J.T. Geissinger: Surviving post-apocalyptic worlds in romance
J.T. Geissinger, author of Into Darkness, shares some very important information for those of us determined to survive in a post-apocalyptic world.
J.T.: Post-apocalyptic worlds in fiction all have one thing in common: danger. Loads of it. Whether life as we now know it has been destroyed by war, is overrun by zombies, decimated by plague, or overtaken by alien species, survival of the fittest is the only law there is.
When every day is a fight for your life, some helpful tips on how to survive the most common disasters found in post-apocalyptic romance will be helpful. Here are the top five most dangerous things faced in this genre of fiction and the skills needed to survive them.
Threat: Zombies
Survival skills: Steady hands, strong stomach
They're hideous and want to eat your brains, but zombies are notoriously slow. You can evade one with a brisk walk. To get rid of him for good, however, you're going to have to take aim for that sweet spot between his eyes. A machete will do the trick as well as a handgun, but either way, killing zombies is an up-close-and-personal endeavor. You'll be getting your hands — literally — dirty.
Threat: Aliens
Survival skill: Adaptability
The problem with an alien invasion is you never know exactly what you're dealing with, until most of the population has been wiped out. To survive an alien invasion takes guts, smarts, and the ability to adapt quickly to threats from a species far smarter than you. And please don't get caught. The last place you want to hear the word "probe" is onboard a spaceship.
Threat: Totalitarian government
Survival skills: Sedition, computer hacking, inciting rebellion
You'll have to be sneaky to overthrow a one-world dictator. Sneaky, and smart. The ability to hack into a mainframe is helpful, as is a background in military intelligence. Lacking those things, you'll need to be able to lead, delegate and convince others your way is the right way. You'll probably need a lot of guns, too.
Threat: Roving gangs of cannibals
Survival skills: Running, hiding
No matter the cause of society's breakdown, food is inevitably short. If you don't want to become the other guy's dinner, you'll have to be able to run fast, find secure places to hide, and sleep with one eye open. Unlike zombies, cannibals can move fast. You have to be faster. Keep off all main roads, and travel primarily at night. Quietly.
Threat: Love
Survival skills: Luck, blind faith
In a world full of things trying to kill you, the most dangerous thing of all is love. Suddenly you're not thinking about your own survival anymore; you're too worried about your beloved's safety. And you might even be willing to sacrifice yourself to save him! If you're silly enough to fall in love, you'll need every single survival skill available, so brace yourself. It's not going to be easy. But in the end, it might be the only thing that makes a ruined world worth living in.
Here's the blurb about Into Darkness:
In New Vienna, capital of the oppressive global government formed after the Flash, three things are certain: the sun is poisonous, speaking out is dangerous, and being different will get you killed.
And Lumina Bohn is extraordinarily different.
Living in terror of discovery, Lu knows nothing of her past—but she knows she must pretend to be human to survive. When an incident at work triggers her astonishing powers, she becomes the target of an international manhunt. Only one person can save her: Magnus, the enigmatic stranger haunting her dreams.
Magnus rescues the outcasts called Aberrants from capture and torture. As Lu begins exploring her powers among her people, her feelings for Magnus intensify. He's determined to stay emotionally distant, yet their smoldering passion soon becomes impossible to resist.
But when a shocking revelation threatens the lives of every remaining Aberrant, Lu and Magnus must risk everything, confronting their enemies in an explosive final stand to save their kind from the darkest fate of all: extinction.
Find out more about J.T. and her books at www.jtgeissinger.com.