fuonlyknew

Elle is a survivor.
Since the collapse of modern society, she’s been living in the remains of downtown Hollywood, California, foraging for food and fighting for her life.
And then everything changes.
After she is forced out of her home, she heads north. What she finds is a group of bunker survivors, unlikely comrades, and the hope of a safe haven. Together, they journey toward the dregs of civilization, facing starvation, imprisonment and death.
They are alone, but they are ready.
Day Zero begins today.

Day Zero is a novella, the first installment in The Zero Trilogy, a novella series complementing the international bestselling Collapse Series.

Creating the Klan

The fun thing about writing The Collapse Series is that there are hundreds of different stories to be told. In my primary series, the villainous Omega is the invasion force that is taking over the United States – from both the outside and inside. In Day Zero, I jumped into the same setting. The world has been ravaged by an invasion, and Omega has taken over everything.

But what about the places that are completely abandoned? The places without a militia presence or military stronghold of any kind? That’s how I came up with the Klan. Elle’s worst enemy in Day Zero is the Klan – a gang that rules the urban streets.

She deals with the Klan more than Omega, and in doing so, we get to explore a part of the apocalypse that Cassidy Hart hasn’t even seen. The Klan represents the dangers and pitfalls that society can stoop to when left unchecked. In such an archaic and desperate environment, it’s really no surprise that people have become bloodthirsty. Where is the moral compass of a community? Who determines what is right and what is wrong? It’s a theme I got to explore, and it was an enjoyable challenge to do so.

I modeled the Klan after numerous groups and cults that have popped up throughout history. The Klan, in essence, represents the evil of society just as much as Omega does in The Collapse Series – I just got to take a different approach with it. Where Omega is a cold, steely military force, the Klan is a medieval, feral society – almost tribal. It was an interesting story to explore, and I’m excited to share Elle’s story with the world!