Apocalypse Monday

New York City burns after a nuclear attack in this 1950 Chesley Bonestell illustration for Collier’s magazine.

My Interview With Steamdragon's Lair

This past week I was interviewed by Steamdragon's Lair about Hell Gate and the inspirations behind the series. You can read the entire interview here.

My Apologies For Being Away

I apologize for not being on line much this past week. My family has been going through some major life changes for the past six months, and will continue to do so for the next six. Unfortunately, not all of them are positive. Lately these changes have overwhelmed me. Thankfully, there is an end in sight, though the road ahead will still be rough. However, now that things are slowly coming under control, I plan to spend more time on social media and hope to get back to writing soon. 

The good news is, the sequel to Hell Gate is still scheduled for release this October and the first draft for the third book in the series is almost complete.

Apocalypse Monday

I love this particular piece of artwork. It reminds me of the movie 2012.

Apocalypse Monday

It doesn't get much more apocalyptic than zombies and nuclear war.

"From Space It Came" Has Been Published

I'm really pleased to announce that my short story "From Space It Came" has been published in Spiffycats on-line men's magazine. If you enjoy a 1950s-style, big bug monster story, then you have to read this one

And please, check out the rest of Spiffycats on-line content while you're there.

Apocalypse Monday

Imagined nuclear strike on Washington, D.C. by Frank Tinsley, c. 1950

My Review of Level 7

I enjoy reading older apocalypse/post-apocalypse fiction (such as The Postman, On the Beach, etc.). Mordecai Roshwald's Level 7 (1959) is a little gem I'm glad I stumbled upon.

The novel is in the form of a diary by Officer X-127, a nuclear launch officer who is responsible for initiating a global thermonuclear war, and traces his mental transformation from being proud to have been selected for this important assignment to coping with his responsibility for the end of the world. It is a realistic, grim, and dark view of the politics and consequences of nuclear war that is a worthy contemporary to On the Beach.

One cautionary note about the novel. Level 7 is not set in a traditional nuclear launch missile silo, but in a dystopian-style, self-contained underground fallout shelter that also serves as the missile launch center. While at first it seems to detract from the authenticity of the novel, and the descriptions of this complex may be extensive, the location is an integral part of the plot.

The Library of American Fiction's edition of Level 7 is a comprehensive work that includes insightful commentaries about the book; the original prologue to the novel that was not included in the printed edition (personally, I think the original prologue detracts from the overall work); as well as extensive notes and a Further Reading section.