Wool Omnibus Edition (Wool 1 - 5)
Page 52
Juliette smiled at him. A porter passed by, loaded down with his burdens. Juliette thought of how many of her own had recently slipped away.
“Family first,” she told Lukas. She glanced up that great shaft in the center of the humming silo and lifted her boot to the next tread. “I’ve got to go see my father, first.”
www.hughhowey.com
Q&A With Author Hugh Howey
Q: Is this really the end?!
A: To quote every one of my favorite Top-10 kung-fu movies: Every end is a new beginning. There are many more stories to tell. Not just the rest of silo 18’s story, but the future of silo 17, which is about to change. And then there are all the other silos crowding in around them. You won’t believe what’s going on in silo 40!
Q: Why are these books so cheap?
A: Because I’m a big fat nobody, that’s why! Until you have a name for yourself, you are forced to strum your guitar in subway stations and scribble your poetry on bathroom stalls. Later, people will pay for that stuff instead of drawing penises on it. At first, I even agonized over charging more for this volume, but it ended up being five times the length of the first WOOL. I’ve been assured that this is still a bargain for what you’re getting (and I take donations at my website if you agree).
Q: Can I tell you how awesome I think these books are?
A: Why yes you can! And I would prefer you did it with Amazon reviews. I read every single one of them, I promise. This is how the series is discovered, so if you want other readers to find and enjoy them as you have, take a few minutes and review anything of mine you’ve read. Bonus fan-points for reviewing the books individually!
Q: What’s next?
A: I have a Molly Fyde book (the fifth in the saga) that’s almost complete. And I also have a brand new series I’m working on. I haven’t spilled the beans on this yet (you loyal readers get to hear the juicy gossip first), but it’s going to be called SAND LAND. It’s the story of two brothers who live in that narrow and inhospitable strip of land between the Sand Mountains and the constant warring in No Man’s Land. It is a truly dreadful place to live. Silo 17 would be their Shangri-La. Anyone who’s ever tried to leave Sand Land has either perished or never been heard from again.
That is, until a young girl comes back from that elsewhere with stories from the other side . . .
Q: How can I keep up with your writing?
A: That’s an awfully convenient question! Thanks for asking.
You can follow me on Twitter: @MollyFyde
You can visit my website regularly: www.hughhowey.com.
And you can email me: mollyfyde@gmail.com.
I try to respond to all emails, and I love receiving them. Don’t be shy!
Q: Tell the truth: Did you come up with all these questions yourself?
A: Yes.
Meanwhile, in silo 17 . . .
Epilogue
• Silo 17 •
“Thirty two!”
Elise danced up the steps of the down deep, her breath trailing in long curls of steam behind her, the clumsy feet of youth making a racket with their heavy boots on the wet steel.
“Thirty two steps, Mr. Solo!”
She made it back up to the landing, tripped over the last step, and caught herself on her hands and knees. Elise stayed there a minute, head down, probably deciding if she would cry or be okay.
Solo waited for her to cry.
Instead, she looked up at him, a wide smile telling him she was fine. There was a gap in that smile where a loose tooth had come out and had not yet been replaced.
“It’s going down,” she said. She wiped her hands on her new coveralls and ran over to him. “The water’s going down!”
Solo grunted as she threw herself into his hip and hugged his waist. He draped an arm across her back while she squeezed him.
“Everything’s gonna be great!”
Solo held the railing with one hand and looked down past the rust-colored stain of old blood beneath his feet, looked past that memory and into the receding waters far below. He reached for the radio on his hip. Juliette would be the most excited to know.
“I think you’re right,” he told little Elise, pulling his radio free. “I think everything’s gonna be just fine . . .”