The Next Wave
A New Kind of Publishing Is About To Rock the World
For over a century, there was basically one way that books were published. Mainstream publishing had a chokehold on the ability to get books out into the world in a massive way, and if you didn’t play by their rules, your book didn’t see the light of day.
Then came Indie publishing, and more and more competent and able authors were able to write unique and fascinating stories AND get them out to the public, in ways that earlier generations had never dreamed would exist. Not long after that, Amazon.com rocked the publishing world again with the introduction of an inexpensive and easy to use e-reader that allowed readers to access a world of books — and read them in whatever manner suited the reader best.
Still, both in mainstream publishing and in Indie publishing, there existed a profound difference in the way authors published when compared to other kinds of media. In the world of comics, and later in films and games, companies like Marvel and DC created “brand worlds” — entire universes with connected but unique stories, created by many different writers, producers, and artists. Those worlds allowed fans to focus on a single story line, or immerse themselves in the overarching and fantastical universe that housed all those great stories.
In publishing, this kind of thing was usually not done. Authors had no incentive to work together, and publishers were not interested in managing that kind of brand world because… well, it just wasn’t the way things were done. In some rare examples (for example the Star Trek universe), brand worlds that started in other kinds of media were brought into the publishing realm, and authors were hired to write stories in those worlds. But overall, even with that kind of universe, authors worked alone, wrote the stories they were paid to write, and didn’t bother themselves with building the sand box or helping push the works of other authors.
Now, all of that is about to change.
On Feb. 23, 2015—in an unprecedented publishing event—Wonderment Media, Inc. (WMI), will launch five new novels in its brand world, Apocalypse Weird (AW). This first-of-its-kind collaboration among two dozen authors, editors, graphic designers and marketing professionals is spearheaded by me (USA Today bestselling author Michael Bunker) and Nick Cole, author of The Old Man and the Wasteland and Soda Pop Soldier. Nick Cole’s The Red King—the first AW novel made free to readers in Nov. 2014—introduced readers to this expansive world.
About Apocalypse Weird
AW is an epic collection of multiple, converging story lines directed by an overarching narrative created by WMI. Leading authors of speculative fiction, specifically recruited by WMI, are building the AW world from the ground up, each with his or her own unique take on the apocalypse as it unfolds in his or her reality. These individual arcs will fold into the larger AW meta-story arc as it develops based on fan feedback. AW’s creative model is The Marvel Universe, wherein multiple storylines intersect with crossover characters and plot elements. Rather than comics, AW’s delivery formats are electronic and print novels. Each e-novel contains virtual “Easter eggs”—tailored, multimedia content to enhance the AW experience for readers. In addition to the five novels officially launching AW on Feb. 23, WMI will publish two additional novels each month for the next five years.
About The “Big Launch Five” Feb. 23, 2015
The Dark Knight by Nick Cole continues the story begun in The Red King as survivors band together to build a modern-day castle against a tide of dark forces overrunning Southern California. While Frank and Holiday struggle for power, Ash ventures into the night to rescue a lost special needs adult who has unknowingly glimpsed a horrifying future: a future where man is on the verge of extinction and a new predator rules the planet. The Apocalypse Weird is beginning, and it might just be something bigger than anyone ever imagined … or feared.
Scorched by fire and the longest drought in recorded history, survivors flee the Land of Enchantment to escape a mutated flu virus that turns ordinary people into mass-murderers. In E. E. Giorgi’s Immunity, few resilient scientists remain, gathered in one of the last national laboratories still working on a vaccine. When the disease starts spreading within the soldiers guarding the laboratory, bloody carnage reigns. Immunologist Anu Sharma pairs up with computer geek David Ashberg to find a cure and escape the massacre. Outbreak meets World War Z in the deserts of Apocalypse Weird.
The Thing meets The Core in Jennifer Ellis’s Reversal, where the isolated International Polar Research Station on Ellesmere Island becomes an incredibly dangerous assignment for Sasha Wood. Stalked by killer polar bears, Sasha and her partner, Soren, search for their missing colleagues in the frozen tundra as their compass reveals an incredible truth: a magnetic pole reversal—fabled and feared in the scientific community for years—has occurred. The North Pole is now the South and vice versa. Psychotic scientists and giant methane-venting craters are just the beginning of a terrible and strange new reality.
Chris Pourteau’s The Serenity Strain finds Houston, Texas, at the epicenter of an apocalypse both natural and unnatural. Three hurricanes wreak unprecedented devastation on the Texas Gulf Coast. Amidst the anarchy left in the wake of the storms, six prisoners—the genetically altered test subjects for a viral strain known as Serenity—escape the state prison in Huntsville. Their hunger for murder and destruction gorges itself on society’s survivors. One being of immense power and wanton appetites, a member of the demonic 88 named Id, arrives to oversee the destruction of mankind and morality. The Stand meets 28 Days Later in this epic tale of genetic manipulation gone awry.
Lord of the Flies meets Mad Max in Texocalypse NowbyMichael Bunkerand Nick Cole. It’s a gritty tale of survival set in the post-Apocalyptic West Texas Badlands. Packs of feral, cannibalistic humans called “hordes” and other psychotic groups threaten a band of children led by Ellis, a boy barely a man. Ellis and the children make a home for themselves in a hidden valley atop a mysterious mesa. But when a member of the 88, a Man in Black simply known as Mayhem, arrives in the Badlands, Ellis and his small “family” of orphans are forced underground to survive.
Big Launch Party set for Monday, February 23rd!
In keeping with the trendsetting spirit of Apocalypse Weird, WMI and all of the Apocalypse Weird authors will be celebrating with fans, readers, and the curious ONLINE on Facebook. The AW Facebook Launch party will start at 2 p.m. Pacific Time and you can go right now and let us know you’ll be attending:
https://www.facebook.com/events/399694080198751/
There will be a bunch of cool giveaways, books, and other fun stuff going on. In addition to the usual fab books and stuff given away, the grand prize will be a Tier Two AW contract for the best story pitch set in the Apocalypse Weird world. Don’t miss this party!
Find out more about Apocalypse Weird at the AW website: http://www.apocalypseweird.com and make sure to sign up for the AW email list. AW subscribers will receive news and info about the AW world, as well as opportunities to get the Apocalypse Weird books early (and free) as Advance Reader Copies.
For WMI and all the Apocalypse Weird writers, we hope to see you there!
For information, interviews, or press briefings, please feel free to contact me,
Michael Bunker
Executive Producer
Wonderment Media Incorporated
When I listened to the episode with Chris, Jennifer, and David before, Apocalypse Now sounded very interesting. I’m excited to see how this turns out!