Flare
Paul Grzegorzek
Malcolm King is a journalist living in trendy Hove on the south coast of England. His days are taken up with video meetings and research on the internet while he writes articles for magazines around the world.
When a solar flare of unprecedented magnitude hits the Earth, effectively hurling us back to the stone age in a matter of hours, Malc is thrust into a terrifying new world as he travels the length of the country to find his young daughter.
Society, a fragile construct at best, shatters as the survivors fight each other for food and water, neighbour killing neighbour as fires rage through the cities, destroying much of what's left.
Faced with difficult choices at every turn, Malc draws his strength from those around him; Emily, a tough, no-nonsense soldier with a soft spot for lost causes and Jerry, a disgraced astrophysicist who may be the only person left who understands what's happening with the sun.
With their help, he must struggle to answer the ultimate question.
What won't he do to get his daughter back?
Today I have a mini-interview that I did with author Paul Grzegorzek about his book Flare! I can't lie - this book looks awesome and I can't wait to read it!!
Hi
Paul! So nice to meet you!
First things
first – you have three sentences – how would you explain Flare to someone?
Flare is a
story about the collapse of society following a huge natural disaster, in this
case a solar flare. Rather than being
all "guts and guns", it centres around a main character, Malc, who is
eminenently unsuited to the horrific new world he finds himself in as he
crossed the UK on foot to find his young daughter. It's based in the UK, and it's been described
as "a refreshing take on the genre".
Is this your
only Doomsday/apocalyptic book?
It is,
usually I write Brighton-based crime novels, but the sequel to Flare is on its
way.
And I have
to know – do you have a doomsday plan for when the horrible happens??
Yes, it
involves pimms, lemonade, a flask of tea and probably some tuna sandwiches!
Are there
any real life inspirations for the characters in Flare?
Yes, very
much so but not specifically, if that makes sense? I wanted to write a story where the male lead
was real, but not a stereotype or an action-bunny, and the female lead was the
stronger character. I very much based
him (Malc) on some of the academics I've known, and I based her (Emily) on
several of the female police officers I worked with over the eyars.
Do you have
any upcoming projects you could share with us?
Too many to
list! The sequel to Flare, Winter, is
about a fifth of the way towards complete, and I also have a crime novel, But
For the Grace of God, which is with agents right now, and focuses on a main
character who is battling heroin addiction while trying to solve a murder in
Brighton.
What (after
Solar Flares) do you think the next likely doomsday scenario might be?
You mean
apart from Justin Bieber making a comeback?
Probably an asteroid strike. I
did a lot of research for Flare, and almost everything I learned about our
solar system and near earth orbit scares the pants of me! There's so much whizzing about up there that
I'm amazed we're still here.
How about
some easy stuff – Favorites!
What is your
favorite movie? End of Watch
Do you have
a favorite book? The Way of Kings by
Brandon Sanderson
Favorite travel
destination? Turkey (Where my wife is
from)
Favorite
Food? Iste Kofte, a Turkish speciality the mother in law makes!
Favorite
Super Hero? Always been a bit of a
Batman fan…
Thanks so
much for stopping by and chatting with me today – I had a lot of fun!!
Thanks, me
too !
Flare on Goodreads
Paul Grzegorzek on Goodreads
Website
Flare on AMAZON
