or minutes of being bitten, I decided to make it take eightÌýhours. This will make each person’s transformation more personal and more powerful.

In addition, each part will chart a different time period of the apocalypse: Z-Minus 1 (the beginning), Z-Minus 2 (the middle), and Z-Minus 3 (the end).

There are lots of twists, turns and surprises along the way. If you’re a zombie or adventure book fan, it might well be your kind of thing :0)

Ìý

Here’s the blurb:

The first novella in a brand new zombie trilogy.Ìý

Once bitten, the virus spreads throughout the human body. It shuts down organs, kills nerve impulses and even reprograms the way we think. The virus becomes us.Ìý

But the process takes eight hours.Ìý

If you only had eight hours left to live, what would you do?Ìý

For Chris Smith, that decision has already been made. He’s infected, and returns home to find the rest of his family undead or missing, save his youngest daughter Maisie. He’s never been much of a father, but can he make up for it now in the final few hours of his life and find somewhere safe for her to survive?Ìý

Z-MINUS. Let the countdown begin.

Ìý

I’m working on making this first part free on Amazon (it always takes time). Currently it is at 99 cents/77p (the lowest possible price I can set it to).ÌýYou can get it here: . But in the meantime, you can download it for FREEÌýfrom in any format you require, or in epub from and .

Parts 2 and 3 will be out early next year :0)

This is a huge project, and taking me a lot longer than I expected. I have several other ideas I’ve been excited aboutÌýdiving intoÌý(including Blood Memory Season TwoÌýand Three â€� don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten!). I have some nice ideas for the second and third seasons of Skip!, but I’ll only work on themÌýif readers enjoy the first season.

I also haveÌýthe first novellaÌýof a new zombie trilogy I’m working on coming out soon. It’ll be free to all my subscribers. It’s called Z-MinusÌýand follows a father and daughter as he tries to find somewhere safe for her to survive before he turns into a zombie.ÌýIt’ll be free to my subscribers. If you want your copy, make sure to !

It’s Thanksgiving in the US this week, so happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers! And a happy regular Thursday to everyone else!

The Story

An old man wakes up to find his money stolen. The next day all his furniture is gone. What’s going on? Good the local policeman is called in to investigate and comes up with the wrong suspect. It’s up to the Five Finder-Outers to discover the truth, led by Fatty, perhaps the smartest child in the world!

The Review

The secret to Enid Blyton’s ability to write such engaging stories for children is that her stories never play down to kids. She treats them like adults, with intelligent stories and characters. If we were to scale up The Mystery of Holly Lane and made it a little edgier, it could serve equally well as a gritty investigative story for adults.

If you have kids who love to read, or if you’d like to feel like a kid while reading, you can’t go far wrong with Enid Blyton’s work.

I have an early sketch of the cover forÌýSkip.ÌýYou can see it below:

I’d really like to hear your opinions about it. I’m not a big fan. I want something a bit more abstract. Something that really explains what the story is about i.e. an epic fantasy about time skipping from one moment to the next. The clock face is central to the story, so I think we’ll need that.

Any ideasÌýwelcome!

But, I kept writing. I’m currently working on the run-up to the climax of the whole season one of Skip, an epic fantasy about a world where time is controlled by a mysterious giant clock tower. It starts to break, and two (un)lucky individuals must go find the pieces before time goes haywire and it’s the end of the universe as we know it. (Cue lightning flashes and organ music.)

Skip is an interesting story for me. I’m a big fan of Neil Gaiman’s Stardust and William Goldman’s Princess Bride stories, and I wanted to funnel those into Skip.ÌýFor some reason my own writing has always gravitated toward those fantastical-type stories. There’s something somehow ‘newâ€�, exciting and fresh about them. Or maybe I’m just a kid at heart :0)

So anyway, I’m working on a short heist sequence in Skip. We’re in Episode Five of aÌýtotal of six episodes. The characters have to get the final piece of theÌýclock, and it’s hidden in thisÌýmuseum, right under the noses of The Bad Guys. It’s fun to write, and hopefully readers will enjoy the twists and turns.

I suspect it’s going to take me a few more days to get a completeÌýfirst draft of the sequence complete, by which time hopefully my cold will be gone!

If you’d like to read how Skip is coming along, you canÌýget a serialised version by signing up to my newsletter below.