Our Prophet of Doom this week is the author of post-apocalyptic, dystopian and dark psychological fiction, all available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited. Terry likes sunshine, history, trees, TV binges and long, long walks, is a reviewer for Rosie Amber’s Book Review Team, and is currently struggling with a sudoku addiction problem. She lives with her husband in North East England. Here’s a link to Terry’s various projects!
Copper: What was it that drew you towards dystopian/apocalyptic fiction?
Terry: I love The Walking Dead and other post-apocalyptic TV series and films, as well as books of the genre—survival in exceptionally adverse circumstances pulls me in every time, especially when those circumstances mean the collapse of society as we know it.
I’d wanted to write my own post-apocalyptic novel or series for a while before I felt confident to do so, then in 2016 I had an idea about a virus manufactured for the purpose of targeted depopulation, in which the UK is used as a pilot for the rest of the world, with each citizen’s chance of survival dependent on certain behavioural factors.
This became Tipping Point.
My books are always character-driven; what interests me most about post-apocalyptic scenarios is how the survivors adapt. Some flounder and rely on others, some accept and make the best of their new circumstances, others flourish as natural leaders—and then there are those whose dark side comes to the fore.
I wrote my dystopian series after reading about Agenda 21, now known as the Great Reset—a fictional take on how it might play out.
I think my interest in the genre also derives from a slight obsession with clearing the slate and starting again; an escape from the limitations of ‘civilised’ society.
Copper: Fictional social media platforms play a big role in your books. Which social media platform seems the most likely to bring about a dystopian future?
Terry: Hard for me to say, as Twitter is the only one I use! I write the fictional social media platforms in my books simply for realism, because the real life ones feature so prominently in many lives, and are used to influence the thoughts of the public in a much more developed way than many people realise, with thousands of fake profiles employed to push agendas. Maybe Facebook is the answer to your question, as it’s a bit ‘lowest common denominator’, but I’m not sufficiently up on the ins and outs of TikTok and Instagram to be able to comment. Then again, I do see some TikTok posts on Twitter which make me fear for the generation growing into adulthood now.
Copper: What post-apocalyptic stories (movies or books) have influenced you most?
Terry: The Walking Dead (TV rather than comics)
A little known novel called The Turning of the World by John Privilege – it’s about a pandemic, set in Ireland. Stunning book, I’ve read it a few times; it made me think, I want to write my own.
A zombie apocalypse book called Great Bitten: Outbreak by Dawn Peers, which was my first foray into the genre. The author sent me a short story that would become the novel – I didn’t think I’d like it but it was something of a ‘Eureka!’ moment.
Some people have asked if Tipping Point was influenced by The Stand; a chapter in the latter about how Patient Zero spreads the virus is not dissimilar to the scenario I produced in my own book, but I didn’t read The Stand until a couple of years later. It’s now one of my favourite books.
Copper: What one song would you hope survives the apocalypse for the sake of helping you maintain your sanity?
Terry: Oh, these one song, one film or one book questions! So hard to answer. I recently did a five part series on my blog of my 100 favourite songs, and named Black Water by The Doobies as possibly my favorite song ever. It’s so smooth and chilled out, and makes me nostalgic for a time and place I’ve never visited.
Then again, there’s One Way Street by Aerosmith. Or Gimme Shelter. No, sorry, it’s impossible!
Check out Terry’s Tipping Point, the first in her Project Renova series!
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Copper Smith 