Dead Heat has now been out for a couple of days (hurrah!) and if you haven’t bought it yet, what are you waiting for? I discussed some time ago that I had an idea for a mirror story and after jotting down some ideas since submitting the final draft, I’ve knocked up an extended blurb and a preliminary cover.
If you could see your story in a mirror, what would it look like? Imagine the same people on the same island in a different time and place. Three strangers, not three friends.
In this alternate world, Mortwich Island is not a leisure facility where actors dressed as zombies chase people on corporate team building days to improve their morale, where couples get married against a beautiful coastline, or where the local cricket club practice.
It is a maximum security prison linked to the mainland by a single heavily-fortified bridge, high cliffs and even higher walls.
The only escape from Mortwich Island is is the prison-authorised “Dead Lock” – a race in which prisoners are given the chance at freedom to cross a zombie-infested island to reach the sanctuary of the mainland in the totalitarian Britain that lies beyond.
It is a world where the trust between friends becomes the mistrust of strangers, knowing that not everybody incarcerated by a dictatorship is innocent. Is your companion a political opponent of the government, or is he a mass murderer?
It’s probably a bit too long as blurbs go, but I wanted to give a real gist of what’s going on in the new story. I have plenty of time and opportunity to cut that back and leave some things unsaid. Watch this space, this story may be completed by the end of the year if I can make enough progress with my Romans.
As for the cover, I think it looks pretty good considering it took me ten minutes, but I think I want either a zombie in the background or the ghostly image of bloodied handprint; at the moment, I think it looks a little like a drama based in a Nazi Concentration Camp and it’s definitely not about that. With this one, I will want something minimalist and “raw” looking. I took the image from Pixabay, they’re royalty free for commercial use, cut it to size and applied a sepia filter. I’m actually very happy with it, but I might clean it up a little. First things first though, I need to write the thing first!
With the final edit of Dead Heat, I dropped a few hints – mostly off-the-cuff remarks – that are signs and portents for this mirror story. If you spot them or think you know what they are, please keep your thoughts to yourself 🙂
Hurry up and write it, it sounds good! Hope Dead Heat is doing well 🙂
Thanks Tom. I’ve sold two copies so far and I have made a start on Dead Lock so keep watching this space!