by Justin Bell
“They have guns,” Max whispered to Brad, and Brad nodded that he had noticed. They had guns and it looked like they were barricading themselves inside.
“We need to get back to—”
“Who’s there?”
The voice echoed in the dim light of early morning and Max froze solid, locking his joints tight as he sat on the tree branch. Sweat glistened on his forehead and his hands felt slick as he looked down into the grass beneath the tree.
One of the men walked across the green lawn. He wore a gray jumpsuit like the others, his head shaven clean and a thick, red beard sprawling out from his oval face like unmowed grass. His sleeves were rolled up almost to the shoulders, and each arm was covered with ornate, intertwined tattoos, running from elbow to wrist.
None of this really got Max’s attention, though. What really captured his attention was what the man was holding. A long, slender shotgun was clamped tightly between his two hands. The barrel was elevated, making lazy arcs back and forth, scanning the fresh cut grass.
“I saw y’all out here,” the man growled in a thick, southern accent. “C’mon out.”
He wasn’t looking up towards them but was looking out into the grass, somewhere on the ground. Max and Brad froze solid. They locked tight and didn’t move, willing their hearts to beat slower and lungs to breath slower. If they made one wrong sound or one wrong move, the man would see them. And if he did, it would be over for them. Instead of finding a way to get to Lydia, his mom would be losing another kid.
Max didn’t want to do that to her.
High up in the sky, the clouds began to peel away, spreading apart to reveal the dull orange glow of the morning sun.
Day two of the end of the world was about to begin.
Author’s Notes
February 15, 2018
Dear Readers,
For those who don’t know me (which I’m sure is most of you), my name is Justin Bell and I’ve been privileged to work with Mike on this new Post Apocalyptic series Darkness Rising. I’ve been an author since 2013, dabbling in several different genres, and Post Apocalyptic felt like the perfect storm for me. I have a love for action oriented novels, both reading and writing, and character conflict has always been a huge driver for me as an author. Things don’t get much more conflicted than the end of the world as we know it.
I don’t have much experience in working within the Post Apocalyptic genre, but I’ve received so much assistance and collaboration working with the group behind the scenes, and I think this shows in the final work. The challenge of writing in a world so similar, yet so different from our own is exceptional, and I’m hugely grateful for the support I’ve gotten as we develop this new series Darkness Rising.
The idea to lean towards a North Korean angle made such sense considering the current political climate, but as always, things are not what they seem, and my hope is that the twists and turns along the way keep you all intrigued and invested. It’s been a long road to get to this point, and I’m so thrilled to be able to get this series out there in front of everyone.
Darkness Rising really focuses on a family dynamic at the core of everything. An imperfect family with their own conflicts and issues even without the apocalypse, and having to put those aside to work towards the common good has been a blast to write, and I believe it will be a blast to read.
As a fan of action novels, you can expect plenty of it here, but ultimately action is meaningless without characters to care about, and I believe, with Mike’s considerable help, we’ve created a universe with people you can relate to, empathize with, and enjoy watching as they kick some butt.
Writing this series has been an absolute joy for me, and I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Book one is just the tip of the iceberg, and if you think you know what’s going on… you’ll have to keep reading to find out how right (or wrong) you are.
Thanks so much for checking out Darkness Rising, I hope you enjoy it, there is a lot more great stuff on the way.
-Justin
*****
Dear Readers,
Darkness Rising is the second collaborative effort I'm working on so far this year, and I hope you like it as much as I do. We've put a ton of work in behind the scenes on this series and I might be biased, but I think it shows.
Coming up with a plot for a new series - no matter what genre it might be - is always a challenge. When Justin and I were talking about plots for Darkness Rising we wanted to stay true to the "contemporary" post-apocalyptic story types that I write in like with No Sanctuary and Surviving the Fall, but still find something unique that would be just another EMP/fuel crisis/solar flare type story. Don't get me wrong, I think those kinds of stories can be great, but I always like having a unique twist attached to what I write so that it stands out and is more memorable.
I also like ripping stories from the headlines (see, again, No Sanctuary and Surviving the Fall), so when Justin and I put our heads together, a North Korea centered storyline just made sense. Of course, as you'll find out later in the series, some threats are more complex than how they may appear on the surface, but that's something to be seen later on.
As someone who used to read - many years ago when I was much younger - high-octane books filled with action scenes, Justin's writing has been absolutely amazing. Every single fight and chase scene he comes with has me skipping ahead and more often than not I'm finding that I have to take a step back and take a breath before continuing. Those scenes have got to be one of my favorite parts of reading this series and I can tell you that they only get bigger and more awesome later on.
The characters in Darkness Rising are something that we spent a lot of time on, and I really like how they've turned out. Plunging a family that's already dysfunctional and basically a straight up "city" family into a crisis that requires them to think on their feet, adapt to harsh situations and figure out how to get along with each other is something new for me, and I've really enjoyed working to help figure out how to make that all flow. I think that, sometimes, we get a picture of characters in post-apocalyptic stories that's a bit too unrealistic - either they're too good or too evil - but rarely do we see characters that are grounded firmly in a reality that I think everyone can easily identify. These people are consumed with their work/phones/internet/etc, they're at each others' throats and they have to figure out how to put that aside and work as a team. I think you'll like how they turn out as things progress, and I hope you'll stick around to see what happens in the next book.
If you enjoyed this story and/or any of my other stories, you should really sign up for my newsletter. I send out quick messages a few times a month and I take a totally different approach to my newsletters than other authors. Where other authors see a newsletter as a selling tool first and foremost I see it as a way to connect with my readers first and foremost. I've met some terrific people (like my AWESOME beta readers) and really enjoy talking to folks who email me.
Don't like email newsletters? I also keep my Facebook page updated and you can message me through there as well if you prefer FB to email. Feel free to drop me a line via email/FB. I'd love to hear from you.
Catch you in the next book!
-Mike
Other Post-Apocalyptic Books from Mike Kraus
Final Dawn: The Complete Original Series Box Set
Clocking in at nearly 300,000 words with over 250,000 copies sold, this is the complete collection of the original bestselling post-apocalyptic Final Dawn series. If you enjoy gripping, thrilling post-apocalyptic action with compelling and well-written characters you’ll love Final Dawn.
Final Dawn: Arkhangelsk: The Complete Trilogy Box Set
The Arkhangelsk Trilogy is the first follow-up series set in the bestselling Final Dawn universe and delivers more thrills, fun and just a few scares. The crew of the Russian Typhoon submarine Arkhangelsk travel to a foreign shore in search of survivors, but what the find threatens their fragile rebuilding efforts in the
post-apocalyptic world.
No Sanctuary
A nationwide terrorist attack has left the country in shambles and the country's transportation capabilities are crippled beyond repair. Frank Richards barely escapes with his life when he watches his truck explode in front of his eyes. As chaos descends across the country, Frank's home-grown survival and preparedness training and the help of a mysterious stranger he meets are the only things he can rely on to see him safely across the thousand miles separating him and his loved ones.
Surviving the Fall
Surviving the Fall is an episodic post-apocalyptic series that follows Rick and Dianne Waters as they struggle to survive after a devastating and mysterious worldwide attack. Trapped on the opposite side of the country from his family, Rick must fight to get home while his wife and children struggle to survive as danger lurks around every corner.
Prip’Yat: The Beast of Chernobyl
Two teens and two Spetsnaz officers travel to the town of Prip’Yat set just outside the remains of the Chernobyl power plant. The teens are there for a night of exploration. The special forces are there to pursue a creature that shouldn’t exist. This short thriller set around the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster will keep your heart racing right through to the very end.
Other Fantasy Books from Mike Kraus
The Makeshift Wizard: Death Magic
The Makeshift Wizard series is a new action-packed urban fantasy series from bestselling post-apocalyptic author Mike Kraus writing as MJ Kraus.
My job was supposed to be easy. Investigate a bleed farm, find the a-hole vamps who've been kidnapping Normals and bring down some street justice. Now I've got a relic in my hands that was created with the blood and death magic of an elder Vampire and a whole lot more questions than answers.
DARKNESS
RISING
Darkness Rising Series
Book 1
By
Justin Bell
Mike Kraus
© 2018 Muonic Press Inc
www.muonic.com
www.JustinBellAuthor.com
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No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, without the permission in writing from the author.
