Desire for the apocalypse part 3

By J. R. Wagner

The apocalypse in literature.

As far as I'm concerned, the apocalypse made its way into mainstream literature via the writing of one man.

That man is, of course, Mr. Stephen King. If you're a King fan, you've read The Stand. An amazing creation about the post-apocalyptic world once the super-flu has wiped out the majority of the population.

He's written other post-apocalyptic novels.  The Dark Tower Series is set in a post-apocalyptic world. It starts with The Gunslinger and culminates in book seven The Dark Tower (although he recently released an eight book relating to the series called The Wind Through The Keyhole, which I haven't read yet. The Dark Tower (or characters from the series) even shows up in a few of King's short story collections.

King recently delved into the pre-apocalypse world with Cell, one of my favorite King novels where the world falls apart right before the main character's eyes in a beautifully written, less cumbersome than The Stand, action filled zombie-esque journey of Graphic artist Clay Riddell who was in the heart of Boston on that brilliant autumn afternoon when hell was unleashed before his eyes. (thank you Amazon).

After The Stand was published in 1978, the market was flooded with apocalyptic novels of all kinds.

I've stumbled upon several top 10 greatest Apocalyptic novels of all times lists.
Here is one
Here is another

I've read several on these lists.  One, Z for Zachariah, I haven't though of for years and could very well be the catalyst of my obsession for the apocalypse.

Ann Burden is sixteen years old and completely alone. The world as she once knew it is gone, ravaged by a nuclear war that has taken everyone from her. For the past year, she has lived in a remote valley with no evidence of any other survivors.

But the smoke from a distant campfire shatters Ann's solitude. Someone else is still alive and making his way toward the valley. Who is this man? What does he want? Can he be trusted? Both excited and terrified, Ann soon realizes there may be worse things than being the last person on Earth.

Another (since turned into a major motion picture) I am Legend, is very, very good.

 The others, many of which overlap from list to list, are being added to my Goodreads To-read list as we speak.

• Alas, Babylon
• The Wild Shore
• Eternity Road

• The Postman (I've never seen the Kevin Costner film based on this book and have a feeling I don't want to ...at least until I read it)

• A Canticle for Leibowitz
• Earth Abides
• On The Beach
• Lucifer's Hammer

• World War Z
• Blindness
• The Road
• Swan Song

Many of these were published before The Stand however in my small world, The Stand is king.

Some modern titles that may be more familiar...

• The Hunger Games

• The Maze Runner
• The Knife of Never Letting Go

And if you're looking to take the religious apocalypse route you can always try Left Behind

On my first pre-release speaking engagement

Yesterday I completed my first pre-release speaking engagement with the Downingtown Library Teens group.  Of course I was nervous, who wouldn't be on their first go-around?

When everyone from the group came in, I immediately relaxed. Unlike adults, you can tell quite a bit about a teen simply from their body language.  They don't try to hide who they are behind a prim and proper mannerism like us adults. They are who they are, which I love.

I found it easy to build a rapport with them. (Some would argue because my mind still resides in that age group.)  I believe that may be part of it -all of us long to be able to return to those care-free days.  Part of it is because unlike the drones of adults I come across on a day to day basis, each and every one of them was unique -it was obvious from the second they walked through the door.  I could tell by the way they walked, the way they sat, who they sat next to, where they looked and who they interacted with.  I believe at that age, they strive for individuality as much as people in their 20's and beyond strive for conformity and consistency.

I found it easy to immediately enjoy each of their personalities -to find humor in their jokes and to appreciate their one-of-a-kind methods of interacting with me and others in the group.

I realize this isn't some societal epiphany -I'm sure teachers go through this all the time, but as someone who hasn't interacted with this age group (my oldest just turned 13) often, I found the joy and excitement and energy in it.  There was passion in every one of them -again something usually washed away by the flow of time, and it was empowering.

I spoke for about an hour, discussed my book, writing, publishing, popular titles. We played a game, I gave out some prizes including copies of The Maze Runner, Divergent and the least known but most coveted, Hunted.

Some stuck around to chat after it was over -the excitement was still there. I felt, for the first time that my cause, my passion -to help change the lives of tweens, teens, and young adults through writing and reading is in motion.

It was an exciting and energizing experience.  I can't wait to do it again!

           

Come see me! Local speaking event!

Well, it's official.  You can come see me at my first pre-release speaking engagement on March 7th. Details below.  


I contacted the director of my local library's teen readers group (via their facebook page) a few months ago and Karen Smith, the program coordinator invited me to speak to her group. I dropped by to meet Karen (she is incredibly nice!)  and introduce myself. Since then, the director of marketing for the library has contacted me for information to accompany a press release about my speaking engagement, which she will send to the local papers. Upon hearing this, I was surprised and delighted that they seemed to be as excited as I am about the event. And are even going so far as to promote the event, which is amazing!

The library is located inside this beautiful historic building right in the heart of Downingtown.  They run loads of great programs all year round for readers of all ages.  Don't be fooled by its commonplace appearance, they're really on the ball when it comes to community offerings. 








So, if you're interested, here is a short list of topics I may discuss (depending on time and interest -I can empathize with the attention span of the typical teen because it is quite similar to my own)




Since the group is teens, I plan on discussing a bit about my book, the how-to's of publishing, publishing in the digital market (peripherally depending on interest), current popular titles (The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner etc.), maybe a bit about blogging and social media depending on responsiveness, teen literacy and what can be done to help others who struggle with reading and writing, maybe a bit on peer critiquing, websites for Teen writers and readers. I'll have a power-point presentation to keep it visual and some games and prizes as well.

If anyone has any suggestions or topics they'd like to hear, comment away! I always appreciate input.


Here are the details:


When: Wednesday, March 7th from 6:30 to 7:30 
Where: The Downingtown Library. 330 East Lancaster Avenue, Downingtown, PA

Register:(610) 269-2741 -Due to space limitations you MUST call and register
so they can make sure there is sure there is enough room for everyone.




If you're local, come on by! (but don't forget to register!)




Just in case you were wondering, the Downingtown library is part of the

Chester County Library system, which boasts eighteen locations in the

county.