After
Life Lessons
Book
Two
Laila
Blake and L.C. Spoering
Genre: post apocalyptic
Publisher: Lilt Literary
Date of Publication: April 28,
2015
Number of pages: 350
Word Count: 95.000
Cover Artist: Laila Blake
Book Description:
Years after the end of the world,
the scattered survivors have begun to reconcile with their fate and are
starting to build communities from the rubble. Life has been kind to Aaron and
Emily, and maybe it is that infusion of hope that leads them on a winter trip
to search for Aaron’s family. But the world outside their little haven has
grown harsher, the conditions rough and dangerous.
Not everybody they meet on their
journey allowed the grim realities to harden their hearts, however. Malachi and
Kenzie - an easy-going drifter with a bum leg and amnesia, and a teenage girl
who has lost everyone and everything - are on an ill-conceived mission to
Mexico, while Iago and his band of nomads work to forge trading connections
between the small settlements of the south.
All of them will discover new
nightmares on the road, far surpassing the threat of the last rotting zombies
still roaming the countryside. And now they must come together to fight for
peace and justice in the world they trying to rebuild.
Warning:
This novel contains language some might find offensive, some gore and
situations of a sexual nature. Reader's discretion is advised.
About
the Authors:
Laila
Blake
is an author, linguist and translator. She writes character-driven love stories
and blogs about writing, feminism and society. Her work has been featured in
numerous anthologies. Keeping a balance between her different interests, Laila
Blake’s body of work encompasses literary erotica, romance, and various fields
in speculative fiction (dystopian/post-apocalypse, fantasy, paranormal romance
and urban fantasy) and she adores finding ways to mix and match.
A self-proclaimed nerd, she lives
in Cologne/Germany with her cat Liene, harbors a deep fondness for obscure folk
singers and plays the guitar badly. She loves photography, science
documentaries and classic literature as well as a number of popular TV-Shows.
L.C.
Spoering
has a degree in English writing from University of Colorado, and a lesser
degree in sarcasm earned from the days of yore on AOL. A storyteller since she
started talking, she now spends her days writing, reading and contemplating the
universe through various pop culture lenses.
Where
are you from?
L.C.
Spoering: Born and raised in Denver, Colorado.
Laila
Blake: I’m
from Cologne, Germany, myself.
Tell
us your latest news?
LCS:
We’ve just released the second and final book in our After Life Lessons
collection. This brings the story of a world overrun by zombies and the
struggle of the survivors to rebuild to what we hope is a satisfying
conclusion.
LB: We
also recently finished writing the third book in a brand new series, we’ll
start to publish later this year. Like After Life Lessons, we took a classic
genre -- this time Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance -- and mash it up with our
own rebellious flavor. So instead of a hulking alpha male, our werewolf is a
grieving widower and the kick-ass heroine is a chubby, gentle med student who
also happens to be Fae.
When
and why did you begin writing?
LCS: I’ve
always written, as long as I can remember. An only child, making up stories to entertain
myself was as natural as breathing. I’ve always had something in my head I want
to write down and share.
LB: I’m
the same. It took me years to sit down and actually finish a whole book --
maybe because the whole process used to be much more imposing and mystifying as
it is in these glorious times indie-publishing. But even when I wasn’t writing
books, I found other hobbies that were essentially writing - from fanfiction to
text-based role-playing games.
When
did you first consider yourself a writer?
LCS:
Again, I always sort of have. I joke that it’s the only thing I’m good at, but
that’s close to the truth. Writing is one of my favorite things in the world,
right up there with coffee and wine.
LB: After
I finished my first manuscript, I think. Before, I always wanted to write, but
was secretly convinced I could never have the stamina to actually write a book.
After that, it was easier to say I’m a writer. The words I use only quietly and
with a hint of embarrassment are author and novelist.
What
inspired you to write your first book?
LCS: My
first book was a gift to myself for my 30th birthday. Until then, I’d never
completed much more than a short story, and had dozens of unfinished “novels”
on various hard drives. I wanted to prove to myself I could actually finish
something, and I did.
LB: It
was a fifty-fifty split between Lorrie and hopelessness: Lorrie showed me that
finishing a book is possible, and being stuck in a dead-end, low-wage job in
spite of my master’s degree that was supposed to guarantee me a good life, gave
me the incentive to try and start building the career I always dreamed of.
Do
you have a specific writing style?
LCS: I
think, on my own, I do some strange combination of succinct and poetic. I love
a good description, but I also like a crisp set of words. With Laila, I think
our styles merge really well, even as they stand different on their own.
LB: My
style has been called lyrical by a lot of readers; and I do have a very special
fondness for sentence melody and beautiful word constellations. I also always
have to put my own stamp on things, always go a little against the flow.
How
did you come up with the title?
LCS: I
think it came about because, in the books, we call the years following the
zombie apocalypse the After, and the first book is all about learning out to
survive after tragedy. Thus: After Life Lessons.
LB: And
the second book is about learning how to build a new society from the ashes. We
thought it was fitting to stick with the title, as both both present different
lessons to learn in the After.
Is
there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
LCS: I
suppose, if there’s one in particular, it’s that there is more than one way of
surviving. No one has the same reaction to a tragedy, and we never know what
our real strengths and weaknesses are until we face our fears head-on.
How
much of the book is realistic?
LCS: The
books take place in the wake of a zombie apocalypse. Everything around the
zombies is as we know it.
LB: As
much as possible, anyway. I think we concentrated on psychological,
interpersonal realism and took a little bit of creative licence with the world
around them. We didn’t want to go to easy on our heroes, but we didn’t, for
example, have them die of radiation poisoning from one of the many nuclear
power stations across the country that, realistically, would have gone into
full reactor melt-down.
Are
experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
LCS: I
think it’s a mix of both, plus ones neither of us have encountered. We both
enjoy delving into subjects that are new to us, and investigating what
emotional and realistic outcomes might be.
LB: Both
of us are a inclined towards the hippie life lifestyle, to name one aspect of
the series. The notion of self-sustainable survival, of eating from the wild
and keeping animals, all felt rather natural to write.
What
books have most influenced your life most?
LCS: There
are probably too many to name! In relation to After Life Lessons, I’d say that
The Handmaid’s Tale was the first book I read that introduced me to an
alternate sort of future and society, and Wonder Boys showed me that characters
don’t have to be likeable to be interesting and sympathetic.
LB: The
truth is, I think that the act of frequent reading alone has shaped me much
more profoundly than any one book could. Books have always been my ultimate
teacher, from Jane Eyre, over Orwell’s 1984, to Nick Hornby’s A Long Way Down.
If
you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
LCS: I’ve
thought about this, and, actually, I’d say Stephen King. I don’t write horror,
and don’t even really like reading it, but he has always been a writer who just
writes. No applied mysticism. He also seems to often write the way I do, with
no real idea what might happen, but enjoying the story unfolding as he goes.
LB: Michael
Ende, I think. He was a German novelist and mostly wrote middle grade books
that, although written 50 years ago, would he hard-pressed to find their equal
in terms of diversity and representation. He taught me early that no book has
excuse of being just one thing. His books are for every age group, for people
of every background. They are devastatingly realistic and full of magic, too.
They are wise and sweet, entertaining, yet full of opinions and important
lessons. He taught me how high to aim.
What
book are you reading now?
LCS: The
Leftovers, by Tom Perrotta. It’s about something like the Rapture that takes a
huge portion of the population, but not the people you might think-- and leaves
behind their families and friends to cope with the aftermath.
LB: Laurie
Penny’s “Unspeakable Things - Sex, Lies and Revolution” - gotta love me some
passionate anarcho-feminism. In term of fiction, I’m also reading “Middlesex”
by Jeffrey Eugenides.
Are
there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
LCS: I’m always hopelessly behind on what’s new
and hot, so whenever I find a new book or writer, they’ve usually been around
for awhile! Right now, I’m loving Meg Medina, who wrote The Girl Who Could
Silence the Wind, and Chimamanda Ngozi
Adichie, a brilliant Nigerian author.
LB: Being a new/young writer myself, I actually
prefer to read and learn from established authors, consummate professionals
that have spent years honing their craft. I’m a terrible person to ask for
recommendations; I leave that to the wonderful book blogging community.
What are your current projects?
LCS: On my
own, I’m working on a novel that is ostensibly about several different women,
but I’m working to interlace and overlap their stories in a way that all
influence one another. I have the lofty ambition to make every chapter pass the
Bechdel Test.
Together,
now that After Life Lessons is wrapped up, we’re working our paranormal
romance/urban fantasy series, centering on a young Fae and her werewolf charge.
LB: Like
Lorrie, there’s always so much. As a first priority, I’m working on the last
and final installment of my “Lakeside Series”, a fantasy trilogy that mixes
paranormal romance influences with classic fantasy lore. I’m also working on a
final draft of a YA story about a young bi-racial girl that doesn’t fit in
anywhere and has retreated into her own fantasy world until someone takes
notice of her. There’s a story about love, drugs and music, of being in your
late 20s and realizing you really don’t want to grow up yet. It’s mostly
written, and I have to decide on a format and what I want to do with it. And if
that wasn’t enough, I’m also working on a new erotic series set in a secret
society, for all those wonderful readers who have loved and supported my
literary bdsm series “Breaking in Waves”.
What
would you like my readers to know?
LB: We
have a fun newsletter,
which is the easiest way for readers to stay up to date on our releases. And
for people who like to review, we are also always happy to give books away for
free -- whether the person has a blog or not. Just shoot us an email (info@liltliterary.com) or
contact us on goodreads or facebook etc. We also keep a list of preferred
reviewers, who get first pick of any new book.
Tour
giveaway
$20 Amazon Gift Card
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