January 12, 2021
Broken World Post Two
Welcome to Broken World Day Two!
Week 2, Day 2 – Broken World
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction
Release Date: July 2, 2014
Cover Design: Jimmy Gibbs
Formats: ebook, audiobook, and paperback
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Universal
Audible
Goodreads
As a deadly virus sweeps the country, Vivian Thomas teams with brothers, Angus and Axl, in hopes of making it across the country to find the daughter she gave up for adoption. By the time they make it to California, most of the population has been wiped out, but when the dead start coming back, they quickly realize that no electricity or running water are the least of their concerns.
Where did you get the idea for Broken World?
This isn’t going to come as a shock to anyone, but some of the details surrounding it might surprise you. Yes, I was inspired to create Axl and Angus James after watching Daryl and Merle Dixon on The Walking Dead. The thing you might not realize, however, is that when I wrote Broken World, Merle and Daryl Dixon had only been in one episode of the show together. Here’s the breakdown of the very few episodes the brothers appeared in together:
Season 2, episode 5, Chupacabra – Aired on November 13, 2011
Season 3, episode 8, Made to Suffer – Aired December 2, 2012
Season 3, episode 9, The Suicide King – Aired February 10, 2013
Season 3 episode 11, Ain’t a Judas – Aired February 24, 2013
Season 2 episode 13, Arrow on the Doorpost – Aired March 10, 1013
Season 3, episode 14, Prey – Aired March 17, 2013
Season 3 episode 15, This Sorrowful Life – Aired March 24, 2013
Season 3, episode 16, Welcome to the Tombs – Aired March 31, 2013
When I wrote Broken World, Merle had just reappeared as a regular character on the show, but he and Daryl had only been in one episode at that point, which was back in season two of the show. In case you don’t remember – or have never watched it – I’ll give a quick recap. In this episode, entitled Chupacabra, Daryl is searching for the still missing Sophia, when a snake startles his horse. He’s thrown and ends up falling down a hill and getting injured, and as he struggles to stay conscious and pull himself to safety, he finds himself hallucinating that his brother, Merle, is giving him a very condescending pep talk. I’m sure this little bit of insight into how the two interacted influenced how Angus treated Axl in Broken World, but their relationship was probably a lot less inspired by Merle and Daryl than most people think, because they literally hadn’t been together in the show much at that point.
I’ll go into more details about the inspiration for settings and characters in another post, for now I’m just going to focus on why I decided to write this series. I’ve always loved end of the world fiction. A disaster or killer virus are cool, but throwing zombies in adds an extra layer to an already stressful situation. Then there’s the guessing game of who will rise to the occasion, who flounder, and who will show their true colors. A situation like this would bring out the best and the worst in people, and it’s interesting watching that play out. I also love the idea of having a group of people from all different backgrounds – who never would have met otherwise – being forced to team up and learn to work together, and eventually become a family – or enemies. It was all of those things, along with the popularity of zombies a the time – that made me want to write this series, and I’m so glad I did!
