The Apocalypse Is Coming

It’s not today. But it’s coming.

I can’t confirm the apocalypse is coming today. Not with certainty, anyway. But the way things are going, I wouldn’t rule it out. Every country seems hellbent on creating its own version. England is trying hard. The United States is always in the running. Australia’s doing it with fire, venomous wildlife, and casual political collapse. If it’s not one of them, it’ll be someone else. We’re overachievers when it comes to disaster.

Writing the end of the world

When I wrote Mr 303, I chose a virus to bring about the fall of humanity. At the time, it felt like smart dystopian fiction. Plausible, but still a little far-fetched. Then a global pandemic happened, and suddenly, my “fiction” looked more like a prophecy I wasn’t qualified to deliver.

My next book, The Peace Ambassador, doesn’t bother with a virus. This time, the end comes from within. It’s terrorism, greed, and the absolute lack of competence among those in charge. I’ve been working on this one for over two years. It’s close to finished. Not quite there, but the bones are solid. Once I’ve locked in a release date, I’ll post it.

Yes, Mr 303: Part Two is coming

I’ve had messages. Emails. The occasional guilt-tripping comment disguised as casual curiosity. I hear you. It’s on its way. The draft is about 70 percent done, but it still needs the usual ritual sacrifice: heavy rewrites, editorial annihilation, and then whatever survives gets tossed into the hands of my beta readers. They’ll tear it apart again. That’s the process. It’s how I make something worth publishing.

If you want to accelerate that, do me a favour. Leave a review. Not just for me, but for any author whose work you liked. It’s five minutes of your time that reminds us the story mattered. It’s the single biggest motivator we have. Yes, some of us are a little egocentric (and some of us are definitely narcissistic) and would do it for some compliments.

The apocalypse is a theme, not a phase

I tend to write disaster. Not because I’m obsessed with the end of the world, but because it’s strangely comforting. When everything’s falling apart, people show you who they really are. Fiction lets us process that mess without having to actually live through it… unless, of course, we’re doing both at the same time.

Circle in the Sand ends with total extinction. No spoilers here, but let’s just say hope isn’t the final emotion you’re left with. If you’ve read it, you already know that. If you haven’t, I’ll let the ending speak for itself.

Two books. One author. No chill.

While finishing The Peace Ambassador, I started something new. An Hour of Your Time began as a short story. A one-off. I posted it online without expecting much. But it grew. Readers kept asking for more. So I kept writing. Now it’s a novel. Full length. Twisted. Quietly devastating in parts. And hopefully beautiful in a few others. The problem with this one, is I’ve rewritten it so much that I can’t see myself actually finishing it. Yet.

If you followed the online version, you’ll be pleased to know it’s being expanded. If you didn’t, there’s still time to catch up before it becomes something larger, weirder, and a little more intimate.

For the non-readers and doom lovers

And if none of this speaks to you, if you’re already tuning out and scrolling past book announcements, I hope you’re the first to get taken out by whatever ends us. Not out of spite. Just efficiency. Virus. Meteor. Rogue satellite. One of those Florida men with too many opinions and a homemade flamethrower. Whatever it is, I hope it comes quickly and targets indifference first.

In summary

The apocalypse is coming. It’s arriving in paperback. Maybe hardcover if the printer behaves. Two books are on their way, both written with far too much coffee and far too little optimism.

That’s assuming, of course, we don’t all get annihilated first by a world leader who couldn’t pass a high school geography test.

Until then, I’ll keep writing.

And I hope someone’s still around to read it.

Fox x