H. Berkeley Rourke's Current WIP - A NEW LIFE!

WIPs and New Releases

1)      Tell us about your work-in-progress, or WIP, as it’s known as in the industry or New Release…

Ø  What is the story about?

·   The title is A New Life. It is a dystopian novel about the aftermath of a Richter Scale 10 earthquake in the Palm Desert area, and the impact of the lives of various people.

Ø  Who is the main character?

·   Mike Randle

2)     What inspired this tale?

Ø  How did the story come to you?

·   I was thinking about my mantra, a new day, a new life and started following the thread.

Ø  Did you have to research for this novel and if so, why?

·   Yes. There is and was a lot of research into locations, roads, the names of cities, other items.

·   Part of the novel, as yet unwritten, is about leaving the place two people have lived in for several years after the quake and after attacks on the west coast by North Korea.

·   Routes will be important.

Ø  If you did research, what do you think surprised you most to learn and why?

·   No real surprises in the research yet. It is basic information.

3)     Do you relate to your character?

Ø  Is your protagonist anything like you personally?

·   Yes.

Ø  If yes, then how?

·   Physical size, willingness to learn and put new notions and understandings into practice.

Ø  If no, how do you differ from one another?

·   In many ways. He is much younger, more malleable, less convinced life has brought him that which he is unable to handle.

Ø  What made you write this character; what made them important to you or made you want to tell their story?

·   Well, first, I needed a protagonist.

·   Secondly, I wanted the idea of A NEW LIFE to resonate throughout, meaning he has to learn how to live in a new way, with many changes requiring him to learn and adapt. I guess my being convinced many in our society are unprepared to handle the impact of major disasters or an attack on the nation is playing a role in the fleshing out of the character.

4)    Is there anything you specific want readers to know about this piece of work?

It will not be ready for consumption for quite a while. It is nearing 30,000 words at the moment with an anticipated total of somewhere in the neighborhood of 60,000 ending.

5)     When will the novel be available for purchase?

I would think in the fall of this year most likely.