As we dive into the early months of 2025, I’m deep in rewrites on three different novels. Here's a sneak peek into the worlds of "Doomsday," the second installment in the Hostile Earth series, "Back Burner," the latest addition to the Lt. Eve Sharpe thrillers, and Final Epoch the third volume of the Hostile Earth series

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DOOMSDAY - Hostile Earth Series, Book Two

Coming: March 2025

In "Doomsday," we return to the tumultuous world of Aurora where Terra Vonn has recently been elected governor. Her leadership is immediately tested by unforeseen catastrophes, the undercurrents of treachery, and deceit within her administration. The stakes are raised when Aurora faces an unprecedented threat from the Ghóraz, the progeny of escaped prison gangs. Terra must navigate through political sabotage and external dangers, trying to keep her community safe while uncovering who among her circle can be trusted.

I think you’ll find this novel to be a rollercoaster of survival, strategy, and suspense. Fans of dystopian thrillers will find "Doomsday" to be a compelling continuation of Terra's journey, filled with twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

 

BACK BURNER - A Lt. Eve Sharpe Thriller

Coming: April 2025

"Back Burner" introduces a younger, less jaded Eve Sharpe, back when she was a rookie patrol cop on the brink of abandoning her badge for a life in insurance sales. Paired with the enigmatic Clark Griffin—a partner who's as morally ambiguous as he is loyal—Eve's already dim view of her career dims further.

However, when a close friend falls victim to a brutal murder, Eve's sense of duty and justice reignites. With the case relegated to Homicide's proverbial "back burner," Eve takes it upon herself to delve into the investigation. As she digs deeper, the trail leads her to an unthinkable suspect, challenging her beliefs about justice, betrayal, and the lengths one might go to uncover the truth.

 

FINAL EPOCH – Hostile Earth book three

Coming: May 2025

Book three of the Hostile Earth series, Final Epoch, follows Terra’s daughter Willow and her best friend Kelly as they navigate growing up in post-apocalyptic earth. Fun until catastrophe strikes and Willow and Kelly are thrust into a disastrous war that could end humanity’s fragile hold on life.

 

I’ll give a heads up as we get closer.

More in due course.

As promised, and in no particular order, are some of the books I’ve read and reread. All of these have inspired me in one way or another.

Dracula                                                           Bram Stoker

The Hound of the Baskervilles                      Arthur Conan Doyle

A Princess of Mars/Tarzan of the Apes         Edgar Rice Burroughs

Hunchback of Notre Dame                            Victor Hugo

Interpretation of Dreams                                Sigmund Freud          

The Big Sleep                                                 Raymond Chandler

The Martian Chronicles                                 Ray Bradbury

Psycho                                                            Robert Bloch

The Lord of the Rings                                    J.R.R. Tolkien

The Grapes of Wrath/Cannery Row              John Steinbeck

For Whom the Bell Tolls                               Ernest Hemingway

Nineteen Eight-Four                                      George Orwell

Frankenstein                                                  Mary Shelly

Slaughterhouse-Five                                      Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 

In Cold Blood                                                Truman Capote

Atlas Shrugged                                              Ayn Rand

Flowers for Algernon                                    Daniel Keyes

The Godfather                                               Mario Puzo

 Lolita                                                            Vladimir Nabokov

Catch-22                                                        Joseph Heller

The Road                                                       Cormac McCarthy

The Call of the Wild                                      Jack London

Jurassic Park                                                  Michael Crichton

Trainspotting                                                  Irvine Welsh

What are some of your favorite books?

Some of my favorite films

Here’s a short list of few movies that have entertained and inspired me over the years (the complete list would be huge). If you want to add some of your favorites to my list, hit the comments. I’ll add books and music, soon.

Alien, Psycho, King Kong the original, Pulp Fiction, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Casablanca, The Godfather, Goodfellas, Lawrence of Arabia, Star Wars: A New Hope, Silence of the Lambs, Dr. Strangelove, The Pink Panther, Some Like It Hot, Lord of the Rings, Unforgiven, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, Fargo, North by Northwest.

What I would do in a zombie Apocalypse?

I've thought a lot about the looming zombie apocalypse. Really. When half-rotten (or in some cases, fully rotten) corpses reanimate and feast on the living, what the hell would I do? How would I defend our home? More importantly, how would I defend my family?

I've recently concluded a very thorough analysis of my current planning, and it seems my defensive strategies aren't very good. To be a little more precise, they stink on ice.

So I decided that I needed advice. Then it dawned on me. Who would know more about killing zombies than screenwriters? With that in mind, I popped some popcorn and downloaded several of the best zombie movies of all time.

Sadly, the results were not very encouraging.

SPOILER ALERT – If you haven't seen these movies I sort of give away the endings.

I could stay and defend my family like in Night of the Living Dead (1968) – Unfortunately, the movie ends with photos of the hero being dumped on a pile of burning bodies.

Okay, maybe holing up in a shopping mall would work. After all, it was more or less successful in Dawn of the Dead (2004). At least for a while. And it all worked out in the end by sailing to a remote, uncorrupted island. Right? Wrong. Instead, you get bitten, and you have to kill yourself while your friends sail away to uncorrupted island. Except . . . not. They run out of food and land on an island swarming with—zombies. Crap.

How about flying to another continent? One that's zombie free? In 28 weeks later (2007) our heroes fly across the English Channel to France only to find zombies pouring out of the Paris Métro.

In Zombieland (2009) (full disclosure, one of my favorite movies) their great idea is going to an amusement park in California where they believe there are no zombies. Except when our heroes get there, the place is not only loaded with zombies, there's a zombie clown. A ZOMBIE CLOWN!! What the hell???

There are more movies. Many more. But it seems that in each, no matter what you do, you're going to die.

My conclusion, based on this exhaustive research, is that when the zombie apocalypse comes, we're all thoroughly and completely screwed.

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Waceland - a review

WACELAND

Coyote, a teenage girl in a post-apocalyptic landscape, must save her little sister by crossing a desert to reach the fabled town of Midian, all while being hunted by a pack of bloodthirsty mercenaries and outlaws.

But is Midian harbouring even darker secrets than the moonlit dunes of the Akchain Territory? Through her barbaric journey, Coyote must find the strength within to keep her humanity without losing her life.

It's violent. It's mad. It's Waceland.

-Blurb from Amazon.com

 

Review:

Coyote Singh has a knack. In the post-apocalyptic ruins of Waceland, she can find the artifacts and weapons that bring a little money and a certain measure of respect. All that's fine, but her mind is focused on getting out of Bone Town and to the mythical city of Midian where they might be able to heal her dying sister, Anika.

That is, if Midian exists.

But Coyote Singh has a knack and with it, she'd find the city or die trying.

Waceland is a tightly written, imaginative novel with well-developed characters and a story that hums along at high speed. Better yet, the world Ashlock has created draws you in with a gritty reality that you don't often find in sci-fi books.

A terrific story! Don’t miss!

http://www.amazon.com/Waceland-Brad-Ashlock-ebook/dp/B00TQUXXL8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426866103&sr=8-1&keywords=waceland