Science fiction author Linda Naughton joins me today to chat about her new post-Apocalyptic thriller, Blackout Trail.
During her virtual book tour, Linda will be giving away a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for your chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too!
Bio:
Linda Naughton has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. She is the author of several novels, children’s books, and the blog Self-Rescuing Princesses. A proud geek and gamer girl, she enjoys sci-fi, disaster movies, and role-playing games. She is a software engineer, paramedic, and mother of two.
Welcome, Linda. Please tell us about your current release.
In Blackout Trail, Dr. Anna Hastings has to learn how to be a doctor in a world without technology, after an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) causes a global blackout. She teams up with a father, Mark, and his young daughter, Lily, on a perilous trek to find Mark’s wife. They face daily struggles against nature and their fellow survivors, but the real heart of the story is about the relationships that develop between these three strangers and the people they meet along the way. It’s a story about hope and holding onto your humanity in a world gone mad.
What inspired you to write this book?
As a volunteer paramedic in the early 2000s, I had a steady diet of disaster preparedness training. And as a storyteller, my brain naturally started to wonder, “What if?” An EMP taking out the power grid felt like a very grounded and relatable disaster to base a story around. In a world so reliant on technology, it’s easy to imagine the chaos that would result if cars, phones, planes, lights, and everything else suddenly stopped working. I also wanted to explore what it would be like to be a healer in that environment—trying to balance helping people with daily survival and limited resources.
Excerpt from Blackout Trail:
It wasn’t just our baggage carousel that had stopped; they all had. Both the overhead lights and the computer screens showing the baggage carousel assignments had gone dark too. The only light streamed in from the floor-to-ceiling windows lining the perimeter of the baggage claim area. Why hadn’t the emergency lights kicked on?
The automatic sliding doors had also stopped, confounding a gaggle of college kids trying to leave. Beyond the doors, an ominous stillness had replaced the constant bustle of parking shuttles, cars, and taxis creeping along the pickup lane. There should’ve been engine sounds. Horns. Something. Now there were just a bunch of confused and pissed-off people getting out of their vehicles.
Grumbling from the other passengers gave way to a stunned hush. Panic bubbled just beneath the surface. You couldn’t set foot in an American airport these days without being bombarded with reminders of terrorism. Everyone looked at each other, the same question written on our faces: Was this some kind of attack? What should we do? I expected some sort of alert or explanation over the loudspeaker, telling everyone to remain calm, but none came.
A thunderous crash from the opposite end of the terminal had me ducking and covering my head. Metal screeched on metal, accompanied by the tinkle of shattered glass and an ear-splitting grinding sound. A chorus of terrified cries erupted around me. I’ll admit it—I screamed too. I caught a glimpse of a plane fuselage crashing through the airport ceiling before plowing into the ground.
What exciting project are you working on next?
I’m working on the sequel to Blackout Trail. I had originally intended it to be a stand-alone story, but my brain didn’t want to let go of those characters just yet.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I’ve been writing stories since I was a little kid and started my first novel as a teenager, so I think I’ve always considered myself a writer at heart. I didn’t really feel like a writer professionally until my first paid gig as a freelancer.
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your workday like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I’m a software developer, though I do a fair bit of technical writing as part of my job. Finding time to write is hard, between work and family and volunteer activities. Mostly I write at night after the kids are asleep.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
My stories often have an element of medical drama worked in. Anna in Blackout Trail is a doctor; the main character in my first novel is a paramedic. I’ve always been fascinated by emergency medicine.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I could never pin myself down to just one thing, and even as an adult I like to wear many hats: mom, writer, programmer, game designer, (retired) paramedic.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
It means so much to me that people have taken the time to read my story. I’m grateful for the support, and for the chance to be hosted on this blog today.
Links:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon | Paperback (wide)
Thanks for hosting today.
Thank you for having me on your blog!
I really like the excerpt.
looks like a great book
Such an intriguing book cover!!