Yesterdays Gone: SEASON TWO (THE POST-APOCALYPTIC SERIAL THRILLER) (Yesterday's Gone) (14 page)

Our creative differences are more like creative preferences, and while there is a wider gap in business philosophy, creatively it’s as easy as walking.

HOW MANY “SEASONS” WILL YESTERDAY’S GONE RUN?

DAVID:
We’re writing it as three seasons. I don’t want to spend too long on it. There’s too many different stories we want to write this year! I have this cool year-long story I’m itching to write, unlike anything I’ve ever seen. We’re also working on two more serialized projects, and a host of other books.
 

We won’t rule out a fourth season if demand is there AND it makes sense for the story. But right now, we’re planning for three, and I’m not padding to make room for a fourth season just because the books are selling well. Of course, if someone wants to pay us a few million, we’ll pump these things out for the next 10 years, and even help design the action figures.

Just kidding.

Maybe.

SEAN:
I love the idea of three seasons, but I’d be happy to write another three after that if the demand was there. Any time we have an audience eager for something, and we can deliver a satisfying story with both character and quality, in a world that we love, I’m 100% on board. However, as Dave said, there are SO MANY stories in our story garden and we just can’t get to them all, so it might make more sense just to start with something from scratch.
 

(
POST-SEASON TWO EDIT:
Mid-season, we determined that it would take at least FOUR seasons to tell the tale)

HOW IS SERIALIZATION WORKING FOR YOU?

SEAN:
I’m thrilled so far, and readers seem to really love the format. I’ve yet to see anyone not enjoy the option to buy the titles either one at a time, or all at once in the full season. And most of our Season One buyers (of the full compilation), it seems, have come from people who downloaded the first episode for free and were hooked. Which is awesome. I see this as a huge opportunity for storytelling and there is nothing in my writing or publishing life that I’m more excited about than seeing where it takes us.
 

DAVID:
Great! Before we launched
Yesterday’s Gone
, I heard and read a lot of naysayers dissing the format. Some people didn’t think serialization could work and doubted that readers would WANT to be kept waiting. I disagree. I love books and shows that leave me hanging until the next dose, so I’m guessing I’m not alone. There’s an audience there, you just have to find it. And self-publishing presents us just the opportunity to find the readers who get what we’re doing.

WILL YOU BE DOING OTHER SERIALIZED BOOKS?

DAVID:
We’re working on a paranormal romance for the young adult market. We’re also working on a spin-off to our short story,
The Watcher
, from the
Dark Crossings
book. Sean’s also working on a few things in different genres. I wish I didn’t need sleep so we could write all the things we’d like to write this year!

SEAN:
Oh, yeah! I would tell you how many things were on the drawing board between us, but then you’d call us crazy, or liars, or maybe something worse, so I’ll just say yes with an extra exclamation point!! (or two)

AS A READER, DO YOU WISH THERE WERE MORE SERIALIZED TITLES?

SEAN:
Absolutely. I would love to read high quality serials, as it’s always interesting to see what other writers are doing. And as a fan, I just love the open loops. I’m thrilled that there are as many superbly scripted television shows as there are. I think it’s a golden age of TV. I’m really looking forward to the new season of
Mad Men
, which is an achingly long two months away!

DAVID:
As I’ve mentioned many times in the past, I LOVED Stephen King’s
The Green Mile
. And I loved comic books when I was younger (and before they cost more than most kids can afford to keep up with). I’ve heard from writers who are now doing serials, or planning to. I’ve been too busy writing to check out any of the titles, but I can’t wait to find one that hooks me in like King did.
 

WHAT HAS YOUR BIGGEST SELF-PUBLISHING OBSTACLE BEEN?

SEAN:
Asking our readers to do things they may not be used to doing, such as leaving a review. Because we’re self-published, it is much harder for our work to get discovered. Every review helps. As does every Facebook like, Twitter tweet, or email to a friend. The reviews we do get have been excellent, so that’s really rewarding for us and lets us know we’re on the right track, but as a percentage it’s slightly small, so it would be nice to have more reviews on the original season, as well as the season we’re launching right now. If you’re reading this and want to help get the word out about
Yesterday’s Gone
, or anything else Dave and I are writing right now, it really will make a difference. Head to Amazon and click on “leave a review.” Short of buying books, it’s the most helpful thing anyone can do to ensure we’re able to keep bringing stories to you. We read and appreciate every review.
 

DAVID:
I think getting word out was the toughest thing, along with reviews. It’s hard to get noticed. You’re competing with bestselling authors and indie authors alike. There’s no shortage of quality books to read. We just have to reach out to those who most enjoy the kinds of stories we’re writing. And judging from the reviews and emails, we’ve found our people! Or they’ve found us. Either way, I’m thrilled to have them along for the ride!

HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH NEGATIVE REVIEWS?
 

SEAN:
Fortunately, we’ve only had one outright bad review. We had a couple of three star reviews which were totally fair. I appreciated what the reviewers had to say immensely. And that sort of feedback helps us grow as writers and entertainers. The review sections provide an invaluable opportunity to learn from our readers so we can develop the stories they most want to read.

We recently got a one-star review from a reviewer who hated the book from top to bottom. That’s fine, I don’t expect to please everyone. It wasn’t constructive criticism so much as bitter ranting, but that was fine. I had no problem with the review itself. But the reviewer also attacked some of the five star reviewers, saying that we must have planted them, even calling one of our most loyal readers and reviewers a troll. That is poor behavior and I just had to say something. It’s okay to badmouth our book, but you can’t badmouth our readers.
 

DAVID:
Oddly, one of my favorite reviews was from someone who gave one of the episodes (or maybe it was the Season) three stars. They had some issues with some elements of the story, which I completely respected. The cool thing about the review, though, was that they didn’t outright trash the book. I DON’T LIKE THIS BOOK, THEREFORE, NOBODY SHOULD OR WILL. Instead, the reviewer wrote how fans of specific titles would likely enjoy the book. I loved that they were objective enough to say that.
 

As a writer, I don’t think you ever stop learning, and sometimes that means learning from your critics.

Thank you to everyone who sent in questions! We appreciate you taking the time to be part of the conversation!

* * * *

YESTERDAY’S GONE

EPISODE 8

(SECOND EPISODE OF SEASON TWO)

“THE VANISHED”

Copyright © 2012 by Sean Platt & David Wright. All rights reserved
 

Cover copyright © 2012 by David W. Wright

Edited by Matt Gartland at
Winning Edits
.

http://winningedits.com/

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, businesses, events, or locales is purely coincidental. The authors have taken great liberties with locales including the creation of fictional towns.
 

Reproduction in whole or part of this publication without express written consent is strictly prohibited. You are, of course, free to use short excerpts from the book for the purpose of review. We can’t do much to stop piracy, and we don’t enable digital rights management because we don’t want to restrict your enjoyment of this book or keep you from sharing it with a friend or two. However, we’re indie authors, and put a lot of our time and money into creating what you see here. Therefore, we would appreciate if you paid for your copy, or those you wish to give to others, so we can keep writing books for you.

The authors greatly appreciate you taking the time to read our work. Please consider leaving a review wherever you bought the book, or telling your friends or blog readers about Yesterday’s Gone, to help us spread the word.

Thank you for supporting our work. You rock!

Visit:
http://SerializedFiction.com
 

eBook Edition - January 17, 2012

REVISED: March 25, 2012 to fix typos including instances of incorrect capitalized “Rs”

Layout and design by Collective Inkwell

CollectiveInkwell.Com

Published by Collective Inkwell

* * * *

PROLOGUE

October 15

Kingsland, Alabama

2:00 a.m.

The Prophet had been waiting decades for this night.
 

The Dream would become reality, and a new world would be ushered unto the righteous. A world created by Him, free of the secular, the wretched, the sinful, and all the creeping evil that had slithered through the soul of this great nation and sunk its fangs of depravity into the good and the pure.

“Tonight, we celebrate Him, for He has come!” The Prophet raised his hands in the air as he looked upon the small sea of followers lining the first two pews of The Lord’s One True Way Unity Church, planted deep enough in the Bible Belt to make certain the soil was rich without the taint that soured so much of the rest of the country, and, of course, the world.
 

The Prophet’s following was small but loyal, made from mostly family members of which there were 16 from himself to his youngest great grandchild, one year old Ellie Mae. He winked at Ellie Mae in the front row as she yawned another adorable yawn. Her mother - also his youngest daughter, Pam - smiled, her eyes brightened by the Truth.

The Prophet was glad they’d made it to the church tonight. Glad that they’d been able to overcome the obstacles that Satan had thrown in their way.

Pam’s husband, Derek, had grown more confrontational over their differences of faith of late. Derek had made no secret that he was a Protestant. The Prophet was willing to let that slide, assuming the man would come around in his own time. But lately, Derek had drifted further from the flock. He began to question The Glorious Day that had been foretold to The Prophet by God Himself decades earlier. He was badmouthing the church, and The Prophet, to Pam. He began throwing the C-Word around, calling their congregation a “cult.” He even threatened to take Ellie May away from Pam and go off to Nebraska, where his family was from.

It was one thing for Derek to disagree within the church and attempt to sew his seeds of discontent among the parishioners. The Prophet might have even put up with it a bit longer, letting the young man make a fool of himself until he came around. But the straw that broke the camel’s back came three nights ago when Derek plastered his face all over the TV, getting interviewed by one of those so-called “journalists” who’d taken to poking fun of The Prophet’s Message whenever possible. As October 15 neared, the sinners grew more bold in their mockery of The Prophet and of God, turning The Prophet into the punchline of late-night comedy routines. As The Day grew closer, it was more imperative than ever that The Family stick together.
 

Yet, Derek betrayed them at the worst possible time. He appeared in an interview on one of those “news” shows on MSNBC. Derek mocked the church, laughed at them, and questioned the sanity of The Prophet, telling the news host that he thought the church posed a danger to people and that he would likely be seeking a divorce and full custody of their child.

Fortunately, God saw fit to inspire Pam’s older brothers, Elwin and Dwayne, to intercede, giving a nice, “friendly” talking-to to Derek. The boys had a way with words, and their fists, which made their daddy proud and helped him keep order in a world that sometimes forgot how to keep things straight. Tonight, Derek was still recovering from the boys’ visit, which meant he wouldn’t be here. Which was a shame, really. The Prophet didn’t approve of Derek’s background, nor his recent betrayal. But what kind of example would he be if he were not a forgiving man? Any who sought redemption would receive it.
 

If they sought it in time. Derek lost his opportunity. Tonight was The End and The Beginning, and Derek was on the wrong side of the fence.

Such a shame.

Missing tonight was to miss the Second Coming. To miss His Glorious Return. To be struck blind and dumb as the doors of Heaven itself were thrown open to the righteous among them.