By Benjamin X. Wretlind (Guest Blogger)
[Lisabet: Welcome to Beyond Romance, Benjamin. I’m delighted to have the chance to introduce you and your work to my readers.
Can you tell us about the genesis of this book? Where did the ideas come from? And how did your thoughts change during the writing process?]
All We Leave Behind is the third book in the Transit series, and closely follows the events in the second book Sunshine and Shadow. As for the whole series, the idea started around 2020 when nothing seemed to be going right in the world. During the writing of Out of Due Season, the first book in this series, I turned to my wife and said “Wouldn’t it be something if we could start over as a society? I wonder what would happen?”
Her response was really what finalized the entire structure of not only that novel but the entire series.
“Well,” she said sardonically, “I think you’d have to get a group of people to a different planet, if you really wanted to start over.”
Because of that comment, I changed the ending of Out of Due Season: The First Transit, to purposely get the characters to a new planet where they could, indeed, start over. Originally, I intended to leave that book as a stand alone with a pretty dark ending. Something changed in 2020, though, and within a day I had written an entire plot structure for nine interlocked books.
I love generational book series, like Isaac Asimov’s Foundation and Justin Cronin’s Passage series. As a young writer, I knew I wanted to do something like that. What’s more, I don’t subscribe to the idea that books (or television shows, for that matter) must be tightly woven together by only months or maybe a year or two. That’s why the events in the second and third books take place forty years after the first book.
As a spoiler, Book 4, which I’m working on now, is set 55 years later than All We Leave Behind. The main characters may change, but their legacy will remain throughout the series.
My thoughts did change during the writing of All We Leave Behind, however. Specifically, Miriam’s arc is not what I originally intended. Nor, for that matter, was Joel’s. Micah’s path in the story is the only one that played out perfectly. Because of the changes to Miriam’s arc, I was able to show cultural shifts in the fourth book that would never have occurred if I followed my original plan.
When someone asks if I’m a pantser or a plotter, I always say “yes.” I plot extensively, but I’m also willing to let the characters tell me their story as I write. I don’t want to force them into thinking that they have no free will of their own. So things change from the original idea, and that’s one of the many reasons I love writing.
Blurb
Following
the exodus from rising floodwaters, the surviving descendants of
those who came to create a society on a planet far from Earth have
struggled to rebuild within the remains of an ancient temple. Now, as
disease and an unfamiliar environment threaten to destroy them yet
again, everyone seems to have an opinion about what to do
next.
Miriam and Tobias Page, newly married, believe there may
be a possible home beyond a distant canyon. Their journey with a
quarter of the population doesn’t start well and soon nature and
their own humanity will conspire to end it all. Meanwhile, Miriam’s
two cousins, Joel and Micah, have different ideas. Joel is convinced
the best course of action is to return to the mountains they left to
mine for the ore that would make a great return to Earth possible.
Micah hopes to stay, learn all he can about the temple’s previous
occupants, and prove both of them wrong. But soon, he and his new
partner Patience realize that no option is truly safe.
As the
transits of three different groups get underway, new dangers and
surprises emerge from within the rainforests, mountains, and deserts
of the planet…and one of those may have followed them from Earth.
While a final home is a dream away, present nightmares must be dealt
with first if any of them are going to survive.
Excerpt
“How many?” Moran asked.
“Four. Just up ahead.” Tobias tightened his grip on his weapon.
“Bethany is waiting for us.”
Moran stopped and watched as the caravan slowly edged toward the right, away from immediate danger. “Wish we had more to spare.”
“So do I.” Tobias took in a calming breath and let it out slowly. The nervousness in his stomach eased up. Miriam had taught him several techniques for dealing with fear, for calming his anxiety and sharpening his mind. He would forever be grateful to be married to a counselor, a therapist, a wise wizard of the brain’s complications.
“Ready?” Moran asked.
They both walked slowly toward Bethany’s position, their eyes locked on the trees where Tobias saw the four animals.
“Eight,” Bethany whispered as they approached. “Four more in a cluster of trees to the right of the others.”
“Typical pack. Haven’t heard the growl, yet,” Moran said. “Maybe they didn’t see us.”
“Oh, they did.” Tobias pointed to the tree with the first rychat he spotted. “I swear I saw that one lick its lips.”
“Well, we’ll have to take care of that.”
Moran raised his crossbow and took aim at the one Tobias pointed out. In tandem, both Tobias and Bethany raised their own weapons.
“One on the trunk,” Tobias whispered.
Bethany responded. “The big one to the right.”
The three were silent as they steadied themselves.
About the Author
Benjamin, a speculative fiction author, ran with scissors when he was five. He now writes, paints, uses sharp woodworking tools and plays with glue. Sometimes he does these things at the same time.
Benjamin lives with his wife Jesse in Colorado.
Twitter: @bxwretlind
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bxwretlind
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bxwretlind/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2900267.Benjamin_X_Wretlind
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/benjamin-x-wretlind-73b7dde4-3fc4-4b7c-a57f-97db25374b10
Benjamin X. Wretlind will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
6 comments:
Thanks for hosting~
Hello, Benjamin. Thank you for sharing a bit of your writing process with my readers. I hope your tour is going really well.
Thank you for hosting me on this tour! Happy to answer any questions.
Sound like a great story.
What was your favorite part about writing this story?
The book sounds intriguing. Great cover!
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