Guest Post: “SEEDS IN THE DESERT” by Peter Liney (Detainee Blog Tour)

I’m not exactly sure when THE DETAINEE started to take shape in my mind. For a long time I had this notion that I wanted to write a book about the human spirit, about the fact that, no matter how dark the situation, given hope, we always find a way to survive. Like those seeds that lie dormant in the desert, year in, year out, waiting for rain, and when it comes, suddenly burst into the most beautiful of life. Or the victims of kidnapping, political prisoners, those held for no reason and often under the most appalling of circumstances, where do they find the will to survive? To wait for the arrival of that shower of life-giving rain?

So that was my theme, but where was my story? Well, if you’ll forgive me, it started with garbage (yes, I know I’m running a risk saying that, but hey, it’s the truth). Some years ago now, whilst visiting New York, I wandered into the City Library and was greeted by an exhibition about landfill on Staten Island. Ting! Yep, it was one of those writer moments – landfill, rubbish, everything society throws away, what if people were discarded with them? What if they were sent out to live on a stinking pile of waste in the middle of the ocean? Unable to escape, terrorised by fellow Islanders – that would be a pretty good challenge to the human spirit, wouldn’t it? What if society decided to discard all those they could no longer support? Those who can’t support themselves? So many countries in the world are concerned about their ageing populations, about how they can possibly sustain them, and really, the mathematics do seem overwhelmingly simple, not to mention, chilling. How will the few who are still working pay enough taxes to support those who are not? I mean, we can juggle the figures around, make people work a little longer, but is that going to do it? And that, of course, is if all things remain as they are.

What if we have yet another economic crisis? Or should I say, what if this one takes a turn for the worse? What if governments have to make even more savage cuts? No more free education, healthcare, the old left to take care of themselves – what would happen then?

And with story, of course, comes characters. Good, strong characters with clearly defined goals. The courageous Lena, the resourceful Jimmy, the enduring Delilah, and, of course, our hero, Clancy, a reformed villain with an inherent sense of right and wrong. A man to respect, and well-qualified to oversee a life-or-death challenge to the human spirit.

Now we have a tale to tell...

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Peter Liney’s The Detainee will be published by Jo Fletcher Books in the UK on July 4th 2013. The Detainee blog-tour continues at the following sites…

July 9th – J For Jetpack

July 10th – Speculative Assessments

July 11th – GavReads

July 12th – Ranting Dragon

There’s more! I’ll be sharing an excerpt from The Detainee this Friday, and with luck I’ll have the book reviewed next week or the one after. Be sure to come back and check these posts out!

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CORRECTION: The original version of this post stated that The Detainee was to be published on August 1st. I was wrong. Correct date now mentioned above.

Week in Review (Mar.19-23)

I’m afraid I wasn’t paying too much attention to what was going on around the internets this week, and spent a lot more time away from my computer (some would say this is a blessing…). I did, however, catch a couple of interesting articles:

A Dribble of Ink: “So Long, New York Times Review of Books (With Apologies to Dad)” by Myke Cole [Article]

Myke visits Aidan’s Dribble of Ink to talk about blogs and their value. The flatterer even included a mention of Civilian Reader. There are some very endearing comments about his dad, too.

Mark Lawrence’s Blog: “Turning the Tables #6: Jane Johnson” [Interview]

Ok, this was actually last week, but I missed it somehow, so thought I’d share it again here. Mark interviews his editor. In case anyone’s interested, Mark also interviewed me a while back, which was a rather surreal experience.

Ranting Dragon: “Geekery Grab Bag #1: ALL THE THINGS, or: Let’s Kickstart This Sucker!” by Garrett [Article]

This was a fun article that took a look at a number of interesting “geekery” around the ’net. It includes Chuck Wendig, C.E. Murphy, Kickstarter and more. Check it out.

 Orbit Books: “The Origin of the (Undead) Species” by V.M. Zito [Article]

“I wonder if Charles Darwin was a zombie fan.”

I’m currently reading Zito’s novel, The Return Man, at the moment (I should finish it in about an hour, actually), and thought this was a fun little article about zombies as a species: “while biologists haggle over birds, many zombie fans are divided over what constitutes a ‘real’ zombie. Is the zombie slow or fast? Alive or dead? Mute or able to talk your ear off, right before it bites your ear off?”

Los Angeles Times: What The Hunger Games really means” by Steven Zeitchik [Article]

“Where some see support for the Occupy Wall Street Movement, others see a warning about Big Government. Or a religious message, or ...”

The novel and movie have become, Zeitchik writer, that “rare piece of Hollywood entertainment: a canvas onto which disparate and even opposing ideologies are enthusiastically projected.”

I’ve neither read the novel nor seen the movie, but I have bought the book for my Kindle. I doubt I’ll get a chance to read it before I see it, but I do intend to read the trilogy at some point in the near future. Especially since I seem to have a taste for certain YA titles. [Thief’s Covenant and Fair Coin, in case you’re wondering.]

My Awful Reviews: “Thoughts on Scott” by Sam Sykes [Article]

In which author Sam Sykes ponders about Scott Lynch. It’s a short ode to one of Sykes’s favourite authors, and I’m sure many people can appreciate that Mr Lynch is, indeed, the bee’s knees when it comes to fantasy. He’s the author who rekindled my love for the genre back in 2008, and I’ve not looked back since. Sykes writes with his trademark wit, too, so it’s a fun read.

“Like most predators, Scott Lynch came into my life at a very opportune moment…”

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The blog’s been semi-busy this week, with a few reviews: Kill Hill  by Dan Abnett, Kingdoms of Dust by Amanda Downum, Garro: Oath of Moment by James Swallow, and also a guest review by Shevaun for Brandon Sanderson’s The Final Empire. There have been a few non-review posts, too, but most notable are the interview with debut novelist Aiden Harte and a piece about why zombies need brains – which had contributions from Sam Sykes, Myke Cole, Justin Landon and Bastard Books.

This last article has given me an idea for an on-going series of posts, which will fall under the banner of “I Ask You”, in which I’ll seek out comments from around the literary community (authors, bloggers, publishers, etc.) on any topic that happens to grab my fancy at some point. I’ll try for a couple each month, maybe. If you’re interested, the next topic will be:

“I Ask You: Does the Sword make the (Wo)Man?”

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Update: I forgot to mention this fantastic site/Tumblr thing, too, for some reason: T-Rex Trying… [It’s a topic I think about a lot, myself, so was delighted when Alyssa informed me of its existence!]