Last month, I revealed with much excitement that I resumed writing every day, beginning by editing a novel I’d started back in 2021. Yes, it had been more than three years since I looked at that manuscript—one of three yet-to-be-published manuscripts. In fact, I was genuinely surprised to discover I had that many manuscripts stored on the hard drive of my computer. This one, with the working title of Plague, was written during and inspired by the global pandemic that shut down the U.S. in March of 2020. It’s a good thing I decided to edit Plague rather than start writing a new novel as I quickly discovered I had never finished it!
While it seemed a little strange to continue writing a saga I’d begun three-plus years ago, it was not difficult to pick up where I’d left off. After editing its thus far 72 chapters during the month of July, I quickly reacquainted myself with the characters and storyline. I had forgotten a lot of the intricacies and interwoven storyline, and I liked the way I had built up the suspense. It’s far from perfect (what is?) but I think it flows well and steadily, and my hope is it will keep the reader engrossed.
In my previous novels, I kept a balance between good and evil, and I often killed off those nefarious characters who’d worn out their usefulness to the story; those who no longer deserved to keep on doing wicked deeds. I called it “cosmic justice” in the Person Non Grata Trilogy. What originally inspired me to write Plague, was the insidious global reach of the Covid-19 pandemic; its deadly potential to wipe out great swaths of humanity worldwide. But what really got my creative juices flowing in creating Plague was the reactions of those in power worldwide who were not only seeking to contain and eliminate the virus but to utilize it as a means of maintaining and increasing their own powers through outrageous and heretofore unproven prophylactic protocols.
Intrigue to Inspiration
I was intrigued by the idea that the Covid-19 virus was created in a lab and had somehow “escaped” to infect nearly every country on earth. Now, it’s not my intention to make this blog or my novel political, but controversial topics are key to creating thrilling reading material. As they say in the newspaper business, “If it bleeds, it leads.” No one wants to take the time to read something bland or mundane. So, I let my imagination run wild to leap-frog off the Covid-19 pandemic in producing a present-day story spanning two continents about a unique virus that is let loose on select citizens through the perverse machinations of various groups of elite people.
It’s a far cry from a Michael Crichton novel (one of my favorite authors) whose books delve deeply into medical and scientific constructs. And it’s not as “science fiction-y” as a Dean Koontz novel (another of my favorite authors), though I add some horror and fantasy to Plague. While I wasn’t aiming for gruesomeness, there are elements of that in my novel. Indeed, both Chrichton and Koontz have inspired my writing in that they adeptly deal with the horrors of human interference on biological paradigms. The conclusions they deduce are often grisly yet fascinating. I love the alternative universes they formulated in their masterpieces.
There’s a Reason it’s Called Fiction
Admittedly, I thoroughly enjoyed writing Plague some three-plus years ago and it’s even more fun finishing it. While I haven’t yet decided if I’ll change the title before publishing it, I think I’m fortunate that the premise of a deadly virus is still a hot topic. We’re consistently warned that another “novel” virus is on its way any day now to kill us all. Panic and prepare for it! Reminds me of the warnings I’d heard back in my youth in the early 1970s that THE BIG EARTHQUAKE is imminent, it’s coming any day, and it will cause such a disaster that California will be cut off from the rest of the continent and disappear into the Pacific Ocean. Chicken Little the sky is falling! Panic, panic, panic!
Having never been an alarmist about natural or man-made catastrophes—for which I am grateful—I am also aptly suited to write about an imaginary manufactured virus purposefully let loose on society with the sole intention of killing. It’s OK to have fun with fiction. That’s why it’s called fiction!