Thursday, January 6, 2011

Guest Author - Joss Ware

KATI: Joss Ware's Envy Chronicles feature a host of hot men, an eerie post-apocalyptic world, and an intriguing mystery. We're thrilled to have her visit us here at DIK today. Please help us raise a fruity drink to Joss Ware!

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So, I know you ladies here are big-time romance novel experts, and maybe you might be wondering how anyone could think that a post-apocalyptic romance is a good idea. I mean…people dying, buildings collapsing, earthquakes, tsunamis—The Day After Tomorrow meets I Am Legend—where’s the Happy Ever After in that?

Even His Hotness Will Smith didn’t get it on during his zombie movie. And if he couldn’t find a happy ending, looking like he does…. (Can we just pause for a moment to recall That Scene where he does pull-ups in the doorway?)

(Okay. I’m back. You? All right…I’ll give you a bit longer. Ready?)

That sort of skepticism was my first reaction when someone suggested that I think about writing a post-apocalyptic romance. And that’s why when I decided to actually write one (which turned out to be the Envy Chronicles, also known as the Awakening Heroes series), I decided that my guys and gals were going to have to exist far after the catastrophic events that decimated the earth on June 10, 2010 so I didn’t have to deal with messy stuff like that—at least in real time.

In my world, the world of Envy, it’s fifty years after the catastrophe. Five men wake up in a cave in Sedona, Arizona, to find out that somehow they were either transported to the future or suspended in time, or something. And that the world has horrifically changed.

The series is about how each man adapts to this new environment, how he finds the woman who can help him feel as if he’s come “home”…and how he deals with the paranormal ability that he has (or hasn’t) acquired during the fifty-year sleep.

The fourth book in the series, Night Betrayed, is Theo’s book, and it will be released on January 25 (so you have time to catch up!). Theo actually wasn’t one of the five men trapped in the cave in Sedona—his story is different because he actually lived through the catastrophic events. Yes, he’s eighty years old…but he hasn’t aged past thirty and he is hawt: a dragon-tattooed, totally ripped, computer geek.

But if you don’t particularly care for muscular, inked nerds (why wouldn’t you?), there are three other heroes to choose from in previous books:

Elliott, the hero of Beyond the Night, is a sensitive, charming Emergency Room surgeon who has to deal with the fact that he no longer has the ability to treat injury and illness in this stark, new world. He meets up with a lounge singer from Envy who goes on secret missions from settlement to settlement.

Simon, from Embrace the Night Eternal, is the strong, silent, brooding type who leaves behind a bloody, dangerous past in East LA when he wakes up to find himself in this post-apocalyptic world. One thing he brings with him is his honor…but when he falls for another man’s woman, and then has to go on a mission with her under pretense of being her husband, that honor is stretched to the limits.

And in Abandon the Night, Quent is a rich playboy who had everything he ever wanted—but not everything he needed—in our world, and who now has to accept the fact that he doesn’t have any skills or worth in this much simpler one. Money and power are worth nothing anymore. When he falls for a sharp-tongued zombie hunter named ZoĆ«, things really heat up.

And the zombies? Well, yes, there are zombies in the books, but they’re more like the Orcs in Lord of the Rings or the Stormtroopers in Star Wars than the Walking Dead creatures…so, Kati, they aren’t too scary. ;-) [KATI: *shudder* Zombies skeer me!]

I’d love to answer any questions about the World of Envy or the heroes…so ask away!

And thanks to the DIK Ladies for having me back here!


10 comments:

Teresa Thomas Bohannon said...

I like the concept of your books--and an 80 year old ripped computer geek sounds like a fine hero to me--but I have to wonder why did you decide to call your series the ENVY Chronicles? Is it because ENVY is the driving motivation of the people that remain?
Thanks,
Teresa

Joss Ware said...

Hi Teresa,

Thanks for asking! Actually, Envy is derived from the name of the largest human settlement after the Change--what's left of Las Vegas. It's now called New Vegas, or NV...hence the name. :-)

Anonymous said...

i havnt read any of your books yet but they sound good so i will be checking them out.love the cover

Tracy said...

I have to admit to thinking that the post-apocalyptic wasn't too romantic but you might have sold me on this one. (Yeah, the Will Smith image helped. lol) The series sounds good.

Thanks for joining us on the Island Joss!

Joss Ware said...

@Tracy I know...the post-apocalyptic thing does put some people off. But I try to keep it from getting depressing, especially since it all takes place 50 years later. So it's really more of a futuristic story than a p/a story.

If you've ever seen LIFE AFTER PEOPLE or any of those shows about what the world would be like after people disappeared, you'll get a good feel for the environment in my Envy world.

It's not like Mad Max...nor is it like Bladerunner. It's like the jungle taking over cities.

I find it really fun to imagine!

Sullivan McPig said...

Zombies?! I might have to check these books out!

Lisa Richards/alterlisa said...

I loved the first three books in this series and am so looking forward to the rest of the series. I loved the location and the characters were fascinating.

Estella said...

I haven't read any of the Envy books yet. I am putting them on my Wish List.

Joss Ware said...

@Lisa Thanks! Hope you enjoy Theo's story. I'm just finishing up Fence's book right now...due to come out in September.

Renee said...

This sounds like a really interesting series! I love the reading about romance amid a dark, post-apocalyptic world.

Welcome to the island, Joss!

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