SurvivorZ: Grave Harbor

Afterword

SurvivorZ was a book that I hadn't planned on finishing, so you can imagine my surprise now that I find myself completing the second tale of a trilogy. Book one took place primarily during the first two days of the zombie apocalypse, which in terms of planning wasn't terribly difficult to write. With the sequel spanning weeks for my characters, I found myself having to maintain a spreadsheet full of daily plot events just to manage everything.

The problem with this method was that from day one, these books were constantly evolving, leaving me writing by the seat of my pants. Due to the fluid nature of the tale, I found it nearly impossible to maintain a regular plot of the story. It kept me busy constantly rewriting events in my timeline.

There were points fixed in stone, of course; including the fall of Hanscom, Harvard, and Mystic's compounds, the deaths of Lloyd Pruett and Judith Montgomery, and the Patricia Tatum/Penny Trask identity reveal. Other elements, including Carmine DiMarco's feud with Frankie Manconi – resulting in Keith Cross leading an army of ghouls – came straight out of the natural evolution of the tale, fitting together like puzzle pieces materializing out of thin air. At times, I felt less like the creator of this book and more like a chronicler of events. The deeper I delved into this world, the more the actions and personalities of my characters drove the story. For an author, the release of control into their hands was both exhilarating and a little creepy.

Did I accomplish everything I intended when I set out to write Grave Harbor? I'd like to believe so. It was always my plan to leave book one as an introduction to their world, and end book two by having the main characters in the story finally come together. This sets the stage for the final tale in the series, entitled SurvivorZ: In Cold Blood.

As you've no doubt already surmised, the occasional peeks into events of day 80 will play an important part in the final book. As the group travels north during a blistery Maine winter, we'll see the Mike Edwards' murder mystery unfold, leading to Tommy DiMarco's violent return for revenge. Additionally, the band will encounter their most dangerous group of foes yet, a collection of incarcerated convicts under the sway of a psychopathic killer known as "The Reverend." As one might expect, their subject of worship is anything but divine. These, as well as other hardships and surprises, await our intrepid survivors during their journey through the deadly, frozen wastes.

If you've been following from the start, you've likely picked up that I'm a firm believer in escalating the danger from book to book. The characters in book one had the luxury of electricity, heat, fresh water, and weapons. By the end of the second book, I've stripped them of almost all of their creature comforts. With a cold winter settling upon them and resources in short supply, everyone's true personality will soon be revealed. As hope dwindles more with every passing day, how far will each person go in order to stay alive? How soon before they turn on each other in a desperate battle for survival?

Playtime is over. The real test of our survivors' mettle is coming up next.

- C.J. Bernhard, May 2023