Introducing: Comes The Dark

This section of my blog is going to be dedicated specifically to my first novel, Comes The Dark, which is being released by Library of the Living Dead Press later in 2010.

At its most basic, CTD is the story of a man who has lost everything in a world that has already rapidly deteriorated to the point where it is barely recognizable anymore.  A virus is at the root of humanity’s destruction and those infected are turned into undead monsters that seek only to annihilate the few survivors left remaining.  My desire in creating this story was to try to better understand, from my own perspective, how much one person can take and how far they are willing to go to survive with barely a shred of hope for themselves and the rest of humanity.  What keeps them going?  Is is all fear, or perhaps is it anger at what has happened to them?  Is there any willingness to hope for something better despite there being no evidence that there is a reason to hope?

Certainly, this is a story about zombies, with all the harsh brutality you would expect from such a horror story, but my focus is on the living that inhabit this dead world.  How they interact with one another, how they cope, and how they fight to survive against nearly insurmountable odds.

Jeff Blaine, the main character, is a typical guy who leads a typical life.  Before the story begins, he has a decent job, a house in the suburbs, a wife, two kids, and nothing much else that makes him all that interesting to those around him.  While he considers himself a good guy, a nice guy, he has never really been put into a position that has forced him to be anything different than that.  Like most of us, he would like to believe he can handle pressure, but really, he doesn’t have much of an idea what type of person he might become if things really get bad.  He’s probably slightly more of a sinner than a saint, but again, he’s never had a major dilemma that would might test his moral fiber, so its easy for him to believe he would generally choose to do the right thing.

You would probably like Jeff if you met him.  He knows how to give a firm handshake and look you in the eye when he talks to you.  He learned early on how to give a good impression but to avoid being too flashy so that he stands out from the crowd.  He participated in a few activities in college to pad his resume but these days he’s not all that interested in being much of a joiner.  He is the guy who typically can find an excuse not to get involved with the Home Owner’s Association or to join the Rotary Club when a buddy or a neighbor approaches him. He’s willing to buy your daughter’s girl scout cookies but he hates the idea of volunteering his time at his church’s charity events.  He might fudge the amount he donates on his taxes but avoids anything more risky than that like the plague.

In other words, Jeff is pretty much your average guy…before the world falls apart.

And thus, the stage is set for the story.  You really don’t need to know much else in advance of reading the book, except perhaps for the description I created that will hopefully appear on the back cover of the book (stand by, because it still needs to go through the editing process!).   Stay tuned for a few select excerpts from the book in later postings, but for now, I leave you with this:

The end came with a whimper, not a bang. The mysterious virus came out of nowhere and engulfed the world in a matter of days.  Everyone who was infected seemed to die…and then rise again.  Governments collapsed, armies disappeared, and entire civilizations turned to dust as the human race tore itself to pieces.

Jeff Blaine had a good life: a beautiful wife, adorable children, and a nice house in the suburbs.  He liked his job, loved his family, and spent his lazy suburban Sundays out on the deck, barbequing with the neighbors.  Things were perfect until everything fell apart.  And no matter how hard Jeff tried, he could not spare his family from the horrors scratching at the door.

Now, with his family gone, his life in ruins, the only thing left is raw anger and pain.  As the world continues to sink into darkness, Jeff does as well.  So he ventures out into the desolation with no better plan than to destroy as many of the monsters that stole his life away before they destroy him as well.

But soon Jeff will discover other survivors unwilling to give up.  They will force him to decide whether or not to succumb to the venom that gnaws at his soul.  Should he continue to fight to survive, or succumb to the things that come with the dark?