Author Interview Game Changers of the Apocalypse

How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing since I was at school. I won’t say how long that is… It started off with song lyrics, which morphed into poetry. Then I decided to give novels a try. For a long time I could only write novels, not short stories, which was rather strange. Now, thankfully, I can manage both.

What is your favorite genre to write?

For a while now my favorite genre has been horror but I’m gradually gravitating towards science fiction.

Which genre have you never tried before, but would you like to try out?

I’ve written a dark psychological thriller (Satan’s Fan Club) but never tried out-and-out crime. I’d like to put that right one day.

Please tell us about your book.

My latest release is a post-apocalyptic horror novel called Game Changers of the Apocalypse. Greg and Polly are the last two people left on Earth. The whole fate of the human race rests on them getting their relationship to work. Unfortunately they split up the day before the world ended and there’s an outside entity acting against them.

Which character was your favorite, and why? Which character was your least favorite, and why?

My favorite character was Polly. She was a lot of fun to write because she’s so feisty and doesn’t let anything go. It wouldn’t have worked if the main characters had always seen eye to eye. I wanted the couple to be at loggerheads even as the world’s ending.

There’s almost too few characters to have a least favorite character but probably Milo who plays a slightly bigger role than his disappearance early on would suggest. He’s just an objectionable person.

What was the hardest part about writing your book?

Only having two characters for much of the book made things a bit difficult at times but hopefully contributed to some of the intensity.

What is your writing routine? Are there things you absolutely need to start writing?

I’m not even sure I have a routine. I just write when I can. All I need is a working laptop. I use a pen so little these days that I can barely read my own handwriting.

How long did it take you to write your book from start to finish?

That’s a good question and a bit hard to answer. It was written with so many pauses to work on other projects or for family reasons but I would say about a year.

Can you tell us about your editing process?

I write the first draft straight through quite quickly. Subsequent drafts get longer and take longer. Editing is when the novel starts getting shorter again, so I’ll cut some but mostly it’s a case of agonizing over the right word.

Is this book part of a series? If so, how many installments do you have planned?

It’s a standalone novel.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Believe in yourself and enjoy the process. Anything else is a bonus.

Why should everyone read your book?

It’s a very different take on post-apocalypse with an added dimension. The main characters gain access to a printer that prints drafts of the future. They have a brief window in which to try and sidestep their fates before a new draft is written.

If you could meet three authors, dead or alive, which authors would you choose?

Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe and Donna Tartt.

What inspired you to write your book?

One night, when I was still at university, I had the idea of a couple left alone on Earth forced to rely on each other even after their relationship had failed and fighting their own flaws, each other, all the horrors of the apocalypse and a malevolent entity continually upping the ante.

Are you working on something at the moment? If so, can you tell us more about it?

Yes, I’m working on a novella about a man who goes to confront God after the death of his wife and gets caught up in the eternal war between heaven and hell. It’s a very modern heaven and hell and neither God nor the Devil are quite as one would expect.

About the Book

It’s always the end of the world when you break up with someone. This time it really is…

Everyone on the planet has mysteriously disappeared, leaving exes Greg and Polly. They’ve survived the apocalypse, yet shouldn’t have. Battling each other and a malevolent entity that teases them with their fate, how long can they remain ahead? Even more terrifying than everyone else on the planet disappearing is what’s about to take their place…

“GAME CHANGERS OF THE APOCALYPSE is a weird and twisted adventure. Mark Kirkbride brings the pain and has some strange fun along the way.” -Jonathan Maberry, New York Times best-selling author of V-WARS and DEEP SILENCE

“This is a wild, thrilling ride through the apocalypse. The end of the world has never been more fun—or more full of heart.” -Nik Korpon, author of QUEEN OF THE STRUGGLE

Author Bio

Mark Kirkbride lives in Shepperton, England. He is the author of Game Changers of the Apocalypse and Satan’s Fan Club, published by Omnium Gatherum. His short stories can be found in Under the Bed, Sci Phi Journal, Disclaimer Magazine and Flash Fiction Magazine. His poetry has appeared in the Big Issue, the Morning Star, the Mirror and Horror Writers Association chapbooks.