One week from today, I will release the fourth installment in The Collapse Series - State of Pursuit. I'm very excited to share the continuation of Cassidy Hart's story, and Ellisa Barr is one of those people who understand my fascination with building a world centered around survival. On May 13th, 2014, Ellisa released her debut novel, Outage - a YA novel that follows the story of one girl's survival after a technological attack takes out society as we know it. The premise is a popular one - and Ellisa had fun putting her own spin on it. Today, she's guest-posting at Writing Belle, talking about the importance of being prepared for the (potential) end of the world!
Ellisa:
Hi all, thanks to Summer for letting me introduce myself here. I just released a YA post-apocalyptic fiction novel about what happens to a city girl in a small town when an EMP knocks out phones and electricity, and sends life as we know it back to the Dark Ages.
As I was writing Outage, I became painfully aware of how unprepared I would be for a local or national disaster. What’s surprising is the more people I talk to about it, the more I’m finding out I’m not alone.
Imagine if your power went out right now. How would you entertain yourself for the rest of the day? What would you eat and drink? What would you do when it got dark? What if the power was off for a week? A month?
A few days ago our power went off for a couple of hours. No more magic fridge fairy dispensing filtered water and ice cubes. We didn’t have any bottled water or batteries, and we were low on toilet paper too (heaven forbid!) If there had been a real emergency we would have been in pretty bad shape.
I hope if you’ve been procrastinating your preparedness, you’ll try and think of at least one small thing you can do this week to be better. Buy a flashlight or some candles if you don’t have any, talk to your family about a basic emergency plan, check to see if anything in your first aid kit needs replacing. You never know when you might need it.
I also hope you’ll check out my new book, Outage. Dee, the main character, is even less prepared than I am. She’s a city girl visiting her grandpa on his farm in rural Washington when the power goes out for good and her grandpa has a medical crisis. She meets a cute guy and discovers some helpful neighbors, gets chased by cows and bad guys, saves a little boy and his big brother, and even gets saved a little bit herself.
I had fun including some survival tips because I love to read those, but the story is primarily a fast-paced adventure. Dee and her friends have to confront wild animals, sickness, personal loss, and ultimately, the corrupt man who has taken over the nearby town.
Thanks again, Summer, for letting me share a few thoughts here. I love EMP stories (which is why I wrote one!) and was so excited to discover the State of Emergency series. I wish you the best of luck on your upcoming release of State of Pursuit.
About the Author
Ellisa lives with her husband, two children, a dog and a cat in southern California, where she thinks she should do more to be ready for earthquakes. She teaches music and homeschools her children in the winter, and in the summer she hides out from the heat with a stack of books.
Connect with Ellisa:
Website | All Buy Links for Outage
