Green World
Building in Moncrief’s Werescape
As a
world-building author, I’ve done my share of extensive research to create my
story worlds. I spend as much time learning about things taking place in my
story as I did studying geology and anthropology in college. So, when I say
“green” world building, don’t get me wrong. I world build on a computer—making
writing somewhat environmentally friendly for forests. But that’s not what I’m
referring to with the idea behind this blog post. I’m talking about my
post-apocalyptic Werescape story world
being “green.”
The
Werescape is our world set 50 years in the future after an alien invasion of
earth. Most humans simply vanished. Ten percent are left to eke out an
existence. They do so with many of the things Preppers stock up on today. Don’t
get me wrong with this subject either. I think Preppers are savvy people who
have enough gumption to plan ahead. We see so little planning for the future in
the mainstream of life. So, go Preppers! But Preppers stock the items a person
would need if we lost all electricity, a plague caused self-induced or
government-induced quarantine, the economy crashed, etc. Preppers would have
everything they need to survive. So, in writing the Werescape series, I had to
think along these lines to allow for the survival of that ten percent of
humanity. My characters use solar ovens, grow and preserve their own food, draw
from doing things during the pioneer days, and trade for things often scavenged
from overgrown suburbs or cities. My characters were simply and most likely
reluctantly forced to go “green.” So, what can be “green” in a romance series?
In the Werescape, everything is
about recycling and survival. People
pour their own bullets by melting old metal objects because alien beasts stalk
the night eat anything living, i.e. humans, making ammunition crucial to
survival. Well, then there are the humans who steal from others. Still, there’s
more to what humans do in a pinch than make ammo. Some produce penicillin for
trade. Others make bio-fuel. Now, the series doesn’t preach recycling and warn
against global warming. This is romance, not a scientific paper. The point of
the Werescape is to show how life could change in the event of genetic
tampering through alien mischief. Genetic tampering is pivotal in the Werescape
world because the Shifters are born of some alien tweaking of the human genome.
Everything boils down to physical survival (where and how to), the cultural happenings
in various political arenas on and off earth, and the perpetuation of the human
species. None of these things would have been possible if the initial ten
percent of humans surviving the alien invasion hadn’t gone “green.” And, of
course, survival of the species leads to population growth…
As for
the perpetuation of the human species, well, it’s a shiny moment for women
everywhere. Women tend to prefer Shifters for mates. Why not? This is fiction.
Now, most Shifters are male werewolves. Yet, a few are female cougars. There’s
something important behind that difference in sex and soon to come in a
Werescape tale. But for now…Shifters are quite possessive and protective, all
“growly”, well-fed because they can catch their own food, and sexy as heck. So,
don’t worry. Humanity is doing its duty with reproduction. However, it never
crossed my mind to go “green” with productivity and devise forms of
post-apocalyptic birth control. That just seems so wrong with big hunky men
running around searching for mates to cuddle… ~Skhye
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BIG BAD BEAST
Werescape Book Six
Skhye Moncrief
Skhye Moncrief
Genre: Paranormal Romance
ASIN: B0088DE3EA
Word Count: 38,000 words
Cover Artist: Erin Dameron-Hill (EDH Graphics)
Book Description:
Each wants the other, but neither can stand to be in the same room.
One day in the Big Woods, Normal Josie wakes up and helplessly watches a Shifter virus kill her immediate family in their remote wilderness homestead. Josie has no choice but to carry on. She's forced to brave the forested Wild alone, leading a string of pack horses with all the supplies she can manage to her uncle's Shifter outpost--back to where she became known as a little Normal female who could kick butt with the best Shifters, back to where she fell in love with the only Shifter she could ever mate. Thank goodness he isn't there. But when living among a pack of Shifters, a girl has to obey the alpha. And her alpha has secret plans for her, plans that involve the only Shifter she loves--the Shifter who now irritates the hell out of her.
Stationed at an isolated agricultural outpost with nothing but teenage hormones for company, Shifter Hostillian doesn't mind monotonous day-to-day schedules where he rules the roost. And then his inner Wolf's favorite wild cat screeches at his door. He has no desire to mate the only person who challenges everything he utters. But his Wolf makes demands the minute it catches Josie's scent.
Stand back and watch the fireworks light up the Minnesota sky because the BIG BAD BEAST can't help but to huff and puff and blow Josie's house in...
About the Author:
Aside from muscled men in fur, leather, denim, or kilts, I love cultural ecology, cultural evolution, cultural relativism, and natural processes. Big ideas. Simple concepts that manifest in world building to crazy people like me who studied anthropology and geology before turning to writing romantic fiction. My rule of thumb is to love the good, the bad, and the ugly of every culture in my tales so every aspect of my stories resonates as real as possible.
Website: http://skhyemoncrief.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/skhye.moncrief
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/SkhyeMoncrief
Giveaway is an ecopy of
Big Bad Beast
(kindle or nook version- winners’ choice)
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Also if you love trading cards check out Skhye's at http://skhyemoncrief.com/Romance_Trading_Cards.html
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3 comments:
This looks really good. Thank you for a chance to win a copy.
lcminer at windstream dot net
Thank you & you're welcome, Leslie!
I'd love to read this, it sounds like it could get naughty ;)
Morganlafey86(at)aol(dot)com
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